I've just had a long chat with a good mate regarding unfined beer. He owns a brewery, one of the best and most progressive of the UK micro-breweries in fact and together we waxed lyrical about the accentuated flavours of unfined beer compared to the fined stuff.
We didn't say that beer was 'better' unfined, we just said the flavours were bigger and the mouth feel fuller. Unfined beer is definitely very different to fined beer in terms of taste, flavour, mouth feel and obviously appearance.
One tweet I read today from a CAMRA stalwart was 'unfined beer is an acting clever fad which brings nothing by way of flavour, confuses people and IS for geeks'. Apparently this person knows about beer, which I found quite surprising.
Firstly unfined beer is not a 'fad' in the same way that CAMRA will become very disappointed when they realise that craft keg isn't a fad either. CAMRA will cotton on to this at the same time they realise they have been irrelevant to the current fast moving UK micro scene for a quite some time.
Secondly unfined beer tastes VERY different to fined beer, it gives the beer a much bigger flavour. To say it does nothing in terms of flavour is very wrong. It's not your opinion, it's wrong. It is factually incorrect.
Thirdly, unfined beer does NOT confuse people (nor does unfiltered keg beer either, just to point that out). We have been doing taste tests in the Stockbridge Tap and the staff have been giving the customers all the information they need, including leaving samples of each beer in front of the taps to allow them to see the difference. They explain the differing aspects of the beer, then they allow the customer to taste the beer. The results? The unfined beer has been WAY more popular. If your customers are confused you're giving them no information, and that's the fault of the staff and the venue, not the brewer. That said, if you're a brewer wanting to trial something different, pick the right pub and publican.
Fourthly, unfined beer is NOT for geeks. It's for anyone interested in seeing what the difference between fined and unfined beer is. The beer world is changing and more people than CAMRA would like to hear about are genuinely interested in where their beer comes from, what it's made from and why it's different from another beer. CAMRA can disgree with that all they like, but I sell contemporary beer all day everyday for a living, and I know I'm right. I see daily changes in our industry.
The production of unfined beer is about nothing other than choice, something it seems CAMRA are keen to stamp out. The whole 'craft' movement (I dislike the term, but it provides a useful reference point so I'll use it for this) is based around choice, education, passion, diversity and most importantly great beer in as many formats as possible to anyone who is interested. We're not interested in dictating to drinkers, we simply give them a choice. Why? Because WE want a choice too. WE want to drink great beer and sometimes we want it cold and carbonated, sometimes unfined, sometimes filtered, sometimes not.
CAMRA advocate few if any of those things and actively try to bash forward thinking breweries down. As another tweet said 'There you go ****, all you need to do is educate your customers, or just give them what they want'. That's indicative of the CAMRA attitude, they think they can prescribe what drinkers want, without ever asking them. CAMRA say that beer should be clear and CAMRA say beer needs to be sessionable, and CAMRA say blah blah blah. CAMRA are nothing more than a self serving organisation more interested in their own pointless awards and stuffy predilections than actually asking the beer drinker what they would like.
Another amusing and nonsensical arguement I read was that unfined beer was an excuse for breweries to refuse to take back ullages. I can't remember the last time I had a call asking for beer to be uplifted, our beer is made properly and goes out in the condition any good publican would expect. Every so often you have a production issue, it happens and it's more likely to happen to a small brewer. That's the way of things. However, we're not going to make rubbish beer and then just say it's unfined, how would that benefit us as a producer? Moreover we're proud of our beers, and our directors, sales team and head brewer have more passion than to use a cynical ploy to try to punt out sub standard beer. If that is your experience of breweries as a publican, stop using those breweries and use breweries with more integrity.
I despair of CAMRA, the only negative comments about this unfined beer movement have been from CAMRA luddites. I'll tell you all now, you mean absolutely nothing to the majority of breweries who are leading the charge for new and exciting beers. The wild growth of our niche industry is testament to that. You can spout your arrogant ignorant propoganda all you like, but great beer talks a lot louder than an out of touch brigade of irrelevant dinosaurs who just can't accept that their fight is over, the battle is won and the war has moved on. The industry doesn't need CAMRA anymore, we don't care what you say or what you think. We're not interested in your rhetoric.
There is a new animal in our bars these days, an informed, intelligent new wave of interested beer drinker. A drinker who wants new experiences, wants to be amazed, educated, enthralled and engaged. We'll cater for them, because we share the same philosophy.
CAMRA can continue to give them 'what they want' without ever asking them.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Breweries to watch out for in 2012
I've been reading a lot of blogs lately regarding the 'breweries to look out for in 2012' and I suppose it all depends on who you are and what you want from a brewery as to who you should be paying attention to.
A lot of them seem to be local specific, which makes sense if you're concentrating on microbreweries.
These are the breweries I will be looking at with interest this year, the breweries that I expect to do exciting things, grow or divert from their current tune and beat a new rhythm. A lot of them are established breweries, but breweries don't have to be new for them to be interesting.
1. The Kernel
Best brewery in the UK? I think so, and I think they are by a considerable distance. I'm not interested in the arguements about brewing one off beers and core ranges, volume producing etc. When I open a beer and it makes me sing on the inside I tend to think the brewer has done a good job. The Kernel beers do this more than any other brewery, so for me they are hands down the UK's beer producer.
This year will be an interesting time for The Kernel. A new kit is going in (Evin tweeted this morning a picture of it arriving) vastly increasing the capacity, I believe to 20bbl. For me this makes the Wizard of Druid St (I might have bastardised a nickname there, but I heard someone saying that or something similar) and his team the guys to watch.
More kit, more capacity, more staff, more beer, more distribution, more more more. More of this I can cope with.
Will the new kit and the volume affect quality and impact of the beers? Having met Evin a few times I think it is fair to say that he is not a man in a rush. I have no fear, only rabid excitment.
2. Highland Brewing Co.
In my opinion Rob Hill is the best brewer in Scotland. If you want your beer to be in exactly the condition you expect it to be in, when you expect it to be in that condition and you want your beer to be faultless then Rob is your man. The fact that Highland win almost every Scottish beer award they enter every year with virtually the same beers, is testament to the fact that if you're after cask ale the rest are still quite a way behind (Fyne Ales aside).
The beer market is beginning to change however, and Rob's son Lewis is champing at the bit to do some new things. They recently announced a new 9% Imperial Stout (not sure how that will differ from the Imperial Porter, but I'm sure time will tell) and having had a few chats with Lewis recently I'm quite excited by what is to come.
3. Brodies
Sometime in 2011 James Brodie took on a new recruit, Jonathon Queally. Jonathon is a stalwart of the London craft beer consumption scene and if I recall correctly, is addicted to Mikkeller. It appears Jonathon brews with the same passion and nihilistic enthusiasm that he drinks with. The brewery are apparently solely responsible for the worlds exciting hop shortage, which is a phrase that I like hearing. The Dalston Black IPA was a triumph and the collaboration with the Kernel 'Stella for Breakfast' was one of my beers of 2011. Expect great things.
4. Hardknott
This is based on one beer, Vitesse Noir. The Hardknott branding is a bit too 'BrewDog' and the beers thus far have left me not cold, but only lukewarm. Sort of fake style over limited substance. Vitesse Noir is an exceptional beer. I drank my first one with a friend and had a reaction I've never had from a beer before, silence. For a good 5 seconds neither of us said a word. If you can get that response you can make great beer and Hardknott is a small company clearly finding it's feet. On that basis I'll be watching closely and will happily try the rest of the range again.
The move to key keg products would probably benefit the majority of the beers due to the style. (Go on cask boys, have a crack at that statement).
5. Hawkshead
Owned by a very straight talking former journalist (Alex Brodie) with beers brewed by a man who has clearly become one with his brewkit (Matt Clarke) Hawkshead are in prime position to become a byword for quality in regional brewing. They aren't that big yet, but their beers are of the quality that they could become that way ober the next few years.
The core range is of the Highland/Fyne Ales level of quality and you'd be hard pushed to find a better session beer in the UK than Windermere Pale Ale. They already keg a lager, so expect to see more keg products as Matt starts to get more creative. The 2011 Brodies Reserve was an excellent dalliance in to whisky aging.
6. Moor
Justin Hawkes Somerset brewery is now a 20bbl craft beer haven with beers going all over the UK through the Mitchell and Butler cask ale network. Few cask clips make me go 'Ohhh' but when I see a Moor one, I do get a little bit giddy. My first experience of Moor was through some bottles kindly sent to me by Rich Burhouse and from that point I've been a massive fan. JJJ IPA is a stonker of a beer, although anything over 7.5% will now be for export only, thanks to the UK Government's tax on people with taste.
Moor produce kegged beer, they produce unfined cask beer and they are coming to a pub near you.... if you're lucky.
7. Camden Town Brewery.
The desire for growth at Camden is almost BrewDogesque. The man at the helm seemingly has money to burn and a very definite idea of where his brand is heading, up. The appointment of Mark Dredge at a time where social media plays such an important part in the growth of small breweries is a savvy one and if you head to the brewery you'll be able to hear Mark saying things like 'I'm not allowed to touch that' whenever he is near brewing equipment. I empathise wholeheartedly.
However, since his start date there has seemingly been a slight and positive shift in image as 'Camden Ink' is testament to. Speaking to the brewing team you get the feeling that increased capacity is going to allow them to come out of their collective shells and start brewing beers outside the core range. What they can produce remains to be seen, but they are collecting a team who on paper can really produce the goods, and Camden Ink is an excellent beer to start the revolution.
8. Summer Wine Brewery
Mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad people. From the bizzare beer names (wait for the new one, it's completely bonkers) to the unrivalled desire to innovate. Whether it's beer or equipment you get the impression there is almost nothing these two can't design or make between them. Still small, still working on a kit held together with bungy straps SWB manage to produce a ludicrous number of beers. I am sure that brewery is some sort of TARDIS.
This is a brewery still finding their feet, but with a very definite goal. A brewer who is now nailing consistency helps and James seems to be on it these days. Small breweries need time to grow. I would hang my hat on SWB producing the most exciting beer of 2012.
9. Buxton
I'll confess to knowing the square route of knacker all about this brewery, but the beers I've had so far hold enough to make me think this is a brewery on the up. The Black Rocks I had on cask was awesome and the Axe Edge is a cracking double IPA. Former Thornbridge brewer James Kemp is at the helm, and when you look at where some past Thornbridge employees have ended up (BrewDog, Epic) you can justifiably have high hopes.The branding is a little way off, but small breweries have to start somewhere. Getting the beers right is key, they seem to have done that.
10. Black Isle Brewing Co.
I considered leaving us out of this because I didn't want this blog to become semi advertorial. I then considered what would I do as some one impartial. I'd put us in, and much higher up too.
The aquisition of Colin Stronge from Marble has had unforseen results and it's pretty evident to everyone I speak to about this coming year that I am stupidly excited. You don't have to like every beer your brewery produces, but you do have to believe in every beer you produce. If you think one of your beers isn't up to scratch, you have to change it. We had some good beers and some great beers. We also had a couple of shockers that for reasons we couldn't explain sold really well. Colin has gone about the slowly slowly catchy monkey business of make subtle changes with each brew to gradually tweak the beers. There is only one we are not happy with now, and that's the next change to be made.
We have one cracking distribution deal in place with Adnams and hopefully another with a very well known purveyor of craft beer coming soon. The brand and beers are evolving.
So they are my 10 breweries to watch in 2012. I have absolutely no doubt I'm wrong. There are plenty of other breweries I will be watching such as Magic Rock, Thornbridge, BrewDog, Fyne Ales, Tempest etc. It's an exciting time.
A lot of them seem to be local specific, which makes sense if you're concentrating on microbreweries.
These are the breweries I will be looking at with interest this year, the breweries that I expect to do exciting things, grow or divert from their current tune and beat a new rhythm. A lot of them are established breweries, but breweries don't have to be new for them to be interesting.
1. The Kernel
Best brewery in the UK? I think so, and I think they are by a considerable distance. I'm not interested in the arguements about brewing one off beers and core ranges, volume producing etc. When I open a beer and it makes me sing on the inside I tend to think the brewer has done a good job. The Kernel beers do this more than any other brewery, so for me they are hands down the UK's beer producer.
This year will be an interesting time for The Kernel. A new kit is going in (Evin tweeted this morning a picture of it arriving) vastly increasing the capacity, I believe to 20bbl. For me this makes the Wizard of Druid St (I might have bastardised a nickname there, but I heard someone saying that or something similar) and his team the guys to watch.
More kit, more capacity, more staff, more beer, more distribution, more more more. More of this I can cope with.
Will the new kit and the volume affect quality and impact of the beers? Having met Evin a few times I think it is fair to say that he is not a man in a rush. I have no fear, only rabid excitment.
2. Highland Brewing Co.
In my opinion Rob Hill is the best brewer in Scotland. If you want your beer to be in exactly the condition you expect it to be in, when you expect it to be in that condition and you want your beer to be faultless then Rob is your man. The fact that Highland win almost every Scottish beer award they enter every year with virtually the same beers, is testament to the fact that if you're after cask ale the rest are still quite a way behind (Fyne Ales aside).
The beer market is beginning to change however, and Rob's son Lewis is champing at the bit to do some new things. They recently announced a new 9% Imperial Stout (not sure how that will differ from the Imperial Porter, but I'm sure time will tell) and having had a few chats with Lewis recently I'm quite excited by what is to come.
3. Brodies
Sometime in 2011 James Brodie took on a new recruit, Jonathon Queally. Jonathon is a stalwart of the London craft beer consumption scene and if I recall correctly, is addicted to Mikkeller. It appears Jonathon brews with the same passion and nihilistic enthusiasm that he drinks with. The brewery are apparently solely responsible for the worlds exciting hop shortage, which is a phrase that I like hearing. The Dalston Black IPA was a triumph and the collaboration with the Kernel 'Stella for Breakfast' was one of my beers of 2011. Expect great things.
4. Hardknott
This is based on one beer, Vitesse Noir. The Hardknott branding is a bit too 'BrewDog' and the beers thus far have left me not cold, but only lukewarm. Sort of fake style over limited substance. Vitesse Noir is an exceptional beer. I drank my first one with a friend and had a reaction I've never had from a beer before, silence. For a good 5 seconds neither of us said a word. If you can get that response you can make great beer and Hardknott is a small company clearly finding it's feet. On that basis I'll be watching closely and will happily try the rest of the range again.
The move to key keg products would probably benefit the majority of the beers due to the style. (Go on cask boys, have a crack at that statement).
5. Hawkshead
Owned by a very straight talking former journalist (Alex Brodie) with beers brewed by a man who has clearly become one with his brewkit (Matt Clarke) Hawkshead are in prime position to become a byword for quality in regional brewing. They aren't that big yet, but their beers are of the quality that they could become that way ober the next few years.
The core range is of the Highland/Fyne Ales level of quality and you'd be hard pushed to find a better session beer in the UK than Windermere Pale Ale. They already keg a lager, so expect to see more keg products as Matt starts to get more creative. The 2011 Brodies Reserve was an excellent dalliance in to whisky aging.
6. Moor
Justin Hawkes Somerset brewery is now a 20bbl craft beer haven with beers going all over the UK through the Mitchell and Butler cask ale network. Few cask clips make me go 'Ohhh' but when I see a Moor one, I do get a little bit giddy. My first experience of Moor was through some bottles kindly sent to me by Rich Burhouse and from that point I've been a massive fan. JJJ IPA is a stonker of a beer, although anything over 7.5% will now be for export only, thanks to the UK Government's tax on people with taste.
Moor produce kegged beer, they produce unfined cask beer and they are coming to a pub near you.... if you're lucky.
7. Camden Town Brewery.
The desire for growth at Camden is almost BrewDogesque. The man at the helm seemingly has money to burn and a very definite idea of where his brand is heading, up. The appointment of Mark Dredge at a time where social media plays such an important part in the growth of small breweries is a savvy one and if you head to the brewery you'll be able to hear Mark saying things like 'I'm not allowed to touch that' whenever he is near brewing equipment. I empathise wholeheartedly.
However, since his start date there has seemingly been a slight and positive shift in image as 'Camden Ink' is testament to. Speaking to the brewing team you get the feeling that increased capacity is going to allow them to come out of their collective shells and start brewing beers outside the core range. What they can produce remains to be seen, but they are collecting a team who on paper can really produce the goods, and Camden Ink is an excellent beer to start the revolution.
8. Summer Wine Brewery
Mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad people. From the bizzare beer names (wait for the new one, it's completely bonkers) to the unrivalled desire to innovate. Whether it's beer or equipment you get the impression there is almost nothing these two can't design or make between them. Still small, still working on a kit held together with bungy straps SWB manage to produce a ludicrous number of beers. I am sure that brewery is some sort of TARDIS.
This is a brewery still finding their feet, but with a very definite goal. A brewer who is now nailing consistency helps and James seems to be on it these days. Small breweries need time to grow. I would hang my hat on SWB producing the most exciting beer of 2012.
9. Buxton
I'll confess to knowing the square route of knacker all about this brewery, but the beers I've had so far hold enough to make me think this is a brewery on the up. The Black Rocks I had on cask was awesome and the Axe Edge is a cracking double IPA. Former Thornbridge brewer James Kemp is at the helm, and when you look at where some past Thornbridge employees have ended up (BrewDog, Epic) you can justifiably have high hopes.The branding is a little way off, but small breweries have to start somewhere. Getting the beers right is key, they seem to have done that.
10. Black Isle Brewing Co.
I considered leaving us out of this because I didn't want this blog to become semi advertorial. I then considered what would I do as some one impartial. I'd put us in, and much higher up too.
The aquisition of Colin Stronge from Marble has had unforseen results and it's pretty evident to everyone I speak to about this coming year that I am stupidly excited. You don't have to like every beer your brewery produces, but you do have to believe in every beer you produce. If you think one of your beers isn't up to scratch, you have to change it. We had some good beers and some great beers. We also had a couple of shockers that for reasons we couldn't explain sold really well. Colin has gone about the slowly slowly catchy monkey business of make subtle changes with each brew to gradually tweak the beers. There is only one we are not happy with now, and that's the next change to be made.
We have one cracking distribution deal in place with Adnams and hopefully another with a very well known purveyor of craft beer coming soon. The brand and beers are evolving.
So they are my 10 breweries to watch in 2012. I have absolutely no doubt I'm wrong. There are plenty of other breweries I will be watching such as Magic Rock, Thornbridge, BrewDog, Fyne Ales, Tempest etc. It's an exciting time.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Golden Pints; Innit
My twopence worth....
I am going to retain some credibility and not include any Black Isle beers, otherwise Black Stout would win everything....
Best UK draught (Cask or Keg) beer:
Winner: Durham White Stout
Runner Up: BrewDog Mr Squirrel
Best UK bottle or canned beer
Winner: The Kernel Double Black
Runner Up: Thornbridge Raven
Best Overseas bottle or canned beer
Winner: A Vintage Cantillon, around 30 yrs old and covered in bird shit
Runner Up: Struisse Black Damnation Mocha Bomb
Best Overseas Draught beer
Winner: The Black Rooster Imperial Stout aged in oak and Islay
Runner Up: St Eriks whisky aged Porter
Best Overall beer
Winner: BrewDog 5am Saint (awesome in any format)
Runner Up: Thornbridge Raven (again.....)
Best Pump Clip or label
Winner: Magic Rock/Dark Star - Rock Star
Runner Up: Summer Wine Brewery Cohort
Best UK brewery
Winner: The Kernel
Runner Up: Summer Wine Brewery
Best Overseas Brewery
Winner: De Struisse
Runner Up: Cantillon
Pub/Bar of the Year
Winner: BrewDog (pick one)
Runner Up: Caley Sample Rooms (Edinburgh)
Beer Festival of the Year
Winner: Stockholm
Runner Up: Stockbridge Taps festival in Sept. Awesome selection
Supermarket of the Year
This is an oxymoron
Independent retailer of the year
Winner: Vino Wines
Runner Up: Cornelius Beer and Wine
Online retialer of the year
Winner: BrewDog......just kidding. My Brewery Tap
Runner Up: Dunno, don't buy beer from anyone else
Best Website
Winner: BrewDog
Runner Up: Anchors new one is nice
Best beer twitterer
Winner: Simon Johnson
Runner Up: Zak Avery
In 2012 I'd most like to
Knob Kelly Rowland, but as that's highly unlikely, how about brew a decent beer with Bruce and manage not to die in the half Iron Man
I am going to retain some credibility and not include any Black Isle beers, otherwise Black Stout would win everything....
Best UK draught (Cask or Keg) beer:
Winner: Durham White Stout
Runner Up: BrewDog Mr Squirrel
Best UK bottle or canned beer
Winner: The Kernel Double Black
Runner Up: Thornbridge Raven
Best Overseas bottle or canned beer
Winner: A Vintage Cantillon, around 30 yrs old and covered in bird shit
Runner Up: Struisse Black Damnation Mocha Bomb
Best Overseas Draught beer
Winner: The Black Rooster Imperial Stout aged in oak and Islay
Runner Up: St Eriks whisky aged Porter
Best Overall beer
Winner: BrewDog 5am Saint (awesome in any format)
Runner Up: Thornbridge Raven (again.....)
Best Pump Clip or label
Winner: Magic Rock/Dark Star - Rock Star
Runner Up: Summer Wine Brewery Cohort
Best UK brewery
Winner: The Kernel
Runner Up: Summer Wine Brewery
Best Overseas Brewery
Winner: De Struisse
Runner Up: Cantillon
Pub/Bar of the Year
Winner: BrewDog (pick one)
Runner Up: Caley Sample Rooms (Edinburgh)
Beer Festival of the Year
Winner: Stockholm
Runner Up: Stockbridge Taps festival in Sept. Awesome selection
Supermarket of the Year
This is an oxymoron
Independent retailer of the year
Winner: Vino Wines
Runner Up: Cornelius Beer and Wine
Online retialer of the year
Winner: BrewDog......just kidding. My Brewery Tap
Runner Up: Dunno, don't buy beer from anyone else
Best Website
Winner: BrewDog
Runner Up: Anchors new one is nice
Best beer twitterer
Winner: Simon Johnson
Runner Up: Zak Avery
In 2012 I'd most like to
Knob Kelly Rowland, but as that's highly unlikely, how about brew a decent beer with Bruce and manage not to die in the half Iron Man
Saturday, 29 October 2011
The Kernel: UK's best brewery?
Whilst deep in beer discussion earlier in the week I was asked which brewery was my favourite. I felt like a catholic mother being asked which of her 13 sons she prefered. How do you choose?
I went away and thought about it over a period of a few days and realised that I don't have a 'favourite' brewery. I have favourite beers, but not a favourite brewery. I did come to the conclusion that if I had a favourite brewery it would be a British one. I love Cantillon, Great Divide, Dechutes, Struisse and Avery but I'll always be more excited about a new beer from a top British micro. May be I'm a little bit patriotic after all.
The answer to 'what is your favourite beer' is fairly simple, because I'm sure we all have favourite examples of certain styles. My favourite pale ale is Goldeneye for example. Yes I know the company I work for makes it, but this is the beer that made me think 'I want to work for them'. It's a pale ale, but very different from any other. I love the uniqueness of the flavour.
Other favourites are Hawkshead Windermere Pale Ale, Lovibonds 69IPA, Dark Star Carafa Jade, The Kernel Imperial Stout, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, BrewDog Tokyo, Green jack Baltic Trader, Old Chimneys Good King Henry, Cantillon Rose De Gambrinus etc etc.
So i thought that if I don't have a 'favourite brewery', what do I consider to be the 'the UK's best brewery'? It's a subjective adjective in that context, 'best' meaning what? May be Green King? Their IPA is the top cask seller in the UK, that makes them the best, right? May be Carling, who in 2009 sold 4.1 billion pints in the UK, they are surely the 'best' brewery as they sell more beer than any other in the UK? Is it John Smiths? No, it's not.
The answer came to me whilst drinking 3 bottles of The Kernel. It's The Kernel.
I have recently had conversations with other beer folk regarding The Kernel and I've been parly to some interesting comments, such as; 'It's not difficult to produce one off beers', 'it's not hard to make a good high abv beer', 'it's actually quite easy to make a beer like this'. My tongue is usually bitten, because my automatic response is to try to blurt out 'well you fucking do it then'.
I am not a brewer, so may be these comments are perfectly valid. My reasoning for thinking that these comments are invalid is that if it's so easy to make great one off beers, how do the vast majority of brewers fail. I suspect because it's not that easy. It marries well with the equally invalid arguement that it's easy to brew great beer if you never make the same beer twice. something else I've heard several times. My suggestion is that may be it's easy to brew great beer if you're a great brewer with great idea's. I rather think that has an awful lot to do with it.
The criticism is all born out of a little envy of course, and that's no bad thing really. It's more satisfying to pick holes in people doing great things rather than admit that they are just better at what you do than you are.
Anyway, why do i think The Kernel are the UK's best brewery? Wow factor *. Not every beer has it, but the ratio of 'wow' beers to the 'meh' beers is far greater than any other brewery I have tried. I have said in the past that above about 6.7% The Kernel are in a league of their own, but below that abv threshold the beers lack the impact. In my opinion at least. Plenty disagree, but as I rarely see let alone drink a Kernel beer below 6.7% it's fairly immaterial.
We drank three last night; Black, Double Black and the Citra/Riwaka IPA. Three beers, three 'wows', with the biggest by far being reserved for the Double Black. An absolutely astounding beer.
These were added to my already considerable list of Kernel 'wows' which include the Coffee IPA, the original Black IPA, Imperial Brown Stout, something that was loaded with Galaxy and blew my face apart, Citra IPA, Imperial Stout, and S.C.A.N.S IPA.
I am aware that I am not even close to having drunk every beer produced by The Kernel, but to provide that many wows out of may be only 15-20 beers I've tried is more than a little bit impressive.
There is a element of genius in the production of these beers. If it was easy to make beer this good everyone would be, but they aren't, so it clearly isn't.
Imagine how huge they could be with a big brewery, a consistent large volume core range AND the experimental nouse that makes them so special..... I doubt the wait to find out will be long.
*Wow is hard to define, but as I'm sure you know, when you drink a lot of different beers you get used to saying 'That's a good beer' or 'Yeah, I like that a lot' but rarely do you go 'fucking hell, that's amazing'. That's what I mean by 'wow factor', it illicits a response you never get used to.
I went away and thought about it over a period of a few days and realised that I don't have a 'favourite' brewery. I have favourite beers, but not a favourite brewery. I did come to the conclusion that if I had a favourite brewery it would be a British one. I love Cantillon, Great Divide, Dechutes, Struisse and Avery but I'll always be more excited about a new beer from a top British micro. May be I'm a little bit patriotic after all.
The answer to 'what is your favourite beer' is fairly simple, because I'm sure we all have favourite examples of certain styles. My favourite pale ale is Goldeneye for example. Yes I know the company I work for makes it, but this is the beer that made me think 'I want to work for them'. It's a pale ale, but very different from any other. I love the uniqueness of the flavour.
Other favourites are Hawkshead Windermere Pale Ale, Lovibonds 69IPA, Dark Star Carafa Jade, The Kernel Imperial Stout, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, BrewDog Tokyo, Green jack Baltic Trader, Old Chimneys Good King Henry, Cantillon Rose De Gambrinus etc etc.
So i thought that if I don't have a 'favourite brewery', what do I consider to be the 'the UK's best brewery'? It's a subjective adjective in that context, 'best' meaning what? May be Green King? Their IPA is the top cask seller in the UK, that makes them the best, right? May be Carling, who in 2009 sold 4.1 billion pints in the UK, they are surely the 'best' brewery as they sell more beer than any other in the UK? Is it John Smiths? No, it's not.
The answer came to me whilst drinking 3 bottles of The Kernel. It's The Kernel.
I have recently had conversations with other beer folk regarding The Kernel and I've been parly to some interesting comments, such as; 'It's not difficult to produce one off beers', 'it's not hard to make a good high abv beer', 'it's actually quite easy to make a beer like this'. My tongue is usually bitten, because my automatic response is to try to blurt out 'well you fucking do it then'.
I am not a brewer, so may be these comments are perfectly valid. My reasoning for thinking that these comments are invalid is that if it's so easy to make great one off beers, how do the vast majority of brewers fail. I suspect because it's not that easy. It marries well with the equally invalid arguement that it's easy to brew great beer if you never make the same beer twice. something else I've heard several times. My suggestion is that may be it's easy to brew great beer if you're a great brewer with great idea's. I rather think that has an awful lot to do with it.
The criticism is all born out of a little envy of course, and that's no bad thing really. It's more satisfying to pick holes in people doing great things rather than admit that they are just better at what you do than you are.
Anyway, why do i think The Kernel are the UK's best brewery? Wow factor *. Not every beer has it, but the ratio of 'wow' beers to the 'meh' beers is far greater than any other brewery I have tried. I have said in the past that above about 6.7% The Kernel are in a league of their own, but below that abv threshold the beers lack the impact. In my opinion at least. Plenty disagree, but as I rarely see let alone drink a Kernel beer below 6.7% it's fairly immaterial.
We drank three last night; Black, Double Black and the Citra/Riwaka IPA. Three beers, three 'wows', with the biggest by far being reserved for the Double Black. An absolutely astounding beer.
These were added to my already considerable list of Kernel 'wows' which include the Coffee IPA, the original Black IPA, Imperial Brown Stout, something that was loaded with Galaxy and blew my face apart, Citra IPA, Imperial Stout, and S.C.A.N.S IPA.
I am aware that I am not even close to having drunk every beer produced by The Kernel, but to provide that many wows out of may be only 15-20 beers I've tried is more than a little bit impressive.
There is a element of genius in the production of these beers. If it was easy to make beer this good everyone would be, but they aren't, so it clearly isn't.
Imagine how huge they could be with a big brewery, a consistent large volume core range AND the experimental nouse that makes them so special..... I doubt the wait to find out will be long.
*Wow is hard to define, but as I'm sure you know, when you drink a lot of different beers you get used to saying 'That's a good beer' or 'Yeah, I like that a lot' but rarely do you go 'fucking hell, that's amazing'. That's what I mean by 'wow factor', it illicits a response you never get used to.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
What the high strength beer duty actually means
Yesterday I over heard someone say 'Who cares about a tax on high strength beers, it's just a bunch of extreme brewers and beer geeks'. The multi-layered ignorance of that statement led to an outpouring of empassioned vitriol. I wasn't happy.
Was he right though, does this just affect a bunch of extreme brewers and beer geeks? No, but the effects do not just relate to personal fiscal issues or the wider reaching economic implications either, they relate to things that are far less tangible; Expression, creativity, passion, entrepreneurship, pride, invention, personal adventure, pushing boundaries.
The financial implications are ones we can all understand. A £4 bottle of beer over 7.5% is now £5. If you buy one bottle per week, not such a big deal. If you buy 10, that figure just added £40 to your monthly outgoings. That £40 might not sound a lot, I mean £40 a month isn't much right? Well, yes it is. For folk with kids and responsiblities, that £40 is quite often spent elsewhere already, an extra £40 for something you already buy means you start buying less, or even stop buying it. I have no responsibilities aside from a dog and I'll be buying less beer.
So we buy less high abv beer and the readers of the Daily Express who believe the man driving Diana's car was fueled by Fullers Vintage will clap loudly and feel proud that we as a nation are making a stand against the heathen beer geeks who have such a negative social impact. Of course, because we buy less high abv beer, microbrewerys make less money, because they sell less beer at high margin and then independent retailers have smaller beer choice because they can't sell it to the customer. So now we've not only impacted on the consumer, we are impacting the producer and the distributor. So the negative social externalities increase, not decrease. Not sure Mr Pigou had that in mind when he developed his taxation system....
Surely though, less people drinking high abv beers reduces the social costs brought about by the use of emergency services, public bodies like the NHS, insurance costs to repair the damage caused by rampaging drunkards? If the government had made any attempt to understand the difference between a bottle of Great Divide Yeti and Carlsberg Special Brew they might have realised that instead of solving a problem, they have actually created one.
The sad thing about this duty hike is that it is designed to combat a problem that barely exists, the negative social externalities brought about by the consumption of high strength beers. I am aware that certain elements of society consume cans of Tennents Super in parks and shout randomly at passers by. However, they are not in the park shouting at passers by BECAUSE they are drinking high strength beer, and pricing them out of high strength beer will not eliminate them from the park or change their behaviour when they start drinking supermarket value vodka instead. Treating the effects has no impact on the cause.
All those involved with microbrewing know that our industry is currently bouyant, we are bucking the global economic trend. Unfortunately we have a chancellor with a degree in modern history making economic decisions he doesn't really understand (for example, for those who don't know what 'quantitative easing' is, it's essentially a last ditch attempt to reverse a conventional financial process because you're heading into economic meltdown. Potential for failure is high and means banks could stop lending, or inflation goes through the roof - laymens terms).
I don't for a minute think this duty increase has been implemented to combat negative social externalities, and it most definitely not an example of pigouvian taxation. Those who were consulted for the Review of Alcohol Taxation were the likes of Heineken, Ab-Inbev, Molson Coors, SAB-Miller. Also, some Supermarket chains. Who has been left almost completely unaffected by this duty rise? Big breweries and supermarkets. Surprising? No.
Who has been affected by this? Small breweries (the ones who are bucking the economic trend, proving themselves to be more viable in the current climate and therefore worthy of government support) and independent retailers. The Chancellor said he was going to focus on micro-economics to get the country out of the recession, which is pretty meaningless anyway, but then makes a decision which absolutely the antithesis of that statement. Ergo, the chancellor is a gutless twat who is more interested in appeasing the lobbyists of big business (much of which is based overseas) than helping small local businesses grow enabling local economies to become bouyant and have a positive macroeconomic effect.
The very worst aspect though is this duty inhibits everything we hold dear to us in Britain. It inhibits our spirit, our passion for innovation and design, our love for striving for the best, for pushing ourselves creatively and it tells the non 'beer geeks' that high strength beers are bad, but 5% lager is good. It sends all the wrong messages to all the wrong people.
As usual, rich clueless people have made a decision which is wrong but easy, rather than making a decision that is right, but hard. Fuckwits.
Was he right though, does this just affect a bunch of extreme brewers and beer geeks? No, but the effects do not just relate to personal fiscal issues or the wider reaching economic implications either, they relate to things that are far less tangible; Expression, creativity, passion, entrepreneurship, pride, invention, personal adventure, pushing boundaries.
The financial implications are ones we can all understand. A £4 bottle of beer over 7.5% is now £5. If you buy one bottle per week, not such a big deal. If you buy 10, that figure just added £40 to your monthly outgoings. That £40 might not sound a lot, I mean £40 a month isn't much right? Well, yes it is. For folk with kids and responsiblities, that £40 is quite often spent elsewhere already, an extra £40 for something you already buy means you start buying less, or even stop buying it. I have no responsibilities aside from a dog and I'll be buying less beer.
So we buy less high abv beer and the readers of the Daily Express who believe the man driving Diana's car was fueled by Fullers Vintage will clap loudly and feel proud that we as a nation are making a stand against the heathen beer geeks who have such a negative social impact. Of course, because we buy less high abv beer, microbrewerys make less money, because they sell less beer at high margin and then independent retailers have smaller beer choice because they can't sell it to the customer. So now we've not only impacted on the consumer, we are impacting the producer and the distributor. So the negative social externalities increase, not decrease. Not sure Mr Pigou had that in mind when he developed his taxation system....
Surely though, less people drinking high abv beers reduces the social costs brought about by the use of emergency services, public bodies like the NHS, insurance costs to repair the damage caused by rampaging drunkards? If the government had made any attempt to understand the difference between a bottle of Great Divide Yeti and Carlsberg Special Brew they might have realised that instead of solving a problem, they have actually created one.
The sad thing about this duty hike is that it is designed to combat a problem that barely exists, the negative social externalities brought about by the consumption of high strength beers. I am aware that certain elements of society consume cans of Tennents Super in parks and shout randomly at passers by. However, they are not in the park shouting at passers by BECAUSE they are drinking high strength beer, and pricing them out of high strength beer will not eliminate them from the park or change their behaviour when they start drinking supermarket value vodka instead. Treating the effects has no impact on the cause.
All those involved with microbrewing know that our industry is currently bouyant, we are bucking the global economic trend. Unfortunately we have a chancellor with a degree in modern history making economic decisions he doesn't really understand (for example, for those who don't know what 'quantitative easing' is, it's essentially a last ditch attempt to reverse a conventional financial process because you're heading into economic meltdown. Potential for failure is high and means banks could stop lending, or inflation goes through the roof - laymens terms).
I don't for a minute think this duty increase has been implemented to combat negative social externalities, and it most definitely not an example of pigouvian taxation. Those who were consulted for the Review of Alcohol Taxation were the likes of Heineken, Ab-Inbev, Molson Coors, SAB-Miller. Also, some Supermarket chains. Who has been left almost completely unaffected by this duty rise? Big breweries and supermarkets. Surprising? No.
Who has been affected by this? Small breweries (the ones who are bucking the economic trend, proving themselves to be more viable in the current climate and therefore worthy of government support) and independent retailers. The Chancellor said he was going to focus on micro-economics to get the country out of the recession, which is pretty meaningless anyway, but then makes a decision which absolutely the antithesis of that statement. Ergo, the chancellor is a gutless twat who is more interested in appeasing the lobbyists of big business (much of which is based overseas) than helping small local businesses grow enabling local economies to become bouyant and have a positive macroeconomic effect.
The very worst aspect though is this duty inhibits everything we hold dear to us in Britain. It inhibits our spirit, our passion for innovation and design, our love for striving for the best, for pushing ourselves creatively and it tells the non 'beer geeks' that high strength beers are bad, but 5% lager is good. It sends all the wrong messages to all the wrong people.
As usual, rich clueless people have made a decision which is wrong but easy, rather than making a decision that is right, but hard. Fuckwits.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Edinburgh's best bars? My favourites certainly.
Having recently been reading some drivel in the Guardian about Edinburgh's 10 best bars, one of which can be best described as a toilet, I decided to have a crack myself.
I have no idea what the criteria was when the Guardian's author wrote their top 10, however my criteria is based on quality of product. There are some very pretty bars in Edinburgh that serve utter dross, and as Sienna Miller is living proof of, being pretty doesn't make something good at what it is/does.
One proviso though is the evil of the brewery tie.There are some great bars, great places to sit and relax that I wouldn't say are great bars because they draught beer offering is shocking, through no fault of the operators. They fall in to the 'I love that place, but the beer is rubbish' category. Similarly, 'I love that place but the food is dreadful' etc etc...
My assumption is that the Guardian writer wasn't a beer geek, whisky geek or actually interested in what gets sold, more the atmosphere. Which still doesn't explain several of the choices but anyway....
So in no particular order....
Cloisters Bar, Brougham Street.
Having been managed by the same miserable git for the past 140yrs, Cloisters is still the benchmark for cask, keg and bottle offering in Edinburgh. The constantly rotating 5 cask lines bring a breadth and depth of UK beer and more recently a rotating keg line has seen more choice in that arena too. The manager, despite being bald and grumpy, actually pays attention to the changing markets and has most recently brought in beer from Old Chimneys brewery, the first time it has been sold in a Scottish bar.
You'll also find a huge selection of interesting whiskys and a cracking selection of rum. New chef can cook a bit too.
The Saint, St Stephen's St.
I've been accused (by idiots) of over rating this bar in the past but that's nonsense. Great staff, great atmosphere, a small but uncompromising selection of beer and operated by two guys who have forgotten more about spirits this morning than most of us will ever learn in a lifetime. The food is far far too cheap for the restaurant quality that it is. It's a gem. If you want a cocktail go to their other bar Bramble, it's one of the best in the UK.
The Stockbridge Tap, erm, Stockbridge.
Struggled a bit being next door to the smugfest of Hectors for a while but a new manager, new chef and a new focus has rapidly changed things over the last 4 to 5 months. The beer (cask and keg) selection is always good and the recent beer festival showcased beers previously unsold in Scotland. Sticking some sofa's in the back bar has changed the atmosphere and the decision to remove a few of the mirrors calmed the lighting a bit too. It's Cloisters sister pub and whilst it lagged behind is now nipping at the heals.
Caley Sample Rooms, Slateford Road.
Bags of potential finally being realised. 8 rotating cask lines, a huge bottle range, great wines, selection of spirits and cracking food, all added to friendly staff and good service. Only thing that lets it down is that pig of a brewery tie to kegged beer, but the vast array of choice makes up for that. It's also just a very nice place to be. If you're in town, their sister pub the Cambridge Bar has a similar beer offering and excellent burgers.
Holyrood 9a/Red Squirrel.
I've lumped these two in together because they are the same thing with minor tweaks. If it ain't broke, make another one as they say. The burger menu's in both are huge and the food is consistently good. The keg offering is the largest permanent line up in Edinburgh with a crossover appeal to niche and non niche beer enthusiasts with some craft, cask and mass market beers. Good spirits range and I'll be honest, I've never bothered looking at the wines.
BrewDog, Cowgate.
If it wasn't in the Cowgate and they had a few cask lines there would be little competition for title of best beer pub in Edinburgh. The persistent striving for new and interesting beers has breathed new life in to the beer scene in Scotland and their own beers are good value in today's market. Too many bars go for quantity over quality but there's no compromise here. Passionate and knowledgeable staff, great pizza's and food platters (again, not expensive) and a product list to die for. If you want wines and spirits you're limited, but this is a craft beer bar, and a great one at that. Despite being brick and metal the atmosphere, even when empty, is enjoyable.
Brauhaus, Lauriston Place.
The original Edinburgh 'craft beer bar' with a massive selection of bottled beers. Upped their game recently by sourcing more interesting beers outwith the usual channels too. A break from the trade tie on draught would do wonders, as would about 200sqft extra space. Alternatively making more seating space by taking away the massive sofa's that take up half the bar and sit 4 people. Interesting spirits selection and german style bar snacks. A little usurped by BrewDog, but still plenty of choice for the quality booze lover.
The Bow Bar, West Bow.
Feel free to take bets on how long Duechers IPA lasts in this bar, it can't have long left surely. Mind blowing array of whisky, excellent draught beer selection and small but quality bottle offering. Pies at lunch are a bonus and the staff know their stuff. That this pub is ever omitted from a 'best pub' list of Edinburgh is a travesty.
Nobles Bar, Dukes Street.
Where some fail, others succeed. Considered a dog of a site the new owners have worked wonders. It's eclectic styling, low lit atmospheric mood and cracking food make this a blinding place to be. The beer offering is varied and mostly local to Scotland and the staff are friendly and helpful (this shouldn't be a selling point, but far too many staff just aren't).
The Pond, Salamander Street.
The beers are good if limited (in bottle) and the draught is average. No food to speak of so technically this adheres to none of my own criteria. However, I don't really care. It's miles from anywhere useful in a pretty shitty end of the city next to something which has lots of lorries going in and out of it. It's still a really cool bar with a great atmosphere, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that. Move it half a mile and you'd make a fortune? Well, would it be the same if you moved it....
Other bars definitely worth a visit.... Tcheuchtars and Tcheuchtars Landing, Cumberland Bar, Bennets in Morningside, Blue Blazer, Joesph Pearce (and the others in that group, Boda, Sophies and Victoria), Cask and Barrel Southside, Kil-der-kin, Thomsons, Golden Rule, Abbotsford and the Staggs in Musselburgh (not in Edinburgh but a great beer pub).
I've probably missed a few too.
I have no idea what the criteria was when the Guardian's author wrote their top 10, however my criteria is based on quality of product. There are some very pretty bars in Edinburgh that serve utter dross, and as Sienna Miller is living proof of, being pretty doesn't make something good at what it is/does.
One proviso though is the evil of the brewery tie.There are some great bars, great places to sit and relax that I wouldn't say are great bars because they draught beer offering is shocking, through no fault of the operators. They fall in to the 'I love that place, but the beer is rubbish' category. Similarly, 'I love that place but the food is dreadful' etc etc...
My assumption is that the Guardian writer wasn't a beer geek, whisky geek or actually interested in what gets sold, more the atmosphere. Which still doesn't explain several of the choices but anyway....
So in no particular order....
Cloisters Bar, Brougham Street.
Having been managed by the same miserable git for the past 140yrs, Cloisters is still the benchmark for cask, keg and bottle offering in Edinburgh. The constantly rotating 5 cask lines bring a breadth and depth of UK beer and more recently a rotating keg line has seen more choice in that arena too. The manager, despite being bald and grumpy, actually pays attention to the changing markets and has most recently brought in beer from Old Chimneys brewery, the first time it has been sold in a Scottish bar.
You'll also find a huge selection of interesting whiskys and a cracking selection of rum. New chef can cook a bit too.
The Saint, St Stephen's St.
I've been accused (by idiots) of over rating this bar in the past but that's nonsense. Great staff, great atmosphere, a small but uncompromising selection of beer and operated by two guys who have forgotten more about spirits this morning than most of us will ever learn in a lifetime. The food is far far too cheap for the restaurant quality that it is. It's a gem. If you want a cocktail go to their other bar Bramble, it's one of the best in the UK.
The Stockbridge Tap, erm, Stockbridge.
Struggled a bit being next door to the smugfest of Hectors for a while but a new manager, new chef and a new focus has rapidly changed things over the last 4 to 5 months. The beer (cask and keg) selection is always good and the recent beer festival showcased beers previously unsold in Scotland. Sticking some sofa's in the back bar has changed the atmosphere and the decision to remove a few of the mirrors calmed the lighting a bit too. It's Cloisters sister pub and whilst it lagged behind is now nipping at the heals.
Caley Sample Rooms, Slateford Road.
Bags of potential finally being realised. 8 rotating cask lines, a huge bottle range, great wines, selection of spirits and cracking food, all added to friendly staff and good service. Only thing that lets it down is that pig of a brewery tie to kegged beer, but the vast array of choice makes up for that. It's also just a very nice place to be. If you're in town, their sister pub the Cambridge Bar has a similar beer offering and excellent burgers.
Holyrood 9a/Red Squirrel.
I've lumped these two in together because they are the same thing with minor tweaks. If it ain't broke, make another one as they say. The burger menu's in both are huge and the food is consistently good. The keg offering is the largest permanent line up in Edinburgh with a crossover appeal to niche and non niche beer enthusiasts with some craft, cask and mass market beers. Good spirits range and I'll be honest, I've never bothered looking at the wines.
BrewDog, Cowgate.
If it wasn't in the Cowgate and they had a few cask lines there would be little competition for title of best beer pub in Edinburgh. The persistent striving for new and interesting beers has breathed new life in to the beer scene in Scotland and their own beers are good value in today's market. Too many bars go for quantity over quality but there's no compromise here. Passionate and knowledgeable staff, great pizza's and food platters (again, not expensive) and a product list to die for. If you want wines and spirits you're limited, but this is a craft beer bar, and a great one at that. Despite being brick and metal the atmosphere, even when empty, is enjoyable.
Brauhaus, Lauriston Place.
The original Edinburgh 'craft beer bar' with a massive selection of bottled beers. Upped their game recently by sourcing more interesting beers outwith the usual channels too. A break from the trade tie on draught would do wonders, as would about 200sqft extra space. Alternatively making more seating space by taking away the massive sofa's that take up half the bar and sit 4 people. Interesting spirits selection and german style bar snacks. A little usurped by BrewDog, but still plenty of choice for the quality booze lover.
The Bow Bar, West Bow.
Feel free to take bets on how long Duechers IPA lasts in this bar, it can't have long left surely. Mind blowing array of whisky, excellent draught beer selection and small but quality bottle offering. Pies at lunch are a bonus and the staff know their stuff. That this pub is ever omitted from a 'best pub' list of Edinburgh is a travesty.
Nobles Bar, Dukes Street.
Where some fail, others succeed. Considered a dog of a site the new owners have worked wonders. It's eclectic styling, low lit atmospheric mood and cracking food make this a blinding place to be. The beer offering is varied and mostly local to Scotland and the staff are friendly and helpful (this shouldn't be a selling point, but far too many staff just aren't).
The Pond, Salamander Street.
The beers are good if limited (in bottle) and the draught is average. No food to speak of so technically this adheres to none of my own criteria. However, I don't really care. It's miles from anywhere useful in a pretty shitty end of the city next to something which has lots of lorries going in and out of it. It's still a really cool bar with a great atmosphere, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that. Move it half a mile and you'd make a fortune? Well, would it be the same if you moved it....
Other bars definitely worth a visit.... Tcheuchtars and Tcheuchtars Landing, Cumberland Bar, Bennets in Morningside, Blue Blazer, Joesph Pearce (and the others in that group, Boda, Sophies and Victoria), Cask and Barrel Southside, Kil-der-kin, Thomsons, Golden Rule, Abbotsford and the Staggs in Musselburgh (not in Edinburgh but a great beer pub).
I've probably missed a few too.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
How to crowbar Einstein in to a beer blog
Last night I was at a beer tasting. We had lots of beer chat, talked about a lot of different things, discussed various breweries and their beers. At some point in the evening the dirty word came up, BrewDog.
Why is BrewDog the dirty word? Because as soon as it gets mentioned it dominates conversation because you can't just talk about the beer. Any other brewery that gets discussed is generally judged on the relative merits of it's products, BrewDog covers all bases and eventually every other brewery, rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, gets compared to them. It gets boring, it gets tiresome and yet it doesn't stop.
The context of this discussion, which lasted a surprisingly short period of time, was the influence of BrewDog on the UK microbrew industry. One of our drinking buddies said - and I'm paraphrasing here - that BrewDog's influence is negligable and that the techtonic shift we've seen in the industry over the past 18 - 24 months would have happened anyway. Which is why I'm writing this, because I don't think that's true.....
It's widely acknowledged (Well, I read that it is) in the world of physics that if Einstein hadn't come up with the Special theory of relativity when he did, it wasn't far off. Eventually, probably within five years, someone would have come up with that theory. By comparison, the general theory of relativity was a work of unique brilliance, a theory which changed how we see the entire universe and unified a collection of theories. It is entirely plausible that without Einstein we would still be waiting for that unified theory.
You're absolutely right, I can hear you already 'what the fuck does this have to do with beer and for the love of god don't try to tell me that James Watt is to beer what Albert Einstein is to physics'. Panic not, but the comparison was the first thing that came in to my head whilst I was thinking about that comment, 'If BrewDog hadn't done it, someone else would'.
It's easy to say 'It would have happened anyway' because it seems so obvious, because here we are now, and this is how things are. If my mum hadn't given birth to me someone else would right? Possibly, but that person would have a different make up, different characteristics. He would look different, think differently, act differently. He would be a human being sure, but not me.
I still find it hard to accept that if Einstein hadn't come up with the GTR that someone else wouldn't have, why not? Well, apparently my limited knowledge of physics doesn't allow me to fully appreciate just how brilliant Einstein's theory is. Equally I think that prejudice brought about by the constant marketing offensive (or as some people see it, offensive marketing) prevents people from truly appreciating BrewDog's positive influence on our industry.
So, beer and the UK microbrew industry. A change had been coming, much like the special theory of relativity, we'd seen a steady increase in US breweries in the market - and this is mostly about US style beers, there hasn't been a meteroic rise in sales of German or Belgian beers....yet! I suspect that's coming too, Belgian beers certainly - and the likes of Dark Star, Moor and Lovibonds have been innovating and creating new and exciting beers for many years. All great breweries making awesome beers, but none of them had come up with that 'general theory' that unifying equation that brought it all together. They aimed at and appealed to, beer drinkers, nothing wrong with that.
Dark Star were making diverse styles and being experimental, but had stayed away from kegged beer and didn't, and still don't, bottle much (with a lack of continuity in the branding between bottles and cask too). Lovibonds make keg only beers, unpastuerised and unfiltered, making them one of the most radical and progressive breweries in the UK, but their branding is in stark contrast with their product (the new 69 IPA branding an exception, and hopefully the direction they are moving in).
BrewDog came up with that unified theory and changed the way the industry saw itself, and more importantly how non beer people viewed the industry. Suddenly, to the outside non beer world, beer wasn't anything to do with beards, sandals, mud and sticks or 'real ale twats'. Beer was, all of a sudden, fucking cool.*
BrewDog made completely off the wall beers, they had complete continuity in their branding and the branding was stylish, brash, exciting and very 'unBritish'. They casked, bottled and kegged as soon as they could. In short they did everything other breweries were doing, but they put it all together and then they did something which I think makes them stand out from all the other breweries, and what makes me disagree with that assertion that it 'would have happened anyway'..... They told EVERYONE how good they were and how rubbish they thought other beers/breweries were. They broke the rules, it was ungentlemanly conduct. They actually said they were something very different and then went about showing how different they were. The industry was divided. Some hated them for it, but some loved them. I suspect those who hated them hated them because they knew they were right, and those who loved it were the ones who had known for while that this was something we badly needed.
It set them apart, and still sets them apart. It brought them plaudits and critics but most importantly of all it made people talk about them, and suddenly the UK beer scene was really exciting. It forced other breweries to look at themselves, it challenged other breweries to rebrand, to experiment and it opened the door to a new market for a lot of breweries. It encouraged many people to brew commercially too.
The biggest influence however, is the cross-over appeal. The non-beer people that BrewDog have attracted, that influence can't be over-estimated. Before BrewDog, name a microbrewery who consistently made it in to the national newspapers, and I don't mean in some highbrow section in the Observer's good food guide supplement. It didn't happen, the interest just wasn't there. BrewDog made beer interesting to non-beer people and that is something that beer people seem to find difficult to grasp. They were (and still are) young, arrogant, intelligent, outspoken, pretentious, offensive and there is nothing the media likes better than a combination of all those things. They were newsworthy.
Now, since their meteoric rise, name another brewery who has stepped in to that sphere, who has seen the opportunity and made themselves newsworthy. There are none.
The BrewDog bars demographic are a good example of how this influence is spreading, look at what they sell. Are the BrewDog bars full to the brim with beer geeks desperate for a Cantillon Vigeronne? No, most of the beer sold, and it really is most, is BrewDog beer and it's being drunk primarily by people who are not beer geeks, but like the cool image and environment of the bars. So what, right? Well, when those trendy kids go and drink in a bar with no BrewDog but who might have a DarkStar cask on, or a Tempest, what are they going to drink? Will they pick a Carling or will be tempted to try something microbrewed? After all, they've had it drummed in to them by the BrewDog marketing machine that microbrewed is always better than mass made. I would expect them to go with the cool badge of the microbrewed beer, and that is why BrewDog will benefit the microbrew industry.
Sometimes you just need a catalyst. It doesn't actually matter how good BrewDog's beers are, or how sustainable their business model is, or what else they do from here on in. They changed things, they were the right difference at the right time and they continue to bring more new people to beer.
What the beer geeks have to remember is that the general public don't give a toss about the question marks over integrity, or consistency. They don't care about the hypocrisy of the marketing or the company propoganda. They don't care about selling out to Tesco and the anti-punk ethos of a company that claims to be punk in it's ethos. It's immaterial to them, they don't have those romantic notions of purity. They see a cool brand and they want to be associated with it, and if that brings more people to the world of microbrewed beer then I'm 100% all for it.
So the question was, if James Watt and Martin Dickie hadn't set out to do what they have done, would someone else have done it? The fact that not one brewery has tried to emulate what they have done suggests to me that they wouldn't have, and we'd still be waiting for that change.
*Example. My friend Zara is a graphic designer, she doesn't drink beer. She doesn't even like beer. She loves BrewDog. Someone wrote in a blog that beer is not about image, it's about taste. Bollocks.
Why is BrewDog the dirty word? Because as soon as it gets mentioned it dominates conversation because you can't just talk about the beer. Any other brewery that gets discussed is generally judged on the relative merits of it's products, BrewDog covers all bases and eventually every other brewery, rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, gets compared to them. It gets boring, it gets tiresome and yet it doesn't stop.
The context of this discussion, which lasted a surprisingly short period of time, was the influence of BrewDog on the UK microbrew industry. One of our drinking buddies said - and I'm paraphrasing here - that BrewDog's influence is negligable and that the techtonic shift we've seen in the industry over the past 18 - 24 months would have happened anyway. Which is why I'm writing this, because I don't think that's true.....
It's widely acknowledged (Well, I read that it is) in the world of physics that if Einstein hadn't come up with the Special theory of relativity when he did, it wasn't far off. Eventually, probably within five years, someone would have come up with that theory. By comparison, the general theory of relativity was a work of unique brilliance, a theory which changed how we see the entire universe and unified a collection of theories. It is entirely plausible that without Einstein we would still be waiting for that unified theory.
You're absolutely right, I can hear you already 'what the fuck does this have to do with beer and for the love of god don't try to tell me that James Watt is to beer what Albert Einstein is to physics'. Panic not, but the comparison was the first thing that came in to my head whilst I was thinking about that comment, 'If BrewDog hadn't done it, someone else would'.
It's easy to say 'It would have happened anyway' because it seems so obvious, because here we are now, and this is how things are. If my mum hadn't given birth to me someone else would right? Possibly, but that person would have a different make up, different characteristics. He would look different, think differently, act differently. He would be a human being sure, but not me.
I still find it hard to accept that if Einstein hadn't come up with the GTR that someone else wouldn't have, why not? Well, apparently my limited knowledge of physics doesn't allow me to fully appreciate just how brilliant Einstein's theory is. Equally I think that prejudice brought about by the constant marketing offensive (or as some people see it, offensive marketing) prevents people from truly appreciating BrewDog's positive influence on our industry.
So, beer and the UK microbrew industry. A change had been coming, much like the special theory of relativity, we'd seen a steady increase in US breweries in the market - and this is mostly about US style beers, there hasn't been a meteroic rise in sales of German or Belgian beers....yet! I suspect that's coming too, Belgian beers certainly - and the likes of Dark Star, Moor and Lovibonds have been innovating and creating new and exciting beers for many years. All great breweries making awesome beers, but none of them had come up with that 'general theory' that unifying equation that brought it all together. They aimed at and appealed to, beer drinkers, nothing wrong with that.
Dark Star were making diverse styles and being experimental, but had stayed away from kegged beer and didn't, and still don't, bottle much (with a lack of continuity in the branding between bottles and cask too). Lovibonds make keg only beers, unpastuerised and unfiltered, making them one of the most radical and progressive breweries in the UK, but their branding is in stark contrast with their product (the new 69 IPA branding an exception, and hopefully the direction they are moving in).
BrewDog came up with that unified theory and changed the way the industry saw itself, and more importantly how non beer people viewed the industry. Suddenly, to the outside non beer world, beer wasn't anything to do with beards, sandals, mud and sticks or 'real ale twats'. Beer was, all of a sudden, fucking cool.*
BrewDog made completely off the wall beers, they had complete continuity in their branding and the branding was stylish, brash, exciting and very 'unBritish'. They casked, bottled and kegged as soon as they could. In short they did everything other breweries were doing, but they put it all together and then they did something which I think makes them stand out from all the other breweries, and what makes me disagree with that assertion that it 'would have happened anyway'..... They told EVERYONE how good they were and how rubbish they thought other beers/breweries were. They broke the rules, it was ungentlemanly conduct. They actually said they were something very different and then went about showing how different they were. The industry was divided. Some hated them for it, but some loved them. I suspect those who hated them hated them because they knew they were right, and those who loved it were the ones who had known for while that this was something we badly needed.
It set them apart, and still sets them apart. It brought them plaudits and critics but most importantly of all it made people talk about them, and suddenly the UK beer scene was really exciting. It forced other breweries to look at themselves, it challenged other breweries to rebrand, to experiment and it opened the door to a new market for a lot of breweries. It encouraged many people to brew commercially too.
The biggest influence however, is the cross-over appeal. The non-beer people that BrewDog have attracted, that influence can't be over-estimated. Before BrewDog, name a microbrewery who consistently made it in to the national newspapers, and I don't mean in some highbrow section in the Observer's good food guide supplement. It didn't happen, the interest just wasn't there. BrewDog made beer interesting to non-beer people and that is something that beer people seem to find difficult to grasp. They were (and still are) young, arrogant, intelligent, outspoken, pretentious, offensive and there is nothing the media likes better than a combination of all those things. They were newsworthy.
Now, since their meteoric rise, name another brewery who has stepped in to that sphere, who has seen the opportunity and made themselves newsworthy. There are none.
The BrewDog bars demographic are a good example of how this influence is spreading, look at what they sell. Are the BrewDog bars full to the brim with beer geeks desperate for a Cantillon Vigeronne? No, most of the beer sold, and it really is most, is BrewDog beer and it's being drunk primarily by people who are not beer geeks, but like the cool image and environment of the bars. So what, right? Well, when those trendy kids go and drink in a bar with no BrewDog but who might have a DarkStar cask on, or a Tempest, what are they going to drink? Will they pick a Carling or will be tempted to try something microbrewed? After all, they've had it drummed in to them by the BrewDog marketing machine that microbrewed is always better than mass made. I would expect them to go with the cool badge of the microbrewed beer, and that is why BrewDog will benefit the microbrew industry.
Sometimes you just need a catalyst. It doesn't actually matter how good BrewDog's beers are, or how sustainable their business model is, or what else they do from here on in. They changed things, they were the right difference at the right time and they continue to bring more new people to beer.
What the beer geeks have to remember is that the general public don't give a toss about the question marks over integrity, or consistency. They don't care about the hypocrisy of the marketing or the company propoganda. They don't care about selling out to Tesco and the anti-punk ethos of a company that claims to be punk in it's ethos. It's immaterial to them, they don't have those romantic notions of purity. They see a cool brand and they want to be associated with it, and if that brings more people to the world of microbrewed beer then I'm 100% all for it.
So the question was, if James Watt and Martin Dickie hadn't set out to do what they have done, would someone else have done it? The fact that not one brewery has tried to emulate what they have done suggests to me that they wouldn't have, and we'd still be waiting for that change.
*Example. My friend Zara is a graphic designer, she doesn't drink beer. She doesn't even like beer. She loves BrewDog. Someone wrote in a blog that beer is not about image, it's about taste. Bollocks.
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