Forget me not…

There are some beers which you drink, love and then forget how good they are. Jaipur IPA is one such beer. A triumph of hoppy moreishness (not a word, I know) it never fails to delight but why is it not a beer I tend to rave about?

Ultimately beer is like music…the more people have heard of it, the less “cool” it is. Like Kings of Leon and Arcade Fire, Jaipur IPA has a reputation befitting its supreme quality. Unfortunately, due to its fame, it’s difficult to take ownership of it. That’s why I only find myself talking about Architecture in Helsinki, Goose (the band, not the beer) and Leatherbritches’ Hairy Helmet.

Lest we forget that quality will always be quality no matter how little credit it gets.

Welcome to the house of fun

Any beer lover worth his salt likes nothing more than the chance to consume multiple glasses of multiple brews in one place.  With that in mind, The Draft House in Tower Bridge is a must for the  fulfilment of said pursuit.

Part of a small chain of pubs, sprouted in SW11, it does exactly what it says on the tin and then some.  A vast, ever-changing selection of draught beers is complemented by a wide array of bottles and a particularly interesting food menu…I wasn’t at my most adventurous but for around £4 there is the option to add a slab of foie gras to your burger.

Beyond the fatted duck though the real attraction of this place is the variety and quality of their beers.  Starting with a Speight’s Gold Medal Ale which, although not really an ale, drank like a sparky Chalky’s Bite (also on offer), I moved on through Sam Brooke’s Wandle and onto the always delightful Meantime London Pale.  Next time, of which there most definitely will be one, I’ll be sampling the even wider variety of bottled beers (I’m particularly excited about O’dells St Lupullin).

All in all, The Draft House is meant for whiling away a long evening with beery conversation.  Designed in the style of the archetypal American microbrewery (a la Salem Beerworks) but with that added element of modern British finesse, it really is a perfectly comfortable place to enjoy an evening.

So what’s the drawback?  Unfortunately, it’s that nagging, fun killing, “we are in a recession you know” behemoth…price.  With most pints climbing testingly close to the £4 mark, albeit for very good beer, price stops you from doing what you really want which is to stay for more and more and more until you can’t stomach any more but you still drink more…and breathe.  It’s this barrier that means it’s unlikely to be anyone’s “local” but should be a fantastic diversion from the norm for anyone with similar tastes to my own (or a fat wallet!).

Aint no skool (like the old skool)

Full disclosure: I’m reviewing the same pub for a second time. I play by nobody’s rules but my own, and sometimes I don’t even follow them.

In my last review of The Bricklayers Arms in Putney I finished by saying “I think I may have discovered my new local. It’s criminal that I didn’t visit here sooner.” And lo! It came to pass. I frequented the lovely pub every sunday for the next 6 months or so, until moving house meant that I had to stop. I’m currently on a train with an excitable shakesbeerian on my way there. I’ll finish this post a few hours, and a few ales, in the future. See if you notice a less sober writing style…

…It’s the future! Now on putney bridge station after several delicious pints. Bad things first:

They no longer have tim taylor beers.

Good things:

We met some lovely americans who were fans of stonch.
The other beers tasted more than palatable. Wandle was a delight as always (although shakesbeerian disagrees), the orkland best was tastey though a little light on the palate and the hoggsback HSB was a fresh, tasty lovelyness.

Hours move fast in such a delicious environment. Although my flatmates trousers will testify that trousers don’t dry from booze that quickly (sorry sam). Now zooming on our way to a party in Angel. No rest for the wicked beer blogger.

(Sorry for the lack of links in this post, I’m drunk.)

Same same, but different

It will be brief, as I’m out and enjoying the delights of thursday night. The Gunmakers in clerkenwell is a favourite of the hip-hops fam.I’m In tonight enjoying mad goose from purity in great nik, just had a sample of the other beers on offer: bokbier from Adnams and harvest pale from castle rock. Both drink well and are a worth popping in for. But I think I’ll stick with the goose for this evening.

Belgian beer…what’s all the fuss about?

The Belgians are widely regarded as some of the finest brewers in the world bur, whilst I don’t claim to be an expert on les bieres belges, I have to disagree.

Having recently returned from Antwerp I found myself contemplating my exbeerience. Whilst I openly admit that I didn’t try every beer on offer (if I had it’s unlikely I’d be here to tell the tale), I do feel justified in offering an opinion. I find that within the sub-categories of Belgian brewing there is too little taste differentiation…one dubbel is the same as another. Further to that they’re too strong to really tuck in and explore at any great length.

I guess what I’m getting at is that my enjoyment of beer derives not only from taste but also from the chance to spend time quaffing my way through several pints, discussing the highs and lows with likeminded suppers. This I feel is something best delivered by the British pub experience and British beer.

Livin’ La Vida Loca

When you get bored of drinking the same old beer, no matter how good it is, the risk is that you start to doubt beer in general and indeed question your whole being (just me?).  It’s at this juncture that you decide to order a massive box of beers from around the world and have it delivered to your office (thanks to the guys at beerritz).

One of these beers was from Spain, a nation more famed for its cured meats and hard cheeses than its beer.  Alhambra Mezquita however is a prime example of what can be done with a little imagination.  Pitched as a marriage of Spanish “flava” and Belgian Abbey traditions it delivers a fairly unique taste.  With the deep red maltiness giving way to a lighter, more refreshing finish.

The lesson here is that great beer can come from anywhere so it’s foolhardy to limit our experience to those which are within an arm’s length.

A Boozy Dream…

For some time now I’ve had a dream. One that could quite possibly make my fortune. Alright, probably not, bit it’s provided the impetus for some damn fine drunken pub conversations.

If you are familiar with Charing Cross Road in london you will know that it has an abundance of second hand book shops. About a year ago I looking for a birthday present in one of these shops and enjoying myself immensely. Whilst doing this I realised that there was no reason why this couldn’t be combined with beer. Two of my favourite things. Books. Pubs. A book pub. It’s the dream.

I shared this idea around in various drunken moments and fleshed it out a bit.

Name – must be literary, but boozy. Ideas include “the falstaff” after the notoriously drunken shakespeare character and “the moon under water” which was the name of George Orwells imaginary ideal pub (more on this in a future post).

Location – tricky. Definitely wouldn’t work in deepest darkest derbyshire, or in hipsters paradise hoxton. Ideally it would be in bloomsbury.

Book selection – we’d have a booze section, but I’m not sure whether that would include cocktail books. It would mostly be a second hand selection, and any valuable books would have to be separated from the booze to avoid costly spillages.

Policy on reading – this is a tricky one. It seems a bit much to stop people reading in a pub themed on reading, but nobody I want to hang around with wants to drink in a library.

I’m not saying that the plan is perfect, or even particularly good. But the idea of sitting next to a fire, reading a good book and drinking a beautiful beer sounds very appealing.

 

Bit early for Halloween but still…

Butternut squash in the gunnies

Back in the game…

After a year’s absence it’s taken a long, lone wait in a pub to get me writing again, clearly testament to my popularity (and/or usual tardiness).  I’m sure you’ve all been incredibly worried hence the many concerned comments we’ve received. Never fear, the hip-hops boys are back at the bar…literally as it happens, the three of us are at the gunmakers with landlord Jeff putting the world to rights.

Beer from Bend…

Somewhere in Oregon, there’s a place called Bend.  Crazy as that is I’m sure we’re more interested in the fact that it’s home to Deschutes Brewery which dates back to errr…1988, we are in the US after all.  Mirror Pond is their “quintessential” American pale ale (Men’s Journal July 2004).  Surprisingly enough Men’s Journal have got it about right but being “quintessential” isn’t enough in a saturated market.  It’s a combination of dry hops and sweet malt and if I had a dime for every time I said that about an American Pale Ale I’d be a dollar millionaire.  Too much of a good thing?  Probably, but who really cares.  If, like me, you like all the other American Pale ales then you’ll also like this one…besides, you can always collect the bottles.