A goodly while ago on what, I think, was our second visit to the Moor Brewery Tap we had a conversation which mulled on the idea that some beers suit different dispense methods.
It sounded plausible and as it was a member of the brewery staff with whom we had the conversation, and he was doubtless more learned than us on the subject, we decided that it was probably true...it was just we hadn't come across the beer that didn't shine best as a cask ale.
Then the other day, it happened.
We'd had a good journey from the Sussex Homelands to the Western Reaches (Eastbourne to Bristol, obvs) on the train and we'd picked up a parcel (of which, more later) and decided to head out to the Barley Mow.
I was ecstatic to see Tiny Rebel "Juicy" on the bar and without further ado, ordered a pint.
I like most Tiny Rebel beers and we've had a number of their brews delivered in bottle/can for the fridge. I'd had Juicy from a can and really enjoyed it in the summer.
It has a distinct mango flavour which worked so well when I'd had it before. But from a cask pint which was a degree or two warmer, and without additional carbonation it was pleasant and drinkable but a bit over-sweet and claggy to my taste (and that of the Best Beer Buddy).
Actually, it's nice to find an example for myself and I'll also think a little more before making an unequivocal decision about whether or not I like a beer.
In other news, the parcel we collected was for one of those newfangled pod espresso machines for our flat. We've been making coffee here with a cafetiere since we bought the place and of late have found the texture of the coffee less clean than the espresso we make in the house down south.
We really couldn't justify the additional expense of another espresso machine AND a good enough grinder to grind to the correct texture - not when we don't live here most of the time, and we only have a single mug of coffee each, each day.
It took a while to find compostable pods and that decided our format of machine. The parcel we collected on arrival was this new, dinky little machine.
We've only had two drinks with it so far and we reckon it'll take us a while to find the right pods and use them the most appropriate way but it's definitely got promise and the clean taste of espresso is worth a bit of experimentation.
As a woman who previously roasted her own coffee this is a bit of an admission. In fact, alongside the notion that not all beer is best as cask.
See - we all learn, and we're allowed to change our minds about stuff as more data comes in.
Friday, 21 December 2018
Saturday, 1 December 2018
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright...
We made the most of the rare confluence of a break in the weather and a day when neither of us had anything we really needed to do that day.
We decided to try a new downland walk and chance to get to the Tiger Inn, in the nearby village of East Dean.
We caught a bus to the far side of the village (Friston Pond for the locals reading this) and then ambled towards the sea and over some of the Seven Sisters.
It was cold and blustery but jolly and bright and as perfect a day to walk in November as you can imagine. It wasn't a long walk (a little over 3 miles) but the hills made for interest and the livestock were friendly enough.
Thence to the Tiger Inn.
In the past I've been thoroughly disappointed by the pub which was the one-time brewery tap for Beachy Head Brewery (alas, no more) but, on occasion, served rather lacklustre pints of that and Harveys. As such it didn't make it an enthusiastic destination for us.
But the last couple of times we've been, we've been lucky enough to get something more interesting and, usually, well kept.
So we tipped up just after 3pm, once the lunchtime food service had finished and were delighted to find beers from Franklins, Bedlam and Long Man to choose from. Those, in addition to the more mundane Harvey's Best and Tribute. We tried all three and they were all absolutely grand. Best of the bunch was Frankie's Knuckles by Franklins - quite punchy but well balanced and very tasty.
I think that's three or four visits to the Tiger where the beer has been interesting and on form...so I've no doubt it won't be all that long until we venture back.
We decided to try a new downland walk and chance to get to the Tiger Inn, in the nearby village of East Dean.
We caught a bus to the far side of the village (Friston Pond for the locals reading this) and then ambled towards the sea and over some of the Seven Sisters.
It was cold and blustery but jolly and bright and as perfect a day to walk in November as you can imagine. It wasn't a long walk (a little over 3 miles) but the hills made for interest and the livestock were friendly enough.
Thence to the Tiger Inn.
In the past I've been thoroughly disappointed by the pub which was the one-time brewery tap for Beachy Head Brewery (alas, no more) but, on occasion, served rather lacklustre pints of that and Harveys. As such it didn't make it an enthusiastic destination for us.
But the last couple of times we've been, we've been lucky enough to get something more interesting and, usually, well kept.
So we tipped up just after 3pm, once the lunchtime food service had finished and were delighted to find beers from Franklins, Bedlam and Long Man to choose from. Those, in addition to the more mundane Harvey's Best and Tribute. We tried all three and they were all absolutely grand. Best of the bunch was Frankie's Knuckles by Franklins - quite punchy but well balanced and very tasty.
I think that's three or four visits to the Tiger where the beer has been interesting and on form...so I've no doubt it won't be all that long until we venture back.
Thursday, 11 October 2018
New things
It was my birthday, last week - we don't need to discuss just how many years I've been drinkng beer just now - so as a treat I chose a visit to a new brewery tap over in that Brighton.
We've been seeing Holler's beers around for a while now and I have to say I think they've improved a lot over my first encounter with them and now they're one of our "go to" brewers down here.
If you read this blog at all, you know we're not all-night drinkers...or all that much lunchtime drinkers...we're more of your late afternoon/early evening drinkers.
So we climbed aboard the bus at the end of our road around 2pm for the hour-long, but entertaining, bus ride across to the "Big City".
We found the brewery easily enough, just behind the weird and wonderful (and very tall) St Bartholomew's church and just off the London Road.
It's a slightly run down (or maybe, not yet gentrified) part of the city but we like those.
The brewery is in a converted industrial building given a lovely spruce up with the tap room being integrated with the brewery itself. This makes for stuff to look at as well as stuff to drink. It had only been open for a week on the day of our visit.
We were greeted with "really sorry but we have a power cut so we're not taking cards at the moment" but, as old-fashioned people, we generally pay for beer with cash anyway. So all was good.
They had four each of cask and keg beers and a nice mix of styles available.
The price was a little high for a brewery tap (£4.50/pint) but at least there was no cask/keg differential.
Unexpectedly our friend, M, joined us as he was in the city for football and it was lovely to meet him somewhere different than usual. He also approved of the beer.
The vibe was jolly with the brewery staff keen to chat about the set up, etc.
Food was pizza from a local restaurant - you ordered at the bar and paid, you were given a pager which buzzed when it arrived. You collect your pizza from the bar - simple and effective (and very, very tasty).
Now, here's a thing. So developed are my f*cking hipster beer drinker senses that I craved a 2/3rd measure. There were 8 beers so I would have been able to drink more different beers if I could have bought it in a slightly smaller quantity. Halves really don't cut it (and the boy agrees on this) for some reason. Halves disappear too quickly whereas 2/3rd really don't - no, I'm sure it isn't logical, but there it is. Even if you don't serve many of them, having a 2/3rd marking on the glass and prices by 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 and pint would, IMHO, encourage more experimentation by punters. But there you go, you can't please all the people, etc
All in all, it was as good a birthday treat as a girl could hope for.If the place were in Eastbourne I've no doubt we'd be regular visitors. I'm also sure that, whilst it won't be very frequent, any beer trips to Brighton will probably include a return visit.
In summary:
Good stuff:
- beer was lovely.
- good range on offer in all dispense methods (yep, there were cans too)
- friendly, engaging staff
- taproom clearly designed as an integral part of the business
- Pizza!
- Toilets: non-denominational cubicles with sinks inside and clean and lovely
- Nice indoor and outdoor space
- no price differential between cask/keg
- generous opening times!
Could be better:
- beer a bit pricey for a taproom
- one beer tasted a tiny bit young
- needing to ask for a beer to be topped up
- lack of a 2/3rds measure
- Tall tables inside had no rail for short-arsed me to rest my feet on.
Overall, really nice work, Holler - definitely a brewery tap highlight for me...
We've been seeing Holler's beers around for a while now and I have to say I think they've improved a lot over my first encounter with them and now they're one of our "go to" brewers down here.
If you read this blog at all, you know we're not all-night drinkers...or all that much lunchtime drinkers...we're more of your late afternoon/early evening drinkers.
So we climbed aboard the bus at the end of our road around 2pm for the hour-long, but entertaining, bus ride across to the "Big City".
We found the brewery easily enough, just behind the weird and wonderful (and very tall) St Bartholomew's church and just off the London Road.
It's a slightly run down (or maybe, not yet gentrified) part of the city but we like those.
The brewery is in a converted industrial building given a lovely spruce up with the tap room being integrated with the brewery itself. This makes for stuff to look at as well as stuff to drink. It had only been open for a week on the day of our visit.
We were greeted with "really sorry but we have a power cut so we're not taking cards at the moment" but, as old-fashioned people, we generally pay for beer with cash anyway. So all was good.
They had four each of cask and keg beers and a nice mix of styles available.
The price was a little high for a brewery tap (£4.50/pint) but at least there was no cask/keg differential.
Unexpectedly our friend, M, joined us as he was in the city for football and it was lovely to meet him somewhere different than usual. He also approved of the beer.
The vibe was jolly with the brewery staff keen to chat about the set up, etc.
Food was pizza from a local restaurant - you ordered at the bar and paid, you were given a pager which buzzed when it arrived. You collect your pizza from the bar - simple and effective (and very, very tasty).
Now, here's a thing. So developed are my f*cking hipster beer drinker senses that I craved a 2/3rd measure. There were 8 beers so I would have been able to drink more different beers if I could have bought it in a slightly smaller quantity. Halves really don't cut it (and the boy agrees on this) for some reason. Halves disappear too quickly whereas 2/3rd really don't - no, I'm sure it isn't logical, but there it is. Even if you don't serve many of them, having a 2/3rd marking on the glass and prices by 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 and pint would, IMHO, encourage more experimentation by punters. But there you go, you can't please all the people, etc
All in all, it was as good a birthday treat as a girl could hope for.If the place were in Eastbourne I've no doubt we'd be regular visitors. I'm also sure that, whilst it won't be very frequent, any beer trips to Brighton will probably include a return visit.
In summary:
Good stuff:
- beer was lovely.
- good range on offer in all dispense methods (yep, there were cans too)
- friendly, engaging staff
- taproom clearly designed as an integral part of the business
- Pizza!
- Toilets: non-denominational cubicles with sinks inside and clean and lovely
- Nice indoor and outdoor space
- no price differential between cask/keg
- generous opening times!
Could be better:
- beer a bit pricey for a taproom
- one beer tasted a tiny bit young
- needing to ask for a beer to be topped up
- lack of a 2/3rds measure
- Tall tables inside had no rail for short-arsed me to rest my feet on.
Overall, really nice work, Holler - definitely a brewery tap highlight for me...
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Regionalisation
We've just come back from Cornwall.
Land of Betty Stoggs, of Doom Bar and Tribute.
I used to love all three of these beers, I probably wouldn't choose any of them now if there was almost anything else to try.
Thankfully, we managed to avoid all of these during our week in the far South West and yet, the beer experience was decent, rather than good.
I really wanted to love the Crown Brewery beers and I did like them a lot, ...but love didn't come. We revisted one of the Penzance Brewery beers - Potion No9 and it was still impossible to not enjoy it, and yet I wouldn't have wanted to drink more than a couple of pints of it.
There were highlights, though...
The Bath Inn on the Newlyn/Penzance borders was a delightful find, along with Exeter Brewery Avocet beer.
I loved Mousehole and it's brilliant harbour - the Old Coastguard Hotel did some nice Padstow Beers and becoming reacquainted with St Austell HSD and Proper Job in the Ship Inn was grand.
So with all this goodness...why wasn't it quite right?
None of the pubs felt like the place we wanted to just huddle in a corner, watch the world and and have the choice of a few beers we wanted to try next. But all the places that had good beer, really only had one or maybe two we wanted to try and most of them didn't really bear a third pint.
All of the local beers we drank (and it was lovely having a choice of local brews) had common features - in much the way many Sussex beers have. That's both and good bad, since if you want something a little different...there's nothng to choose from.
Still, we had a good, relaxing time and we walked a good few miles every day. That's a good thing, right?
And we went back via Bristol and made the most of the Barleymow...naturally...
Land of Betty Stoggs, of Doom Bar and Tribute.
I used to love all three of these beers, I probably wouldn't choose any of them now if there was almost anything else to try.
Thankfully, we managed to avoid all of these during our week in the far South West and yet, the beer experience was decent, rather than good.
I really wanted to love the Crown Brewery beers and I did like them a lot, ...but love didn't come. We revisted one of the Penzance Brewery beers - Potion No9 and it was still impossible to not enjoy it, and yet I wouldn't have wanted to drink more than a couple of pints of it.
There were highlights, though...
The Bath Inn on the Newlyn/Penzance borders was a delightful find, along with Exeter Brewery Avocet beer.
I loved Mousehole and it's brilliant harbour - the Old Coastguard Hotel did some nice Padstow Beers and becoming reacquainted with St Austell HSD and Proper Job in the Ship Inn was grand.
So with all this goodness...why wasn't it quite right?
None of the pubs felt like the place we wanted to just huddle in a corner, watch the world and and have the choice of a few beers we wanted to try next. But all the places that had good beer, really only had one or maybe two we wanted to try and most of them didn't really bear a third pint.
All of the local beers we drank (and it was lovely having a choice of local brews) had common features - in much the way many Sussex beers have. That's both and good bad, since if you want something a little different...there's nothng to choose from.
Still, we had a good, relaxing time and we walked a good few miles every day. That's a good thing, right?
And we went back via Bristol and made the most of the Barleymow...naturally...
Friday, 14 September 2018
On the Booking of Tables in Pubs
ach! Bain of my life (well, OK, that's a little over-dramatic and it's very much a first-world problem)...is good pubs allowing all their tables to be booked of an evening.
We arrived in Bristol after a flawless train journey and, coincidentally, find out that a local bunch of internet-introduced friends were planning a pub meet. We suggested the Barleymow (obviously) and everyone was excited to fall in line.
We arrived there about 4.45 to find that all but one small table in the pub had been booked. One booking of about 20 people and another for 15. On a Thursday night.
I have to say we were really grumpy at the barman on duty (I'm sorry about that, I really am...it's really not your fault that your pub allows booking out of the place). He did what he could to suggest an alternative (ie sitting outside) but we decided to pass after an inital pint (which was lovely).
So we somewhere else instead (the Old Market Assembly) which has more space but they only really had one beer on cask and had only 3 pizza bases available to people who hadn't booked.
The pizza was OK (but not as good as previous visits) and the lack of beer variety was very sad but we had a fun evening with pals we haven't seen for ages.
Now - I can't tell pub how to maximise their business model but I think I'd like to suggest that you're careful about how you run your space but if you're a pub, perhaps consider limiting the number of tables you allow to be booked so that "ordinary" drop-by punters can fill the rest of your evening eating and drinking.
The best example I saw of this was a pub/cafe/bistro in Kingsand. There were about 5 tables just inside the door that they never allowed to be booked and as a result you could swing by and have a pint and a meal and slot into their less busy times without feeling the impending deadline of a table hand-over.
Rant over. this afternoon we'll be off to the Moor Brewery tap. It'll probably get quite busy but there won't be any pre-booked tables...
We arrived in Bristol after a flawless train journey and, coincidentally, find out that a local bunch of internet-introduced friends were planning a pub meet. We suggested the Barleymow (obviously) and everyone was excited to fall in line.
We arrived there about 4.45 to find that all but one small table in the pub had been booked. One booking of about 20 people and another for 15. On a Thursday night.
I have to say we were really grumpy at the barman on duty (I'm sorry about that, I really am...it's really not your fault that your pub allows booking out of the place). He did what he could to suggest an alternative (ie sitting outside) but we decided to pass after an inital pint (which was lovely).
So we somewhere else instead (the Old Market Assembly) which has more space but they only really had one beer on cask and had only 3 pizza bases available to people who hadn't booked.
The pizza was OK (but not as good as previous visits) and the lack of beer variety was very sad but we had a fun evening with pals we haven't seen for ages.
Now - I can't tell pub how to maximise their business model but I think I'd like to suggest that you're careful about how you run your space but if you're a pub, perhaps consider limiting the number of tables you allow to be booked so that "ordinary" drop-by punters can fill the rest of your evening eating and drinking.
The best example I saw of this was a pub/cafe/bistro in Kingsand. There were about 5 tables just inside the door that they never allowed to be booked and as a result you could swing by and have a pint and a meal and slot into their less busy times without feeling the impending deadline of a table hand-over.
Rant over. this afternoon we'll be off to the Moor Brewery tap. It'll probably get quite busy but there won't be any pre-booked tables...
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Research suggests...
...how often do we see/hear headlines relating the latest research on alcohol consumption and it give us a clear picture of anything?
I would contend, almost never.
The latest government campaign is suggesting that middle-aged drinkers (ie: me) have more alcohol-free days each week.
First off, I'd like to say right here, right now that I don't think this is a lie, or is bad advice. But I do question where it comes from and what it really means.
Is it that
a) Really, people just need to drink less and since we can't stop them once they start of an evening, it's just better they spend some evenings not drinking at all
or
b) Days when you don't drink certain physiological things happen in your organs that are genuinely beneficial/protective for the days you do drink.
the headline doesn't say, of course, because if it did we'd just find ways to drink as much in different ways.
Also, we see a lot of headlines about how many hospital admissions are caused or contributed to by alcohol consumption. What they don't break this down into is those caused by:
1 Saturday night punch-ups amongst annoying pissed-up young men
2 Friday night acute intoxication in non-regular drinkers
3 Domestic violence meted out by a drunk spouse
4 Road traffic accidents involving intoxicated young or older drinkers
5 Chronic conditions worsened by regular drinking
6 Primary disease caused by alcohol
7 Admissions caused by alcohol addiction
8 Other hospital admissions not really related in any way to alcohol but the person had obviously been drinking.
Then there's the "drinking more than...increases your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and liver diease by x%..."
...and this is the one that probably pisses me off the most.
Why? Because these are from population-level studies (or meta studies...that is: secondary studies on several different sets of data from different studies) and they tell you absolutely nothing about your risk because those increases in risk are in relative risks. If I have a 1 in 1000 chance of getting primary liver disease and my risk has increased by 5% by drinking then it's still a relatively small chance compared to other things that will kill me.
As a government I guess it's reasonable enough to act on population level information because you are concerned with the population as a whole. But - and this is a big but...
We know that one of the biggest contributors to chronic ill health is poverty. If we put serious money behind that then perhaps hospital admissions not only related to alcohol but other things would reduce too.
Lazy, sloppy "health" messages from a government who aren't serious about really tackling root causes isn't going to make me change my behaviour. I'm not condoning my drinkng but I believe it conveys some positives to my lifestyle too and it's foolish to totally ignore them.
Meanwhile, I will continue to have the odd alcohol-free day even though I notice no particular benefit from it since it's a balance kind of a thing - much like eating my greens, no?
I would contend, almost never.
The latest government campaign is suggesting that middle-aged drinkers (ie: me) have more alcohol-free days each week.
First off, I'd like to say right here, right now that I don't think this is a lie, or is bad advice. But I do question where it comes from and what it really means.
Is it that
a) Really, people just need to drink less and since we can't stop them once they start of an evening, it's just better they spend some evenings not drinking at all
or
b) Days when you don't drink certain physiological things happen in your organs that are genuinely beneficial/protective for the days you do drink.
the headline doesn't say, of course, because if it did we'd just find ways to drink as much in different ways.
Also, we see a lot of headlines about how many hospital admissions are caused or contributed to by alcohol consumption. What they don't break this down into is those caused by:
1 Saturday night punch-ups amongst annoying pissed-up young men
2 Friday night acute intoxication in non-regular drinkers
3 Domestic violence meted out by a drunk spouse
4 Road traffic accidents involving intoxicated young or older drinkers
5 Chronic conditions worsened by regular drinking
6 Primary disease caused by alcohol
7 Admissions caused by alcohol addiction
8 Other hospital admissions not really related in any way to alcohol but the person had obviously been drinking.
Then there's the "drinking more than...increases your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and liver diease by x%..."
...and this is the one that probably pisses me off the most.
Why? Because these are from population-level studies (or meta studies...that is: secondary studies on several different sets of data from different studies) and they tell you absolutely nothing about your risk because those increases in risk are in relative risks. If I have a 1 in 1000 chance of getting primary liver disease and my risk has increased by 5% by drinking then it's still a relatively small chance compared to other things that will kill me.
As a government I guess it's reasonable enough to act on population level information because you are concerned with the population as a whole. But - and this is a big but...
We know that one of the biggest contributors to chronic ill health is poverty. If we put serious money behind that then perhaps hospital admissions not only related to alcohol but other things would reduce too.
Lazy, sloppy "health" messages from a government who aren't serious about really tackling root causes isn't going to make me change my behaviour. I'm not condoning my drinkng but I believe it conveys some positives to my lifestyle too and it's foolish to totally ignore them.
Meanwhile, I will continue to have the odd alcohol-free day even though I notice no particular benefit from it since it's a balance kind of a thing - much like eating my greens, no?
Sunday, 26 August 2018
On Being Mansplained to...
...on the subject of murky beer.
So I've remarked before that Eastbourne is a bit behind the beer times in terms of modern beer styles.
Even at beer festivals, they have a bit of tendency to go with beer styles they know and love (lots of emphasis on trad bitters and nice, but unremarkable golden beers).
This week our local's beer festival was being set up and a new beer was set up and ready to go. I ordered a pint of it for the boy. It was described as a "bitter" by a local good, but not very adventurous brewery.
When it came out it was about the same colour as Hophead but was a tiny bit hazy. I looked quizzically at it and said "you're sure that's it?" - what I meant was that I expected it to be browner. She looked and seemed concerned. "Actually, I'm not sure it's ready yet - it's a bit hazy.
I smiled and said, "I'm used to cloudy beer...it might just be unfined"
Then the bloke next to me chirped up "Oh, it looks OK I think. It's a bit murky but perhaps that's just condensation on the glass and then proceeded to rub his finger down the glass (WTF?). Girl behnd the bar still looked worried. So I said "it'll just be easier for me to try it..." and did. It was fine.
It was probably a beer designed to drop clear but it didn't seem any the worse for its haze.
"Ah yes", the bloke said "I told you it was OK".
Now, here's the thing. I get a bit annoyed when blokes tell me that they think they know more about beer than I do. But it's expontetially worse when the know-all in question had just bought a pint of Fosters for his mate and a pint of nitro-Guinness for himself. In a pub with 5 cask beers on.
I didn't say anything else to him. I couldn't.
Still, on Friday when the festival proper started I particularly enjoyed the pint of (unfined) Holler which was as murky as a perfect pint from Tapstone. Maybe Eastbourne's starting to catch up.
So I've remarked before that Eastbourne is a bit behind the beer times in terms of modern beer styles.
Even at beer festivals, they have a bit of tendency to go with beer styles they know and love (lots of emphasis on trad bitters and nice, but unremarkable golden beers).
This week our local's beer festival was being set up and a new beer was set up and ready to go. I ordered a pint of it for the boy. It was described as a "bitter" by a local good, but not very adventurous brewery.
When it came out it was about the same colour as Hophead but was a tiny bit hazy. I looked quizzically at it and said "you're sure that's it?" - what I meant was that I expected it to be browner. She looked and seemed concerned. "Actually, I'm not sure it's ready yet - it's a bit hazy.
I smiled and said, "I'm used to cloudy beer...it might just be unfined"
Then the bloke next to me chirped up "Oh, it looks OK I think. It's a bit murky but perhaps that's just condensation on the glass and then proceeded to rub his finger down the glass (WTF?). Girl behnd the bar still looked worried. So I said "it'll just be easier for me to try it..." and did. It was fine.
It was probably a beer designed to drop clear but it didn't seem any the worse for its haze.
"Ah yes", the bloke said "I told you it was OK".
Now, here's the thing. I get a bit annoyed when blokes tell me that they think they know more about beer than I do. But it's expontetially worse when the know-all in question had just bought a pint of Fosters for his mate and a pint of nitro-Guinness for himself. In a pub with 5 cask beers on.
I didn't say anything else to him. I couldn't.
Still, on Friday when the festival proper started I particularly enjoyed the pint of (unfined) Holler which was as murky as a perfect pint from Tapstone. Maybe Eastbourne's starting to catch up.
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