Is the Grass Greener, Oh Yes!

The Beer Revolution has been away for the past number days but he hasn’t been idle. I’ve been in England and though it hasn’t been a beer trip (yes, I know the Cambridge beer festival was on while I was here) I have been observing and keeping notes while fulfilling family duties.

So, after many years of CAMRA being active in this land, what has been the result?

My first port of call was a manor garden café (dutiful husband). To go with their pork pies and lasagna they obviously had some beer and cider. This consisted of, unfortunately, only mainstream cider but among the small choice of industrial beer a local organic lager from the Hepworth Brewery stood out with its rather minimalist, slightly misleading label which suggested it as a blond beer. Not so. On opening, later that evening, it turned out to be a rather ordinary 5% lager. But top marks for putting an organic, local lager on the market. And minus marks for putting it in a clear bottle. (This is an issue that deserves a post all of its own.) And why make such a fuss about using local hops and wuss out on the quantities? Methinks the marketing people in Hepworth have more say than the brewers!

Next up, the local Sainsbury’s. Nothing very different from an Irish Tesco’s here; a few English ales, some Inbev Belgian beers and all the rest, but a short walk across the road to the small chain off-licence displays the earnest efforts that English ale producers have made to get their products into the mainstream. A high visibility display adorns every offie I’ve been in with a fair selection of English ales sold at three for £4. Maybe if we got them at that price here we’d drink more of them!

Surely Wagamama’s aren’t players in the beer game. In England they are. Among the usual Asian suspects nestles Asahai Dark Lager. I’ve never seen that in Waga’s in Cork. I just had to have a beer with lunch! Mmm smooth and black – not a million miles from a Pint Bottle.

Now, the local pub can be a very hit and miss affair in England but Badger umbrellas outside got one’s hopes up. One Tangle Foot later and I’m still not sure if I like cask conditioned ale but, hey, that’s my problem (and as long as I visit, I’ll keep trying to acquire the taste but, oh, for even a little fizz). As long as English pubs continue to reintroduce traditional beer there is hope for beer everywhere, especially when you consider the state of beer in England fifteen years ago.

Finally, today, bearing in mind the dutiful husband that I am, I had to endure a long, lingering lunch in an ancient manor house called Gravetye (pictured). Top-end hotels, restaurants, and houses in Ireland take note – yes, you should have an extensive wine list (and this was extensive), yes, you should stock a huge array of spirits, fortified wines and liqueurs (these guys had their own label Speyside 12 and 14 year single old malt) but, no, stocking a small selection of decent beers will not damage your business. I admit that their beer list wasn’t up to the standard of the rest of their drinks menu but it’s a start. Peroni, Beck’s, Budvar, Leffe (blond, I imagine), Duvel, Guinness (not sure what type), Fuller’s Honey Dew, Harvey’s Old Ale and Kaliber aint so bad. To me the list screamed out for Thomas Hardy Ale and something better than Kalibur (maybe Baltika 0) but I’ve never seen anything close in an Irish top-end restaurant (tell me if you have).

Just to support their list, I selflessly had a Harvey’s old ale. At only 3.7%, this dark, malty, old fashioned ale slips down after a sumptuous feed. Not being a fan of weaker beers, it surprised me with its complexity and a little carbonation from the bottle appealed to my philistine ways.

What have CAMRA done for England?

I was not seeking beer but look what I found.
Maybe there is hope.
Maybe?
Damn right there is.
Howl for good beer, you good people.

My last drink was; Harvey's Old English Ale, 3.7%abv, 33cl