Sunday 23 February 2014

BottleDog, Hops and Glory and The Draft House Charlotte Street

Last week I was moaning about the fact that BrewDog Shepherds Bush wasn't the most pleasant place to have a drink, and that I'd rather be drinking the tasty beers at home. Well BrewDog must have been listening to me, or it's a spooky coincidence (I'm going for the former) as they have announced that they're opening an off license called BottleDog, right near my office on Grays Inn Road! Now I can finally drink all the wacky BrewDog beers without having to stare at bare brick walls and exposed ducts and wires surrounded by hipsters sporting trendy moustaches I can only dream of growing, and instead can sit on my sofa with a fat cat on my lap while I watch hipster unfriendly lowbrow tat "Motorway Cops." I'll be sure to pop in when it opens.

I also mentioned last week that it's possible to have a craft beer pub that is actually quite nice and welcoming unlike BrewDog's rather cold environments. Hops and Glory is one of those places. It's in the arse end of nowhere, located on the Essex Road, one of those weird suburban areas dotted around Central London which nobody knows about except the people who live there. But it's worth seeking this pub out. A good selection of cask and an excellent selection of keg and bottled beers were on offer. I was waiting for The Lovely Jemma to get her haircut in trendy Hackney so I couldn't treat myself to one of the stronger beers, so I opted for the 1643 Cannonball from Two Cocks, a tasty session bitter which hit the spot. On a Saturday afternoon the place was pretty quiet, maybe because of its out of the way location, but the customers who where there were enjoying the beers and the whole experience was very cosy. I was disappointed I could only stay for an half hour - I could have quite happily spent a few hours in there.

Another decent craft beer pub I visited recently is the Draft House Charlotte Street. I had heard good things on t'internet about the Draft House franchise and I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. First impressions when I walked in were "wow this place is small." I searched for an upstairs or downstairs with more seating but nope there is only one floor and it's not very big. A large bar takes up a lot of the precious space available.

There was plenty of keg and bottled beer on offer, and a couple of cask offerings as well. I bit the bullet and went for keg, starting with Beavertown Black Betty. This was a splendid Black IPA with a malty flavour pushing through the hops quite nicely. Siren Neither Imperial IPA was up next. At 8.5% they were only serving this in halves, which I always find a bit insulting. If somebody wants to risk ruin physically, mentally and financially, they should be allowed to buy a pint. Anyway this was fabulous, hoppy, tasty and all the other good things you'd expect from a good craft IPA - including the price tag.

The prices are astonishingly high at The Draft House. I know it's "craft" beer and that attracts a premium, as some of the big breweries are discovering and cashing in with their own interpretation of craft. But when The Lovely Jemma was charged £6.95 for a half of Black Betty and half a cider it's hard not to feel a bit exploited. It's testament to the good vibes of the place that we actually bought another round (this one coming in at a brain melting £7.10) and didn't just walk out immediately muttering "How much?!" over and over again like a deranged parrot.  I was hoping an upside of the the high prices would be a high turnover of seating as customers bankrupt themselves after one round and leave, but all that happens is that the punters who were lucky enough to grab a seat nurse their drink for dear life. A bit like being in a Starbucks. Still overall the place had a weird charm and I can see myself going back - only for one drink though, and probably on a Monday. It might be quieter then.

High prices are endemic in all craft pubs, as they can't really pile it high and sell it cheap like more traditional pubs. But I'm not sure how long these high prices can last until punters just think "nope" and stop paying, and craft breweries start to suffer. Craft superstars Art Brew have recently said they're going to stop brewing due to debt - how many other breweries aren't going to survive in an industry that is starting to look like a bubble?

Sunday 16 February 2014

BrewDog Shepherds Bush

It's amazing how in just a few years former no-go areas in London are now the place to be. Granted Shepherds Bush was never as bad as Hackney or Brixton, but it certainly used to be a dump. The only thing going for it was a Safeway and a Cinema, plus the Shepherds Bush Empire music venue. But then the Westfield shopping behemoth swooped in, and with that came an inevitable "regeneration" of the rest of the area. Visiting Shepherds Bush now is a weird experience - despite the shiny Westfield and new tube station the old Shepherds Bush with its grotty terraces and shop fronts is still peeking through - although it's definitely dying out. Property prices are absurd now, I never would have believed the Bush would end up being a desirable place to live. But then again I would have said the same about Brixton and Peckham.

Walking down the green I could see the tell-tale signs that Shepherds Bush had up and come as I had to walk past a Foxtons estate agent to get to the recently opened BrewDog. BrewDog is another trendy success story, and this branch is so confident of itself I couldn't even spot any signs outside the building saying it was a BrewDog. Walking in there is no doubting this is a BrewDog bar. The simple, bare brick and utilitarian décor was in full force, and some of the clientèle were sporting well groomed moustaches and beards.



This is a large BrewDog outlet with plenty of seating. The large serving area at the back has a tremendous amount of beer on offer, displayed on a "Now Showing" cinema style board. No cask here, only keg, and all the beers I tried seemed to be served slightly too cold. I started off with one of BrewDog's own - the Punk IPA which was a crisp, floral and hoppy treat as always. Next up was Weird Beards Decadence Stout which was excellent and the best beer of the evening. Its strong chocolate flavour completely overwhelmed the valiant attempt by the keg delivery to rob all taste. They're not kidding when they say it's "decadent" - the chocolate lingered in the mouth for a good 20 seconds after each sip. Excellent stuff.

The Kernel Pale Ale was up next. As I tried to check this in to the Untappd app it returned hundreds of variations of this beer in the search results. The one I had was the Tomahawk Simcoe Centennial edition. It was disappointing - it tasted watery and had no bite to it. I'm not sure if it was the keg delivery that robbed this beer of any flavour because I've had bottles of this before and it's always been a crisp, hoppy treat. Then again it could have just been a bad batch.

The Old Freddy Walker from Moor was much better, an excellent old ale with rich chocolate and liquorice notes. Like the Decadence Stout as the flavours were so strong the over chilled delivery didn't affect the flavour too much. Last up was My Name is Vladmir from BrewDog. A strong tipple but very tasty, and not as boozy tasting as I had expected from its 8.2% ABV. A good beer to end the night on. In between the beers me and The Lovely Jemma enjoyed some "loaded" fries from the BBQ menu. Topped with cheese, chilli and that hipster favourite pulled pork these were certainly loaded and tasted absolutely delicious.

I enjoyed the beers I had here, even if they were on keg and all seemed to be served too cold, and the food was excellent, but I wouldn't be running back to this bar. It just didn't have a very comfortable atmosphere. I got the same feeling at their other outlets, probably because of the stripped back decor and minimal furnishing which leads to a cold, clinical atmosphere. A pinball machine and a couple of arcade machines in the corner added some much needed amusement to the place but overall this is a cold environment to enjoy some very good beers. I'd much rather be drinking the beers on offer here in a more comfortable pub or bar, or even just buying a bottle and enjoying them at home.

Maybe I'm just not the target market for BrewDog but I do prefer my pubs to be a welcoming, comfortable place to drink. To be honest if I wasn't there with the good company I was with I'd be itching to leave within half a hour. It's definitely possible to have a craft beer pub that is both comfortable and have a great selection of craft beers, and next weeks update will be about two pubs that get the formula right. But with BrewDog, the only branch I've been too that hit the sweet spot of good beer and welcoming atmosphere is the Camden branch, perhaps because its smaller size gets the staff and customers mingling a bit more. Sorry BrewDog, but while your beers are great, the lustre has worn off your bars - at least for me.

Sunday 9 February 2014

Lidl

Lidl, the German discount supermarket chain, has become ever more popular with the "squeezed middle classes," at least if the The Times is to be believed. As someone who likes to think themselves as middle class I never really understood the appeal of the place. Every time I walked past one of their stores and peek inside at the brightly lit, sparsely decorated warehouse, with stock placed around haphazardly while miserable looking folk trooped around putting no name brand foods into their trolleys, I would think to myself "This is not the store for me." Food shopping is not my favourite activity even when the shop is trying to be as welcoming as possible so to shop in a recreation of 1960's East Germany didn't really appeal.

Recently however The Lovely Jemma encouraged me to actually go inside Lidl and do a shop. I was sceptical at first but I thought I may as well give it a chance. Maybe those bleary eyed shoppers knew something I didn't. I'll give one thing to Lidl - despite the completely unwelcome and slightly oppressive atmosphere, it sure is cheap in there. For some things anyway. Fruit, veg and diary products seem reasonably priced and the quality is decent as well. The fresh meat is probably best avoided - the chicken we bought had enough water in the packet to hose down a small cat.

What has this got to do with beer you ask? Well along with all the usual groceries, and the bizarre aisle of tat in the middle of the store where you can buy everything from mini fridges to cat playpens, and whatever else the Lidl buyers have nicked from a passing lorry, you can find some ale. My local branch tends to have Shepherd Neame beers - I'm not sure if this is the same across all stores or if they have regional variations. The beers are nearly always 99p a bottle and even though they've never been great, I can't really complain at that price. I've tried Neame's Amber Ale, Up and Under and Dragonfire and to be honest they have all tasted very similar, slightly murky with hoppy flavours pushing through. I've also seen Hobgoblin and Jennings Cumberland Ale on sale, and they seem to get excess stock from other brewers as well.

While I certainly wouldn't recommend a special trip to Lidl for the beer it is nice to pick up a bottle for 99p while doing the rest of your shop. Oddly every shop I've done in Lidl has come to £33, no matter what I buy. Maybe their tills can't count any higher.

Next week I'll be letting you know about my visit to the newest Brewdog outlet in London down in trendy Shepherds Bush. Hope you can join me!

Sunday 2 February 2014

Birmingham Part Two and The Cronx Brewery

My main reason for going to Birmingham was to visit a friend who lives in Moseley to celebrate her birthday. Moseley is a suburb on a hill looking over Birmingham city centre. This way my first visit there and I wasn't sure what to expect. It's actually quite a well off little suburb, apparently popular with factory bosses back in the day because they could look down at their industrial paradise high up from their grand houses. These days it's more doctors and solicitors looking down at the city while counting their riches, and The Guardian did an article on the area claiming that the Russians might move in once High Speed 2 is up and running. Somehow I don't think the Oligarchs are going to schlep it out to Birmingham but stranger things have happened.

The party was excellent although I'm starting to feel my age as I was nodding off by 3a.m. I don't think the ales I had consumed before hand helped matters. The next morning I felt surprisingly chipper and me and The Lovely Jemma headed off into Moseley centre for that finest tradition of hangover cures - the Wetherspoons Breakfast. The Elizabeth of York is a modern two floor 'Spoons inside, with the downstairs a little dark and claustrophobic because of the  overhanging second floor. The breakfast was fine and although I didn't get to try the beer, the typical early morning elderly clientèle all seemed to be enjoying their morning pints of Fosters and Stella. I didn't see anybody supping a whisky chaser with their pint though - they're not as hardcore here as the Manchester Wetherspoons breakfast customers.

Suitably refuelled from breakfast we had a look down the high street. We counted five pubs in the area - clearly the citizens of Moseley enjoy a drink. We popped in to the Prince of Wales at the end of the high street as we had heard good things about the place. At 12p.m we were the only customers in there so we got to enjoy the well kept and impressive interior in peace. This is a fine looking pub with two very comfortable snugs, one with a small serving area. Follow the fine tiled corridor to the outside area and you'll find a hut selling cigars, and also one of these:



The snug that nearly killed me
Yes there's a tiki bar in the garden. It was amazing - a huge space with all the tacky tiki crap you'd expect - masks, washed up boats, and cocktails with terrible tiki theme puns in their name served from a beach hut. Me and TLJ made a vow to come back one evening in summer to try this place - I imagine it's a blast. Back inside I enjoyed a Oakham Bishops Farewall in one of the snugs. It was a relaxing, quiet pint until the fireplace started belching out smoke and the fire alarm went off. The staff sorted it out pretty quickly and we left shortly thereafter. You know a pub is good when I'm nearly asphyxiated there and I still look forward to coming back.

Returning to Birmingham city centre we went to The Old Contemptibles for a relaxing lunch before heading back to London. This Nicholson's pub follows the standard formula - dark oak furnishing, comfortable pub classics on the food menu, varied if boring selection of well kept ales. I tried a Vale Longitude, which was in good condition with a delicate fruity flavour. My fish and chips dinner was filling if uninspiring. In fact uninspiring describes this place pretty well. It did the job but I wouldn't be rushing back. Well fed and watered we headed back to London. I enjoyed my time in Birmingham and I didn't spot one "craft" pub while on my travels - the pubs we visited just seemed to concentrate on being welcoming and serving a good selection of beers rather than trying to impress with fifty different types of IPA.

Happy punters enjoying their beers
Just a quick mention of the Cronx Brewery open day last weekend. What a pleasure this was, and it actually gave the rather grim Croydon estate of New Addington a reason to exist. This young start up brewery organised an entertaining open day with good beer and great BBQ food. While munching on a delicious pulled pork sandwich I enjoyed a Cronx Single Hop Cascade which was a well hopped and very yummy tipple. Fellow Croydon brewery Clarence & Fredericks had a guest beer on and their Cascadian Black was superb, well hopped and a hint of sourness in the finish giving it an edge. The only disappointment was the Entire Chilli Porter which apart from the chilli tingle at the end didn't taste of much at all. Sadly I didn't get to see any of the live bands but overall it was a great day and with the warehouse setting, trendy BBQ, live music and craft beer I felt I was more in Hackney rather than the cultural void that is New Addington. Good to see Cronx can organise a piss up in their own brewery.

Where the magic happens