Subjective ramblings about beer, pubs and associated topics

No thanks to free beer

 

The offer of free beer would normally attract a flurry of interest.

But it seems drinkers in Dalton, England, have better things to do than sit in pubs sampling fine ales.

Despite advertising in the Evening Mail (maybe they were too drunk?), the town council has failed to find an official ale taster since the previous job holder, Sharon Johnston, stepped down in May.

As part of the role, the ale taster is offered two half pints of beer from all of Dalton’s pubs over the year.

They must prepare a report, naming the best pub, which receives a trophy and certificate at the annual Charter Festival.

Dalton councillor, Dermot O’Connor, said: “We haven’t had any interest. In my three years as a councillor I’ve never seen it this bad.”

 

They can count me in. Sampling the real ales on cask in Oslo would take a nanosecond, so I'm free to look elsewhere. It's a tough job,but somebody has to do it. Alan,maybe we could share the job?

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 23:32 | link | comments (2)

Busy researching

I have not forgotten my blog, but I am in England researching for further postings. Stay tuned for updates soon - see also over at A Good Beer Blog for a report. Right now I have already bought quite enough beer bottles to take home - I have to consider both my back and Norwegian customs authorities.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 13:16 | link | comments (5)
london, beer

Two from Jacobsen

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:25 | link | comments
beer, carlsberg, denmark, belgium

English Christmas

By no means a comprehensive list, but the Publican describes some of the British Christmas brews now on tap:

Leicester brewer Everards has launched its perennial Christmas favourite Sleighbell. So festive is the beer that each special pump clip comes with bells on. The 4.5 per cent cask ale will be available throughout December.

Moorhouse’s brewery has launched a new Christmas special called Santa’s Piste. The 4.5 per cent beer replaces Reinbeer’s Revenge as the Lancashire brewer’s seasonal offering.

Wychwood brewery in Oxfordshire has announced it will be launching an extension to its Brakspear brand for Christmas. O’ Be Joyful was originally brewed in 1993 and stands at 4.8 per cent ABV.

St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk has launched two winter beers, Spiced Ale Cinnamon and Apple and the 6.5 percent Winter Ale.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 14:10 | link | comments
beer, england

Samiclaus

There is a lot of hype connected to this beer, and it is included in the 300 beers before you die book, too, so I naturally had to try it when it became available in Norway. (On special order from Vinmonopolet). This beer is aged one year before bottling. It used to be brewed in Switzerland , but now the Eggenberg brewery in Austria is behind it.

At 14% alcohol, it is stronger than most red wines, but mercifully it comes in a 33 cl bottle.

The  taste? The alcohol comes on strong in this one, and I am reminded of port and sherry. Lots of sweet fruit in the taste, and a finish very similar to the strongest Belgian brews - probably due to them using a similar yeast to boost the alcohol content. It is pleasant to sit and sip this with a good book, rather like a glass of whisky. Rather flat, at least my bottle was so.

 It claims that it ages well, as is often the case of the stongest beers. If I had a decent cellar, I just might lay down a few bottles - but then I probably would have gone for some vintage port instead,

 A warming beer for cold and crisp nights, maybe with a wedge of mature and smelly cheese? I love Stilton with stong beers, so I would proably go for that. Right now, I will have to settle for some nuts.

These beers on the far end of the spectrum often end up as accessories in student's initiation rites. And why not? It is far better than most plonk the undergraduates drink when it comes to wine, and maybe it could open up some minds to beers beyond lager? Kinky Friedman has called Garth Brooks the Anti-Hank. I want to turn it around and say that the Samiclaus is the Anti-Bud. Buy a bottle, if not nessecarily a case.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 11:48 | link | comments (5)
beer, bock

Revamped Britannia

I checked the Young's web site to see if there was any information about new opening hours (which I couldn't find!) and noticed that The Britannia in Kensington, one of my regular stops in London for many years, is closed for refurbishment and will reopen on December 1. I hope they don't change it too much - it is an oasis just a few yards away from the bustling Kensington High Street.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 08:31 | link | comments
london, youngs, pubs

Third of pubs to extend hours

I found this on the website of the (London) Times:

About one third of all pubs, clubs and stores in England and Wales licensed to sell alcohol are to extend their opening hours after new legislation comes into effect, according to research. But very few will be taking advantage of the introduction of 24-hour drinking allowed in some areas under the new laws. More than 56,000 outlets - and possibly about 70,000 - will be allowed to sell alcohol for longer than they do now, according to a BBC study.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 10:05 | link | comments
beer, england

All the Norwegian Christmas brews

Over at "Venner av Nagne Ø" (Try pronouncing that. Maybe that could be the lakmus test of knowing if you really can speak Norwegian) they have compiled a list of all the Chirstmas beers available in this country. You can find it here. Me? I am watching a Johnny Cash dvd (tell me if you want a copy) while slowly sipping a bottle of Samiclaus, the Fisherman's Friend of the beer world. Strongest there is, sir!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 21:38 | link | comments
beer

Star Brew

I was lucky enough to be given a few Danish micro beers lost week (thanks, Henrik!), and the first one I opened was a bottle of Stjerne bryg (Star Brew) from Herslev Bryghus in Roskilde, not far from Copenhagen. This is their Christmas brew, made with 6 types of malt, Belgian yeast, star anise and coriander. Brown colour, unfiltered, so a bit cloudy. High alcohol content, but the powerful aroma makes sure it is not dominating. A warming aftertaste, and then the Belgian yeast kicks in, too! Nice Christmassy taste from the spices. Not a quaffing beer, but certainly one you should try if you find a bottle.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 21:43 | link | comments
beer, denmark, microbreweries

Intelligent micro

 A micro in Utah has thrown itself into the debate about intelligent design vs evolution by relaunching one of its beers as Evoulution Amber Ale. It boast a seal saying "Darwin approved, and claims to have been created in 27 days, not seven. Unsurprisingly, this has created an uproar in a state where even having a cup of coffee is considered sinful. The same beer has made the headlines before, being marketed as "2002 Unofficial Amber Ale" in time for the Olympics. What about the beer? The brewers themselves describe it on their web pages: This Highly controversial beer is actually a straight forward, well balanced malty amber ale. Tettanger hops provide a subtle spicy character, which balances out this well rounded ale.

I get a strong suspicion that, in addition to teasing the Mormon establishment, these guys know how to get free publicity by challenging some of the taboos around. They have more beers in their portfolio: How about a Polygamy Porte, described like this: This dark, medium bodied ale offers the drink-ability of a much lighter beer. The inviting chocolate and malty flavors fade into a slightly dry, silky smooth finish. Why have just one?.

It seems like this is a brewpub, so I don't think you can get those brews anywhere outside Park City, Utah. But they have nice T-shirts, too, and they are sold by mail order! Maybe someone could licence brew these ales?

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 21:25 | link | comments (4)
beer, usa

Nasty words of the day: bitter and bubbly

According to an AP snippet I found here, Miller Brewing says rival Anheuser-Busch has altered Bud Light to make it more bitter and bubbly, rolling out the claim in national television ads.

Anheuser-Busch called Miller's claims "another marketing ploy" and complained to cable networks that the statements are false. Now, 10 of 32 cable networks contracted to run the commercials have put them on hold while awaiting substantiation of the claims.

More bubbly, maybe, but I seriously doubt that any major US brewer would willingly try to destroy their watery image.But it is interesting to note that introducing elements of a proper beer taste is considered such a crime that you run national television campaigns against it.

One of the major advantages of being tucked up here close to the North Pole is that we are not exposed to Bud Light. Yet.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 08:44 | link | comments
beer, brewers, usa

The last three Slovakians

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 18:53 | link | comments
beer, slovakia

English licencing laws

As I am going to England at the end of next week, I shall be able to report first hand if the more liberal licencing laws for pubs will result in an orgy of drinking and rampaging - or if people just relax a bit more over their last pint for the evening.

It is the proper time to quote George Orwell, who wrote about this issue in the Tribune in 1944:

I note that once again there is serious talk of trying to attract tourists to this country after the war. This, it is said, will bring in a welcome trickle of foreign currency. But it is quite safe to prophesy that the attempt will be a failure. Apart from the many other difficulties, our licensing laws and the artificial price of drink are quite enough to keep foreigners away. Why should people who are used to paying sixpence for a bottle of wine visit a country were a pint of beer costs a shilling? But even these prices are less dismaying to foreigners than the lunatic laws which permit you to buy a glass of beer at half past ten while forbidding you to buy it at twenty-five past, and which have done their best to turn the pubs into mere boozing shops by excluding children from them.

How downtrodden we are in comparison with most other peoples is shown by the fact that even people who are far from being ‘temperance’ don't seriously imagine that our licensing laws could be altered. Whenever I suggest that pubs might be allowed to open in the afternoon, or to stay open till midnight, I always get the same answer: ‘The first people to object would be the publicans. They don't want to have to stay open twelve hours a day.’ People assume, you see, that opening hours, whether long or short, must be regulated by the law, even for one-man businesses. In France, and in various other countries, a cafe proprietor opens or shuts just as it suits him. He can keep open the whole twenty-four hours if he wants to; and, on the other hand, if he feels like shutting his cafe and going away for a week, he can do that too. In England we have had no such liberty for about a hundred years, and people are hardly able to imagine it.

England is a country that ought to be able to attract tourists. It has much beautiful scenery, an equable climate, innumerable attractive villages and medieval churches, good beer, and food-stuffs of excellent natural taste. If you could walk where you chose instead of being fenced in by barbed wire and Trespassers will be Prosecuted’ boards, if speculative builders had not been allowed to ruin every pleasant view within ten miles of a big town, if you could get a drink when you wanted it at a normal price, if an eatable meal in a country inn were a normal experience, and if Sunday were not artificially made into a day of misery, then foreign visitors might be expected to come here. But if those things were true England would no longer be England, and I fancy that we shall have to find some way of acquiring foreign currency that is more in accord with our national character.

Well, it took some years, didn't it. It is ineresting to note that in some areas ouside london, the pubs are still closing in the afternoon. The CAMRA guide to the Cambridge pubs, for excample, lists just a very few that stay open all day.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 12:48 | link | comments (2)
beer, england, pubs

Amazing what you can get for 20 cents nowadays

I am often impressed over what Google can come up with. The following is nicked from a web site called about.com,  which does not get any nomination in the category Most modest site of the year: We're the one place on the Web where you'll find passionate people with practical advice and solutions for almost any problem. Whatever your needs, the answer is... About.com.

Ahem. On their site they have a section on alcoholism, which is praiseworthy in itself, but I found it a bit bizarre that the following was put in that category:

Cheap beer prices may a have direct effect on increases in sexually transmitted disease (STD) among young people, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Everytime beer taxes go up or the legal drinking age is raised, gonorrhea rates usually dropped among young people, according to Alcohol Policy and Sexually Transmitted Disease Rates --United States, 1981--1995 published April 28, 2000 by the CDC.

The report says raising the tax on a six-pack of beer by only 20 cents could reduce gonorrhea by up to nine percent among young adults, who are more likely to develop STDs than older adults.

An obvious alternative is to lock up all teenagers. Or everyone responsible for compiling official statistics. One question that springs to mind is: does raising the tax on a six-pack by 20 cents really lead to less drinking among "young adults"?

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 11:54 | link | comments
beer

Christmas in Denmark

The Danish beer enthusiasts over at www.ale.dk report that the number of Christmas beers on the Danish market is record high. Both the traditional breweries, the new micros and interesting imports add to the festivities. Is seems like some of the supermarket chains are taking this seriously, too, with newspapers ads and inserts showing the broad range on offer. I will not be going to Denmark berfore Christmas, but I wish them the best of luck!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:55 | link | comments

Something completely different:

A little busy today, so a wine story for a change:

For all of us who are married, were married, wish you were married, or wish you weren't married, this is something to smile about the next time you open a bottle of wine:

Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.  As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride.

With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat next to Sally.

"What's in the bag?" asked the old woman.

Sally looked down at the brown bag and said, "It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband."

The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said, "Good trade."

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:28 | link | comments

Christmas beers again

I promise not to focus too much on the Norwegian Christmas beer scene, as this is rather too obscure for some of you. For those who want more, and can read Scandinavian (or look at the pictures, we are talking beer porn here!), the  food and drink news site Aperitif has tested all the Christmas beers on the Norwegian market. There are 49 beers to choose from, and it is useful to have someone else to sort out the ones to stay clear of!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:52 | link | comments
beer, norway

Beer books

I am planning a trip to England again at the end of the month, and I wanted to supplement my pub guide books. Lots of local branches of CAMRA have published their own guide books, and there are new and revised books and booklets issued all the time. An excellent source for these, as well as other pub and beer guides for Britain, Germany, the low countries etc. is Books-Inn Print. They have all types of beer publications, pub histories, books on brewing, beer advertising and so on. Periodicals, posters, postcards as well. Add a friendly, personal and speedy service and postage at cost personally calculated, and you truly have a great service. Guides to West London and Cambridge have arrived, and they look very promising. The West London guide is very comprehensive, while the Cambridge guide has a very nice layout - and the range of beers looks very borad there. Let's see what I can get through in a day..

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 20:17 | link | comments

Three more from Weihenstephan

As I mentioned earlier, I had a friend over to try out the beers I had brought home from the Weihenstephan brewery in Freising, Bavaria. In addition to their famous weissbier and pils, they also brew other beers, so I bought them all except the low alcohol variety of the weissbier.

Three very different styles are represented. Their Bayrish Mild is very light in colour and in flavour. Not very much in the way of either hops or malt, so I do not realy get the point. Easy drinking beer, maybe used to quench ther thirst after a hard days work in the fields in an earlier age? If so, why not use one of the better-tasting beers?

Weihenstephan Tradition Dunkel is brewed for them by Hofbräu Munich. A rather sweet dunkel, with a nutty taste. Hops bring a needed bitterness to the finish. A nice beer, but not outstanding, either.

The Korbian Dunkles Starkbier was the best of the three. A alcohol content of 7,4% drawas out the maximum flavour of the ingredients. Nutty and roasted flavours from the malt, grassy hops and with a character that reminds me of port. This is worth seeking out!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 10:38 | link | comments
beer, german

Christmas beer festival - the Nøgne Ø brewery

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 09:30 | link | comments
norway, microbreweries, belfast, nøgne ø

Christmas beer festival

There have been fairly lean years for the organized beer drinking scene here in , which means that the beer festivals have been few and far between. It seems like this is changing, as there was a general beer festival earlier this autumn and one this weekend dedicated to Christmas beers only.

The venue, the basement of the Students Society in Oslo, is not particularly cosy (it is named “Concrete”, and lives up to it!), but it is quite well suited to setting up a number of small bars and tables where the brewers and importers can peddle their bottles. It was not very crowded, but most of them seemed happy with their turnover. As for the crowd, it was dominated by middle aged men much like myself, some of us with silly t-shirts, some of us with bodies showing our fondness of beer. Not quite as unkempt as what an unkind observer in a CAMRA magazine called the anorak brigade. Friendly atmosphere, but little in the way of entertainment. I went along with my friend Per Christian – it is nice to discuss the tasting process with someone.

There were 15 domestic beers and about ten imported available, all being of the premium strength variety. Given the high alcohol content, it was probably wise to serve this in 15-20 cl glasses.

Lots of good beer, some of which I will return to over the next weeks. Haandbryggeriet in Drammen were there with “Nissefar”, a dark beer with a solid taste of toasted malt – a splendid bock if there ever was one. Berentzen from the West Coast are new on the scene, and their Julefnugg was also similar to a bock. Coffee and port aromas, black colour. A nice addition to the Norwegian micro market, and this brew is promising indeed. They have had beer on the market for some time, but that has been brewed by others.

Nøgne Ø had three Christmas beers available. Julenatt is brewed with vanilla, and it gives a fairly strong taste. Well hopped, which balances out the vanilla sweetness, and there is a hint of citrus in there, too. Not a beer to drink with food – rather a good book. Underlig Jul has four added spices, which work well together with a sort of porter. A bit too much cinnamon, perhaps?

God Jul does not have any spices in the mix, but is brewed to a higher strength than the other two. Strong flavour of roasted, almost burned malt, quite well balanced between the sweet and the dry, but I feel the alcohol is a bit too evident.

Delirium Christmas and Corsendonk Christmas ale are two Belgian Christmas beers, both being proper Belgian ales. Both have full taste and a pleasant finish.

The prize for the most refreshing beer of the evening goes to the British Bah Humbug! Christmas ale from the Wychwood Brewery. Really well hopped, it is not dissimilar to an IPA. Very nice after all the sweet beers! (Although Per Christian felt that it was not really a Christmas beer.) Looking at the reviews over at ratebeer, it seems like they have changed the recipe a bit this year, as it used to have both bananas and a range of spices in it. I'll find a bottle and investigate further.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 08:31 | link | comments
beer, norway, microbreweries, belgium, nøgne ø

An apology and a pub sign

I have had technical problems with my broadband connection, which explains the lack of updates over the weekend. I promise coverage of the Norwegian Christmas beer festival last friday, where there was a broad selection of both domestic and imported beers - many of them excellent.

There have been press reports that the government monopoly stores over here have banned Delirium Christmas, but the ale was available at the festival even if its not in the shops at the moment. They banned a strong lager from Ringnes when they called it Loaded a few years ago, too. Alcohol is something we take rather seriously in Norway.

I'll try to upload some pics from the festival tonight. While you wait, why not a pub sign from a splendid Young's pub in Sutton, Surrey, where the Winter Warmer should be on tap now! 

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 07:28 | link | comments (1)

Two more Christmas beers

The shops here in Norway are overflowing with Christmas beers and Christmas brews, and it looks like it's more often the marketing departements gone amok rather than the brewers showing their skills.Here are two from Aass brewery, that usually produce decent beers. Their Very Christmas (yes, the title is in English) is, according to the label, brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot before adding spices. You etither follow the purity law, or you don't. The spices in question are nutmeg and cardamom, and it really does not work very well. The beer itself is sweet, a nice amber/brown colour - I think the demand for caramel malt is high around here in the autumn! The JuleFest (Christmas Party) from the same brewery tastes like it is the same beer but without the spices. Sweet, lacking a proper bitter finish, and rather watery.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:35 | link | comments
beer, norway

More from Bavaria

A few more pictures from Bavaria. Some of my pictures have been a bit blurry lately, but these should be better.My friend Per Christian is coming over tonight, so we will taste the rest of the Weihenstephan beers I brough home. But I will not cook liver dumplings - you have to draw the line somewhere!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:58 | link | comments
beer, german

No, thanks!

According to the online edition of New Scientist, A drink somewhere between coffee and beer could soon be on the menu. Nestec, part of the Nestlé empire in Switzerland, has filed patents in every major market round the world on a "fermented coffee beverage" that pours and foams like beer, but smells of strong coffee and packs a concentrated caffeine kick.

The beverage is made in a similar way to beer, but fine-tuned temperature control stops the formation of ethyl alcohol. So the new drink could go down well with people who want a long tall pick-me-up while driving.

Or it might sink like a stone. There are lots of things you can do with your old chemistry set as well, but please do not drink the results!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 09:00 | link | comments

More on Christmas beers

E.C. Dahls brewery, from my old home town Trondheim, but now just a branch of the Ringnes/Carlsberg complex, has often had high ranking Christmas beers. Their 4,5% Christmas beer is much fuller and more aromatic than the one in the previous post. Sweet and malty, as typical of this beer style, but with some hops in the finish, too. I think this one will be on my Christmas table with the rich food ( and a shot of Linie Aquavit).

Or so I thought until I tried the Borg variety. Same strenght, same caramel colour, but with more prounced hops in the taste and the finish. Similar to an English bitter, I would say. A good one!

Hansa tries a twist this year: Extra matured Christmas Brew. (Not Christmas Beer, which is something else. They claim that all their beers are extra mature, even their light beers. Well - on the label of this brew they also claim that it is "deep golden", while it is really resembling Coca-Cola. Nothing wrong with that, but somethimes I feel the marketing people rarely encounter the brewery people. It is quite aromatic, sweet with a hint of burnt toast. With marzipan, maybe? This one was not for me.

The results so far - three decent beers including the one in the previous post, while the Hansa brew is drinkable - but I won't bother when the market is exploding with varieties of these beers. And I look forward to Friday, when the full strength beers are unveiled.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 21:02 | link | comments
beer, norway, trondheim

They have arrived!

No, not the new wines of the season, but the Christmas beers are starting to appear on the shelves here in Norway. The premium strength beers (sold in governernment stores) will not be available until Monday (except for a beer festival on Friday), but the supermarket strength beers (below 4,7 %) are being distributed. I can tell you that the "Bryggerimester Spesial" is brewed with aniseed and vanilla. It has a distinct taste, but, as is usually the case with the low strength beers of this type, rather watery.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:25 | link | comments (1)
beer, norway, christmas