Profanity Stout? I'll Swear By It.

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Yesterday (27th Sept) saw the end of Sainsburys Great British Beer Hunt. I've made progress on ploughing through the bottles I picked up and if there's any justice in the beer world, then there can only be one winner as far as I'm concerned.

One beer sticks out as head and shoulders above the rest of the other beers participating in the competition. That beer is Williams Brothers Profanity Stout.

I say Williams Bros but that's not quite the full story.

It may be brewed and bottled by Williams Brothers but it's not their beer. The beer is actually made by Heriot Watt students as part of their brewing course studies. The students in question are Peter and Craig - the 'Balls to the Wall' brewing duo who have managed to create one of the nicest stouts that I have tasted in a very long time.

The Profanity Stout is the first beer in a range made by Williams Brothers called the 'Chapeau' series. An interesting approach to beer making in which Williams Brothers "celebrate the skills of amateur brewers whose beers we think are exceptional and should be made available to a wider audience".

I'm not the first to write about it. Others have already (here, here and here) thrown their tuppence worth in and it seems to have been well received. I found it really rather nice.

It pours thick and dark with a Caramac coloured head that gives off a fairly bold nose that zips with fruity aromas and a slight touch of schooldays carbolic soap. It had a thinner mouthfeel than I expected but this didn't prevent the delicious roasted coffee and licquorice, dipped delicately in dark chocolate flavours coming through strongly in this beer that drinks dangerously less than it's 7% ABV fighting weight.

Here's hoping the positive reviews about it translate to hard sales at Sainsburys checkouts and this beer becomes one of the Sainsbury Great Beer Hunt winners. That way, the Profanity Stout would become a  welcome and regular addition to their beer selection.

Profanity Stout?

It's fcuking lovely!

Update No1
Boo! There is no justice in the beer world. This guy has just informed me that it didn't make the final eight. It seems a gorgeous 7% stout was just too adventurous for Sainsbury's drinkers beer tastes. Boo!

Update No2
Yay! Mr Guest Beer Guide has just informed me that Sainsburys are selling their beer hunt beers at 20% off original price. that means you can pick up Profanity Stout for £1.51 while stocks last. Get on it, Folks. Yay!


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The Past is a Foreign Country

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There used to be a time when beer was viewed and revered as a valuable source of nourishing vitamins and minerals. The health giving properties of beer were promoted and positively emphasised in the adverts of the time and it wasn't uncommon to see mother and baby enjoying an imbibication or nursey dispensing beer as a medicinal tonic for the convalescing infirm. As the adverts below show, beer was the tincture to cure most ills.

Beer for baby and essential to give mummy a healthy glow and keep her breasts perky instead of an anaemic and listless Kathy Burke looky likey.

An alcoholic Werthers Originals moment to help you 'Cultivate the Rainier Beer habit' with the Grandchildren. Beer for the young and not so young.

Beer for the infirm. Usually dispensed by nurse or matron to reinforce it's health giving and restorative properties.

Beer to immunise against the health privations of a cruel British winter.

Beer as a regular source of nutrition for 'invalids'.


However, the past is a foreign country and the perception of beer as a pick-me-up and a source of healthy goodness has gone and been replaced by 'public information campaigns' like the one below designed to instill guilt and self loathing in the minds of those that like a beer.


Drinking Beer makes your glass bigger

There's a charming naivete and endearing innocence about those beer adverts from times past. Try 'cultivating a beer habit' with your 10 year old granddaughter these days and the chances of you getting a visit from the Social Work department and your face in the local paper would be, I imagine, very high. Which is probably just as well.

These adverts speak of a different time.

A time before the Portman Group, the Advertising Standards Agency, Trading Standards and a powerful health lobby existed. 

Beer is still good for you. It hasn't changed. Drinking beer in moderate quantities can be beneficial to your health.

Just don't give it to the grandchildren.

Tell them to get their own.

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Beer, Brown and Big Brother Go West

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I find myself in the stunning surroundings of West Brewing in Glasgow's East End for what sounds like a rather interesting, innovative and unique beer event that is taking place here as part of the Social Media Week Glasgow.

The event which draws me here is a Social Beer Tasting involving four beers, four brewers, a room full of people twittering their views (#SMWbeer) about the beers and countless others watching and participating via the live stream link up. The proceedings were chaired by 'Britain's most prolific and influential beer writer', Pete Brown.

The Brewing Overlord

He may have been chairing the event but overseeing it was the 'massive headed brewing Overlords' from Magic Rock Brewing, Rich and Stu who were linked up via Skype to the event from their Huddersfield base and cast an imposing yet benign Orwellian shadow by dint of their huge faces being projected on to the screen behind the assembled panel. It provided much mirth and merriment for those watching it on the live feed and tracking it on twitter.

Beer's Big Brother was watching us and by the looks of things, he was having a jolly old time.

Pete Brown's in fine form and having a jolly old time too as he gave us some advice on how to taste and appreciate beer prior to our first glass of the evening being poured.

"Neck the beer" was his first piece of advice. "Beer drinker swallow, don't spit" was his second as jugs of our first beer, West Brewery's Hefeweizen were placed on our tables. I've had this beer many times before and it rarely disappoints. Tonight it was on top form. A beery banoffee pie of a brew made with 80% wheat. It thought it was lovely and, judging by the tweets, others did too as it was described as having a "complex aroma but light refreshing flavour".

Petra from West explained the brewing process behind the hefeweizen and also spoke about the success of her Brewery and showed considerable pride in it's achievements not only in terms of growing the business (they have plans for a shiny new brewery twenty times larger than current capacity) but for also bringing manufacturing back to the East End of Glasgow.

The second beer was another long standing favourite of mine. It's Harviestoun's Schiehallion and as Pete Brown said in introducing the beer, "It proves that lager can be just as good as an ale". Some discussion followed as to whether it is a lager or a pale ale. It's a lager due to it's method of production but it ultimately doesn't matter. You can call it what you want. I call it a bloody nice beer.

Kelburn's Cart Blanche was next. It's another local beer made just outside Glasgow. A small family micro-brewery turning out 30 barrels a week of consistent, well made tasty beer. It's fairly malty with a delicate and lovely hop balance. I've had it on better form but taking into account that it was being taken from the cask, decanted into jugs and then carried across the brewery to our tables it was still an enjoyable beer.

raising a toast to Social Media Week

The last beer on was the one that I had been especially waiting for. It had been chosen by Pete Brown because he believes that this fledgling brewery represents a perfect example of a company that has used social media superbly well.

You can see why Pete asked Magic Rock Brewing to participate. They are a social media success story in the making. They have only been up and running since the start of the summer but they have managed to built up a phenomonal social media profile and legions of supportive and appreciative followers. The fact that they make really great beers also help but getting the branding right and connecting with their audience through Twitter and Facebook has helped them grow the company. As Magic Rock Rich said, "We wouldn't exist without social media".

Rich and Stu were in Huddersfield but they had sent up some of their Human Cannonball up for us to try. It's a big old beast weighing in at 9.2%ABV. It's Double IPA which means that it's had the hop volume turned up to Spinal Tap levels. And it's very drinkable. Very drinkable. It's chock full of loads of North American hops and has a sweet kick to it and a strong, pungent aroma that reminds some of cat piss. Others, such as Brown, of "damp dishcloths". For some in the room, it was their first experience of such a big beer. It was interesting watching peoples reactions. Some were instantly taken by it. Others, slowly won over by it.


It certainly made an impact and an impression. As did the Magic Rock Brewing Overlords Rich and Stu, whose irreverence and good humour endeared them to those in the room and others watching at home.

I liked the Human Cannonball. It reminded me of a sweeter, fruitier, better balanced and easier drinking Hardcore IPA.

As the beer flowed the discussion continued with a range of beery topics flying about - the ethos of craft beer, the importance of branding, BrewDog, beers next big thing and others beside.

It was a stonking social media evening and excellent tutored tasting. Many thanks to the Organisers for puting it all together, Pete Brown for holding it all together, the brewers for their beers and to the Massive Headed Magic Rock Brewing Overlords for keeping us entertained.

Cheers.

The Ayrshire Real Ale Festival

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The Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA) Ayrshire Beer Festival returns to Troon Concert Hall on Thursday, 6th October.

The event, which has been going for twelve years, will feature around 125 real ales and a selection of cider, perry and even some wine. Half of the beers will be from Scottish Brewers with the rest coming from other parts of the UK. Included in the line up are local brews from the likes of Arran Brewery and the Ayr Brewing Company as well as this year's CAMRA Champion Beer of Scotland, Cuillin Beast from the Isle of Skye and the 2011 Champion Beer of Britain, Essex brewery Mighty Oak's, Oscar Wilde. A rather nice Mild that I quite enjoyed at this year's Great British Beer Festival.

The festival opens to the public at 5pm on Thursday the 6th and continues until the Saturday. The admission cost has been held at £4 and visitors to the festival pay only once for the entire weekend and will use their souvenir beer glass as a ticket for re-entry after their first visit. Not a bad deal at all.

As Graeme Watt of CAMRA's Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch says,

"The festival has come a long way since it began all those years ago. This year we expect to have around 3,000 people come through the door to enjoy the very best of British beer. The Ayrshire Real Ale Festival is a superb day or night out and a great chance to try beers that are not easily found in pubs or shops in the West of Scotland. Everyone who enjoys a beer should come along and experience just how fantastic good beer can be."

Can't say fairer than that.

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Stone Brewing at BrewDog, Glasgow

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And so it came to pass.

Mrs Monkey wanted toasted cheese and a nice cuppa tea. With provisions running low, I was dispatched to the Kwik-e-Mart to pick up some thick white and semi skimmed.

Whilst out on my mission to feed the hungry, I thought I would reward myself for such a good deed by popping in to my local for a quick pint.

My luck was in as some Fyne Ales' Hurricane Jack was on the board. Result, I thought as I settled down to enjoy my reward pint of some lovely, refreshing beer.

No sooner had I scooped the first mouthful down my eager, receptive throat that I received a text from a mate asking me why I wasn't at BrewDog's Glasgow Bar and informing me that I was missing a seriously good night of beer action involving one of my favourite U.S. craft beer brands, the Stone Brewing Company. Not only would loads of lovely Stone beers be available on tap but also in attendance would be Stone's Main Man and Craft Beer's Spiritual Leader and Hop Guru, Greg Koch. BrewDog had previously held a Stone beer evening at their Edinburgh bar a while back but, to my regret, I couldn't make it.

It looked like Mrs Monkey's toasted cheese would have to wait.....

I arrived at BrewDog to find that it was standing room only with a throng three deep at the bar with thirsty punters eager to get their hands on some superb Stone beers. My default setting when hitting a bar is for my eyes to locate and lock on to the beer selection available. The guest beer board was firmly in my sights and as I scoped it, my eyes lit up as I focused on the beers available. A mighty fine selection of Stone were on.

Yowser! Wowser!

Smoked Porter
Cali Belgique
Stone IPA
Ruination IPA
Sublimely Self Righteous Stout
Russian Imperial Stout
Old Guardian Barley Wine
Arrogant Bastard
Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard
Double Bastard

Friends met and first beer bought, I settled down to enjoy some lovely beer in a great bar. I really like the BrewDog Glasgow bar. It's a great place to try some fantastic and exciting beers from some of the best craft brewers from around the globe. It also knows how to put on some cracking nights.

From the corner of my eye, I caught glimpse of a tall figure climbing on to the bar, steadying himself and with hands held aloft and haloed by the light he motioned to the crowd to quieten them down to an observant silence.

It was Greg Koch, Mr Stone Brewing and the chief cheerleader for the 'Craft Beer Revolution'. This guy doesn't lack confidence or will ever be described as an introverted wall flower. Wearing a T-shirt with his face printed on it and each hand stamped in black ink adorned with the same image, if this guy was chocolate he would be minus an arm and a half chewed elbow.

Greg Koch

Hell Yeah!

He was on a mission. An evangelical mission, from the great beer God, to convert as many unbelievers and IPA infidels to the cause of the Craft Beer Revolution. Judging from the amount of 'Yeahs', 'Hell Yeahs' , 'Awesomes' and even the odd 'Hallelujahs' among the punters it appeared that he was rallying the faithful and addressing his disciples.

Awesome!

Part old school 1980's tele-evangelist, part craft beer cult leader he had the drinkers slurping out the palms of his stamped hands with his boundless enthusiasm for beer that's as contagious as winter flu in an old folk's home.

His words wafted over me in a hyperbolic haze of hops and glory. "Craft Beer Revolution", "Awesome", "Radical".  It was all a bit craft beer bingo and over the top but good fun nonetheless.

I warmed to Greg Koch. I liked him. His West Coast American positivity and puppy dog enthusiasm were infectious and charming.

But that's not important. What's important is the beer and Stone make great beer. I had their IPA, the Sublimely Self Righteous and a taste of the Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard. They were as I expected. Fantastic.

Greg Koch is not the Messiah. But his beers taste like heaven.

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Same Beer. Four Different Pints.

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I've recently been out and about doing some 'investigative research' and enjoying a few nice beer in some of Glasgow's better bars.

One beer that I've 'researched' more than others recently is a new offering from one of my favourite Scottish breweries, Fyne Ales. It's their West Highland Black IPA (WHBIPA) and for the past few weeks it's been making an appearance in The Three Judges, The Bon Accord, The State Bar and The Laurieston.

As you'd expect from Fyne Ales, it's a well made, tasty beer from a brewery with a reputation for crafting well made, tasty beers. However, what has struck me, imbibing this beer in four different establishments in just over a week, is that how much of a difference cellarmanship and correctly looking after the beer once it has hit the pub can make to the taste, aroma, flavour and overall enjoyment of the beer.

Some of WHBIPA I've sampled has been simply out of this world. The State Bar, for example, presented a stunning and well looked after, fantastic example of this beer. It was full of intense hop nose and creamy roast malt served at a temperature that allowed each of the flavours in the beer to be savoured and enjoyed in a beautifully balanced pint.

In another pub, the beer was served too warm and from the condition of the beer, I got the impression that it had not been cellared long enough for the beer to settle. In context, it was the first pint of the day poured in this pub and it may have not been pulled through the line thoroughly enough. In another, it was too cold and this masked some of the more subtle flavours of the beer.

It got me thinking.

How many times has beer left breweries in great nick only for it to be let down at the final hurdle in the pub due to it not sitting long enough, being poorly conditioned, badly poured or served as if it was a cold lager or tepid mug of bovril?

My favourite drink is getting too expensive these days to be playing beery Russian Roulette with my next pint not knowing whether it will be in awesome, awful or just alright condition. I know the Cask Marque system of accreditation exists as an indicator of a pub that serves well kept beer and the nature of beer as a living product means that it will change in the cask but sometimes there's no excuse for sloppy cellarcraft in some pubs.

Is it too much to ask that if pubs are selling Real Ale they concentrate on getting the basics right first?
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The Great British Beer Hunt Part 2

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As reported in a previous blog, the Sainsbury's Great British Beer Hunt is in full swing and it's only right that I should do my bit to participate in the proceedings by making a start on some of the bottles I picked up from their store last week.

My first couple of choices were beased on the recommendations of some pals who had beaten me to trying them first. Two beers kept being mentioned in despatches as really nice beers and well worth trying. These  were Harviestoun's Wild Hop IPA and Wye Valley Brewery's Wye Not.

One brewery I was familiar with, the other my knowledge of them was limited. That, perhaps, is one of the reasons why the Great British Beer Hunt is such a good idea. It gives drinkers the opportunity to try some beers from other parts of the country that you wouldn't ordinarily see in your local supermarket and at 3 for a fiver, there's not much financial risk involved if they turn out rank and not up to the job.

The first beer into my glass was fromWye Valley. My knowledge of this Herefordshire brewery is limited to their Dorothy Goodbody's Wholesome Stout which I've always found to be most agreeable on the few ocassions that I've had it. So, I was quite looking forward to trying Wye Not, a 4.5% bottle conditioned golden ale made with pale malt as well as Target and Celeia hops.

The glug from the bottle to glass revealed a paleish, golden amber coloured beer that had a fairly soft but lively carbonation that resulted in a inch thick loose white head at the top of the glass. It had a slightly bready nose with just a hint of grassy, citrus hops. These hints of hops intensify and become more apparent from aroma to taste as the citrus spice fill my mouth. There's also a trace of sweet floral honey that is very pleasant. Sugar and spice and all things nice.

The beer finishes with a crisp, satisfyingly bitter finish. Overall, it was a refreshing and very drinkable beer and one that I can see myself having again.

Harviestoun's Wild Hop IPA was next. Harviestoun are a Scottish brewery who have a solid reputation for turning out consistently tasty and well made beers. Their Ola Dubh series of whisky cask aged beers are sought after and well regarded and their range of cask beers usually tick all the boxes for me. Their range of beers just gets better and better with this summer's American IPA being a great addition.

The Wild Hop IPA was originally showcased in cask form at last October's Wetherspoons Real Ale festival. It's a very well hopped golden ale that thinks it's an IPA. It uses a variety of U.S. and U.K. hops and it's an interesting and aggressive beast that screams with coarse orange and grapefruit bitterness that carries through to a slightly abrasive finish. I found it a beer that lacked balance. It was tasty and fairly refreshing beer but I found that it lacked balance. There was too much hop action going on that it overwhelmed what malt backbone there was. Others have really enjoyed this beer because of the big hop profile and normally this would be something that I would be looking for too but with this beer it doesn't quite pull it off.

Wye Not or Wild Hop?

Wye Not for me.
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The Great British Beer Hunt Part 1

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Sainsburys have just launched their annual Great British Beer Hunt in which 16 beers compete for the much coveted honour of winning some Sainsbury shelf space and becoming a regular fixture in the beer aisles of Sainsbury's 500 plus supermarkets.

For the winners, it's a pretty substantial prize that could take their beer and their business to a whole new level and market. The competition is open until the 27th of September.

The 16 finalists were selected by Sainsbury customers and there are some pretty nifty beers from some pretty nifty breweries in the final sixteen. As well as the Caledonian Brewery Co. Can't have everything, I suppose.

The 16 beers in the running to win the competition are:

Wild Hop IPA, Harviestoun Brewery
Caesar Augustus, Williams Brothers
Profanity Stout,  Williams Brothers
Flying Dutchman Wit Bier, Caledonian Brewing Co
Ivanhoe, Ridgeway Brewing,
Bad King John, Ridgeway Brewing,
Stronghart, McMullen's
Bishop’s Farewell, Oakham Ales
Wye Not, Wye Valley Brewery
Churchill Ale, Oxfordshire Ales
Golden Seahawk, Cotleigh Brewery
Full Bore, Hunter's Brewery,
Two Hoots Golden Ale, Holt's
Golden Summe, Wold Top Brewery,
Frederic’s Great British Ginger Beer, Frederic Robinson,
Worcester Sorcerer, Sadler's Ales.

The top four in terms of sales at the end of September will go forward to the final and the winner chosen shortly afterwards.

It's a good bit of fun and a great excuse and opportunity to pick up some rather nice beers youy wouldn't normally see in the supermarket shelves. At three bottles for a fiver, you can't really go wrong.

I popped in to my local Sainsburys today and picked up a dozen of the sixteen on the shortlist and over the next week or so i'll be blogging my opinions on each of the beers.

I'll be tasting, reviewing and hopefully enjoying them until you get bored, I get bored or my liver phones for a taxi.

First up, tomorrow, will be a couple of IPA's - Harviestoun's Wild Hop IPA and Oxfordshire Ales' Churchill IPA.

You can read more about Sainsburys Great British Beer Hunt here, here and here.

De Molen Vuur & Vlam

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You generally can't go wrong with De Molen beers.

They make quite exceptional beers that have a complex depth of taste and flavour underscored by an adventurous and experimental streak that not only borrows from the past but also, potentially, sets the standard for the future.

Their closest UK comparison is, in my view, The Kernel Brewery.  I say that because both produce a wide variety of short production one off  beers that don't shirk in terms of experimenting with a variety of styles with diverse and interesting hop and malt flavours. Not only that but they, like The Kernel, don't shy away from recreating and replicating historic and long forgotten beers recipes.

So, it's with considerable pleasure and a grin on my face that I sit, on a Friday night, with an empty glass and a 750ml bottle of De Molen's Vuur & Vlam in front of me that are both crying out to be joined in beery matrimony. It's a big old beast weighing in at 6.2% ABV that comes in a rather attractive corked and caged 750 ml bottle.

No time to waste, I unite the beer with the glass as it spurts aggressively into the glass with a lively gaseous splurge of golden orange liquid with a head so big it would make John Merrick green with bitter envy. The over carbonation may be down to this beer being both top and bottom fermented. Whatever the reason, it's a frothy headed gusher of a beer.

It smelled fresh with an aromatic nose of warm spice pepperyness that carried through into the mouth and beautifully collided with the piney, citrus and kiwi fruit essence from the Chinook, Cascade, Simcoe and Amarillo hops. The Galena hops give a rounded bitterness that stood it's ground very well against the fairly robust caramel sweet malt spine.

The pepper notes are fairly constant throughout and even lingers through into the dry and substantive bitter finish.

De Molen's Vuur & Vlam translates as 'Fire and Flames' and it's appropriately monikered.

There's a very elegant spicy pepper edge to the beer that sits very well against the body of a punchy, well hopped IPA.

It's not half bad.
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BrewDog Jumps the Shark.....Again

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At first glance, I thought it was a neat self deprecating pisstake in which Fraserburgh's self appointed beer punks, BrewDog, attempt a rather nice slice of self parody. But it turns out to be 100% genuine, above board and for real.

What am I talking about?

I'm talking about BrewDog's latest gimmick venture in which they have created, what they claim is, the world's strongest fermented beer. It's a 28% ABV blonde ale that's been aged in all sorts of  'ground breaking' and 'amazing' places - Gaddafi's Tripoli tent, Anne Widdecombe's thong and Stephen Hawkins' football boots among others.*

It's called Ghost Deer and will be served from the head of a proper real live deer that's dead. There must have been a bit of a sale on at the taxidermist's when they were picking up the squirrels and stoat for End of History.

Don't these folks know that beers served from animals is so last year?

BrewDog describe the beer as a 'beautiful'  'masterpiece' and a 'schizophrenic delusional screw up of a drink'.  They say that it's a concept that has 'torn up convention', 'blurred distinctions' and 'challenged perceptions' in a 'defiant' and 'irreverent' fashion.

Clearly, hollow hyperbole is an art form just north of Aberdeen.

So, what's next for our brewing Burke and Hare? A cadaver that dispenses different beers from each rotting orifice? A Bangkok dancer than fires Imperial Porter filled ping pong balls from her poonanny into the open mouths of exhilarated BrewDog lovers? A hefeweizen dry hopped with hubris?

I'm sure it's meant as a bit of fun and a way of getting some cheap publicity but, boy, it's getting a bit tedious now.

Enough already.


*not sure about this bit. I might have been lied to.

Get Brewing.

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Word reaches me of a very interesting and exciting competition for those of us that like to indulge in some nice home brewing every now and again.

Those that don't know their sparging from their supping, please look away now.

Pub chain Nicholsons and top brewery Thornbridge have got together to launch the Great British Home Brew Challenge 2011 with an aim to find the best home brewed beer in the UK.

The competition, which began on the 1st of September, will provide 'home brewers with an opportunity to match their beers against those of other enthusiasts, and have them tasted by a panel of expert beer judges'.

The winning home brewer will see their beer recipe professionally produced at Thornbridge's Brewery and distributed and on sale in Nicholsons 100 pubs across the UK.

It sounds like a fun competition with not only a great prize for the lucky winner but also an emphasis on creating exciting beers made with innovation, tradition and a modicum of modernity.

A bit like Thornbridge, themselves.

As Thornbridge's, Simon Webster says "the  Challenge will be a celebration of the British tradition of brewing..and for people to embrace many of the new flavours in beers from across the world. We will look for Passion, Innovation and Knowledge as key factors in the judging".

So, if you are a keen home brewer that thinks your beer is good enough and quite like the idea of it being made by one of the best breweries in the country and available in over a hundred pubs, the best thing you could do is enter the competition.

Get Brewing, folks.

You can find out more information about the competition here

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and the winner is......

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The entries have been scrutinised and the results are finally in. Last month, I ran a caption competition to accompany a truly godawful beer advert from a Romanian brewer.

The best caption to Ursus', possibly the worst, beer advert in the world has been chosen and I can reveal the winner of four pretty special bottles of beer from my secret beer cupboard.

The winning caption was....

Ursus: a perineal favourite

The winning entrant was Dan Brown.

If Dan can contact me at thebeermonk3y@gmail.com then I can get those beers to him.

Many thanks to those that entered (teehee).

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