En Español

La Ronda (the Spanish speaking version of the Session) takes on a weighty philosophical topic, with Jorge Mario of Columbia asking:

How do you construct, consolidate and maintain a good beer culture?

I’m going to define a good beer culture as one where there are lots of different breweries, and where there is a good range of beers available. In other words, there should be choice for the consumer. Spain has a great bar culture, but I would be being kind if I said there was a great beer culture there.

The question of creating a beer culture from scratch is a fascinating one, but I don’t feel I know enough to comment. (Perhaps some US bloggers could help?). But here’s a few suggestions for what you need to maintain a good beer culture.

Pride is good, but palate is better

It’s good to be proud of your brewing heritage. But it’s important to be proud for the right reasons — does it taste good? The Germans are very proud of their beer, but this usually translates to being proud of drinking your local beer, just because it’s local. When the big corporations take over local Germany breweries, they almost always keep the names and the brand identity.

Whereas I get the impression in Belgium that people are proud of the fact that Belgium produces such a weird and wonderful range of beer, and this must surely help maintain the hundreds of breweries that you find in this tiny country.

Get organised — grass-roots campaigning

You can’t really talk about the British beer scene without mentioning CAMRA. We have our little moans from time to time, but there’s no denying that CAMRA saved cask ale. In doing this, they have promoted a culture of supporting small breweries and offering choice to the consumer.

The focus of CAMRA on real ale can make for a “four-legs-good, two-legs-bad” mentality at times — all real ale must be good, and all “unreal” ale is bad. Then again, a narrow, well-defined focus makes for an effective campaign.

Support your local decent pub

This one is obvious really, but the easiest to put into action – if you have a good pub that is committed to offering a range of beers, support it! The UK would not be able to support the hundreds of breweries it does without all those pubs creating the demand, so get down to your local and start boozing!

Boak

Jorge Mario, de Columbia, ha preguntado:

¿Cómo construir, consolidar y mantener una verdadera cultura cervecera?

Voy a definir una verdadera cultura cervecera como una, donde hay un montón de diferentes fábricas de cerveza, y donde hay una buena variedad de cervezas disponibles. En otras palabras, debe haber elección para el consumidor. España tiene una gran cultura de cervecerias y bares, pero no es decir que hay una verdadera cultura cervecera allí.

La cuestión de la creación de una cultura cervecera desde nada es fascinante, pero desde mi punto de vista británica, no sé suficiente para comentar. Para los amantes británicos de cerveza, la cuestión más pertinente es; ¿Cómo mantener la cultura que tenemos? Aquí unas sugerencias…

El orgullo es bueno, pero un paladar es mejor

Es bueno estar orgulloso de su herencia cervecera. Pero es importante sentirse orgulloso por buenos razones — ¿La cerveza sabe bien? Los alemanes están muy orgullosos de su cerveza, pero esto generalmente resulta en estar orgullosos de su cerveza local, no porque sea buena, sino porque es de su ciudad natal. Cuando las grandes empresas hacerse cargo de cervecerías locales, casi siempre mantienen las marcas, porque venden más.
En contraste, tengo la impresión de que en Bélgica la gente está orgullosa de la variedad maravillosa de cervezas en su país. Y este tipo de orgullo sin duda ayuda a mantener los cientos de cervecerías que se encuentran en este pequeño país.

¡ Organízate!

No se puede hablar de la cultura británica de cerveza sin mencionar CAMRA. [Campaign for Real Ale - Campaña para la protección de la Real Ale] No podemos negar que CAMRA ha protegido la Real Ale. De este modo, han promovido una cultura que ayuda a pequeñas fabricantes de cerveza y que ofrece elección al consumidor.

El objetivo de CAMRA a veces es un poco como “Cuatro patas Bueno, dos patas Malo” – es decir que hay personas que creen que todos las real ales son buena, y todos las “irreales” son malas. Por otra parte, este objetivo estrecho y bien-definido hace una campaña eficaz.

Apoya a tu pub local

Esta sugerencia es evidente, pero es la más fácil de poner en acción. Si tienes un buen pub que ofrece una amplia variedad de cervezas, ¡apóyalo! El Reino Unido no sería capaz de mantener los cientos de fábricas de cerveza que tenemos si no hubiera tantos pubs que crea la demanda. En conclusión, ¡váyate a tu bar local y tomáte muchas copas de buena cerveza!

Boak

Dark Star Espresso Stout

On a recent business trip to Cheshire, I got billetted in Frodsham. My taxi driver volunteered the information that the pubs in town were decent and recommended the Helter Skelter.

Good call.

It’s pointedly a “real ale pub” but with an extremely mixed clientele and a genuinely relaxed atmosphere. There were lots of lads and ladies drinking lager, some middle-aged couples on a double date, a few old ladies on a night out and, of course, a huddle of men with beards having an earnest conversation over a notebook.

The beer was in astoundingly good condition. Phoenix’s West Coast IPA offered a late taste of summer and lived up to its marketing (a weaker Liberty Ale?) and Dark Star Espresso Stout was sweeter and chewier than from the bottle.

The beer was served with a sparkler, as you’d expect in that part of the world, but here it just seemed to give the head some body without turning it into shaving foam. I’m coming round to the idea.

What is this pub getting right? Friendly staff, for one thing. Lots of information, for another — a board behind the bar with a guide to the colour of the beers on offer is a stroke of genius. It helps that they’re not trying to beervangelise to anyone: there are no scary signs telling people off for not liking real ale, for example, and you can get a pint of Stella if that’s what you want.

And a bit of quiet background music doesn’t hurt, either.

Bailey

Dark Star Espresso Stout

On a recent business trip to Cheshire, I got billetted in Frodsham. My taxi driver volunteered the information that the pubs in town were decent and recommended the Helter Skelter.

Good call.

It’s pointedly a “real ale pub” but with an extremely mixed clientele and a genuinely relaxed atmosphere. There were lots of lads and ladies drinking lager, some middle-aged couples on a double date, a few old ladies on a night out and, of course, a huddle of men with beards having an earnest conversation over a notebook.

The beer was in astoundingly good condition. Phoenix’s West Coast IPA offered a late taste of summer and lived up to its marketing (a weaker Liberty Ale?) and Dark Star Espresso Stout was sweeter and chewier than from the bottle.

The beer was served with a sparkler, as you’d expect in that part of the world, but here it just seemed to give the head some body without turning it into shaving foam. I’m coming round to the idea.

What is this pub getting right? Friendly staff, for one thing. Lots of information, for another — a board behind the bar with a guide to the colour of the beers on offer is a stroke of genius. It helps that they’re not trying to beervangelise to anyone: there are no scary signs telling people off for not liking real ale, for example, and you can get a pint of Stella if that’s what you want.

And a bit of quiet background music doesn’t hurt, either.

Bailey

Delirium ha organizado esta Ronda, en la que tenemos que proponer una cata de cervezas virtual.

“Suponed que lo que queréis es dar a conocer esta bebida a gente que por lo general no es bebedora habitual de cerveza….tiene que haber un mínimo de 5 y un máximo de 8 cervezas…Mejor no escoger cervezas elaboradas tan sólo en una microcervecería, accesibles tan sólo a unos pocos”

Como nos gusta beer-vangelizar de vez en cuando, hemos hablado mucho de este tema. Después de mucha consideración, optamos por la siguiente seis cervezas.

Queríamos presentar un surtido de estilos, para demonstrar al novato la variedad que existe en el mundo de cerveza. Al mismo tiempo, las cervezas tienen que ser fáciles de tomar, así que no hemos incluido cervezas agrias or la famosa Rauchbier… Además, decidimos proponer sólo cervezas de botella, teniendo en cuenta la disponibilidad limitada de “real ale” fuera del Reíno Unido.

Esta lista no representa nuestras cervezas favoritas, pero tomaríamos todas con ganas.

Hoegaarden, 5%

Mucha gente dice que esta cerveza hoy no es como era, que tiene menos complejidad ahora que antes. Sin embargo, creemos que es una bebida muy saborosa y refrescante. La hemos incluído porque, en nuestra experiéncia, a las bebidores inhabituales de cerveza les interesa y les gusta, por su sabor distinta y raro. Por supuesto, podríamos substituir otras wits – una de nuestras favoritas es la de St Bernardus – pero Hoegaarden es mucho más fácil encontrar.

Brooklyn Lager, 5.2%

Ya hemos escribimos sobre esto. Ésta es la cerveza para los bebidores de lagers aburridas. A los amantes de ale también les gustará el sabor lleno de malta y del lúpulo fresco y aromático. Es simplemente una cerveza magnífica.

St Austell, “Proper Job” IPA, 5.5%

Muchas personas piensan que una ale británica tiene que ser tostada y sin gas. Esta selección es para ellas. Es una cerveza rubia que brilla en la copa. Tiene un aroma y sabor muy “lúpuloso” y floral, pero no es demasiado amarga. Hemos escogido esta cerveza desde otras ejemplos buenos porque está riquísimo en la botella — mejor que en el barril, en nuestra opinión.

Quiza elijamos Meantime IPA en lugar de eso, porque creemos que se la exporta más, pero es más “extrema” y difícil de digerir.

Schneider Weisse 5.4%

Queríamos incluir una Weissbier porque es un estilo tan interesante y distinto. Schneider Weisse es nuestra favorita – no es tan empalagosa como la mayoría de las otras, y el sabor de plátano no es tan sofocante. Hemos descubrido que a muchos amantes de lager les entusiasma una Weissbier, porque es fría y espumosa.

Fuller’s London Porter, 5.4%

Ésta es la cerveza para los bebidores de Guinness para demonstrar la potential de las cervezas negras. Es una mezcla estupenda de chocolate, frutas, café tostado y regaliz. Sabe muy bien en la botella, pero es una maravilla en barril. Si hablamos sobre complejidad, riqueza y intensidad de sabor, ésta tiene más que muchas cervezas belgas con dos veces más alcohol. La cerveza favorita de Boak.

Triple Karmeliet, 8.4%

Guardaríamos esta cerveza para el fin de la cata. Tiene la dulzura tentadora y la comodidad de Leffe, pero tiene más profundidad de sabor – ¡ y tiene más credibilidad! Hemos probado cervezas más complejas, pero es una buena iniciación al mundo de cervezas fuertes de Bélgica.

Otras consideraciones

Nos preguntamos si debemos incluir una cerveza de fruta. Al final decidimos que no, aunque nos gustan, porque nuestro objectivo de la cata es promocionar buena cerveza. No es decir que las cervezas de frutas no son buenas – pero son muy diferentes, y normalmente no saben a cerveza. Una persona pueden disfrutar de Fruli y al mismo tiempo odio la cerveza “normal”.

La cerveza de chocolate fue otra opción. El problema es que los ejemplos que nos gustan son demasiado sutiles para esta cata. Por ejemplo, dimos a una amiga una Meantime Chocolate, y ella no podía distinguir el sabor de chocolate entre los otros. “¡Urgh! ¡Sabe a cerveza!

Si has leido hasta este punto, quiza te interesarán otras catas – Tandleman presentó al asistentes a GBBF a una selección de bottle-conditioned beers (aunque no las elijó personalmente), y Wilson de Brewvana organizó una cata para mujeres, con resultos interesantes.

Various Hogsback Brewery beers

Lots of people seem to rate T.E.A. (Traditional English Ale) by the Hogs Back* brewery. We’ve had it on a number of occasions (on cask and in bottle) and never really liked it. There’s just something a bit acrid about it. So we’ve never made much of a point about seeking their stuff out.

However, the other night we were in Stonch‘s pub, and he got out some of their OTT, a 6% old ale. As he says in his post, it had a “surprisingly sour, funky character”, tasting almost like an Oud Bruin. It worked extremely well and was very tasty, but we did wonder whether it was supposed to taste like that.

We’ve just drunk a bottle we’ve had stashed away for a while, and it’s a very different beer. There are elements of a dark Belgian beer like Ciney Brune in the nose and mouth. I suppose there’s a hint of sourness right at the end, but you would not call this a sour beer. It’s much more fruity. It’s very pleasant. I don’t know which I prefer — this version, or the potentially “off” bottle we had the other night!

Anyway, this made us keen to try the rest of the Hogs Back stash we’d accumulated over the years. Burma Star Ale is 4.2%, and a percentage of the revenue goes to the Burma Star Association. It’s a well-rounded, red ale, with spicy, fruity aroma. An almost creamy maltiness gives way to a nutty, dry finish. Nice.

Then came Wobble in a Bottle, which packs a powerful punch at 7.5%. It didn’t look all that great — the head vanished almost instantly — but this tasted like a good Belgian abbey brew. Similar sugary-fruity-chewiness. I really enjoyed this one.

Finally, we had to try T.E.A. again. I would love to say that the conversion process was complete, but it still didn’t work for us. But it made wonderful beer-rye bread.

Boak

*And there’s another lack of apostrophe to wind the Beer Nut up.

She came back with Sign of Spring, by Stonehenge Ales. It was very green.

I’ve had green beers before, most notably Berliner Kindl-Weiss mit schuss, and something Polish with some additive in it. I expect green beers to taste of something other than beer, so it was quite confusing to my senses to realise that this beer was just a normal, rather pleasant, ale. Trouble is, I was so focused on it not tasting green that I can’t really remember what it did taste like.

The advantage of colouring your beer green is that it attracts attention – at least two people asked me what I was drinking, and a few more were staring at it. So perhaps it’s a shrewd marketing gimmick. On the other hand, as with silly names, any kind of gimmick with beer automatically makes me think the beer itself won’t be any good. For example, Andreea reviewed a green beer on her blog recently, where the only point of interest seemed to be its colour.

So is it a good gimmick? If I’d known the beer was green, I probably wouldn’t have ordered it. Then again, at least I remembered it.

Boak

Dogget’s Coat and Badge is right next to Blackfriars bridge and has fabulous river views. I’d always assumed it would be awful, for some reason, probably to do with the queues, but actually, it’s pretty decent. They had at least three real ales on (not your usual suspects either), and Fruli on tap. It’s made me decide to (re)visit all these riverside pubs that I’d written off in the past.

Stonehenge Ales seem like a very interesting lot. I’ve had their Danish Dynamite before and thought it was lovely, although I can’t remember many details about it. (Pale and hoppy?) Unfortunately, their website appears to be malfunctioning at the moment, so I haven’t included a link, but you can read Adrian Tierney-Jones on Stonehenge and other small West Country breweries here. UPDATE: they’ve fixed the site, which you can find here.

Photo courtesy of Stringberd at Flickr, under a Creative Commons license.