ITS BEEN FIVE YEARS !

I've just realised that this week it's been exactly 5 years since I joined CAMRA. So by way of a small celebration here are some thoughts on how its been so far.

I have been drinking and enjoying real ale for a number of years now and in fact have been to the Great British Beer Festival for the last 12 years. When I packed in work at the end of 2009, although I kept myself busy, I was looking for something new as a hobby and an interest. So I joined in CAMRA at the end of 2010.

Now the most important thing about being a member has to be the people. I have made many new acquaintances over the 5 years and its good to share a common interest. At every meeting, beer festival or other social occasion there is always someone new to share experiences with.

There are some material benefits in joining. There is the quarterly magazine and monthly newspaper, although I find they seem to be southern biased. Free or discounted entry into beer festivals is always welcome. Some pubs offer discounts off a pint of real ale, but I've noticed most don't seem to publicise this in the pub. Of course, the 50p vouchers from Wetherspoons always come in handy. 

I mentioned beer festivals. I have really enjoyed helping out at the branch Octoberfest on the last 4 occasions, number 5 coming up soon. There is a lot of satisfaction in seeing the event come together on the day, pulling pints and chatting to old and new acquaintances. It always fascinates me that the taking down of a festival takes about the 10th of the time of actually setting it up.  

As well as branch meetings, which I attend when I can, there has been the occasional meet the brewer nights. Black Paw, Fyne Ales and Maxim (twice!) spring  to mind.    

Since joining I have embraced social media, first with Facebook and recently using Twitter. This got me thinking - how on earth did we communicate before "T'internet" came along? Why back then it was all down to word of mouth, the post (remember that?) or ads in the newspapers. I have a friend who has never had a mobile phone or a computer and he seems to get by.  

I have enjoyed reading and writing for our branch magazine. Most recently I have started this blog, again something I wouldn't have envisaged 5 years ago.    

When I was working part of my role was doing  surveys in buildings. Now I am occasionally doing surveys in pubs for entries into either The Good Beer Guide or the CAMRA pub website, Whatpub, altogether a much more pleasurable experience.   

I also got a lot of satisfaction helping to produce a couple of real ale trail leaflets. For one of them I walked the route, taking pictures and sussing out bus stops etc. Although I  admit this was the only pub crawl I have ever done when I didnt have a drink!

A previous post, which can be read here , covered a recent day working in Maxim Brewery, which I have to say is one of the highlights of the last 5 years.

As with all things, there is nearly always a downside. Here are a few.

CAMRA sell books using their online shop. I have purchased several over the years, including a Good Beer Guide, Real Heritage Pub Guide and the Good Bottled Beer Guide; BUT NEVER FROM CAMRA BOOKS.  Instead a well known online book seller is cheaper and doesn't sneakily add postage at the end of a transaction.

Before the recent Great British Beer Festival it was possible to purchase tickets online. You could have them delivered or print your own. It was the same additional cost for either option. So you paid for the privilege of using your own paper. Cheeky! 

The C in CAMRA stands for Campaign. I admit I have had limited success doing this.  

I remember during the last coalition government CAMRA campaigned for the stopping of the beer duty escalator. I dutifully completed my online petition which went off to my MP. Eventually the reply came back that it was government policy and the increased tax was needed to reduce the budget deficit. And this from an MP in the Opposition! I was so disgusted I gave the letter from the House of Commons to my mate to fuel his summer barbecue.

More recently, off went another online petition concerning  community pubs. Back came a letter about the National Trust or English Heritage (I forget which). That went straight in the shredder. I have no confidence in my MP doing the right thing. Hopeless.

Having said that, the positives have far outweighed the negatives. You get out of something what you put in. I met a CAMRA member for the first time last week who said he doesn't go to branch meetings as he didnt know anyone. I thought that was strange as it wasn't a problem for me. How else do you get involved if you don't make the effort to make yourself known?

I've found I now tend to focus more on beer quality, rather than the downing of copious quantities as in my younger days. However this could be a sign of getting on a bit, and not joining CAMRA. 

There are now more breweries than 5 years ago, but less pubs to drink the beer in. Work that one out!

So if you're not a member and you enjoy drinking good beer, I hope this gives you something to think about . Come along to your local branch beer festival and see what goes on.  Follow this link for more info

So heres to the next 5 years.

Cheers

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION is a theory put forward in 1929 by Hungarian Frigyes Karinthy, He suggested that everybody and everything is connected by up to six steps. So what's this to do with beer ?  Well here goes.....

At a recent visit to the Cross Keys in Washington, I noticed they were selling bottles of Monteiths Southern Pale, from New Zealand . I tried some and it was quite refreshing. So why an interest in this particular ale and how did it end up there ?

 

Step 1

Drinking the beer reminded me of a holiday down under  we had in 2012. We visited North Island , New Zealand for a few days and our first stop was Auckland. Now as luck would have it one of the best places to have a beer is  the Shakespeare Brewery and Hotel, just around the corner from our hotel.  Sheer coincidence honest!    

This is a late Victorian building, with 3 bars and where New Zealand's first brewpub was set up in 1986. Usually one of their beers is on sale at any one time, the rest is made up of "guests". 

Step 2

I immediately spotted in the restaurant bar one of the guest taps was called Monteiths Black. I’d not heard of the brewery or the beer and, I as I like dark beers,  I ordered one.  At 5.2%, this is brewed with 5 malts. My mouth was immediately full of biscuit, chocolate and coffee flavours which stayed on the palate long after I had finished. This turned out to be the best beer of the entire holiday. 

Step 3

Doing a bit of digging later, I discovered that Monteiths are based in the town of Greymouth on the South Island. In the late 60's it was taken over by DB Breweries, one of New Zealand's beer giants. In 2001  DB announced the closure of the Monteith brewery, but such was the outcry, this decision was quickly reversed. By quickly I mean 4 days later. One of the champions of this campaign was the wonderfully named SOBA, the Society of Beer Advocates. This is the NZ equivalent of CAMRA. Inspired by CAMRA, they were formed after becoming fed up with fizzy yellow stuff dominating the market. (see link below to SOBA website)

http://www.soba.org.nz/ 

Step 4

Anyhow, back to Monteiths. There is still no obvious connection yet with the Southern Pale turning up in one of my locals. Well, in 2013 DB Breweries , by now part of Asia Pacific Breweries ( I know, but stick with it, nearly there) were taken over by Heineken. 

Step 5

So one guess who supplies the drinks for the Cross Keys? Correct. 

Step 6

The Cross Keys recently reintroduced real ale, hence my visit, otherwise would not have seen and drank the Monteiths Southern Pale.

I rest my case.

Read more about Monteiths here:-

http://www.monteiths.co.nz/Beer-And-Cider

Also see link to a previous post:-

http://kensbeerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/breaking-news-new-real-ale-outlet-in.html

A DAY AT MAXIM BREWERY

I have a mental bucket list, things I would like to do before I snuff it.Over the years I have ticked off various things like doing the Settle to Carlisle Line, visiting Brugge or even writing a blog.

What hasn't been on my mental list is working in a brewery. Now Ive been on many brewery tours and have enjoyed every one of them, especially the sampling that comes at the end.  

However, I was recently offered the chance to spend one day at a brewery and help with making a brew. So there was no way I was going to turn an offer like that down. Most of the tours over the years have been after operating hours when everyone has gone home, the kit has been cleaned and most brews are fermenting away in a tank ready for the next process. 

So where did this happen. Well it was Maxim Brewery in Houghton Le Spring, Tyne and Wear. They were born out of the closure of the Vaux Brewery in Sunderland and Wards of Sheffield  Originally, their flagship beer, Double Maxim, was contract brewed and sold only in bottles until the new brewery opened in 2007. The cask ales that are now produced also include Lambtons, Swedish Blonde and Maximus.

So it was an early 8am start to meet Glen Whale , the Head Brewer. After a brief tour it was on with the work. A brewing process consists of 6 stages; Malting, Milling, Mashing, Boiling, Fermenting and Conditioning. The malting and milling of the barley malt and other grains to be used had already been done off site so it was on with the Mashing.

For consistency, each beer has a menu and tick list  to follow, listing ingredients and quatities. A brew of Double Maxim was about to be started and the first task was to empty into  a large mashing tank the contents of sacks of primarily Pale Malt, plus some Crystal Malt and Roast Barley into the water ( called liquor). As I helped tip the contents into the top of the tank, I kept saying to myself " for Gods sake Ken  don't let go of the sack, don't let go whatever you do". Thankfully my nerve held as I nonchalantly lifted the heavy sacks. Once done there was over an hour to wait for the mashing process to finish so it was time to move on to something else.

Maxim have recently won a contract to supply a stout called John Bull for the Wetherspoons Autumn 2015 Beer Festival. At least 600 casks will be produced. 

The job for most of the rest of the morning was to fill 72 of these casks. A long hose was connected to a large fermenting vessel which held 25 barrels of the stout.  The other end had a trigger for filling the casks, each one of which  been cleaned the night before. The trigger was inserted into a hole in the cask and pulled to fill with the John Bull. A plastic bung was then hammered into the cask, which was then lifted onto a pallet. Once 18 casks were completed they were whisked off on a fork lift into a cold store ready for dispatch. I had a try filling a couple of casks but nearly did my back in bending over so gave up and handed the hose back to the experts.

By now the mashing was complete so the Double Maxim wort had to be transferred via pipes into large copper kettles for boiling, during which Goldings hop pellets are added.

Still, the 72  John Bull casks were soon filled. After recovering the yeast residue from the bottom of the fermentation vessel it was time for some cleaning. Water with caustic soda was pumped through the now empty vessel. I noticed a lot of cleaning occurred with each process and remarked that a hell of a lot of water is used throughout the day. I wonder if they are on a water meter ? 

I had a wander into the cold store and spotted some wooden casks which when filled,  are heavier than the more common metal ones.

Soon it was time for the first break and a sit down after  nearly 4 hours. I reflected over a brief lunch how much hard physical graft is involved in brewing beer. You are on your feet most of the day.

Looking down from the first floor lounge I could see all the tanks, pipes, hoses and the various valves, pumps and switches that make up the fascinating jigsaw of how beer is moved from the start of the brew to the finish. You don't usually see  anything happening on a tour so it was good that today I was actually experiencing it for real; either beer boiling away in a copper kettle, flowing through a hose, being transferred into casks, or some surplus stout being decanted into a plastic jug for the odd quiet sip ( that would be for me , not the real workers).

From the lounge I could also see stacks of bottled beer ready for dispatch to pubs, clubs and supermarkets. The brewery don't bottle their own beer, it is sub contracted. A brew is fermented in one or two 80 barrel tanks, then piped into a road tanker for transporting to the bottling plant. Maxim don't sell bottle conditioned ale so what is returned is filtered.

Refreshed after a brief break it was back onto the floor to follow the next task of transferring the Double Maxim from the boiling to the fermenting stage. Watching the flow through a glass panel in a pipe, I was standing in a small sticky spillage ( oh no, spilt beer !). Turning to move I found my trainers were stuck to the floor. It was like liquid Velcro. I just had to have another  quick sip of the spare stout to recover from this little  mishap.

Now, naively I asked what was next. Cask cleaning, ready for the next day, I was told. I was shown in a corner of the building two cask steam cleaners. After a brief instruction I was left to it. Lifting a cask from a pallet, stand on the cleaner, switch on, wait to be cleaned, switch off, lift off ( wearing gloves as red hot ) then when cool inspect internally to ensure no residue left, then hammer in a keystone ( a small plastic plug), then stack on a pallet. I think I did over 30 casks. I was sweating with all the steam and the lifting. Now I know why I was readily allowed to do this on my own.This was thirsty work , fortified by a brief sip of the aforesaid black stuff.

Remember the sack lifting at the start of this ?  Well the residue from the mash was now being discharged along a corkscrew conveyor into a small hopper. Suddenly into the brewery walks a local farmer. He regularly collects the waste malt etc to feed his horses. I reflected  that my first job this morning was about to end up inside a horse !

While I was slaving away the now boiled Double Maxim was being piped into the recently emptied and cleaned fermentation vessel. This would be ready to transfer to casks in about 3 days.   

Soon, another 4 hours had flown by and it was time to leave. I was asked if I could come back the next day to clean some more casks ! I love little jokes like that.

Clutching some bottles of Double Maxim ( thanks guys) I staggered back to the car. Time for some more refection on the way home. 

Being a brewer is bloody hard work and requires total dedication to the art. They deserve my respect and I will forever think on that when I'm enjoying my next pint.  I often wonder if founders of these new startup breweries that keep popping up very 5 minutes know what they are letting themselves in for ? There seems to me to be too many brewers chasing less and less pubs.

Maxim have a small shop for the purchase of bottled beer, mini casks T shirts etc. They also undertake brewery tours. See website here for contact details.     

http://www.maximbrewery.co.uk/

So many thanks to Glen, Alan and Mark for what was truly a memorable, if hard working day. I will not forget this experience in a hurry.

CAMRA ANGLE AUTUMN 2015

The autumn edition of CAMRA Angle , the quarterly magazine of the Sunderland and South Tyneside branch of CAMRA, has  just been published. Copies are now being distributed to real ale pubs throughout the area , and beyond *. 

The forthcoming beer festival, Octoberfest , in Sunderland is featured, as well as news on pubs, breweries, and beers. There is also an update on the revamped branch website.

There are reports by our roving reporters  from Dumfries, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cropton ( N Yorks). The partial Scottish theme is rounded off by a pub quiz. 

An excellent article about cider is also included.

   

 * A copy of Angle has quickly made its way to Melbourne Australia, with the following review :-

"Very nice newsletter, a good read and just enough entertainment –vs- information"

 If you cant find a copy, follow this link to download your own,  and for more branch news. .http://sst.camra.org.uk/

Accept no imitations !!

ON THE SUBJECT OF HANGOVER RESEARCH.

There was report in the media over the weekend about a group of scientists with nothing else to do, who had surveyed over 800 subjects and came up with the result that a hangover is caused by too much alcohol. The conclusion was reached, no alcohol, no hangover !  They could have saved their money and rang me up, I could have told them that.

Several cures for a hangover were dismissed as a waste of time. One was drinking a lot of water. Now I've tried this one. Taking a pint of water to bed after a few doesn't work for me for the following reasons :-

1. I fall asleep after having two gulps.

2. I wake up during the night bursting for a pee as a result of item 1.

3. As a result of 2, I reach out to grab my specs and knock the remains of the glass of water over, thus spending the next ten minutes , under muttered oaths,wiping up the mess and praying I didnt wake Mrs Ken, and that the mobile didn't take a hit.

Now because I drink mostly real ale , I usually don't wake up with a headache these days  just a bit tired after items 2 and 3 above. 

NOSTALGIA AT TAN HILL INN

We recently had a day out in Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, spending a couple of hours at the scenic Aysgarth Falls.  Rather than have a drink in one of the local pubs we decided to drive up  onto the moors and call in  to the Tan Hill Inn some 22 miles away.

 
Now this 17th century inn is  famous for being the highest pub in the UK. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. It has also featured in a national double glazing advertisement campaign, and was snowed in a couple of winters ago causing , I imagine, one hell of a lock in !

What isn't widely known is an event that happened in 1973 that I will always remember. 

Back then I used to go fell walking about once a month with some mates. Typically, we would drive to a point about 2 hours from a pub, park up, walk to the pub, have a few beers then stagger back to the car. On this fateful day we decided to walk part of the Pennine Way, covering about 8 miles from Bowes in County Durham  to the Tan Hill Inn.

Now you have to appreciate in those days, there  was no internet, social media, mobile phones and only three TV channels with limited news output. These were also the days of restricted opening hours, with pubs generally closing at 3pm and reopening at 6pm.

We timed it to get to the pub for about noon, and had the foresight to pack sandwiches. There is always a sense of anticipation when nearing a pub, something that stays with me to this day. So following the map, we trudged over the moors towards Tan Hill. The nearer we got the more alarmed we became as we couldn't see it anywhere. Then we rounded a rocky outcrop and the truth dawned. The bloody thing had BURNT DOWN !!.

We flopped down against a dry stone wall , utterly despondent and swearing profusely. We had no choice but to eat our sarnies and headed back to the car, sober !!

Fast forward to the present. Driving up from Wensleydale you cross the wild moors of Buttertubs Pass and Stonesdale till the pub comes into view on the horizon. Although sunny and warm, nothing prepared us for the howling gale when we opened the car doors.The Inn sign was swinging and creaking like a scene from Jamaica Inn or Poldark. 

There are several rooms inside either side of the central bar. Six handpulls are normally in use, mostly serving beers from Theakstons    ( Lightfoot and Old Peculier ) and Black Sheep ( Riggwelter and Black Sheep Special ). I went straight for the Old Peculier.

There is something deeply satisfying about sitting in an old comfortable armchair in this old inn, drinking this famous old ale.

Several photographs adorn the walls, mostly about the pub's links to the mining days, and the snow drifts. Actually on the latter, the pub has its own snow mobile, with the words Old Peculier emblazoned across the front. I noticed there was no reference to the 1973 fire. The guy behind the bar was too busy to ask and besides,  too young to remember.

After trying some Black Sheep Special Ale , we reluctantly got up to leave.    " Mind the step" said Mrs Ken , so I immediately  banged my head on the low doorway.

When we arrived home I checked the fire event on the pub' s website....nothing. There is only a brief mention in an old Yorkshire Post article which can be seen by scrolling halfway down the attached article.

 http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/yorkshire-living/health-family/pub-that-set-the-bar-high-1-6066255

The pub has a customer feedback form so that's getting filled in after I've posted this.

One final thing. The pub were pushing a new beer by Theakstons called Peculier IPA. I quickly discovered it was keg so didn't bother. Have just checked , its a dark pale ale. Work that one out.

 

THE CARLISLE STATE MANAGEMENT SCHEME

Mrs Ken and myself had a recent day trip to Carlisle. We parked up in a large car park located between the Castle and the West Coast Main Line. Glancing across to the line in the hope of spotting a train going passed, I noticed a long two story brick building with the words THE CARLISLE OLD BREWERY COMPANY LIMITED displayed on it. 

"Look at that " I exclaimed, "its the old Theakstons brewery". Blank look from Mrs Ken. " You know, the Carlisle State Management Scheme ?"   This time a look like I had grown a second head. 

Never mind,  it was time to refresh my memory as to when and how this scheme started and ended. So this is a brief history.

During the first World War there were large munitions factories in Gretna just over the Scottish border  As beer for Gretna was brewed in Carlisle, to discourage the workers there from drinking too much, in 1916 the UK Government took over the brewing, distribution and sale of all booze in the Carlisle area. Two other parts of the UK were affected, Enfield and Cromarty Firth. Carlisle was the largest and is the most well known.

Included in the scheme was restricted opening hours, the forbidding of buying a round of drinks and the refurbishment ( and sometimes demolition) of pubs in the area. There was even a style of pub designed which affected the design of pubs in UK.

In 1971 the then Government decided to privatise the scheme, with Theakstons buying the brewery. This lasted until 1987 when the it closed due to financial reasons, with production being transferred to Newcastle.

The Old Carlisle Brewery complex is now student accommodation.

Every pub still open in Carlisle that is over 30 years old was in the scheme. In fact the first I ever visited in the city, back in the 90's,  was a former state management pub, the Milbourne Arms.

A few years ago, on a pub crawl, we enjoyed the beer and the surroundings of  the Kings Head in the centre  and The Boardroom next to the cathedral.  

Now, a splendid initiative called THE STATE MANAGEMENT STORY has been launched , the link of which can be found here. http://thestatemanagementstory.org/ 

As well as a comprehensive history, there are details of  a pub trail, the impact the scheme had on the rest of the UK,  and other useful information. They are asking if anyone has more information to contact them via the website.