'Help for Heroes' beer. Drink to donate.

Do your bit for 'Help for Heroes' by drinking Oakleaf's SWAGGER - Servicemen's Wives And Girlfriends - bitter where a donation from every bottle goes to the charity. A fine 4.6% bitter which makes you feel good.

Joint beer promotion

aletalk.co.uk and livingbeer.com have teamed up to offer you an interesting mixed case of British beers with an exclusive aletalk.co.uk discount.

Xmas selection boX OUT NOW

The Xmas selection boX
- that is the Xstravaganza of 12 Xcellent seasonal brews from British micros and independents -
is finalised and available to order.

Fuller's excellent India Pale Ale now available

This brew has only recently become available and as a Fuller's ale you know it'll be a fine beer, and this doesn't disappoint - it recreates traditional IPA characteristics beautifully as a hoppy, refreshing ale at 5.3% abv.

Have a case shipped to your out-post

This year's Fuller's Vintage Ale is out now

Fuller's Head Brewer John marks the 12th year of Vintage Ales with the 2009 brew. Only 160000 bottles produced and as usual each one individually boxed and numbered. This year's beer is absolutley faithful to the tradition of these annual brews with its luxurious richness from its 8.5% abv and those delicious aromas and rich fruity flavours. Perfect for the autumn and winter days and nights.
Discover the evolution of bottle maturation with a case of Vintage Years or indulge purely in this years new brew.

Talk ale with aletalk

A handy site to keep informed about all things aley

The Punchbowl is knocked out

Morrissey Fox hand keys back on Yorkshire pub made famous in Channel 4 documentary

Celebrity publicans and brewers Neil Morrissey and Richard Fox have given up the pub made famous in their Channel 4 TV series last year.

The lease on Ye Olde Punchbowl Inn in Marton-Cum-Grafton has now been handed back to the private freeholder just 18 months after it was opened in a blaze of publicity.

But the pair are refusing to give up on the pub industry and are now looking for freehouses in the Yorkshire area.

Fox blamed the closure on problems with bank funding, and a refusal from the landlord to negotiate on the rent at the site.

“It seems for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction: we create a fabulous, successful beer with sales on the up-and-up with loads more to come; and we have to close a pub, and join that ever increasing list of sad statistics,” he reflected.

“On the plus side, we did regenerate what was a very tired establishment facing imminent closure and manage to give it one hell of a make-over and breathe another year and a half of life into it. It’s a shame our other work commitments didn’t allow us to give it the extra attention we should have given it to help battle through such difficult circumstances.”

Fox said he would like to thank all the customers, staff and team who have supported the business. [Source: The Publican]

Crown's beer gems

The Crown brewery in Sheffield was started in 2000 in the cellar of the Hillsborough Hotel, with a 4 brl brew length and named after the original brewery that was across the road in the 30’s. In 2004 Edale Brewery bought the hotel along with the brewery and added another brewing name - Wellington Brewery, the reason behind this was that the Hillsborough Hotel was previously known as The Wellington. Additional beers were then produced along side the existing range of Crown beers. In 2006 Edale Brewery sold the hotel and brewery to Andrew and Helen Walker and they extended the opening hours which are now Midday – 11pm 7 days a week and introduced a permanent day time food menu. Brewing did not comence until July 2007 when Stuart Ross was employed, his experience at both Acorn Brewery and Kelham Island Brewery brought consistency to the original range.

New recepies were added and the first brew of Traditional Bitter 4% won Champion beer at Sheffield Beer festival in October 2007 along with Stannington Stout coming top of its category. Wheetie-Bits 4.4% and Primrose Pale Ale 4.2% are now also regular seasonal brews and we also produce one off monthly specials.

Some of our permanent range is available bottle conditioned as well as beers brewed especially for bottling such as Wheat Stout 6.6%, Ring of Fire 10.3% and Unpronounceable IPA 7% with more new and interesting beers on there way.

As Dr Ron summed up the Crown brews from a mixed case from several breweries "The Crown beers were great".
To try the range of interesting and unusual bottled ales for yourself order a Crown case.

Sambrook's Brewery Wandle Ale now available

Brewed using traditional methods and materials sourced locally from English producers. The brewer is proud to use Maris Otter malt from Warminster Maltings, one of the few remaining floor maltings in the country. There is a combination of traditional Fuggles and Goldings hops varieties, together with the more modern Boadicea hedgerow variety to flavour our beers. All of the hops used in the brewing process are whole leaf which give Wandle its distinctive hoppy taste and aroma.
A well balanced thirst quenching session ale. Try this new fine London bottled real ale.

Duncan's story

"City accountant to brewer in three months – a fairly radical shift? I guess on the face of it, it is, but if the truth be told this has been longer in the making than the time between finishing my career with Deloitte in August and sampling our first beer on 26th November 2008.

So where did it all start? Earls Court, Great British Beer Festival, 3rd August 2006.

Simon and Glen, two university friends, and I sat together searching the huge list of beers on offer for a beer brewed in London (other than in Chiswick). To our surprise there was not one to offer. So after (a few too many) beers that day we hatched a plan to bring brewing back to the heart of London. Six months later and still fresh with the novelty of our exciting new idea, I took my first step to becoming a brewer, purchasing three second-hand tanks of a five barrel brewing plant from an ex-brewer. That is when I learnt my first lesson and quickly discovered that three tanks do not make a brewery. Despite my best efforts to get this five barrel plant operational it never saw any brewing during its lifetime with me.

Twelve months on and I decided it was time to take this venture more seriously and found myself signing up for a week long course in Brewing Fundamentals at the University of Sunderland. It was an excellent week and despite the lecturers’ best endeavours to dissuade the class from venturing into the industry, I came out unperturbed and re-focused on what I needed to do – find myself premises.

It was while I was looking for premises that I had the opportunity to meet a successful brewer by the name of David Welsh, previously managing director of Ringwood Brewery. Having been brought up in Salisbury on a staple of Ringwood Best Bitter, the chance to meet him was priceless.

Shortly after our first meeting David dropped a bombshell; he was interested in being involved but only if the plant was four times the size! In retrospect it all made sense but at the time I didn’t quite know what to say...

... So I said yes and here we are, an unlikely partnership, with a fully operational twenty barrel plant in Battersea, marketing our first pint Wandle Ale.

I do hope that reading my story has interested you in our venture and that you will come along to visit us at the Brewery and become a part of bringing brewing back to the heart of London."

Cheddar on board

It's great to have met Jem - Head Brewer - at Cheddar Ales when I went to taste his brews. Nestling on the slopes of the Mendip Hills, within a stone's throw of the famous Cheddar Gorge, Cheddar Ales is a microbrewery producing premium quality real ales for you to enjoy at home as well as in the best pubs. Jem insists on using only the finest ingredients and time-honoured methods as old as the hills themselves to produce a range of beers for traditional and modern tastes alike, that are best described as Simply Gorgeous. It is a fine range of smooth quality beers. I'm not the only one to rate this brewer. As well as picking up awards Roger Protz has given deserved praise such as "A superb porter" to sum up Totty Pot and made 3 of these brews 'Beer of the Month' on Roger's site beer-pages.co.uk.
Currently the range comprises Goat's Leap: a contemporary IPA full-bodied, strong with a striking bitter finish, brimming with hop character. Gorge Best: intricate blend of hops for a distinguished Best Bitter with a clean bitter taste complementing warm malt flavours perfectly. Totty Pot: rich, dark porter with a deeply satisfying roasted malt character and subtle hop highlights. Brewed using the best quality Maris Otter, wheat and dark malts and hopped with a blend of English whole hops. And finally Potholer: an award winning golden ale, lively and refreshing with zesty fruit flavours, a rounded finish and bags of aroma. To buy a brewery mixed case try the Cheddar Ales Selection.

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Titanic Stout gets gold

For the fifth year out of six Titanics' Stout has received an award in the CAMRA Champion Bottle-Conditioned Beer of Britain category...and this year it's gold.
A true old fashioned stout. A dark combination of malt and roast with some hops. Strongly flavoured and well balanced.
Dark brown rather than black in colour, it has a lasting, brownish head that is creamy and clinging on top but with a larger bead further down produced by the bubbles from the lively beer. Nose is heavy with treacle, roast barley and a touch of cheese, surprisingly reminiscent of an imperial stout. On the mouth it is fruity, with lots of red and dark fruit. However, the fruit is quickly succeeded by smoky, dark-roast malt and bitter chocolate notes. Hop character is recognisable but not obvious - it is swamped rather than subdued. Finish is very bitter, but despite the intense flavour in the mouth the aftertaste is quite light, much more typical of the strength than the body. It is also slightly phenolic. Overall, this is a remarkable stout - despite being rich, heavy and complex beyond its gravity, its light aftertaste makes it a very quaffable pint. Deserving of its past awards. [courtesy of www.bottledbeer.co.uk]

Fuller's Vintage Ales collection

A range of Fuller's boxed Vintage Ales from over the last decade - two each of the following years' brews '99, '02, '04, '05, '06 and '07. Read a comprehensive review of these fine ales here beer-pages.com

Vintage Ale is a truly distinguished bottle-conditioned ale, crafted by Fuller’s Head Brewer. Each vintage is a blend of that year’s finest malt and hops, and of course our unique yeast, creating a unique limited edition brew.

Bottle conditioning means that a little yeast is left in the bottle after bottling, which will mature slowly over time like a fine wine or whisky - well beyond the best before date that we are obliged to state. Fuller's recently opened (in the interests of research, of course) a few bottles of old Vintages: they tasted better than ever so stock up now and you'll be glad you did in years to come!

Wheat Treat - case of British wheat beers

Here's a mixed case of wheat beers from British brewers - there's

• O'Hanlon's Goldblade: Crisp, refreshing, and deliciously citrus-tinted with a hint of spice, it’s a flavour that cuts the biggest thirst down to size.
  
  
• North Yorkshire's Cereal Killer: A light coloured wheat bitter with a fine distinctive hop nose. Refreshing dry fruity finish. Faint banana aroma with spice.
  
  
• Meantime Wheat: A Grand Cru - Superior Bavarian Style Wheat Beer, cloudy, golden-orange beer with a moderately dense white head.
  
  
• Rebellion White: A classic wheat beer, brewed in the style of a Belgian 'Witbier', distinctive spicy, clove aroma and fine, white foam, which gives the beer its name. To best appreciate the full body, aroma and refreshing, citrus, fruit flavour of this naturally cloudy beer.

Fuller's Vintage Ale 1999 experiences

From Tim's Beer Diary It was a monumental task. To pack up and box the contents of the flat ready for shipping back to Australia. After the hard work, I quenched my hard earned thirst in style - witha ten year old bottle of Fuller's Vintage Ale.

The beer was excellent and had a smooth caramel taste with a hint of alcoholic warmth showing through. Perfectly balanced it was like a super version of London Pride. In comparison with the 2008 bottle I had a couple of weeks ago they are two distinctly different beers. The 1999 Vintage is a lot darker and has more roast caramel notes coming through where the 2008 is lighter in colour and doesn't contain the depth of complexity that the older beer had. Both beers are excellent though, its just that the 2008 will not mature into a beer similar to the 1999. Overall the beer is excellent and I was lucky enough to be able to pick up one of the 80000 bottles produced over 10 years ago. In this instance the 2002 expiry date was well and truly passed but the beer stood up to the test of time nicely!

And from beer-pages.com
Opened in March 2005, this is bottle number 26,330 of the edition. Champion Fuggles hops and Champion Optic malt have produced a ruby red beer, which pours slightly cloudy, with a creamy light-brown head. The nose here is very earthy and wine-like, with an almost Burgundian character of damp, sweet earth, truffle and a hint of rotting vegetation. Remnants of a richer maltiness and still sweet fruitiness add complexity. On the palate it has a typically smooth, immensely rich and dense texture, with immediate sweetness that fills the mouth with flavours of herbs, intense sherried fruits and walnuts and a huge core of powerful alcohol and thick, bitter chocolate malt. This is an assault on the senses, with Christmas spices, green chicory flavours and all sorts of bitterness in an endlessly complex beer. Magnificent. 8.5% ABV, 50cl. Buy some to try for yourself.

Butt's Barbus barbus review by Roger Protz

Roger Protz has kindly allowed me to re-'print' his latest Beer of the Month review from Beer-pages.
Butt's Barbus barbus: You will go on a magical mystery tour for this beer. Chris Butt opened his brewery in Hungerford in Berkshire in 1994 and now brews only organic beers with a Soil Association certificate. Chris is also a keen coarse fisherman, which shows in the name Barbus Barbus, Latin for the barbel fish: if Chris isn't at the brewery, you'll find him fishing the nearest river. He's also wary of giving away too much information about his beers. He says he used three organic hops in the beer but won't name them on the grounds they change regularly according to availability. As there are only a few English organic hops, there's a good chance you may find some First Gold or Target in the brew. Organic malt comes from Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire. Barbus Barbus is bottle conditioned - there was a rim of yeast inside the neck of my bottle to prove the point - and is straw coloured with juicy malt, hop resins and a powerful hint of freshly-peeled apples on the nose. Hops - peppery and spicy - burst across the tongue, balanced by rich grain, tart fruit and a hint of ginger. The finish is intensely bitter and hoppy but it's also spicy, fruity and wonderfully refreshing. Malt: medium. Hops: high. Fruit: high 4.6% ABV, 50cl

Big Bottled Ale range at The Jolly Coopers, Hampton

Without doubt The Jolly Coopers now has the biggest range of British bottled real ales
(or Real Ale In a Bottle (RAIB), if you prefer) in the land. Fifty milds, bitters, porters, stouts, pale ales, goldens, fruits, wheats, lagers and barley wines all standing in the cellar at the perfect temperature waiting to be chosen from the handy Ale List. It's a permanent and on-going BRAfest - Bottled Real Ale festival where you can take your time treating your taste buds to the breadth of beer styles and at the same time feasting your eyes on the bottle and label designs created by these craft brewers.
The pub itself is a wonderful traditional local community pub which has been well-established by Jane and Nick over the past two decades. It's not just a place for food and drink this pub is at the heart of the community. In the daytime the food is fulsome traditional fare and the evening offers a Spanish twist with a tantalising Tapas menu or first class cuisine from the Spanish chef. No 'less is more' portions here!
In addition to the horse-shoe main bar the pub has the restaurant at the rear and outside there is a comfortable sunny patio and a small amount of parking.
Well-worth a visit for a straight-forward, honest, traditional pub experience with the only dilemma of having choose from the widest bottled real ale list around.

The Jolly Coopers, 16 High Street, Hampton, Middlesex TW12 2SJ (020 8979 3384)
Map

Fuller's Brewer's Reserve

A limited batch of this unique, exquisite ale which is strong, full-bodied malty ale that has been aged in 30-year-old single malt casks for a period of 500 days. During this time the ale infuses with flavours and characteristics of the whisky that has absorbed into the wood, leaving a balance of hoppy bitterness and tangy marmalade fruit. Rounded off with subtle smoky vanilla notes and a hint of whisky, Brewer’s Reserve is a rich, amber, 7.7% ABV, limited edition ale that is both complex and distinctive.

BRAfest or Bottled Real Ale festival is an event based around an Ale List of 50 different British bottled real ales (CAMRA's Real Ale In a Bottle) including all beer styles, mild, bitter, golden, pale, porter, stout, wheat, fruit, lager-style and barley wine from micro and independent breweries in the UK. The event usually lasts 7-10 days and with a case (12 bottles) of each ale supplied.

The pub and event are promoted through local ads, outdoor banner, bunting, posters, online activity, PR etc.
The event and timing is flexible to fit in with your requirements.

If you have a pub or you would like your local to hold a BRAfest please get in touch.

Bottled Summer ales

O'Hanlon's wheat beer, Goldblade (4%): Crisp, refreshing, and deliciously citrus-tinted with a hint of spice, it’s a flavour that cuts the biggest thirst down to size. Made from only hand selected, traditionally prepared, floor-malted, riband wheat from rolling chalk downs of Wiltshire, this is a truly classic beer. An absolute for Summer barbecues.

Livingbeer.com's first stall. Having a go at Brighton's Foodie Festival in the middle of the Fringe Festival. And what fun it was, meeting loads of people eager and curious to try the mouth-watering range of bottled real ales from passionate, caring British brewers. The weather was kind, even though it was threatening and wild at set-up on Sunday morning. So many Foodie festival visitors were keen to discover and no-one was disappointed. Having had this experience it's time for more of the same at Hamton Court's Foodie Festival this bank holiday weekend (23-25 May).

BRAfest reminder

Mud City Stout Chocolate Ice Cream recipe

Ingredients
1 vanilla pod
250ml double cream
250ml Sadler's Ales Mud City Stout
175g granulated sugar
1½ tsp cocoa powder
4 egg yolks

Serves 2

Preparation
1. To make the ice cream, halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add to a pan with the double cream, stout and sugar and bring up to the boil.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and the egg yolks, blending thoroughly. Add a small amount of the stout cream to the cocoa powder and egg yolks, whisking quickly to temper the eggs. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook until thick, whisking constantly. Cool the mixture, and then process in an ice cream maker.

More Hampton activity - Foodie Festival 23-25 May

We'll be attending this foodie event to promote the virtues of British bottled real ales. Join us in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace for a celebration of fine food and drink over the May Bank Holiday weekend Ales to try and discussions to be had. http://www.foodiesfestival.com/hampton-court/

Meet Mat Follas, the Masterchef 2009 winner as he cooks live at the Olive magazine Chefs theatre at the weekend. He will be joining Michelin star and top chefs from leading restaurants who will cook live every hour on the hour.

Tempt your tastebuds with fine food and drink in the Harvey Nichols marquee and sip champagne in the Veuve Cliquot tent.

Try a sushi, chocolate, cheese or champagne masterclass, sample dishes from leading restaurants and buy fresh ingredients in the local producers market. For budding young chefs there is a chance to learn to cook in the Cooking with Kids masterclass

BRAfest at The Jolly Coopers, Hampton

The time has come for another BRAfest - Bottled Real Ale festival a the Jolly Coopers in High Street, Hampton, Middlesex.
1-10 May there will be 50 British bottled real ales to discover, savour, critique and above all enjoy. There will be milds, bitters, IPAs, golden ales, porters, stouts, lager-styles, fruit and wheat beers and barley wines. Live music Sunday night from The Scene. A May Day weekend to discover the breadth of British ales.

Beer for brians...proven!

Beer tax is too high, let's change this

The demands

1. To stop plans to increase beer tax by up to a third

2. To enforce existing laws – not create new ones - to deal firmly with irresponsible drinkers and premises

3. To end the irresponsible promotion of alcohol in supermarkets, pubs and elsewhere

4. To trust responsible adults to make informed choices about what they drink, not punish them for the actions of an irresponsible minority


5. To support the British pub as a vital part of social life in local communities.


The beauty of the Brumas Home Brewery

Not only is it a thing aesthetic beauty but its functionality is beautiful, making beer production so simple. See the step-by-step process on VideoJug http://www.videojug.com/slideshow/make-great-beer-easily-with-a-brumas-home-brewery

Real ale in a bottle...as explained by CAMRA

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, supports real ale in a bottle. This is the next best thing, and the bottled equivalent, to the draught real ales you can enjoy at the pub.

CAMRA has launched a logo “CAMRA says this is real ale” to clearly identify products that are the real thing: natural, living, bottle-conditioned beers. It is important to note that some cask-conditioned real ales do not undergo secondary fermentation once bottled. We hope that this logo will be able to clearly identify real ale in a bottle.

Increasingly you will see this logo appear on bottle labels of bottle-conditioned products. When you see this logo you can be sure that you are drinking real ale in a bottle.

Real ale in a bottle is unpasteurised and is not artificially carbonated. It is a natural live product which contains yeast for a slow secondary fermentation in the bottle. This process provides wonderful fresh flavours and a pleasant, natural effervescence.

How to Identify a Real Ale in a Bottle

The technical term for real ale in a bottle is bottle-conditioned and this is what appears on most bottled real ales. You can also check the label on bottle beers for the “CAMRA says this is real ale” logo which forms part of its Real Ale in a Bottle Scheme.

If you are in any doubt about whether a beer is a real ale in a bottle, just hold it up to the light and see if it contains any sediment – the life-giving yeast that makes all the difference. You can also refer to CAMRA’s Good Bottled Beer Guide available to buy in our online shop.

10 Reasons to buy real ale in a bottle

1. It's a living product, which means lots of stimulating, fresh flavours.

2. It's the nearest thing to a pint of real ale down at your local.

3. It's not artificially carbonated; the pleasant effervescence is generated wholly by the yeast in the bottle.

4. Almost all bottled real ales are made from just four natural ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast – there are no additives or E numbers.

5. It's mostly brewed by small or regional breweries and sold locally, so you'll be helping your local economy.

6. It's a hand-crafted product and brewers take extra care when producing real ale in a bottle.

7. There is so much variety to be enjoyed – well over 500 real ales in a bottle are now produced in the UK.

8. There are some magnificent bottled real ales from other countries, which go to prove that life outside Britain isn’t all bland, international lagers.

9. It makes an excellent accompaniment to food and with so many different bottled real ales available, it's fascinating to try to match their flavours with various dishes. Try real ale in a bottle instead of wine for a change.
Most importantly...

10. It tastes great!

The audacity of hops

Scottish beer monsters, BrewDog, are creating a 'democratic beer' online. Is this just what the staid world of real ale needs?

Become a livingbeer.com Facebook fan

The mission is to have more fans than Coke! Why not join the ale gang http://www.facebook.com/pages/LivingBeercom/23583468798

Chuffing nice little film

From Livingbeer.com's sponsorship of the movie telling the story of the Mid Suffolk Light Railway came this lovely trailer

Brumas Home Brewery

If this is the mini home brewery machine that James May was using in his caravan in Drink To Britain?