LOCKDOWN MAY 2020

Despite the fact there are no pubs to visit, or pub crawls or beer festivals to enjoy, there is still a lot going on. 

Everywhere I look online, there are breweries selling mini casks. Ive got four empties as garden decorations. So I got to thinking , whoever is making these to sell to the breweries must be raking it in. All of my empties say made in Germany but one says Huber packaging. 

https://www.huber-packaging.com/english/ 

Anyhow, while doing my research I ended up on the Adnams Brewery website ( dont ask how). On it are  detailed instructions on how to open a mini cask and dispense the beer. 

The first step, according to them, is to pull out the tap from the base on the cask, turn the tap anti clockwise to pour 20ml of beer into a glass then discard.  I could read no further for a while. Discard ? What planet are they from!.

Recovering from this, I kept reading. Step 2 is to left the top tab and turn from 0 to 1. Fair enough Then step three..there it is again. Turn the tap clockwise to pour out the beer, if the first 20ml has sediment and is cloudy......discard !   Sorry Adnams, I can't read anymore.

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A couple of weeks ago one of our local,brewers, Darwin started selling bottled beers again. Brewed in small batches, they are bottled on site and they have a click and collect service, offering a free delivery for SR postcode customers. One of the beers, Extinction caught my eye, Its an 8.3% barley wine so I ordered 3 bottles. Not living in SR I drove the next day to collect, and came home.

The next day , while Mrs Ken was out shopping, I unpacked the beers and had just finished stashing them in my secret  cupboard when she returned. " Ive got you a couple of pressies"

A bottle of zero alcohol German beer and a bottle of low alcohol Old Specked Hen ( 0.5%) WTF ?

"Its if we go out anywhere you can drink and drive" I was told. So think about it, five minutes ago I had held an 8.3% barley wine, now I'm holding a 0.5 % Speckled Hen.

Ive drank  then both...nothing special. Will stick with the proper stuff. 

The barley wine ? Wonderful.

 
   

 

LOCKDOWN - APRIL 2020

The last time I was in a pub was on March 17th for a regular Tuesday night quiz. There are usually six of us. Now of course, for now this is not possible so it was suggested having a video conferencing quiz, One of us volunteered to set the questions. 

Unfortunately said question master is not used to drinking strong beers and for some unexplained reason had bought some bottles of St Austell Proper Job. This is a 5.5% bottled conditioned beer as it clearly states on the back of the bottle. Not really being a real ale expert he didnt have a clue what this meant.

At the start of the quiz he showed the bottle to the rest of us. I pointed out the fact that it would contain sediment and was just about to say it should be poured carefully when he proceeded to down it straight from the bottle

During the second bottle he lost the plot as to who's question it was in the quiz, which was in danger of descending into chaos.

By the way, I was drinking bottled Maximus, which I wouldn't recommend when trying to come up with answers towards the end of the evening.

On the subject of Maximus, on the same night elsewhere in our branch a local band were having a virtual jamming session with one guy drinking Maximus from a minicask. Reflecting on this the next day he was not sure it was a good idea. He ended up singing a Russian folk song called Stenka Razin (no me neither). - a very sad tale and he really hammed  it up. It has been performed by Red Army Choir and can be heard at. Fantastic !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44wzqWQxHpQ   

LOCKDOWN - MARCH 2020

"Bring a growler" suggested the Station House landlady. Well I dont have a dog so after some brief research a light bulb went on in my head. Of course - an empty carton for a takeaway.This was on the 17th March, a mere 2 weeks ago. This seems like a lifetime away and it was the last night I was in a pub.

My growler was an empty 2 pint cider flagon, so came away with 2 pints of cider in a flagon, sorry growler. Told Mrs Ken when I got in as likes the odd cider so I said, "Well that's Ok, a pint each then "  " But I'll be asleep after a half!" " Dont worry about it, I can manage yours !"  

Preempting the apocalypse, two days later I was at Maxim brewery stocking up. 2 mini casks and 12 bottles of Maximus should keep me going I thought. I set up a little bar in the garage ( pictured). It wont win any prizes for ambience, but keeps the beer cool. The only drawback is having to keep nipping out to top up, especially if watching the telly.

My birthday is 5 weeks before Xmas and family and friends had gifted me with plenty of bottles. Then came Xmas and more booze! So a quick stock check revealed I had enough to keep me going for a few weeks from when the inevitable was going to happen.

Sure enough, 23rd March -the inevitable  happened - Lockdown Day. A couple of days later came the news that takeaway beer from a brewery was classed as essential items. Quite right to. There was  news that supermarkets were restricting sales (well sort of). You could only buy 3 bottles of beer (3 items) but you could buy 3 multipacks of pissy lager, - 36 cans ....3 items,  work that one out !

Anyhow, back to Maxim for some more bottles - Raspberry Porter.....this lockdown could last a while so best to be prepared. It is safe to say I now have more bottled beer in the house than toilet rolls now !      

Ive gone through the first minicask and am looking forward to the next one ( Cherry Stout) next weekend.

  

Last night late on I opened a bottle of Robinsons Old Tom. At 8.5% this is a fantastic beer and made a great nightcap. Clearing up after, Mrs Ken said , "You've left some in the bottle". Panic set in until I realised all that was left was the size of a single raindrop. I think she was taking the piss.

So that was March. Hope to do this every month from now on till normality returns. 

Cheers .

CAMRA ANGLE 59 - SPRING 2020

The Spring edition of CAMRA Angle , the quarterly magazine of the Sunderland and South Tyneside branch of CAMRA, has  just been published. Copies will be distributed to real ale pubs throughout the area , and beyond from the middle of  the coming week. As usual , this is another full issue and well worth a read. 

The front cover heralds the fact that the Pub and Club of the Year have been announced. These include regional and national awards. Full listings  can be found in the centre pages.

There are articles about Hebburn, Mid Wales, the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival,  a Beer by Bus trip between Sunderland & Whitburn and how this magazine is produced and distributed. 

The branch have two new micros ; Lighthouse in Fulwell and Blues in Whitburn. The former is featured in a review. There are tributes to Terry Jones and Draught Bass and a presentation to our chosen charity - the RNLI.

Phew - and if that's not enough, there is the usual pub and brewery news.

If you cant wait, click on the link below for an informative read. 

CAMRA Angle Website

THE PEOPLE YOU MEET AT A BEER FESTIVAL

Yesterday Mrs Ken and I attended the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival in Birmingham. Arriving in New Street Station, which is basically a huge shopping mall with platforms underneath. We caught a bus to the venue which is next to Hockley Circus. Slightly disappointed there was no big top or a trapeze, just a roundabout underneath a dual carriageway.  

The venue, New Bingley hall, was 2 minutes walk, between there and the bus stop were two obstacles. One was a guy outside the gates of the car park in front of the hall who greeted us with a cheery, shook my hand and called Mrs Ken "Daisy" I thought he was CAMRA, turns out he was trying to flog a joke book. Told him politely where to put his book, then headed to the entrance, to be greeted by a CAMRA volunteer in a Hi Vis Jacket. 

"You a member?" 

" Yes I am" 

" Is your good lady/"  

I looked round till I realised he was on about the Mrs. 

" No, not worth it the amount she drinks". He kept banging on about benefits etc, I just wanted to get inside and have a beer.

Giving him the slip, we picked our tokens, glass and programme and met up with others we know who had grabbed a long table. At the end where we sat there were 2 chaps not known to us and not part of our group.

One, sitting opposite, never spoke or smiled. He just drank his beer and tried to read his kindle. At one point he fell asleep. The other chap was what turned out to be a champion beer ticker. He had a huge ring binder on the table full of notes of what he had drunk, presumably for years. In a holdall on the floor, which I kept standing on every time a got up,  was another ring binder. So he dutifully, checked the programme, his notes then toddled off to get his next drink so he could tick it off. He then underlined each beer in his dogeared 2020 Good Beer Guide.

After half an hour another one of my mates wandered in. He lives near Birmingham but is from the North East. The guy in the Hi Vis outside picked up on his accent and mentioned that I was already in, along with "this short bird with the sunglasses"! Mrs Ken! She's got a new nickname now!

Anyhow about the beers. I tried the champion beer - Fixed Wheel Blackheath Stout. It was OK. I also tried the CAMRA Champion Bottled Beer ( in cask form) , Thornbridge St Petersberg Imperial Russian Stout...again it was OK.  My taste buds must be deteriorating

with age.

The best pump clip was this, brewed in Darlington:-

You should know this name is associated  with the film "Deliverance"

After over 5 hours of drinking it was time to head back the station and our trip home. A long day but a chance to meet up with friends and Mrs friends I only see about once a year.

A quick note about the beer tokens, they had this crap system where a card had a value of £10. When you get a drink they cross of the value. You will note my final card had 60p left. Might get away with it in Wetherspoons but not a beer festival. I gave the card away.

One final thing, spotted this in the Gents:- Didn't have a clue why till someone said some of the local muslims use the venue and presumably wash their feet.

    

DRINKING OUT OF A HORN ON HOLIDAY..

Mrs Ken and I have just returned from a weeks holiday in Lanzarote. Before we left I spotted on Facebook mention of "Roscoe's Beer House" on the aforesaid island - in the resort of Playa Blanca. "That looks interesting" I exclaimed ! It was  an hour's walk from our hotel. Mrs Ken was less excited but agreed on Day 3 to accompany me along the promenade to Playa Blanca town centre.

Passing several cafes with San Miguel and other shite beer signs, we found the pub/ cafe in the town's pedestrianised area. The place was festooned with signs and bottles , principally Belgian in origin, which was no bad thing. Mind you, there was also a Brewdog sign, but ignored it.

I love strong dark beers so perused the menu and spotted one of interest. La Corne Black at 8%. Mrs Ken ordered a cider and the owner - Roscoe - scuttled off into his store cupboard and appeared with a few bottles. Soon the beer arrives, along with what can only be described as a glass horn in a wooden holder. WTF?

 

He pours the beer into the glass horn , showed me how to hold its holder to stop me getting beer all over myself and left us to it. The beer is described in the menu as as having chocolate, caramel and coffee notes, followed by plum, blackberry and red fruits aftertaste. Spot on. 

I had to drink it slowly to prevent any backwash . What other customers must have thought of this idiot near the back of the pub swigging his beer like that. The price was 6 euros, which wasn't bad considering the uniqueness of the dispensing method. 

I carried out some research when we returned home. The brewery is called Ebly located in the Luxembourg part of Belgium. Their beers brand name is La Corne Du Bois Despendus, of which the Black is one, Roscoe also sold three other styles. 

I spotted a description of the glass on tinternet... "The drinking horn is the ancestor of the modern glass. Let this glass transport you back in time. It's the perfect excuse to dress up as a Viking, or Asterix and Obelix". Not sure that would be apt or practical in Lanzarote    

Looking round the bar near us was what I would all a beer

bottle tree. A few people called in (it was lunch time) but just had coffees or cokes - no beers.

Towards the end of the drink from the horn   it was like staring into a tunnel entrance, watching the beer slowly flow round the bend at the end of the horn.

The bar opened at the end of 2018 and I wish   Roscoe success in his venture, an oasis in a street of  tourist bars.

Satisfied we set off back to the hotel, the H10 Rubicon. They had a great selection of bottled beers in the lounge fridge, all by Damm Brewery of Barcelona. There was very pleasant AK Damm,  an Alsatian style beer ( that would be German state and not a dog) ,  a tasty gluten free lager called Daura and top of the list, a 7.4 double malt called Voll-Damm . Voll in the German for full, which it certainly was.

It was a bit depressing that most hotel guests were drinking the standard Spanish yellow piss, which they always drink without realising some little gems were available.

I can imagine a UK bottle shop selling some and a customer saying - Gimme a Damm Beer!

KEN'S REVIEW OF 2019

This is the time of year when TV and newspapers look back over the year.

So here are my beer related awards for 2019.

The Dry January Award My Arse Award

Awarded to whoever came up with this idea. Its as bad as Sober October. A mate of mine fell for that October one so I celebrated "Can't Remember November".

The David Crosby Look Alike Award

Remember David Crosby, as in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ? Well in May I was fortunate to attend the SIBA North East Judging at Gateshead Rugby Club Beer Festival. With much sampling and judging to do in the club bar, during a break two of us adjourned into the beer festival bar and discovered one of the guys serving was the double of David Crosby. He has grown his hair and his trademark handlebar moustache to look just like him

Spoke in a Geordie accent, which ruined the effect somewhat. 




The Best Pub With Its Own Bus Stop Award

 For a week long holiday in 2019 we stayed in an airbnb in Porthmadog, North Wales. This small town, as well as featuring the Festiniog Railway has a brewer called Purple Moose. The brewery is hidden in a back street but they have a bottle shop and a brewery tap, called The Australia, both in the main street..

The pub sells all of the breweries range of beers, including Dark Side of The Moose - an excellent dark beer. Outside the pub is a bus stop. The timetable reads " Porthmadog - Australia". Apparently some locals ( I'm not making this up), when getting on the bus say " Single to Australia please".  That's a hell of a bus ride !

Best Pub Lunch Award 

Usually when I have a meal in a pub, sometime after Ive forgotten what Ive had. So this accolade is awarded for a meal I will remember for a long time. Mrs Ken and I spent a few nights in Beverley in East Yorkshire. We were looking at some stalls in the Market Place with rain looking imminent ( and I was hungry) so we dived into the Dog & Duck for lunch. The pub is family run so no corporate menu to wade through. No pay up front either, I had a tab. Table number ? No chance ! 

There were a few simple choices so I went for Giant Yorkshire pud filled with sausages, potatoes, carrots and onion gravy. Fantastic. I forget how much but it was very good value. Nothing comes close this year.

Best Contrast in Technology Award

On a pub crawl of Weardale with some mates, we visited the Black Bull in Frosterley. Best pub of the day ( see next award).  The pub had stone flag floors and loads of antique bits and pieces all over the place, including an old telephone. I was struck by the image ( see photo ) of this with the chef on his mobile in the kitchen. Great pub.

Best Stag Do Award 

On the same pub crawl our last pub in Weardale was in Wolsingham - The Black Lion. Follow the link to see what happened

https://kensbeerblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-quiet-afternoon-in-country-pub-no.html      

Best beer at the Great British Beer Festival ( GBBF) I hadnt tried before award

I have been going to GBBF for a number of years and there is usually a stand out beer I have not had before. So Er...struggling with this one. Was looking forward to Maxim Raspberry Porter but it had sold out ! 

Still, the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival in Feb 2020 has  moved to Birmingham, so have got my train tickets already. 

Ive been to a couple before ( both Manchester) so I know to expect plenty of strong dark beers. Should be good .

Micropubs visited

Not an award as such, just the recognition of a continuing trend in new micropubs, while some larger pubs struggle.

Station House -  Durham
Firkin Alley - Barnard Castle
Sun Inn - Beamish Museum ( well it is small, no TV, no music)
ORB- Darlington
The Office- Morpeth
Dog & Rabbit - Whitley Bay
Chequers - Beverley
Fram Ferment - Framwellgate Moor
Split Chimp - Newcastle   
Lighthouse - Sunderland