Hopping All Over The World - Brewdog's new beers

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Fraserborough Upstarts, Brewdog have just launched their new single hopped range of beers that aim to showcase the variety of hops available around the four corners of the globe.


The beers are collectively called 'IPA is Dead' and contain the same malt skeleton of Maris Otter, Crystal malt and Caramalt, have 75 IBU's and come in at 7.5% ABV but each are individually hopped and then double dry hopped with either Bramling Cross (UK), Nelson Sauvin (New Zealand), Sorachi Ace(Japan) and Citra(USA).


I'm particularly looking forward to trying the Citra version to see how it fares next to my current Citra favourites of Fyne Ales Jarl, Kernel Citra IPA and Oakham's Citra.


You can get the BrewDog single hopped range here




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Defining Craft Beer

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Mark Dredge from Pencil and Spoon has thrown the question "Is there such a thing as UK Craft Beer?" out into the internet ether.


This has been discussed with some people arguing that the craft beer moniker for some British beer is a misnomer and should only be used when in reference to beer produced by our American ale cousins on the other side of the Atlantic. This is a rather knee jerk, rigid and dogmatic response that maintains that under no circumstances should the term "craft beer" or "craft beer revolution" be used to describe the product or the upturn in interest and sales of some of our most exciting and progressive brewers and breweries.


Others, Mr Dredge included, consider it an apt name to describe and quantify the new brewers on the British beer scene who embody, exhibit and bring new levels of passion, creativity, experimentation and eclecticism into their beer craft. When I hear these words referring to British beer, I think of the following breweries - Dark Star, Thornbridge, Brewdog, Hardknott, Fyne Ales, Kernel, Marble, Moor, Redemption among others. These breweries are pushing the beer boundaries and are radically different from what has gone before. Many have been inspired by the U.S. and are using a range of hops and flavours that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. They are clearly doing something radical, something different and distinct from many other UK breweries.


Should we therefore create a new category of definition to differentiate these beers and breweries from the rest?


Yes. I think so. But I don't think that it should be the term 'Craft Beer'


Why?


Well, I've always been wary of the U.S. linguistic imperialism that seems to be creeping into the lexicon of our language. Words and phrases such as '24/7', 'Step up to the Plate', 'OMG', 'Awesome' and 'Craft Beer' are Americanisms that deserve to stay on the other side of the Atlantic.


Personally, I prefer the phrase 'Artisan Ale' or 'Artisan Beer' rather than 'Craft Beer'.


It conjures up an image in my mind of people making beer for the sheer love, pleasure and passion of it. Making it to be enjoyed and experienced and the beer produced being an end in itself and not simply a means to an end.


Ultimately, though, it doesn't really matter what it is labelled or pigeon holed as.


Good beer is good beer. Just get it opened, poured and enjoyed.


Have a nice weekend.




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Molson Coors' Ale Agenda

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I notice from today's beer press that multinational brewer, Molson-Coors have consolidated last week's £20 million acquisition of Cornish Brewer, Sharp's by announcing the launch of a range of their own brand guest ales over the course of the coming year.


The move, which can be interpreted as further proof of Molson-Coors seriousness about building up an ale profile and achieving increased market share within this growing sector, will see 16 different beers being available. Included in these will be four seasonal beers from the Worthington range as well  sports event one offs and Mitchells and Butlers flavoured ales. I'm not too keen on the sound of the M&B's flavoured ales as the mere suggestion reminds me of Walker's crisps one offs. Anyone up for baked ham and mustard or roast turkey and stuffing beer?


Thought not.


I have my concerns about big beer co's trying to go for a slice of the cask cake and I dont think they are doing it for the love of the ale but, instead, as Coors Sales Director Simon Cox says, the introduction of these beers "is the perfect addition for any business looking to increase profitability and footfall." The bottom line it would appear is the bottom line.


Had it been another multinational then my concerns would be magnified but to be fair to Molson Coors they have maintained the history and brand intergrity of the cask beer that they currently have in their product portfolio, Worthington's White Shield, and I hope that this philosophy is continued with their new beers.


Time will tell whether they are in the cask sector for the duration or whether they are a here today, gone tomorrow beer merchant trying to make a quick buck out of an expanding market.


The ball is in Molson Coors' court and it is now up to them to prove themselves.




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The Fyne Ales Competition winner is.....

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............ Mr Dave Lozman.


The correct answer was -


C. Citra Hops.


many thanks to all who took part and to Fyne Ales for the beer.


Look out for another beer monkey competition next month.


Jarl and Hurricane Jack are available from the Fyne Ales Website



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Stella - Beer Blaggers and Cider Chancers

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A great deal has been written about Stella Artois and InBev's rather opportunistic attempt to break into the 'expanding' cider market with the launch of their Stella Cidre. However, I wouldn't be too worried about their foray into the cider world as Stella has a proven track record of jumping on various beer bandwagons with reassuringly expensive and hyperbolic press and PR campaigns only for them to spectacularly fall off a short time later.


I mean who could forget such Stella classics as Stella Black, Eiken Artois. Artois Bock, Stella 4% and their Peeterman's wheat beer?


What do you mean, you've forgotten them already?


Artois Bock was introduced in May 2005. It was a 'Bock' style 'brown' beer based allegedly on a recipe dating back to 1892. It emerged into the sunlight in a blaze of slick marketing and publicity including, appropriately enough, a poster campaign titled 'No Respect'. Poor sales led to it being dropped in January 2008 and replaced with Eiken Artois.


Eiken Artois' launch saw another heavyweight media campaign which led predominantly on the 'oak aged' nature of this 4.6% lager and the claim that the hops were 'hand picked'. The name Eiken is Flemish for oak and InBev's hyperbole extended to proclaiming that this beer was taking lager to a 'new dimension' and that it would help retailers 'premiumise' their beer sales. By December 2008, it too had gone the way of the 'Bock' and was dropped from their product range.


Also dropped around the same period was Peeterman's Artois - a 4% wheat beer which was InBev's attempt to capitalise on the trend at that time for lower strength lagers. The wheat went out and in came Artois 4%, which was introduced in response to Beck's 4% offering, Vier. I'm getting confused now by all this chopping and changing on InBev's cooking lager conveyor belt.


And to make matters even more confusing InBev launched, in Summer 2010, Stella Artois Black lager. It's not black but it is 4.9% and is marketed as a 'deluxe' lager for 'posh' people which is 'perfect for those special occasions when consumers want to try something new and different.' Again, this was backed by a huge cinema and magazine ad campaigns.


Can you see a trend developing here?


At every step of the way, they have been behind the curve and playing catch up with the market. No originality, no innovation. Just a vain hope that throwing mega amounts of cash at campaigns can convince drinkers to change their ways and buy their product. Judging by the beers I've listed, it doesn't seem to be working.


Now Stella makes the move into cider in an attempt to take a piece of the market created by Magners and Bulmers. It's quite laughable and all rather desperate and very probably far too late in the day to be thinking about tapping into this market.  The cider with ice market surely peaked a couple of years ago, didn't it?


How long before Stella Cidre goes the way of the Bock, Eiken and Peeterman's and is consigned to the dustbin at InBev's Head Office marked 'Cynical and Opportunistic Failed Products'?


I give it a year from launch.



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The Session - All Hands to the Pump?

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As part of beer bloggers Friday, I thought I'd chip in my two pence worth regarding the topic of the day -  Cask, Keg, Can, Bottle: Does dispense matter?


I'm a fan of nice, tasty, well made refreshing beer. There is simply no finer feeling than the first gorgeous glug of a lovely beer as it makes it's way from the glass into your mouth and fills it with a variety of lush lupulin flavours and tastes. And more often than not, it's cask that fulfils my beer needs. That's because it's what I want when I'm out. It's what I go out for: a lovely pint.


That's not to say that every pint I've had on cask has been lovely. They have not. Many have been stunning and gorgeous examples of the brewer and cellerman's art and craft. Some have been poorly made or poorly kept. Others simply not to my taste. I'll take that risk and if good cask beer is on sale in a pub that I'm in, that's what I have. If there is no cask on, I'll find another pub. Unless they have a magic fridge dispensing untold gems of bottled U.S. and German beers like a stunning hybrid of Glasgow's Allison Arms and Blackfriars pubs.


Which leads me on to bottles. Bottles are great and my bank statement and heaving cupboard are testament to my fondness for impulsive yet deliciously enjoyable internet beer buys. The bottles I have are different from the cask beers I usually drink when out. They tend to be beers or from breweries that are harder to come by other than via the net. Bottles suit my purposes when at home and want a nice relaxing beer during the evening.


I recently dipped my toe into U.S. Craft beer in a can virtue of Maui breweries Big Swell IPA and Coconut Porter. The novelty of drinking quality beer from a can was a great feeling and although I was fearful prior to pouring that the beer would have a tinny taste my fears were misplaced. The Big Swell was stunning. The Porter was just okay. The method of dispense paid no part in the differentiation of my enjoyment between each. I just thought the IPA was a much nicer beer.


Which I think answers the initial question.


Cask, Keg, Can,  Bottle - Does dispense matter?


Ultimately, the method of dispense is important but more in terms of where you are and what's available. What's more important is what ends up in the glass and how it tastes. A bad beer dispensed by cask, keg, can or bottle is still a bad beer. Similarly, a good beer is still a good beer and a beer of quality should shine through regardless of what it's poured from.


Tasty beer is tasty beer.

 

Competition Time - Fyne Ales bottle it.

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It's competition time, folks and your chance to get your hands on some utterly gorgeous Fyne Ales bottles courtesy of the beer monkey.


Up for grabs are a bottle each of Fyne Ales' latest offerings. The superb Hurricane Jack and one of my beers of last year, Jarl. Jarl has turned heads and set tongues wagging since it's cask introduction last summer. It went down a storm at the Great British Beer Festival in August and in a very short space of time it's built up phenomonal fan base.


The success of both beers, up and down the country, has convinced Fyne Ales of the necessity of not only making these beers part of their regular cask canon but also bottling them and make both available on their website alongside old favourites Avalanche, Vital Spark and Highlander. This is the first time these beers have been bottled and if they are as good as the cask varieties, then UK beer drinkers are in for one helluva treat.


What have you got to do to get your hands on these littles lovelies?


It's simple.


Simply answer the question below -




  "What hop is used in making Fyne Ales Jarl?"




A. Nelson Sauvin


B. Perle


C. Citra


D. Fuggles



Choose one of the options and email thebeermonk3y@gmail.com with your answer by 7pm on Sunday the 6th of Feb. I'll choose a winner from the correct answers and announce it soon after.



It's as simple as that.


Don't say I'm not good to you.


Good Luck.



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Shouting........lager, lager, lager

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When it comes to the lovely wet stuff, over in Beer Monkey Mansions, we are always keen to try something new or different. Much more so if that means challenging our assumptions, questioning our beliefs and pushing the boundaries of our own beery understanding.


We are also forgiving souls, always willing to give people and things the benefit of the doubt, a second chance and to try to see things from their point of view. Indeed, we subscribe to the notion that in order to fully experience another perspective we not only have to walk a mile in another's shoes but also see things through their eyes.


Confession time. I used to drink and rather enjoy multinational, stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap cooking lager. Is it not what we all drank growing up? It was, round my way. I started off my drinking 'career' downing Tennent's, McEwans and even Kestrel Lager with my mates before heading out. If we were really lucky and were flush then our beer bag would contain Colt 45 and Breaker Malt Liquor.
During my clubbing days and trying to look cool, I'd often be propping up the bar with a can of Schlitz or Red Stripe in my hand. Or, maybe the bar was propping me up. It was a long time ago.


So in an attempt to recapture those heady days of when the quality of a pint was measured by the amount of bubbles and the size of the head; and the excellence of an evening was measured by how many you sank and how little you remembered, I've decided to go back, way back and with no expense spared (well, £2.84 actually), to jump feet first into the shallow end of the beer spectrum and revisit some old friends that used to keep me company during my formative drinking days of my late teens and early twenties and give them a second opportunity to win me over and regain a place in my beer soaked heart.

Coming home tonight with me for a proper slurping are the beer behemoths of Tennents, Skol and Carling and to tell you the truth, I'm quite looking forward to it.

First up into the glass is some Skol. It pours a golden colour with a soft white head that shrinks to nothing very quickly. A quick swirl and all I can smell is a faint tin aroma and not much else. It's cold, wet and fizzy and has a very thin mouthfeel.  Not much in the way of clear, discernable taste although there is a tinge of grain. I took another sip no more than a few minutes after the initial pour and it was dull, lifeless and lacking in any of it's initial carbonation.

On the can, it says that it is brewed using only the finest ingredients yet carelessly forgets to list them anywhere. It also describes itself as light and refreshing quality lager. I describe myself a handsome, charismatic, square jawed Adonis. Self description is an easy game and usually doesn't stand up too well to the scrutiny of others. Except in my case, naturally.

It left a nasty, lingering artificial aftertaste and wasn't pleasant.  My initial enthusiasm was beginning to look a little misplaced.

Glasgow's own, Tennents was up next and it's been a while since I have had a can of this. It poured golden and had a strong head that, along with the carbonation, maintained itself moderately well. It had a malty, grassy and strawish taste that is sweet and sticky on the lips and mouth. It had some dry bitterish finish that would indicate that some hops had been close by when this was being brewed. Possibly, in a store next door. It was okay in a bland and inoffensive kind of way.


I had intended to open up the Carling but, after sampling the first two, I decided to leave it for another day or until I've got a visitor in need of a thirst quenching fizzy brew provided they're not that fussy.


What have I learned from this experience? Not a lot that I didn't know already. Comparing mass market multinational cooking lager to find out which one is the best is a bit like comparing serial killers or dictators. You can do it but, like the lagers, it's a pretty tasteless activity.



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