Love Good Beer

Experiencing the Great British Beer Festival

Sunday, August 15th, 2010 | Beer, Events | 1 Comment

When I let my intentions to attend the 2010 Great British Beer Festival (henceforth to be referred to as GBBF) be known, numerous people let me know not to go on Saturday.  Sadly, having already bought the tickets and being a Monday to Friday working man, Saturday was my only option.  It turns out that most of the good beer is gone by Saturday and the crowds tend to be rather raucous.  I had no problem with the latter, but the lack of quality beer was disappointing. That being said, if you enjoy people watching, Saturday is the day for you.  I will not elaborate; attend next year to see for yourself.

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

Tags: camra uk, Cask Ale, earls court, gbbf, great british beer festival, london

The Wenlock Arms in London

Saturday, May 8th, 2010 | Beer | 1 Comment

We’ve been in London for a couple of weeks now, time enough to check out a few pubs.  Obviously I was aware that pubs were a big deal over here, but I wasn’t really aware of just how big a deal.  There are probably twenty pubs within a ten minute walk of our flat.  Back in Canada, there weren’t any pubs within a ten minute walk of where I lived and my pub of choice was a 15 minute drive.  English people are also very worried that pubs are closing down at an alarming rate.  In my opinion, these pubs must be closing down for a reason, that being they suck.  Every pub I’ve walked by in England so far has been packed, and this is at all hours of the day, so it’s hard to imagine any half decent pub needing to close down.  Anyway, I love pubs, so I’m pretty happy with my new found selection.

When first looking for interesting pubs to try I stumbled upon the Wenlock Arms, which is frequently voted North London pub of the year by CAMRA.  They advertise nine casks of quality beer, so I obviously had to check it out.  It was in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood that you would only go to if you lived there or were heading for this pub.  The pub itself was a bit rundown, as was the clientele.  I supposed I expected the young, hip crowds you find everywhere else in London, but what I found was a bunch of old dudes who look like they drink too much.  Given the Wenlock Arms is a beer destination, it is fitting that it attracts beer nerds, and for good reason.  The two beers we tried were both outstanding.  It’s been a few weeks so I don’t remember what I had, but I was delighted to have a hoppy beer rivaling something from out of the North West for the first time in London.  Built in 1836, the place has some pretty cool history too.  Anyway, I’ll be back to try more of their delicious beer and to find out what it actually was, but I’ll only go there with serious beer people who will overlook the atmosphere.

While not every pub has nine casks of delicious beer on offer, pretty much all of them have at least three.  This includes The New Rose, which is a convenient one minute walk from our place.  It’s a livelier spot frequented by the trendier locals hereabouts and it just might be our regular pub.  Their website is brilliant too.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: big ridge, camra, Cask Ale, london, the new rose, uk pubs, wenlock arms

Rad things pertaining to Drinking Beer in England

Sunday, April 11th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments

We’ve been in England for over a week now and I’ve noticed a few things that I quite appreciate about drinking beer here:

1. Real Ale – Or cask ale as we would call it, is available at almost all pubs.  Commonly you’ll find six or eight of the major brands on tap and then there will be three beer machines pumping out real ale.  Often you’ll find Fuller’s London Pride, Young’s Bitter, or Wells Bombardier available, among other British ales.
2. Ordering at the bar – Whether it be beer or food, you order at the bar here.  There is no pretense of table service and I much prefer this means of ordering.  You go to the bar, order, pay, and have your beer shortly after.  I much prefer this to table service where you are at the mercy of your server when it comes to ordering and settling up.
3. Public Drinking – You can drink in public here.  You can buy beer at a store and crack one on a train or in a park.  You can order a beer at the pub and then walk out and enjoy it on the street if the weather is nice or the place is too crowded.  I was shocked the first time a saw open alcohol in public, but only because it isn’t allowed back home, which isn’t to say it doesn’t happen anyway.  People definitely drink in public at home, but either hide it or fear confiscation.  Why bother with a silly law?  People who want to drink in public will do it anyway.  In the words of my aunt when told about our law, “but how do you have a picnic in the summer then?”
4. Good Beer Guide – CAMRA UK publishes a Good Beer Guide to England detailing the many great pubs over here.  I recently purchased this book only to find that there is also an iPhone app.  The app uses the phone’s GPS to pinpoint your location and walk you to the closest approved pub.  Considering that I don’t know a whole lot about my current whereabouts, this app is a revelation.  My iPhone is now a good beer finder, wooo!

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: camra uk, Cask Ale, fullers london pride, good beer guide, iphone app, ordering at the bar, public drinking, real ale, wells bombardier, youngs bitter

Frequenting the Alibi Room

Monday, April 13th, 2009 | Beer | 6 Comments

I’ve never really had a frequent haunt, the kind of place that I could walk to and visit frequently.  The closest thing to a local watering hole I have is Big Ridge in Surrey, which is a fifteen minute drive for me.  Granted, there is Dublin Crossing, a fun fake Irish pub within walking distance, but it isn’t a place I want to latch onto.

Lately, I’ve found myself going to the Alibi Room almost once a week.  I am lucky (or unlucky, depending on your impressions of the neighbourhood) to work only a block away, making it quite a convenient place for a pint after work.  Even if the Alibi Room wasn’t so conveniently located for me, I would still make an effort to get there once in a while.  They have the best beer selection in the lower mainland and are the only place you can get many of the local craft beers they serve.  They have 19 rotating taps as well as three beer machines pumping out cask conditioned ales, which also change on a weekly basis.  Notwithstanding, their food is very good and reasonably priced.

The great Alibi Room beer menu, updated weekly

The Alibi Room is really the one stop shop for beer in the entire Metro Vancouver area.  It saddens me that there are no similar places.  Why I wonder, do none exist when the Alibi Room’s success (it is always busy) clearly indicates an existing demand?  Maybe Erik and I should open up a place of our own?

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: alibi room, big ridge, Cask Ale, Craft Beer, dublin crossing, local, vancouver

Cask Ale Sundays at The Whip

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments

Two incidents made Sunday a strange day for me.  The first happened that afternoon during my soccer game.  I was subbing into the game when a spectator’s dog bit me on the thigh.  I’m not sure what I did to provoke it, but the dog lunged at me as I was running past it onto the field.  I’m still sporting fang punctures and a nasty bruise. How often does that happen? Had you asked me right then, I would have assumed that would be the strangest thing to happen to me all day.  I was wrong.

It was Erik’s birthday this week and the Wolfe family tradition entails going out for a meal together.  Tempted by the CAMRA newsletter, we chose The Whip to enjoy the cask ale they feature every Sunday.  Sadly, CAMRA members had already consumed the cask of R&B Red Devil Pale Ale by the time we arrived.  No bother, The Whip has an excellent beer menu and we were able to drink some tasty local craft beer.  I enjoyed pints of Storm‘s Hurricane IPA and Black Plague Stout, both of which were highly enjoyable.  Some undercooked yam fries aside, the food was also excellent.  I really enjoyed my Mexican chicken burger.

It was as we were eating that Sunday’s second strange incident occured.  We were enjoying our meals when a group of extremely intoxicated people arrived, taking a table near us.  They were no trouble, but I can’t say I enjoyed their company.  The serving staff quickly took note of their level of innebriation and cut them off.  I heard one remark “this is the third bar we’ve been kicked out of” only for the waitress to reply “this is isn’t a bar, it’s a restaurant!”  The group was allowed to finish their beers, giving one fellow the chance to expose himself in the middle of the dining room, perform the “windmill”, and place his genitals in his friend’s glass.  How often does that happen?

I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it, I mean the incident, not the…  I don’t blame The Whip in the least.  Upon hearing of the infraction, the offending group was quickly removed.  The Whip’s staff even gave us coupons for a free pint and 15% off during our next visit.  We’ll definitely go back because the food, beer, and atmosphere were great.  Happy birthday Erik, you’ll definitely remember this one.

Pictures of our visit:

Erik and Holly enjoying their beers

The wife and I

Papa Wolfe

Kelly and Concord, they don't drink beer:(

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: camra vancouver, Cask Ale, Craft Beer, hurricane IPA, R&B brewing, red devil pale ale, storm brewing, the whip

A cask Thursday at Dix

Friday, March 13th, 2009 | Beer | No Comments

Dix BBQ and Brewery has a cask of special ale available every Thursday (that is not a game day) at 5PM.  This past Thursday, Erik and I met up with the honourable Rick Green to sample this week’s offerings and talk about beer.  This week was a bit special, not only did Dix make a cask of their own Texas Brown Ale (think brown IPA) available, but Russell Brewing was testing out a new IPA recipe of theirs.  Considering our history with Russell Brewing, I was really interested to try their IPA.  I think we both enjoyed it, or at least I did.  I hope that Russell adds this beer to their production lineup.  It would be by far their most alluring brew and a beer I could see myself purchasing.

Dix cask nights are regularly advertised in the CAMRA Vancouver weekly newsletter, always tempting me.  I was surprised to see just how many CAMRA members actually show up on a weekly basis, fifty or so by my estimation.  We had a great time talking about beer with Rick and had the pleasure to meet other CAMRA members, including local brewers, illustrious beer store owners, and friendly beer enthusiasts.  I hope I can make my attendance at Dix Cask Thursdays a more frequent occurrence.  Good fresh beer and good times.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: camra vancouver, Cask Ale, dix, rick green, russell brewing

What is cask ale?

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 | Beer | 7 Comments

Cask beer is pumped

I was telling a few friends about some of Vancouver’s periodic cask ale events and was shocked to realize that they didn’t even know what cask ale is!  I suppose it is one of those terms that I just take for granted.  In any case, I thought I should post a blurb for the uninitiated.

Cask ale is unfiltered, unpasteurized beer that is served right from the cask it is conditioned in.  Cask ale must be served via a pump (or gravity) because there is no artificial pressure, which is usually generated by added CO2 or nitrogen.  Cask ale is often dry hopped, meaning that hops are thrown into the cask before the secondary fermentation phase, which is generally referred to as conditioning (live yeast remains because it is not filtered out).  Cask ale is usually served a little warmer than most beer, at about ten degrees Celsius.  Cask ale is the real ale that the Campaign For Real Ale is promoting.  The cask ale Wikipedia page has a lot of great information if you are interested in learning more.

I really enjoy real cask conditioned ales, which are generally more hoppy (bitter) and less carbonated than their un cask conditioned counterparts.  I also find cask conditioned ales to be smoother and more flavorful.  If you are interested in tasting some cask conditioned ale, I recommend signing up for the CAMRA Vancouver mailing list.  Their weekly email will tell you where to find cask ale, which is available every day at the Irish Heather, every Thursday at Dix, and every last Friday of the month at Big Ridge.

Also, if you were wondering, bottle conditioned ale is similar to cask ale, save that it is aged in the bottle and not in a cask.  Give it a try if you see it in your local liquor store!

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: big ridge, bottle conditioned ale, camra, camra vancouver, Cask Ale, dix, irish heather, real ale

Great Beer Moments of 2009

Friday, January 23rd, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Pubs | 2 Comments

Spending yesterday afternoon in search of great beer was a pleasant reminder to me about why I love beer.  Now I know we are only 23 days into this year, but I strongly believe yesterday will easily finish in my top five beer moments of 2009.  There was no one particular beer that made yesterday so memorable; it was the combination of great beer, great places, great food and great company that made yesterday shine through the dreariness of BC’s foggy start to 2009.

The afternoon started by meeting my good friend Brad in Burnaby, on route to Brewery Creek.  For those of us who live in the Fraser Valley, a trip out to Brewery Creek is not a weekly occurrence and is a noteworthy event.  Until yesterday Brad was a Brewery Creek virgin – I was excited to show him the bounty that is Brewery Creek, and he was excited to spend his entire beer budget in one fell swoop.  With grins on our faces we perused through the shelves slowly filling our carts with beer.  For those who haven’t been, Brewery Creek is like a candy store for adults, only the candy doesn’t cost 5 cents.  Brad loaded up on barley wine and I rounded out my collection with beer from Oregon, Washington, BC and Belgium. Had the day ended here it would have already been great – but it continued on.

We still had plenty of time in the afternoon and I had not yet satisfied my desire for new beer, so we decided to head to Firefly.  This was my first visit to Firefly, and with a parking spot left open beside the store it was meant to be.  Firefly has an impressive beer and wine selection, but I can’t say standing in a fridge while shopping for beer is ideal.  Nonetheless, I added a few more bottles to my collection and headed on out; Brad had already overspent his budget and had to go without.  I will be updating The Cellar shortly with my most recent additions, although most of my purchases will end up in my belly before they make it to the cellar.

By this time it was quarter to five and hunger was setting in.  Yesterday was Thursday, and DIX Brewery has cask ale on Thursdays – good news!  We headed over to DIX for an early dinner and to enjoy this week’s cask ale – a Rye IPA better know as Jack the RIPA.  The cask ale was fantastic, with hints of spice from the rye, a warming malt flavour, and a great hop kick.  One was all it took yesterday – sometimes simplicity and moderation (I can’t believe I am writing this) is a good thing.  The food at DIX was equally impressive, I ordered the BBQ Brisket Sandwich and Brad decided on a burger.  DIX was the perfect way to end an afternoon beer hunt.

I love beer because it is more than just nourishment to our bodies and a means for drunkenness.  Good beer, like good food, becomes exponentially better when enjoyed with good friends, and yesterday’s beer tasted pretty fantastic.

Erik

Tags: Beer, brewery creek, Cask Ale, DIX Brewery, firefly, IPA, Jack the RIPA, Rye