Beer and the Media

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My local real ale pub, The Three Judges is currently staging a mini beer festival that got me thinking.


The mini-fest is called the 'Media Beer Festival' and features beers that have taken their inspiration from Films, TV or the written word. Included in the beer list are beers such as Thornbridge Kipling, Kelham Easy Rider, Church End Shakes Beer, Summer Wine Gambit, Hadrian Gladiator, Caledonian Rebus, some Titanic beers as well as Fyne Ales' Vital Spark and Highlander among others.


It's not a bad wee line up and it got me thinking about what beers I would include that referenced films, TV and books. The best I could come up with was Redemption Brewery's Alexei's Ale.


Can you think of any others?


There might be a beery prize for the best answer.


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The Session #52 - Beer Mats

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I have a session confession.

I collect beer mats.

There, I'm glad I've got that off my chest.

I only just started collecting them last week, so I don't have many.

When I say I don't have many, I mean, I've only got the one.

It's rather nice, though, don't you think?

I hope to be building my collection soon.


A friend of mine collects beer labels, but that's just daft.


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BrewDog Bottle Out Of Scottish Beer Festival

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Not another beer festival.


My wallet and liver can't take much more.


It's only the start of June, yet it seems that for the past two months it's been beer festival after beer festival.


Not that I'm complaining.


Beer festivals are great. I love them. The perfect storm of great beers and good friends together in one place having a blast is a fine old feeling and we get the chance to do it all again with the Scottish Real Ale Festival (SRAF) which takes place between the 16th and 18th of June at Adam House on Chambers Street in Edinburgh.


It hasn't even started yet but already tongues have been wagging about BrewDog's decison to renege on their beer order for the festival and instead the Fraserburgh upstarts have decided to stage their own 'craft' beer coming together in their Cowgate bar at the same time as the SRAF have their jamboree.


Ho hum. This is disappointing because the word on the street was that BrewDog were planning to use the SRAF to launch their new beer called 'Laughing Stock'. The beer is unique in that it doesn't contain 'fish guts' but instead uses hot air, to add some bitterness and extra carbonation, generated by the bellowing, bilious lungs of the current Camra chairman, Colin Valentine. The beer was to be dispensed from a specially commissioned dark green glass cask.


Instead, BrewDog will be using their alternative event to launch another 'awesome' new beer into the market. It's called 'Cheap Opportunism' which is a dobbel urbock saison DIIPA radler stout, quadruple dry hopped with generous lashings of passion, petulance and posturing. 


It is also believed that 'Jump the Shark', a follow up beer to Sink the Bismarck, will be launched at BrewDog, Edinburgh to coincide with the SRAF event.


The snub by them to the SRAF has led to some people saying that BrewDog should stick their beers up their faux Yank arses, but others point out that they have already done this with their roadkill beer, The End of  History.


Despite BrewDog's 'toys out of the pram' act, the Scottish Real Ale Festival is shaping up to be a great beer event with a lot of excellent beers and breweries showcasing the best of their wares. Included in the line up are breweries such as Tempest, Fyne Ales, Black Isle Brewery, Tryst, Highland and Orkney.


With breweries like those, who needs BrewDog?


See you there.

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Welcome to the Crafty Beer Revolution

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I see from this BBC story that a pricing error at Tesco led to a stampede for cheap lager and cider that even resulted in police being called.


Tesco in Scotland were doing a deal which allowed customers to buy three boxes of beer or cider for £20 instead of the usual £31, a saving of £11. But, when customers went to pay for their beer they discovered that they were charged only £11 instead of the actual promo price of £20. Customers were therefore able to buy 45 bottles of lager or 36 cans for just over a tenner.


Well, word quickly spread and before you could say 'See you, Jimmy' Tesco stores across the land were inundated with thirsty drinkers trying to grab a cheeky bargain on the the sly. Police were even called to a store in Greenock to deal with traffic congestion.


You have got to admire us Scots, not content to conform to one national stereotype but  being bold enough to bag a brace - frugality and alcoholism in the one go.


Well done, my fellow countrymen and women.


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40 + 40 = Fantastic Beer

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1971 was a fine vintage year for a beer lover.


Not only did it mark the inception of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) but it also was the year of the beer birth of one of Glasgow's finest real ale pubs, The Bon Accord. Since then, both have been fighting the good fight, defending their corner and championing the cause of cask beer. Both seem to have been very successful in their quest.


In 1971, there were just over a 100 independent brewers producing cask beer but that number was on a downward trajectory. However, the formation of Camra halted that decline and, with their promotion, campaigning and advocacy for cask ale, has helped to raise the number of breweries to around 800.


In the West of Scotland, The Bon Accord has been flying, for forty years, the ale flag very high and has recently been at the forefront of a resurgent and re-invigorated beer scene for thirsty, knowledgeable and appreciative drinkers.


To commemorate and celebrate both of these anniversaries, The Bon Accord has put together a blinding festival that not only raises a glass to the past but also doffs their cap to those 21st century breweries who are currently creating a very exciting and interesting cask beer path.


From Friday the 17th of June through to Sunday the 26th, The Bon Accord will be holding their 40th Birthday Summer Beer Festival and it is a festival that has had a great deal of thought put into it by Bon Accord owner Paul and cellarman Russell. Over the course of the festival this 10 handpump pub will be showcasing beer and breweries from the glorious 40 years of Camra's and The Bon Accord's history. It promises to be one of the year's highlights on Glasgow's growing beer calendar.


The concept behind the festival is remarkably simple but one that requires a great deal of thought and efficient planning. Over the course of the ten day 40th Birthday Party, the beer board will be split into three years from the past forty and on show will be beers that were available during those years. The years are 1971, 1991 and 2011.


Some of the breweries available through the decades include:


1971 -  Lees, Holts, Elgoods, Robinsons, Holdens and the delicious Palmers Dorset Gold.

1991 - Orkney, Concertina, Oakham, Rebellion, Wickwar, Hop Back, Rudgate and Burton Bridge.

2011 - Blue Monkey, BrewDog, Dark Star, Fyne ales, Green Jack, Leeds, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool One, Peak Ales, Pictish, Thornbridge and York. 


And many, many more. The list is being added to on a daily basis and some of the beers still to be finalised are off the scale lovely.


So, as Bon Accord Russell says, "Why not sup your way through the last 40 years of British Brewing history and raise your glass to the birthday boys - The Bon Accord and CAMRA!"



Can't say fairer than that.

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Long, Hop Summer

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"The Sun is shining in the sky,
There aint a cloud in sight,
It's stopped raining, everybody's in a play,
And don't you know,
It's a beautiful new day hey, hey"*


And when this happens, I find myself wanting a gloriously golden, well hopped and delicious beer.


Now that June is finally upon us, it seems the chances of long, luscious lingering sunny days that demand a glass or two of something really refreshing grows.


The start of June tends to be the time of the year when I banish the darker beers of the mild, stout and porter variety and go towards the light.


But, what beers will be floating my beer boat and ascending my ale elevator this summer?


Like all beer obsessives, I have a list. It's a mental one. Not in the sense that it's off the wall and crazy but that it's stored in my head and it contains the beers that I want to seek out and try for the first time as well as beers that I've enjoyed in summers past and really look forward to trying again.


The pint pots of gold I want to find at the end of my great summer beer hunt include,

Hawkshead 5 Hop

One of my faves of the year, so far, but pretty hard to come by in my neck of the woods. Hopefully, that will change. The Hawkshead 5 Hop is also known as Citrillo. The last time this beer was available, round my way, the cask was cleared in under four hours. The 5 Hop is simply a lovely beer that, unsurprisingly, contains 5 different hops - Bramling Cross, Fuggles and Goldings  provide the early hops which is followed by a late charge of Amarillo and Citra. This 5% beer also contains Maris Otter pale malt, Munich and malted wheat. It's a stonker.

Also, look out for a new beer in the summer from Hawkshead. They are introducing, very soon, a 6% New Zealand pale ale. I can taste those juicy fruit flavours from the Nelson Sauvin hops as I type. If it is as good as the 5 Hop / Citrillo, then we are in for a treat.

Camden Town Inner City Green

This is a 3.9% pale golden ale that bursts hop full of gorgeous tropical fruit aromas with a grassy, sweet citrus flavour that is balanced by a stiff malt backbone that gives the beer quite a full body for it's ABV. Oh, how I long for a pint of this on a warm summers day as I sit in the beer garden of The Southampton Arms.


Redemption Trinity

Redemption Brewery is the second best thing to come from Tottenham. They make fantastic beers and one such beer that has set tongues wagging and tastebuds tingling is their Trinity beer. I haven't had the pleasure of trying this beer yet but I want, I want, I want! It sounds intriguing - three types of hops, three types of malts and at 3% it is labelled as a light mild. However, the various descriptions I've read about it sound more like a golden floral hopfest of pineapple, grapefruit, malon and mango delight that defies it's miniscule ABV.  It sounds exactly like the sort of beer I like and I cant wait to get my hands on a pint.

Fyne Ales Jarl

My favourite Scottish Beer ever and one that is quite simply jaw droppingly superb. I'm not going to say anymore about it. I've said enough. Scotland's best beer. Scotland's best brewery. Go find.



Sierra Nevada Torpedo

An American beer this time and one that you are more likely to see in a bottle. I've had it from the keg in the Euston Tap before and it was rather special. It's no different from the bottle too. It's a 7.2% American IPA and it is bursting at the seams with fresh, herby, resinous pine aromas and flavours of grapefruit and orange pith created by the whole cone magnum, crystal and citra hops. It's a perfect back or beer garden slow drinker.


Fingers crossed that not only will the sun shine but that I'll get my hands on these and many other great beers over the next few months.


Here comes the summer, so get out, get about but above get drinking some lovely, tasty and refreshing beer.



*Mr Blue Sky - ELO
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Glasgow Pubs - The Pot Still

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When it comes to pubs, some tend to attract more attention than others. Whether it's for the way that beers are kept or diversity of beer range, they always seem to catch the eye and entice you in.




Others are more like journeymen, plodding away, doing what they do in a steady workmanlike fashion. They are the steady dependables that are never top of your visit list but ones that you don't mind popping into if someone suggests a quick pint. Occasionally, you neglect them and time passes before you re-visit and re-appraise them. When you do pop in after a lengthy absence, you either realise that nothing much has changed or things have generally gone downhill. It is a very rare occasion that you discover that the pub has grasped the nettle and upped their beer game. When this does happen, it is a beautiful and lovely thing to behold.

One such pub in Glasgow has done just that and is not just raised their game but is also raising eyebrows among Glasgow beer enthusiasts. The pub in question is The Pot Still in Hope St, slap bang in the City Centre. It is primarily a whisky pub offering several hundred rare and sought after whiskies to a knowledgeable single malt clientele that consists of local and far travelled tourists drawn to the dram. But, it has recently gained a reputation of serving a wide range of well kept and beautifully conditioned beers from Scottish microbreweries.

In recent weeks beers from Arran, Orkney, William's and Kelburn have been on and in the next few weeks we are promised appearances from great breweries such as Fyne Ales and Black Isle Brewery. When I was in last week, I was blown away by a great pint of Renfrewshire Brewery Kelburn's Cart Noir. Not only was it on peak form, it was also served superbly. The Pot Still have started to take a renewed interest and passion for the ale and it shows in the beer choice and condition of the beer. It's never going to be known primarily as a beer pub but it is good to see that they have realised the importance of having an everchanging selection of nice, well made beers rather than relying on the dull and uninteresting staples of Caledonian, Belhaven and Greene King that similar pubs have chosen to do.




It is also simply a stunning, lovely traditionally pub to have a pint of tasty refreshing beer in.




If you are in Glasgow sometime soon, then it might be a very good idea to pay it a visit.












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Scottish Pub Bosses Fight to Relax Smoking Ban

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The body which represents Scottish publicans, The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA), is to hold talks on how it can campaign for a relaxing of the ban on smoking in public places five years after it was introduced. The meeting that takes place in Edinburgh will see the SLTA take the advice of licensees from Hungary, Croatia and The Netherlands - countries which have banned smoking but have a more relaxed system of implementation and enforcement.


The SLTA have called Scotland's complete ban as 'extreme' and partly responsible for the closure of 800 Scottish pubs since the smoking ban was introduced in March 2006.


Chief Executive of SLTA, Paul Waterson said "We think it's appropriate, five years since the ban, to have a look at how it's working and perhaps re-evaluate it. We're flying over some people who are in the trade who have a far more relaxed system."


Waterson added that there wasn't any "appetite" for going back to the "old days", instead he hoped that there was some "room for accomodation."


I wish him well but given the current political climate against smoking in Scotland, I think I'll be ice skating in hell before the Scottish Government relax the laws on smoking.


The SNP Government says that tobacco "remains the biggest single preventable cause of death in Scotland" and that the party wants to take further action against smoking by setting "ambitious" targets to reduce smoking.


The Labour opposition are also against relaxing rules on smoking and want the Government to go much further than they have by tightening up legal loopholes and campaigning for a possible ban on smoking in cars carrying children as passengers.


I've always argued that a common sense approach to smoking in pubs was to have a differentiated two tier system of pubs in which there was an outright ban in some pubs and in others you would be allowed to smoke after a certain time. Both would be clearly signposted outside which would mean that punters and bar staff would make an informed choice on which pub they wanted to frequent or work in.


The chance to campaign for the implementation of this two tier system was in 2006 when the options of what type of ban was up for discussion. That horse has long since bolted and any attempt to get it back in it's box will promise to be fruitless and futile one.




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