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Italy now boasts 350-plus new craft brewers – many producing exceptional Real Ales – Birra Artiginale.  They are a testimony to the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci’s land.  They combine, as he did, artistic ingenuity and scientific innovation.  Italy is a beer backwater no longer.

The marvel of Birra Artiginale is in innovative approaches to traditional beer styles.  The Pig’s Ear and Cider Festival is delighted to offer 8 draught Italian ales demonstrating such approaches.  This is the first time so large a number of Italian cask Real Ales has been available in Britain!

The Festival is to be held at the Round Chapel in Hackney from Tuesday December 6 until and including Saturday December 10.  It will, however, celebrate British genius as well as Italian genius.  It demonstrates the thrilling reality of Britain’s Micro-Breweries winning more and more drinkers for our classic native Real Ale.  Produced by proud independents, they’re all individual as well as great-tasting.  In 1980 there were about a dozen Micro-Breweries – now Britain has over 800 offering some 3,000 Real Ales.

Showcasing London Ales

The Festival will have some 140 draught ales from 104 selected Micro-Breweries.  Festival Organiser, Derek Jones, says: “We are especially proud to showcase 31 Beers from 16 London newcomers such as East London Brewing of Leyton and Redemption of Tottenham.  Among the other exciting London Micro-breweries to feature will be Kernel of Southwark – winner of the 2010 Beer of the Festival Award.  London was once one of the world’s great brewing centres and we enthusiastically welcome this renaissance.”

In addition there will be an exceptional selection of Bottled and Foreign Beers and the noted Cider and Perry Bar featuring artisan producers – plus Food Stalls and Pub Games.  The Festival’s opening hours are Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday Noon-22.30: Friday and Saturday Noon-23.00.

The Pig’s Ear Beer and Cider Festival is being organised by the East London and City (ELAC) Branch of the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).  Its Chairman, John Pardoe, adds: “This will be our sixth successive year in Hackney and the Festival has seen numbers attending grow to record levels.  We’re confident 2011 will be equally successful especially as the Round Chapel is so easily reached by train and bus.”

For further information please leave a message below or get in touch via http://www.facebook.com/camra.elac with thanks to Bill Green of East London and City CAMRA for the information above.

I’ve probably written about this before, but still haven’t seen anything like it anywhere else.

At the Red Lion in Littleborough you can see the guest beer via an ‘inspection chamber’ in the pump – so if you’re not a light/dark beer person you can easily avoid something you might not like. I do think this is a genius idea…so why isn’t it more common in pubs?

The menu is below – the usual disclaimers about availability apply.

Cider & Perry

CRONES (Norfolk )
OWLD NORFOLK slightly dry side of medium 7.4%
PERRY a scrumpy style Perry 6.3%

GWYNT Y DDRAIG ( Pontypridd, Wales )
TWO TREES PERRY very smooth 4.5%

CORE FRUIT ( Kent )
STRAWBERRY CIDER full of strawberry flavour 5.5%
HARDCORE strong and drinkable 8.0%

Beers

BANK TOP ( Bolton 1995 )
RED BEARD 4.1%
BARNEY’S ( Edinburgh 2010 )
GOOD ORDINARY PALE ALE 4.4%
BEOWOLF (Brownhills, Walsall 1997 )
QUEST 4.4%
BLUEBALL ( Runcorn, Cheshire 2010 )
OCTOBERFEST 5.2%
BRIDESTONES ( Hebdon Bridge, Yorkshire 2006 )
PENINE GOLD 4.3%
BUNTINGFORD ( Royston, Herefordshire 2001 )
ENGINEER 3.9%
CAIRNGORN ( Aviemore, Inverness 2001 )
WILD CAT 5.1%
CHEDDAR (Cheddar, Somerset 2006 )
POTHOLER 4.3%
EAST LONDON BREWING ( Leyton, London 2011 )
PALE ALE 4.0%
FOUNDATION BITTER 4.2%
FUZZY DUCK ( Pulton-le-Flyde Lancashire 2006 )
GOLDEN CASCADE 3.8%
ILKLEY ( Ilkley, Yorkshire 2009 )
GOLD 3.9%
IXB 4.5%
KENT BREWERY ( West Malling, Kent 2010 )
BLACK GOLD 4.0 %
HARVEST MOON 4.6%
KISSINGATE ( Horsham Sussex 2010 )
BEST 4.0%
CHENNAI 5.0%
LIVERPOOL CRAFT ( Liverpool, 2011 )
VIKING BITTER 4.2%
MARBLE ( Manchester 1998 )
STOUTER STOUT 4.7%
MIGHTY OAK (Maldon, Essex)
OSCAR WILDE 3.7%
SILVER GHOST 3.9%
NORTON PRIORY ( Runcorn, Cheshire 2011 )
PALE 3.7%
REDEMPTION (Tottenham, London 2010 )
FELLOWSHIP PORTER 5.1%
SALTAIRE ( Shipley, Yorkshire 2006 )
ELDERFLOWER BLONDE 4.0%
SAXON CITY ALES (Stoke Edith, Hereford 2010 )
DUBONNI 3.8%
SMARTS ( Preston, Lancashire 2011 )
BITTER 4.2%
TONBRIDGE (Tonbridge, Kent 2010 )
COPPERNOB 3.8 %
TUDOR (Abergavenny, Wales 2007 )
BLORRENGE 3.8%
TYNEBANK ( Newcastle upon Tyne 2011 )
MONUMENT BITTER 4.1%

Open from 5pm on Thursday and 12 noon for the rest of the event it’s free to get in if you are club or CAMRA member, or £1 before 8pm, £3 after 8pm on Saturday.

You can download the poster for more information or give them a ring on 0208 527 3944. The clubhouse can be found behind the Walthamstow Town Hall on Forest Road, E17 4JF.

I went to the last one on the Saturday night when they have live music. It was excellent!

Serve to taste

6 whiskies were on offer from the Master of Malt single cask range – other than that there wasn’t any other ‘theme’. We started with a Lowland malt – North British (20), a single grain. Light and fresh, with butterscotch ‘Angels Delight’ on the nose this was rather nice. Fruity but nothing specific (for me at least) it was pleasant and definitely an encouragement to try more single Grain.
Whisky #2, saw us move up to Speyside, with a Cragganmore 20. On the nose we got Blackcurrants and Apple shampoo, quite sherberty if that makes any sense.  By the palette it became more sulphur and harsh – allegedly tasting like cat food! Not much on the finish – I really wasn’t too fussed on this one.
 
 

Dailuaine 27

For Number 3 we stayed in Speyside moving round to Dailuaine with a 1983 distilled, 27 year old. Matured in a refill sherry hogshead, I haven’t actually written much down for this one (oops!).

Staying with Dailuaine for Whisky 4, we moved away from the Master of Malt range, to a 13 year old from 1997.  This was much more subtled – lighter and also much less alcoholic at just 46% (1 to 3 were all in the mid 50%s). Adding water led some us to think this gave of eau-du-pond with the most extreme description being a not particularly nice beach, the sea salt spray mixed in with other less pleasant sulphur.
 
 
 

Secret 30

Still Speyside, number 5 came from the secret bottling series so no idea on which distillery.  At 30 years old it was the oldest of the night – heavily sherried, it evoked proper Christmas cake, a decent rum (the sugar burn) and spices.  Very tasty – if I didn’t want to one day be able to afford a house I’d be seriously tempted by this at £100 – it’s definitely more to my tastes than the Shackleton replica or some of the other £100 whiskies I’ve tasted.

Finally we left the mainland for the island of Islay, finishing with a 1982 26 year old Bowmore. Pretty much everyone in the room reckoned pencils on the nose with a touch of parma violets. For an Islay malt the peat was quite subdued and fruity. On the finish I could even get pear drops. This was ‘a whisky to put lead in your pencil!’.

If this sounds up your street check out http://www.whiskysquad.com/ – bookings for the next event are due to open around 18:00 on Friday October 14th and are filled on a first come first served basis.

Taking a closer look

Update – Thanks to Mr Standing of Whisky Squad for a couple of corrections, turns out I missed the fact the 2nd Dailuaine was from another range!

 
The beer list as follows:

For more information take a look at the Red Lion on Twitter.

*note in true Southern style, the North is anything above Watford.

So here’s the official word from the organisers.

Historic Round Chapel To Host Pig’s Ear Beer And Cider Festival Again In 2011

The 2010 Pig’s Ear Beer and Cider Festival December 2010 in the Round Chapel.

The annual Pig’s Ear Beer and Cider Festival was triumphantly held at Hackney’s historic Round Chapel in 2010 with record attendances.  So the Festival is to be held there for a second time from December 6 to December 10.

Festival Organiser, Derek Jones, says: “The Festival is organised by the East London and City Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).  Its members were delighted that the Round Chapel proved then what a fine venue it is.  English Heritage has magnificently restored this Grade II* building and attendees were impressed by its splendour.”

The Festival will offer over 200 Real Ales, 100 quality Foreign Beers, craft ciders –plus Pub Games and food stalls.

Built in 1871 the Round Chapel is in Powerscroft Road and next to the main Lower Clapton Road.   It once attracted thousands to church services and now is attracting devotees of the Barley and the Hop.

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East London and City CAMRA have updated their Facebook – use this links to find out more…

ELAC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/camra.elac

Pigs Ear 2011 on Facebook http://on.fb.me/n61QfC

You can also find the 2011 poster here.

Altrincham Market

 This festival is slightly unusual in that it is run by a bar – Altrincham’s “Le Trappiste”, but supported by the local CAMRA volunteers who provide many of the bar staff.

Simple but effective glass design

Beer wise as usual I forgot to take any notes. However taking the tactic of trying some of the more ludicrously named beers looking back at the menu there’s a hazy recollection. A few highlights included Leatherbritches brewery – Lemongrass and Ginger (which I recall smelt awful but actually tasted very pleasant!), Wentworth brewery – Lemonale (tasty but I remember only wanting 1/2 pint and no more) with my favouite being one of the last of the night, Bollington Brewery – Le Trappiste Classic (a special brew for the festival, an ale aping the Belgian ‘Double’ style and very much in line with my preferences!).

Entertainment was also provided in the form of a rock band called ‘Quiet desperation’.

Saturday night's alright

All in all it was an excellent night and definitely worth a look in 2012.

Gratuitous serving shot

The brewing plant - hot liquor tub, mash tun and copper

The journey of the East London Brewing Company began back in November last year when Stuart decided to take the plunge and quit his job in chemical R&D to pursue something more fulfilling.  Joined by his wife Claire, who has a background in marketing and communication, they began the process of hashing out the plan for the new business.  After a long search, which took in an awful lot of railway arches, they settled on their chosen location in June this year.

Stuart explains the 'joys' of fermination

Initially, Stuart is planning to concentrate on two beers – a Pale Ale at 4.0% and ‘Foundation Bitter’ at 4.2%, with the latter due to depart the brewery for the first time early next week. Brewing 3 to 4 batches each month the focus is on a small amount of crafted, quality beers.

Confirmed pubs on the delivery route at the time of writing are as follows:

• The Albion, Goldsmiths Row, Bethnal Green
• The Britannia, Hackney
• Snooty Fox, Canonbury
• Jolly Butchers, Stoke Newington
• Mason and Taylor, Shoreditch
• The Southampton Arms, Gospel Oak
• Red Lion, Leytonstone
• The Wenlock, Islington

And the beer? Well, it would be rude to visit a brewery without sampling it’s wares! Whilst the beer was still quite ‘green’ (very early in secondary fermentation – i.e. not really ready yet) it was rather tasty, I’m looking forward to sampling a pint from the tap in the next few weeks.

Casks. Coming to a pub near you!

For more information take a look at www.eastlondonbrewing.com or follow them on twitter (@eastlondonbrew) for up to the minute news.

Definitely something to keep an eye out for.

With thanks to Stuart, Claire and Richard Pearce for organising the trip to the brewery.

A keen brewer hands me a sample of Brew 'LF9'

This event was billed a ‘media focused small launch to try a few beers where anyone was welcome: the crowds did come and not just your stereotypical CAMRA types – it was an enjoyably chaotic event, even if this meant I didn’t actually get to properly meet t brewers.

Soaking up the atomosphere

So the important bit – the beer. With 5 on offer to taste at various stages of brewing there was a fair amount to think about.

LF1 – their first brew, a take on a hoppy IPA using Moteuka and Nelson Sauvin hops.  Personally I didn’t care for this much, it was extremely bitter and I hope that future brews are either slightly stronger or better balanced.

LF3 – Ian’s take on something a bit like Landlord. Very malty and sweet.

LF4 – A light citrusy ‘Session Ale’. I liked this one the most, it was possibly a little bitter for a session beer but the flavours were reasonably balanced. This one had only been in the cask for about 1 week so will probably develop – ale usually has at least 2 weeks or so in a cask for it’s second fermentation.

LF5 – Jule’s take on something golden, a bit like Exmoor’s Gold. This one smelled really nice but wasn’t too distinctive for me on taste.

LF9 – Known as ‘Love not War’ as it was brewed during the recent London disturbances, this hadn’t even left the mash tun yet at the end of it’s first fermentation! Despite this it was rather tasty and I’m looking forward to sampling this in a pub one day!

Still busy!

We didn’t get to taste the lager they have been talking about on twitter but proper lager does take a few weeks to make!

More information is available via their website, http://www.londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk and there’s also an interview available on the Yeah! Hackney blog.

Tasty beer

The proper launch party will be Saturday 27th to Monday 29th August from 11am to 11pm at the brewery – 374 Helmsley Place E8 3SB. There will be 5 ales on sale, as well as the first appearance of their lager.