Beer tastings one of lockdown's gifts!

My lockdown was nowhere near as bad a some people's. I had the Beautiful wife for company and, as a teacher, I was working throughout, though in a somewhat different way to normal classroom teaching. I got back into exercise losing 3 stones in weight (over 40 pounds if you are in the US) and I grew a beard! I am aware that the 3 years of on/off life were hellish for some people and I am grateful that I came through unscathed.

In finding different ways to do things we moved, as a secondary school, to online learning where our students were in a meeting room (google classroom to google meets) with us while they learnt. It was far from perfect but even further from the disaster of no "taught" education at all. It did, however, lead to an idea that has taken hold with the staff at my school: Online tastings. Now before I go on I must stress that this was not a school event. The only aspect of school was the fact that it was available to staff members.

The process was simple. The people who took part picked up a bag of beers sourced by me and took them home with a bag of nibbles (matched to the beers) and logged on a Friday evening so that I could chat them through the beers and we could all engage with each other (something that was very sadly lacking during lockdown). 

The first tasting was "Beers of the Vales of Aylesbury and the White Horse". I purchased 7 beers and everyone took their bag home. The tutored part of the tasting lasted about 1 hour, by which time I was really quite tired! I logged off and left those still in the room to it! Checking the log the following day, several of the participants had not left the room until the small hours, one writing in the comments box "Best night of lockdown" 

Oh how we missed the ability to just chat over a beer with our friends and colleagues!

Since that first tasting there has been one every half term. we have tasted beers from around the world and gins (decanted into 50ml double shot bottles) with tonics and bitter lemon.

 The joy of doing it online is that there is no need to find a venue, and nobody has to drive home and thus, miss out. 

The last tasting was entitled "But I don't like lager". It was an attempt to turn over the inbuilt prejudice we have in the UK against this very broad genre of beer. (There were some particularly tough nuts to crack amongst my colleagues). Starting with Bud light (largely for comparison) we moved though classic German pils, Czech pilsner, Dunkel, and finished with Heller Ruachbier (just to surprise a few people!). Many of the beers split the vote but much fun was had by all.

The next tasting will be of fortified wines with cheese - I can't wait!

Postscript - I have recently been studying beer in a more serious way than propping up a bar and my next post will be about courses in food and drink and how they are always fun and sometimes life changing!

 

The last beer! No. 26 Batch Hack from Ignition Brewery

 I am a fan of the concept of "The social enterprise", a business run for the benefit of society. Ignition Brewery is not the only one in the Toast companion box (Tap Social springs to mind) and their specific take is that people with learning disabilities have great value ion the workplace and, "with the right support and care they can make delicious beer." It is attitude like this that gives me enormous hope in a world that appears to be going mad. Ignition are based in South East London. Batch Hack is an English Amber Ale and appears to be bottle conditioned (judging by the wedge of residue in the bottom of the bottle).

On the nose it is soft and gentle with a very traditional English malty note. the smell of this beer screams quality. In the mouth it is traditional, easy and kind. This is a beer that is worth taking a little time over. The problem is that it is also fervently drinkable. I want more of this type of company and this type of beer!

 

The penultimate beer, No. 25 - Tmave on Toast by Utopian brewery.

 Utopian Brewery is situated in Devon (Probably my favourite county). By and large they brew lagers. Tmave is a dark lager and adds to the growing belief that the term "lager" itself has been much abused over the last few decades. Utopian Brewery has an environmental approach to everything they do. The ingredients for their beers are all locally sourced, they make their own nitrogen and rely on fermentation only to produce carbon dioxide. They are hot on not using plastics too.

This beer is lovely. It has a rich amber colour and on the nose it smells malty and rich with the tiniest hint of the hopiness of an English Best Bitter. In the mouth it is rich and feels nourishing on the swallow. The finish has a very English feel to it. It clocks in at a gentle 3.9% alcohol and, to be honest, I could spend a long evening into night, with good friends, drinking a grown up amount of this beer. 

Beer No. 24. Burnt by Beavertown Brewery.

When I was first teaching (a couple of centuries ago) I was given a really good piece of advice - "Take everything you do in the classroom seriously, but never take yourself too seriously" Beavertown brewery manage to do this beautifully. They state that "there's more to get from life if you open your mind to curiosity" They clearly live up to this as apparently the mastered interstellar travel - all on a Tuesday morning ( I think they may have made the last bit up). Their beers are branded with a very distinctive 60's sci fi vibe and I have been a fan for some time. (Hint, give Neck Oil a go)

Burnt is a Hoppy Porter and is really interesting. On the pour it looks like any other Porter and then it all changes. On the nose it has a raisin almost cassis smell, it offers a hint of smoke. Then, in the mouth it really challenges norms. Woody, piney, rich and full. Then it finishes with a hop burst that is both unexpected and fabulous. Like so many other beers in this companion box I really hope that they continue to brew this into the new year.  

  

Into the last four! Beer No 23. Atlantean Hegemony BY Wild Card Brewery

 Wild Card Brewery was set up in Walthamstow in 2012. The firm was set up by three home brewers and they produce beers with powerful flavours. They are very much part of the London Beers scene. Atlantean Hegemony is full of American style hops both in the late boil and as dry hops after after the biol is over.

On the nose it is full of Citra notes - lemon, line and even orange. A subtle malt lies underneath. In the mouth it is very very drinkable. Clean malty and citrus flavours fill the mouth followed by a really clean finish. The term Juicy IPA is often used these days to describe a style of beer. This is right in the Juicy zone! Lovely and thoroughly modern.

 

 

The 22nd Beer - Classic by Hepworth.

 The weather for the last 24 hours has been horrific we are quite a long way south in the country and the tiles on the roof of Corner Cottage rattled last night causing one or two scary moments overnight. However, all is well and no damage was done.The weather today has been properly wintry and that had me craving something Old fashioned and comforting. This is where Classic Old Ale comes in. This is not a madly strong winter ale or anything like that but it definitely hits the spot. Hepworth are based in Sussex and have great environmental credentials using the likes of heat pumps to cut down their carbon footprint.

So to the beer: It is a dark brown and invites the drinker in with dark caramel notes on the nose. Malty on the palate with clear sweetness, this is the beer to drink in front of the fire whilst telling stories about the last time you got snowed in. There is a lovely bitter finish (from the Admiral Hops). This beer is perfect for those of us who grew up drinking real ale (when we could find it) and have graduated to the modern beer scene. I really like this. There is a suggestion that it could be mulled - now there's an idea!

Beer No 21 - Ernest Special Bitter by Five Points Brewing co.

 Five Points was founded in 2013 since then it has become a bit of a London institution. If ever there was a brewery that took old classics and turned them into modern classics then Five Points is that brewery. Ernest Special Bitter is indeed very special. Ernest is a hop variety about which we hear very little; this is a shame as it makes a little magic in this beer. They are proud that their beer is always unfiltered and unpasteurised. As a guy who started his beer career drinking real ale in the late 1980's this is right in my sweet spot.

On the nose it has a sense of a strong premium bitter pulled from a fresh keg, it begs to be drunk. In the mouth it is malty and bready with a lovely dry finish. When beer writers say that a beer combines the best of tradition and modern brewing ideas, this is the beer that they mean. I hope they continue to brew this as they will certainly have a client on the Bucks Oxon border!