Partying the night away (or part of it at least), at Five Points Brewing

In the previous post, I wrote a brief piece mentioning the British Guild of Beer Writers summer party, that I attended last Wednesday evening. The event was held at Hackney-based Five Points Brewing, and I have to say the company were perfect hosts, providing plentiful beer and pizza in the setting of impressive their light and airy taproom that adjoins their Mare Street brewery. I’d been aware of the company and its beers for some time, although apart from liking the beers that Five Points were turning out, I didn’t know that much about them. I later discovered the company began brewing in 2013 on a 16hL brew-house in a railway arch beneath Hackney Downs station, before moving to their current site, in Mare Street – just a short distant down the road. The same elevated railway, that housed Five Points original brewery in one of its brick arches, runs along the rear of the current brew-house and taproom.

Brewing capacity was doubled in 2015, with a new 32hL brew house that has enabled the company to meet the high demand for Five Points beer. Although the new brewery is all shiny, stainless steel, it operates along traditional lines with mash tun, wort kettle, and whirlpool. Fermenting vessels range in size from 20hL, 40hL and 120hL, along with a number of bright beer tanks where the finished beer is store, prior to filling into cask, keg or bottle. a centrifuge on site, which is used prior to packaging the beer. Keg accounts for 75% of Five Points output, with cask making up 20%. The remaining 5% is bottled beer.

Along with a number of other guests, I was given a tour around the brewery by a pleasant and very knowledgeable north American lady (I wasn’t sure if she was from the US or Canada), who was happy to answer our questions. She was obviously passionate about Five Points and its beers, and from the other employees we met (pouring the beer, and sorting out the pizza), this enthusiasm seems to extend across the whole company. Five Points select the very best UK suppliers for use in their beers including Simpsons Malt from Norfolk, and Hukins Hops from Kent. Keen readers will remember my report of a visit made to Hukins, a couple of years ago, which was specially arranged for Guild members.

Available from the bar, at the far end of the taproom, were five tank beers brewed on site, and drawn from a number of horizontal s/s tanks stacked behind the bar. Four guest beers, from other breweries were also available. In addition, although I didn’t notice them until towards the end of the evening, were a couple of Five Points cask beers, dispensed by hand-pump. We were each given a token, entitling us to three pints, courtesy of the brewery and, for those wishing to have more, the Guild were running a tab behind the bar.

Solid nourishment came in the form of pizza – surely everyone’s favourite accompaniment to beer, courtesy of Yard Sale Pizza – slogan “Handmade & Hand-Delivered”. Like the beer, the pizza was plentiful, meaning no one went away hungry. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a range of bottled and canned beers available, for party guests to either drink there, or take away with them. These were kindly donated by brewers such as Greene King, Shepherd Neame, Davenports and Rooster’s, amongst others. Guests had been encouraged beforehand, to bring a bag with them, in order to take some of these samples home with them. I managed to stash 10 of these in my rucksack, although any more would have been too heavy to carry.

So, with the brewery, beer, pizza and take-home goodies sorted, what about the party itself? Well, it is best described as a relatively low-key, informal get together, with the only real input from the Guild being a short address by BGBW chairman, Jonny Garrett. Jonny is the author of “A Year in Beer”, an excellent book which attempts, in a non-forceful way, to inject a little seasonality into beer drinking, something which was far more common back when we all lives in a far more agrarian society than we do today.

Later on in the evening, I managed a few quick words with Jonny, saying how much I enjoyed his book. I also explained that despite my best intentions in trying to follow the seasonal guidance outlined in “A Year in Beer” I fail miserably, by forgetting the book’s underlying philosophy, until the advent of summer. He seemed pleased that I had enjoyed his book, along with the principles behind it. In a game of “Pin the next author down,” I next had a brief chat with Laura Hadland, author of “50 Years of CAMRA” - a book billed as the definitive history to the Campaign’s first half century. I explained that whilst I wasn’t there right from the start, I did start playing an active roll in CAMRA from the mid 1970’s onwards. “I trust I got the story right,” was Laura’s reply, which of course, by and large she had.

Final writer of the evening was David Jesudason, author of the award winning “Desi Pubs- A guide to British-Indian Pubs, Food & Culture.”  I met David on the aforementioned hop-picking visit to Hukins Hops, which sadly was the last time I saw Bryan Betts, who passed away in February this year. I haven't purchased a copy of David's book yet, purely becasue there aren't any Desi pubs in this neck of the woods, but for future trips to cities such as Manchester, Birmingham as well as London, I'm sure it will prove invaluable. On last year's visit to Brum, we visited the excellent Hen & Chickens, a thriving Desi pub on the edge of the city's Jewellery Quarter, as recommended by LAF. The pub was packed, and the curries looked, and smelled amazing. Definitely a pub for next time!

The bar closed at 9pm, although by then, I’d enjoyed four excellent pints of Five Points beers - Pale, Lager, XPA and Best. The latter was a cask ale, and a rather good quaffing bitter, whilst the others were keg, but both the Lager and the XPA were top notch. In common with the remaining guests, I made my way back to Cambridge Fields station. An invitation had been extended for partygoers to visit the Pembury Tavern, situated between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations, but I thought I’d leave a visit to this legendary pub, for another occasion. 

I mention this because Five Points own the Pembury, alongside the National Inventory-listed Whitelock’s in Leeds – the oldest public house in the city, and another unspoiled, heritage pub that is high on my list to visit. Our guide had told us earlier that the company had plans to expand into other areas of the country, although Leeds seemed a surprise move, at first, like many other UK cities, it has a thriving beer culture.

Well that’s it from the Big Smoke for the time being, although I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m heading up that way again.

 

A cherished umbrella is retrieved and I spend the evening in a part of London I haven't experienced before

This semi-retirement malarkey isn't quite or what it's cracked up to be. I say this because already this morning, I've tidied up got full load of washing on the line, sorted out yesterday's box off beer arrived from Braybrook Brewing, responded to a couple of work-related emails that needed my attention even though the senders knew that I ‘m not in the office on Thursday and Friday, and taken in two parcels on behalf of Mrs PBT’s. Thankfully, she is away from the house this morning, beavering away at the local scaffolding company where she puts in one day a week, looking after the financial side of things (paying the bills as well as the wages).

I normally drive her in, but this morning, one of her colleagues relieved me of that task. I still need to pick her up, mid-afternoon, and woe betide me if I'm late! For the moment though, I’ve got the house to myself, which is just as well following yesterday evening’s visit to London. I was in the capital for the British Guild of Beer Writers Summer Party, an event which, by tradition, normally takes place a day or so prior to the opening of the Great British Beer Festival.

GBBF didn’t happen this year – something about the non-availability of Olympia, but several people I have spoken to, including one or two from CAMRA, doubt that, having lost money, over many years, CAMRA’s flagship festival will ever make a comeback. One nameless individual claimed, quite rightly in my opinion, that after insisting CAMRA branches adhere to a strict set of financial guidelines, the campaign should do the same for its own, high-profile event,

Leaving these facts aside, the Beer Writers Guild went ahead with their summer party, regardless of what was happening over at CAMRA, and despite a few initial, pre-event reservations, I was glad I went along. The party took place at the spacious premises of Five points Brewing Company, who are based in Hackney, and as well as plenty of beer, both draught and bottled, and ample slices of pizza to help soak it up, there was also a guided tour around Five Points impressive brewery - a monument to stainless steel if you like.

A full report will follow in due course, but I'm still playing catch up my with various things including this blog, which I have shamefully neglected. Before taking the train up to London, on Wednesday afternoon, I called in at the Nelson Arms, which is a stone throw’s away from Tonbridge station. This was shortly after their 3pm opening time, and my objective was to collect the umbrella I'd accidentally left in the pub, on Saturday afternoon. I've got form when it comes to this sort of things, remembering the following day that I left my umbrella somewhere, and almost certainly at the pub. This is why I'm always a little wary of taking a brolly with me on pub visits and days out, even if it provides the perfect excuse for a return visit.

In this instance, I’d phoned the Nelson the day after my weekend visit, and was told that me umbrella was indeed there, but despite this the barman had to produce a number of different umbrellas before I could identify mine. Obviously, I am not their only forgetful customer! Whilst there it seemed rude not have a pint, even though I had a potential heavy evening’s beer supping ahead of me. Please excuse the dreadful pun, but “Born to be Mild”, from Kent Brewery fitted the bill, and at 3.4%, it wasn’t too heavy to begin an evening’s drinking.

Back to the brolly for a second, I was especially pleased to have this particular one back in my possession, because it has never been used in anger, so to speak. It was purchased specifically for a business trip to China, which was back in May 2019, but as things turned out there was no need to use it. The weather on the whole, was dry, although oppressively humid at times, and this invariably resulted in a massive thunderstorm. I was on my way to Guangzhou airport for my flight home, when the storm broke, so I fortunately missed the torrential rain. which was so heavy and incessant, that an umbrella would have been useless.

Back to Wednesday, I managed to catch 4pm train up to town and after alighting at London Bridge, decided to walk to Liverpool Street station, from where I could take the London Overground to Cambridge Heath. Fitness issues aside, there were several reasons for wanting to walk between these London termini, the first being to kill a bit of time, but the main one was to avoid travelling during rush hour on an overcrowded, underground train. I'd already had a lecture from Mrs PBT's about COVID, bearing in mind the events of just under a year ago when I picked up a dose of the plague whist attending the London Craft Beer Festival. 

So, on a dry sunny day, tempered with a light but blustery wind, it was no hardship to walk across the Thames and then make my way along Gracechurch Street and Bishopsgate towards Liverpool Street, in fact it was a real pleasure. There's always something new that you haven't seen before, and I’m not just talking about the massive amount of building work that's going on in that part of the City.  There are some delightful Wren churches on the way before reaching the hustle and bustle of Liverpool Street – a station that seems to hide away, rather than present its splendour to the world. In fact, for such a major and important station Liverpool Street is tucked away, and to access the trains one has to descend from street level to the main concourse, several feet below street level.

Both London Bridge and Liverpool Street provided much needed comfort stops, if you get my meaning, as it's amazing the effect that just one pint of beer can have on the person's bladder. I'm sure you didn't need to know that, but it's encouraging that station toilets have vastly improved since the days of British Rail. There’s rightly, no charge for using the facilities, which all appear clean and well looked after

It was just two stops on the London Overground to Cambridge Heath, the nearest stop for Five Points Brewing my destination that evening, and I'm pretty sure Wednesday was the first time I've travelled on that particular stretch of line. I alighted from the train and made my way along Mare Street towards Five Points. The area seemed a little edgy at first, but I think that was just me being a little cautious, because on the way back it seemed fine. That may have been down to the beer but often perception is far worse than reality.

I’m going to leave it here, as whilst there’s lots more to say about Five Points, including the beer and the brewery, there’s the Guild Party as well to write about. I’m also conscious at not having posted for over a week, so until next time……….

Other cruise lines are available

This post is especially for Volvo Cruiser, who specifically requested another article about our recent cruise. This post sort of is, as it is based on observations made whilst cruising around the western Mediterranean, back in June, but it also looks to the future, particularly as Mrs PBT’s and I contemplate where to ail to next year, and which cruise line we should choose.

If my sums are correct, we’ve clocked up six cruises since metaphorically dipping our toes in the water, on a three-day return voyage to Zeebrugge, at the tail end of October 2019. That was a “taster” cruise that we undertook, in the company of Eileen’s sister and her late husband, both of whom were seasoned cruisers. The pair showed us the ropes, so to speak, and having enjoyed the experience, we booked a slightly longer cruise to Hamburg, for the following May.

That, of course, never materialised – thanks to COVID, but the following year, when some virus restrictions were still in place, we booked a four-day, British Isles cruise, to Liverpool and back. This was on our own, as Eileen’s brother-in-law sadly passed away, right at the start of the pandemic. COVID wasn’t the cause of his passing, instead an aggressive brain tumour was behind his premature demise. Eileen and I had already decided that any future cruises should just involve the pair of us, rather than extended family, although we remain open to son Matthew joining us. That might sound a little selfish but that first cruise, along with previous experiences of going away as part of a group, was sufficient to confirm, what we both already knew that two’s company, whilst three or more is a crowd.

So far, we have only cruised with Cunard, a well-known and long-established shipping line who are considered top of the chain when it comes to luxury and sophistication. Combine that with a little glamour and elegance, and it’s easy to see why Cunard are held in such high regard. Mrs PBT’s can be a little conservative in her tastes, and by that, I mean she prefers what she is familiar with. I on the other hand wouldn’t mind a change and to this end we have both been looking at other cruise lines.

That isn’t quite as easy as it sounds because in common with Cunard and P&O, who are the other home-grown “British” cruise line they, like other operators such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Holland America, are all part of the American-owned, Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise operator. Interestingly, all 12 operators within the group, retain a fair degree of autonomy, when it comes to branding, with each major cruise line maintaining separate sales, marketing and reservation offices, as well as heading up the industry’s most intensive shipbuilding programs.

Before looking further afield, let’s take a more detailed look at Cunard to find out why I, at least, am looking to book a voyage with a different cruise line. Personally, I find Cunard too formal and too stuffy, with customs and traditions seemingly hanging on since the last days of Empire. The formal dress code that is expected of guess wishing to dine in the Britannia Restaurant really gets me goat. It’s like being back at work, although my company doesn’t really operate under such formality, apart from at trade shows or the occasional business dinner.

When on holiday, I really don’t want to dress like a stuffed penguin, any more than Mrs PBT’s wants to parade around in her glad rags. That’s not strictly true, because prior to every cruise she has brought herself a new "posh frock”, even though it will only be worn a couple of times, and there’s nothing wrong with the dress she bought for the previous cruise, or even the one before that! My point that fellow passengers won’t know that her frock isn’t a new one, is normally countered with the quip, “They might not, but I WILL!”

When push comes to shove, she often can’t be bothered to dress up, and it’s me who pushes for the occasional posh dinner – but only because I’ve gone to the trouble of packing a suit! The other issue about dining in the posh restaurant, are the set meal times, and these are 5.30pm and 9pm. 

On our first cruise, Eileen and I were very disappointed at her sister plus husband’s choice of the first sitting, as it meant missing the traditional “sail away”, which is the moment the ship weighs anchor, cast off her ropes, and slips away from the quayside. So, on our first cruise, and Queen Elizabeth beginning her departure down Southampton Water, and out into the Solent, and there we were trying to make polite conversation with a group of people we’d never met and were unlikely to meet again.

We soon got wise to this, and now opt for “open dining” which allows us to choose which, if any sitting, we prefer (nearly always the 8.30 option). This brings me to the second point about the posh restaurant, which is people like to sit on the same table, with the same people, every evening. They usually have the same waiter as well.  I’m sure they all have a jolly good time, but it’s not for us, as particularly when on holiday, it’s nice not to be bound by time restrictions or by dress ones, for that matter. I noticed how certain people become quite anxious about dining times, as on the Rome excursion I went on, there were people on the coach becoming quite fretful as to whether or not they would be back onboard ship, for their 5.30pm dining slot!

For a substantial number of people though, dressing up each evening, for a formal dinner, is part and parcel of the cruise, and it probably on equal, or indeed higher footing, to that of the destinations visited and even the sights seen. Other formalities, extend to the casino, and to some of the posher bars- Commodore Club, Churchill Cigar Lounge, Gin Bar etc, but fortunately are not applied in the pub – always called the Golden Lion, on Cunard ships. 

Regular pub quizzes though, take place in the pub, as do certain entertainment acts, which brings me on to the theatre, cabaret, plus other singing and dancing activities, plus of course, the popularity of ballroom dancing, something that is taken extremely seriously by the participants – most of whom seem to be northerners! That’s just about exhausted Cunard, although I trust I haven’t painted too negative a picture. There is always the buffet, or some of the poolside dining options that are open during the day, and don’t forget, there is no requirement to dress for breakfast or lunch in the posh restaurant, either. The latter, along with the pub, provide the best option on embarkation day, when the majority of passengers cram into the buffet.

So, what about the alternatives? P&O, Fred Olsen and Saga are looking like the favourites at the moment, and I have received good reports from a couple of work colleagues about the former. Less formal, but still with a “British” feel to them. Norwegian-owned Fred Olsen would be my choice. Smaller and more personal ships, able to access smaller ports that the larger vessels are excluded from. 

Some of their destinations also look interesting – Scandinavia (obviously), the Baltic, and the British Isles, but also Croatia, and some of the smaller Greek islands. Some Fred Olsen cruises, depart from other UK ports, such as Dover, Liverpool or Newcastle, instead of Southampton, and Dover is also the embarkation point for Saga Cruises. The latter seem expensive, but you have to weigh the higher cost against an inclusive drinks package, plus collection from your house and return drop off, by taxi, that will take you directly to and from the cruise terminal.

We have ruled out Princess, Holland-America, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, as many of these are party ships, geared up to a younger audience. The size of some of these vessels can be rather off-putting as well. One of these leviathans followed our ship into harbour, at the Majorcan capital, Palma.  I forget the number of passengers the boat was carrying, but it was probably double Queen Anne’s complement of 3,000 cruisers. Once ashore, the noisy and excitable, mainly American passengers, were all over the seafront, although it was quite amusing watching some of them getting taken in by the looky-looky men. Fake Gucci and Yves St Lauren handbags, and equally fake Swiss watches, at knock-down prices, I don’t think so.

Even more entertaining was watching these hawkers scoop up the blankets in which these items were laid, and then scarper at the first hint of a person in uniform. In a bid to stamp out this trade in dodgy goods, the Spanish authorities have started issuing substantial fines to any tourists caught buying these items, so be warned! I’ve gone slightly off-piste here, so I shall draw things to a close, and in the meantime, do my best to persuade Mrs PBT’s to try a different cruise line, and see how we get on.

Blue job or pink job?

There's not much worse than returning home, following an enjoyable and well-earned holiday, to find that during your absence, a minor disaster has occurred on the home front. This is what happened to Mrs PBT's and I, after our most recent cruise, and it was a problem with our hot water system that manifested itself whilst we were away. Despite being regularly serviced, our heating and hot water system seems to have form when it comes to going wrong, when we are away from home, so much so that you start to wonder, whether the house is getting its own back, for us not being there!

I remember one summer, when young Matthew was still at school, returning from a relaxing family holiday in a rented house at Winchelsea Beach, and noticing a large puddle on the kitchen floor. The hot water cylinder had mysteriously sprung a leak, allowing the water within to slowly spread itself all over the floor. The solution, of course, was a replacement cylinder – expensive, and inconvenient, but obviously essential!

A dozen or more years later, we returned from a pre-Christmas trip to a European city - Salzburg or Prague, although I can’t remember which one it was. It was suitably cold, as expected for the time of year, and this was a nice touch during the build-up to Christmas, especially as our chosen location was looking suitably festive. Returning home to a freezing cold house, due to a fault with the central heating, wasn’t quite so festive, and certainly wasn’t the pleasant welcome home we were expecting. Fortunately, the builder who had installed the system was able to call round that evening, identify the cause of the problem, and then correct it.

So, what happened this time around?  Well, approximately two-thirds of the way through our cruise, Queen Anne was making a return passage through the Strait of Gibraltar. The timings and the weather were perfect for sightseeing, so that evening the pair of us settled down on our balcony to watch our passage through the famous stretch of water. With our cabin situated on the port side of the ship we had an interrupted view of the coast of North Africa, along with the sprawling port of Tangier.

Courtesy of room service, we had just enjoyed a roast chicken club sandwich, and a generous handful of French fries, so feeling both full and relaxed our pleasant evening was overshadowed by a phone call from home It was son Matthew who was looking after the house, and he was questioning the length of time taken for the water in the kitchen to run hot. I explained that there was quite a lengthy run from the upstairs hot cylinder to the kitchen but that it shouldn't take too long for hot water to flow through.

Well, he said it's been running for quite some time now, and it's only coming through lukewarm. I asked if the boiler was alight, but he didn't know, and instead I had to listen to him panicking about needing a shower in the morning, before going to work. The youth of today, eh? How did he think we managed in the days before central heating and gas-fired boilers?  I replied that he could turn the immersion heater on, and after explaining where the switch was located, and that it would take approximately 30 minutes or more for the tank to heat up he seemed satisfied of sorts. We left it at that, although we received a brief message the following day, confirming that there had been sufficient hot water for his morning shower, and the evening’s washing-up! 

It was a Sunday when Eileen and I arrived home from the cruise. I couldn’t see why the hot water cycle wasn’t working, but I could hear the immersion hissing away, as it did its stuff. I'd already given instructions to Matthew not to leave it switched on for too long, given the price of electricity, but being a Sunday there was no chance of getting a plumber out. In the meantime, we could struggle on with immersion heater, until the engineer who looks after our boiler and central heating system could come and take a look. it wasn't good news when I finally spoke to him, as he was unavailable for a week and a half due to a family illness and a very full appointments book. We also had a family wedding to participate in, and this served as a further distraction.

One morning, a couple of days after said event, I heard an anguished cry from Mrs PBT's in the bathroom, complaining that the water had run cold on her, whilst she was showering. I checked the tank, and it felt cold, and with no noises coming from the immersion, I assumed that the fuse had blown. We have a pack of fuses somewhere in the house, but rather than turn the place upside down looking for them, I nipped down into Tonbridge and bought a pack. Unfortunately, a replacement fuse didn’t rectify the situation, so the immersion heater must have packed up. It's not a feature we use much, especially because of cost reasons, but now our backup was gone, what were we to do for hot water?

There is a communal shower at my workplace, which meant I would be OK, but it would have been impractical for Mrs PBT’s.  A chat with our maintenance man at work revealed that because the boiler was capable of providing heating but no hot water, the motorised valve that diverts hot water into the tank must have failed. I subsequently discovered that by opening this valve manually, we were able to direct hot water from the boiler, straight into the tank. Problem solved, for the time being, a happy Mrs PBT’s and a rather relieved Paul – as it was my fault, according to her that she’d endured a cold shower!

Cutting a long story short, I decided to circumvent our normal heating engineer and contacted a plumber who has carried out plumbing work for the company, in the past. It transpired that he was busy on a commercial job in London, but he put me in touch with a young lad who had served his apprenticeship under him. This pleasant young man came round couple of days later and fitted a replacement motorised valve.

I appreciate this has been a rather long and convoluted post, so well done to all those who have stuck it out so far, but the biggest downside to this tale was the time taken to solve the issue. This was valuable, irreplaceable time, which could have been spent visiting pubs, trying new beers and even writing about them, rather than trying to organise ways and means of restoring our hot water supply. Unfortunately, tradesmen, such as plumbers, seem few and far between at the moment, especially when it comes to their availability.

I'm sure it's because there aren't many coming up through the ranks, so to speak, as being a plumber or an electrician doesn't carry the same sort of kudos with the youngsters that working in other, more "glamorous" occupations does. Instead, they want to write programmes for computer games, or be “influencers”, whatever that means. They certainly don't want to roll up their sleeves and get their hands, dirty crawling around in tight confined spaces, such as lofts or under sinks.

It wasn’t just the wasted time that I found annoying, the whole episode was quite stressful as well, a feeling induced by feelings of helplessness by being left at the mercy of tradesmen with more work on their hands they can handle.   

What was worse though, was the way Mrs PBT's blamed me for the situation, just because I’m the man of the house! If proof of this was needed, her assertion that sorting out issues such as heating and plumbing was a “blue job,” said it all. What do you mean by that?  I asked. She replied, “blue as opposed to pink.” Getting the gist of what she was saying, I told her that it was a very sexist thing to say, and if I'd made such an assertion, I would have been in all sorts of trouble. Apparently, it’s quite a common thing to say, in some relationships, although you’d need to be a brave individual to raise it, in certain situations.  

That’s more than enough on what ought to be a minor consideration, a first world problem, if you like, but it’s not entirely over, as at the weekend, Matthew’s en suite shower gave up the ghost. The nice young lad I mentioned earlier, is coming to take a look at it, once he is back from holiday, but in the meantime, bear in mind that these things are sent to try us, irrespective of what colour they purport to be!