A bit of a mix-up

I’ve never been in the habit of keeping a diary, and now that I’m in my early sixties, this is unlikely to change. Normally I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on, and whilst none of my immediate family have what could be described as a hectic social life, we still seem to manage keeping track of things.

We do have a calendar hanging up in the kitchen on which, by mutual agreement, we’re supposed to write important engagements, but apart from holidays, dental appointments, plus the occasional rock concert, none of us are particularly good at adhering to this. My wife is better than me, and I’m OK when I remember, or when I can find a pen. (I’m sure our household can’t be the only one where there’s dozens of pens lying about, but none of them seem to work!)

Well my laziness has well and truly caught up with me, as  tomorrow night I am double-booked. I’m not  actually committed to attend both events, Vicar of Dibley Christmas Dinner fashion, as one function has had to go to the wall, but if nothing else, this mix-up has taught me a lesson, and from now on I will be writing things down. (Actually there’s a calendar on my phone, which is pretty good for noting appointments . I’ve used it in the past, so must get back into the habit of using it again).

So what two events have I double-booked, and why did this come about? Well the first is the much vaunted, and eagerly anticipated tap-takeover by Moor Brewing, at Fuggles in Tonbridge. I wrote about this a while back, in my article about Moor Brewing’s “tap-room” opening,  in Bermondsey. 

You may recall me saying how much I was looking forward to the event, which is why it is so frustrating that, without double checking the date, I accepted a friend’s invite to a “meet the brewer” session at the Humphrey Bean, our local Wetherspoon's,  on the same evening.

The brewer in question at JDW is Firebird Brewing; a company I have not come across before, but after looking at their website, I noticed that Bill King was involved with this concern. Older readers may remember that Bill was one of the family owners of the late, and much lamented King & Barnes, of Horsham. K&B sold out to Dorset brewers Hall & Woodhouse, back in 2000, after which Bill King set up his own small brewery, W.J. King, which was also based in Horsham.

In 2013 W.J. King found itself with new owners, and now trades as King Beer. Enter Firebird Brewing Company, which was formed by Bill King and Richard Peters, who as well as both being  qualified Master Brewers, were old friends. Their friendship began at The University of Birmingham's Brewing School, where both studied for an M.Sc in Brewing Science and Technology.

On completion of their studies,  both went their separate ways; Bill to join and eventually run his family firm, King and Barnes,  and Richard to continue his career with Courage. After re-establishing contact in 2012, they decided to start a joint venture in brewing, and  acquired a site in an old converted brickwork's in Rudgwick. Their first commercial beer Heritage XX was sold at the end of June 2013, and five years later Firebird produces a wide range of beers, so why hadn't I heard of them until the other week?

No doubt all will be revealed tomorrow, when I pop along to the session at the Humphrey Bean, but before going any further the reason why I'm going to the Firebird session, rather than the Moor Brewing event' is the former is a ticket only event, and my friend had already purchased the tickets.

The price of the ticket includes a meal, as well as a 20% discount off the price of the Firebird beers, so it’s not all bad. There are also several other friends going along; some of whom I haven’t seen for some time. It will be good to catch up, and I’m certain our local JDW will be far less crowded than Fuggles, and also less noisy.

Perhaps I am just saying this to myself in order to make up for the disappointment of missing the Moor beers, but whatever the case, I will in future pay a lot more attention to the calendar, and my phone, before accepting future invitations.

A full report about the "meet the brewer" session and Firebird Brewing's beers, will follow, in due course.

The Italian Job

After four posts centred on CAMRA, it's high time for a break from those who spend their time "campaigning" for a certain type of beer, and get back to the real world. So moving on to a beer which is probably as far away as it's possible to be from the world of cask conditioned ale and hand-pumped beer, we take a look at a well-known international lager brand, and its attempt to create a more artisan image for itself.

The beer brand I am talking about is Birra Moretti; originally a family-owned Italian brewery, but now part of the multi-national  Heineken group. Birra Moretti is an instantly recognisable brand, thanks to the image of the moustached man in the hat, enjoying a tankard of the company's beer.

Until very recently, Italy was not known as a beer drinking nation, mainly because the country produces some excellent wines, which Italians tend to prefer to beer. Prior to the advent of the now flourishing “craft beer” scene, Italian beer was almost exclusively of the light lager type.

During the last decade, brands such as "Peroni" and "Nastro Azzuro" have established a growing foothold in the UK beer market, and they have now been joined on the bar by Moretti, which seems to be the "go to" beer for the younger generation. I have two technicians working for me; both are in their early 30's, and both swear by the beer. It’s expensive on draught, selling in some outlets at over £5 a pint. Bottles are much cheaper of course, and as well as the usual 330ml size, the beer is available in a 660ml, “quaffing"  bottles.  I don't mind the occasional glass myself, although my lager of choice is the world-classic, Pilsner Urquell.

The company was founded in 1859 by Luigi Moretti in the north-eastern Italian city of Udine, as the "Beer and Ice Factory", with the first bottles going on sale in 1860. The brewery was initially producing around 2,500 hectoliters of beer per year, enough to meet the provincial market, but this was soon exceeded.

The company remained in the hands of the Moretti family until 1989, before being acquired by a number of different beer companies. In 1996 the group, and its famous trademark, was bought by Heineken. The original brewery in Udine was closed in 1992, and production transferred to the nearby town of San Giorgio di Nogaro.

As mentioned above, the main Birra Moretti brand has been available in Britain for some time, but recently a couple of beers inspired by the culinary traditions of Italy’s many regions have found their way into the UK market. I managed to pick them up in my local Waitrose, a couple of weeks ago, and here is what I thought of them.

Birra Moretti – Alla Toscana 5.5%. As the name indicates, this beer is inspired by the Italian region of Tuscany, and is brewed using malted barley from Marema and Tuscan Spelt. According to the label on the back of the bottle, these cereals impart a full flavour to the beer, along with a pleasant bitterness and notes of aromatic herbs.

This combined with the rich honey colour of the beer, makes it the perfect accompaniment to dishes such as pasta or, just a very pleasant beer to drink on its own. I would certainly agree with that description, as the beer is very enjoyable; albeit a little unusual.

“Spelt" is an ancient type of wheat that's native to southern Europe, where it's been used for thousands of years. It has a mellow nutty flavour and is easily digestible”. The “nutty” flavour certainly comes through  into the taste of the beer.

Birra Moretti – Alla Siciliana 5.8%. No prizes for guessing that this beer is inspired by Sicily, and incorporates Zagara orange blossom in its make up. This Sicilian flower gives the beer a rich, soft and full flavour with an orange aroma.  The beer is described as a great accompaniment to fish dishes, but is also good enough to be enjoyed on its own.

I didn’t think this beer was anywhere near as good as its Tuscan counterpart, (I’ve tried similar orange-flavoured beers, and they just don’t work for me), but it’s still good to see a large brewing group  indulging in a spot of experimentation.

So what about the main beer Birra Moretti – L’Autentica 4.6%.  Birra Moretti is still brewed to the recipe that was created by Luigi Moretti. It is a smooth, full bodied beer, brewed with a blend of high quality hops, to create a satisfying beer with a full malt base, balanced by some delicate citrus notes.

In short, it is a “quaffing beer”, and one which I am not at all averse to enjoying from time to time.

Moretti, also import their La Rossa beer into the UK, although apart from in specialised beer shops, I haven’t seen it on sale in the nation’s supermarkets. La Rossa is a 7.5% “Bock-style” beer, although Moretti refer to it as a “double malt” beer. As its name might suggest, it is a reddish-amber colour, which comes about from the use of roasted malts.

Before ending, it’s worth noting that Moretti, also produce four other “regional” beers. Like the two described above, these four are influenced by some of Italy’s other provinces. Like the others as well, the beers incorporate ingredients which are associated with the regions they are named after. The beers are as follows: 

Birra Moretti alla Friulana 5.9%. A light, straw-coloured lager, incorporating apples from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.


Birra Moretti alla Piemontese 5.5%.  A pale, amber-coloured lager beer, with blueberries, from the Piedmont region.

Birra Moretti alla Pugliese 5.6%.  A golden yellow coloured lager beer, containing roasted wheat and, somewhat unusually, prickly pear. From the Puglia region of southern Italy.

Birra Moretti alla Lucana 5.8%. An amber coloured lager, containing laurel. From the Lucan region.

It’s worth remembering that with no real tradition of beer brewing, particularly in southern Italy, these “regional” Moretti beers are all contrived, but are nevertheless an attempt to move away from the easy-drinking, light-lager style normally associated with the country.

A motion too far?

I spent much of last weekend avoiding CAMRA, not intentionally, it just happened that way. Saturday was the date for the West Kent Branch AGM, and also for CAMRA’s National AGM which, this year, took place in Coventry.

I didn’t attend either, although I had planned to go along to my own branch’s bash. However, given the fine weather, combined with a family get-together, I’m afraid CAMRA West Kent went by the wayside, and I am still in the dark as to what occurred, or whether the branch was even able to form a new committee.

There was no shortage of news about the events taking place at  Coventry though, as the stories about a “new direction” for the Campaign were all over the national press, with several claiming the end of CAMRA as we know it.

Of course there is nothing journalists like better than a sensationalist story, and the fact there wasn’t anything earth-shattering coming out of Coventry, didn’t stop the headlines homing in on the one Special Resolution which just failed to make the 75% threshold necessary for approval.

The Telegraph led with the story that real ale drinkers had rejected "CAMRA’s bid to support lager", whilst the Independent took a softer approach, with the headline, "CAMRA agrees to campaign for more that just Real Ale". The drink trade’s own mouthpiece, the Morning Advertiser  was probably the most hard-hitting with the rather terse statement, "CAMRA will not represent all beer and cider drinkers".

Almost 18,000 members voted either online or at the AGM, to approve changes to CAMRA’s Articles of Association which will re-define the 47-year-old organisation’s purpose and campaigning activities. These changes were in the form of six Special Resolutions put forward by the group’s National Executive, and were as follows:

1. To secure the long term future of real ale, real cider and real perry by increasing their quality, availability and popularity
2. To promote and protect pubs and clubs as social centres as part of the UK’s cultural heritage
3. To increase recognition of the benefits of responsible, moderate social drinking
4. To play a leading role in the provision of information, education and training to all those with an interest in beer, cider and perry of any type
5. To ensure, where possible, that producers and retailers of beer, cider and perry act in the best interests of the customer.

As mentioned above SR 6. To act as the voice and represent the interests of all pub goers and beer, cider and perry drinkers, narrowly failed to attract the necessary mandate of 75%  of the votes cast; although it came close at 72.6%.

Other resolutions passed, included the one on offering discounts, which was the subject of the last post, plus a motion changing CAMRA’s policy on “cask breathers” thereby allowing individual branches more choice when it comes to Good Beer Guide selection time. This change of heart is long overdue and is good news to me, as I never understood CAMRA’s opposition to these devices.

I voted in favour of the Special Resolutions, with the exception of the one which enshrined cider and perry in the Campaign’s Articles of Association, but must admit was prepared to see them all fail, especially because of the 75% “super-majority” required - David Cameron, please take note, this is how you reach a meaningful decision! This was due to my perception of CAMRA as an inward-looking organisation, firmly entrenched in the past. 

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see all but the most controversial of them approved by the voters. It was a good, modernising move on CAMRA’s part, to allow members to vote either on line, or by post, as in the past only those attending the AGM were eligible to make policy decisions. 

But whilst 18,000 may look like a good turnout, and is infinitely better that the one thousand or so members who attend AGM’s,  it is still less than 10% of the total membership, so apathy still exists amongst the majority of the Campaign’s members. So given this level of indifference amongst CAMRA members, will these changes inspire more of them to get involved, or will it still be the same old, same old?

We won’t know for some time, and CAMRA’s National Executive, now under the leadership of new chairman, Jackie Parker,  will have their work cut out for many months to come, as they seek to implement the changes vote through at last weekend’s AGM.

For some well-balanced, alternatives takes on the events in Coventry, and what they may mean for CAMRA, it is well worth taking a look at what fellow bloggers Boak & Bailey (no relation), Pub Curmudgeon and Tandleman have come up with. Beer writer Pete Brown, takes a stronger and more pessimistic view, which is countered well by former GBG and "What's Brewing " editor, Roger Protz’s much more upbeat and optimistic assessment.

A sense of entitlement?

Following on from my last post about CAMRA, I want to pick up on another thread which surfaced on the CAMRA unofficial Facebook page. This time it focuses on the alleged sense of "entitlement" felt by some CAMRA members in respect of discounts on the price of a pint.

Now I know there are pubs up and down the country which offer a price reduction to card-carrying CAMRA members. I don't know of any pubs in our local branch area which do this, but the practice does seem quite prevalent in several neighbouring branches. One even goes so far as to list these pubs in their branch magazine.

Wetherspoon's vouchers aside, I don't think I've ever received a discounted pint in over 40 years of CAMRA membership, and I've certainly never asked for one. And whilst I accept that every little helps, as the proverbial lady who p*ss*d in the sea said,  a 10% reduction is small beer or, to continue the above metaphor, a mere drop on the ocean!

A slightly cheaper pint, might be nice, but it's not what I joined CAMRA for;  anymore that I signed up for the Spoons vouchers. (Incidentally, I rarely use all mine and often forget to carry them around with me, because of the space they take up in my wallet).

So how does this square then with the assertion of   "CAMRA members demanding a discount", as raised on the CAMRA unofficial Facebook page? The simple answer is I don't know, as this is an area I have very little experience of. Besides, the person who raised the  subject was taking the matter a whole stage further by complaining about what he/she saw as a sense of "entitlement" amongst certain members of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Before we go any further, the above story is little more than another stick to beat CAMRA around the head with. I have heard the old chestnut, about a group of archetypal CAMRA members (faded brewery T-shirts, unkempt-beards, beer bellies plus socks & sandals), descending on a pub and demanding, rather too assertively, discounted beer, purely on the strength of their CAMRA membership. This tale has certainly grown in the telling, and has now become something of an urban myth. It may have happened on the odd occasion, but it is trotted out, rather too frequently by those with an axe to grind against CAMRA.

So back to the real world, where it is true that some licensees do indeed offer discounts to CAMRA members. Why do they do this? Do they feel obliged to? Do they think they ought to? Are they trying to compete with Spoons? Is offering a discount off-set by increased beer sales? And at what level does this practice become untenable?

Personally I would rather see pubs offering "loyalty card schemes" to all their customers, as quite a few do in the West Kent area. These schemes normally involve getting a card stamped with every pint you buy, and then getting the 10th one free. This treats all real ale drinkers in the pub equally, and must surely guarantee a return trade in a way that confining discounts to CAMRA members only, cannot.

Just as I moved to post this article, news reached me about a motion which was passed at CAMRA’s National AGM and Member’s Weekend, which has just finished in Coventry. The gist of the motion was CAMRA should not be demanding discounts, and the coverage written by “What’s Brewing” editor,  Tom Stainer is worth reproducing, as it basically sums up much of what I have been saying.

Members clearly supported a motion stating a belief that pubs and breweries should not be expected to give discounts, and criticised when they failed to do so – but recognised the freedom of pubs and breweries to offer discounts if they wished.

The Conference was told by a former chairman of the Small Independent Brewers Association (SIBA), that there was increasing financial pressure on publicans and brewers and that it seemed perverse that some members of CAMRA insisted on demanding a discount.

The spokesman added: “Not only is this culture eroding the margins that can be earned but it threatens the stability of the supply chain and counters the aims of this organisation. It also creates a negative feeling about CAMRA.”

There were no speakers against the motion, which was clearly carried.

So some good news there, and plenty of other developments coming out of the AGM. Most, but not all, of these concern the much vaunted “Revitalisation Project”, and I expect a number of bloggers are already tapping away on their computer keyboards. Watch this space, and others for further details.

Making one's presence known

This is the post I've been writing on and off for the past few days, and like the previous one, it has  an element of  social media about it. I have a Facebook account which I actually use on a fairly regular basis. The site came into its own earlier this year, when my wife was ill in hospital, as a means of updating family members of her progress, so Facebook does have its good points, if used wisely!

The other day I noticed a string of posts on the CAMRA Unofficial Facebook page, which sparked off a lengthy debate. It started with a pub landlord complaining that despite installing seven real ale pumps, and successfully promoting real ale, the only time he saw CAMRA members was when he offered them a "free session". He went on to say that, "these sessions apart", CAMRA members never visited his pub, or indeed any of the other pubs in the area, to promote or support the sale of cask ales. 

Well this was a rather provocative statement and, as you can imagine, it provoked a puzzled, and at times quite angry response from a lot of CAMRA members. Most of these were along the lines of, "How do you know if CAMRA members are visiting your pub or not?", or "I love the assumption that all CAMRA members go around proclaiming their membership". Another correspondent even added, "Guess we should make it mandatory for every CAMRA member to grow a beard and wear socks & sandals".

Most CAMRA members, of course, don't wear a badge or announce they are a member, when they walk into a pub, and why would they? With this in mind it's perhaps not surprising that the comment, "CAMRA never come here," is a fairly common one. But is it justified? And why should licensees expect CAMRA members to identify themselves when they're just ordinary people out for a drink.

CAMRA has nearly 200,000 members, so it's difficult to believe a licensee's claim that his or her pub is the only one in the country they don’t drink in, but if you have decided to install hand pumps and promote real ale, has your business suffered because of it? If it hasn’t, it might seem a bit galling to think that CAMRA are ignoring all the effort and hard work you have put in, if they don’t happen to call in.

But perhaps the local CAMRA contingent do pop by from time to time, because as one contributor to the debate put it, “I love the assumption that all CAMRA members go around proclaiming their membership. I've drunk in lots of pubs and my membership status has never come up in conversation.”

I have been a CAMRA member for over 40 years, but have always preferred to keep quiet about my membership status when visiting pubs. The only times I have revealed my membership of CAMRA, have been whilst carrying out surveys for the Good Beer Guide. I don’t do those any more, so publicans beware, that quiet, unassuming, slightly over-weight, middle-aged bloke sitting in the corner, minding his own business, might just be a member of the Campaign for Real Ale. 

Joking aside, there is a more serious side to my reticence, and that is because on those occasions where I have revealed my identity, there have been times when I’m asked questions like, “What do I have to do to get my pub into the Good Beer Guide?” Worse are those embarrassing moments where a pub has been dropped from the Guide, and I’m expected to provide an explanation.

“Sorry your beer is below par,” doesn’t feel the right thing to say; even if it happens to be true, and as selections for the GBG are made on a group basis, I don’t want to be the person who gets put on the spot by having to justify the exclusion of a pub, following what was a collective decision.

It is understandable for licensees to be upset, and many take it as a personal affront. After all their pub is their home, their livelihood and often their passion as well. Despite my desire to remain in the background, I have become known over the years, to quite a few publicans in the area, and have been made to feel rather uncomfortable under such circumstances.

I’ve even had one landlord message me on WhatsApp, asking why his pub had been dropped from the guide. Even worse though, is having to listen to a landlord blaming the failure of his pub directly on CAMRA’s decision to drop it from the Good Beer Guide. A friend suffered a similar experience with the landlord of another pub. Deflecting the blame for the failure of your business, onto CAMRA may seem an easy option, but did the Campaign make that much of a difference to your beer sales? 

Both pubs were dropped from the Guide for the simple reason that their beer quality failed to meet the standard expected. Both had too many pumps on the bar, and there was insufficient trade to ensure an adequate turnover of all these beers.Both pubs have been converted into private dwellings, which would have fetched considerably more then they would have done as pubs, so the real losers here would have been the local community and not the individual licensees. CAMRA was nothing more than a convenient “whipping boy”.

It can be fun being a CAMRA member folks, but it’s also worth remembering it isn’t all beer and skittles, and neither is it all cakes and ale!

Who needs social media?

I had intended posting a piece about CAMRA, which I promised Retired Martin would be less controversial than the previous one. However, I’m still working on it, after having been side-tracked by the allure of dry weather and longer evenings. Our patio is in urgent need of a tart-up, so I’ve been on my knees raking out the weeds and the old pointing between the paving slabs, ready for some nice new grouting to fill the cracks.

Instead, here is a short piece about Tim Martin, everyone’s favourite pub chain boss, who certainly hit the headlines yesterday, when he announced that with immediate effect, he was pulling the plug on Wetherspoon’s social media accounts.

By closing the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as the separate accounts held by over 900 individual Wetherspoon outlets, Mr Martin is turning his back on social media and taking what he believes to be a stand against the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In doing so he is effectively waving goodbye to 44,000 Twitter followers and more than 100,000 followers on Facebook.

Citing concerns over issues such as data privacy, the addictive nature of social media and the trolling of MPs, the boss of the discount pub chain said, “It’s becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion.”

He went on to say that whilst this move was "going against the conventional wisdom that these platforms are a vital component of a successful business”,  he and the company's pub managers, do not believe that closing the accounts will have any affect on the business "whatsoever". He added that "on a commercial basis it saves people in the company time, and that will enable them to get on with their own jobs."

It is hard to disagree with his decision, and when viewed in the context that much of the social media feedback which Spoons were getting, was negative and centred on people complaining about the size of the portions they were getting, or that their breakfast was poorly cooked. And as each pub manager was responsible for maintaining the Facebook page for their own individual pub, this must be a distraction they will be glad to see the back of.

There is of course, no such thing as bad publicity, and Mr Martin has never been afraid to court controversy; especially when it suits his purpose. Not wanting to spark any further controversy of my own, I won’t mention his leaflets or the beer mats, in support of a certain cause, but there have been other equally contentious issues, such as dropping the Sunday roast from the menu along with the traditional roast-turkey Christmas dinner. 

Installing large-screen TV’s in many JDW outlets, has also not been without its share of criticism as, even with the volume turned right down, the screens are at best a distraction and at worse a complete intrusion on a night out.

The reaction to Tim’s latest move which ironically, was announced on Twitter as well as in a press release, seems quite muted, so let’s leave the final comments to a company spokesman.

"We don't feel social media is worth it in the social climate. There's not one event that led to this move. You know Wetherspoon’s – we take our decisions and that's what we do. We don't care what other people think.” 

"We're not bothered by social media and we're not hiding from anything."

In a strange kind of way I admire Tim Martin for taking a stand against the increasing encroachment of the tech-giants, and from a personal point of view I am not concerned in the slightest. I don’t have a Twitter account and tend to use Facebook as a source for various news feeds, and as a platform for keeping in touch with friends and family. I’m pretty confident then that he will weather the fallout from this decision with relative ease.

Something more solid

I have written on this subject before, but I thought it was worthwhile re-visiting and exploring in a little more depth. The subject I am referring to is drinking on an empty stomach.  It's an age-old rule about drinking that everyone knows and most people have broken, but always fill up on food before filling up on alcohol. 

I am no exception, and like to have something more solid inside me, either before or whilst I am drinking. I know I am not alone in this, as logic suggests a simple reason, that drinking on an empty stomach will lead to intoxication more quickly. But just how much of a difference does eating before imbibing really make?

Studies on the effects of food on alcohol absorption have found that there is truth to this rule, and that ingesting food before drinking doesn’t just slow the rate of alcohol absorption into the bloodstream, but also lowers the peak concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream.

Looking back I must have been made aware of this rule quite early in my drinking career, but it wasn’t my parents who imparted this wisdom. Neither of them were drinkers, and both were definitely not pub-goers, so despite being the “black sheep of the family” as far as enjoying a few pints is concerned, something must alerted me to not drink on an empty stomach.

It is a rule I have followed for over 40 years, and it has stood me in good stead; especially at lunchtimes. Although I normally shy away from a lunchtime pint during the working week, due to the soporific effect which even a single pint can have on me when I return to the office, things are different if, for example, I am on a CAMRA outing, or have spent the morning walking around a picturesque or historic town. Then there is nothing finer than stopping for a few pints, along with a bit to eat, particularly when the pub offers good, honest pub food, served at a reasonable price.

The same applies when out for a ramble, and probably more so, as the combination of exercise and all that fresh air, are guaranteed to have worked up an appetite as well as a thirst. Some might argue that beer stimulates the appetite, whilst others would say that distending of the stomach, with all that liquid, is the stimulus responsible for the feelings of hunger. This may be true, and each to their own, but for me some form of "blotting paper", in the form of food, is essential when my stomach is empty and I've had a few beers.

Evenings are a little different, in that I will normally have my dinner when I arrive home from work, and then ideally allow a couple of hours to pass before heading off to the pub. Holidays are different again as the evening meal will invariably be in a local bar or restaurant, where I can enjoy a few pints with my meal. but at weekends, and especially whilst on holiday, I still prefer something solid inside me at lunchtime, even if it is just a couple of rolls or a pie, to soak up the beer.

Pubs have known for a long time, about the importance of serving food, particularly at lunchtime, and increasingly so have beer festival organisers. Having attended CAMRA’S national Great British Beer Festival over the years, I have seen the food offering slowly increase, from simple filled rolls, to full blown catering offering anything from fish and chips to spicy Asian street food.

Food also plays an important part at Munich’s world famous Oktoberfest, which attracts around six million visitors a year. As well as downing almost seven million litres of beer, festival goers munch their way through half a million grilled sausages, 250,000 chickens, umpteen giant pretzels and for those really wanting to soak it all up, around 100 wild oxen!

So next time you are sat there with a pint in front of you, and feeling peckish, consider that it’s your body telling you that something solid to go with your beer, is probably a good idea.