Not So Brown and Boring?

On Thursday night I was out with an old mate of mine from the USA.  We met in the Blackjack Brewery Tap and after a couple of very decent beers my companion fancied a change.  "What do you fancy?" I asked? Now he had spent the afternoon enjoyably drinking at Runaway and Cloudwater and wanted something a little plainer and simpler.  "Any Holts or Lees nearby?" he asked?

We adjourned to the Hare and Hounds on Shudehill for some Joey Holts.  This is a splendidly traditional little City Centre local of the type that used to abound, but is now a relative rarity. The Holts was in splendid form and slipped down easily as we sat in the front room, catching up.  Time was against us, so we nipped round the corner to the much more recently opened Abel Heywood, which although quite traditional inside is only a few years old as a pub. Hydes own this and we settled on Hydes Original which in another era would likely have been plain old Hydes Bitter. My friend declared it even better than the the Holts. He enjoyed very much the balanced malt and hops and the easy drinkability of both beers and he remarked how he really appreciated these kind of beers which are rarely if ever available in his native Pacific North West of the US.

By now it was approaching 11 o'clock and the next port of call, the Millstone, for Lees, sadly had to be abandoned. T'internet said it closed at 11 and we didn't want to miss a final pint before I got the last bus. So, more Hydes it was, this time the excellent Lowry, much more modern with Chinook and Citra hops, but unmistakeably British in its malt profile.

And that was it, excellent Manchester brewed beers from brewers who have been around from 1849 and 1863 respectively showng that to an American beer writer and beer aficionado, that they can stand proudly against the modern brewers that we are  lucky to have so many of in Manchester.

We shouldn't overlook them or take them for granted.

My companion was Don Scheidt who I have known for many years. Read some of his stuff here. He is by no means the first American beer writer who has made a similar observation about our most traditional of beers.

As we walked to the Hare and Hounds, a fellow pedestrian approached. "Hi Don" he said.  He was a brewer from Runaway, who a tad ironically knew Don, not me.  

Blinded by the Light

Is pale beer losing its appeal?  We all probably know people that prefer dark beers, or even brown beers, but is this affecting beer sales?  There is some evidence from our American friends that this may be so.  Sales of Budweiser in the U.S. declined 29 percent between 2007 and 2012. Budweiser Select was down 61 percent over the same period, Michelob Light a staggering 70 percent. Miller Genuine Draft dropped 56 percent and Milwaukee’s Best Light 40 percent over the same period.  Heineken didn't get away unscathed either with a 37% fall over the same period for its light version.

Does this really mean anything for us?  Unlike many, I am not that convinced that what happens in the US always has a direct influence on what happens here, though in terms of trends there is undoubtedly some linkage.  It ties in well with  this post from Ed Wray about a "catastrophic" fall in off sales of standard lager.  He also said "ale accounted for 30% of total beer sales in the last quarter of 2013 against the usual share of 15%. Marstons sold 40% less standard lager and cream flow T-bar ales like John Smiths and Worthington lost 15%."   Now these are really rather startling figures and such changes cannot be accounted for solely in terms of craft beer taking market share. The  drop in John Smith's Smooth sales is particularly interesting, as it is the "go to" cheap smooth beer of the North.

So, it seems that the world, including the UK is falling out of love with no frills lawnmower style beer, but it is slightly more difficult to say exactly what is happening, other than, given global sales of beer are down, that folks are shifting away from beer and cheap light beer in particular and that there is some evidence that there is a move to the dark side.*   Does this mean that premiumisation still has some legs left in it and that as people are drinking less, they are drinking "better"? And darker? 

Kind of looks like it. 

Or maybe it was a recession thing?  That's the other side of the coin, in that those with less disposable income, that used to buy lots of cheap light beer are buying much less? 
 
*Premium and craft beers are rarely lager like pale.


Photo  is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported 

Friend or Foe?

How many eggs do JD Wetherspoon sell a year? 39 million.  "That's a lot of eggs" I think.  The statistics roll on.  525,000 (award winning) breakfasts a week.  If you laid the number of sausages sold every week end to end they'd reach from Chester to Frankfurt and back.  Why Chester and Frankfurt? I don't know.  Or was it chips? Either way, this is a big operation. Enough beer is sold in one week to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.  Sounds a lot. It is a lot. 2.5 megalitres or 45,000 60,000 UK nines of beer. Over 4 million pints of beer a week.  Think about that. I'll leave it hanging to the wall for the moment.

Assembled hacks are in the Cross Keys in Gracechurch, St London to talk about the launch of Wetherspoon's next beer festival which will feature 10 international brewers, all of whom are here.  They are introduced one by one to be presented with a frame memento of their activities.  Most seem confused as you might well be in their situation.  As we listen, we sip rather flat and ordinary beer, jugged upstairs.  It isn't a great advert for cask beer. One disappointment (though logical if you think about it) is that as the brewers had just brewed the beers, they weren't actually available.)

Since they first started JDW's beers festivals have grown both in pints sold and how it is presented to the public, since the first one in 2006 when a respectable 1.1 million pints were sold.  Now they expect 3.5 million pints to disappear down thirsty throats. They'll be delivered in 35,000 nines, to 900 pubs from just two depots.  This year there are 10 international brewers from as far away as New Zealand - the Yeastie Boys - to, as the crow flies from London, next door Belgium by way of Hildegard Van Ostaden from De Hoppeschuur.  They brew in a variety of breweries, such as Caledonian, Banks, Wadworth, Adnams and many more.  This is in addition to the American Craft Brewers Showcase in which one American craft brewer a month comes across the pond to brew their beer for all JDW pubs*.  All of this is making JDW a lot more interesting a place to drink beer.  That isn't all.  JDW has just launched three American craft beers in cans from New York's Sixpoint brewery, which at two for a fiver, kind of blows a hole in craft beer pricing.  BrewDog and Goose Island bottles are already there and there is a decent range of other unusual bottles to drink at keen prices, especially if you aren't drinking them in London. (In London four quid for a cheaply imported Polish beer is hardly a bargain.)  They are already selling British brewed keg craft beer in limited quantities and no doubt will sell more as time goes on.

Unrelated to the beer festival, JDW are changing a lot.  Food is better and still very reasonable.  Pubs are much less corporate now and new ones are pretty contemporary and often a lot more upmarket.  They are often in splendidly restored buildings. Of course you are still going to get the small town drinking den type pub with its John Smith Smooth drinking derelicts, all lining up for their fix at nine in the morning, but this is a diverse operation and as I have said before, like any pub, individual units are only as good as the manager and how he or she runs it.

Back in the Cross Keys, I took an opportunity to have a chat with the two German brewers (From Kloster-Scheyern in Bavaria) who had been brewing a bockbier at Wadworth.(Good choice for that I'd imagine).  They seemed pretty confused about cask beer and I got the impression that they had rather more than a few reservations about it.  The first thing Brother Tobias - yes a real live brewing monk - asked "Why is it always so flat?"  That was a difficult question to answer, but I did my best to explain why it might be so.  Nonetheless the German brewers had enjoyed their time and I got my impression from such as the Yeastie Boys who were positively bouncing about, that like most things, you have to put a lot in to get a lot out.  My suggestion though is that JDW might be advised to hold their launch in a Northern pub, where the conditioning and presentation of the beers might be a little closer to the intended outcome by the brewers.

Now I read elsewhere that the import of the Yankee canned beers is being hailed as some kind of a breakthrough for craft beer in JDW.  This misses the point that JDW has been at the vanguard of this kind of beer innovation for quite some time.  They had a range of great beers some years ago including Duvel, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and other such exotics.  They introduced Polish beers years ago when they were a bit new to the UK. They used to sell Loewenbrau Wheat Beer which isn't even brewed any more.  They try beers out and quietly drop them when demand doesn't meet expectations.. You can probably expect that the availability of the new range will be reduced in many pubs if the beers don't sell, or, as in the past, they may just quietly be withdrawn. so maybe we best wait and see before getting too excited?

Wetherspoons has a lot of knockers that tend to concentrate on the negative aspects of the company.  Just have a look at the comments on Boak and Bailey's blog if you doubt that. Snobbery about them abounds (I for one don't care of people are ordering jugs of lurid coloured drinks - that's up to them).  Nor do I need beer advice from JDW staff other than "What colour is it?"  If JDW sold the Port St or Craft range at knockdown prices, there would still be many snobs that wouldn't want to go there to breathe the same air as John Smith's or WKD drinkers.  For them beer inclusiveness is simply a phrase you hear about, but not one you'd dream of espousing.  Of course negatives exist and should not be denied, but despite the turned up noses of some beer geeks,  there is little doubt that the industry can't do without them. (Just go back to that figure of 15,000 UK barrels a week). Often they are the best bet for decent beer and food in many a small town, or in many a beer desert.  They have 283 pubs in the 2014 Good Beer Guide, 890 pubs out of  905 Cask Marque accredited pubs and they sell a lot of beer.  Only 34% of their turnover is food, so they are still wet led, despite all those eggs and all those breakfasts.

Wetherspoon has in effect had a number of game plans for years and they flex them as needed.  Prices vary according to location. In small towns, they provide cheap drinks.  In airports there is a different offer aimed at the transitory customers they attract.  In London the offer splits between inner and outer, with prices varying accordingly, as they do all over.  You won't see many scallies in the Crosse Keys for sure, but despite prices being on a par with other pubs in the area, it is still choc-a-bloc full of suits.  Must be a good reason for that surely?

Love them or hate them, Wetherspoon has been doing a lot of things right for years. Selling a few cans of American craft doesn't change  that at all, but maybe it will make a few more think again about the company. 

One or two myths arise in B&B blog:  JDW managers have the discretion to buy locally at a certain price. If they don't, it is likely because the manager can't be arsed. Area managers do have a role here, but will devolve power to the individual managers as they see fit.

While JDW is cheap in many places, it isn't particularly so in Central London, yet still very popular. For example in Jeff Bell's new pub a pint of Koenig Pils is £3.90.  In Goodman's Field in Aldgate, a pint of Heineken is £3.95.  Jeff Bell isn't known for his cheap beer.

From Wednesday of this week each JDW will have to have one of Fullers London Pride, Sharp's Doom Bar or Adnams Broadside.  I'm looking forward to trying two of these in great Northern condition.

*Yesterday I had Make It Rain from Sixpoint. It was superb. Brewed at Adnams.

Lastly, disclosure. (1) I got a few halves of very flat beer and a couple of onion bajis from JDW.  I declined a later tour of JDWs in a bus and I was sent the three cans, which I haven't yet tried.  (2) You'll find me in the excellent Regal Moon in Rochdale almost any Wednesday night.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

The Port Street Beer House kicked off its American Beer Festival with a beer tasting event last night. Now I'm not much of a one for these things and Monday nights as we all know are reserved for Coronation Street, but Tyson, that inveterate socialite and attender of all things boozy, dragged me along.

The place was buzzing, filled not only with rheumy eyed old farts like me, but with sweet young things, the chicks all tattoos and attitude and the men all facial hair. A smattering of in betweens gave a fairly mixed crowd. CAMRA types were also there in abundance too, all to try out the kegged offerings supplied by James Clay and Vertical Drinks. American nibbles were provided, though corn bread is a taste I wouldn't want to acquire and judging by the left overs, not one that'll catch on here all that quickly. As always, there was an opportunity before festivities began to get some ale down our necks. Tyson and I both chose Dark Star Americam Pale, which was oddly sweet.

So to the first drink. This was Left Hand Brewing 400 Pound Monkey, described as a balanced English Style pale ale. Of course with American 2 row barley, the ubiquitous crystal malt, plus Munich malt and wheat, it certainly wasn't. OK there were some English hops in it, but the whole impression was one of sweet imbalance. None of our party particularly liked it. Next up was Great Divide Espresso Yeti Oak Aged Imperial Stout, a whopper at 9.5%. This was rather good, though it needed a swirl or two to get rid of the carbonic bite. Roasty, coffee and alcohol in a complex and demanding brew. It was very tasty, though the proffered sixth of a pint sample was probably enough. Sierra Nevada Stout followed which was a large step down after the Yeti. At 5.7% it seemed dull in comparison, but slipped down well enough. The final beer, to "oohs and ahs" from the assembled crowd was Sierra Nevada Torpedo on cask. Assertively hoppy, rather smooth, but with some sweetness from the dreaded crystal malt, it delivered great gusts of Magnums, Cascades and Citra and was pretty well liked by all.

The bar was then raided, with various brews being passed around, though I quickly settled on a beer that was neither American nor kegged. Cask Magic Rock Dark Arts, a stout, did it for me, with loads of lovely roast, liquorice and hop flavours combining to make a drink that was too lusciously drinkable for a 6% beer.

So all in all a good experience. The American beers were all fine, though some more likeable than others. In small quantities, the high carbonation didn't matter and all were surprisingly fresh tasting.  Well done to Port St Beer House. It was a good do.


The festival is open to the public from today until all the beers have gone. And don't worry about the quality of the cask beers here. They are spot on.

Beer Styles 1994

Martyn Cornell was speaking about style the other day in his blog. Beer style that is. Now Martyn is a beer historian, which I am not, but I have been around a bit, so I thought I'd look up what we were talking about on the good old Usenet in 1994, which is as far back as the records go. Bloody Hell. It was beer styles.

Now most of us kind of regard the Americans as being a bit daft when it comes to style, but it wasn't always so. My mate Jon Binkley wrote a primer on beer styles this week in 1994. He listed the beer styles that were considered the main ones then. He also dealt head on with why styles matter. Importantly he gave a historical perspective. This is what he said.:

" Beer style definitions are not written in stone, and sometimes the exceptions are more interesting than the rules. However, there are situations where they are very useful, or even essential. For me, the importance of style classification has been to make sense of what was a very confusing world of obviously different beers. Serious beer culture in the United States was destroyed on 16 January, 1920, when the prohibition of alcohol became the law of the land. Although the law was repealed on 5 December in 1933, appreciation and production of diverse styles of beer is only now being rekindled in this country, and this is on a limited scale. I, like most Americans, had never seen or heard of, let alone tasted, anything other than the standard American light lager until I was well into my twenties. When my interest was first awakened, I was confronted by an incomprehensible array of labels and flavors. Well defined style classifications provided a comfortable base from which to explore the many complexities of the beer world. They continue to be the most convenient tools for intelligently discussing and comparing different beers.

Jon went on to list the main styles which were:

III: Styles of LAGER

III.A. BLONDE LAGER

III.A.1. BOHEMIAN PILSNER
III.A.2. GERMAN PILS
III.A.3. HELLES
III.A.4. EXPORT
III.A.5. NORTH EUROPEAN LAGER
III.A.6. NORTH AMERICAN LIGHT LAGER
III.A.7. CREAM ALE

III.B. AMBER LAGER

III.B.1. VIENNA LAGER
III.B.2. MAERZEN (Oktoberfest)

III.C. DARK LAGER

III.C.1. DUNKEL
III.C.2. BLACK LAGER

III.D. STRONG LAGER

III.D.1. BOCK
III.D.2. DOPPLEBOCK

III.E. SMOKED LAGER

III.F. CALIFORNIA COMMON BEER ("Steam Beer")

IV: Styles of ALE

IV.A. PALE/AMBER ALE

IV.A.1. BITTER
IV.A.2. ENGLISH PALE ALE
IV.A.3. INDIA PALE ALE
IV.A.4. SCOTTISH ALES
IV.A.5. IRISH ALE
IV.A.6. BELGIAN PALE ALES
IV.A.7. ALT BIER
IV.A.8. KOELSCH
IV.A.9. AMERICAN PALE ALE

IV.B. BROWN ALE

IV.B.1. MILD
IV.B.2. ENGLISH BROWN ALE
IV.B.3. FLEMISH BROWN ALE
IV.B.4. AMERICAN BROWN ALE

IV.C. BLACK ALE

IV.C.1. PORTER
IV.C.2. SWEET STOUT
IV.C.3. DRY STOUT

IV.D. STRONG ALE

IV.D.1. OLD ALE
IV.D.2. STRONG BELGIAN ALES
IV.D.3. IMPERIAL STOUT
IV.D.4. BARLEY WINE

IV.E. SPECIAL BELGIAN ALES

IV.E.1. TRAPPIST and ABBEY BEERS
IV.E.2. LAMBIC

IV.H. WHEAT BEERS

IV.H.1. BERLINER WEISSE
IV.H.2. BAVARIAN WEIZEN
IV.H.3. BELGIAN WIT BIER
IV.H.4. AMERICAN WHEAT ALE

It is interesting to note that so many of the "styles" now commonly in use such as double this or that, or even American IPA aren't listed. And that's only two notable examples. It is also interesting to Jon at least, that the development of written styles was, for him as an American, firmly rooted in the destruction of American brewing brought about by prohibition and the subsequent rise of micro brewing in the late 80's and early 90's. Out of little acorns, mighty oaks grow.

Beer has come a long way in a short time. Thus endeth my dip into history. For now.

The photo show Ancient Egyptians making a Double Imperial IPA.

Good Point Badly Made!

Picture the scene. I have driven back from Leeds and while shopping in Rochdale decide a pee is needed. I am passing Wetherspoon's giant Regal Moon, so I pop in. The necessary done, I think I might as well inspect the pumpclips. I see a couple of beers I fancy trying, so I wait at the bar while the two harassed staff in a fairly busy pub serve meals and make coffees. A few other anxious would be drinkers also wait in vain. The one nearest me is clearly agitated. He has left his three mates who are, shall we say, of a type often found in JDW. He clutches his empty John Smith's glass and glowers, banging a rolled up copy of the Daily Mirror on the bar for dramatic effect.

I am in luck and am served next, so I sip my beer quietly having lost interest in it all. The agitated guy though is still not served. A moment or so later, the manager emerges from the back, carefully avoiding looking at the customers. Agitated man shouts at top of voice "Oi you, you lazy c*nt! People want serving here". Everyone looks up now. This is getting interesting.

They obviously know each other and the manager warily approaches to be told that he shouldn't be "fucking farting around in the back while his fucking useless staff serve fucking coffees and meals. There are people in here who just want a fucking drink if they could get one". Much more shouting of a similar vein follows. He reminds me of Derek "Red Robbo" Robinson addressing a massed gathering of British Leyland Workers, though he'd probably have brandished the Morning Star. The manager waits until the tirade subsides somewhat and then asks Agitated Man "Do you want a drink now or not?" His shouted response and more invective brings a rejoinder of "well you're not getting one here now! When he is asked to leave he rants that he is being barred because they don't know how to run a pub. It's a point that quite probably, if differently expressed, would gain him a lot of support from those still unserved around him. His John Smith drinking chums though carry on supping and offer no solidarity whatever.

My two halves are excellent and contrasting. Lorimers Cask Lager from Caledonian is, unlike most of their beers, neither thin, nor overflowing with diacetyl. It is full bodied, with juicy malt and a nice hoppy edge from what I understand to be a mix of Strisselspalt*, Hallertau and Hersbrucker hops. It is very moreish indeed, even with the addition of wheat malt, not a traditional lager ingredient as far as I know. I can't have any more though - I'm driving. My second half, Phoenix Thirsty Moon is contrastingly bitter, with an American hop finish. As I am finishing my beer, Agitated Man and JDW Manager are outside discussing his case. A handshake is exchanged and a finger is wagged. It seems an apology has been offered and accepted. The noisy complainer comes back in, orders a pint of John Smith's and rejoins his chums. Peace reigns once more.

Agitated Man has made a few good points, but not in a way I'd necessarily recommend!

* A French aroma hop from Alsace

Budweiser Budvar next in InBev's Sights?

With its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch safely in the bag, one side effect may be that Budweiser Budvar may well become a target for the world's biggest brewing company. InBev inherits more than 100 legal disputes, mostly over versions of the Budweiser trademark, in more than 30 jurisdictions around the globe. Batting for the other side is Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar, which has Bud and Budweiser brand trademarks registered in 28 European and 37 non-European countries. Anheuser sells Budweiser in 16 countries and the Bud brand in 15.*

Anheuser and Budvar have fought for solo control of the Budweiser brand for a century, though with more ferocity in the past decade as Budvar’s exports have increased. One way out for InBev would be to buy Budvar. That could cost more than $2 billion, the price being high due to the value of the Czech brewer’s Budweiser trademarks. The Czech government is preparing to sell Budvar before its term of office ends in 2010.

The Wall Street Journal says "When asked if AB-InBev would like to acquire Budvar and its trademarks, InBev spokeswoman Gwendoline Ornigg said: “Timing for [acquiring Budvar’s Budweiser trademarks] has to do with the Czech government, however, and its plans for privatising Budvar. We have great respect for their brand and would like to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”
We can see the way that one is heading I reckon.

* Source - Wall St Journal

Game On!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that it looked like InBev of Stella fame would make a bid for Anheuser-Busch the American number one, thus creating the world's biggest brewer by far. Well it's happened. The Budweiser brewer admitted it had received a bid of $65 a share yesterday from Inbev. The $46 billion offer represents a 35% premium on the 30-day average share price and an 18% premium on its all-time high share price, recorded in October 2002.*

This, in other words, is a mighty, powerful and possibly knock out bid. Watch this space.

* Full story in the Morning Advertiser here

The 590 and Hebden Bridge

Despite the local council's attempts to isolate Rochdale from the rest of the UK (not a bad idea some of you may think) by digging up every major roundabout at once, we (me and Eileen) set out for Hebden Bridge to attend the Fox and Goose Inn's beer festival. We nearly missed the hourly 590 service due to aforementioned road works, but arrived breathless and just in time from our delayed bus from Middleton. We were due to meet our friends from our local there, but we were alone as we set off, to arrive just a few minutes late at the Fox and Grapes pub. We were soon joined by the others, some of who came on the train and the rest by the next bus having fallen foul of the traffic delays.

The Fox and Grapes is a very small pub indeed and smells strongly of damp. It was fairly busy when we got there and became more so, with a good mix of types. There was a reasonably good selection on a mixture of gravity and handpump. We made a bit of a mistake in starting with Oakham Bishop's Farewell, as it set a standard that no other beer reached. Eileen (wisely) stuck with that but I did try Triple FFF Moondance which was OK, Orkney Dark Island which was fine, before moving on to Thornbridge IPA which didn't disappoint. Beers were all a fair £2.40 a pint whatever the strength. I don't have any contemporary pictures of this event though, as my mobile phone is at T Mobile being mended and my camera had a flat battery. Ho Hum.

Later we decamped to Hebden Bridge where, in the White Lion, I enjoyed a very good pint of dry and bitter Phoenix May Fly and later joining the rest of them in the White Swan for my first pint of Hoegaarden in a couple of years. It was aromatic and refreshing. I neatly handed the pub bore who had affixed himself to my ear on to Stan, by the trick of including him in the "conversation" (and then stepping out of it) for which Stan thanked me later. Then back on the 590 to Todmorden and the Mason's Arms. This is a Skipton Brewery House and Golden Pippin was the quarry. Alas it was not on form, but pints of 1860 and Best Bitter were just fine and saw us through to the 590 home.

This is a good day out and we'll do it again, but not at a weekend. The traffic situation is just too frustrating!

Top Ten American Craft Brewers

Just thought this might interest the American beer fans amongst you. The top Yankee 10, based on beer sales volumes (2007) are:

1 Boston Beer Co.
2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc.
4 Spoetzl Brewery
5 Pyramid Breweries Inc.
6 Matt Brewing Co.
7 Deschutes Brewery, Inc.
8 Boulevard Brewing Co.
9 Full Sail Brewing Co.
10 Harpoon Brewery

Now of course most of these aren't small by UK standards as a craft brewery in the US is defined as producing less than 2 million US barrels. At 1.45 million UK barrels, that's quite big! We don't see enough of some of these breweries over here and as they are so big, how about it boys? While the breweries maybe get more interesting below the top ten, there is still some good stuff to go at and its all in these dinky little bottles too!

The top ten overall is interesting too:

1 Anheuser- Busch Inc.
2 Miller Brewing Co.
3 Coors Brewing Co.
4 Pabst Brewing Co.
5 Boston Beer Co.
6 D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc.
7 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
8 New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc.
9 High Falls Brewing Co.
10 Spoetzl Brewery

The big boys still lead of course, but the American Beer Market is getting quite diverse, at least for those who wish to seek something different, which regrettably, most don't.