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What I Drank On My Holidays: Florida
I anticipated this year's holiday with enthusiasm for the location and activities, but was a little wary of what to expect on the beer front. Having been to Florida with the family once or twice before, I knew that the best I could expect was to be served the Bud ice cold so I couldn't really taste it. As we all know, there's nothing much worse than a warm lager.
The reality caught me somewhat by surprise. On our first day we decided to have an easy day at one of the water parks - Aquatica, just over the road from its sister park Sea World. Both of these parks are owned by the Busch Entertainment Corporation - part of the Anheuser-Busch family, famed for bringing us Bud and... er... Bud Light. When I came to choose a drink, I found not just these rice-filled offerings, but also Bare Knuckle Stout. This is a remarkable departure from standard American beers in that it contains a hitherto unknown feature - flavour (although they do insist on calling it flavor). It is a typical keg stout; roasted malt flavours, ice cold and highly gassed to give a creamy head. Its style is more like Murphys than Guinness, but at least it's not Bud.
Further surprise was in store for me a couple of days later as we dined at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company - a chain of shrimp restaurants inspired by the movie Forrest Gump. To wash down my "Bucket o' boat trash" (a combination of fried shrimp, lobster claws and mahi mahi, served in a small, steel bucket) I chose a Shock Top - a cloudy wheat beer. No sign of rice here either. Instead an enjoyable and fairly typical wheat beer with a hint of citrus. Regrettably often served with a large (but easily removed) slice of orange, this one became my drink of choice for much of the remainder of the holiday.
Our visit to the Brewmaster's Club at Sea World showed that Anheuser-Busch seem to have recognised that this new feature 'flavour' could be marketable. My wife and I signed up for a free tutored tasting and were presented with a large choice of beers plus morsels of food designed to enhance the flavour. 6 people at a time were invited into the tasting room where we gathered around one side of a large barrel, cut in half vertically and converted into a small bar containing shelves, a chiller and a large selection of bottles. The tasting was divided into 4 categories with 4 different beers to choose from in each category. Each beer was introduced and described before we were given a small glassful of our chosen beer. From the "Sweet & fruity" selection, the Wild Blue - flavoured with blueberries - was pleasant but really a novelty beer not to be taken seriously. The Budweiser Select from the "Lighter side" range was as you would expect - cold and refreshing but not too memorable. The "Medium body" Landshark was of slightly more interest, but I can't quite remember the flavour as I come to write this article, which probably sums it up. The final selection of "Rich & fuller" beers was more memorable with the Bare Knuckle Stout and Beach Bum Blonde Ale being narrowly beaten as my selection by the Michelob Porter. A rich, dark, coffee aroma and the classic roasted malt taste you expect of a porter meant that, despite being a little cold for my liking, this was the most pleasant beer-related surprise of the holiday.
This is a very encouraging start for Anhueser-Busch, no doubt a result of the growing wave of microbreweries springing up around the country and enjoying considerable success. I look forward to seeing how they've progressed when I next get to visit.
Gordon Clarke Nov 2008
Battlefield Beer Hunt
This did not start out as a deliberate beer hunt but as an impromptu day out with my wife. She mentioned that we had passed signs to Bosworth Battlefield on the M42 on previous occasions and suggested going there to see what it is like. So, we duly set off one Saturday morning, armed with an Ordnance Survey map to find out what there was to see.
Upon arrival at the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, we discovered that the Centre was closed for refurbishment and was due to re-open on 1st December 2007, bigger and better than ever before. However, the gift shop was open and the very helpful staff there suggested a couple of walks we could do, providing a free map to assist us. The shorter of the two walks takes in the position occupied by Richard III and his forces prior to the battle, the spot where Richard is said to have been slain and also the well where he took his last drink before engaging the forces of Henry Tudor. This covers a distance of about 1.75 miles. The longer walk misses the well and instead takes one along the course of the old railway line (now a wildlife walk), then along the Ashby canal to Sutton Cheney basin and back through Ambion Wood, covering some 3 miles or so. We elected to take the longer walk.
I will not dwell on the walk itself, save to say that the weather was fine and warm for October and the walk was very invigorating and enjoyable. The point of this article is to highlight suitable places for refreshment should you decide to visit the battlefield site and the area around Market Bosworth.
Time was getting on and we had worked up quite a thirst, so we made our way to Market Bosworth to see what the hostelries there had to offer. The Old Black Horse in the Market Square turned up trumps with Adnams Bitter on handpump. This is an old-world country pub serving snacks and meals at lunchtimes and evenings, in both the bar and the restaurant. This pub has a patio area and children are welcome. The Dixie Arms Hotel, just round the corner, also had real ale in the form of Marstons Burton Bitter. This is a 400-year-old hostelry in the town centre. The bar, restaurant and hotel are open all day, with food available at all times. Children and dogs are welcome here and there is a garden. The pub also boasts a big screen TV and tours of the cellar are also available. The jewel in the crown of this pleasant market town, however, turned out to be Ye Olde Red Lion Hotel, which is GBG-listed. This is another 400-year-old hotel and pub in the town centre where home-made snacks and meals are served lunchtimes and evenings (except Sunday and Monday evenings). Again, children and dogs are catered for. Pub games are played here and there is a patio. Here we found a good selection of real ale in the form of Marstons Burton Bitter and Pedigree, Banks’ Bitter, Jennings Bitter, Sneck Lifter and Cocker Hoop, plus a seasonal ale from Jennings, the 4.3% Worlds Biggest Liar, which was on very good form.
Having quenched our thirst, we then decided to visit the Battlefield Line, a preserved railway line running from Shackerstone, down through Market Bosworth to Shenton. Shenton station, incidentally, is close to the spot where Richard III was slain – the memorial marking the spot being just down the road from the station. Trains on this line are worked either by preserved steam or heritage diesel locomotives. The station at Market Bosworth is “inaccessible” (i.e. closed) and trains do not call there. A ride on this railway line can be easily linked in with a visit to the Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre.
We were just in time to catch the last train of the day from Shackerstone to Shenton and enjoyed a leisurely 9-mile return trip through the Leicestershire countryside on the train, before making our way to the Rising Sun at Shackerstone for a little more refreshment before our journey home. This is the only pub in the village and is situated behind the church and close to the station.
The Rising Sun is a friendly and comfortable village local. It has a wood-panelled bar with a separate restaurant, and also dispenses real ale in the form of Marstons Pedigree and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. These are both regular beers and a guest beer is also offered which, on the day of our visit was Country Life Old Appledore, a very enjoyable session bitter with an ABV of 3.7%. Again, food is available at lunchtimes and evenings.
By now, it was starting to get dark so we left the comfort of the pub and returned home, having enjoyed the late October sunshine, plenty of exercise, a piece of history and some good food and ale.
For more information, visit the following websites:
Chris Lloyd Jan 2008
A Sign of the Times
Have you ever wondered whether your favourite pub has public liability insurance? What about the terms and conditions of their license? No? Neither have almost all of us. Yet these are just a couple of the numerous signs and notices that every pub in the land is obliged to display on its walls. Every door must have it's no smoking signs along with those required on the exterior walls, despite the fact that every public building in the country has been non-smoking for months. Some pubs have been required to display up to 50 different notices.
Lee Le Clercq of the British Beer and Pub Association points out that while some notices are necessary - fire exit signs, caution notices for steps or uneven surfaces, requests to be considerate top the pub's neighbours - others are intended to be read only by a very specific audience. He argues that those notices, such as the pub's license conditions that are usually only of interest to the police or Trading Standards, should be kept available in a folder behind the bar and really don't need to be out on display. "We've got signs that we just do not need. People are not allowed to urinate in the bar but we don't have to have a sign... Gosh, I shouldn't have said that! There's probably some bureaucrat now about to formulate a policy!"
"The only good part about it is that it saves you decorating," quipped Dennis Griffiths of the Miners Rest, Barnsley. "You can't see the walls for signs. You just assemble them nicely so that they look neat."
And in the event of a fire, make sure you stop and read the "Instructions in case of fire" notice before you leave.
Gordon Clarke / BBC October 2007
What I Drank On My Holidays: Los Cervezas de Ecuador
Ecuador is a small country situated on the equator on the western coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia to the north and Peru to the east and south. Its major claim to fame is that it owns the remote Galapagos Islands, some 600 miles off the coast.
The range of domestic beers on offer in both mainland Ecuador and in the few populated parts of the Galapagos Islands is sadly limited to just one... Pilsener. There are a number of imports available, particularly the omnipresent Budweiser thanks to a heavy US influence in the country including the adoption of the US dollar as the national currency. A few places also offer the choice of several beers imported from larger, neighbouring South American countries.
The local Pilsener seems to be unavailable on draft. Most of the bars and restaurants serve it in either large (750ml) or small (330ml) returnable bottles. Only one I encountered served it from a can. Regrettably it is exactly as you would expect from a beer with such an uninspiring name - fizzy, lacking any significant flavour and served ice cold to ensure any flavour that might have escaped the factory remains well hidden. To its credit, it is competitively priced if you drink in the right places. One evening session, spent in a roadside bar overlooking La Carolina Park in Quito and consisting of 6 large beers and 2 chicken wraps, cost us $12 - just £6 in today's money.
However, what made the beer truly memorable was the range of unique locations in which it was consumed and the inhabitants those locations were shared with.
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Itabaca Canal, south of Isla Balta |
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Darwin’s Arch, south east of Isla Darwin |
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Near the summit of Isla Bartolomé |
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With sea lions on South Plaza Island |
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With marine iguana on South Plaza Island |
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With land iguana on South Plaza Island |
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With giant tortoises on Santa Cruz |
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With Homo sapiens near Isla Baltra |
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Gordon Clarke October 2007
What I Drank On My Holidays: Japan
What do Tokyo and the August 2007 copy of What's Brewing-Beer have in common? Not much you might expect, until you turn to page six.
Tokyo is not the best destination for beer - it tends to be lager of the cold type, such as Asahi and Kirin, and the most common description is "dry". Now I have to admit my Japanese is very limited, but many local adverts have a few words of English highlighted, just so we foreigners know what we are missing. (If you want to know the secrets of Super Dry, see here.)
The locals advised me that the Sapporo range was another large company, but within had retained a brand with a heritage - Yebisu (with beers such as Black and The Hop) and these seemed better. However I have come across a few pubs under the banner of Rose and Crown (Victorian pub) - and exactly what you would expect of a well marketed pub chain. Light food and snacks, local beer and seating in little alcoves. Setting aside the beer for a moment, it is a pleasant place to spend an evening with friends. Turning to the beer they have a house lager, a red which I can best describe as bitter (and better than my memory of UK keg) and a black stout (not dry I'm pleased to say). To show they even have something of a Victorian heritage, there is a half-and-half, which is usually a 50-50 mix of black and the lager. I explained that the Victorians did not have lager, and they agreed that a black-red was also allowed. So, it wasn't too cold, it wasn't dry and it was a pleasant drink after a long hot and humid day.
Returning to my hotel in Akasaka (where Guinness is £20 a pint if you want a view from the top floor) I passed a small shop selling food and drink and discovered they had a range of beers, including Coopers from Australia. For those who don't know them, Coopers are family owned and run, stood firm against a take-over by a big-name brewery and make draft and bottled real beer. The popular ones are the red label Sparkling Ale and green label IPA. These are found relatively easily, but best in Adelaide where it is brewed. In Australia I have had a dark brown ("old" I think) which was a bit like an Old Peculier and here in Japan they had a stout - complete with yeast. Now, if only I had found that sooner...
Robert Cawte October 2007
The History of Solihull CAMRA
2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Solihull & District Branch of CAMRA. Our resident historian Steve Wood recounts the story of how the group came into being and reached its first quarter century.
The story starts in 1971. During a holiday in Ireland, four friends from the North West of England were so disappointed in beer quality that they decided action was required. Three were journalists (Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Bill Mellor) the fourth a brewery employee (Jim Makin). Their concerns were a result of the dominance at that time of six brewers in Britain (Bass, Allied Breweries, Courage, Scottish & Newcastle, Whitbread and Watney). Because these giants of the industry were responsible for over 80% of beer production and controlled more than half of the pubs in which beer was sold, they were able to replace cask ale in many pubs with the inferior but more profitable pressurised keg beer. As a result many beers were too fizzy, with no character and no taste, so the decision was taken in March 1971 to form a Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale.
The first Annual General Meeting was held at the Rose Inn, Nuneaton, in 1972, and 20 people turned up. By the time of the second AGM in 1973 there were more than 1,000 members on the books, and the name of the organisation was changed to the more pronounceable Campaign for Real Ale. As a result, membership grew rapidly and soon branches were starting up around the country. One of the earliest was in Coventry, in August 1974, which at that time struggled to cover an enormous area of the Midlands. At about this time local Solihull resident Clive Deacon joined the Campaign. He was soon to become a familiar face around the Midlands, spending time on the Committees of Tamworth and Stourbridge Branches.
1974 also saw the launch of the Good Beer Guide, CAMRA's flagship publication. Solihull area selections were put forward by the then over-stretched Coventry Branch, so perhaps understandably local entries for the initial editions tended to be in villages within easy reach of Coventry and Warwick, such as Shrewley, Hampton, Henley and Dorridge. Surprisingly, it was not until the late 1970's that Birmingham Branch was formed, though the Solihull area still remained under the jurisdiction of what was by then the Coventry & Mid Warwickshire Branch.
By the early 1980's, increasing membership had led to the possibility of a Solihull Branch. Clive Deacon had been joined by Malcolm Glass and Andy Lyndon, and between them they set about trying to make this happen. An important supporter in those early days was Mike Fox. The initial Chairman of Birmingham Branch, he agreed to hold one of their Branch meetings in May 1982 at the Golden Lion (now the Town House), Solihull in order to test local support, followed by a Committee Meeting a week later. Four Solihull members attended the first meeting, six attended the second. It wasn't an auspicious start. Indeed, Colin Smart, the Area Organiser for Midlands Branches at the time, was heard to say "nice try, but it ain't gonna happen". He was of the opinion that Branch status for Solihull probably wasn't feasible at that time, and that a sub-Branch of Coventry was more likely.
Although initial support was a bit thin, the local activists of the time were not deterred, and their next action was to arrange a social evening for local Branches at the Three Tuns in Henley-in-Arden in June 1982. As only seven local members attended, a key decision was made to be more proactive. They hoped to gain enough support to form an independent CAMRA Branch, rather than continuing as a sub-Branch of Coventry CAMRA. Armed with an address list of 57 local members, Clive, Malcolm and Andy decided to go door-to-door canvassing. They were met with a range of reactions, some hostile, some welcoming. But the objective of gathering together a group of active members was successful. This was demonstrated by the next event, an informal social at the Saddlers Arms, Solihull in July 1982. This was attended by 16 local members, most of whom had been contacted via the door-knocking campaign. Attendees included Brian and Dave Queenborough who were to prove valuable additions to the cause. Another notable feature of the evening was the simple newsheet produced by Clive for the event, called The Boro Banter (the fore-runner of The Solihull Drinker). Edition two of the Banter was produced for the next event, a social at the Red Lion, Knowle in August, which was attended by 18 people, including future Chairman Steve Dyson and wife Jean.
Confidence was growing, so it was decided to hold a final test meeting at the Golden Lion. Area Organiser Andy Beaton was invited to judge if there was enough support to form a Branch. The answer was a resounding yes - 18 people attended, with enough volunteers for an initial Committee. A historic moment had been reached, and Solihull & District was proudly declared an official Branch of the Campaign, and the inaugural meeting was held at the Red Lion, Knowle on 12th October 1982. The first Committee was elected, consisting of Malcolm Glass (Chairman), Clive Deacon (Secretary), Brian Queenborough (Treasurer), Eric Moseley (Membership), Andy Lyndon (Socials), Richard Adkins (Pub surveys) and Alan Machin (Publicity). The first act of this fledgling Branch was to present local pub The Railway, Dorridge with a certificate for appearing in the first ten Good Beer Guides (although the Branch demonstrated its independence by not including it in the 11th the following year!) The end of 1982 also saw the opening of a local Real Ale Off-Licence, Bernies, in Shirley, which has been a major asset to local Campaigning ever since.
Since these early pioneering days, the Solihull Branch has gone from strength to strength. Clive Deacon took over as Chairman in 1984, a local pub guide was published in 1987, and that same year also saw the award of the first Solihull & District Pub of the Year (won by the Navigation, Lapworth). In 1988 Steve Dyson took over, local membership reached 100 in 1991, while 1994 saw the first Solihull area CAMRA Beer Festival, above the Vaults in Knowle. Brenda Duffy became the new Chair in 1995, a new annual award for the Most Improved Pub was instigated in 1997, the same year that saw the Branch newsletter relaunched as The Solihull Drinker following the 52 editions of the Boro Banter produced between 1982 and 1995.
In 2000 new chairman Dave Hobbis saw local membership reach the 200 mark. Shortly before he stood down in 2002, the Branch held the first of its many successful Beer Festivals at the British Legion in Solihull. Dave was replaced as Chair by Ray Cooke. During his tenure the Branch developed its first website and produced the first comprehensive 28 page Local Pub Guide in 2003. 2005 saw the start of a regular column in a local newspaper, entitled 'The Beer Hunter'. Finally, in 2006 Roger Dipple became the 7th Chairman of the Branch, who has seen Branch membership reach the 300 mark in his first year at the helm.
So, thanks to all involved in helping make the Branch the success it is. A lot has been achieved in 25 years, who knows what the next 25 years will bring. Cheers!
Steve Wood October 2007
(ZIP file containing jpg images, 12MB)
Older features can be found in the Features Archive.
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