Not Pubs - Bars

I don't think Manchester is unique in having a fairly large number of trendy bars that aren't, in the traditional sense at least, pubs, but it is surely unusual on having large concentrations of them in two distinct and compact areas, Chorlton and in town, the Northern Quarter.  What I'd venture is even more unusual, is that almost all of them sell cask ale and good cask ale at that. So, on Saturday, with my oldest friend Mike, we tried a few and didn't go to a single pub as such.  And did we get good beer?  You bet we did.  Admittedly, none of it was cheap, but hey, that's Manchester for you.  It is rapidly becoming in some places at least, as expensive as London, but at least the beer is well conditioned, at the correct temperature and (usually) sparkled. 

We started off in Odd, which is part of  a well thought of chain, though this branch seemed determined to buck the trend.  Two beers from Privateer - yet another new Manchester brewery - a blonde and a brown one.  Pints of the blonde were procured and found to be vinegar.  Not good.  The brown one was okay, but warm.  Neither were sparkled with an explanation (by the manager I assume) that the barstaff couldn't get the hang of them and kept losing them, so they gave up.  Really?  Get better bar staff then, or someone who knows how to train them.

Things looked up after that in the fairly new Pie and Ale, with perfect but pricey (£3.60) Wilson Potter Tandle Hill.  So impressed was Mike that we had to have another.  It's one of my favourite beers, so no hardship there.  This is a very modern (and a bit soulless) bar concentrating on good beers and pie and mash. They keep the beer very well, so no complaints at all and the barman was a friendly enough sort.  It's a short walk thence to Port St Beer House and again excellent service abounded with advice (decent) and tasters offered.  We picked Caveman Palaeolithic and while it had some interesting and unidentifiable flavours, it wasn't bad at all.

Another skip round the corner took us to the excellent Soup Kitchen, a semi basement den, with the highest bar stools I've ever come across.  Men should be particularly careful in both ascending and descending, lest they ruin future chances. It was pleasantly busy with studenty types scoffing vegetable forward options.  Stout was the order of the day, from Liverpool Organic and damn fine it was too.   Heading back to Victoria Station to be handy for Mike's train, we popped into Common, a sister to PSBH and in an incredibly busy and vibrant bar, I was rewarded by Weird Beard Black Perle, a Milk Coffee Stout.  Now coffee stouts aren't my favourite thing, but this was well balanced and not over coffeed and went down a treat.  Cask conditioned and sparkled since you ask.

One last call.  Across the road from Common is Terrace, a long, bare brick bar with a youngish crowd.  There we finished off with Overtime from Six O'Clock Beer Company and finally, as us old men staggered off for a night snoring on the settee, Magic Rock Carnival.

The striking thing was that apart from our first place, we didn't get a bad beer, they were all thrivingly busy and it was good to see most bars supporting new local breweries.  Pubs are great, but good bars aren't bad either.

There was of course craft keg, but having laid out the route, someone else can have a pricey bash at that.

Difference of Opinion

I sometimes, despite protests, get sent bottles of beer to try.  I do give them a go, but as I rarely drink at home, it usually takes me a while to get round to them.

Friday was a lovely warm night, so I dug out two bottles. One, St Peter's English Lager, had been in my fridge for a few months, the other, Brilliant Ale from Shepherd Neame for only a week or so. I do confess though that I did drink one of the two bottles of St Peter's Lager when it was sent and thought it pleasant enough, but somewhat ale like.  A little like those hybrid "lagers" - really more like Koelsch I suppose -  that family brewers used to pass off as the real thing. Think Amboss, Edelbrau, Stein, Einhorn, Holtenbrau etc.

We shared the bottles in the sense that I had one and E the other. We didn't split them, though we each tasted both.  I still thought the St Peter's rather ale like, but E liked it well enough.  My Brilliant Ale was a perfect summer beer.  Light, spritzy, slightly dry and just the thing to watch the sun go down on a beautiful summer at dusk and it would had been even better if I'd had it when the sun was higher and I'd maybe had a couple more to wash down the one I'd had.

E thought it OK but preferred the St Peter's.  That's beer for you.

Thanks to both breweries for sending the samples.  Brilliant Ale (5.6%) is brewed to a recreated recipe from sometime between 1825 and 1855, with the original East Kent Goldings being replaced by Cascades. St Peter's Lager (5.2%) has a classic combination of Hallertau and Styrian Goldings

Getting Tanked Up

There has been a bit of talk recently about a new fad about to hit the UK.  Well hit some of the trendy, hipsterish parts thereof.  The fad is tank beer.  Now us older chaps can well remember awful tank beer in the seventies and eighties.  It was dire, tasteless, ice cold and probably made with floor sweepings.  It wasn't generally pasteurised and arrived on the back of very odd looking tanker/drays to be pumped into Grundy tanks in pub cellars.   These inexpensive, mass produced tanks, were produced in the 60's and 70's for directly dispensing carbonated beer from pub cellars.  On removal, as the cask conditioned revolution displaced them, they were snapped up by the nascent and burgeoning micro brewing sector as cheap, ready made, fermentation and conditioning/bright beer vessels. Might still be in use here and there still.

I read that Meantime are to the fore in this and you know, when it comes to their keg beers, they might be on to something in terms of freshness.  One place that has been  re-introducing tank beer for some time is the Czech Republic and I remember well on my previous visit around five years ago, legging round to sample the beer in the few places that sold it.  Fast forward five years and the craze has spread, if not like wildfire, at a steady pace.  Tankovna pubs sell beer from stainless steel tanks that hold ten hectolitres of brew held in a plastic envelope within. and steadily held at between 8 and 10ºC.  Beer is pushed out of the tank by air pressure, not in contact with the beer, which tastes remarkably and noticeably fresher, more rounded and tastier.

On my recent visit, we were fortunate to be within a three minute walk of one of the newest and finest outlets for Pilsner Urquell Tankovna beer. Lokal is a large, narrow beer hall, with a small bar at the front and two very long and large rooms behind, the furthest of which is mercifully no smoking.  The beer is remarkably good, with a rounded mouthfeel, medium carbonation, good hopping and is very moreish.  Lokal is mainly a Czech haunt and the beer is brought to you, without asking, as your glass empties, with the beers being marked off on a card covered in printed tankards.  When you have had enough, you simply decline and your bill will be totted up by the somewhat gruff but efficient waitresses.

Should you fancy the Budvar version, a good place to try it is U Medvídků where I first tried it years ago and where we lunched one day.  To me though, and I'm surprised to say it, the PU version was better.  You can also with ease seek out Krušovice, Gambrinus and Staropramen versions for comparison's sake, though you might want to avoid the Gambrinus one in the Old Town (pictured) where, to say the least,  some assiduity could be applied to measure.  Well short in other words.

So.  Tank beer making a comeback?  May not be a bad thing if done correctly.



The great thing about all these places is being able to view the tanks in situ. They are actually rather lovely, though a bit like Thomas the Tank Engine.

Stout Fellows

Like all non brewers that have been in and around beer for a long time, I have visited countless breweries and had the process explained to me a thousand times.  I often feel when in a new brewery (to me), that apart from the history and background, I could fairly easily conduct the tour myself.  But I've never been involved in a brew from beginning to end, though I've seen more or less every bit of it in segmented form.

Thus I leapt at the chance to do an end to end brew with Allgates of Wigan and the additional chance to input to a recipe that we'd brew.  The "we" in this case was fellow bloggers Tyson the Beer Hound and Jim from Beers of Manchester, along with brewer Jonathan Provost and co-owner, David Mayhall.  We assembled at the brewery last Saturday in glorious sunshine, with a pre-agreement that we'd brew an oatmeal stout of around 4.8% and it would have some hops in. Lots of hops.  We started with a brew of course - tea - and without much further ado, yours truly was dumping sack after sack of malt into the hopper.  We'd agreed on the grist which was 175kg of Maris Otter Pale Malt, 10kgs each of roasted barley and chocolate malt, 25kgs of malted oats and 8kgs of torrified wheat to help with head retention.  I was glad that my plea to replace the intended crystal malt (boo) with roasted barley had been accepted. I wanted this beer to be pretty damn dark and no stout is a true stout without a good glug of roasted barley in my opinion at least.

Now Jim, swot that he is, has detailed what we did in his blog, so I won't repeat it.  You can also read Tyson's account here. It was hard work interspersed for us at least, with glasses of excellent Allgates beer, a picnic lunch and of course, as always when with beery types, the most friendly and cheery of conversation as anecdotes were swapped, theories expounded and tales told.  Much shovelling of spent grains, carting of heavy sacks and general cleaning up ensued and all too soon we were adding the yeast and the brew was in FV1 and beginning its transformation into what we hope will be a fantastic stout.  Bittered with Warrior and Galena hops and with aroma coming from Amarillo and Ahtanum and finally a good sized dash of  Nelson Sauvin we have high hopes of an excellent hop profile. We are aiming at 55 IBU.

David surprised us all by a very kind offer of a nine of the finished beer for each of us, to be sold at the pub of our choice for a charitable donation by the pub.  That is tremendously generous of him and once again re-inforces that those in the brewing industry are princes amongst men. When I have sorted out destination and charity, I'll announce here where it will be sold and when as no doubt the others will too.  The name of the beer has now been agreed and in accordance with Allgates practice will be named after a defunct colliery in the area, so a big "hello" to Quaker House Oatmeal Stout.

Saturday really was a fantastic day out, with great people.  Thanks to owner David and Head Brewer Jonathan  for their hospitality, expertise and friendship.  We really couldn't have done it without you.

We were also meant to be joined by Jay Krause of Quantum, but regrettably he was unwell.  Hope you are better now Jay. Phtos show my fellow bloggers Tyson and Jim and of course the stout, straight out of the copper.  Looks great already!

Where Did All the Money Go?

Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 2390

The Supply of Beer (Tied Estate) Order 1989

You will know if you read this blog that I'm not a fan of the big pub companies. I don't like the way they have morphed what was a debt free industry, into one that is mortgaged up to the hilt and that to pay for this they squeeze the life out of those daft enough to work for them. Of course the banks - it always comes back to them - aren't blameless here in allowing such debt to build up. And no. I'm not convinced by siren voices that say as long as you can service that debt, then what's the problem? I read then with no surprise that CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale has revealed that the majority of publicans tied to the big pub companies earn less than the minimum wage.

 " A representative sample of over 600 licensees were interviewed by research firm CGA Strategy, with the results showing that licensees tied to the big pub companies are substantially worse off than free of tie lessees. A shocking 60% of licensees tied to the big pub companies earn less than £10,000 a year. This compares to only 25% of free of tie lessees who earn less than £10,000 a year. The other end of the earnings scale also shows a stark difference in earnings, with just one in a hundred tied pub licensees earning over £45,000, as opposed to one in five who run free of tie pubs."

The government intends that the PubCos, having failed to put their own house in order, start to play fair with their tied tenants (by regulation), though of course they are resisting it as much as possible.  They talk about the the low start up costs, the support they give etc. etc. etc.  Just think how much support they could give to all their tenants as well as their own shareholders who have seen their asset value fall as debt soared,  if they didn't owe so much money in the first place.

At the time of the Beer Orders, there were very few pubcos as they would be recognised today. Pubcos were created from the disposal of the national brewers' public house operations following the implementation of the Orders. Concentration in public house ownership increased through merger and acquisition activity in the 1990s, until by 2000 the first of the 'large' pubcos, Enterprise, appeared with an estate of 1,500 public houses.[14] The rate of concentration has accelerated since 2003 with the acquisition by Punch of the Pubmaster estate (3,000 public houses) and the InnSpired estate (1,100 public houses), and the acquisition of the Unique estate (4,100 public houses) by Enterprise.  Source: Select Committee on Trade and Industry Second Report

Worse is that the money was taken out of the industry in the form of loan after loan to needlessly set up these miserable giants by a succession of takeovers as illustrated above.  The Beer Orders was an idea in theory that was good, but was too easily subverted by the then large breweries, all of which of course, have more or less disappeared up their own backsides long ago, taking even more money with them, while the government, having seen its own intent undermined sat back and did nothing.  It has been a sad  and sorry tale.

Going back to licensees, the Morning Advertiser reckons their wage equates to around £3.21 an hour given the hours that licensees work.

I suppose you can see why a lot of them are so surly.  While it doesn't help their case, they have much to be surly about.

The MA has their take on the story here. It ties in well with my comments on Monday about pubs. The CAMRA story is here.

Simon H Johnson

I was in Prague when I heard the terrible news that Simon had died.  It was a shock.  It always is when someone you know goes and getting older as I am, it happens with monotonous regularity. But Simon wasn't old and that makes it worse in so many ways.  We all know that I think. 

A couple of years ago, Simon sent me a message.  He was coming to Manchester and would I meet him and show him round?   I intended only to stay for a little while, but of course that lasted a lot longer than planned and I tottered off home while Simon, heading for the station, thought he'd check out the Port St Beer House.  Or did I go with him?  You see what I mean?

I last saw him by arrangement a summer ago, in the Euston Tap, but this time I was saved by my train.  He was good company as so many say and hard to get away from in the best possible way.  His infectious enthusiasm will be missed, as will his lack of pretension about beer, though maybe the merkin won't be!  He was indeed a reluctant scooper, but in his own way, he was one nonetheless, but he never forgot that beer is best when enjoyed in good company, rather than as a status symbol or a notch on the bar.

He (somewhat surprisingly) sent me a direct tweet last year asking me if he could have an opinion from me about whether he was "being an arse" over something or other. I agreed of course, but then he then later said there was no need.  I have no idea what is was and now never will. It was a bit of an odd incident, but there you go. I am glad he asked me, even if it came to nothing.

He was a good lad and you can't say fairer than that.  He'll be missed.

I don't half look a tit in these socks. Hope he's grinning about that somewhere.

You Can't Sit There

A few weeks ago in London, in Craft Islington to be precise, a few of us encountered that most annoying and anti social of things in a public house.  There, in the middle of the afternoon, in a fairly quiet pub - well it was until we arrived - was a sign on a table -  more than one table in fact - "Reserved" it said.

Now I can understand it a bit.  Well just about if it was a gastropub where drinkers are a bloody nuisance, but this is a wet led beer emporium.  Food there is scotch eggs and exotic cold pies. As it happened there was lots of other tables, so it didn't matter.  The sign did though sensibly say that it was reserved from a certain time and that customers could feel free to use it up until that time, but it warned, ominously, that the chairs were part of the reservation.  No nicking them then!   I suppose it is a sign of the times and how middle class pub going in some places has become and is in this case a reflection of just that, as well as time and place. I'm guessing Craft Islington gets busy with hipsters of a Saturday night.  Still seems wrong to me though.  A pub is first come first served in my book.

And so to Prague.  Following up Mr Dredge's recommendation we hoofed out to Restaurace Kulovy Blesk.  It wasn't that hard to find once we'd nicked a wifi signal from Starbucks and as Mark mentioned to me, an unusual place.  The outside beer garden was empty and the bar abandoned, but we went on downstairs to find a neat little old fashioned bar.  We looked around. It was empty, though a barman leapt out from nowhere and ushered us into and through a second room, empty again apart from from two Czech guys talking gloomily over a beer.  All tables except theirs had reserved signs on them.  We were taken into another room with two more beer scoffing denizens.  It wasn't big.  Maybe six tables.  All except one had a reserved sign on it.  E remarked (no English was spoken) that this table for two must be our destination and headed to it. With incredible fleetness of foot, our guide headed her off at the pass and with a triumphant flourish, furnished the only unreserved table with a reserved sign.

Now I could say Dear Reader that I knocked him out at this point and he may be lying there still, but with great forbearance, I didn't.  He turned and went to a closed door.  It was a further small room, with about four tables.  You are ahead of me now aren't you?  All had reserved signs on them, but one tiny table by the door was indicated and the sign removed.  We'd made it.

As Dredgie says, the beers were good and interesting:  Matuška Raptor, Kocour Sumeček, and lagers from Chotiviny and Konrad.  We stayed for a hour and a half, along with the other guys. Well they were there.  The waiter/barman having dealt with the reserved situation to his complete satisfaction, was very pleasant and if the till receipt is to believed, was called Veronika.
 
Nobody else came in the whole time we were there.

We also took up Mr D's other suggestion of Nota Bene, where we ate. Modern, pleasant, good beer, no oddball behaviour. That was the only disappointment.  The bar had been set high by Kulovy Blesk. Both were blessedly non smoking.

It's Not (Just) the Price

What puts you off getting yourself down the pub?  "The price of drinks"  I hear you cry as one. "Why pay more when I can get jolly well sloshed at home for a mere fraction of the cost?"   That's the standard thinking is it not? Well you'd be wrong.  It seems it isn't four quid plus a pint that is putting many of us off, but according to a recent Mintel report, it's the shitty bogs.

Well not just the shitty bogs, although 53% of people questioned moan about that, but funnily enough, customers actually do care about some of the things I've been banging on about since God was a boy.  People (47%) cite "poor customer service" as one of the main reasons not to go to a pub, along with the unwelcoming atmosphere(44%).  It isn't a neutral thing how you treat people.  They really do notice. We can't forget high prices though.  A not inconsiderable 35% thought high drink prices a deterrent, along with  24% feeling the cost of grub is too high - but the point is that it isn't what they care about most.

Now aren't these astonishing figures?  It seems that nearly half of people interviewed find that poor service and welcomes deter them from going to the pub.   Equally amazingly, 85% of respondents did not cite distance as a factor in going to the pub. In other words, people will travel to a good pub as it fulfils their expectation of what a pub should be like and presumably they enjoy themselves when they get there. Maybe some should ponder that when they look at their empty pubs?

It really is time that pubs sorted this aspect out.  Can there really be an excuse for poor welcomes, bad service and dirty toilets?  None of these things should really cost too much put right.  Failure to so so is a massive own goal. When we hear publicans moan about prices and PubCos (usually in the same breath) and demands for level playing fields, it seems, that the answer in part at least, is in their own gift according to their customers.   I've said it before and will say it again.  Put your own house in order first.  Lead by example and demand that your staff are attentive and responsive. Ensure they say "hello" and "goodbye".  The odd "thank you" wouldn't go amiss either.  Oh and don't forget to clean the toilets. It seems your (potential) customers really do notice these things and when they don't meet expectations, they vote with their feet.

To sum up.  It's the offer Stupid!  Forget that at your peril.  The future belongs to pubs that really do make it worthwhile to go there.

The Morning Advertiser has the details here - without my rant.

Prague

It's five years since I've been to Prague and I dare say things have changed.  I'm off there on Monday for a few days with some of my more cultured friends.  They'll be seeking out classical music and museums and while I'm not agin either, I'll be looking for a decent glass or two.

Now I know some of the usual suspects - sorry highly recommended pubs - and know too that IPAs and God knows what else will abound, which should really interesting,  but I'd like some really good lager too, so I need some more specific advice as follows, if my readers would be so kind:



Where does a decent selection of (non PU and Budvar) lager exists and what should I drink there?

Where can we go for decent beer and food where we won't be smoked out?

Which pubs - even really good ones - are the most smoky and should be avoided on that basis?

What's the best around in the area of Rybna, Praha 1?

Can anyone help?  I'd really be most grateful

I also found 700 Kč in notes in my house.  Hope they haven't changed the currency. Should buy a few beers

Nothing Wrong With It?

After a busy weekend in London, we wound down with a long walk on Bank Holiday Monday and for me, a determination that my last few pints of the weekend would be guaranteed to be good ones.  Thus it was that we headed over Waterloo Bridge and into Maiden Lane for some non cask stout at the Porterhouse Brewing Company.  As always I ordered Wrasslers 4X and as always the uncompromising bitterness delighted.  We sat outside watching disappointed antipodeans gazing forlornly into the closed Australian.New Zealand/ South African shop opposite, with me wondering as I always do, whether I shouldn't have had a pint of Plain Porter first,  but deciding the step down in flavour and gravity would be unwise. E wasn't nagged by any such doubts, sticking happily with Oyster Stout.

The RV1 bus leaves from just around the corner and goes, via Tower Bridge to Tower Gateway, a mere cockstride from our flat.  Temptingly, it passes very near to several well known craft outlets and we nipped in to one and despite my promises to myself, I ordered cask, which was a bit warm and tired.  "Listen to yourself " I said grimly, but letting myself off, as the search for top quality cask in London is usually experienced best in hope rather than expectation. E smugly said her (bloody expensive) Kernel was rather good.

Not wishing to be caught out twice, keg was acquired in the next and last pub.  It was from Camden and was Pale.  Nice enough, but not a patch on their late, lamented, cask Inner City Green .  E had a half of Paulaner and as we sat outside people watching, she took her first sip and grimaced.  "This is off" she said.  I looked at it.  It was a touch cloudy and smelt stale and cidery.  It certainly tasted awful. Hmm. I took it back. The barman expressed surprise, poured himself a little and said "It's fine - that's how it's meant to taste, but I'll change it if you want."  Now this of course implies that the customer is wrong, but in a nicer way.  I asked him if he was sure that it was Paulaner Helles and was advised it was.  "So that's meant to be cloudy and taste cidery?" He looked nonplussed. A colleague was called who confirmed it was fine and I was given a half of something else.

From our vantage point at the door, I could see we'd generated a discussion among the bar staff.  When I went in for a refill, the original barman said "I think you might be right about that beer - we've taken it off."  What I do wonder though is how many other poor sods had had off beer and said nothing and how it came to be off without anyone knowing.  Don't they taste all the beers first?  It isn't the first time I've had imported keg beer which has tasted stale. Is this common?  It is certainly a dear do to buy in the first place and even worse when it isn't right. It also makes me wonder about some of the folks behind the bar in some of these destination craft places.  Do they really know what they are talking about?

At least Sam Smith's Pure Brewed Lager doesn't suffer from staleness. I'll be mostly sticking to that in summer visits to the capital. Damn sight cheaper too.

Yes this is another London moan.  I'll happily (unhappily) moan about bad beer anywhere though.

Even More Trouble Brewing

Following my post yesterday, in which I hinted that more news might be forthcoming, it seems that all brewing will be suspended (cease) at Cains of Liverpool, with Cains own beers being outsourced meantime, as the brew length will not economically permit the production of  the ensuing reduced volume of beer, which I understand, even with supermarket beer, had fallen to around 12,000 barrels. All hopes are being pinned on a site re-development into a leisure complex with a "brewing village" for which planning permission is being sought. The plans will be submitted to Liverpool council in the summer, and if approved work could start next year. The re-developed site would not be open for at least 18 months to two years, so presumably brewing will be "suspended" until at least then if all goes well.

Will the brewery ever re-open? Maybe we shouldn't hold our breath on that one.

The Echo has it all here again.  I'll keep you informed.

More Trouble Brewing

Cain's of Liverpool has had a somewhat chequered history since taking over the old Higsons brewery in Liverpool.  I have written about them before.

Yesterday I mentioned them as one of the UK's leading brewer's of low margin supermarket beer in the context of Thwaites leaving that market.  Today I learn by a phone call from a brewer friend that more trouble has ensued.  The Liverpool Echo tells me that with immediate effect that Cain's are ceasing their brewing of supermarket beers as they incur a loss.  38 jobs will go.  Those of us who follow Cains will doubt, despite assurances that the rest of the operation and pubs aren't affected, that this will be the end of the matter.

But we'll have to wait and see,  One thing is for sure as former employees head to the Jobcentre.  Supermarket own brand beer comes at quite a price despite its cheapness.

The Echo story can be read here.

Hot Weather Spells Trouble

It was warm in London when the CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury mob visited, led by that most intrepid of topers, Tyson himself.  They arrived on Friday, but I was a bit of an advance guard, having come down the night before from my mother's place in Scotland, to get a bit of rest beforehand.  Naturally that rest included a schlep to Camden Brewery for the launch of Mark Dredge's new book, where I enjoyed Camden Pale and Hell, didn't think much of American Hell and loved, as much as I've liked any beer this year, a one off Kiwi Wit, which reminded me very much of  Schneider Hopfenweisse, but was better to drink and at a more swoopable 5 per cent.   They seriously ought to think of bringing this out, even as an occasional special. I also renewed acquaintance with fellow bloggers and beer writers and met a couple more that I had either not met, or had met only briefly.  A really good night was had, marred only by a chicken kebab from round the corner from our flat.  A bad decision made worse by a forseeable outcome!  More of foreseeable outcomes later.

Friday was a glorious day as I walked to meet the thirsty Northerners at the Euston Tap. It all augured well as I observed no less than three Mallinsons beers on tap.  My request for a sparkler was met with an odd remark from the barman "I don't like sparklers on pale beer" quoth he hovering with the offending article in his mitt, but not applying it.  "Just as well you aren't drinking it then" I responded. "Sparkler please." Remember bar staff, it isn't your job to make judgements here.  Someone that specifically requests a sparkler in a place that provides the option is unlikely to be persuaded out of it.  Still, all was well with the beer here, as I have always found it to be. It was a good day beer-wise on Friday, with only the Parcel Yard needing to dial down the cellar temperature by a couple of degrees, though frankly, one or two others were on the edge.  (If in doubt, make it slightly colder. Beer always warms up. It never cools down.)

Saturday was similar temperature wise in the two pubs we visited on the official crawl.  Maybe, for Northern tastes at least, slightly (and arguably) on the edge in Craft Islington and too warm and flat in the Union Tavern, so E and I baled out to the sanity of the Old Red Cow, which is rapidly becoming a favourite and which serves cool beer and has a lot of cool people in it. And me.

I do worry continually about quality of cask beer, but more so in London which is a whole lot warmer than the North and which already suffers from a serious over-venting problem.  As it gets hotter, the beer quality gets worse as cellars either haven't got the kit to cool the beer, or are being incorrectly set.

Apart from a few trusted places,  come summer in London, this cask man will be haunting a few more Sam's pubs for Pure Brewed Lager. That's my other foreseeable outcome.


Pictured is the Fox and Anchor at Smithfield Market. Another new favourite and some rather flat looking beer bought on Saturday near a canal.

Crafty Dan

Set in a very cramped town centre location where it has been since 1807, Daniel Thwaites is one of the biggest, if not the biggest of the surviving family brewers, owning around 350 pubs. You won't find a Thwaites on the board though, the family name having been Yerburgh since the female line inherited and married one. It is still firmly family controlled however.

 The brewery itself is rather large, with a lot being crammed into the site. When I visited it last night though, it wasn't to see the large automated modern brewery it has become, but the fairly recently installed "Craft Brewery" where, shall we say, the more interesting beers are brewed. Set in a spacious part of the brewery, this self contained 20 barrel plant is in no small measure where Thwaites sees a major part of its future. Our guide was at pains to point out that when he first started doing the tours, the brewery only used five different hop varieties and now uses at least 25 to produce a range of 12 "Signature" seasonal beers plus quarterly beers and "one offs". In addition experimental, development beers and beers commissioned by individual customers are produced. The plant itself is a full part of the production of the brewery, as its beers mostly go out to trade, but this is very much a hands on operation. We did visit Fermentation Room 1 in the main brewery, where a large number of traditional open squares produce the brewery's main output of Original, Nutty Black, Lancaster Bomber and of course Wainwright's which is now their biggest selling beer.  The brewery is very self contained, with all racking, bottling and kegging done on site.

In the bar, we (National Winter Ales Fest workers) enjoyed the hospitality of the brewery, with Original, Bomber, Wainwrights, TBC and BB1 on offer. BB1 and TBC (Thwaites Best Cask) are produced in the micro brewery with the others coming from the larger main brewery. All were in the tip top form you'd expect and I particularly enjoyed the dark BB1 (it's their postcode) which has added cherries and a touch of sourness, at a very drinkable 3.7%. Think Belgian Dark Mild and you won't be far out. It was enjoyable too to talk to the very enthusiatic team that looked after us and to glean snippets of interest. Thwaites, like many others including Lees have more or less got out of the contract brewing game, as margins are so low. (Most supermarket beers are brewed by the likes of Burtonwood and Robert Cain) but they did brew (off and on) Punk IPA for you know who and still contract bottle and can as  required.

I first visited this site over 20 years ago and last night may have been my last chance to visit the brewery again, as it will move in the next couple of years to a new, less cramped green field site near the motorway,  as soon as planning permission has been gained for Sainsbury to buy the site, knock it down and build a supermarket. Oh and of course for Thwaites in the meantime to build a new brewery.  A shame, but one thing is for sure. While the "old" brewery will be scrapped, the craft brewery will be dismantled and taken to the new site.  

Thwaites see producing a wide variety of interesting craft cask beers as very much a part of their future.  Craft Cask?  Of course and why not?




We were all given a lovely 3 pack of a new beer too.  Name?  Crafty Dan.  It is made with UK and Munich malts, Amarillo, Pacific Gem and Fuggles hops.

Less is More

I've been away. First of all in Scotland, then in London.  More of London in another post, but I had my usual dip in, dip out taste of drinking in Glasgow.  Well Glasgow near its two main railways stations and limited at that. After all, I  shouldn'tt keep my old Mum waiting too long for the prodigal son.

I have always said that real ale's weakness is quality.  It is simple really.  When you have a perishable product, freshness is extremely important and one which seems to me is all to often a nettle which many obviously fail to grasp.  What's difficult to understand?  If it is going to go off first, then have a strategy to sell it before it does. If you can't do that then don't sell it at all.  But let's start off with the positive. There is no such complacency in the Drum and Monkey.  They know how to look after beer there and how to build up trade.  A reputation for quality beer will attract beer drinkers, just as a lack of care will repel them.  The Drum and Monkey has a good lunchtime trade and many of them drink cask.  It is a Nicolson's pub and while their corporate ethos must help, they also have a dedicated team that appreciates cask and have an enthusiasm for the product.  It makes for dependability and that is good. Who wants a beer lottery?

Sadly if you pop along the road to JDW's Counting House, that's just what you'll get.  Around 16 handpumps and you don't see many drinking cask, which probably explains why my beer was vinegar, but not why it was still on sale.  Two fellow travellers - from Hull as it happens - we had a chat - also handed beer back. Not a good thing and of course for every bad beer purchased, cask ale loses a customer and of course, sometimes the blame is wrongly put on to the brewery.  Just across the road, from its stablemate, the other Queen St area JDW is Camperdown Place and provides a welcome contrast..  It admittedly rarely has such a good range and not nearly so many handpumps, but it is always a step up in quality. Please note pubs - less can be more.  My Lancaster 1842 Pilsner (I had a taste first) was excellent and in stark contrast to the same vinegar I had a few minutes before.

On the way back south I had a quick nip into the Pot Still.  No quality problems there either. Two handpumps, both serving top quality beer, even though I was clearly the first cask beer customer.  That's better.  Have two and serve them well and it will stand you in good stead.  One mark off for both beers being jet black and very similar though I'll add it back for the welcome chat about Dumbarton FC.   Heading for the train now, opposite Central Station is the Toby Jug.  This is a long standing cask outlet and in my opinion the quality never rises above okayish from the three handpumps, which is probably one to many.  Again I never see anyone else drinking real ale when I go in.  That surely tells its own story.

Just a snapshot, but if I was to give advice to pubs selling cask in an area where old style keg is still king, it would be:  "Just sell one cask beer in great nick than three in bad."

There is no real ale in Dumbarton though a JDW coming soon will change that. Should be interesting.