Bottle-Conditioned Beers

In my previous post I mentioned some of the bottled beers currently available in Marks & Spencers. The four I picked up included an IPA, two porters and a Winter Beer, all brewed by some of the country's best-known brewers. I haven't had a chance to sample any of them yet, but when I was in M&S I noticed that they also offer a small range of bottle-conditioned beers. However, I was not tempted by these slightly higher-priced ales as, unlike CAMRA, I see little benefit, and lots of potential pitfalls, with bottle-conditioning.

BCA's, as they are known in the trade, fall into two categories. The first involves bottles that are filled straight from the cask at the brewery, before the yeast has had a chance to settle out of suspension. This is a very hit and miss affair, as unless the brewery has the right equipment to count yeast cells, it is impossible to gauge the amount of yeast in the beer, resulting either in bottles that are too lively, and which fob everywhere as soon as the cap is cracked off, or a beer that is as flat as the proverbial "witches tit"! The other danger with this process is that it is often carried out in a less than ideal environment. I have seen bottles being filled in conditions that are far from perfect, and this is often reflected in the taste of the finished product. I am not saying that bottling needs to be done in a completely sterile, clean-room environment, but the cleaner the conditions then the lower the risk of off-flavours or even infected beer.

The second method involves removing all of the yeast used for primary fermentation, usually by centrifuging the beer, and then re-seeding it with a different strain of yeast that is both bottom-fermenting and which will also cling to the bottom of the bottle. This is the approach favoured by the bigger players in the game, notably Fullers, Coors (with White Shield), and a number of others. Whilst this results in a far more consistent product, to my mind it is "window dressing" that borders on cheating. Sure you get a beer that doesn't foam all over the place, and nor do you get a glass of cloudy beer, but I do wonder just how much secondary fermentation actually takes place in the bottle given the minuscule amount of yeast present?

Back in the early days of CAMRA there were just five bottle-conditioned beers available in the entire country. I remember that three of them were Guinness Extra Stout, Worthington White Shield and Gales Prize Old Ale; the latter coming in antique Victorian bottles that were sealed with a cork. CAMRA rightly championed these survivors from a bygone age, but eschewed all other bottled beers. This patronage of BCA's has developed into something of an obsession within the campaign, and because CAMRA claims that these beers are "real ale in a bottle", it has boxed itself into a corner over this issue. Nowadays there are dozens of excellent bottled beers available which, whilst not meeting official CAMRA approval, knock the spots off many BCA's.

Logic would dictate that a BCA should be fresher than its filtered and pasteurised, brewery-conditioned counterpart, but for the reasons outlined above this is not always the case. Furthermore, advances in technology have improved brewery-conditioned beers out of all recognition. These advances include flash pasteurisation, in which the beer is heated to a higher temperature than traditional tunnel pasteurisation (filled bottles of beer are passed through a chamber, or tunnel, where hot water is sprayed on them for a period of up to 20 minutes), but is only held at this temperature for a very short period, before being rapidly cooled. This prevents much of the "cooked taste", normally associated with traditional pasteurisation techniques, from developing and spoiling the finished beer.

Even more exciting is the technique of sterile filtration, whereby the beer is passed through a filter that is small enough to remove spoilage organisms, as well as any residual yeast cells. This process has now been sufficiently refined to deal with unpasteurised beer, conferring a stability on it that just would not be possible otherwise. The result is a product with all the freshness and taste of unpasteurised beer, but with a shelf-life equal to that of the pasteurised version.

No discussion of BCA's is complete without mentioning Belgian beers. In Belgium bottle-conditioning appears to be the norm; certainly BCA's are far more prevalent there than here in the UK. I don't know whether it is the higher strength of most Belgian BCA's, or just the fact that the Belgians have had years of practice in which to perfect the art, but I can safely say I have rarely, if ever, come across a bad one. Unlike many of their UK counterparts, they rarely fob and whilst one does occasionally end up with a cloudy beer I don't ever recall having one that tasted off. Perhaps we just need a few more years of practice in this country, but until that time arrives, and particularly with today's modern bottling techniques, there is no need for CAMRA to be turning its back on a beer just because it hasn't been conditioned in the bottle.

This isn't just Beer, this is M&S Beer.

Tonbridge is a pleasant enough market town. It's got a bit of history attached to it, and even has its own 12th Century castle, with a largely intact gatehouse, even though the Parliamentarians did manage to demolish the rest of it! So far as shops go though Tonbridge is a bit of a "one horse town", with few really "big name" retail outlets.

That doesn't bother me, as like most blokes I don't care for what the fairer sex (and certainly the lady of this house), refers to as "retail therapy". Occasionally though I do need to venture further afield in order to purchase things that are unavailable in this town, so this afternoon I headed over to nearby Tunbridge Wells, my mission being to acquire a new pair of walking boots. Unfortunately, despite visiting four "outdoor-leisure pursuit" shops I was unable to find boots that fitted the criteria I was looking for, or if they did, were either not available in my size or, at a price I could afford.

The trip was not entirely wasted though, as I popped into Marks & Spencer and, after perusing their food hall, was pleasantly surprised to see the beers they had on offer. What's more, many were available on a "four for the price of three" basis. Consequently I purchased a Chocolate Porter from Robinsons, a London Porter from Meantime Brewery, a Southwold Winter Beer from Adnams, plus a Staffordshire IPA produced by Marstons. All the beers are brewed exclusively for M&S, and I look forward to trying them in due course.

Earlier in the day I also picked up several bottles of Co-Op Organic Ale; a 5.0% beer, brewed using a percentage of Fairtrade sugar by Freeminer Brewery. Many retailers are promoting Fairtrade products this week, and the Co-Op were selling this beer at just £1.00 a bottle. I'm planning to crack one open tonight, and given Freeminer's excellent brewing credentials, I'm optimistic that it will be a good beer.

Löwenbräu Triumphator

Matt's friend arrived back yesterday from a short visit to Munich. Brought me back a couple of bottles of Lowenbrau Triumphator - what a hero! Will enjoy sampling those, but will probably wait until next weekend. For a more detailed review of this excellent beer, click here.

On a totally different subject, Paul Garrard over at The Real Ale Network, has launched a campaign to persuade CAMRA to make March the month for the promotion of Mild, rather than May. Seems an excellent idea to me, so why not check out the link above, and lend your support.

Dorking Brewery

A handful of West Kent CAMRA members braved a very wet and windy Thursday evening to attend an event showcasing beers from the up and coming Dorking Brewery. The event took place at the Sennockian - Wetherspoons outlet in Sevenoaks.

In a relaxed and informal setting we chatted with the three directors of the brewery - Mark, Graham and I think Terry. The trio told us a bit about the company's history, their plant, the outlets they supply and, most importantly, their beers.

We were able to sample some of these for ourselves, as the Sennockian had three Dorking beers on tap: DB Number One 4.2%; Red Indian 5.0% and Winter Ruby 5.2%. All were good, but the well-hopped, pale Number One was my personal favourite that night. They also produce a small range of seasonal ales, of which the Winter Ruby is obviously one. Dorking's long, tall pump clips are especially striking with a very modern look to them. I'm certain they'll stand out on a crowded bar.

Dorking Brewery only commenced production in July 2008, but have already won several awards for the quality of their beers. At present the beers can mainly be found within a fairly restricted area of mid-Surrey, as the directors are keen not to over-stretch themselves by expanding too rapidly. Wetherspoons have been particularly helpful to them, which is good news for drinkers in the company's Surrey pubs. The Sennockian has been prominent in promoting local micro's, and this recent evening is the second such event they have hosted; the first being a similar evening featuring Hog's Back beers. On behalf of the local branch I would like to thank them for hosting the evening, and also the three directors from Dorking Brewery who turned out on such an atrocious night to talk to us.

And the Winner Is?

Although I unfortunately missed it, having been up in Norfolk, Saturday just gone saw the annual West Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year Tour. I hate to use the acronym POTY, but I suppose it saves having to type out "Pub of the Year" each time. CAMRA, like many organisations seems to love silly acronyms like this; for example they also have COTY (Club of the Year) and my own two pet hates LADS (Light And Dark Supporters - a sub-committee formed to fight mild's corner, and previously known as the Mild Marketing Board) and LAGRAD (Lesbian And Gay Real Ale Drinkers - CAMRA is supposed to be a broad church, welcoming people from all walks of life, so why it needs a separate sub group catering to a minority group is beyond me.)

Anyway, I digress and before I go off at a complete tangent about the internal workings and politics of CAMRA I would like to announce that the worthy winner of Pub of the Year 2010 for West Kent CAMRA, is the Halfway House, Brenchley. For those not in the know, this excellent country alehouse has up to a dozen cask beers on tap, all served by a clever gravity-fed arrangement from a temperature-controlled room. Virtually all the beers are from micro-brewers, and usually include a mild, as well as porter or old ale in winter. A local Kentish cider is normally available as well.

If all this wasn't enough, the pub itself is a characterful former coaching inn, that dates back to 1740. There are a series of inter-connecting rooms that lead up to the main bar area, with the aforementioned gravity-served beers. The Halfway House lies n a dip in the road and has extensive gardens to the side and rear. It also holds regular beer festivals, over the Whitsun and August Bank Holidays. featuring around 50 beers. The pub can be reached by means of the 297 bus, which runs from Tunbridge Wells through to Tenterden up until about six o'clock in the evening. I have also walked there across country from Paddock Wood station and, on one famous occasion, even cycled there!

The Halfway House doesn't have its own website, which is more the pity as I would love to post a link to it. You'll just have to take my word therefore (plus that of the dozen or so local members who attended the trip and voted for the pub), that it's the best pub in the West Kent CAMRA area, and a worthy winner of our Pub of the Year.

A Brief Halt in Norfolk

I returned home from Norfolk yesterday, after a couple of days visiting the family. I didn't get to drink as much beer as I would have liked, but had some excellent Woodforde's (Sundew + Nelson's Revenge) in the George Hotel in Dereham on Friday night. The hotel we were staying in (The Hill House in the centre of Dereham), also sold a few bottle-conditioned beers. I tried one called EAPA (East Anglia Pale Ale) from Humpty Dumpty Brewery, which was rather nice.

I picked up some unusual bottles in the local Morrisons as well, including GK Abbot Reserve, plus another strong GK beer I'd not seen before called Suffolk Springer. I also grabbed a couple of bottles of Lee's Moonraker, plus some La Trappe Dubbel. The local Tesco's came up trumps in the shape of Bernard Dark - worth every penny of the £2.09 price tag!

However, although it was good to acquire these beers, I had come to Norfolk to spend a bit of time with my parents. It had been nearly a year since my last visit, so we had plenty of things to catch up on. I also called in to see my younger sister, along with my nephew and two nieces, who live nearby.

Next time I hope to spend a bit more time up there. That way I can hopefully visit a few more local pubs, and sample a few more local ales as well!

What's Up With Taylor's Landlord?

Timothy Taylors Landlord has always been one of my favourite beers, ever since I first tried it back in the mid 1970's in its Yorkshire home. I don't know whether this was a bit of a myth, but I do remember at the time, Landlord was primarily a bottled beer, and that allegedly only one of the company's pubs sold it on draught. It seems unlikely that the brewery would go to the bother of casking a beer for just one pub, and the only explanation I can offer as to how this story came about, is that there was a comment published to this effect in the 1975 CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Whatever the truth of this tale though, I do distinctly remember visiting the Hare & Hounds, at Lane Ends- high in the Pennines above the town of Hebden Bridge, the pub that was said to be the sole outlet for Landlord in draught form.

I was studying at Salford University at the time, and a group of us had borrowed the Student Union van for the evening. We had persuaded a non-beer drinking fellow student to be our driver for the evening, and armed with a map, set off for the Hare & Hounds. It was quite a long drive across the Pennines from Greater Manchester, but as it was a June evening we managed to arrive whilst it was still light. The beer was good, although at the time it didn't strike me as the best I'd ever tasted. The unspoilt, stone-built pub though, together with its rural location and striking scenery, were something different, and to a country boy like myself, stuck amongst the grime of urban Manchester, were heaven sent . What's more, the licensee didn't seem that bothered about closing time and it was very late, and we were all a little bit the worse for drink by the time we left!

I don't think I got the chance to taste Timothy Taylor's beers again until the early 1980's. The occasion this time was CAMRA's national AGM, held in Bradford. Even there it was necessary to travel out to Taylor's home town of Keighley in order to sample the beers. However, the fame of the company's beers was obviously spreading, helped in no small part by their winning several awards, including Champion Beer of Britain.

Slowly, Timothy Taylor's beers found their way down to the South East, and for a while it seemed that just about every free-house locally could boast a pump selling Landlord. This was good news, and a most welcome addition to the local beer scene. By this time I could definitely count Landlord amongst my all time favourite beers. When I had my real-ale off-licence, Landlord made regular appearances on the bar, and was a firm favourite with customers. It was always a very lively beer, and it was necessary to stand well back when spiling a cask of it.

Recently, (the last couple of years), Landlord seems to have been knocked off its Number One spot on the bar by an interloper in the shape of Sharps Doom Bar. This isn't a bad beer; in fact it's rather good, but it does seem to be everywhere at the moment. A friend who is a regular visitor to the West Country has remarked that Doom Bar is virtually unobtainable in Cornwall, as most of it is shipped up here!

Fast forward to yesterday. My son and I called in at the Punch & Judy, still the best bet in south Tonbridge for a decent pint. We had arranged to meet a friend there, catch up on the gossip and watch a bit of the Wales v Scotland rugby game. The pub was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon, due in no small part to the freezing cold weather outside. Alongside regular beer Harvey's Best, was a pump advertising Taylor's Landlord. I ordered a couple of pints and we sat down to enjoy the beer.

I have to say I was slightly disappointed. There was nothing wrong with the beer; it was in good condition and well-kept. It just seemed to be lacking that certain something. Landlord was always a complex, multi-layered beer, with a delightful hop bitterness present throughout. The beer we sampled yesterday was very one-dimensional, and was definitely lacking the complexity I had always associated with Landlord. I was left wondering as to whether this is the price of fame? It has happened many times before, as once classic beers end up becoming victims of their own success. I hope that this is just a temporary blip, but I will be keeping a close eye on what, for the moment at least, is still one of my favourite beers.