I finally got to try Greene King St Edmunds the other day. It’s their golden ale that is dispensed supposedly with or without a head and at a lower temperature than cellar cool. Cold beer with a head on it is for those Neanderthals further down the food chain. I had a cunning plan to deal with this predicament. I ordered two pints of ale. A pint of IPA to start with, and then a pint of St Edmunds to basically ‘put behind my ear for later’. Unfortunately the young lady that served me was somewhat flummoxed when are asked for the St Edmunds without a head. “Is that southern?” she enquired in an air of bemusement. “I reckon” I replied feeling uncomfortable with the southern tag. What’s wrong with eastern? Rather ingeniously the dispense system that Greene King have used has a switch that is flicked down for southern and up for northern. Unfortunately the ‘southern’ comes with a head, so I dread to think how much fucking ice cream gets plonked on top of the northern version. Me thinks a switch to the right is needed that produces about three bubbles ‘eastern’ stylie.

By the time I came to drink the St Edmunds the scum on top had subsided, the ale had warmed up and it tasted proper good. A sweetish golden ale with a great mix of flavours and a strong citrus finish. I look forward to the next pint I have of it. Shame you can’t pre-book it; order on line and turn up an hour later when it has reached perfection.

My last entry was full of hope. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan as far as me and the Bury St Edmunds Beer Festival were concerned. I went to the first night, as a visitor, and had a jolly good time. Unfortunately life got in the way of my attendances for the rest of the week and also prevented me from helping out at the festival. I was so looking forward to serving at the festival as this was something I’d never done, but it was not to be!

Anyway back to the good bit. I had some fantastic ales on the Wednesday night. This is what I consumed:

Harvest Moon – Cambridge Moonshine 3.8% As good as at Ely

Amarillo – Crouch Vale 5% Wonderful golden ale with strong citrus flavours

Gannet Mild – Earl Soham 3.3% Like sweet liquorice toffee in a glass with fuggle undertones

Orange Wheat – Green Jack 4.2% Golden ale with a hint of orange peel. A really good beer

Abbot Reserve - Greene King 6.5% A complex beer smooth nutty as a fruit cake with a hint of Bostik. Good

Raspberry Wheat – Iceni 5% A golden ale with a slight raspberry flavour

Windswept – Oulton Ales 4.5% Smooth sweet toffee with an elderflower finish

Hadley’s – Red Rat Craft Brewery 4% Vanilla, cream of Soda

East Coast Mild – Waveney 3.8% A bit like mediocre home brew

Life’s been a bit hectic of late hence the lack of posts. We are in the process of moving and all that that entails. It is a bit of bad timing as today sees the start of the ‘East Anglian Beer Festival’ in Bury St Edmunds. I plan to attend tonight as a customer. I will also be helping out later in the week.

I did find time to try a new ale over the weekend, Newman's Red Stag Bitter 3.6%. It is a very quaffable session ale with a hint of citrus and despite having bitter in its title thankfully wasn’t very bitter at all. So a damned fine beer then. I’d never come across or heard of Newman's before I tried this beer. I shall certainly be looking to try more of their beer.

Nethergate the brewery that once resided in the beautiful south Suffolk village of Clare now seem to be coming to terms with/admitting that they are now an Essex brewery since their move to Pentlow a couple of years ago. Not an easy thing to admit I’ll agree, doing something that I’m about to do and, desert God’s own county. This strong golden ale is yet another blinder from one of my favourite breweries. It has a rich and complex mix of malty flavours, a welcome lack of bitterness along with an almost sweet finish. Shame it’s too strong to be a session ale as I could have happily quaffed this all evening.

I must confess that I had never heard of Cheddar Ales until John from the brewery e-mailed me. It seems that the brewery has been going since the end of 2006, based at Winchester Farm on the edge of Cheddar village in Somerset, near the famous Cheddar Gorge. The brewery currently produces two regular ales, Gorge Best Bitter and the award-winning Potholer Golden Ale, as well as seasonal beers such as its Totty Pot Dark Porter.

We live in an age when as well as having a good product it is equally important to present it well. If real ale is to continue to prosper it constantly needs to be bringing in new customers to the fold of those ‘that know’ as well as keeping existing customers happy. Brewing fantastic beer and hiding your light under a bushel is not a recipe for business success. Neither is relying on word of mouth. Like it or loath it image needs to play a part. I have no idea what Cheddar Ales are like (if you’re reading this guys, samples are warmly welcome) but given they are from a premier brewing region one hopes they help to reinforce the pedigree forged by some of their near legendary status of some of their contemporaries. I wish them well.

In a statement Cheddar Ales say that, “We want to build a reputation as one of Somerset’s best real ale producers and champion the continuing success of real ale in the area. As such, our new brand image straddles traditional and contemporary styles and we’re hoping it will be attractive to both traditional real ale drinkers and newcomers.” This sort of approach is what is going to drag real ale away from the beard, jumper and tankard brigade. Real ale for real people!

You normally can’t go wrong with a brewpub, and the Coach & Horses, Thorpe Road, Norwich is no exception. It is home to the Chalk Hill Brewery, and I’ve been back there for a second visit in less than a week. This time the Lady and I ate there. The food is excellent pub grub, and good value to boot. I tried two more of their ales, this time Brewery Tap 3.6%, and CHB 4.2%. Brewery Tap is a fantastic session ale, great hoppiness and a spring water finish that quenches the thirst. I defy anyone to turn their nose up at this beer! The CHB is a maltier brew, and whilst it is good ale, it wouldn’t be my normal choice of beer.

The Coach & Horses is my new favourite pub. And even better than that, it will be my preferred local (there is a pub nearer but it’s a bit of a dive) when we move to Norwich in a couple of weeks time. Can’t wait!

P.S. 15/4/08 - I forgot to mention the Brewery Tap is £2.00 a pint. Fantastic value!

Yesterday we spent a very long but enjoyable day in London. For my sins I am a Tate Member, which affords me and a guest free entry to any of the exhibitions as well as other benefits. We like to go down to the Tate ideally when there are several exhibitions to gawp at. Unfortunately this never gives us much time for seeking out decent pubs to drink in.

Looks can be deceiving, and I recently discovered that a pub that I had previously dismissed as looking tacky and touristy, therefore assuming that the beer would be rubbish, was actually in the Good Beer Guide. Not only that, but it is but a stone’s throw from Tate Modern. We ventured into the Founders Arms on Bankside early yesterday and were surprised by how good it was. Unfortunately we only had time for one drink, but now we know about it, we shall certainly return on future visits to the Tate. It’s a light and airy modern pub with ceiling to floor windows overlooking the Thames, and offering great views of St Pauls, the Millennium Bridge and the surrounding London Skyline. The bar area is matt painted wood in modern colours of blue, pinky-red and yellow. Most of the seating is high-stools and tables to match, which I find quite agreeable. Now to the beer. I had a pint of Wells Bombardier, an ale I have not imbibed on for quite some time. It was in great condition, with very little head, and as I sipped and savoured it I mulled over what it represented. I don’t think that the ‘flag of St George shield’ on the pint glass effected my judgement, because I’m not swayed by jingoistic symbolic nonsense, but I think that it’s fair to say that Bombardier is the quintessential English bitter. I can’t think of any other ale that could carry that title off, although I suspect that you dear reader have other ideas. It does have everything that an English bitter should have; a hop bouquet, just enough malt and restrained bitterness. A perfect combination.

A pint of the old Bombardier would have come in handy later in the evening when we went for a curry in Brick Lane. Unfortunately all that was on offer in the restaurant was Cobra, which whilst it is probably one of the better Pseudo Indian lagers, it doesn’t suit an Indian meal; therefore I plumped for a lassi. Real ale fan drinks yogurt shock horror!

You usually know that you are on to a winner when the pub you enter has beer straight from the barrel. That’s how it is with the Moon & Mushroom in Swilland. Swilland is a little village in East Suffolk in the general direction of Woodbridge and Sutton Hoo. It’s a ‘tucked away’ village and the Moon & Mushroom very much has the feel of a local’s pub. Despite that, and being a rural Suffolk pub, we were received in a friendly manner and without the ubiquitous silence falling over the assembled throng. A characteristic of many older houses in the county is the colour they are painted, Suffolk Pink. It was originally derived from adding bull’s blood to the white paint daubed over the render. The Moon & Mushroom quirkily has Suffolk Pink on the inside. It also has bags of character with old beams, cracking oil paintings and yellowing prints. That’s oil paintings with surface cracks not a quote from some Wallace and Grommit art critique. And, on a mild and sunny day like today, well it was mild and sunny in God’s own county; they had a roaring log fire. Oy did fair sweat loyk ah pig!

Talking of pig, we had dinner there. That’s the lunchtime dinner I might add. And I, the once vegetarian, had spare ribs which must have constituted half a poor swine. Great food and an interesting beer selection, with the most common ale being Woodforde's Wherry. I started off with Buffy’s Little Terrier 3.6%, a tasty light session ale which I’d not come across before. I then went on to Wolf Bitter 3.9%. The landlord was a bit concerned that it might not have been quite ready and asked me to try it at the bar to make sure I was happy with the quality. The quality was fine although the beer was rather on the bitter side, which I understand is normal, but slightly uncharacteristic for an East Anglian ale. My last ale was an old favourite, Crouch Vale Brewers Gold 4%, as good as every with its welcoming hint of sweetness and hamster bedding that are the marks of a good golden ale.

The Moon & Mushroom is a fantastic friendly pub where the clientele are predominantly local and clearly regulars, where the pace of life is slow, and where the service matches the pace of life. We didn’t care, we were on holiday, and in no rush. We soaked up the atmosphere and I soaked up some well kept ale. A grand day out.

Art is the thinking man’s sport! And whilst plenty of Neanderthals were heading for Carrow Road yesterday, we were heading to the Castle in Norwich to see the exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite drawings. Interesting and enjoyable exhibition, although somewhat of a slim volume. The highlight had to be Rossetti’s Pandora, complete with box. Also striking was the drawing of an Arab woman by Holman Hunt. Having gawped thoroughly at the works of the Brotherhood our next sense to be placated was our lughole one. I think I love record shops almost as much as I love pubs. So after visiting two and making a couple of purchases I was a happy bunny.

Absorbing art and buying CDs is thirsty work, and I was keen to visit a pub from the Good Beer Guide, so we headed for The Woolpack in Muspole Street. When we arrived at the pub, which was quite easy to find, the door was locked and there was no sign of life. I do hope it’s not become another statistic. In disappointed mood we headed for the Kings Head in Magdalen Street, a quality real ale establishment guaranteed to raise our spirits. It did just that with a refreshing and very tasty pint of Grain Oak, 3.8%, which slipped down a treat. The ancient art of bar billiards is played here, a fairly recent revival I understand. Old photos of pubs and brewery posters adorn the walls. One from Stewart & Patterson caught my eye. A brewery beloved by my Grandad. I have fond memories of sitting in the car with my packet of cheese biscuits and bottle of lemonade, whilst Dad and Grandad consumed S&P ale in one of the stop off pubs on the route to the North Norfolk coast. As a lad in short trousers, and not quite of school age, I longed to enter and discover the mysteries that lay within the murky interior of ‘the pub’.

Unfortunately the Kings Head doesn’t ‘do’ food, and man cannot live by beer alone. So a quick flit along Quay Side brings you out near my current favourite pub in Norwich, as mentioned here before, the Wig & Pen. We dined on hearty veggie meals and drank Buffy’s Norfolk Terrier followed by Fullers London Pride. Replete we headed for one of the Wetherspoon pubs, the Glasshouse. Now old JDW comes in for a lot of stick, and I know their beer festival has enticed a number of bloggers in with mixed results, but I think I’ve found one of their pubs where the beer is well kept. I tried Highgate Highland Whisky Ale 4.4%. A malty brew with a hint of something naughty. Excellent! Now, like most lovers of fine beer, I’m no stranger to varied and interesting offerings from Belgium. Don’t always like them, but I’m always keen to try them, and in the past one I have found Mon Chapeau plum beer to be a great challenge. Undeterred I hoped that the Polish could do better so I next plumped for the Namyslow Original Plum Beer, 4.0%. I’m so glad I ordered this beer. There is a wonderful smell of plum as you put your nose to the glass, and then a sweet plum/raisin taste hits the taste buds. This beer is FANTASTIC! Drinking it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Well, it is this week. A knockout beer experience in a Wetherspoon pub. I finished up with St Georgen Brau Keller Bier 4.9%. A hoppy malty lager with bags of flavour and a light copper colour. This beer should be force fed to Euro-fizz drinkers until they are cured of their affliction. I had three wonderful beers and I left wishing that we could have stayed longer. Unfortunately we had a train to catch, and there was one more pub I wanted to visit. Another from the Good Beer Guide, and very close to the station. The Coach & Horses is the Chalk Hill Brewery tap. Chalk Hill brew some pretty useful beers I think it’s fair to say. Just enough time for a half of Flintnappers Mild. A robust full bodied mild weighing in at a noticeable 5%. This is a pub I need to return to.

All in all a great day out; lots of culture and only blessed with getting slightly rained upon twice. Result!

I’m intrigued by this latest ‘research’ commissioned on behalf of Greene King IPA; apparently British men don’t settle on their ‘usual’ pint until they reach the age of 35. They also apparently try upwards of fourteen different beers before they decide upon a favourite.

I know I don’t fit into this category. I’m not sure that I have ever had a ‘usual’ pint, but then I’ve never really frequented one pub, and one pub alone. I’m a bit of a peripatetic drinker me. I don’t have what might be termed my local. I’m one of these people that have always enjoyed trying new food and drink. I also hate routine, which is why I struggle sometimes to regularly write this blog. So for me going to the same pub week in and week out, drinking the same ale week in and week out would drive me absolutely bananas.

I don’t dispute the findings of the research as you do come across loads of blokes that seem to get set in their ways quite early on. I suppose they settle on a pub where they have friends and drink the same beer that they always drink. They are the sort of people that go to the same place on holiday each year and for the same two weeks of each year. They are the big brewer’s dream, because if they can hook them at the right time they are hooked for life. Apart from Honda, I’m not a brand person, so there is fat chance me sticking to one ale. To me variety is the spice of life. Big beer brands are the enemy of the serious beer drinker. With Refresh as the latest casualty to industry consolidation it seems like brewing in starting on a contraction cycle. Let’s hope the dip is a shallow one.

A large choice of choice ales is the best state of affairs, and I’ll drink to that, but it won’t be a pint of GK IPA!

The other night I had a pint of Titanic Iceberg, 4.1%, the quality of this beer was faultless in terms of the fact that it was well kept, bright in the glass and crystal clear (or should that be Kristal?*). It looked like a good example of a golden ale. But from the very first sip I knew that this was a beer that I wouldn’t need to work at to hate. This beer was just far too bitter. All beers have the right to have some bitterness but this just abuses the privilege. This is the Mohammed Al Fayed of beers! You do wonder if they use malt and hops, or perhaps they decided to plump for a brew of ear ick® and dandelion milk. Now if you’re blessed with a red-hot ring-piece due to a constant overindulgence of vindaloo, then you taste buds are going to be pretty shot to pieces, so drinking this stuff isn’t going to be a problem, but to those of us with a sense of taste this beer is an insult. In my opinion it is disgusting muck of the first order. More shite star than white star me thinks. You might get the idea that I didn’t enjoy this beer. You would be right.

*Kristal because since drinking it I’ve discovered that it is a wheat beer. Wheat beer my arse!

I have tried three times to send in an e-petition to the 10 Downing Street site about saving the Coors Visitor Centre and making it a National Brewery Museum. The first time I submitted I got a message to say that a confirming e-mail was on its way. It never arrived! I e-mailed the webmaster. No reply! I made another submission. Still no confirming e-mail. Another e-mail to the webmaster. Still no reply. Pissed off by this time I thought that a bit of lateral thinking was in order so I used a different e-mail address. Yipee an e-mail confirmation. And today I received my rejection. The Whitehall Fuck Whats have deemed that:

“Your petition was classed as being in the following categories:

* Duplicate - this is similar to and/or overlaps with an
existing petition or petitions”

It’s a shame because I think the 'rival' petition leaves a lot to be desired. But I’m not bitter and I wish them well. I urge everybody to sign it if you can*. Please go to: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Coors-Bass/#detail and sign now!

Also do forget to sign the Burton Mail petition: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonmail-news-saveourheritage/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=299832

*I say if you can because it would seem the government computers seem to take exception to my realalenet.co.uk domain so I had to use a non-beery e-mail address. All part of their clampdown/purge on drinking!

It is not something I’d recommend as an everyday occurrence but it is necessary on the odd occasion.

I’m not a great fan of flying, but I’ve learned to live with it. To make the experience more bearable I have a ritual that I like to observe if I’m flying out from the UK on a morning flight. I like to have a breakfast before I fly, the full English preferably. At the risk of this blog becoming an advert for JD Wetherspoon I will say it’s great when one of their pubs is at an airport. Having one of their breakfasts washed down with a pint or two of beer is a great way to start a journey. Why fly on an empty stomach?

One of the joys of being over fifty is that your memory turns out to not be as good as it once was. As a consequence of this I’ve resorted to technology for an aide memoir to assist me at beer festivals. The piece of kit is what is known in popular techie parlance as a PDA. It’s an HP iPAQ and I’m very pleased with it. So far I’ve only got around about two years worth of tasting notes on it, but I find it immensely useful. I’m sure that some people might notice me referring to my electronic gadget and dismiss me as an anorak. If they want to do that it’s fine by me, but it’s not going to put me off using it. I’m not sure I’d want to go to a beer festival without it now.

Now I don’t consider myself to be a ticker, I like to try new beers but I also like to visit old friends. My little HP helps me along the way to making those decisions and I’m thankful for that.

You can’t beat an idiosyncratic independent free house, serving quality ales. But, by the same token, I would never normally turn my nose up at visiting a Wetherspoon pub. Unless the two were next door to each other perhaps.

The JD Wetherspoon chain often comes in for a lot of stick from many real ale snobs, rather unfairly I often think. Whilst their pubs might not necessarily be the most fantastic around, you usually know what you are getting when you walk through the door. Unfortunately I currently live in a Wetherspoon free town. I say unfortunately because their ‘International’ Real-Ale Festival starts today and I’m not sure if or when I’m going to be able to visit one of their pubs to partake in this extravaganza. Ironically we’re due to move the week following the end of the festival and will be living within 10 minutes walking distance of a Lloyds Nº1. The festival does sound very interesting. It has a substantial list of beers (up to 50) including a number of exclusives, which will perhaps delight the tickers out there. Admittedly some of the International Beers are brewed in the UK, but you get the impression that they will not be of ‘brewed under licence’ standard. One of the ales ‘from’ the Yo-Ho Brewery of Japan has been brewed at Marstons, with Wetherspoon bringing over the Japanese head brewer to do his stuff. That’s not all, the beers in the festival are priced really low by today’s standards, with some as low as £1.29 a pint. They are also offering 3 x 1/3rd of a pint samplers for the price of a pint. Great idea! You do kind of think that a number of other pub chains could learn a thing or two from old JDW.

The festival runs from 27/3/08 until 14/4/08 and I think it deserves supporting, so if you get a chance give it a go. I shall endeavour to trek to a not too distant town or city to sample what is on offer.