It sounds like Tennant Bros. was quite a fun place to work. And that there was plenty of boozing going on in addition to the official allowance. And most of that boozing seemed to involve Gold Label.
I’d love to get some brewed the old way. The 1950’s Tennant recipe and a year in casks. It’s not that difficult. Patience is all it really requires. Though, obviously, it couldn’t be sold as Gold Label, as the beer still exists. Tennant’s Gold – might be able to get away with that. The trademark on Tennant has probably been allowed to lapse. Get in touch if you fancy giving it a go.
“On another occasion, I again had a party of Trade Union officials, but this time they were from Czechoslovakia (as it was known then). The officials themselves were rather subdued; they had visited one of the Newcastle breweries the day before and they were still suffering from the after effects of legendary Geordie hospitality. However, their interpreter was a charming lady called Hana. She was in fine form and was telling me about the renowned brewing industry of her native land and of the many special beers that they brewed there. (The word 'pilsner', for instance, related to beer brewed in the Czechoslovakian town of Pilsen.)”
"The Brewer's Tale" by Frank Priestley, 2010, page 121.
It must have been some pissup if they’d managed to subdue a bunch of Czech men. Especially working class ones. They like their beer and know how to drink it in quantity.
“By a fortunate chance, I found a case of Gold Label Barley Wine behind the bar and was pleased to introduce her to that 'special brew'. She took to it immediately and by the time we were on our second or third, she had started calling them 'Golden Angels', which I thought was a perceptive and appropriate description. After a while, she asked me if I had ever visited Czechoslovakia. 'Many times,' I replied expansively. She was taken aback by my effusive answer, since her country was not, at that time, one of the major locations on the tourist map. I felt I needed to explain.”
"The Brewer's Tale" by Frank Priestley, 2010, page 121.
Fortunate chance? I’m sure it was deliberately stashed there for an occasion just like this.
Hang on. Maybe that would work as a name for an old-school Gold Label: Golden Angels. What a brilliant idea.
It sounds like Frank Priestley had quite a session with the Czech lass:
“Although our Trade Union guests revived only a little from their hangovers, Hana and I had a thoroughly enjoyable session and a week or so later, she sent me a post card from Prague saying that she still could not forget the taste of 'Golden Angels'.”
"The Brewer's Tale" by Frank Priestley, 2010, page 122.
That’s all I have about Gold Label for now. How sad.
Have you a mocked up recipe for this? Forgive me if it has been posted before it's been awhile since I visited the blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ben