The St. Radegund, Cambridge

Yesterday I was in Cambridge for the day. Friends who spent their university days there had warned me not to expect too much from the city centre pubs. A smattering of soul destroying chain bars and the dead hand of Greene King seems to have rendered the historic part of the city a beer desert, although as you'd expect the odd oasis survives. If you know you're going to be in a strange city, always be sure to do your pub research first, otherwise before the day is out you might find yourself sipping a pint of swill next to a flashing fruit machine. Worse still, you might have to steer clear of boozers altogether, which simply isn't in the script.

Thankfully I'd read about the city's smallest pub, The St. Radegund, and we were there when it opened at 5pm. Despite arriving only moments after they'd unbolted the door, we weren't quite the first customers, and the place quickly filled up. A great sign. The Radegund is situated in a tiny one-story building at the end of King Street nearest to Christ's Pieces. The compact but comfortable interior has more character than Sid James in fancy dress, cluttered with genuinely interesting breweriana.

To the right you can see a picture of the bar, complete with five hand pumps and a Budvar on keg dispense. There's a unique and amusing system in operation whereby regulars can pay for a drink for an absent friend, then pin a note up on the beam for them for when they next come in, redeemable at the bar. The graffitied ceiling will also grab your attention. In the past customers seems to burned on slogans with lighter flames, thankfully without setting fire to the largely wooden interior.
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Beers on offer yesterday were London Pride and ESB from Fullers, along with two offerings from Milton, the Cambridge microbrewery that also supplies The Pembury Tavern in London. Milton Habit Ale is a 3.6% abv session bitter brewed especially for the Radegund, and Milton Nero is a 5% abv oat stout. Nero is normally available at the Pembury, and as such I've tried it before. It's a great example of a smooth, real stout that combines dry, roast flavours with a subtle chocolate and vanilla sweetness. After serving the 5pm rush, the barman gave over to our table with two small glasses of Nero laced with Cointreau, apparently a cocktail devised by the head brewer at Milton who often drinks in the pub. The Radegund isn't formally tied to Milton, but does offer their beers all year round.
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Add to all this a picture of Vera Lynn in pride of place above the bar (and the higher than average liklehood you'll hear her or one of her contemporaries crooning away in the background) and you've got a truly singular pub experience right in the heart of one of England's most picturesque cities.
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Cheers.

Information:

The St. Radegund is at 129 King Street, Cambridge, CB1 1LD (Tel: 01223 311794). The pub has a website. Note that on weekdays the pub is only open between 5pm and 11pm.

The Pembury Tavern, Hackney

I've just spent a great evening in The Pembury Tavern, Hackney with Dave, the Long Armed Goon of Jerusalem Tavern fame. In fact, he's here in the flat now. He treats it like a doss house on nights when he has to open the JT the following morning.

The Pembury, which opened in early 2006, is the newest of Individual Pubs Limited's three houses. The others are The Oakdale Arms (283 Hermitage Road, Harringay, London N4 1NP) and The Coalheavers Arms (5 Park Street, Peterborough PE2 9BH). They're all tied to the Milton Brewery, a micro based in Cambridge. Milton produces a wide range of beers, all named after classical subjects. Myself and Wee Ross attended the Pembury's first beer festival late last year, where we enjoyed old ale Milton Mammon (7% abv) and strong stout Milton Marcus Aurelius (7.5% abv), as well as a variety of beers from other microbreweries. The next festival is on soon, running between 14th and 18th March.

In total there are 16 hand pumps in the Pembury, and you can rely on at least seven or eight being in use at any time. Tonight, between us we tried Titanic Stout, Milton Sparta, Milton Pegasus, and finished off with two pints of 5.6% abv Milton Colossus. There were also a couple of milds on offer, one from Milton and one from Titanic. A great line up. The food's great too - there's a proper kitchen here, with a proper chef working in it. The pub is large, open and airy. It's been criticised for lacking character, but I think that's a bit unfair. All the great pubs of today, with decades (sometimes centuries) of history behind them, had to start somewhere. Right now this pub is barely a year old, but already has a well deserved rep as one of the best places in London for real ale. The selection of Belgian and German ales in the fridge isn't to be sniffed at either, and real cider is always available. The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW), an older and even more trad jazz group than CAMRA, named it as Greater London Pub of the Year. I like it a lot too.

The Pembury is one of the two pubs I've found in London offering bar billiards. If you've read my recent post on the subject, you'll know where the other one is. Tonight, myself and Dave played five games - naturally I came out on top 3-2, winning the decider on the final shot. Hard luck, goon.
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Information:

The Pembury Tavern is at 90 Amhurst Road, Hackney, E8 1JH (Tel: 020 8986 8597). It's well served by a number of bus routes, including my favourites the 38 and 55. The pub is online here.

The Bricklayer's Arms, Putney - Yorkshire Beer Festival

The dust is settling and the Anadin Extra are dropping after a truly mammoth session on the beers. In about three hours I've got to meet someone for lunch, and I don't know how I'm going to face it.

Yesterday myself, Ross, Alec and Clio Jon rattled along the District Line to Putney for the inaugural beer festival at The Bricklayer's Arms, CAMRA's South-West London Pub of the Year 2006. We'd foolishly assumed that, this being a celebration of the beers of Yorkshire as opposed to strong, old ales like the recent event at The White Horse, we'd emerge unscathed. How wrong we were, not least about the variety of beers coming out of England's largest county. The poster to the left (painted by a member of staff at the pub) promised a lot, and the festival certainly delivered. We had a cracking day.

The Bricklayer's only reopened as a pub in 2005, after three years as a private residence for the current landlords. The building itself dates back to 1826, and was built on the site of an old coach house. It's compact and full of character, with a quiet backstreet location and a small paved beer garden, utilised to the full during the festival. Thanks to family connections with the brewery and a passion for their beers, landlady Becky is the only publican in London offering the full range from Timothy Taylor year-round. There include the familiar sharp pale ale, Landlord, which turns up in a number of pubs across London as a regular or guest. The beer shot to fame a couple of years ago when Madonna claimed to have developed a taste for the stuff after trying it at The Dog and Duck, Soho. However, the other beers in the range are just as worthy of attention. The Dark Mild is a great example of the style, and goes down a treat. Ram Tam is a perfect winter warmer, a dark brown ale offering lots of complexity and a remarkably full and rounded body for an ale of only 4.3% abv. There's also a Best Bitter and a popular light mild, Golden Best. With a range like that all year round, as well as two ever-changing guests from other breweries, the Bricklayers doesn't need another festival to draw me back. I could drink the Ram Tam all night, and almost did. Yesterday, Peter Eells (right), head brewer, was on hand to congratulate the team at the Bricklayer's on how far they've come in such a short time, and give a brief talk on the history of the brewery in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Arriving at the festival at around half past two, we were pleased to see we hadn't missed the morris dancers (right). There were tons of them and they weren't half knocking back the ale, in between dances of course. The hordes of Fulham fans, who turned up after seeing their team defeated 2-1 at home by premiership leaders Man United, seemed particularly bemused at stumbling upon a scene more associated with sleepy village greens than London suburbs. So impressed was I (as well as half-cut and full of inebriated bonhomie) that I announced to the lads I intended to take this traditional English activity up as a new hobby. Looking at it now in the cold light of day, I think I'd better sleep on it before making a final decision - perhaps for a few decades. The Mayor of Wandsworth, bedecked in his chains of office, was also in attendance, and like everyone else was fully enjoying the beers on offer. There were rows of casks on stillage under cover in the beer garden and also in the back room of the pub, and all the handpumps were in use.

As mentioned above, we were taken aback at the variety of styles on offer. I've always been rather prejudiced against Yorkshire beers, in part due to the legacy of John Smith and Tetley keg bitters. The reality is very different. There are some fantastic beers being brewed up north, and they aren't grim in the least. Beers of the festival for us were the Wharfdale Executioner (4.5% abv, a very moreish dark bitter brewed to a 1950s recipe, with a remarkably chewy malt body), Abbeydale Black Mass (6.66% abv, a strong stout, lots of bitter roast flavour and dark fruit) and Black Sheep Riggwelter (5.9% abv, a dangerous old ale, dark and powerful with a fruity malt character and a lingering roast aftertaste). Jon and Alec tried an Ossett Excelsior (5.3% abv, a pale, strong bitter) and both subsequently raved about it.

At the end of the night, I seem to remember Ross handing me a pint (!) of Abbeydale Last Rites (11% abv, a barley wine). As if that wasn't enough, we ended up having a quick last orders drink in a pub we have subsequently identified as The Eight Bells by Putney Bridge tube, meaning we missed our last train. Sorry to anyone who was offended by my loud snoring on the night bus back to Central London. Today I've spent the day paying for yesterday's fun and games, vowing not to drink for a while. Well, at least until Tuesday when I'm off up to Cambridge for the day with Jon - doubtless we'll be tempted into a few choice boozers. The joys of being "between jobs".

The Bricklayer's Arms really is deserving of the accolades it has earned. The staff and punters are remarkably friendly, and like all the best pubs it serves its local community as well as travelling beer lovers like us. Putney is a nice part of London, and a day out here will be well rewarded. We'll be back very soon.

Information:

1. The Bricklayer's Arms is at 32 Waterman Street, SW15 1DD (Tel: 020 8780 0433), and the pub has a website. Getting to the pub from Central London isn't difficult. Take the District Line to Putney Bridge station, then cross the bridge itself, turning right onto Lower Richmond Road, and then taking the first left onto Waterman Street itself. The pub will be in front of you, beckoning you in. The beer list from the festival is on the site here - to my knowledge, the only beer that didn't turn up was Eastwood & Saunders Porter.
2. Timothy Taylor are online here, and there's a useful list of pubs selling their beer here. The brewery was founded in 1858 and maintains a pub estate in Yorkshire. My parents were in the Haworth a few days ago. They visited Timothy Taylor pub The Fleece Inn, and enjoyed it immensely.
3. The Hammersmith Morris Men (world famous, apparently) are also online.

Dragon Stout from Jamaica

Dragon Stout is a strong (7.5% abv) sweet stout. It's brewed in Jamaica by the same people who make Noel Gallagher's favourite, Red Stripe lager. It's perhaps not the most notable example of the style, but like Guinness Foreign Extra, it is widely available in London convenience stores. Sweet stouts like this were popular many decades ago in Britain, but apart from a few examples (notably Mackeson), aren't commonly found here today. Across the tropics, however, you're far more likely to encounter a beer like this.

This one is very sweet indeed. In the glass it's a very dark brown with a reddish tinge, with a quickly dissipating head. All you get on the nose is a sweet, candy aroma that gives more than a hint as to what's ahead. In the mouth, the body is surprisingly thin, and the overwhelming sensation is again the syrupy sweetness, although you do get hits of licorice and dark chocolate. As it warms in the glass you can't really taste the strength at all, not that you'd want to neck a beer like this. Overall, this is a fun beer you can get your hands on easily and cheaply.

Information:

1. Desnoes and Geddes, the Diageo-owned brewers of Dragon Stout and Red Stripe, are online here. There's also a strange, unofficial site about the stout here.
2. Dragon Stout is available in convenience stores throughout Central London (the ropier the better), and probably further afield too. Expect to pay around £1.20 for a half-pint (284 ml) bottle.

What's happened to The Viaduct Tavern?

As you'll have picked up already, there's nothing I like better than pubs with a bit of history behind them. When beers are retired, a revivalist brewer with skill and dedication can recreate them using the same recipe years later. On the other hand, when a great pub is destroyed by destructive developers or insensitive renovators, it's gone forever. A recent survey by CAMRA indicates that 56 pubs in Britain are lost every month. Sure, some of these will be characterless chain pubs or rough backstreet boozers with nothing to commend them. Having said that, I've seen some real gems close or have the heart ripped out of them. In my own stomping ground, the wonderful Nicholson's house The Fox and Anchor on Smithfield Market is closed with an uncertain future, and builders are in the process of eradicating every last reminder of The Chequers on Old Street. Those were both pubs I used regularly, and I was sorry to see them go.
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Yesterday I dropped into The Viaduct Tavern by the Old Bailey (126 Newgate Street, EC1A 7AA), an impressive gin palace with a history to match. The pub was opened in 1869, the same year as Holborn Viaduct, after which it is named. The pub is built on the site of the Giltspur Street Compter (a prison), and apparently if you ask the landlord nicely he'll show you the cells in the cellar which have survived from that period (pictured left). The finely decorated mirrors and murals depicting muses representing agriculture, commerce and the arts are a real treat. A couple of years ago Fullers bought it from Nicholson's, and it's always been a good place for a pint. However, some clown's had a crack at spoiling the place since I was last in.

The large dark wood bar has lost its fine gantry (pictured right) and displays of Fullers bottled beers. Now the pub is disturbingly open, with lairy music filling the barn-like space. The rest of the original features are still there, but this one change seems to have ripped the pub's heart out. Sadly, that isn't all they've done - the beer selection has been drastically curtailed. Where before you had a choice of Fullers London Pride, Discovery, ESB and a seasonal brew, now only the first two are on draught. The interesting ales have gone, and the pub now only caters to the lowest common denominator. Young's can't even keep a London brewery open, let alone look after their pub estate, but I expect more of Fullers. I'll be saddened if the capital's one remaining regional-scale brewer wrecks the historic pubs in its care.
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Information:

If you want to ask Fullers why they've tampered with The Viaduct Tavern's historic interior, or why they've lost interest in selling the better beers in their range at the pub, you can contact them here. They're a great brewery and deserve support, but they've dropped the ball on this one.

Goose Island India Pale Ale from Chicago

Last week I jacked in a job I've been in for a couple of years, and the old boss stumped up for a hefty bar tab at a venue of my choice. Eschewing the soul destroying chrome and glass wine bars of the City, I opted for one of my locals, The Crown Tavern on Clerkenwell Green. I wrote about the pub and its great beer selection in the first post on this blog.

At the beginning of the night, we ordered a selection of beers for the table (as well as copious amounts of champagne for the girls and the girly-boys). The likes of Poperings Hommel Bier from Belgium, Herold Black Lager from Czech Republic and Anchor Liberty Ale from San Francisco all drew praise from folks who hadn't tried them before. In fact, until unrepentent lager drinker Dryz rocked up and smashed a nasty Carling, there wasn't a pint of swill to be seen.

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After tucking into rare and interesting bottles like kids in a sweetshop, the beer of choice was Goose Island India Pale Ale from Chicago. Seeing as I had just finished a stint with a US employer (and they were paying for the drinks), it would have been rude not to have opted for an American craft beer. Although it's relatively strong by UK standards (5.9% abv), this bottle conditioned ale is the perfect beer for a party. The first thing you'll notice is the brisk burst of citrus hops, with a restrained pine presence and lots of vibrant fruit flavours. Rather than being a pure, unadulterated hop monster like so many US IPAs, there's a malt balance which makes this a truly great beer.

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As the night went on, extra supplies of Goose Island IPA had to be brought up from the cellar. We must have drunk them dry of the stuff by closing time, when I finished off with a Fullers 2004 Vintage Ale. The night ended in a mess in Dust on Clerkenwell Road, and rumour has it the Long Armed Goon didn't even make it home that night (at least, not to his own). After such a good send off, I'm contemplating asking for my job back just so I can quit again.

Information:

1. The Crown Tavern is at 43 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0EG (Tel: 020 7253 4973). A great party venue - you can reserve an area for free and keep the drinks flowing.
2. Goose Island have two brewpubs in Chicago. The first opened in 1988. They have a website here. Their beers aren't available in supermarkets over here, although doubtless you will find them in speciality beer stores such as Utobeer on Borough Market. If anyone knows of somewhere selling Goose Island beers in London, please leave a comment below. Cheers.

La Trappe Dubbel

There are currently seven monastic breweries that are entitled to use the International Trappist Association's official logo on their beers. Six of these are in Belgium, but one lies over the border in Tilburg, Netherlands. In a nutshell, to maintain ITA accreditation an abbey has to demonstrate that brewing takes place within its own precincts, and that monks of The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) control the process. There is also a requirement that all profits are applied toward the aims of the Order as opposed to commercial gain. Despite these fairly onerous conditions, you can buy the produce of all but one of the breweries (Westvleteren) in bars and shops around the world. Lots of other beers market themselves as having abbey origins (the mass-produced Leffe being perhaps the most prominent example), but only beers bearing the Trappist logo maintain the true monastic tradition in the 21st century.

Since the ITA's foundation in 1997, the number of accredited breweries has fluctuated. At first, there were eight members, but the sole German member, Mariawald, soon dropped out. In 1999, the only Dutch member, De Koningshoeven, lost the right to use the logo due to an arrangement with a commercial brewer who took over the process and leased premises from the ageing monks. However, in late 2005 the brewery was readmitted to the ITA, when the monks were able to demonstrate they were taking an active role once more. De Koningshoeven's flagship beers are marketed under the name La Trappe. There are six varieties, including two seasonal brews.

I spotted a few 500ml stoneware "crocks" of La Trappe Dubbel (7% abv), a brown ale in the middle of the range in terms of strength, at a North London Tesco not long ago and picked a couple up. These are corked like champagne, and are certainly eye-catching. As can be seen from the photo above, the beer is on the darker side of brown and is crowned with a voluminous tan head. On the nose there was an appetisingly potent aroma which approximated to banana. 7% is relatively modest for a dark Trappist ale, and I was expecting something less complex than a Chimay Blue, closer to something like Leffe Brun. I was, therefore, surprised at just how big and satisfying this was. There's a pleasant, but by no means cloying, caramel sweetness. Overall, it's very smooth and drinkable. A beer full of surprises. An absolute corker.

Cheers.

Information:

1. The International Trappist Association is online here, but like the monks themselves it doesn't say much.
2. There's a De Koningshoeven website. It seems to only be available in Dutch, but I'm sure you can get the gist. For information (and opinions) on their beers, you might want to check out the brewery's page on Ratebeer.com.

Pitfield historic ales #3: 1896 XXXX Stock Ale

Stock Ale is an old-fashioned name for an old-fashioned beer. As with the rest of Pitfield's historic range, this is brewed to a classic recipe, dating back to 1896 in this case. Traditionally stock ales, or "old ales" as they are more commonly known, were brewed in autumn and matured for months before being blended with younger ales by distributors and landlords.

I must admit that I wasn't sure I'd like this one. Belgians can produce 10% abv ales without difficulty, but when English brewers have a bash the result is sometimes less than desirable. Pitfield aren't exactly new kids on the block, so I should have had more faith.

Pouring a delightful dark copper, with a blossoming, tight head, the first hit was the mighty aroma. Whisky was the first thing on the nose, but there was something fruity hiding underneath. A restrained, sweet caramel character instantly dispelled fears this would be a tough one to get through, and as it warmed in the glass a bit of complexity came through, with a pleasant orange flavour I like in beers. There isn't much bitterness in the finish but the warmth of the alcohol lingers and develops on the palate. This is a nice, relaxing boozy splash, and I'm really enjoying it. I'd love to try one that's spent a couple of years in a cellar.

On a weekday beers like this may not seem a good idea, but as I'm working my notice at the moment I couldn't give a shit - the great British work ethic.

Information:

1. You can learn a little more about Pitfield in my article on Brewing in London.
2. For information on where to buy this and other beers from Pitfield's historic range, see here.

Bar billiards - The Glasshouse Stores, Soho

Stonch and his pals like a game of bar billiards. Forget pool or snooker - I've got the hand-to-eye coordination of a blind chimp, and my uselessness on the sports field applies equally on the green baize. I never thought I'd find a game I'd be able to play in the pub without hopelessly embarassing myself, but find it I did.

Late in my final summer as a student, in the run-up to the dreaded finals year, myself and my flatmate went on a week-long binge. We were depressed at the prospect of having to "revise" things we'd never learned in the first place, and decided to drown our sorrows for a whole seven days. This led to us exploring every nook and cranny of Oxford's better pubs, and the discovery of bar billiards tables in The Royal Oak (42 Woodstock Rd, Oxford, OX2 6HT, Tel: 01865 310187) and The Angel and Greyhound (30 St. Clements Street, Oxford, OX4 1AB, Tel: 01865 242660). We managed to get barred from the latter (for swearing, I seem to remember), but The Royal Oak was more accommodating. By the end of the week we'd become experts at the game, and hustled a few twenty quid notes from junior doctors working at the Radcliffe Infirmary across the road. The hospital is now closed, and I've heard the pub has been insensitively refurbed beyond recognition.

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In a nutshell, bar billiards is a cue sport in which 2+ players take turns to take shots from the D at the near end of the table, the objective being to pot balls in the holes dotted around the table. Each hole has a number of points between 10 and 200 allotted to it, with double that score being awarded if you manage to sink the one red ball. To complicate matters, there are three skittles on the table - knocking over one of the whites loses you all points scored on that turn, whereas disturbing the black wipes out your entire score from the game. A timer ticks away from the moment you put a coin in the slot and release the balls, and after about 15 minutes time-out results in a bar inside the table dropping down, trapping any balls potted from that moment on. Because all shots are taken from one end of the table, the game can be tucked away in the corner of any pub. The main advantage of billiards is that almost anyone can have a bash - the rules are simple, and the number of holes produces an element of randomness which means a first-time player can often clean up.

Keeping up the bar billiards habit has proven difficult. This game, imported to Britain from Belgium in the 30s, has declined in popularity over the years and is now found only in a handful of traditionally-minded boozers. Thankfully, the kind of pub that has a table is precisely the kind highly likely to keep a good pint of ale too, meaning that a session on the billiards is usually accompanied by a good session on the beers too. If you want to try the game in London, there are only a very few places with a table. These include fabulous free house The Pembury Tavern in Hackney (90 Amhurst Road, E8 1JH, Tel: 020 8986 8597), a relatively pain-free trip from the city centre on a number of bus routes. If that's too much trouble, there's only one Central London pub to head to, and that's The Glasshouse Stores in Soho (55 Brewer St, W1F 9UN, Tel: 020 7287 5278). We were there last night, after visiting a few choice pubs in Kensington and before a late one at Thirst on Greek Street.
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This Tardis-like Samuel Smith's house, like many of that brewery's London houses, combines a wonderfully preserved/restored traditional interior with a depressing lack of cask ale. Nevertheless, their Pure Brewed Lager is perhaps the best homegrown pint of fizzy yellow swill on offer in Britain, the Wheat Beer is palatable and some of their bottled beers are half-decent. I just about survived on a couple of bottles of Oatmeal Stout, and the lads were perfectly happy on the lager. The billiards table is tucked away right at the back, and although it's a slightly wobbly table, it's well situated in the comfortable lounge, away from the crush of the narrow front bar. The Cellar Bar downstairs also looked nice, but we were here for. Clio Jon showed a disconcerting ability to come away with scores of several hundred from a single turn. James unsportingly transferred his pool skills to the table, actually taking measured shots rather than just whacking the balls up the table and hoping for the best like the rest of us.
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Thanks to its bar billiards table, The Glasshouse Stores may become a regular haunt for us, where otherwise it would just be another anonymous boozer. Its proximity to the mucky book shops of Brewer Street just adds to the appeal.
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Cheers.

Information:

1. Pubs (or indeed mad, obsessive individuals) can purchase reconditioned 1930s bar billiards tables from Masters Traditional Games.
2. There's an attempt at a list of pubs with bar billiards tables online here. It seems to been updated relatively recently (the Pembury Tavern in Hackney is listed, a pub that only opened in 2006), but certainly isn't complete. For example, it doesn't list either of the pubs in St Albans with tables. We visited one, The Goat, on our St Albans pub crawl last month which you can read about here. If you know of any pubs with bar billiards tables that aren't listed, please leave a comment below with details.
3. There's a short review of The Glasshouse Stores on Fancyapint.com. Disturbingly, when googling the pub I discovered that the London fan club for Prince met up there last month.
4. The Pembury Tavern in Hackney has a website, and is definitely worth a visit. This spacious pub offers both bar billiards and pool, but the real ales and fantastic food are the main attraction. Expect to read more about the Pembury here soon.

Pitfield historic ales #2: 1792 Imperial Stout

The crowning glory of many a brewer's range is an imperial stout. As alluded to in previous post below, these were popular in the 18th century with the Imperial Russian court, and were shipped from enterprising breweries in England via the Baltic to Danzig and St Petersburg. Catherine The Great herself combined her penchant for lewd behaviour with a thirst for potent beer - but don't let that put you off. The strength of these ales allowed them to survive an arduous journey which would ruin a less weighty beer, just as India Pale Ales were formulated specifically for the journey to the East.

Today the style has enjoyed a revival, particularly in the USA where born-again beer nuts go crazy for the biggest, baddest beers on the block. Imperial Stout fits the bill perfectly. They range from relatively modest alcoholic strengths such as 7% abv, many weighing in at considerably more than 10%.

I picked up a 33cl bottle of Pitfield's own take on the style on the weekend, and was keen to try it. It is claimed the beer is brewed to an historic recipe, offering insights into what popularised the style in the first place, long before the American craft beer movement took the ball and ran. After a late evening at work, this was just the nightcap I was looking for. I was ready to be disappointed: bottle conditioned beers can be unpredictable, and having recently enjoyed world-class Imperial Stouts at the White Horse Old Ale Festival, surely a puny bottle from a microbrewery wouldn't match up?
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Opening a bottle conditioned beer often produces a pleasing puff of "smoke", as dense vapour from the beer visibly spirals up through the neck before disappearing in the air. This effect, seen when a lovingly crafted ale is released from captivity, is often indiscernible, but here it was striking and immensely satisfying. Putting my nose to the opening of the bottle before I poured, the alcohol was evident on the nose, as was the rich aroma of port. The pour itself was majestic - the gentle glug of the thick, oily liquid as a real Imperial Stout is set free is quite different to any other beer. Magic.

In the glass, an very thin head of dark brown bubbles sat atop the ink black beer for a fleeting moment before dissipating altogether. I barely had to raise the glass from the table to get a hit of that aroma again. Any worries that, despite appearances, this was going to be a let down were forgotten as I took my first mouthful - sour fruit, coffee (espresso, no less), the finest port and chocolate in abundance, set against a powerful, malty background. Despite the 9.3% abv alcohol, this is a surprisingly moreish beer I could have easily followed with another. I'll be buying this again, and I think you should try it too. I'm enjoying discovering Pitfield's historic range. The 1896 XXXX Stock Ale is next.

Information:

1. There's a great article on the history of Imperial Stout by Roger Protz online here.
2. For details on Pitfield Brewery and how to get your hands on their beers, see the previous post.

Pitfield historic ales #1: 1837 India Pale Ale

In January's Brewing in London article, I mentioned that the Pitfield Beer Shop and microbrewery closed in the 2006, brewing being relocated to Essex and the retailer to cyberspace. The shop was one of the best sources of quality bottled beers in the whole of London. We still have the excellent Utobeer, but the Beer Shop is sorely missed, not least because it was an outlet for Pitfield's own bottle conditioned beers.

On Friday I was walking from the City to meet old friends from my time in Prague (appropriately at Bar Prague on Kingsland Road), and stumbled across The City Beverage Company. I'm pleased I did. This independent wine, beer and coffee merchant is well situated a stone's throw from Old Street tube. It's worth writing about because it carries a variety of bottles from Pitfield's extensive range, filling the gap left behind since their Beer Shop closed.

I returned today with Clio Jon in tow to check out their stock and pick up a few bottles, including 10% abv Stock Ale, 7% India Pale Ale and 9.3% Imperial Stout from the historic series, along with a bottle of 4% Shoreditch Stout (all pictured above right). As well as all that wine and coffee nonsense, the shop also carries some interesting British ales, the full range from "Australian Brewed, Australian Owned" Coopers, Anchor Porter from the USA and a few of the usual suspects from Belgium. I'm not suggesting for one moment this place has a wide range of beers from around the world - if you want that, Utobeer is a better bet. However, what is there is well chosen and noticeably cheaper than elsewhere. Worth checking out, and easy to get to.



UPDATE (4/2/07): Having now had the chance to sit down and drink one of the Pitfield beers I bought yesterday, here's something in the way of a review:

Pitfield 1837 India Pale Ale (7% abv, pictured right) is apparently brewed to a recipe from that year, though they're tight-lipped as to where exactly it came from. The beer is therefore intended to be representative of the strong, heavily hopped ales brewed in England specifically for the long sea journey to India, there to keep British civil servants, merchants and soldiers happy. Hops are a natural preservative, and beers that are strong in alcohol tend to be more robust, meaning that the long haul across the equator and around the horn wouldn't reduce IPAs to something little more appealing than a pint of Carling. Beers such as the bland and ubiquitous Greene King IPA that use the same name today really are imposters and bear no resemblance to the historic beers they are named after. When you have a true IPA, you know it.

This particular example pours a dark copper colour in the glass. The bottle I had was clearly in good nick - the carbonation was perfect and a lasting white head rose naturally from the living beer. There's hops in the aroma but not much else. The hops also dominate the flavour, giving the beer a herbal, medicinal taste that I like a lot. The bitterness lasts a long time, just falling short of puckering the cheeks. Overall, a good beer, the historical angle giving it all the more appeal. Worth a try.

Information:

1. The Pitfield Beer Shop maintains a website here. They are now an online retailer, but do make appearances at farmers' markets.
2. Utobeer are at Borough Market, Southwark Street, SE1 1TL. They are only open on market days, which are Thursdays (11am to 5pm) Fridays (12pm to 6pm) and Saturdays (9am - 4pm). They have a website here.
3. The City Beverage Company Limited have a website under construction. The shop is at 303 Old Street, Hoxton, EC1V 9LA, Tel: 020 7729 2111.

Brighton - a trip to the seaside for the pub crawlers

Following the success of the St Albans pub crawl, most of the lads have already signed up for the next fixture. This time, Brighton on the south coast will be the lucky town. Just over an hour from Central London via Thameslink, and blessed with a range of classic pub options, it's the obvious choice. Sussex, in which Brighton is situated, is home to two of my favourite breweries - historic regional Harveys and upstart micro Dark Star.

Pubs definitely included on the crawl will be The Basketmaker's Arms (a Fullers/Gales tied house) and Dark Star's former home, The Evening Star. Aside from that, we're open to suggestions so please leave a comment below if you've any local knowledge you'd like to share.

UPDATE: Work commitments of various members of the team has resulted in a postponement of this crawl. We'll do Brighton soon (hopefully when the weather improves), but rest assured in the meantime there'll be another crawl of some description to read about. Cheers.