Pitfields Porter at the Duke of Cambridge

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers,

Chris

The Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court

To give you a bit of back-story, the GBBF is held every year at Earls Court (an enormous convention center in London) the first Tuesday to Saturday of August.  CAMRA UK organize GGBF, which is well attended by hundreds of brewers from around the UK who provide casks of beer.  It costs £8 to get in, another refundable £3 for a tasting pint glass (yes, pint), and then beer can be purchased from various bars in 1/3, 1/2, and full pints at rather affordable prices.  I was used to having my testing vessel at a beer festival come in the form of four ounce taster sized cup and was quite surprised at the full pint glasses on offer.  Luckily, most British beers are lower in alcohol content than typical North American festival beers, so the full pint did not do me in.

I was quite pleased with our pints

In searching for quality beer, we did indeed find that almost half of the beer listed was sold out.  We didn’t particularly enjoy what we tried of the other half.  It might be that the beer was starting to spoil after five days sitting in an open cask or that only the poorer quality beer was left, but I was not particularly impressed with the overall beer quality of what I tasted.  I admit that this might have been to do with me lacking in knowledge of the vast number of British brewers and I’ve vowed to do my research in the future.  Next year I’m going to go earlier in the week and come prepared with a list of fine beers to try.  What I am quite sure of is that the beer available at GBBF was nowhere near as adventurous or varied as what you might find at a festival in the Pacific Northwest.  I’m sure the various ales on offer were chock full of subtlety, but subtlety detection seems to disappear after a couple pints.

All the good stuff sold out...

After a few disappointing pints, I stumbled upon the international bar where I found a few of my west coast favorites.  I took comfort in a bottle of one of my favorite beers, Deschutes Black Butte Porter.  I then went back to challenge myself with a 500ml bottle of Green Flash Double Stout.  You might say this did me in.  I’m once again going to complain about the propensity for festival organizers to hold events such as these during the day.  I wasn’t particularly inebriated at 7PM on Saturday, but what’s a slightly inebriated person going to do post GBBF at 7PM on a Saturday?  Carry on, that’s what.  Needless to say, the following Sunday was one of those “I’m never drinking again” days, which usually last me a week.  However, I’m in England now, so I only managed to take one day off.

Festival goers at GBBF

All and all, it was a very interesting experience and a fun time, I’ll be back.  Next year, I’m going on a Wednesday night and I’m going to go prepared.  This strategy will hopefully help me come up with some non useless commentary in 2011.

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers,

Chris

Look how pretty Stockholm is

In Sweden, the liquor industry is intensely government regulated (even Absolut was owned by the Swedish government until recently), even more so than in Canada.  Only beer less than 3.5% ABV can be sold in grocery stores, all other liquor is sold in government stores called Systembolaget.  I went into one to check it out.  There are no shelves of wine and beer for people to grab and take to the checkout.  There are only showcases to let you know what they have.  Once you’ve made up your mind you order from a counter where the clerk goes into the back and assembles your order for you.  I’m guessing they don’t get many shoplifters.  Unlike in Canada where cold beer and wine stores exist to sell you alcohol at inflated prices after the government liquor stores close, Swedes just can’t buy liquor on Sundays.  This is not cool, but at least the stores have a good selection of Swedish and international beer for sale.

The counter at Systembolaget

Behind the counter at Systembolaget

The beer showcase at Systembolaget

We ended up eating dinner at a cool restaurant that had an extensive craft beer list featuring mostly Swedish beers.  The restaurant was called Bakfickan and the food and beer were delightful.  I don’t remember what the beer we had was called, but it was tasty.  I had a really hard time with the Swedish language, reading it, pronouncing it, and remembering any instructions whatsoever.  We North Americans absolutely butcher Swedish, which I feel bad about because most Swedes speak excellent English with very little accent (the Ikea commercials back home are a giant lie). If you were wondering, the food in Stockholm is like what they sell at Ikea, except that it is of much higher quality.  I had meatballs with lingon berry sauce at Bafickan.  We also ate a lot of cold water fish and shrimp in Sweden, often with a dill mayo type sauce.  We found the food in Stockholm to be delicious in general.

Craft beer at Bakfickan

Our last stop in Stockholm was to Akkurat, a very highly rated beer bar.  They had an impressive array of beer available on cask, on tap, and in bottles, including many Swedish beers and top quality stuff from around the world.  We went Swedish, but again I have no idea what it was.  It was good though.  This place is a must stop for any beer lover passing through Stockholm.

The bar at Akkurat

Stockholm is rad; you should visit it.

Cheers,

Chris

The first ever CAMRA Vancouver Summer Beer Festival is happening Saturday, August 14th at St. Augustine’s in Vancouver.  I believe the event is geared towards CAMRA members, but the Evite I received indicates there are general tickets available.  A ticket costs $25 and includes three tastes and a commemorative tasting glass, at past Caskivals extra tastes were available for $1.  Past Caskivals also featured stellar beer lineups and I’m almost certain this festival will be no different.  Here’s hoping this event becomes widely successful and remains for me to attend when I return to Vancouver.

Cheers,

Chris

Gate to Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, other tourists taking pictures

Beer is like food and the same principles of freshness apply (although Guinness isn’t a meal in a glass; it has the same calorie content as most other beers and it’s the nitrogen bubbles that make you feel full). The differences in flavor I tasted I would describe in terms of freshness and staleness.  The Guinness over here has a deeper roasted malt flavor than the Guinness at home and just tastes fresher, where the latter might have something to do with the oils contributed by the hops not yet breaking down.  Guinness in Vancouver tastes like a mere shadow of what I tasted in Dublin.

Brew Kettle in the Guinness Storehouse

When you consider that Guinness is brewed in Dublin and is widely consumed in the British Isles (meaning kegs don’t sit around for long), it makes sense that the majority of the Guinness consumed here is fresh as can be.  Whereas Guinness in Vancouver has taken a boat trip across the Atlantic, a train trip across Canada, and then sat in a BC Liquor Cartel warehouse or shelf for a while.  Had I any foresight whatsoever, I might have brought a can of Guinness over here to consume along side a fresh pint from the Storehouse in direct comparison.  In addition to being fresher, Guinness over here is much better taken care of.  Bars carrying Guinness have Guinness representatives coming into clean their keg lines quite frequently.  Bars are supposed to clean their lines regularly anyway, but most don’t.  Dirty lines can sully a good beer, but no Guinness in Ireland is subjected to such shame.

Barrels in the Guinness Storehouse, they show you the whole industrial beer making process

This past year we were contacted by Guinness’ PR firm in Canada and asked to write about why Guinness was so remarkable for it’s 250th birthday.  I wasn’t so sure Guinness was that remarkable, from a beer perspective at least.  Now, having visited the Guinness Storehouse, I know why Guinness has thrived for 250 years, marketing and branding.  The Storehouse itself is all part of the experience and the most impressive piece of beer tourism I’ve ever seen.  You are ushered through five floors of Guinness history, from how it’s made to Guinness adverts of ages gone by.  And what happens at the end?  A free pint of fresh Guinness in the rooftop bar with panorama city views of Dublin.  The Guinness Storehouse is a must see for anyone, not just beer lovers.  You will surely feel more affection for Guinness having completed the tour, sheer marketing brilliance.

The bar on top of the Guinness Storehouse, pouring Guinness is an art

There’s more to Dublin that just Guinness though, and we made a point of checking out one of Dublin’s microbreweries.  We actually ended up at Porterhouse Brewing Company’s Temple Bar location more than once.  This maze like pub spanning several floors was packed out on both Friday and Saturday nights.  They had the most amazing Guitar player on Friday night too (he put my Guitar Hero dominance on medium to shame).  The beer was phenomenal too, way better than Guinness, we’re talking top quality microbrewery stuff.  I particularly enjoyed their Oyster Stout and the Temple Brau lager.  This is a great pub and another must visit.

Do you remember when lying was okay in advertising? Oh wait, it's still okay.

We also did a Literary Pub Crawl of Dublin.  It was really fun, not for the beer, but for the story telling and literary history.  Turns out every famous Irish writer was a massive drunk.  But we were only in Dublin for two days and did our fair share of drinking, so who are we to judge?

Cheers,

Chris

Canada Day in Trafalgar Square

The most amazing part of the evening for me involved one of the Canadians we were meeting turning up in a circa 1994 Gino Odjick Canuck jersey.  There were thousands of drunk Canadians in Trafalgar Square that night and a good portion of them, most of the ones from BC at least, all stopped by to hug, pose with, or otherwise worship the Gino jersey.  The first incident I saw involved an extremely attractive woman practically throwing herself at the Gino jersey.  If you are a young single Canadian, I recommend showing up next year in a Gino (or suitable 1994 Canuck hero, Linden, Ronning, Mclean, Momesso, Adams, Babych and others not including Bure might do the trick) because you’ll be the toast of the town.  I always knew the 1994 Canuck run was a big deal, but it pretty much defines my generation.  If nothing else, we have that in common.  It’s a bit embarassing though, what with us not even winning.  Ginooo!

The Power of Gino is immense

After the celebration we decided to go to the Maple Leaf, the one Canadian bar in London.  Guess what? So did everyone else and we didn’t get in.  I’ve yet to check out the Maple Leaf, but I’ll get there and let you know how it goes.

Cheers,

Chris

The first part of the book describes (and laments) the dilution of the IPA style from a good, strong, hoppy beer to a mere shadow of its former self in England.  Having lived in England for a while now, I can confirm there is very little India Pale Ale that we West Coast hopheads would deem up to snuff.  Greene King IPA is the most common IPA you’ll find around these parts and it more closely resembles Alexander Keith’s IPA (blah) than anything good.  Side-note: I have seen Sierra Nevada Torpedo multiple times around town.  Not to give the book away, but Pete does his research and brews his IPA as it would have been brewed in Burton for export in the early 19th century.  It sounded delicious.

The book then alternates chapters between Pete’s voyage and the story of that historical voyage.  Knowing nothing about international shipping, I was just as enthralled by the journey as I was with the history.  I don’t want to spoil the book for you, but it’s crazy to think there is so much of this globalized world that remains so foreign to us city dwellers.  As for the history, I found the details of British rule in India and the history of English brewing very illuminating in understanding aspects of modern politics and commercial brewing.  I had no idea that Bass was the UK’s first registered trademark and was once the world’s largest brand.  I was also taught in school to think the British were benevolent colonists, misguided in trying to help modernize their territories.  I was wrong, the British were a big bunch of jerks.

This book is not as much about beer as you would think and would appeal to all those interested in interesting things.  I recommend giving it a read.  There was one very profound quote in the book that I particularly wanted to share with you, but now I can’t find it.

Cheers,

Chris

We ended up heading to the Counting House, which was built in 1893 as Prescott’s Bank, but is now a Fuller’s pub.  They carry the whole Fuller’s line on tap or in bottles and I was pleased to enjoy a delicious Fuller’s London Porter (or five), which is surprisingly not readily available in London.  The building itself was quite ornate for a pub, typical of the over the top opulence on display near the Bank tube station.  If you’ve never been to London’s financial district, it is impressive.  We’re talking fancy cars, everyone in suits, and people running around making deals that actually affect fluctuations in currency and the price of petrol (British for gas).  As such, I really enjoy heading to the area in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops.  If you enjoy drinking tasty beer in a pub that is a product of the financial industry’s well deserved misfortune, I recommend checking out a pub that used to be a bank.

Conversation over a pint at the Counting House

Cheers,

Chris