You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July, 2008.
So, Gordon Ramsey has tried his hand at brewing, with a little help from Innis & Gunn’s Dougal Sharp. I once sent an e-mail to Gordon Ramsey, via his website. He’d written a recipe in his Times column that was something like a steak and ale pie, but with stout instead of bitter. I’m a big Gordon fan, but I made what I considered to be a perfectly valid point that as he’d been banging on about making the most of good local produce (as, of course, all chefs to these days), he’d added Guinness to this pie when there were perfectly decently dark beers closer to (his) home, for instance Meantime or Fuller’s London Porter. Did I get a reply? Did I f***
You could never accuse Rupert Thompson of being half-hearted about real ale. Of course, his great skill has been marketing the stuff, most famously with the great Hobgoblin ad tagline: “What’s the matter, lagerboy? Afraid you might taste something?” His passion for real ale never stopped him being a realistic businessman, though, and when the Marston’s takeover of the Refresh brands he built up came along, he saw what was best for the future of his ‘children’. Now, with Refresh fully integrated into the Marston’s operation, Rupert is looking ahead to new projects, in drinks or retail marketing. I wish him all the best for future and hope our paths cross again in the future. I last met him earlier this year at the launch of the (controversially) lower-ABVed Hobgoblin and he was, as ever, excellent company, opinionated and incisive about the beer industry. I wonder what the next project will be?
The future of Cains, the iconic Liverpool brewery, is in the hands of the Bank of Scotland, which could decide not to continue with existing loan arrangements and the place the brewery in severe trouble. There also appears to have been some issues with HM Revenues and Customs. From a drinker’s point of view the loss of Cains would be a terrible blow to the British brewing industry. With brews such as its Raisin Beer and Finest Lager it has made a big impact on the UK real ale scene, and the Dusanj brothers have always seemed good and enthusiastic custodians of Robert Cain’s legacy. Let’s hope the money men thrash out a way forward.
What a shame. After another challenging week in the office I was looking forward to a day at one of my favourite annual events, the Helston Beer Festival. And come the day, Mrs N stays in bed with stomach pains and I become ICO childcare. Ah well, way of the world (and I did get to see Kung Fu Panda, which was actually a pretty good film!).
Having promised to write some words for The West Briton, I popped along today and chatted to organiser Julian Pinto about how it had gone. And it seems I missed a belter. There were 36 beers on, all Cornish, tasted by about 450 people over three days. First to run dry was Lizard 2000 (4.5%), a golden hoppy brew created by Alan Hinde at Coastal Brewery, Redruth, and named after the organisers of the festival, who formed in Milennium year and raise money for charities and good causes in the Lizard and West Cornwall area. Second to disappear was Skinner’s Cornish Blonde, a 5% wheat beer that’s very popular during those years when we actually have a Cornish summer!
This was also the first beer festival (I think) to feature beers from the Penzance Brewing Company, aka Star Inn, Crowlas, landlord Peter Elvin. PZ Gold (4.3%) and Crowlas Bitter (4%) were both very well received, apparently.
Proving the holiday season is well under way down here (as the empty supermarket shelves also testify) there was even a couple in attendance from New York.
The William IV has been re-opened in Truro after a £700,000 refit, and jolly good it’s looking to. I was lucky enough to be invited along for the ‘private view’, the evening before the official re-opening, and the great and good from owner St Austell Brewery were all there, as well as several of the contractors who had worked on the refurb and some local business people and dignitaries, including Truro mayor Susan Callen, who officially re-opened the premises.
Truro needs more pubs. There are plenty of bars, but very few decent pubs. Admittedly, the William veers more towards restaurant than boozer, but it has a good, comfortable bar area, and excellent beer garden with new stonework and decking.
The beer was on top form. Although there are six handpumps, there was a choice of just three beers, repeated twice. There was, of course, the ubiquitous Tribute (4.2%), but the other two are less often seen in St Austell pubs: the erroneously named IPA at 3.4%, a great, light session beer – a pale ale, yes, but by no means a gutsy, heavily hopped India pale ale; and Proper Job, again another cracking beer, which was more in the proper IPA style before it had its ABV cut from 5.5% to 4.5%. It’s still delightfully hoppy, though, golden and quite robust. I stuck on it all evening and wasn’t disappointed.
Chatting to head brewer Roger Ryman he confirmed what many of us St Austell fans knew already, that he’s been tweaking the flavours of two of the oldest beers in the brewery’s portfolio, Tinners (3.7%) and HSD (5%), in both cases very much for the better. The biggest difference is in the HSD. What was quite a dark and sweet, malty brew is now a bit lighter, with more of the malt creating subtle strawberry fruit flavours, similar to those in the blessed Marston’s, sorry Ringwood, Old Thumper (5.6%).
I’ll be dropping back into the William regularly, firstly because I am a sucker for the Proper Job (even at the reduced ABV), and to see if the very high standard of beer quality on that VIP evening is maintained. If it is the William could prove a jewel in the crown of the St Austell estate.
