Saturday, 28 March 2009
Tip Top Beer Festival
Le Gothique is the place in Wandsworth that did my wedding reception and totally blew me away, completely exceeded all my expectations and are just gorgous people in a gorgeous building - therefore I am really looking forward to going to their beer festival this evening http://www.legothique.co.uk/Beer_Festival.html - may see you there!
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Like/Dislike
I got an email promoting this entertaining t-shirt today, and I rather like it.
Other things I like this week:
Zeitgeist - BrewDog is launching its new black lager, which is jolly tasty - although not the first in the UK, despite what the press release says.
Diageo celebrating Guinness's birthday - I don't understand the company, its communications strategy or why they aren't making more play on the Original product during the brand's 250th year but I like that they are celebrating its birthday with some gusto - good work.
Goldminer - I know I might be a bit behind the rest of the world on this, but if you've got a Co-Op nearby get yourself some Goldminer, it's a top-quality British bitter.
That my mild's ready!!! - I'll get to taste the final blend this weekend, can't wait, thanks Stuart at Sharp's and keep an eye out for it beer lovers!
New figures from the Society of Independent Brewers showing craft beer sales are up 10% and set to grow 15% this year - keep supping people!
Things I don't like this week:
Contrived articles - there are a couple of very contrived and poorly-written articles in the trade press this week, clearly generated by brewers with a jealousy agenda who are being pandered to by poor hacks. Seriously guys, pack it in!
Daas Witte Beer - the blonde's okay in a lagery 'I'd happily drink it if it was put in front of me' kind of way, but the witte is very sickly sweet - and I'm not fond of the marketing materials either, the orgy-suggestion just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid!
Insomnia - seriously, a girl needs her sleep, if it doesn't show what time this was posted it's 5.56 of the a.m. and I've got a session with my trainer at 7.30 - urgh!
Time - or the fact that I'm running out of it before my wedding on Saturday. Yep, that's right, the other half finally lost his marbles after 10 years and we're getting hitched, so I'll be missing in action for a bit drinking Carib in the Caribbean and, hopefully, watching England win the Test series... okay drinking Carib in the Caribbean it is then!
Other things I like this week:
Zeitgeist - BrewDog is launching its new black lager, which is jolly tasty - although not the first in the UK, despite what the press release says.
Diageo celebrating Guinness's birthday - I don't understand the company, its communications strategy or why they aren't making more play on the Original product during the brand's 250th year but I like that they are celebrating its birthday with some gusto - good work.
Goldminer - I know I might be a bit behind the rest of the world on this, but if you've got a Co-Op nearby get yourself some Goldminer, it's a top-quality British bitter.
That my mild's ready!!! - I'll get to taste the final blend this weekend, can't wait, thanks Stuart at Sharp's and keep an eye out for it beer lovers!
New figures from the Society of Independent Brewers showing craft beer sales are up 10% and set to grow 15% this year - keep supping people!
Things I don't like this week:
Contrived articles - there are a couple of very contrived and poorly-written articles in the trade press this week, clearly generated by brewers with a jealousy agenda who are being pandered to by poor hacks. Seriously guys, pack it in!
Daas Witte Beer - the blonde's okay in a lagery 'I'd happily drink it if it was put in front of me' kind of way, but the witte is very sickly sweet - and I'm not fond of the marketing materials either, the orgy-suggestion just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid!
Insomnia - seriously, a girl needs her sleep, if it doesn't show what time this was posted it's 5.56 of the a.m. and I've got a session with my trainer at 7.30 - urgh!
Time - or the fact that I'm running out of it before my wedding on Saturday. Yep, that's right, the other half finally lost his marbles after 10 years and we're getting hitched, so I'll be missing in action for a bit drinking Carib in the Caribbean and, hopefully, watching England win the Test series... okay drinking Carib in the Caribbean it is then!
Friday, 20 February 2009
Say What You See
I know some of you guys have expressed some disdain for the Guardian recently but I actually laughed out loud for quite some time at the headline on the e-version this morning.
I really hope that the sub who wrote this gets a bonus, the sarcasm is so thick you couldn't chop your way through with a machete!
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Belated Update
Morning all, well firstly apologies for being away for a while, the need to organise big events in one's life can become all consuming!
I'm having a bit of a Radio 4 moment this morning, with a thought for the day, after being send a quote by Kaiser Wilhelm, which states: "Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world."
So, if I'd been born about 100 hundred years ago (presuming it was KW the Second who said this) I could have been Grand High Empress & Supreme Poohbah of the Entire Globe! How awesome would that have been?!
Okay, so it's a reach but I'm just getting over yet another cold this winter and am feeling terribly upbeat - but I do also have a confession.
I'm afraid at the Malcolm Gluck Guardian showdown I probably didn't do beer as many favours as I could have.
That said, he did come utterly determined to run the room and deride beer at every available turn, which I do feel was a complete waste of the whole exercise that left quite a sour taste in the mouth.
He has come under a lot of fire from various camps and, having met the guy, he wasn't Satan himself, just a misogynistic dinosaur who is clearly intelligent but uses it more for spite than to disseminate knowledge - and I found it dreadfully depressing that he couldn't actually be anything other than obnoxious about beer until all the people had left the room and (initially I believe) thought the cameras weren't rolling.
What I mean by that is what you see at the end of the film, where he admits that the Thornbridge Alliance aged in Pedro Ximinez casks is delicious (which it is - one of the best beers I've tasted in years but the Madeira cask just squeaks past it in my book - buy them quickly!)
But for the rest of the time, without actually turning into some sort of screaming harridan and talking over him every five minutes, I had not a chance to counter-act his consistent desire not to share the room with someone else - you see I don't think it was a wine vs. beer thing, I think it was a limelight thing and as far as he was concerned it was all his.
So, to all you beer drinkers that feel let down by this piece, I apologise - and I'm kicking myself that this should have been a much more spirited display.
But the honest truth is that I wasn't going to let myself down by lowering my behaviour standards to the level of outright rudeness in a fruitless attempt to prove a narrow-minded man wrong.
I hope you understand...
This post promotes a v-blog job I did for the Guardian.
I'm having a bit of a Radio 4 moment this morning, with a thought for the day, after being send a quote by Kaiser Wilhelm, which states: "Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world."
So, if I'd been born about 100 hundred years ago (presuming it was KW the Second who said this) I could have been Grand High Empress & Supreme Poohbah of the Entire Globe! How awesome would that have been?!
Okay, so it's a reach but I'm just getting over yet another cold this winter and am feeling terribly upbeat - but I do also have a confession.
I'm afraid at the Malcolm Gluck Guardian showdown I probably didn't do beer as many favours as I could have.
That said, he did come utterly determined to run the room and deride beer at every available turn, which I do feel was a complete waste of the whole exercise that left quite a sour taste in the mouth.
He has come under a lot of fire from various camps and, having met the guy, he wasn't Satan himself, just a misogynistic dinosaur who is clearly intelligent but uses it more for spite than to disseminate knowledge - and I found it dreadfully depressing that he couldn't actually be anything other than obnoxious about beer until all the people had left the room and (initially I believe) thought the cameras weren't rolling.
What I mean by that is what you see at the end of the film, where he admits that the Thornbridge Alliance aged in Pedro Ximinez casks is delicious (which it is - one of the best beers I've tasted in years but the Madeira cask just squeaks past it in my book - buy them quickly!)
But for the rest of the time, without actually turning into some sort of screaming harridan and talking over him every five minutes, I had not a chance to counter-act his consistent desire not to share the room with someone else - you see I don't think it was a wine vs. beer thing, I think it was a limelight thing and as far as he was concerned it was all his.
So, to all you beer drinkers that feel let down by this piece, I apologise - and I'm kicking myself that this should have been a much more spirited display.
But the honest truth is that I wasn't going to let myself down by lowering my behaviour standards to the level of outright rudeness in a fruitless attempt to prove a narrow-minded man wrong.
I hope you understand...
This post promotes a v-blog job I did for the Guardian.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Pint Pots at Dawn
Actually I'm kidding, well sort of, for those of you who haven't seen the public disagreement between myself & wine writer Malcolm Gluck on the Observer Food Monthly blog yet then the finale is today, when I treat Mr Gluck to a beer & food extravaganza at lovebeer@borough.
I'm hoping he's coming with an open mind, I certainly am.
If you want to follow what's been going on you can start here with Malcolm's original post, follow it to Roger Protz's response and then mine if you like - I'll update either later or tomorrow on what went on!
I'm hoping he's coming with an open mind, I certainly am.
If you want to follow what's been going on you can start here with Malcolm's original post, follow it to Roger Protz's response and then mine if you like - I'll update either later or tomorrow on what went on!
Thursday, 15 January 2009
At the Sharp's End
Well, what a couple of days! I've been to Cornwall for the first time, interviewed Rick Stein (very nice man) and done a day's brewing with the man the seafood-loving chef dubbed a genius to a room full of beer writers - the hugely entertaining & utterly charming Stuart Howe.
Yep, that's right, brew number two has been made and a mild is born. Flavoured with some very unusual spices & the essence of gorse (for a little extra happiness with your hops) I have high hopes for this beer but will have to write more when I'm not on a train!
Will post full story soon...
Yep, that's right, brew number two has been made and a mild is born. Flavoured with some very unusual spices & the essence of gorse (for a little extra happiness with your hops) I have high hopes for this beer but will have to write more when I'm not on a train!
Will post full story soon...
Monday, 22 December 2008
Thornbridge Meet the Brewer
Great news, Thornbridge is coming to town for a meet the brewer session at lovebeer@borough!
Ideal as a last minute Christmas present for your beer-loving buddies or family, or possibly as a treat for yourself to look forward to in January, tickets cost just £15 and are available from Utobeer or the Rake (both on Borough Market) or by emailing melissa@love-beer.co.uk or calling 020 7378 9461.
Available to a thirsty public will be the brewery’s renowned interpretation of a classic India Pale Ale (IPA) in the form of Jaipur, the South Pacific-inspired Kipling and the beautiful Bracia, made with Italian chestnut honey – which was recently chosen for, and proved to be the star of, the British Guild of Beer Writers annual awards dinner.
Also to feature is the beer I brewed when I was up there, Seven Heron, which I tried for the first time on Friday night and was pretty pleased with, apart from the slight toffee up front which I'm not that fond of, I think it's got really refreshing pine, citrus & slightly minty flavours to it, offset by a slight bready flavour which stops it becoming too aggressive on the bitterness front.
Hope to see you there!
This post promotes a tasting at lovebeer@borough, which I am a partner in.
Ideal as a last minute Christmas present for your beer-loving buddies or family, or possibly as a treat for yourself to look forward to in January, tickets cost just £15 and are available from Utobeer or the Rake (both on Borough Market) or by emailing melissa@love-beer.co.uk or calling 020 7378 9461.
Available to a thirsty public will be the brewery’s renowned interpretation of a classic India Pale Ale (IPA) in the form of Jaipur, the South Pacific-inspired Kipling and the beautiful Bracia, made with Italian chestnut honey – which was recently chosen for, and proved to be the star of, the British Guild of Beer Writers annual awards dinner.
Also to feature is the beer I brewed when I was up there, Seven Heron, which I tried for the first time on Friday night and was pretty pleased with, apart from the slight toffee up front which I'm not that fond of, I think it's got really refreshing pine, citrus & slightly minty flavours to it, offset by a slight bready flavour which stops it becoming too aggressive on the bitterness front.
Hope to see you there!
This post promotes a tasting at lovebeer@borough, which I am a partner in.
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