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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Golden Pints Awards 2010 - my nominations

 

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Fellow Beer Blogger Mark Dredge has opened up nominations for the 2010 Golden Pints Awards. You can read his original post here. I thought I'd get my thinking cap on and submit my nominations for the GPA 2010. It's been a great year for beers and brewing with some really fine examples of quality beers out there so it was pretty difficult in some categories to get it down to a single winner.

So here goes -  the beer monkey's nominations,


Best UK Draught -    Fyne Ales Jarl


Best UK Bottled Beer -    Kernel Brewery S.C.A.NS IPA / Brewdog Bashah Reserve


Best Overseas Draught -    Keesmann Herren Pils


Best Overseas Bottled Beer -    Saison Du BUFF


Best Overall Beer -    Fyne Ales Jarl


Best Pump Clip -    Anything by Houston!!!!


Best UK Brewery -   Thornbridge / Fyne Ales


Overseas Brewery -    Stone


Best Pub / Bar -    The Jolly Butcher's, Stoke Newington


Best Festival -     GBBF


Best Independent Retailer -  Utobeer


Best Online Retailer -    My Brewery Tap / Beer Merchants


Best Beer Blogger -     Cooking Lager


Best Beer Twitterer -     Beer Reviews Andy


Best Brewery Online -    Brewdog


Open Category -   Most annoying word to describe a beer  in 2010 - "Awesome!!!"


My hopes for 2011 -   more collaborations, continued innovation, excellent beer.



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T'was the blog before Christmas

Christmas is usually the time for pushing the boat out and indulging yourself in the finer things in life. The beer monkey is no different. Over the past few months, I've been finding myself spending an awful lot of time on two of  my favourite websites,  My Brewery Tap and  Beer Merchants, admiring the stunning collection of UK and International beer. I've also been ordering a bottle or two to keep me refreshed over the festive period.

So, my  Christmas cargo is now complete and this year I shall be mostly drinking beer such as....... Thornbridge, Marble, Brewdog Abstrakt, Sierra Nevada, The Kernel Brewery, HardKnott, Cantillon, Odell, Goose Island and the lovely, lovely Fyne Ales among others. That's my Christmas cargo. What's in your Christmas cargo?

One Happy Beer Monkey

So, whatever you are drinking, I hope you have a wonderful, lovely Christmas and that Santa brings you all that you hope and desire. And a few nice bottles too.

Merry Christmas Beer Buddies.

Have A Great One.

beer duty and binge drinking - it's all our fault




 

The Government's latest attempt to tackle the twin evils of binge drinking and anti-social behaviour has just been announced and on first inspection it appears to be a misguided and ill judged piece of legislation that will not solve these problems but instead could potentially seriously hinder the growing niche market of innovative craft beers and brewers making quality high abv beer.

The Con-Dem's plans include the raising of duty on beers stronger than 7.5% and a lowering of duty on beers below 2.8%. The actual level of duty for both categories will not be announced until the Spring but a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said that it will be set at a level which will influence drinkers behaviour. This can be taken to read that the level will be high and punitive.

This policy is misguided because it fails to tackle the alcoholic cause of binge drinking and anti social behaviour which is not gangs of young people hanging around swing parks drinking Brewdog's 9.2% Hardcore IPA or Kernel's 7.7%  S.C.A.NS IPA. What they are drinking is the usual mass market multinational beer stacked high and sold cheap in supermarkets and bargain booze shops. We all know the ones I mean and this legislation allows these manufacturers and retailers to skip their social responsibility.

 It would be interesting to find out how much money has been given by these vested interests in political donations and sponsorships to the coalition partners in the last few years. It is also interesting that the Conservative's election pledge of banning the sale by supermarkets of beer below cost price as a loss leader has been kicked into the long grass for the next few years. It seems the intense lobbying by these vested interests has worked pretty much in their favour.

So, while socially responsible craft beer drinkers and brewers pay the price in the name of public health and peaceful behaviour, hordes of  party animals and park dwellers will still be able to overload their trolleys with slabs of horrendously cheap cooking lager and chemical cider and get ridiculously drunk.

It now seems that society's problems are all the fault of some beer geeks that enjoy a quality, well made beverage every now and again.

London Pubs Lead the Revolution

Lovely, London Beer

Pssst! Yeah, You!

Come over here.

I've got something to tell you but you had better keep this just between us.

Closer, so no one can hear a word.

Ssshhh! Don't tell a soul but there is something rather deliciously exciting happening in the world of tasty beer and lovely pubs down that there London.

The Jolly Butchers

In the past few months, there have been the first initial tremors of a potentially seismic beer earthquake in the Capital City. Following on from the success of The Rake Bar and The Cask, two new pubs have opened that are leading the way in changing attitudes to how beer is perceived and consumed. These two pubs are the The Jolly Butchers in Stoke Newington and The Euston Tap just down from Euston station.


One proves conclusively that a pub can be an ale success regardless of the unfashionable postcode provided you are giving the punters what they want, a sublime selection of quality beers from innovative and exciting local and national brewers. The other confirms that there is clearly an untapped market for cutting edge U.S. Craft, eclectic European and diverse U.K. cask, draft and bottles.

London Beer Week

The Jolly Butchers on Stoke Newington High St has been up and running in its latest incarnation since May and in a short space of time has earned a reputation as the place to go in North London to find some of the finest beers around. Particularly, if, in the Jolly Butchers case, the beers are knowledgeably sourced not only from the finest Breweries in London and the Home Counties but also some of the best regarded UK brewers such as Thornbridge and Brewdog.



When I was in it was coming to the end of their London Beer Week showcase that highlighted the depth, quality and brewing pedigree of the Capital's micro's such as The Kernal, Meantime, Brodie's, Redemption and the Camden Town Brewery. Also available were regular's such as Thornbridge's Jaipur and Brewdog's 5a.m. Saint, Punk IPA and 77 lager. The food is rather good too.


What has struck me the times I have been in the Jolly Butchers was the range and ages of people enjoying the superb selection of beers. Not the usual Camra suspects on a day trip from the Bree Louise but a mixture of a young, edgy, left field crowd and well heeled couples going through the various beers with an infectious enthusiasm. Significantly, the beers were being downed by not just men but also a healthy proportion of women.



All around you could hear variations of the same phrases, "What's that you're having?", "You want a taste?" and "What will I have next?". The excitement and curiousity in their questions were almost tangible and an absolute delight to hear.

Havin' a  Butchers

The second pub has only been open since Guy Fawkes Night and has created fireworks ever since. The Euston Tap sits in the Stunning Grade II West Lodge in Euston Square just in front of the Station and it's mission is to "bring London the best draught real ale and craft beer available" and on the evidence of my visit, it doesn't fail in it's mission.

Tip Top Tap

It really is a beer drinkers nirvana with 11 Beers on Cask and 19 Draft Craft Beers (see pics)but that description doesn't do the Euston Tap justice as the beer fridges have to be seen to be believed. These truly are Magic and Enchanted fridges containing the finest selection of bottled beers I have seen in any pub in the UK. The choice is truly a beer perverts paradise. Bottles from brewers near and far include The Lost Abbey, Titan, Left Hand, Founders, Victory, Cantillon, Tegernseer, St Georgen Brau and Magnums of Mikkeller Festival 09 and 10 among many others.

The Bar at Tap

The choice blew me away and left me trapped, frozen like a rabbit in the beer head lights and it took me a few minutes to make up my mind as to what I would have first. I was jumping between the fridges and craning my neck to see the boards above the bar as I tried to narrow down my options. It was almost impossible but I went for lovely Manchester Bitter, followed by a Sierra Nevada Torpedo.

Behind Bars

One was Cask, the other Draft but both were beer and to be honest, I don't care about the method of dispense. If it tastes lovely then get it in your mouth and down your neck. Both were superb and again, temptation got the better of me and I decided to have one more before I made my journey back to the frozen North. I wanted something Big and Hoppy so I went for a half of Great Divide Hercules Double IPA.  It was reminiscent of Brewdog's/Mikkellers I Hardcore You summer collaboration and was full of meaty loveliness.

A Magic Fridge

The Euston Tap really is a special place offering the beer drinker an unrivalled choice in the city. It opens during a very exciting and optimistic time for beer and pubs not just in London but also across the country in pubs such as Brewdog Aberdeen, The Marble Arch, The Grove and the Tap's sister pub in Sheffield. Hopefully, pubs like these, The Euston Tap and The Jolly Butchers are merely the forerunners of a beer and pubs revolution that might just spread to other Cities across the country.

Another Magic Fridge

Did I say ssshhh, don't tell a soul?

Forget that, go to the nearest rooftop and proclaim from the top of your voice that the beer and pub revolution has begun and could soon be coming to a city near you.

The quicker the beer revolution spreads, the better.

Get to it, Comrades.

2010 - Fine collaborations. A Fyne collaboration

2010 has certainly been a fine year for beer collaborations with some excellent examples springing to mind. Take, for instance, the coming together of Brewdog and Mikkeller which saw the Fraserburgh upstarts blending their Hardcore IPA and Danish craft brewers' I Beat You together to create a quadruple dry hopped, piney toffeepop of a beer, I Hardcore You.

There was also the menage a trois collaboration between U.S. craft brew masters Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing and Victory Brewing Co's to produce a citrus and herbtastic Saison du BUFF. The BUFF stands for Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor and this Saison certainly puts into practice what the BUFF boys preach. I had a bottle of SdB one night with some roasted chicken and thyme fresh from the oven and the pairing was absolutely fantastic. This is a lovely brew full of herby, hoppy flavour and one of my favourite beers this summer.

And in late August, London's 15 Breweries got together to work on a beer that celebrated the resurgent London Brewing community. Brewers from long established companies like Fuller's as well as relative new kids on the block such as Kernel and Meantime joined forces at Tottenham's Redemption Brewery to create a London Porter that not only showcases the brewers innovation and talent but also symbolises their passion and belief that they have in maintaining that London can and does create world class beer.

So happy days indeed, if you are like me someone who likes to see some of their favourites brewers and breweries put their heads together and come up with different, interesting but above all tasty beers. Speaking of different, tasty and interesting beers there is one collaboration that I thought would only happen if I wrote a letter to the man with the big white beard who stays in the North Pole and only shows his face once a year. However, it appears that beer dreams sometimes do indeed come true
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Two breweries that I hold in very high regard are Fyne Ales and Thornbridge. Fyne Ales is an Argyll brewery based at the top of Loch Fyne. It consistently produces superb ales such as Avalanche, Piper's Gold and Highlander. This year's summer offering from them, Jarl was one of the nicest beers at the GBBF.  As for Thornbridge, well anyone who has tasted some of their offerings such as Jaipur, Kipling or Halcyon will know that they produce beers of the highest quality and taste.

Well, guess what? Fyne Ales and Kelly Ryan formerly of Thornbridge are working on a collaborative effort which according to Kelly is a "big Indian Black Ale full of Centennial, Amarillo, Perle and Citra hops". Given both their pedigrees, this will be one beer that you will want to taste, savour and enjoy. I know I will.