Can you dig it?

Logan Plant of Beavertown proud
with his newly canned Gamma Ray

Canned beers have long been associated with mass-market, "stack-em high, sell 'em cheap" beers and often have connotations of low quality, metallic tasting beverages for cheap home drinking only. Yet 2014 saw the installation of canning lines at some of the UK's foremost craft brewers (Camden Town, Fourpure and Beavertown) with Roosters online in 2015 and Magic Rock Following hot on their heels with a line ordered for the new brewery. Brewdog are also moving their canning in house. So what's changed people's perceptions?

Craft beer in America has seen the can treatment for more than decade, with Oskar Blues leading the charge in 2002 and many other breweries following suit in the years since. The confusingly named Cask Brewing Systems (the supplier of most of the new UK systems) started off supplying brew kits to customers in Canada. They saw an opportunity to help brewers in the US differentiate themselves from competitors in the oversupply crisis of the late 90s and came up with the canning solution:
"These brewers were looking for creative and economical ways to increase sales“and we’ve always prided ourselves in finding solutions for our customers.  We knew that consumers were ready for cans if someone would just provide that option. So our solution for struggling brewers was to help them utilize the aluminum[sic ;)] can.” Peter Love, Founder

Cask have been there since the beginning and have done a lot of the ground work (along with the brave breweries who took the canning plunge!) debunking the canning myths and much hostility from established brewers who offered only bottled product. In the first year, Oskar Blues' (later at cask) employee in charge of can promotion (Marty Jones) even received a letter stating “I look forward to the day your company fails for attempting such a ridiculous idea.” charming!

Once these myths were put to bed however; any rational person could see that canned beer had numerous advantages over bottled beer and often preferable to draught dispense methods.The obvious one is that obviously cans are lighter than bottles; so not only easier to lug around once you've bought them, but cheaper to transport from brewery to stores. This also makes them more environmentally friendly and the life-cycle of aluminium from ground through smelting to finished product and numerous recyclings is less carbon intensive than glass manufacture.

Once you've got the can's home its easier to get them in the fridge and they cool more quickly. Its easier to drink them surreptitiously and you can take them to places where glass is banned (sports events and festivals).

In addition to this the beer actually tastes better, well all know about light strike, the process by which UV light reacts with hop compounds in bottled beers to produce a "skunky" aroma and taste. Yes, brown bottles slow down the process but canned beers eliminate this completely. Another less well appreciated issue is oxygen pick-up in the packaging process, often lead to a stale or papery tasting beer. Oxygen can also get in through bottle-caps but again cans are impervious. Modern canning lines can limit oxygen pickup to as little as 15-20ppb (that's parts per billion!). (For comparison purposes Brewdog's dissolved oxygen with all of their fancy kit is usually in the range 25-40ppb)*

Aesthetically cans look better too; giving the brewers more space to play with for eye catching visuals and they stack well creating a pleasing display in shops.

But I didn't start the post to expound the benefits of canning, I'm sure most of you know them already. No, today's post is to bring you news that the first Irish canning line has now been installed and will soon be producing beer with all of the above benefits for us to buy in the shops! From their inauspicious start Cask have gone on to work with hundreds of breweries and canned beer sales have grown in the US by >80% in the past year (whilst bottle sales grew by a mere 16%); no wonder the Irish breweries want a piece of the action!

"So who is it?!" I hear you cry; well those who have been paying attention to the Twitter sphere will already know but those of you who haven't the brewery is Metalman. As first adopters they'll have their work cut out but there are plenty of decent off-licences in the country that will stock them. Indeed the last few months of 2014 saw the arrival of some of the aforementioned UK brewers' products for sale over here. Look out for Camden Town IHL, Beavertown Gamma Ray and Fourpure Pils for three must-stock Fridge Beers

Cans being printed

 The fact that they produce decent beer (and unavailable until now in takeaway packaging) will of course see them through without any teething problems. As I type this Gráinne, Tim and the team are seeing their can designs produced in Wakefield ready to fill in to at the end of the month.

For those of the more geeky inclination, the ACS model Metalman have chosen can can 30 cans per minute. That's 1800 an hour, or the best part of 5000litres in an 8 hour day; so there should be plenty to go around if they already stretched brewery capacity can keep up! Until recently Metalman brewed on the rescued kit of one of the early microbrewing pioneers in Ireland, Biddy Early, who unfortunately were ahead of their time. This investment should help Metalman to remain a fixture in the Irish beer scene for a long time yet. Their machine also has a small footprint meaning its not eating into space required for an expanding battalion of fermenters!

(L2R:Dave Fitzgerald, Grainne Walsh, Wayne Jacques,
Tim Barber, Adam Doyle, Jacqui Kelleher.)

The first beers will be shipped on February 1st,  I for one am looking forward to buying a case!

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*In itself a massive improvement on their 100ppb plus dissolved oxygen content at their previous brew house.

New Beer and Curry

Perhaps the most anticipated UK beer release this year was Magic Rock's Unhuman Cannonball Triple IPA, which sold out in its entirety in less than a few hours. It seems most of the bottles have been snaffled by bloggers and tickers. I luckily managed to get hold of a bottle from Ales By Mail and decided to indulge in a spot of beer and food pairing.But first, the beer.

As you can see the label is lovingly screen printed onto the bottle and surprisingly (given its 12% strength) its a 660ml bomber. I had no trouble polishing off the entire bottle by myself though.

The beer pours super hazy mid amber with a pillowy head. Strong resinous pine on the nose, robust malt sweetness and rasping bitterness, juicy tropical fruits, tart citrus, some warming booze. On warming passion fruit comes over to the fore on the nose and distinctive watermelon notes in flavour. Perfect carbonation and medium body.

I went for the classic India Pale combination of curry, a vegetable rogan josh to be precise, with plenty of added corriander. The medium spicing really played off the hops to bring some tropical fruit flavours to the fore and the corriander seemed to help bring the bitterness to a more managable level. Tasted great with the lime pickle too! Curry and IPA are a much-touted pairing for a reason.

If you missed out, its set to be an annual release so watch out for announcements next year! A fantastic first release of a super-strong IPA from the Magic Rock guys then, catapulting to second-place marginally behind Odell and Thornbridge's Pondhopper and tied for second with Moor's JJJ IPA. Estimable company indeed.

Magic Rock

@MagicRockBrewCo

A Veritable Brewfest

The weekend just passed was the inaugural Edinburgh Independents Beer Festival. The premise? An 8 pub beer festival with each pub featuring a different brewer/ brewers. A simple concept but one that no doubt took a lot of work from its organisers Craft Centric (aka the guys between the new Hanging at Beer Bar). That it went without any major hiccups is amazing enough, but coupled with perhaps the best selection of  up and coming UK brewers' beers available at any one time (yes, that includes London) its an astounding feat. The fact that I almost didn't find out about it means I appreciated it all the more. 

My original plan was to get to a couple of the pubs; as an afternoon's drinking wasn't really on the cards. Somehow we ended up visiting all 8 pubs in the space of about 5 hours: no mean feat when it involved about 7 miles walking between them! What follows (after the map) is a short run-down of the pubs and beers enjoyed.

View Larger Map

Travelling south from Waverley the first pub encountered is the Holyrood 9A. This is decidedly a food pub, with all tables set for dining but you're more than welcome to take a seat and just get drinks. 10 keg beers and 4 cask beers on offer and a fantastic range. Camden were the beers in residence Thankfully they offer thirds so its possible to try a few. An opportunity to try both wheat beer styles was not to be sniffed at and the wheat and Gent;eman's Wit were both enjoyed, if a little yeastier than usual. The lemon and bergamot made a real change to the usual orange and corriander and if they were to bottle this I'd get a 12pack.

After that we headed down to studentville and to the Southern a pub with another decent menu and hosts of Magic Rock beers for the weekend. We grabbed a half of the new hopped imperial wit Clown Juice, every bit as refreshing as I'd hoped and no way I'd have pegged it at 7%. That's another excellent special release from Rich, Stu et al.



A brisk stroll across the meadows sees you in Cloisters, a pub I've enjoyed on numerous occasions. Unfortunately for me no new beers to try as its Bristol Beer Factory in residence here but thankfully that means I get to try the fantastic ultimate stout on cask. A gorgeous Foreign Extra stout with rich creamy mouthfeel, sweetness and lots of roast in the finish. Thumbs up from Daisy too.

The plan next was to go to dinner but due to some(un)fortunate navigational errors we ended up at the Caley. When in Rome...
I tried the fantastic new USPA, a northern Hemisphere variation on the superlative NZPA. I think the original just pipped this but I'm a sucker for those antipodean hops.

After dinner in Haymarket's Chop Chop we sauntered over to Stockbridge to the eponymous Stockbridge Tap where a beast of a beer was on. In fact two beasts Moor's JJJ IPA and Magic Rock's Bourbon Barrel bearded lady, a half of each was in order. The JJJ is a definite contender for beer of the weekend, roch Tropical hops and lip-smacking bitterness, it was a treat to find it as its largely export only since the evils of HSBD.

Up a fecker of a hill and a couple of excitable squirrels and we find ourselves at the Cambridge, home of Macclesfield's Red Willow for the weekend. We arrive as the new Soulless is launched on cask and keg. Its a Black IPA and another good one from Toby. Smokeless on cask "dry-hopped" with chipotle is also fantastic.

Feeling a bit beered out but with just two pubs remianing we push on to newcomer Red Squirrel on Lothian Road. Its heaving with a Friday night crowd but there's some bench space left. Alechemy Black IPA is a little disappointing, lower ABV than usual for a BIPA and lacking the body its consequently a little watery. Lovibonds 69 IPA more than makes up for the disappointment however and a great introduction to the brewery.

On the home stretch now and its along Grassmarket and up West Bow to the Bow Bar. This is a fantastic old boozer filled with railerphanelia and largely standing-room only. We finish off the day with a bang, Summer-Wine's Half Wit, Kernel IPA Summit and Hawkshead Brodies Prime (beefed up Brodies reserve in a Bladnoch cask).

We headed back to Holyrood 9A for the Sunday finishing party. Enjoyable thirds of 12 beers from the majority of the breweries from the weekend and some tasty snacks from the menu. We'll certainly be returning for a meal one day when the pub is less rammed. Unfortunately very few brewers made it to the final event but it was good to meet Chris and Bruce, the guys behind the weekend and James, brewer at Summer Wine.

A fantastic array of beers and a lot of hard work. Thanks guys! All of the pubs are fantastic too, each with their own individual feels but all sharing the theme of great beer. I'm already looking forward to how the guys will best the event next year. Look out for the announcement sometime in the next couple of months for the date.








More write ups at The Beer Cast, Hippo Beers & This masterpiece from Craig.

*The ever-handy weekly What's on Guide from Edinburgh Stalwarts The Beer Cast put me right.

CABPOM June 2012: Theakston's Old Peculier and Blue Cheshire

Its come to my attention that far too many of my cheese and beer pairings use exotic bottles from specialist off-licences and these may not be available to everyone: so its back to basics this month, with a beer ubiquitous on supermarkets up and down the land - Theakstons Old Peculier

Now the bottle doesn't measure up to the beer on cask (not surprising as its filtered and pasteurised) but is still a decent drop. Its a dark ruby brown ale with light brown head and a lovely vinous, caramelised aroma. Medium body and mouthfeel, a fruity taste with a sweet malty middle and slightly bitter finish.

Blue Cheshire was the first cheese I tried. This is a good match. Almost like a coloured cheddar with a slight hint of the blue fruitiness, its sweet caramel flavours complement the malt and the blue veining picks out and accentuates the fruit. A complementary rather than contrasting pairing then.

 I also picked up some aged edam (from Asda). Fruity and nutty it complements the malt bill perfectly but the blue cheese just edges it as the better match.

I was still feeling thirsty so opened my last bottle of Magic Rock Bearded Lady. I love this beer, its probably my favourite UK Imperial Stout; so its time to try some cheese with it. As expected, the blue cheshire works really well, those umami flavours in both coming together to elevate the flavours. The edam works pretty well too, which I wasn't expecting. Those caramel flavours in the cheese pull out some increased fruity hop notes and malt layers that before were obscured. Very nice.

So a close call again this month, but the CABPOM for me is Old Peculier and Cheshire blue cheese. I expect blacksticks blue would do just as well.

Pebble Spells

Here's a Clue...

The following brewery needs no introduction. I've already reviewed the beers and plenty of others will write about the place. I'm just going to write about a fantastic day, in the sun, with great beer, great friends and fantastic hosts. Oh and a barrel aged beer. If you're not interested then look away now...

Which is the magic one?

Conference over we all descend on Leeds Station platform a little worse for wear on a Sunday morning with a trip to Huddesrfield on the cards. We're ferried to the brewery and find tables constructed from casks, a BBQ on the go and an eager team of brewery staff ready to welcome us in.

6 fresh and tasty beers

A look round the brewery only reinforces how phenomenally they have grown in the twelve short months since inception, with four new fermenters added outside. A sherry cask inside the brewery gives tantalising pause for thought about future special releases but for now we have six beers on tap to choose from, including their pithy new golden summer ale Carnival and something else 6% boozier...Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady.

Drinking in the sun.

In appearance it's similar to the original, but some of the roasted notes in the nose have been smoothed over with caramel, vanilla and oak. A gentle hand has been used here as this is no booze bomb, with just a touch of bourbon highlighting the base beer expertly without obliterating the flavour. Its noticeably sweeter than the original but does not suffer for it and I'd happily drink it again in a flash (just maybe not so early in the pm!)

Bloggers enjoying burgers

The BBQ was tasty and company great. I also spotted the name of the next beer to be brewed, which Rich confirmed as an interpretation of a classic style. I don't want to be the one to break the news, just check their website over the coming weeks!

Andy Mogg Raises a toast

So thank you to Rich, Stu et al for hosting us, feeding us and answering our questions and I look forward to all the next releases!

More Bottled Magic

Having tried the majority of the Magic Rock range (both in draught and bottle form) I was looking forward to trying the final two "specials" as sent to me by Dan Glover (@dandanglover), cheers!

Unpredictable

First up, the Magic 8 Ball which plenty of people have been reviewing positively. It pours very dark brown with bubbly tan head. Some citrus and pine on the aroma but fairly subdued to what I was expecting. Flavour full of mango skin and lime pith, its pretty astringent actually. A touch of chocolate in there underneath it all. I wasn't all that keen on this but can see why it appeals to others.

Dark and mysterious

Bearded Lady is the bigger sister of Dark Arts (a firm favourite of mine in the Magic Rock range) and the family resemblance is certainly there. Chestnut tinged dark brown with creamy tan head that soon collapses to a lacing. Rich coffee and roasted barley notes on the nose. Spiky carbonation obscures initial flavours but finish is coffee, chocolate and tobacco. As it opens up there's some vanilla and caramel with watermelon flavours developing in the after-taste. Thick and warming, certainly a sipping beer but one of the better UK Imperial Stouts I've had the pleasure of supping.

I'd recommend adding both of these to your wish-list and look forward to other new releases this year. For a brewery that's still less than a year old to produce beers of this calibre is excellent work.

Magic Rock vs Brewdog

There were some quiet murmurings in the blogosphere that some of the Magic Rock core range reminded them of a certain brewer from north of the border. At the time I suggested someone do a comparative tasting, yet no one seems to have taken up the gauntlet (too scared of repercussions perhaps?); so I've decided to put the issue to bed myself. I'm aware I'm a bit late to the party, but its difficult to get any beers over here!

Regardless of what is found out it won't take away from what Magic Rock has achieved in the short months since it has been opened, a great set of brews, with some tasting spot-on at the first attempt. I've tried all bar the bearded lady and enjoyed the lot. Dark Arts was my keg beer of the year. Their branding is eye-catching and memorable, their web presence is great and they've already done a collaboration brew (Rock-Star) with more to come. . They're certainly going places in 2012.

I'm going to be as objective as possible, though as always, taste is subjective. To prevent bias I'm going to taste them blind* with the help of a third party. I'll present my findings and let you make your own conclusions.

Someone's gotta drink 'em...may as well be me!

 Rapture (4.6%) vs 5am Saint (5%)

Radiant Reds

Malts: 5 varieties including Crystal Rye, Vienna and Dark Crystal. Hops: 6 varieties	OG: 1048 IBU’s: 25 Malts: Maris Otter, Caramalt, Munich Malt, Crystal and dark crystal malts Hops: Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo / Dry Hops: Simcoe, cascade, centennial. ahtanum, Nelson Sauvin
Sight: see above. Forms foamy head in big pour.	Sight: see above
Smell: Pine resin, kiwi fruit and oranges	Smell: orange peel, caramel and lotus flower
Taste: Caramel sweetness with citrus pith	Taste: Sweet and fruity with citrus zest.
Palate: Sticky with medium carbonation	Palate: Gentle carbonation
Finish: Drying bitterness	Finish: Astringent and pithy

High Wire (5.5%) vs Punk IPA (5.6%)

Perfect Pales

	OG: 1053 IBU’s: 45 Malts: Maris Otter Extra Pale Malt Hops: Chinook, Simcoe, Ahtanum, Nelson Sauvin
Sight: Light gold, effervescent	Sight: Slightly darker gold.
Smell: Pineapple, lychee and mango	Smell: Cats urine and ripe mango
Taste: Sweet tangerine, mango and gentle bitterness	Taste: Mango rind, butterscotch and lime juice
Palate: Gently carbonated and light in body	Palate: Tingling carbonation, light in body
Finish: brief tropical fruit	Finish: Fruit salad jacks

 Human Cannonball (9.2%) vs Hardcore IPA (9.2%)

Aesthetic Ambers

Hops: Apollo, Summit, Target, Warrior	OG: 1083 IBU’s: 150 Malts: Maris Otter, Crystal malt, Caramalt Hops: Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe / Dry Hops: Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe
Sight: Medium orange amber	Sight: Medium orange amber, slightly less carbonation
Smell: Sticky toffee, melon, green apple and ripe peaches	Smell: Black pepper, orange and marmalade
Taste: Sticky toffee, resinous and pithy	Taste: Liquid orange extract, zesty citrus
Palate: Highly carbonated	Palate: Light carbonation
Finish: Very bitter	Finish: Orange pith

*Not literally, else I'd probably pour the beer down my front. The glasses were labelled 1 & 2 and bottles were chosen at random. If you want to know more, just ask me!


Magic Rock are on Twitter as a brewery and individuals; MD Richard Burhouse, Brewer Stuart Ross and Scott Caverley.


Brewdog are on Twitter as a brewery, MD James Watt, Head Brewer Martin Dickie and a whole host of other Brewdoggians if you care to search!

All beer logos were linked from the respective breweries' websites. Images of beer my own.

Collabeeration

Something that I very much like within the beer world is how brewers share ideas, expertise and even ingredients amongst one another like one big family. Rather than trying to out-compete each other, many brewers are happy to help each other improve.

Sometimes the help is more basic, but nonetheless valuable like the sharing of yeast (Dark Star gave Saioson yeast to Bristol Beer Factory) or expertise, often done through Twitter, when homebrew enthusiasts can chip in too. In fact there have been home brew beers brewed in breweries, not to mention home brewers starting up full-scale.

One area that is becoming more popular is collaboration brewing. Over the last few years there have been a slew of beer writer brewery collaborations (Otley Thai-Bo, hedgerO and O'Roger; Brewdog Avery Brown Dredge to name but a few) and also brewery-brewery collaborations (not necessarily limited to just two!) with recent efforts from  Magic Rock+Dark Star & Brewdog+Lost Abbey springing to mind, not to mention the Wetherspoon organised trans-Atlantic collaborations for their beer festivals. 

I'm going to review a few of these here.

Looks and tastes good.

Bristol Beer Factory/ Arbor Ales/ Zero Degrees -Collaboration Tripel (6.8%)

This one has been sat in my parents garage for 6 months since I picked it up at Westcountry Ales before heading to Glastonbury Festival earlier this year. A very clear amber-brown with bubbly white head and gentle carbonation. Plenty of yeasty esters on the nose with noticable pineapple, but also some melon. In the mouth its a typical triple, without the cloying sweetness sometimes found in the style, there's a balance bitterness from the addition of new world hops, though their flavour has long since faded. A lovely beer, which I suspect would have been even tastier fresh.

A "quick one" in Sheffield Tap
Burton Ale in the middle

Thornbridge/ Kernel Burton Ale (7.2%)
There's a slew of these historical recreations coming up, with Fulelrs making their Past Masters and Kernel themselves brewing old London Recipes and this can only be a positive thing. This is a historic style of ale recreated from historical research. I was lucky enough to find it available in the Sheffield Tap. Ruby amber with thin white head. Ripe cranberries and washed rind cheese aroma. Initially sweet and Fruity with dry bitterness and long dried fruit finish. Would love to try this with a washed rind hceese such as Aardharan or Stinking Bishop.

Black Tokyo Horizon

Brewdog/ Mikkeller/ NogneO - Black Tokyo Horizon (17.2%)
I was prompted to open this for stout day, but never actually reviewed it. Have tried Mikkeller Black and loved it, wasn’t so keen on Brewdog Tokyo* but need to get hold of Horizon! Pours viscous and dark brown with an instantaneous cola coloured head that soon disappears. Slightly acetic rich chocolate and alcoholic nose. Initial burst of milk chocolate and shortbread. Very sweet and rich in flavour. Hint of alcohol and long finish. Probably the most expensive beer I've ever bought, but definitely worth it.

At 17.2% ABV I'd recommend sharing though!

Brewdog/ Three Floyds - Bitch Please (11.5%)
A lighter beer than I’d anticipated, chestnut brown with cream coloured head and a light level of carbonation. Fantastically complex nose, I can detect toffee, hops and smoked malt with some oak wood character. Smoky/peaty flavour certainly to the fore on the first taste with noticeable alcohol presence and a fruity sweetness that reminds me of toffos. Finishes with unmistakable sugar butteriness of shortcake an alcoholic warmth and the ghost of the wood. A good solid beer.

Brewdog/ Mikkeller- Divine Rebel (2010)(13.8%)
Ruby brown beer with fruitcake aroma, fairly sweet with plenty of noticable booze in aroma and in body. A sticky texture with robust malt and alcohol burn, though otherwise a bit disappointing. Very little hop character, the whisky takes the fore here. Much prefer Fulelrs Brewer's Reserve.

Actually much redder

The Kernel/ Redemption/ Dark Star/ Zero Degrees/ Brodies/ Brew Wharf- Big Brick Red Rye (8.9%)

The Kernel look set to challenge Brewdog for their collaboration supremacy, and with their prolific brew releases it may not be long for this 2011 BGBW Brewer of the Year. Pouring a hazy amber-red with fluffy cream head the noticable aroma is pine resin. Tasting fairly pithy up front the flavour becomes resinous and quite boozy but with a very smooth body and fruit flavours with a long bitter finish.


2011 has indeed been an excellent year for beer and long may it continue. I'd like to see more collaborations like this in 2012 because everybody benefits!

Addendum: Got a chance to try the Magic Rock/ Dark Star at the York Tap and it is a lovely beer.