Contents
p5
Editor Dominic Roskrow on those magic malt moments that sneak up on you and remind you why beer and whisky can be so special
Over my many years on this planet, I’ve had more magic moments from malt – beer and whisky – than Champagne ones.
The principle reason for this is that celebration moments with Champagne tend to be c...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
From the Editor
p7
It looks like a Burgundy or Port, but it’s a barley wine
It was a sacred place, for heaven’s sake - a shrine. Now I go to pay my respects and it has a sign saying Hotel du Vin. This is adding insult to injury; dedicating to wine a building that was previous...
By Michael Jackson in the section
The Beer Hunter
p14
A selection of letters and postings from our forum www.beers-of-the-world.com
BeerMonkey
Subject: Polypins
I was at a friend’s house party recently and I sampled the most amazing beer. It was in the form of Speckled Hen from Greene King and came in a polypin which holds 36 p...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
The Beer Forum
p16
Dutch Trappist brewery Koningshoeven has been accepted back in to the Trappist fold after a long-standing ‘excommunication.’ Roger Protz found out what happened
Healing a family rift is hard at the best of times, but it’s devilish difficult when the family in question is the brotherhood of Trappist monks.
Trappists – if you’ll pardon the pun – tend to keep t...
By Roger Protz in the section
International Brewery
p20
Planning a trip to the World Cup? Richard Jones provides a guide as to what to drink and eat
Whether you’re fan or foe of the beautiful game, it’s impossible to ignore the 2006 World Cup in Germany this summer.
Thirty two teams from fanatical (and ambivalent) football nations will descend on...
By Richard Jones in the section
International Focus
p24
Welsh brewer Brains combines a thoroughly modern approach to its business with the very best of traditions. Glynn Davis reports
It might be about to enter its 125th year as a brewer in the centre of Cardiff but Brains is a thoroughly modern-thinking company with family owners who continue to ensure that their charge has fire i...
By Glynn Davis in the section
Regional Focus
p28
In the latest in our series Nigel Huddleston looks at the role fruit can play in the production of quality beers from around the world
Why do brewers use fruit?
Normally we’d kick-off with ‘what are hops?’ (or whatever it is you need to know everything about this month), but if we do that with fruit it’s going to end up like one of ...
By Nigel Huddleston in the section
Beer Production
p30
American icon Garret Oliver has written arguably the definitive book on food and beer matching. Zak Avery met him and tasted some of his pairings
Garrett Oliver is an iconic figure within the brewing world. As brewmaster of the Brooklyn brewery, and the author of the definitive book on beer and food matching (The Brewmaster’s Table), there’s no...
By Zak Avery in the section
Beer Trends
p34
Yorkshire is one of Britain’s finest beer regions. We have extensively covered North Yorkshire in past issues. Here Barrie Pepper goes West and South
The 1974 edition of the Good Beer Guide – the very first which warned you to avoid Watney’s like the plague – lists 10 breweries in South and West Yorkshire.
Of these eight have closed. In this year’...
By Barrie Pepper in the section
Regional Focus
p38
A bear walks into a bar in Billings, Montana and sits down. He bangs on the bar with his paw and demands a beer.
The bartender approaches and says:
“We don’t serve beer to bears in bars in Billings....
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p38
Design student has come up with the idea of a hand-held, portable drinks cooler – called The ‘Coolboy’ – and says this is how we will be chilling our drinks in 2020.
The ‘Coolboy’ concept is a lightw...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p38
There are rumours in the film world that The Dukes Of Hazzard’s director Jay Chandrasekhar is working on a beer-related film.
The film is being billed as Fight Club with booze, and may possibly be ca...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p39
Brahma beer website
Worthy of a mention in this month’s edition is the website of Brazil’s number one beer, Brahma.
The site really does reflect the colour and vibrancy of Brazilian life and has be...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p39
Several members from Everards’ football team got in touch with their feminine side when modelling for the company’s charity calendar.
The staff from the Leicestershire based brewery borrowed clothes ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p39
Last edition we featured four games, but the Splinter beer game is possibly one of the best things out there in cyberspace for the beer devotee.
We have all been in the scenario: home late, slightly ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p40
Ben McFarland gets all gooey at a beer and chocolate tasting
Being a beer writer has its upsides. As careers go, it’s not quite up there with ‘serial lottery winner’ or ‘bed-tester,’ but there’s certainly shoddier ways to cough up for the mortgage, that’s for s...
By Ben McFarland in the section
Beer and Food
p43
You don’t always equate quality beer with Indian restaurants. But Sukhi’s was so good it ended up in Britain’s Parliament buildings. Michele Hart reports
Lancashire curry house Sukhi’s knew it was doing something right with its beer when it heard it was to be listed in the Common’s Bar in Britain’s parliament buildings.
Sukhi’s Quality Premium Lager i...
By Michele Hart in the section
Whisky Trends
p44
For any beer aficionado, a visit to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark is a must. Andrew Marshall reports
Don’t forget your ticket for some complimentary beers,” says the attendant inside the world-famous Carlsberg Brewery as I begin my introduction into the beer and bar culture of Copenhagen, Scandinavia...
By Andrew Marshall in the section
Beer Journeys
p48
The name Jerome Hatt might not be familiar to many of us but two people with that name have played a major role in putting French beer on the map. Lewis Eckett reports
When it comes to alcoholic drinks, France has never really been widely associated with anything beyond wine and brandy. Indeed it has shouted loudly to the world that it does both better than anyone.
...
By Lewis Eckett in the section
Beer Legends
p50
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. At Colorado brewers The New Belgium Beer Company they ’re looking to Europe with a big smile on their faces. Ben McFarland reports
Any beer lovers heading north out of downtown Denver need to keep the faith. The power of big and brash American beer is omnipresent and, stuck in a sweaty hire car, the lure of refreshment is almost ...
By Ben McFarland in the section
International Brewery
p53
A nine-year old Philadelphia watering hole has become a destination pub for fans of Belgian ales from around the world. Jack Curtin spoke to co-owner Tom Peters
Ask Tom Peters if it’s fair to term him the man most responsible for the emergent popularity of Belgian beers across the United States in recent years and he pauses.
The argument can be made, but sho...
By Jack Curtin in the section
Spotlight
p54
France isn’t known for its beers, but in the North of the country they produce some excellent ones. Adrian Tierney-Jones went in search of them
Even though the French make a lot of noise about their wine, it’s Jean Barleycorn and beer that wears the culottes in the northern part of the country.
From the Channel coast to its eastern border wi...
By Adrian Tierney-Jones in the section
Beer Trends
p57
Rutland is Britain’s smallest county but it is responsible for what was one of the country’s greatest beers. Now the former head brewer is making waves again. Nigel Huddleston reports
It doesn’t take much to be the biggest brewer in England’s smallest county.
The Grainstore Brewery occupies a Victorian building that once acted as warehousing for vital supplies coming into and out ...
By Nigel Huddleston in the section
Spotlight
p58
One day Kim Jong Il decided to buy a brewery. Sam Chambers heads to Pyongyang in search of what was once a famous old name in British brewing
At 30,000 ft the first taste is not promising. In fact, it is so bad that the Canadian sitting next door to me winces on slugging back the first North Korean beer of his life and grimaces, “That’s bad...
By Sam Chambers in the section
International Brewery
p61
The history of the British beer can is being kept alive by a small group of enthusiasts. Andrew Burnyeat reports
Almost all breweries – either by luck or design – have a can collection of some sort. When they close, as they so often do these days, the cans all too often die with them.
Why does it matter? Well, ...
By Andrew Burnyeat in the section
Collecting Beer
p62
The Bavarian Beerhouse is bringing a touch of Germany to the centre of London, says Andrew Burnyeat. The perfect place to head during the World Cup?
If you’ve ever been to a Munich beer hall, as a beer lover you’ve had a glimpse inside heaven.
The beer is among the world’s best, the décor and design are gothically outstanding or traditionally Bav...
By Andrew Burnyeat in the section
Spotlight
