Summer 2010

Weather wise it's been a brilliant summer so far, in fact it's been the best I can recall for many a year, certainly down here in this small corner of the Kingdom. I've spent many a long evening out in my garden working on projects like extending my patio, moving my brick-built barbecue and, of course, erecting my new summer-house-cum-brewery.

Back in 2001 when my wife and I were going through the final stages of negotiating the lease on our off-licence, and were in the advanced stages of planning out our new business, I knew that the hardest thing to give up would be those long summer evenings spent pottering outdoors. I was right; running a retail business like an off-licence requires 100% commitment, and evenings are when booze shops do most of their trade. When we eventually sold the business, back in 2007, the garden was looking like a jungle, much of the house was in need of re-decoration and I was in need of a long overdue holiday. One makes these sacrifices, and looking back I would say they were worth it. We manged to sell the business for a reasonable profit, and I was able to go back to my old profession working as a Quality Controller in industry.

As you can imagine then, I appreciate my summer evenings out of doors even more these days, and although the weather's taken a bit of a nose dive over the last couple of days, there's still a fair bit of summer left. Sunny days, and long light summer evenings ought to make for good beer drinking. I haven't seen any figures yet, but I would like to hope that beer sales, especially those in pubs, are on the up. I've done my fair share of beer drinking over the past few months, most noticeably on holiday in Bamberg, but also in some delightful pubs whilst walking the Wealdway long-distance footpath back in June. There's also been quite a bit of activity on the local CAMRA front, what with the two beer festivals we've helped out at, plus my visit earlier this week to the Great British Beer Festival.

Ironically it's raining outside, not heavy rain, but enough to confine me indoors. I'm watching Gardeners World as I write, and they're showing off some stunning gardens. I've obviously got a lot more work to get mine looking anything remotely like the ones featured on the programme. Hopefully the summer will be back before long so I can continue to enjoy quite a few more long evenings outdoors before the nights start drawing in.

GBBF 2010

I spent a most enjoyable nine hours at the Great British Beer Festival yesterday (Tuesday). The place was heaving right from the start, but we managed to grab a table and based ourselves there. The range and diversity of beers on sale was absolutely staggering, but unlike my companions I went armed with a plan of sorts. (Actually the Beer List on the GBBF website proved extremely useful, as it allows the user to construct their own list. A scan through the GBG beforehand, saved a considerable amount of time trying to decide what to go for from the programme). The plan paid off not just in terms of time saved either, as all the beers I tried were good (although some were obviously better than others!). Contrast this to my friends' rather more haphazard approach, which resulted in the odd duff beer, and the benefits of forward planning become even more apparent. (I better stop crowing as I know at least one of my companions reads this blog!).

Although I bumped into quite a few people I know, there were just so many people in the hall that it was impossible to seek out everyone. Apologies to any beer bloggers who were there that I didn't manage to catch up with. Some of the bars were extremely busy as well, and at one point I gave up trying to get close to the Bier Sans Frontieres Bar, although I did managed a few beers on a return visit, later on in the proceedings.

As well as good beer, there was some good food on sale. The pasties from the Crusty Pie Company were tasty and filling, and good value too at £2.50. Full marks too to Pipers Crisps, which were excellent. I couldn't resist grabbing some of the tasty free samples they had on the front of their stand every time I walked by (which was quite frequently), but I did buy a few bags to take home as well. The Green Thai Curry I finished on, nearly finished me with its intense heat, and my companions watched with amusement as I broke out in a sweat whilst tucking into it. (I'll go for the Red one next time!)

As for the beers sampled top marks go to Thornbridge for their excellent Kipling described as a "South Pacific Ale", but absolutely wonderful. This was closely followed by Saltaire Cascade Pale, and Marble Manchester Bitter; both fine beers, and with the latter, you could really smell the hops in the glass. Elland Beyond the Pale also hit the spot. I didn't get to sample as many dark beers as I would have liked, although Lancaster Black and Woodlands Midnight Stout weren't bad.

I had mixed feelings about BSF as although they had some absolutely stunning beers on offer, somehow I think that half the pleasure in Beer Hunting is actually travelling to the places where the beers originate, and enjoying them in their native setting. Having said that I did try the 3.8% Bernard Svetle Pivo, which I missed during my trip to Prague last winter, and also the Josef Greif Anna Festbier from Franconia. (We missed Anna Fest by a couple of weeks during our recent visit to the region.)

Unfortunately, owing to work and family commitments, Tuesday will be my one and only visit to GBBF this year. This is a great shame, as not only are there dozens more beers that I would like to sample, but also just being there is such an integral part of the whole GBBF experience. I would also like to go back armed with a large rucksack and stock up on some of the many excellent and hard to obtain bottled beers that are on sale there, although I'm not sure my bank manager would agree that this is a good idea! Another reason why several visits are a good idea, is so not to waste all the important information gathered on the initial one. (Getting acclimatised to the layout, finding where everything is etc,, as by next year you will have forgotten where everything is, and the layout will probably have changed as well!)

For those of you who are still planning your trip there, all I can say that it is an absolutely stunning festival that just seems to get better each year. Enjoy yourselves; I wish I was going with you!!!

Three Beer Festivals

I've been back from Bamberg just over two weeks now and already I've attended two local beer festivals. On top of that I'm off to the Great British Beer Festival next week, so is it a case of beer festival fatigue?

Not at all, especially with regard to the two local events, both of which were good in their own ways. The first festival was that of SIBA South East, which was held at our local rugby club - Tonbridge Juddians. I was only able to make the Saturday evening session, where I was manning the CAMRA stand, but it turned out to be an excellent evening and I bumped into quite a few people I know.

This is the 4th SIBA Festival I have been involved with; the first two were held at the Hop Farm; a large complex near Paddock Wood that boasts one of the largest groups of oast houses anywhere. Until a couple of decades ago it was known as the Whitbread Hop Farm, and was where a large proportion of the company's hops were grown. Whitbread of course are no longer involved in brewing, and apart from a couple of "show fields", hops are no longer grown commercially at the farm. Staging large scale events, such as the War & Peace Show, or hosting big names from the world of show-biz such as Elton John and Bob Dylan, is what the Hop Farm is about these days, but despite its obvious connections with the brewing industry, somehow as a venue for a beer festival it didn't quite work out. (I could have told the organisers that, having been involved with two failed CAMRA Festivals there back in the early years of the new century, but that's a different story!). Lots of beer ended up being poured down the drain, but as the beers are all supplied by SIBA members, and at their own expense, the losses probably weren't too high.

Last year the event, which is a chance for all SIBA members in the south east to show off their wares, moved to a marquee housed behind Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club; an excellent venue overlooking Tonbridge Sports Ground and, of prime importance, centrally located. This year's event built on what had been achieved the year before, and was much better publicised. What's more, entry was free and that seemed to make all the difference. By the time I arrived on the Saturday the place was really buzzing, and some of the beers had already run out. The organisers from both SIBA and the rugby club seemed pleased with the way things had gone, so hopefully we'll all be back there next year. Just so people know what they missed, there were over 100 beers on sale, from around 30 breweries. Several of these, including Flack Manor, Old Dairy, Redemption, Tonbridge and Wantsum are real newcomers on the scene, but it was good to be able to sample their beers.

Yesterday I spent the evening at another rugby club and another beer festival! This time it was the turn of Sevenoaks Rugby Club to host an event organised by Sevenoaks Lions. The Lions had hosted a similar event the previous year in the town's Stag Theatre, so it was quite a bold step for them to relocate from the town centre to a venue a bit further out.

The beer range was nowhere near as extensive as SIBA's, but did include a few old favourites such as Nethergate Augustinian and RCH Pitchfork and Old Slug Porter. There were also four beers from Whitstable brewery there, which was a bonus so far as I was concerned. The club-house was a superb venue for a beer festival, with views out across the playing fields to the wooded countryside beyond. A game of cricket was taking place and that, combined with a fine summer's evening, gave it that quintessentially English feel. The downside was there seemed to be a heck of a lot of beer left over. There had been a steady footfall throughout the early part of the evening, but it really needed a lot more people to have turned up and help drink the place dry.

I hope next year the organisers will return to the rugby club. I'm sure given more publicity, the event will be a great success.

That brings me onto the final festival of the trio, and the grand-daddy of them all. I am talking, of course, about the Great British Beer Festival which starts on Tuesday at Earl's Court. GBBF needs no introduction except to say it is a "must attend " event for all serious beer drinkers. I'll be there on at least one of the days, and hope to bump into a few familiar faces. See you there!

Beer Gardens

Last year, Tandleman wrote an excellent piece about how civilised Franconian beer gardens were, and wondered whether they could ever work successfully here in the UK? At the time of his post, I had just returned from a trip to Munich, during which we visited a number of excellent beer gardens, ranging from small, almost intimate places such as Sankt Emmerams Muehle to massive establishments, such as Hirschgarten, the biggest beer garden in the world!

I commented at the time about just how good these places were, with people of all ages, both sexes and from all walks of life mixing happily, all enjoying good beer, good company and in a lot of cases some good food. I suppose good weather also helps, and this is perhaps more assured in central Europe than in the British Isles, where Atlantic weather fronts are inclined to make their influence felt on a much more regular basis. Leaving this consideration aside for one moment though, the one thing that really stands out, from a UK point of view, is the lack of drunkenness, anti-social or rowdy behaviour. In short, like Tandleman says, these places are not only civilised, but also very pleasant places to spend some time in.

This viewpoint was further reinforced during our recent trip to Bamberg where, although the number of actual beer gardens we visited was smaller, the same observations held true. Although quite large amounts of beer were being consumed, we witnessed no incidents of drunkenness or the sort of behaviour that is all too common back here in the UK. In fact on the first Friday we were there we walked back to our apartment alongside quite a large crowd of people who, like us, had just spent a very enjoyable evening at the Wilde-Rose Keller. The crowd was good natured and well-behaved and on that evening, as on all subsequent evenings we felt completely safe walking the streets.

Contrast this to back home when I often have to think twice about walking back along Tonbridge High Street on a Friday or Saturday night, and Tonbridge is quite a civilised place compared to some towns! Personally I believe it all boils down to cultural differences in relation to drinking. In Germany, for example, beer is still the universal drink for both young and old, male and female alike. Young people are not only generally a lot more respectful of the older generation, but what is also self evident is that they do not go out at the weekend with the sole intention of getting absolutely plastered! I don't ever recall seeing on sale such vile concoctions as WKD, Smirnoff Ice or any of the other alco-pops that seem so popular with young British drinkers, but this is possibly because when visiting the country we tend to restrict our drinking to beer gardens and the more traditional types of pubs.

Which brings us back to the question again, would beer gardens work over here? We have already worked out that the weather is probably against us, but then so is the behaviour that seems to have become the norm here over the last twenty or thirty years. However, if some brave entrepreneur were to open such an establishment, and restricted what was on offer to just good, locally produced traditional beer, with no mass-produced international fizz brands (although some decent, imported German or Czech draught beer would be ok.), no spirits and definitely no alco-ops, then perhaps they would be in with a chance. The place would have to offer good food of course, with plenty of attractive young waitresses to look after the tables; although they could also offer the self-service option that is available in Germany.

Whilst on the subject of service, over the course of the last few years I've visited a number of different European countries, and have dined in many pubs, beer halls and restaurants. I''ve never had to wait long for food in any of them, unlike here in the UK, where unfortunately poor service is all too common. To achieve an acceptable level of service though, it is necessary to employ sufficient staff to cope with demand. All too often the temptation in this country (and this applies to restaurants as well as pubs), is to manage and somehow "get-by" with the bare minimum number of people. It doesn't work, so anyone thinking of opening a beer garden here in Britain needs to take this on board. Provision for inclement weather would also be an important consideration, with a suitably equipped beer hall, offering the same facilities, attached to the beer garden.

So where should these British Beer Gardens be situated? The ideal answer is somewhere with an attractive outlook, and somewhere with a reasonable size population. Having said that, the concept could work in a more rural location, especially if it is well served by public transport. In urban areas, a spot on the edge of a park, or municipal garden springs to mind as a good starter, after all there are several excellent beer gardens in Munich's Englischer Garten. Locally I can think of a couple of locations that would be just perfect for such an establishment, but I am not going to let on where I have in mind until I have investigated the possibility of developing this idea further myself!!

Buttenheim

The only other trip out of our holiday was a train ride to the village of Buttenheim. It was a 30 minute walk across town from our holiday apartment to Bamberg railway station which may explain, in part, why we didn't make any similar trips, but anyway, Buttenheim was just three stops away by local RB train. Although the station is signed as Buttenheim, it is actually in the village of Altendorf. Buttenheim itself was a good twenty minute walk away which would have been fine under normal circumstances, but not a lot of fun in the thirty degree heat!

Never mind, the trek was well worth it, as Buttenheim is home to two reasonably sized breweries. What's more St Georgen Braeu and Loewenbraeu are right next door to each other! We couldn't miss them as we turned into Marktstr., but unfortunately noticed that the St Georgen Braeu tap was closed (Ruhetag). Loewenbraeu though, was certainly open for business. We settled ourselves at a table in front of the brewery, and were soon enjoying cool, foaming Krugs of the company's Ungespundetes Lagerbier, along with a lunchtime meal of roast chicken, potato dumpling (Kloss) and purred cabbage. I asked the waitress whether other Loewenbraeu beers were available, but she said Ungespundetes was the only they had on draught.

We were keen to sample St Georgen Braeu beers, and after having read in John Conen's excellent Bamberg and Franconia Guide, that both breweries had bierkellers on the edge of the village, we followed his directons and soon found ourselves seated in the shady St Georgen Bierkeller, overlooking the village. At the keller we were able to sample both the brewery's Helles and their Kellerbier. I had drank the latter previously, back in the UK when the beer had featured as part of one of Wetherspoons International Beer Festivals. As we sat, whiling away the afternoon in the cool shade of the bier-keller. We noticed that it was slowly starting to fill up. I can think of few better ways to spend a baking hot summer’s afternoon.

Despite having consumed several half litres of beer, under a hot sun that day, I was keen to try some of the other Loewenbraeu beers. Their keller is opposite that of St Georgen Braeu, but on approaching it, we noticed it was closed. I suppose it made sense, seeing as their brewery tap was open, whilst that of their neighbour closed, for the situation with the kellers to be reversed.

It was probably just as well the keller was closed, and as we made our way slowly back to the station, I couldn’t help thinking fancy living in a place with two breweries next to one another. Wouldn’t that be like living in paradise? Particularly as I forgot to mention that all the beers we enjoyed that day in Buttenheim retailed at just 1.80 Euros per half litre. Bliss!

Franconia

Our recent visit to Franconia, the northern part of Bavaria, barely scratched the surface Once a proud and independent state, Franconia was merged into Bavaria by Napoleon following his conquest and occupation of the area during the early part of the 19th Century. The inhabitants of this region however, still take their identity seriously, and Franconian flags and emblems were evident in many places during our travels.

The reason for barely scratching the surface was that we were based in the beautiful, world heritage city of Bamberg, and with nine breweries, and a host of unspoilt pubs within the town, there was precious little incentive to venture out into the surrounding countryside. (For more details of our experiences enjoying the products of Bambergs' breweries click here). The weather also played its part in keeping us within the city limits. With temperatures in the mid to high 30's, it was too hot to travel far, and all too often the temptation was to find a shady beer garden, and then sit down with a nice cool mug (or three), of the excellent Keller Bier sold in the majority of them.

We did venture out a couple of times though, and were impressed by what we saw. The first excursion was a short bus ride out to the village of Bischberg, just outside Bamberg. We called in at the unspoilt Zur Sonne pub, which brews its own beers. It was shortly before midday, and we sat outside, just across from a group of locals. The landlord brought our beers out to us; fresh Franconian beer at its best. It was priced at just 1.80 Euros for a half litre, and after enjoying the Helles we moved onto the Zwicklbier; both were good.

The idea in coming out to Bischberg, was to call in at Kaiserdom on the way back, but that plan was thwarted by the Gastatte being closed until early evening that day. Whilst waiting for the bus back though, I was reflecting on how can such enterprises at Zur Sonne survive? The pub itself looked up to date inside, although I gather it is of some considerable antiquity. There were a fair few locals enjoying the house-brewed beer, even at that time of the morning, but I couldn't help wonder how do such places keep going? As we stood at the bus stop, we saw the landlord go driving past on his forklift truck, with what looked like a metal bin full of spent grain on the forks. He waved in greeting to us, although he had only met him the once, and we naturally returned this courtesy. I don't know what the laws are in Germany regarding taking a fork-lift on the road, but I suspect they are less strict than they are here in the UK. Obviously mein host was taking one of the left over products of the brewing process to a local farm; it may have even have been his farm for all I know.

And there perhaps lies the answer. In this part of Germany, occupations such as farming and brewing, often go hand in hand, as they have done for centuries. Franconia is fortunate in still having many such breweries in operation, but, as with a lot of good things, their numbers are slowly declining. Back in the mid-90's, I bought a copy of Graham Lees's excellent Good Beer Guide to Munich and Bavaria. In a detailed introduction to the section on Franconia, Graham describes how villages of no more than a couple of thousand people, often have two or even three breweries. Many are little more than brew pubs, but alongside the brewery the family enterprise may well include a farm, a schnapps distillery, a butchers shop or even a slaughterhouse. He stated that whilst no single part of these family enterprises is profitable on its own, together they provide a reasonable income.

Even back then though, Graham was warning that many of the marvellous breweries he was describing were in danger of disappearing. Rising costs, changing habits and tastes, EU laws, and the inevitable march towards a more uniform and homogenised society had led to the closure of over 50 Franconian breweries. He stated that "one of them may have brewed your perfect pint" and bemoaned the fact that one such operation, now closed, had come close to brewing his perfect one. Unfortunately this closure process has gathered momentum. John Conen warned in the 2003 edition of his Bamberg & Franconia Guide that over 80 breweries had closed during the pre-ceding 15 years, and although he was hopeful that the closure rate had fallen off somewhat, I found whilst researching for our trip that quite a few of the breweries mentioned in Graham Lee's guide were no longer in production. The closure of the substantial Maisel Brewery in Bamberg, a couple of years ago, is a case in point

It is not all doom and gloom though. We spent our last night in Bamberg at the excellent Greifenklau Brauereigasthof. Whilst there I picked up an English language edition of a guide to what are known as Privateur Braugasthoefe, (privately-owned breweries that provide accommodation). This informative, and well illustrated publication lists 69 such establishments, primarily in Germany, but with a few in neighboring Austria and Denmark. Most are family run, and all pride themselves on producing good beer and serving it alongside good food.

Hopefully more breweries will join this worthwhile organisation, and the 2011 edition will feature more Franconian members. In the meantime I'm already planning my next trip to this beer lovers paradise.

Bamberg - An Introduction

We arrived home from our trip to Bamberg, in the early hours of Saturday morning. After temperatures in the mid-30's all week, England felt decidedly cold. Being a glutton for punishment I ended up helping out at the SIBA South East Beer Festival, held at our local rugby club the same evening - but that's a different story!

Bamberg certainly lived up to its expectations and I hope to post a more detailed account of our trip over the next week or so, Suffice to say we enjoyed some excellent beers at prices ranging from 1.80 Euros (out in some of the surrounding villages), to 2.30 - 2.50 Euros in Bamberg itself.

It's hard to single out any one beer, or any one pub. or bier keller, but Mahrs Brau Ungespundet, Spezial Rauchbier Lager and Ambrausianum Helles were all good, as was the incomparable Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen. Particular thanks should also go to Tandleman for recommending the excellent Spezial-Keller, but we also enjoyed the nearby Wilde Rose Brau Keller, plus the bier-garten behind Greifenklau's pub-cum-brewery.

All this combined with a beautiful and unspoilt city, friendly people and Mediterranean-like weather, made for an excellent holiday. I can't wait for a return visit!