Lost Industry. Found Ingenuity

Hello,

       in October Shakespeares beer festival featured a beer from a new Sheffield Brewery, qwich was called  Lost Industry. Oyl int rord (that is how I would pronounce it anyway...) was an oatmeal stout. It was in the upstairs bar and tasted good. I later found out that people thought the brewery was behind the Sainsburys at Wadsley Bridge. And I never saw their beers again.

Until, having a chat with a man in the same pub, I found out they were launching a new beer - a pineapple yoghurt sour. Tony told me he had talked to them and said that if as claimed they liked the same beer styles as him they should brew something a bit different. I can't give Tony credit for the beer, but I can Lost Industry . And I can for the other beers of theirs which I sampled at the Devonshire Cat on Thursday.

It wasn't especially well publicised, but there was a fair sized crowd of drinkers in the Dev when we arrived. There were 5 beers on, including the sour, all on keg - which I am told is the dispense method of Satan. Only its not. The other beers on offer were Biscosity, a Biscotti coffee Baltic Porter, Pacific Wheat, a 4.3% wheat beer, Chinook, a 5.7% American Pale, and Hyperion an 8.6% Double IPA.

I started on a pint of the sour - its difficult to explain how, but it really did feature a slight pineapple flavour, with something akin to yoghurt in the background, overladen with sourness. It was far far better tasting than I have described.

I spotted Jules from Hop Hideout and John from Shakespeares and chatted to them both, and Jules pointed out brewers Nate and Jim. One of them is a chef. I did not find out which. I did however talk to them for a while outside in the cold. I told them that in comparison to the Oyl int rord this new batch of beers was far better. More exciting. More innovative. More ingenious. And it was time I had another...

I bought a pint of the Chinook, and it was amazing. A wow beer. A huge hit of Chinook hops but with balance in the overall flavour, even though the hops were biting. It was a decent strength for a US Pale ale and I think carried off the style well.

Next I had a pint of the Biscosity. This was everything I expected of a Baltic coffee porter - thick, roasty, warming, with a wonderful coffee aroma. I seem to remember this beer was about 7.8% - although I had yet to try the wheat I was thus far moving up in strength order. The wheat would have to wait. The Hyperion was next on my menu.

I have mentioned before about the cost of keg beer in the Dev Cat. Its very high. When you sell Beavertown Gamma Ray (I think) at nearly a pound more than BrewDog nearby there is clearly an issue, and the Hyperion at 8.6% was virtually a pound a percent. Only the whopping Bearded Lady at 10.5% at the Sheffield Tap, Sheffield's most expensive pub, cost me more than I paid at the Dev for the Hyperion. It was a very enjoyable, tasty pint. And it was about £2.00 more than it should have cost.

Pricing issues aside, I can safely say the Hyperion was beautiful. It was however also an interesting Double IPA not least because of its type of hoppiness. It was hoppy, yes, in a well rounded way, but which didn't seem to stay throughout the drink. It was enjoyable, but not what I expected.

My last drink was the Wheat and this was exactly what I hoped for -  a cold refreshing wheat beer. Just right for cleansing the palate after the might of the Biscosity and Hyperion before it.

One issue for me was, apart from the prices, the lack of CAMRA involvement in the event. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the beer was all keg, but Lost Industry as far as I know, sell in cask, keg and bottle. They are also a small independent Sheffield Brewery. Don't get me wrong, some of the attendees could have been CAMRA members, including Rob (from Hoptimism beer shop - hello again!) but there was no visible CAMRA support.

This is a disappointing message to give two new young brewers. Especially since am certain many CAMRA members actually drink keykeg beers. They may even enjoy them. The excuse that ts not cask or real and they are the Campaign for Real Ale seems to be wearing thin now, with so many breweries of exceptional beer (like Burning Sky, Magic Rock and Buxton) brewing both cask and keg.

Anyway, that aside, this was a great event featuring an aspiring Sheffield brewery and a range of interesting unusual and high quality ales for the folk of Sheffield to try. I don't know if it was a joke but the brewery said they wanted to experiment brewing a Vass - an Eastern European bread beer, and are well underway with a chocolate biscuit stout. Well done to Liz and her team for hosting the event and to Nate and Jim for producing the beers. Here is a link  to their Twitter page. They are also on Facebook.

Am hoping and looking forward to seeing their beers again soon.

Cheers!


Wee Beefy

Clear, but not as mud.

Hello,

              aside from my exotic purchase of a beer that didn't meet my expectations (as covered in my previous post) I have seen a couple of other bloggers mention strong beers and prices recently - but in contrasting ways. Whilst Steve at the Beer Meisters blog here recorded the prices of Dark Star Imperial Stout in the Hastings area, Timbo at A Swift One made a plea here for 2013 to be a year when prices were fairer, and expressed his frustration at the high price of Keykeg "craft" beer in, "craft beer" establishments. Whatever Craft beer is.... (only joking!)

Given that Steve has seen, albeit locally brewed 10.5% beer on sale on cask for less than £5.00 a pint in two pubs in Sussex, yer know, in the Saaaaarf, where everything is expensive, it seems odd to me that supping in the North I have somehow sleepwalked into a mindset where anything above the idiotic beer duty punishment threshold gets to be acceptably £7.00 a pint. Which throws up a few questions..

Firstly - am I going soft? Wibble. And when the hell did this happen? Could it be that endless sessions in Thornbridge pubs and the Sheffield Tap plus my visits to North Bar and Port Street Beer House and the like has led me to form a skewed picture of how much beer should cost? The Keykeg Arbor Ales beer at 12% was on at below a fiver a pint at the White Swan in Chesterfield as was the Keg Anchor Old Foghorn (what a coup by the way!) at Shakespeares in Sheffield. If the excuse for Keykeg costing more is that the container is single use then why is that not always the case?

Also, why are some brewers forging ahead with putting everything into Keykeg dispense? Where is the justification for supplying locally in Keykegs, and for putting much lower strength beer in them? One of the things about Keykeg as a dispense method is that its usually used for stronger beers, indeed, it pains me to concede that often they are suited better to that dispense (eeeurrgh, that feels icky). But is this a smokescreen? Because take off the alleged 80p difference per pint from cask, and it still ends up being 2 or 3 quid more!

Having taken a much needed breath and sought an oft missing "grip" I can now provide the start of an explanation, if not something as radical as a defence.

We don't know what pricing/purchasing arrangements the pubs in Hastings have with Dark Star. And we don't know for sciencertain that those quoted are correct (sorry Steve - assume every one is as lapse with the detail as I am!). Also, in the Shakespeares example, I don't know if the keg used was a trad or Keykeg - since its an American beer. I readily admit that I have come to associate all exotic none cask dispensed draught beer with Keykeg, and I'm not sure that's very helpful.

The final puzzle is, last year, I virtually popped a lung in apoplectic derision at Thornbridge Bracia selling for £9.60 a pint on cask at the Hallamshire House. Now, a year later, its the same price*, but its on Keykeg. I don't understand!

I know many beer bloggers have had this same disorientating sensation that their "pain barrier" of unacceptable expense has been withered away by a seamless procession of ever rarer, more exclusive and more preposterously expensive ingredient featuring beers from the darlings of UK and world brewing. So I don't expect any sympathy.

What I and all fellow sufferers could really do with is some inside knowledge. A brewer. Or a brewery owner. Or a bar owner. Someone who cares about beer, profit and customer experience (and there are thousands of you lets make that clear) who can honestly explain, counter or confirm any of the above points to me. I promise to share the results with erm, well, this blog. Too long for a tweet, one would hope.

Holding my breath now brewfolk...

Wee Beefy

*Mr Ash - I can't read your chalk board writing. Hence I couldn't work out if a half pint was £4.60 or £4.80. So if £9.60 is wrong, its your fault, basically....

Scaredypants

Hmmmm....

     its come to my attention (which means that you probably all already know this)  that a successful pub owning brewery has taken the rather odd decision to disbar British breweries Keykeg beers from some of its venues.

In those where guests are allowed (you probably guessed the identity of the company by now) cask ales from British breweries are permitted, but they've gone and got all hot under the collar about the, one assumes "threat" of other producer's Keykeg output.

For a brewery that prides itself in diverse and interesting beers across a multitude of styles presented in cask, bottle and extensively in Keykeg format, you'd think they would be sufficiently confident of the quality of their product in the face of albeit stiff competition, from breweries like Magic Rock and Kernel. Unless they think that other British micros produce better beer, or maybe, far worse beer (!?) it seems bizarre not to let them be on sale on Keykeg alongside their own such offerings and those from the continent and across the pond.

I remember when short lived Drummonds brewery appeared on the scene in Sheffield and when they appeared in a Punch or similar pub up Bradway the Drummonds far outsold the dross available normally, and was far cheaper. The Pubco got the tittylip on and demanded the beer be removed instead of acknowledging customers preferences, and presumably without justifying why the tenant should have to sell what they decreed. Most shoddy for all concerned.

So, fast forward to today, is this a sign of desperation, lack of confidence in your products, arrogance or anti competitive spirit by the brewery in question?

I don't know, but I think it makes "them" look very silly indeed.

Wee Beefy

Cask vs Keg - unscientific exploration

Hello,

  tonight, or rather significantly earlier, I had the chance to do something I had never had the chance to do before. Now, those of you who know me may well be waiting for me to say "stop it" in a harsh yet condescending voice, but this is a real and quite serious concept. I tried a cask and a Keykeg version of a beer side by side.

Hallamshire Haus

Twas at the above venue that I finally "broke my duck" (stop it...) on the keg vs cask tasting event, and I was there in good time around half 6 for the privilege. In order to try and not be biased (hence the unscientific tone of the title) I tried a half of the Keykeg Thornbridge Kipling first, and then the cask.


The Keykeg was obviously different on the basis of its higher carbonation and on being colder. It was also served in a tall rather than half pint glass (making it a girl's drink of course), and was minutely lighter coloured than the cask.

I didn't actually mind the KK. It was hardly an affront to beer, but was noticeably similar to some of the bottled offerings I have tasted. Except, it wasn't as smooth, and given that recently I have been blown away by the drinkability of bottled Welbeck Abbey Portland Black that's not a compliment.

The flavour was very dry and with a lingering bitterness hindered by a fizz that made the sharper drier notes of the hops linger instead of dispersing into the overall taste. There was a hint of tart peach as well.

The cask version had a slight lemony flavour and a barely discernable lychee aroma, and was smoother and heavier, with a much more satisfying mouthfeel for a start.  Having said that though there wasn't a huge difference, except that it lasted about a quarter of the time the fizzy cold version did.

Also of course, there is a price difference - the Kipling on cask was £3.20 a pint, and the Keykeg 60p more, and therefore nearly 20% more expensive, using rudimentary and likely not rigid mathematical fact. It seems Steel City Ale's Forum post about the beer being 4/3rds more expensive more or less pans out.

For the next round I had another half of the cask first (eschewing the delights of the bottle) and noticed little change in the flavour or aroma. Trying the Keykeg second this time the main difference was that it seemed thin, overly bitter with an unappetising paracetamol flavour, but had an enchanting aroma and hint of Elderflower.

So, overall, its difficult to say whether or not my preconceptions were at work, although I can confirm that I have not liked cask Kipling as much lately compared with last year's tastings, but in conclusion Keykeg seems to be a colder, less subtle, more carbonated version of a cask ale, served without the characteristic development that a beer would undergo whilst in cask. So not particularly good, unless of course there is no cask available......

Closed Shop

Seeing as I was out, and research completed for the night, I reluctantly popped in the Closed Shop across the road. I say reluctantly, because the Landlord/Licensee was so rude last time I went in that I vowed never to return.

On entering I was greeted with an empty pub, a sign outside seeming to suggest that Tanglefoot was on, and only 4 of 6 pumps in use. I realise that four is still a good choice, but it was Landlord and Doom Bar on one end, and Castle Rock Harvest and Kelham Easy Rider. All except the Doom Bar, which I avoid deliberately, are barely even fallback beers.

I asked for  a half of the Harvest and it was rancid. I accepted a taste of the Kelham and it was fluffy and tired. The Taylors was overly sweet but OK, and actually quite enjoyable. The lass behind the bar proved good company and it was a good opportunity to have a chat about pubs and music venues in Sheffield, and a change to see a friendly face in there. Yet, bar a chap running in and depositing a glass on the bar then running to the loo and back out (I assume he was drinking out the front, unless there's some kind of odd unwritten lav for receptacle bartering system in the area), I was the only punter for 20 minutes. Not looking good.

Dada

My last stop was in the above and I finally got to try the Magic Rock Clown Juice Wit IPA. It was on Keykeg, it was £5.80 a pint but only 7%, and was nowhere near as good as I had hoped. Creamy but Refreshing wheat? No. Dry but complimentary hops? Nope. Balance? Not much. It was basically a wheat beer with an ascorbic then cloying bitterness, that didn't develop through the drink. Humph.

Luckily I had the company of Steph and Emily to wile away my visit, and a truly splendid pint of Pollards Coffee milk stout to accompany it, so this was still an enjoyable riposte before I tackled the trek home.

Roll on Saturday at Nether Edge!

Wee Beefy

What next for frontier brewers?

Ay oop,

     I was talking with a friend recently about the next big thing to hit real ale and beer in general. Obviously circumnavigating any assessment of where mega conglomerates and fizz packers would strike next, I focused on the smaller brewers, so often, even if not exclusively, at the forefront of beer innovation and trends.

Ten or fifteen years ago, in my experience, beers were still brown and malty. Some admittedly strayed into paler territory, in fact of course, Stones in Sheffield was always pale, but largely the output was mid brown to dark brown, plus a stout or two. The only noticeably hoppy stuff was from Burton Bridge (Empire) Freeminer (Trafalgar IPA), White Shield, and Whim, Hartington bitter, perhaps.

It turns out, unbeknown to me, and seemingly the rest of the larger percentage of British brewers at the time, that American brewers were putting huge amounts of hops into their beers years ago, and pushing the boundaries of what particular styles should be like, and experimenting with producing styles not native to their continent, or even their nearest ally, the UK.

Assuming then that we have spent the last decade in the UK catching up with the USA in terms of hop quantities especially, I consider that we are getting ever nearer to matching our Atlantic cousins in terms of bite. However, I wonder, will we continue to chase them, or pursue another countries style, or more intriguingly, forge our own way?

I mean, even the stoic world of stouts and old ales has been Yankified - for the better?

At present, where hops are concerned it seems that IKE is the start of the beginning of the end for producing equally hop forward beers. Reaching ever dizzying heights of IBU is impressive but ultimately I want to be seduced rather than hospitalised by a beer. Don't get me wrong, Steel City 666 is still a matchlessly hoppy and delicious beer. And I realise that the folks at SCB see other characteristics in their IKE touched beer other than hop induced pain.... 

 Overall though , after near on a decade of hop heavy dry bitter beers, I can see a desire for something a bit more rounded, or maybe at the opposite end of the flavour spectrum, or put another way, new. 

Of course trends have already emerged, but even then a scarcity of good knowledge of American beer styles prevents me from identifying where Black IPA and Red Hop/Rye ales originated, but its clear we are catching up, even if not quickly, rather than leading. IKE can take us to the eye watering heights of some overseas beers but it has to be in a magnificently complex beer to make it palatable.

So as for new trends, alas, the UK seems alone in striving for great flavour in sub 3% beers and doesn't seem to have a NEW specific identifably British style, or direction. Since the USA has only been brewing  the better smaller brewer and innovative output for 20 or 30 years, its surely time to set a divergent and desirably unique beer direction in the UK, so that we can match, rather than follow US beers.

And, that of course does not even have to mean matching their ascorbic, dry, bitter, Belgian IPA, smoked whatever and red ingredient output. To be really good, the UK needs to keep up with the USA whilst also defining itself, not based on what has been UK beer for a century, but what is and can be UK beer now.

In terms of future styles and developments, I personally think a combination of cask, KeyKeg and Bottle conditioned (yep, that;s right, BCA, but really (hopefully) only produced by competent bottlers) output is the future, but giving equal stall to each medium. I don't think one of the three will outstrip the other as gradually, well informed punters come to equally appreciate and part money for the benefits of each style of dispense.

What I do foresee is, whilst carrying on with hop forward ales, assertive dark brews, remarkable lagers and steadfastly traditional bitters, the UK will find its feet pushing uniquely British unfiltered beers. Unfiltered KeyKeg starts to plugs the divide between cask and KK to some extent, unfiltered cask is a revelation, if only in the early stages (Waen spring to mind, yummy!) and unfiltered bottles have been around in Europe and in some small way the UK for years. Tasting Williams Bros Grozet from the conditioning tanks years ago at Strathaven was a highlight of my drinking years I can assure you. And the clamour for unfiltered Pilsner Urquell was legendary.

But do you agree?

And if not, what do you think will be the future direction of British brewed beer, be it in cask, KeyKeg, or bottle?

Wee Beefy.

I really loved a KeyKeg beer - should I kill myself now?

Now then,

      I posted a few days ago about one of the best beers I've ever had, Magic Rock Bourbon cask Bearded Lady, on KeyKeg. Since that day, as well as dreaming about finding myself back there drinking it, I have been puzzling over my relationship with the weird expensive cold stuff. Why did I like a beer so much that was served by a method of dispense I don't rate, and crucially, would the beer have tasted as good in cask?

Before I answer that I should point out that me and cask go way back. I started drinking around 1991 and apart from parties, or occasional pubs with no cask when I defaulted to Guinness, I always drank real ale. Its brilliant. Gravity, hand pump, air pressure, electric font but from cask, I love it all. And this statement is still true, even after Saturdays eye opener.

However, over the last few years I've had a few beers on KeyKeg. I still haven't had chance to compare the cask version and the KK version side by side but in most cases I have had both versions at different times, which is a start, at least, in making a comparison.

Like Thornbridge Kipling and Jaipur  I didn't like the Kipling on KK because it lacked the depth of the cask and the hops were prominent, but in a way that just made the aftertaste bitter instead of lending citrus flavours to the whole taste. I didn't like Jaipur for similar reasons on KK (and it seemed to take away some of the sweeter balancing flavours, leaving it harsh).

Clearly, these are strong bitter pale beers, and they don't seem to be suited to KK. So these are examples of beers that would have tasted as good, indeed better, in cask.

I have also tried High Wire, Dark Arts, Rapture, Magic 8 Ball and Bearded Lady from Magic Rock on KK. I wasn't mad keen on the High Wire, but that was late in the evening at the Grove for the brewery launch night, the Dark Arts was alright on KK, but the Rapture was the unfiltered version and was brilliant, the Magic 8 Ball was fantastic and the Bearded Lady was unparallelled.

So, these are also stronger beers but mainly darker and the last three that I had have been really good. And heres the contentious bit : I actually don't think the Bearded Lady would have been as good on cask,
because it was too damned heavy and strong and wouldn't have retained sufficient condition in the time it took to drink it.

Yet the 8 Ball and Rapture would be, and in the case of Rapture are better on cask, and definitely so the Dark Arts....

So do I now have a proven formula which will guarantee the KeyKeg beer I'm buying is as good as the cask? No. All this demonstrates is that whilst the old style 1970's and 1980's keg beers were crap because the beer itself was crap, KeyKeg proves that really good beer can taste equally crap or excellent in that format.

I dunno, this KeyKeg stuff is as inconsitent as real ale.....

Wee Beefy

A pub crawl of new (to some) pubs in Sheffield Part 1

Greetings,

     yesterday I was a busy lad. I had to meet my friend of 34 years Christingpher at the Sheffield Tap at lunch (well, I say had, perhaps preferred to) for a catch up and then later I was off out with Davefromtshop for a tour of Sheffield's newer real ale venues that he had never visited before. Since Christingpher has never been int Tap, this makes our visit the start of my crawl, which involves taking people to pubs for the first time. (Not literally. Not reformed Methodists or anything. Or Puritans neither. You get the picture though....)

Dave's tour will be in Part 2.

Tap Rout

I was a trifle late having crammed some last minute food into me to soak up the beers I expected to have (although my achy heavy head wasn't exactly suggesting I have anything more than a glass of water). As I entered my drinking companion was enthusiastically coming out of the pub to greet me - I had to explain that I was delicate and at risk of sudden unconsciousness, which is usually a status I achieve at the end of the evening. We went inside and got served straight away by a barman with a dry sense of humour. I watched Christingpher eyeing up the beer and recommended the Marble Stout - then I had half an orange juice. The barman passed the stout over describing it as manly and went to get my "kids orange" - I asked for a balloon and a sweet, and was given a free biscuit. Bless.

We sat down in the seat next to the fireplace that overlooks the bar. We had much to catch up on, but due to a minor misunderstanding, Christingpher had come on his motorbike, and thought I was only staying for one. He made a great job of slowly supping his pint but I soon finished my OJ and admitted defeat - I would be having beer...

I opted for a pint of Marble Pint (hur hur, it sez pint, and it is (etc)...) which was a nice enough drink, but, if am to be honest, nothing like the beer I was expecting. It seemed a little dull actually, which surprised me. We tried moving seats to the booth in front of the bar, to see if a change of scene would improve things, but all this did was present me with a vista of beers and prompted another purchase.

I gave Christingpher the last quarter of my Pint and bought a new pint of Marble Stout. This was a far better beer, with coffee and smokey malt bitterness and a short but pleasant finish. Our discussions soon turned to Magic Rock, - as Christingpher is an artist I figured he'd love their artwork, and he did. We looked at the Magic Rock bottled beers on the beer menu and having decided they were too expensive, finally I caved in and went to buy a half of the Magic 8 ball (7%) on keykeg dispense.

Crikeykeg

I knew that keykeg was more expensive than cask, (never really understood why) and, with all due respect to the Tap, in a venue not afraid of expense, this could be a bad combination. Worse still, as I bought something else at the same time, I wasn't entirely sure of its price. I can reason however that a half cost me between £3.60 and £4.00. Now, I'll come to describing the beer in a moment but lets be clear. That, is fecking expensive. No mincing of words here, thats more than twice as expensive as anything they have on cask and nearly as expensive as the barrel aged 9% Bracia they had at the Hallamshire House.  It felt wrong and reckless to spend so much money on one half of beer. It would have to be very very damn good.....

And it was, of course. Even for a keykeg, a dispense method which I don't rate that much. Don't get me wrong, keykeg beers can taste good, but its so rare you get to try a beer in keg and cask side by side to make any kind of meaningful comparison. Even if you could, I can't see room temperature, conditioned cask ale tasting worse than higher carbonated colder keykeg, and vice versa. Quite simply, this was fantastic.

More importantly, having tried numerous Black IPA's now, I think it was a really very good example. None of the imbalance of dry ascorbic hops and no finish, or dry stout flavours with odd peaks of hoppy bite, this was bitter, yes, initially, but then followed instantly by a smooth and creamy warming taste, much like a rich lustrous stout, and finishing with a joyous mix of malt and hops that followed the creamy taste perfectly, rather than being crowbarred onto the end. Brilliant, and nearly as good as Red Willow Faithless.

Christingpher figured a half was in order and he had the Nogne Porter, also 7%, partially based on my recommendation, verging on insistence. I warned him it would be pricey, and he uttered not a word on the price. If you transposed the cost percentage difference between Magic Rock and Nogne bottled beers (although they may be different sizes) I think he could have parted with £4.50. Jeee-eee-zus.

I tried a bit and it was very nice, not as good as the Magic 8 Ball, but with an endearing and curiously brilliant taste which was suggested to be Bubblegum. I couldn't for the life of me work out for certain what it was, but it was a central flavour of the beer, and really enjoyable. We sipped our wares slowly, me enthusing about the 8Ball every time I went back to sip it (I probably spent an hour or more drinking it) and although I had to go by 4PM I'd had 2 and a half pints in 3 hours (how sensible!) and a fantastic time catching up with a great friend.

Roll on 18.30 in the Hop!

Wee Beefy