Inconvenient Truths

It is always instructive when a spat occurs in blogs, in which diametrically opposite views are aired. We have seen it over craft, over CAMRA, over sparklers (I must do another post on them soon - I need the ratings) and many other diverse subjects. Most of these sort of stick to the point and there is very little by way of personal insult, though, not always, as there are passionate points of view being aired  - sometimes by thin skinned and intemperate people. But on the whole it is all done in the best possible taste, though you'd have to be a pretty dumb cluck not to realise that under all the bonhomie, there is a lot that divides us in the so called "unifying world of of beer."

So back to the spat. No avoiding of personal insults here. This starts out as a blogged rebuttal by Melissa Cole about something unkind that our old friends BrewDog said about British Brewing being "closed and unfriendly". This seems to have annoyed Melissa more than a bit and she goes on to rebut this point of view in strong terms. Now you might think she'd just sigh and ignore it wouldn't you? But I bet she feels about her friends in the brewing industry, the way I feel about mine in CAMRA. When you see your friends attacked in a way you see as unfair,  you want to jump in on their side . I empathise with her in that respect, though recognising, like in CAMRA, everything in the British Beer Industry is far from perfect.  That does need to be said, though it would be far better perhaps, if it was said by others and not our bumptious friends from the North.

Like every good pub brawl, others start jumping in. It's worth a read, so I won't go too far in spoiling your fun, but it does seem to this writer at least, that far from being the confident know-alls that they portray, BrewDog are, underneath it all just a teeny bit insecure. They secretly want to be part of it all, but having burned their boats, they can't be, so just go around burning other peoples boats too. You see, to get help and to be liked, you have to be nice to other people - at least some of the time. I doubt that the lack of respect that they have shown to most British Beer makers, with the exception of a chosen few, has exactly endeared them, but they can hardly complain that having alienated everyone, that nobody likes them can they?

The British Brewing Industry is a broad church. It covers a lot of ground and the so-called "the liquid cardboard" produced by most, is the drink favoured by the majority of their customers, otherwise they wouldn't buy it surely?  It is also somewhat of an inconvenient truth.  Nonetheless, I too believe that there needs to be change. When talking about how  CAMRA should face the future with one National Executive member, I was struck by the observation that "CAMRA needs to be bolder. It needs to take a few risks."  I agree with that wholeheartedly.  The thing about all this is that there is more than a grain of truth behind the BrewDog assertion about the staidness of British brewing and yes, CAMRA has played a part in this. On the other hand, from my knowledge of brewers, there is little accuracy in comments about their "niceness."  They are unfailingly nice when you meet them. On that subject, BrewDog's own fallibility is pretty well proven too, but on the plus side, they do have a go at the different, even if they are wrong headed at times in not only what they do, but the way they go about it.

BrewDog talk about being "exciting and cool"  - though bumming about Ratebeer is neither.  They also overlook that there is a fine line between being cool and being naff.  Now I'm all for the "excitement "bit and  "cool"  is a part of their image and as mostly generationally inspired,  can be overlooked, but one thing is true.  As well as the "liquid cardboard", boldness and some more risk taking from a lot of British Brewing would not go amiss.

Does brewing fortune favour the bold? Is this another inconvenient truth?


Does anyone not think that as BrewDog gets bigger, they will fall into the same conventional trap as all bigger companies and compromise? Does anyone not think the gruesome twosome will not cash in sometime in the future?

In a Far Away World

I am continuing to look back with some fondness to my starring days on rfdb, the Yankee led newsgroup which I contributed to for many years.

In this month in 1999 I was looking forward to the American beers at GBBF (I am this year too. 1999 wasn't the first year I'd worked at GBBF, but was when I started my relationship with BSF, which continues to this day.) In 2000 there was rather a long thread on the same subject and a meet up to taste American Porters. In 2001, I did tasting notes (rather better ones) on Victory Prima Pils, Victory Hop Devil and Great Lakes Brewing Burning River Pale Ale. I was also planning a trip to Snoqualmie Falls Brewing and one to see Mike McG who was brewing at Zero Degrees in Blackheath. We also discussed some remarks by Michael Jackson on British Brewing, given in a television interview.

Michael's comments are worth reading and probably as relevant today, Or are they?

“ Having worked as a producer, as well as a presenter and guest, over

several decades, I presumed to give her some advice- - especially, to be aware that, just as she was getting into her stride, the item would be over.

She did well. Pity about me. The four-minute discussion, with we two guests and the usual male and female duo as presenters, quickly moved away from the ads.

"What can the British ale brewers do to fight back against international brands?" asked presenter Jeremy Bowen. "Be like the Americans: proud of their products and shouting it from the rooftops," I replied. [Even veterans of live tv get a rush of blood to the head in those hasty minutes. I am summarising my memories; there is no transcript]. "It isn't always easy to find a good pint in Britain," Bowen observed. "For a truly hoppy one, I go to America," I announced, realising a second later that I had just offended all my buddies in British breweries. Just to compound the insult, I added that British brewers had their heads in the sand. I had hoped to provoke a lively discussion but, just as I was getting into my stride, the item was over.

The brewers with their heads in the sand do not attend the Great British Beer Festival, which opened that afternoon. Those who did attend spent a great deal of time trying to bash my head -- and body -- through the floor.”

Now I have rediscovered this valuable archive, I might just bore you again.

Mid Atlantic Pale Ales

I have mentioned Steel City Brewing here before and noted from reading their website that they are shortly to get their own brewing licence from HMRC. Good for them. Bring some to a pub near me soon, because they are good. I note too that Gazza Prescott, one of the owners and beer hunter extraordinaire, has written an article on what he calls a new beer style, Mid Atlantic Pale Ale. This can roughly be described as very pale and very hoppy. Now I haven't asked Gazza about writing this article and heedful of his warnings about copying things from his website, I won't quote as such. Instead I'll just say that I agree with almost everything he says and urge you all to read it. His web site isn't a blog, so you can't comment there.

This is though a "revolution" that we have known about and written about in the North for quite some time and my own view is that it is now spreading and will continue to gain momentum. Gazza gives a list of breweries and beers too, just to get you in the groove and illustrate his point. When you read it, you'll be nodding and think "Yep, good brewery". Needless to say Gazza's money is where his mouth is. His beers are hoppy as hell. Another point of his I'd agree with from my own American experiences, is that of crystal malt ruining otherwise great beers and also his belief that here in the UK, slowly but surely, brown, caramel bombs are being pushed aside in the better pubs at least. I go along with his contention too, that this new style is virtually unique (I know, I know) to the British Isles.

I will add an observation or two of my own though and both of them are in the form of concerns. Too many British brewers, big and small, are still churning out the same old "toffee malt" laden cack and they ignore this new trend at their peril. Many small brewers have dismissed or disregarded the pale revolution, which has been around for a few years now and have done so at the expense of their own sales and future prospects, competing with the same kind of beers that the big boys churn out, while those like Phoenix and Pictish have forged ahead, selling all they can brew. Unlike American brewers who usually have wide portfolios of styles, too many of ours are one trick ponies and too many are stuck in the mud. Secondly, our largest independent brewers are so timid in hopping, that you sometimes wonder if they just show the casks a photo of a hop on the racking line. They need to look around them or be left behind. Just look at the success of Jaipur IPA if you doubt it.

Lastly, I'm not saying that there isn't a place for balance and for darker malts, but what I am saying is that some of the fundamentals are shifting, bringing a wind of change that can no longer be ignored.

You might find it difficult to find the article, but go to "Blog" date 26/05/2010 and click "here."

Woods and Trees

I was struck by something Mark Dredge said in his blog the other day and I've been thinking about it off and on since. It was a throwaway line in a discussion about beer glass sizes and I think it reflects something that I am rapidly becoming aware of and which dominates the thinking of the new wave of younger bloggers. It was mentioned as a "given", a statement of fact. The line was this: "The nature of British beer is evolving and I think the vessels it is served in needs to evolve too." The question that arises in my mind is "How true is that statement?" No, not the one about different glass sizes, but the first part about the nature of British beer evolving. In what way is it evolving, if it is to any great extent?

I guess those that think there is a sea change, would put forward Thornbridge and Brew Dog as evidence that a different, more innovative (that word again) way of doing things is emerging - evolving perhaps?. Brew Dog is certainly a case in point, though I'd venture Thornbridge are in Brew Dog terms a little more conventional, while in overall terms, still nudging the more adventurous end of the spectrum. What about Marble, Outstanding or Pictish? Maybe Steel City or Mallinsons? There may be backers for a small number of others, but after that you start to struggle a bit. In numerical terms and even in influence, the evidence just isn't really there. Most of the brewers I mention are conventional enough. They are just lots better at making good beer and it is usually that which makes them stand out.

"Aha" say you, "what about all these lovely strong bottled beers that are emerging?" Nothing new there I'm afraid. It is the return to bottling that has brought these stronger beers back, not an evolution or revolution in brewing. The rush to home drinking has recreated a market that always existed, but in a slightly different form. Once all breweries produced a barley wine and a strong or old beer, in recent times, usually as a chaser to more standard strength beers. Christmas versions weren't uncommon either. Change the name from Blogg's Old to Blogg's Imperial Stout, bump up the abv and you've still only tweaked and renamed a strong beer, not created an evolutionary brewing step. Perception may be changing for some (more of that later), but it isn't really new.

So how could this this evolving British beer scene be defined? The biggest change in British brewing in recent years (apart from hundreds of samey micros of course) has arguably been the emergence of "golden ales" and with them, the more generous use of hops, as well as the increasing use of foreign hop varieties. To a limited extent too there is a resurgence in strong dark beers, though the quality of some of these are doubtful. (You can hide brewing faults and recipe disasters much easier in a dark beer and then sit back and smirk as the geeks call it complex or challenging.) Nonetheless those do provide welcome variety, but they are far from new in either concept or actuality. Of course if you read Ron Pattinson's blog, you will know that in so many ways, beers like Imperial Stouts, are recreations of a lost brewing world; not innovation or evolution, but an adapted reclaim of the past; a lot of it too from within living memory. Those who try to be a little different, aren't doing much more than exploiting a niche, but a niche is what it is. What is different though is an expanded take home market, though that is still firmly mired in cheap lager. To make the evolution (if it exists) more firmly verifiable, that would have to change seismically too. Given the actual rarity in percentage terms and lack of general availability of these "new" beers, it won't be any time soon.

So is British beer evolving to the extent that some claim, nay, assume? I rather doubt it. Too many seem to be looking at the British beer scene through the wrong end of the telescope, charmed and enchanted by what seems to be new and exciting. Drinking strange new beers matured in odd barrels, visiting progressive free houses and beer festivals can result in extrapolating that atypical experience and the enthusiasm it generates into something it probably isn't. We should welcome the new niches that are being created (or rediscovered), but it shouldn't blind us to reality. Enthusiasm and bonhomie are marvellous. They can propel us forward. A shared outlook, buoyed up by beer, while infectious and enjoyable, can however mislead and cause feet to be less firmly placed on the ground than otherwise they might be. Though niches will certainly expand, British brewing remains solidly middle of the road and it is likely to continue that way for a long time to come.

This just scratches the surface of what is likely to be a very deep mine. Views welcome of course.

The bottles in the photo are all over 20 years old to illustrate my point.