The First Pint is the Finest

Have you ever had one of those experiences where the first pint of the evening was so good that the rest of beers you tried, whilst good in themselves, paled into insignificance?  I experienced this last Saturday but  unfortunately, for reasons I will explain as we go along, I was unable to go back and re-sample that amazing first beer.

The experience occurred on one of what I fear will be increasingly frequent visits to Norfolk. Not a bad thing in itself, but not as pleasant as such trips once were when they are related to visits to check up on elderly parents who are becoming increasingly frail and infirm. I know that might sound heartless and un-caring, but it is precisely because I do care, and hate to see them both in this situation, that such journeys are becoming far less enjoyable.

Still, duty calls and all that, and so last Saturday my son and I found ourselves back at the excellent Bartle’s Lodge, Bed and Breakfast, in the tiny Norfolk village of Elsing. We arrived early evening, to enable us to spend most of the following day with my parents. They live in the nearby village of Swanton Morley, and have done so for the past 20 years since moving up from Kent following my father’s retirement.

I have written about Swanton Morley and its two pubs before, but on this visit I realised it was several years since I had last called into the pub at the opposite end of village from where my parents live. This pub though happened to be the closest to where we were staying, so I thought it a good idea to check it out and see if it had changed at all.

The pub is called Darby’s, and has only been a pub since 1988, having been converted from two former  18^th Century farm cottages. Being the furthest pub from my parent’s house, it was one I frequented less frequently, particularly as the Angel is just two minute’s walk away, and a regular Good Beer Guide entry to boot. Neither of my parents were particularly keen on Darby’s, but seeing as they’re not regular pub-goers, I couldn’t really understand why.

Swanton Morley and Elsing are the best part of three miles apart, and linked by a long and rather narrow country lane. Walking to Darby’s was therefore not particularly practical, so we jumped into the car with the idea of having a quick pint there, before driving back to the bed and breakfast, dumping the car and then spending the rest of the evening at the nearby Mermaid Inn. As luck, or the lack of it, would have it, that first pint in Darby’s was definitely the highlight of the evening.

Darby’s was pretty much the same as I remembered it, with bare-brick internal walls, a quarry-tiled floor and plenty of alcoves. Rustic wooden tables and chairs completed the scene. Although it was just after 7pm there was a good sprinkling of customers, mainly locals, plus a number of military personnel from the nearby barracks – as evidenced by their cropped hair and Geordie accents. There were also a fair number of dogs accompanying their owners; always a good sign in a rural pub!

I would have liked to stay there for the evening; the menu looked good and the beer, whose name I will reveal later, was excellent. However, there was the small matter of the car, and whilst the  chances of being pulled over by the Old Bill along that narrow country road  back to the B&B were negligible, it would have been morally wrong, and besides, it was a risk I did not want to take. We reluctantly finished our beer and drove back to Elsing, dropped the car off, and adjourned to the nearby Mermaid Inn.

The Mermaid is an excellent little pub in its own right, and we knew we could get a good meal there, as well as being able to enjoy a few more beers without having to worry about plod. Like at Darby’s there was a reasonable crowd in the pub, which included a mix of diners, people sitting at the bar, or a few local village lads and lasses playing pool. Beer wise there were two ales from Adnam’s (Southwold, and Broadside), two from Woodfordes (Wherry and Once Bittern), and one guest ale, (a 5% golden ale from Muirhouse Brewery). I opted for the Once Bittern to start with, before moving onto the Broadside – always a good standby, but never as good in my book as the late and much lamented Adnam’s Extra.

Both beers were good, and went well with my home-made burger and chips. However, neither quite matched up to that delicious first pint. So enough of the teasing, it’s time to reveal that this beer was Lacons Legacy, a 4.4% blonde ale with a refreshing citrus aroma from Amarillo and Cascade hops. Deliciously moreish and highly drinkable, the beer ended with a lengthy and mellowing bitter finish.  No wonder I wanted to stay at Darby’s for a few more!

For the uninitiated, Lacons were a renowned Norfolk brewery, who were established in Great Yarmouth back in 1760. The company grew steadily over the years, and by the middle of the last century were doing quite nicely, thank-you, and at their peak owned around 300 pubs scattered throughout East Anglia, plus a handful in London. Then in 1965, along came our old friend Whitbread who bought the company. Three years later, in 1968, the closure of the brewery as announced, bringing to an end over 200 years of brewing history.

Now after an absence of 45 years, Lacons Brewery has returned home to Great Yarmouth, under the guidance of acclaimed, multi award winning brewer Wil Wood; whose pedigree includes stints at both Oakham and Fyne Ales. Wil has combined his expertise of modern brewing practices with over 250 years of brewing heritage,  to create a contemporary range of fine craft ales, and in a further link with the past, the beers are brewed using the original Lacons yeast which has been preserved in the National Yeast Bank for many decades.

Now doesn’t that make you just want to rush out and try a pint?

Campaign for Real Pies

A Proper Pie

Part of the joy of pub-going, particularly at weekend lunchtimes, is the opportunity to enjoy a hearty pub meal. This treat is all the more enjoyable these days as I don’t frequent pubs as often as I did when I was younger. My local CAMRA branch tries to hold at least one weekend social and one mid-week social a month. The former take place during daylight hours, primarily because they are normally visits to hard to get to pubs in isolated rural spots, which would otherwise be impossible to get to during the evening. The latter, on the other hand, are normally held in one of the three

Another Proper Pie

main towns (Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells) which make up our branch area, where public transport links run well into the evening, and pubs are much easier to get to.

As I said earlier, a pub meal is a welcome and enjoyable part of these weekend outings, and one of my favourite dishes is the humble pie. Steak, steak and kidney, steak in ale, chicken, chicken and ham; you name it and I’ll eat it. Recently however, I’ve started to call into question exactly what exactly constitutes a proper pie, as there is a growing tendency for pies to be debased, with dishes masquerading as pies when they are quite clearly something else.

A Stew With a Hat

To elaborate, order a pie in many pubs these days and like as not you will be presented with a stew in an earthenware dish, topped with a layer of soggy puff-pastry! A proper pie should be encased in pastry all round, with a good crusty top and bottom and a juicy filling. A casserole with a ludicrous puff pastry top is not a pie; it’s a stew with a hat! I’ve become so fed up with having one of these bastardised abominations plonked down in front of me that I now ask before ordering, and if it’s a stew with a hat, I’ll order something else. I would ask all true pie lovers to do the same, as only by getting our contempt for these “lazy chef pies” can we hope to consign them to the dustbin of history, which is where they belong!

Describing these stew with a hat offerings as “lazy chef pies” is not being flippant, it is a statement of fact. It takes far less skill to fill an earthenware dish with a pre-prepared meat stew, slap a layer of shop-bought puff-pastry on top, shove the thing in the freezer and then cook to order, than it does to construct a proper pastry pie with a base and sides, fill it with meat and gravy, before carefully affixing a pastry lid and crimping it all the way round to provide an adequate seal.

I can understand why many pubs have chosen the “lazy chef” way, but despite the convenience and ease of serving they are doing themselves and their customers a grave disservice, and are undermining a great British culinary tradition.

In the course of writing this post I did a little on-line research looking, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, for a “Campaign for Real Pies”. Well I found a Facebook page plus a website; both dedicated to proper, pastry-encased pies. Have a look for yourselves by clicking the links above, and if you agree with their sentiments, give them your support.

Back in the High Weald Again

I was reminded of the classic Steve Winwood song, “Back in the High Life Again” on Saturday when a group of fellow West Kent CAMRA members and I made a return visit to the “High Weald” area of Kent. Our visit took place just over a year from one we made back in March 2013, and the contrast in the weather could not have been more dramatic.

Last year the temperatures were hovering just above freezing and there was snow blowing in on a biting north-easterly wind. This year, we had temperatures in the high teens and wall-to-wall sunshine! This combined with good company, good beer, some excellent food, a couple of classic village pubs and some pleasant rolling rural scenery, looking its very best in the warm spring sunshine, and it really was good to be “Back in the High Weald Again”.

A £7 Arriva Explorer Day Ticket allowed us to travel by bus from Tonbridge and, after changing buses in Tunbridge Wells, into the heart of the Kent countryside. Our first stop was the Fountain, in the incredibly photogenic village of Cowden. The pub was closed last year when we made our previous sojourn to the High Weald, as it was under-going renovation work, but I’m pleased to report the Fountain is once again open for business and looking better than ever.

This was only my second visit to the pub; the previous one having been a fleeting one over ten years ago. Now, upon returning, I was impressed with what I saw. Still retaining its traditional public and saloon bar areas, the Fountain has been extended at the rear by the addition of a conservatory. This in turn looks out and leads onto the secluded sun-trap of a garden, and it was to the latter that we de-camped en masse, having first availed ourselves of a pint each of beer.

The Fountain is a Harvey’s tied house and had IPA, Sussex Best and Old Ale on sale. Most of us opted for the latter, with me being especially pleased to see this excellent dark ale on sale. For one reason or another, I have missed it completely this season, so seeing it on the bar was a real bonus, particularly as it is now right at the very end of its long period of availability (October to March). The landlord complemented us on our choice, remarking that Old was a personal favourite of his. He had one more cask remaining in the cellar after this one, and then that would be it until autumn.

Well the beer was like the answer to a maiden’s prayer, cool, dark and malty, and with just the right hop bitterness to make it the perfect springtime pint. Pure class in a glass, and all the other clichés rolled into one. Sitting out in the garden and enjoying my beer in the company of friends, made me think life doesn’t get much better than this! Well, it did when the food I had ordered arrived. Home-made steak, kidney and mushroom pie, and a proper pie at that! By proper, I mean the meat was completely enclosed in pastry (short-crust no less!), rather than a glorified meat stew in an earthenware dish, topped with a layer of soggy puff-pastry. There was plenty of juicy, succulent meat filling the pie, with just the sufficient gravy to keep things moist. Combine this with new potatoes, and seasonal vegetables and it was heaven on a plate!

I was reluctant to leave the Fountain, which I have now designated as a destination eatery pub, but we had another pre-arranged port of call. The Kentish Horse, in the tiny village of Mark Beech, was our first stop on last year’s High Weald tour. We had heard the pub had changed hands recently, so were keen to check how it was faring under its new owners. The 234 bus which had bought us to Cowden continues on to Edenbridge, via Mark Beech, but being such a lovely spring day, several of us had come pre-equipped for a walk. The majority of us therefore set off to walk the three or so miles to Mark Beech leaving the less fit/still thirsty minority to spend a further hour in the Fountain, enjoying the excellent beer.

We set off through this picture-postcard village, pausing to reflect that the only people who can now afford to live in such an unspoilt haven are city workers (merchant bankers?), and others on hugely inflated salaries. The net result of this influx of new comers has been a decline in traditional rural life and the loss of village services. One of our party had grand parents who lived in Cowden and was telling us that the village once supported two shops, a garage and a school; all now closed. It also had two pubs. The Fountain is obviously still open, but on our way out of Cowden we passed the village’s other pub, now sadly closed. The attractive, white-painted, tile-hung Crown House still looks like a pub though, with its two entrances, gravel forecourt and clearly visible former pub garden at the side. It must have fetched a pretty penny when it was sold off at auction back in the 1980’s.

Our walk took us through some very attractive countryside; mainly grassland, with the odd wooded copse here and there for variety. The terrain was quite undulating, and we descended and then climbed again on several occasions before eventually reaching Mark Beech, which is one of the highest points in the High Weald. On the way we passed a really isolated, late Victorian cottage, alone in a clearing in the middle of a wood, looking like something out of a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale. I have remarked on this place before, having encountered this slightly strange cottage on a previous walk in the High Weald, back in 2009.

We managed to beat the bus passengers to the Kentish Horse, and were sitting in the garden enjoying a well-earned pint when they arrived. I am pleased to report the pub is doing well under its new owners, with a good local crowd huddled around the bar, whilst visitors such as us were outside in the garden enjoying the sunshine and the far reaching views across to the summit of Ashdown Forest. The beer was excellent with Larkins Traditional and Harvey’s Sussex Best on offer. I stuck with the Sussex, having started earlier on the Old Ale.

Our bus arrived just after 4pm to carry us back to Tunbridge Wells. I must confess to dozing off on the homeward journey; the combination of warm temperatures, fresh air and exercise, to say nothing of the beer had a soporific effect on me. A shame really, as I missed some of the terrific scenery, and before I knew it we had arrived at our destination. All in all it was another excellent day out and, as my alternative version of Steve Winwood’s song goes, it certainly was good to be  “Back in the High Weald Again”.

The European Beer Bloggers Conference 2014

I’ve just booked my place for the European Beer Bloggers Conference which is taking place in Dublin, Ireland on the 27^th and 28^th of June. This will be the first EBBC outside the UK. Ireland is in the beginning of a craft beer boom with new breweries popping up every year, so this is an exciting time to be visiting the country.

Whilst this is the fourth such event to be held, it will be a first for me and I have to say I’m really looking forward to it. Actually, it will be one of two firsts; as my attendance at the conference will mark my first visit not just to Dublin, but to the Irish Republic.

So what exactly takes place at the EBBC, and is it like many of my friends will say, just an excuse for a piss-up? Well although I haven’t been to one of these events before, I think I can safely say there will be more than a few pints drunk over the course of the conference. But looking at the agenda there’s also some serious, but still fun-sounding, stuff to do. For a start, it's a good opportunity to meet and befriend like minded people; people who you may already talk to regularly via social media, or even your own blog. Even better though is the chance to spend some time with them, enjoying a few beers together in a great pub in an unfamiliar town, exchanging information and generally getting to know people better.

The Beer Bloggers Conference therefore promises to be a festival of great beer, good food, great pubs, and the chance to make useful contacts and new friends. The conference seminars should also be useful, and will help to improve your blog and increase the number of hits it gets.

For those thinking of attending, and for those who are just plain nosey, here’s the agenda. 

Thursday, June 26, 2014
7:00 PM          Optional Pub Crawl of Dublin departing from the conference venue and led by beer blogger Reuben Gray of The Tale of the Ale

Friday, June 27, 2014
12:30 PM        Registration and Expo
2:00 PM          Conference Opening
2:10 PM          History of Beer in Ireland
3:10 PM          Welcome to the World of Irish Beer
4:10 PM          Panel of Irish Craft Brewers
5:10 PM          Break
6:30 PM          Dinner, Brewery Tour, and Tasting at St. James Gate hosted by Guinness & Smithwicks

Saturday, June 28, 2014
10:00 AM        Social Media Best Practices
11:00 AM        Keg versus Cask versus Bottle versus Can
12:30 PM        Lunch hosted by Pilsner Urquell
2:00 PM          Search Engine Optimization for Your Beer Blog
3:00 PM          Video on Your Beer Blog
4:00 PM          Conference Content – coming soon
6:30 PM          Dinner provided by Franciscan Well Brewery with keynote speaker Shane Long
9:00PM           Evening Party with Carlow Brewing Company

Sunday, June 29, 2014
10:00 AM        Post-Conference Excursion (details t.b.a)

Dinner at the Guinness Brewery in St. James' Gate should be really exciting. The brewery is steeped with history and the opportunity to have a dinner there should be an unforgettable experience. The pre-conference pub-crawl also looks good.

If you’re a blogger and are thinking of coming, then you need to act quickly. If you register before the 31st of March (today), then you pay a discounted registration fee of €95.00. Depending on the numbers booking, you may qualify for a refund on this fee as Molson Coors, who are one of the event sponsors, are offering €95 stipends to the first sixty Citizen Beer Bloggers who register for the conference. To receive the stipend, you must qualify as an active beer blogger and actually attend the conference. Funds will be disbursed at the conference. In addition you are also required to write two blog posts about the conference, which shouldn’t be hard.

Obviously there are travel and hotel costs involved as well to attend the conference, but these can be reduced by booking flights and accommodation in advance.  Hopefully I might see some of you there.

Enjoying Beer in Berlin

It’s been a fortnight since my son and I returned from Berlin, and during that time things have been rather hectic, to say the least, on both the home and the work front. Consequently I’ve only just found the time to sit down and write about our experiences of the local beer and pub scene there.

Beer wise the brewing scene in Berlin is dominated by the large BKS Group (Berliner Kindl Schultheiss), who are part of the Radeberger Gruppe (formerly Dr Oetker). BKS brew the following brands: Berliner; Berliner Bürgerbräu; Berliner Kindl; Potsdamer and Schultheiss.

The city also boasts around 17 brew-pubs, although some of these belong to the same owner, even though they may brew on multiple sites. Like much of northern Germany, Pilsner-style beers dominate, although that old East German favourite Schwarzbier (Black Beer) is also fairly common, on both draught and in bottle. In addition, beers from other parts of Germany, such as Baden-Württemburg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia, are quite widely available. Visitors used to the normally quite localised nature of the German beer market, will therefore be surprises, as we were, to be able to drink Altbier from Düsseldorf, or Kölsch from Cologne, alongside some of the more local Pilsners.

So what about the places to drink all these beers? As stated in my previous post about Berlin the city certainly has some superb pubs and bars and with the aid of a guidebook called “Around Berlin in 80 Beers”, written by Peter Sutcliffe, we found some great places to both drink and eat in. Here’s my summary of the ones we enjoyed the most, divided up into various categories.

Historic Pubs

 There are two contenders here for Berlin’s oldest and hence, most historic pub: zur Letzten Instanz and zum Nußbaum.

zur Letzten Instanz dates from 1621, and qualifies as the oldest pub in Berlin, by virtue of zum Nußbaum being a reconstruction. Although the latter was actually older, the original pub was destroyed in 1943, during an air raid, and was originally situated in the Alt Coln area of the city, across the River Spree, from the current one.

Both are excellent pubs though in their own right. Tucked away, opposite a church, in a quiet area of the city, zur Letzten Instanz was practically empty when we called in mid-afternoon.  The pub is an attractive white-painted building with green-painted shutters either side of the doors and windows. Internally there are three inter-connected, wood-panelled rooms leading away from the bar; each on a slightly lower level than the preceding one. The last room has a cast-iron spiral staircase leading up to what appears to be staff accommodation above. There were lots of “Reserviert” signs on the tables, indicating the staff were expecting a good crowd in later on. Pubs being packed during the evening, and finding it difficult to get a table, seemed to be a recurring feature of Berlin. Schultheiss  Pils was the beer of choice here.

We visited zum Nußbaum on our last morning in Berlin (well we had to didn’t we?). It’s a lovely cosy, low-ceilinged little pub, with lots of dark wooden panelling, and it’s difficult to believe this reconstruction only dates from 1986. There are three tiny inter-connected rooms, and like zur Letzten Instanz, there were only a handful of other people in the pub when we called in for a glass of Berliner Jubiläums Pils and a Bratwurst. Situated in the restored Nikolaiviertel of former East Berlin, just a short hop from the hustle and bustle of Alexanderplatz, it’s hard to believe you are in the same city!

Pubs in Railway Arches

Again two contenders and both are contrasting. One all shiny and new Alkopole Bierbar is a bustling stand-up-to-drink boozer’s bar underneath Alexanderplatz station. The other, Tiergartenquelle is on the edge of the sprawling Tiergarten; Berlin’s answer to London’s Hyde Park.

Alkopole Bierbar is all pine and polished pine, and caters primarily for punters popping in for a quick drink before catching their train home, whereas Tiergartenquelle has a much older feel about it, and attracts an obviously more fixed, and less transient clientele. Given its situation on the edge of parkland, the pub has a much more relaxed feel about it, and inside there are lots of faded posters, alcoves and a slightly Bohemian clientele. The beer range here is supplied by Lemke, who operate a large brew-pub at the Hackescher Markt in the city centre. I sampled the saison, an almost orange-coloured Kupfer bier, whilst Matthew enjoyed the Brauhaus Lemke Pils.

With Alkopole Bierbar, I particularly liked the “walk up to the bar, order, and pay as soon as you are served” approach. This was much more like an English pub, with none of this table service, waiting for the waiter to appear with the bill, which is characteristic of most German pubs. We had a Radeburger Pilsner each here, our last beer in Berlin before catching the train to the airport.

Modern Bars

There was just one contender here, the sprawling, ultra-modern Mommseneck am Potsdamer Platz, (Haus der 100 Bierre), at Potsdamer Platz. I’ve been in a similar themed establishment in Cologne before, but that was considerably smaller than this huge sprawling modern, glass-fronted pub. Most of the 100 or so beers are in bottled form only, but Mommseneck still offers 10 on draught. I enjoyed an excellent draught Köstritzer Schwarbier; Matthew was rather more conservative in opting for a Warsteiner Pils.

Esoteric/Off-Beat Pubs

The incomparable and hugely popular Dicke Wirtin, a short bus ride away from our hotel, fits the bill here. There was no room at the inn when we first called in on the Tuesday and on our last night in Berlin things seemed to be going the same way. However, there were a couple of vacant tables outside and as they were beneath a canopy and it was relatively mild evening, we grabbed one of them. We were glad we did as the food was excellent; as was the beer. Pilsner for Matthew and Mönschof Kellerbier from Kulmbach for me, served in an earthenware mug.

Inside, there were a number of inter-connected rooms, with live jazz music playing in one. The walls were covered with all sorts of brewery advertisements; mirrors, enamelled plaques, just the sort of thing to get a breweriana enthusiast hot under the collar. Dicke Wirtin is a real West Berlin institution which has always been popular with students and which proudly proclaims it has always welcomed artists, authors, actors and other like-minded people.

Brew Pubs

There are around 17 of these; all relatively recent in origin, with several located under railway arches or at railway stations. We visited four, the largest of which was sprawling and modern Brauhaus Mitte opposite Alexanderplatz station, and a train-spotters’ paradise being level with the tracks (Pilsner here).The smallest, and the best, was the tiny Marcus Bräu on the other side of the tracks and close to the city’s  Hackescher Markt. The lemony, citrus-tasting beer in this tiny brewpub was excellent, and the décor and general layout were also very good. This was a pub we would have liked to return to, had we the time.

Also worthy of a mention is Lindenbräu, which occupies part of the futuristic Sony Centre, at Potsdamer Platz. We sat outside here towards the end of our first afternoon in Berlin, enjoying a beer whilst watching the world go by. My unfiltered Naturtrüb Bier was excellent, whilst Matthew enjoyed his slightly more conventional, filtered Pils.

Bavarian-Style Beerhalls

We visited two of these; one run by Augustiner of Munich, and the other by Weihenstephan of Freising. Both are slightly upmarket, with Augustiner the larger of the two. Both are situated in former East Berlin and both are fairly recent and welcome additions to the city's drinking scene.

We visited Augustiner am Gendemenmarkt on our first night in Berlin (Saturday), and such is its popularity we were lucky to get a seat. We arrived shortly before 6pm, and after taking our seats were surprised to hear a bell being run, followed by people clapping. This turned out to be the nightly tapping of the Holzfass (wooden cask), containing Augustiner’s excellent Edelstoff. We ended up having several glasses to wash down our roast pork and potato dumpling; pure Munich in the heart of Berlin! The Gendemenmarkt from which the pub takes its name, is an attractive area of the city, and was somewhere we mean to return and explore further during daylight hours. As is often the case, the best laid plans tend to go astray, and we never got the chance to re-visit.

Weihenstephaner is to the north of its Bavarian counterpart, in the Hackescher Markt area of the city. It is smaller and more intimate than Augustiner’s outlet, although it does have a separate cellar bar. The latter was hosting what appeared to be a work’s function on the evening when we called in, but we managed to find a table upstairs without any problem. I tried the brewery’s Dunkel as well as their Pilsner; both were good but I resisted the temptation to try their Korbinian; a strong (7.4%) dark Doppelbock beer, available in bottled form only. The food was also very good, consisting of Bavarian dishes, such as Schnitzels, Schweinhaxe and other such hearty delights.

Best Pub for Beer, Food & Ambience

Sophie’n Eck, is a real gem of a pub, in former East Berlin. Triangular shaped, but with a Tardis-like interior; just as well given its popularity. Fortunately we arrived fairly early in the evening, and managed to get a table without too much trouble, but later on the staff were struggling to find space for people.

Sophie’n Eck underwent an extensive renovation in 1986, towards the end of the DDR regime, and is now a tasteful, if slightly up-market interpretation of a traditional Berlin Kneipe. Situated in a rapidly gentrifying area just behind the Hackeschermarkt, the pub is unusual in offering Sion Kölsch, from Cologne alongside Schlösser Alt from nearby Düsseldorf. Neither is served in the small, but correct, 20cl cylindrical glasses normally associated with these beers, but by the half litre! Good food as well, just a shame about the group of noisy American students! Still, you can’t have everything.

Finally, special mention should be made of Gasthaus Lentz, almost opposite Charlottenburg S-Bahn Station, and the closest pub to our hotel. A real friendly place, where, despite being heaving, the waitress went out of her way to find us a space and help us with the menu.  Kloster Andechs Spezial  Helles hit the spot beer wise and went well with our grilled pork steaks. Top marks for this excellent local’s pub-cum-restaurant; a real find in an unexpected location.

This completes my round-up of the best of Berlin’s pubs and bars which, whilst seemingly extensive, probably only scratches the surface of the city’s rich beer drinking heritage. Still, the chance to explore this heritage further offers a good excuse to re-visit the German capital.

For an overview of Berlin's must-see sights, and other non-beery attractions, visit my other blog - Paul' Beer Travels.

Trouble Finishing

It’s very rare that I find a beer that I struggle to finish. However, I seem to have met my match in Schwarzer ABT (Black Abbot), a bottled beer that I picked up on my recent visit to Berlin. Before going any further, I want to add that I’m not talking here about beer that is stale, sour or generally off; but beer that’s fresh and in good condition, but which for one reason or another is just plain undrinkable.

I normally try and bring a few bottles back with me from my trips abroad, and wherever possible I look for obscure or hard to get examples. On this trip though, my plans were thrown into disarray as I found that Bier-Spezialitäten-Laden, the speciality beer shop where I was going to obtain the bulk of my purchases, had closed. I’m certain there must have been other speciality beer shops in a city the size of Berlin, but without an Internet connection I had no way of finding one,. I therefore had to put plan B into action, and start looking in the local shops.

The supermarket opposite our hotel stocked only brands from Berlin’s mega brewing group, BKS or big name beers such as Paulaner or Warsteiner, but East Berlin’s largest department store, Galeria Kaufhaus, situated on Alexanderplatz, came to the rescue, and I was able to purchase a reasonable selection there.

I must admit I didn’t look too closely at the rather functional-looking label of Neuzeller Klosterbräu Schwarzer Abt, or I would have spotted that the beer is only 3.9%  in strength. I also didn’t notice the inclusion of invert sugar on the list of ingredients. Not exactly Reinheitsgebot, but let’s not forget we are talking about a beer brewed in former East Germany, (the DDR), where the Purity Law was not enforced, and the use of sugar in brewing was permitted.

So what did the beer actually taste like? Well it poured jet black with a nice firm contrasting white head, and there’s some chocolate notes in the aroma, but the overall impression of that first taste was one of over-powering sweetness. There was some chocolate and roast flavours in the background, but they were completely swamped by the sickly sweet taste from the invert sugar! I persevered, and eventually consumed around two thirds of the bottle. After that I gave up, as the experience was more akin to drinking Coca Cola than beer!

Schwarzer Abt is brewed by the Neuzelle Kloster Brewery, based in the town of Neuzelle, in the eastern state of Brandenburg, close to the Polish border. It is best known for its Neuzeller "Anti-Aging-Bier" which, in addition to the four usual main brewing ingredients, adds spirulina and flavonoids in order to, supposedly, increase health and longevity, This unorthodox approach to brewing has brought the company into conflict with the German Beer Brewers' Association, most noticeably in 2004, when the brewery was ordered to cease production of their product "Schwarzer Abt" or face a substantial fine. This was because the drink contained added sugar syrup it was in conflict with the Beer Purity Law. The brewery had been brewing the dark beer with sugar syrup in East Germany, which had been allowed under the DDR’s permissive brewing laws. The brewery had not explicitly labelled it as beer, but as "A Specialty Made from Schwarzbier, With Invert Sugar Syrup Added Afterward." In 2003, the brewery changed the labelling to simply read "Schwarzbier." In 2005, a German court upheld the brewery's challenge to purity laws and allowed the brewery to add sugar syrup to "Schwarzer Abt" and label it as beer, ending the 10 year legal battle.

Be that as it may, I would rather the court had dismissed the brewery’s challenge and insisted the beer was brewed to the strictures of the Purity Law, with the sugar omitted, but then looking on the brewery’s website it seems Neuzeller Klosterbräu also brew Cherry, Ginger and Apple-flavoured beer. There must be market for these concoctions, even if it is fairly localised, so who am I to criticise? Next time though, I will definitely pay a bit more attention to what it says on the label!

Some Inconvenient Truths on Packaging

Back in January I wrote a post about long-established West Country brewer, Cotleigh, in which I mentioned I had been given five different bottles of Cotleigh beer, as a Christmas present, by a work colleague. Well the other day I finished off the last one and, as promised, here are my thoughts on each particular beer. The beers are reviewed in the order I drank them, and there's no logic or plan behind this; it was just whatever took my fancy at the time.
 

Cotleigh Tawny Owl 3.8% - A refreshing and well-balanced copper coloured bitter, with a slight, but not unpleasant, tartness. Packs in plenty of taste for its low gravity, with a good hop bite which blends in well with the juicy sweetness from the malt.

Cotleigh Buzzard, Dark Ale 4.8% - A very good dark ale, dark brown in colour, rather than jet black. The beer has a chocolate and slightly nutty flavour, combined with a smooth bitter finish. Unfortunately the beer is bottle-conditioned and despite chilling for an hour or so before opening, it was way too lively, and I ended up with a glass full of foam. This was in spite of slow and careful pouring on my part. This experience serves to remind me of the problems with BCA’s. The process adds nothing to the beer, and if anything takes something away. Because I had to pour the beer in several stages, I inevitably ended up with a cloudy glass, and was not best amused.

 

Cotleigh Golden Seahawk 4.2% Like its name suggests, a gold coloured ale with a fruity taste, against a background of malt and honey. Presented in a clear glass bottle, to show off its golden colour, the packaging has unfortunately allowed a stale-cardboard taste to develop in the background. Is this the dreaded light-struck “skunked” effect, caused by the beer being packaged in clear glass? When will brewers stop doing this?

Cotleigh Peregrine Porter 5.0% - Bottle-conditioned, and don’t I know it! I could only pour half a pint, and even then the foam kept rising, over-flowing the rim of the glass and running all down the side. Taste-wise, very bitter with a lactic taste lurking in the background. Possibly an infection? The long creamy and mellow finish, promised on the label just isn’t there. A shame really as I was really looking forward to this beer.

Cotleigh Barn Owl 4.5% - A dark copper-coloured ale, with a background of toffee and nuts from the Crystal and Chocolate malts used in the grist. The beer has a pleasant bitter finish from the Fuggles, Goldings and Northdown hops. Barn Owl is one of Cotleigh’s original beers. I am not normally a fan of dark-coloured bitters, but this brew is particularly good and rather more-ish. 

So the verdict is Tawny and Barn Owl come out tops, and guess what? They're NOT bottle-conditioned! The review speaks volumes for the deleterious effect bottle-conditioning had on the Old Buzzard and the Peregrine Porter; both of which were far too lively to be poured in one (or even two!) goes. Furthermore the Porter appeared to have picked up an infection; certainly the lactic taste I noticed didn't fit in with the "creamy and mellow finish", promised on the label. As for the Golden Seahawk, packaging this beer in a clear glass bottle did it no favours whatsoever, with a define stale-cardboard flavour completely spoiling the brewer's efforts.

Surely it's time to admit that we just don't do Bottle-Conditioned beers properly in this country, and for CAMRA to get off  its high horse about them. As for packaging beers in clear glass, well brewers really should know better. I suspect most of them do, but those who really care about how their carefully crafted product ends up tasting in the consumer's glass, need to take a much stronger stance against the morons in the marketing department, with their carefully staged photo-shoots, who seem to believe in the triumph of style over substance, rather than in the true merits of their product.