Should I include this in "Keg!"?

I've done quite a lot of research for my book on the 1970s, "Keg!". And assembled all sorts of tables. Just not sure I should use everything.

One which has troubled me pretty much sine I assembled it, is of all the UK breweries in the mid-1970s and the beers they brewed. I ind it interesting. But it will take up a lot of space. And does anyone other, than me, give a toss about this stuff?

I'm undecided as to its use. And I'd be interested in your opinion. Would it just be a waste of paper? Or a fascinating insight into 1970s brewing?

To help you decide, here are a couple of examples. Let me know i you'd like more brewery info, like its location and county.

Adnams
Tied houses	70
beers
Mild	Mild	draught	1032	Dark Mild
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036	distinctive
Strong Ale	Old Ale	draught	1042
Tally Ho	Barley Wine	draught	1075	Winter only
Bitter	Pale Ale	keg
Champion Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1032
Fishermans Strong	Pale Ale	bottled
Braodside	Pale Ale	bottled	1068
Tally Ho	Barley Wine	bottled	1075
Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		medium sweet

Ann Street
Tied houses	50
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	keg		well hopped
Extra Special Bitter	Pale Ale	keg		stronger and sweeter
Mary Ann Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Mary Ann Special	Pale Ale	bottled
Mary Ann Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		medium sweet
Mary Ann Stout	Stout	bottled		Dry Stout

Cairnes beers in 1923

"When are you going to write more about Irish beer?", I'm often asked. (Well, I'm sure at least one person has asked me.) The short answer is: now.

I've been very busy or the last couple of months. Either travelling, preparing or travelling or writing about travelling. Then there's that other thing I've been working on that I can't tell you about. Today is the first time in ages I haven't been tied up with something. And could get back to some basic work. Like trawling through brewing records.

Cairnes records, to be specific. Stuff from just before and after WW I. Quite fascinating. By the end o the war, they were just brewing two beers: Single Stout and Bitter Ale. Mostly the former. Though with gravities of 1039 and 1044, respectively, in early 1918, they were stronger than their English equivalents. For the simple reason that the average gravity brewers had to stick to was higher in Ireland.

I've chosen to look at 1923 because that's when things, in the brewing world at least, were starting to get back to normal. Or at least all into the pattern that would continue through the 1920s and 1930s. And I've more than just to beers to play with.

Cairnes entered WW I with a range of five beers: two Mild Ales, one Bitter Ale and two Stouts. Though you could argue that Single Stout was really a Porter.

In 1923, things look quite different. No sign o the Mild Ales. (Though I could have missed them, as they weren’t very frequent brews.) And the addition o a new Strong Ale. The two Stouts remain the same.

Unsurprisingly, the beers which survived are weaker. Ten degrees in the case of the Bitter Ale, nine or Single Stout and twelve or Double Stout. On the other hand, the hopping rates per quarter have remained at about the same level. Interesting, that. Attenuation has remained around the same.

The beers look like they all into classes from the last set of WW I price controls. That is, Bitter Ale and Single Stout look like 6d per pint beers, Strong Ale and Double Stout like 8d beers. Though, of course, the Cairnes brewery, being in Drogheda, was no longer in the UK in 1923. And UK rules and taxation no longer applied. 

Cairnes beers in 1914
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
2d Ale	Mild	1038	1012	3.44	68.42%	7.89	1.14
Mild Ale	Mild	1062	1022	5.29	64.52%	6.21	2.06
Bitter Ale	Pale Ale	1050	1019	4.1	62.00%	9.64	1.81
Single Stout	Stout	1050	1014.5	4.7	71.00%	6.7	1.27
Double Stout	Stout	1067	1023	5.82	65.67%	8.49	2.42
Source:
Cairnes brewing record held at the Guinness archives, document number GDB/SUB/0022.

Cairnes beers in 1923
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
Bitter Ale	Pale Ale	1040	1015	3.31	62.50%	9.97	1.35
Strong Ale	Strong Ale	1055	1014	5.42	74.55%	10.06	1.89
Single Stout	Stout	1041	1013	3.70	68.29%	8.50	1.27
Double Stout	Stout	1055	1022	4.37	60.00%	8.92	1.42
Source:
Cairnes brewing record held at the Guinness archives, document number GDB/BR17/1257.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1898 Cairnes Single Stout

In Ireland, the terms Single Stout and Porter seem to have been used interchangeably. And, looking at the gravity, this is very much in line with a London Porter.

There’s not very much to the grist. As to malts, there’s just pale base malt and black malt. Though there were two types of pale malt, about 75% made from Irish barley and the rest from Chilean barley. Not the absence of brown malt, which seems typical of Irish Black Beers.

The other element is something called Beane’s Patent Grist. Which was a type of flaked rice high in dextrin. I’ve substituted simple flaked maize. If you want to go super authentic, you could add a little dextrin.

There were three types of hops. Half were Poperinge from the 1896 harvest. The rest were split equally between English hops from the 1897 harvest and undated Californian hops. The hopping rate, at 7.5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt, is pretty reasonable. And a bit higher than in London, where the rate was around 6 lbs per quarter. 

1898 Cairnes Single Stout
pale malt	11.00 lb	86.55%
black malt	0.67 lb	5.27%
flaked rice	1.00 lb	7.87%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.04 lb	0.31%
Strisselspalt 120 mins	1.50 oz
Cluster 60 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1054
FG	1011
ABV	5.69
Apparent attenuation	79.63%
IBU	39
SRM	26
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1084 Irish ale

The search for a new local

It's been a couple of months since the Butcher's Tears taproom closed. I'm still not over it. And we still haven't settled on a replacement.

We've been giving Checkpoint Charlie a try for the last few weeks. It's an OK pub. But it still doesn't feel like a local yet. Why not? That's a tricky question. One I'm not sure I can answer very well. Because it's not about logic. It's about feelings.

What makes you feel at home in a pub? It's a complex question. At least part of it to do with interaction. With the barstaff. With other customers. It doesn't have to be anything very profound. Or very long. Just a few sentences. Or even just a few words. It doesn't need to be much. Even a simple smile or nod.

That isn't happening at Checkpoint Charlie. Maybe we just haven't been going there long enough. Or it could just be that there aren't many others who go there every Saturday. I can't say that I've recognised any customers there yet. Or any of the servers. Perhaps because it's quite a large pub. I'm not sure.

Whatever the reason, we're not feeling Checkpoint Charlie. So we're going to try somewhere else next Saturday. One of the places that was on our initial list of possible new locals. Sound Garden.

It ticks most of the boxes. Including the most important one: decent beer at a decent price. It's also closer to home for me and the kids. Which is important for a lazy git like me. At the moment, while the number 2 tram is diverted, we can get there directly. Which is another plus. OK, it's further for Will to travel. But he's often swanning around in the jungle somewhere.

Let's see how Sound Garden goes. Maybe it will work out. Or maybe we'll give Checkpoint Charlie another try.

Cask is king

I don't get to drink cask beer every week. Let's think when last I could. Right. Last century. Not even the final decade. Perhaps my views are rose-tinted. Or seen through red-raged eyes. Who knows.

For me, cask beer is sitting in the Cardigan Arms drinking pint after pint of Tetley's Mild with Simon. Beer that just flowed down the throat, without interrupting the conversation. Or a Friday night after-work pub-crawl in Leeds. When a dozen pints of Tetley's Mild might have disappeared by the time we ended up on North Street. Lusting for a curry.

Recent trips to the US and the UK confirmed cask's social role. And why, when it comes to flavour and sociability, it can't be beaten.

Cask beer doesn't intrude. It's happy to sit in the corner reading a newspaper. When you pay him attention, with a raised glass, he'll smile back, lifting his own pint. But he'll never talk over you. Or start aggressively pointing a finger.

Other beer may clamour for attention. Waving its arms saying "Look at me." All jagged elbows, flashy clothes and too much cologne.

I've always loved cask beer. Since I was at school. I really appreciate it now, as an old man. Who, after decades of work, is done with being shouted at.

1814 beer flood

I came across this interesting first-hand account of the catastrophe at Meux's brewery in 1814. When a large vat burst and the ensuing flood caused multiple deaths. Either from drowning or being crushed by collapsing buildings.

Meux's brewery in 1895

"Mr. George Crick, after being sworn, deposed as follows:- I reside at No. 215, Tottenham Court Road, and am store-house clerk to Messrs. Henry Meux and Co. I have been 17 years in the capacity of store-house clerk; eleven years at the premises in liquorpond-street, and six years, on the 10th March next, on those where the accident occurred. I have been connected with the brew-house in this neighbourhood ever since the present firm came into it. - The accident happened on Monday evening, at half past five o'clock. I was on a plat-form about thirty feet from the vat when it burst. I heard the crash, as it went off, and  immediately ran to the store-house, where the vat was situated. I found myself up to the knees in beer."
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3.

Mr. Crick had 17 years experience in working in vat houses. I think we can accept that he knew what he was talking about when it came to vats.

"The vat which had given way had been full of beer within four inches. It contained 3,555 barrels. We do not like to till the vats too full for fear of accidents. The four inches would have contained from 30 to 40 barrels more. The first object I saw in the store-house was my brother; one of the men had just pulled him out from among the buts. There were many butts in the store-house - it was a racking place, where much beer was racked out for the trade."
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3. 

These are the sort of details that I like to find. That these massive vats weren't totally fillled. What type of accident did they fear? That the vats would burst? I'm not sure how an extra 30 or 40 barrels on top of 3,555 barrels would have made much difference. Interesting that they were racking beer into butts to be delivered to pubs. That's a large cask - 108 gallons - to be manoeuvered into a pub cellar.\

"We then examined the place as well as we could. The whole vat, we found, had given way, as completely as if a quart pot had been turned up on the table. On the side next Russell-street [the street at the top of the map], it blew down a brick wall, belonging to the brewhouse, which was 22 inches broad in the strongest part. The wall, I believe, was 25 feet high - that is, aout three feet higher than the vat. It caused dreadfull devastation on the premises: it knocked four butts over, and staved several - the pressure was so excessive. The houses next Russell-street and New-street were much damaged, but I do not know the persons who were buried in the ruins."
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3.

That's a very substantial wall that was washed away - 2 feet wide and 25 feet high. I wouldn't want to have been behind that when it collapsed.

"None of us could go to see the accident which had happened outwardly, because we had too much to do on our own premises. We were employed in saving what beer we could. There were 7,000 barrels in two vats on the premises. Of these 3,555 barrels were lost at once: and the shock was so dreadful as to break off the cock of the adjoining vat; of the contents of the latter we saved about 800 barrels. This vat was of the same size, within nine barrels, as that which gave way.
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3.

The flood wasn't just caused by the barrel that burst. Most of the beer from a second vat - whose tap was broken of by the beer from the first vat - also contributed. Though this would have been lowing much more slowly.

"I can not account for the accident. The vat which gave way had been built about ten years, and it has been full of beer for two-thirds of the time, during which I have been on the premises. It was built on uprights or pillars of oak. The foundation did not give way. When the wreck is cleared, the bottom of the vat will be found perfectly level; neither did the vat touch the wall. It stood full eight inches from it. We can account for the accident in no other manner, but by the hoops giving way - by the rivets bursting. An hour before the accident a hoop was started; hoops frequently burst - two or three times a year - but such a circumstance does not produce any idea of danger."
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3.

 
Slightly worrying to hear how often hoops burst. It would definitely freaked me out, seeing a hoop break on such a large vat. 

"If I conceived there was danger on Monday evening, neither I nor my brother would have remained near the vat. I spoke to Mr. Young, one of the partners in the brewhouse, about a hoop flying off. He is himself a vat builder, and he said that no harm whatever would ensue. The vat had formerly been more full - and the beer which was in it, when it gave way, had been brewed between nine and ten months. It was an old beer vat. If it had been a new beer vat, I should not have wondered so much, because the fermentation of the liquor might produce such an effect. The new beer vats are covered - but in such a manner that the cover will give way, and thus prevent the bursting of the vat."
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3.

Meux's brewery in 1836

The beer had clearly been in the vat or some time: 9 or 10 months. Which tells us something about how long Porter was being aged. I'm struggling to understand what he means by the vat being "covered". Because I'm pretty sure that they didn't leave vats with no cover on the top at all.

"I was on the top of the vat when the hoop flew off. I stated the circumstance to Mr. Young - who told me to write to his father, that it might be mended. Soon after I had written the note, the accident took place. There was an opening at the top of the vat - a flap - which would have given way bad the action of the liquor been upwards. We sometimes stop down a vat, when the beer has gone through the process of fermentation. The hoop we discovered off; an hour before the vat burst, was about three feet from the bottom. In the lower part of the premises, in a place the workmen call "the regions below," there is a cell capable of holding 2,l00 barrels; the pipe communicating with this place was broken, and the beer was destroyed. Between eight and nine thousand barrels of porter have been lost."
Exeter Flying Post - Thursday 27 October 1814, page 3.

I wonder exactly what is meant by stopping down a vat. Does that mean sealing it up?

8,000 to 9,000 barrels is quite a loss. The wholesale price of a barrel of Porter was around £3, making the value of the lost beer £24,000 to £27,000. A very large sum back in those days.

Let's Brew - 1898 Cairnes E.I. Ale

My Irish recipes seem to have gone down well. So here's another one. As I get stuck into the Irish records I harvested recently, I'm sure I'll be posting more.

I would have guessed that this beer was an IPA, with EI standing for “Export India”” or “East India”. Except that there’s a stronger beer called IP that I assume is an IPA. So I’m totally befuddled as to what EI means.

I am pretty sure that this is some sort of Pale Ale. At least I’m certain about that. Given the strength, this looks like it’s fitting the Ordinary Bitter slot.

There’s not a lot to the grist. Consisting of just base pale malt and sugar. Not quite sure exactly what the latter was. I’ve sort of guessed at No. 2 invert. It was slightly more complicated than that, as 75% of the base malt was made from Irish barley, the rest from Chilean.

There were two types o English hops, both from the 1897 harvest. 

1898 Cairnes E.I. Ale
pale malt	11.00 lb	91.67%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.00 lb	8.33%
Goldings 120 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1055
FG	1015
ABV	5.29
Apparent attenuation	72.73%
IBU	58
SRM	7
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1084 Irish ale

Cask beer

Jeff Alworth's piece on cask beer got me thinking. Which is always a bad thing. Hopefully, writing will banish my thoughts and leave my head empty enough for a day watching reality TV.

His basic argument is that CAMRA's refusal to accept cask breathers is the reason for cask's decline. If only CAMRA hadn't been a bunch of romantics, who came up with a non-technical description of what cask was. Except that isn't the case.

Cask-conditioned beer was an industry-defined term. Used by brewing professionals. CAMRA just slightly refined the term to exclude any use of extraneous CO2. Compared to a term like "Craft beer", cask is precisely and simply defined.

To realise why early CAMRA was so against the addition of any CO2, you need to understand what the UK beer market was like in the 1970s. There was quite a lot of cask beer which was either kept under blanket pressure or served by CO2 pressure. CAMRA, rightly in my opinion, opted to not count such beer as real cask. Had they done so, it would have muddied the waters and made the definition of cask more complicated and confusing as to when CO2 pressure was acceptable and when it wasn't.

Seeing the cask breather as the solution to cask beers decline is far too simplistic. It assumes, for one, that the reason or bad-quality cask is always that the cask has been open for too long. Which just isn't the case.

Cask beer is a delicate, perishable product. One that can be fucked up at several points between  racking and serving. During transportation or storage, or, most likely, by poor cellarmanship. The latter either through lack of training or simply lack of interest.

All of these points of failure have been exacerbated by the collapse of the brewery-owned tied house model. Once beer was taken directly from brewery to pub, on a company's own drays. Now that supply chain is much more complicated.

When brewers owned pubs, they were much more careful about the quality of the beer they sold. And, the good ones, at least, provided training and support for their landlords to help them keep their beer in top condition. With that link broken, who is there now to help publicans look after their beer?

And all this is ignoring one of the biggest factors in the decline of any style of beer: ageing drinkers. The decline in cask beer is never going to be reversed unless more young people start drinking it. That's the biggest challenge facing cask beer. Not whether or not to use cask breathers. 

One last point: why is cask cheaper than keg? For purely historical reasons. When keg was introduced in the 1950s, it was marketed as a premium product. Which sold at a premium price. It was exactly the same with Lager. And is still true today. Keg Ale and Lager cost more than cask just because that's what drinkers are used to. And what brewers/publicans can get away with.

Fullers vs Youngs in the early 1930s last Porter and Stout tables

You're probably feeling relieved that I'm finally getting to the end of this interminable series. Meaning I'm going to have to think up something new to write about. I wonder what that might be?

And what about the hops? Pretty much the same as all the other beers. That is, two types of English hops from the two most recent seasons.

Unlike in modern brewing, back in the day it wasn’t unusual to use the same hops in every beer. Or to use the same mashing scheme for every beer. Basically, they didn’t piss around as much as modern brewers do.

Process time. The funnest bit of all. Tables. Any big surprises? Well. No. The Fullers beers were boiled for longer. And pitched a few degrees warmer. Resulting in fermentations that were a few days shorter than at Youngs. 

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout hops
Brewer	Beer	Style	hop 1	hop 2
Fullers	P	Porter	English 1929	English 1930
Fullers	BS	Stout	English 1929	English 1930
Youngs	P	Porter	Kent 1930 CS	Sussex 1931
Youngs	S	Stout	Kent 1930 CS	Sussex 1931
Sources:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/1.

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout processes
Brewer	Beer	boil time (hours)		Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp	length of fermen-tation (days)
Fullers	P	1.5	1.75	61º F	68º F	7
Fullers	BS	1.5	1.75	61.5º F	68.5º F	5
Youngs	P	2	2	59º F	68º F	8
Youngs	S	2	2	59º F	69.25º F	9
Sources:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/1.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1975 Youngs Ram Rod

The final Pale Ale in Young’s portfolio was Ram Rod. A strong Pale Ale only usually available in bottled form.

Ram Rod is very similar to Special Bitter, being just a few degrees stronger and with exactly the same recipe. When they increased of Special Bitter later in 1975, the two beers became identical. Only to diverge again later at some point.

It’s a pretty simple grist of just pale malt, flaked maize and malt extract. Though in that pale malt I’ve included the small amount of enzymic malt that the original contained.

No. 3 is a bit of an odd one in a pale ale. Which is a change from the No. 1 sugar used in the Pale Ales in 1970. Not sure why they would make the swap. Because, as they were often parti-gyled together, the same recipe change applies for all the other Pale Ales. Though this particular brew was single-gyle.

Two types of English hops, no further particulars given. So, I’ve guessed Fuggles and Goldings. Again. Sorry for being so boring. 

1975 Youngs Ram Rod
pale malt	8.75 lb	82.63%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	9.44%
malt extract	0.33 lb	3.12%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.50 lb	4.72%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.01 lb	0.09%
Fuggles 120 min	1.50 oz
Goldings 15 min	1.00 oz
OG	1048
FG	1007
ABV	5.42
Apparent attenuation	85.42%
IBU	24
SRM	7
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	180º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout adjuncts and sugars in the early 1930s

I',m done with my trip reports. Time to get back to where I was before. Which was comparing Fullers and Youngs Black Beers.

Oatmeal Stouts were all the rage between the wars. We can see both brewers were packaged at least some Stout as Oatmeal from the presence of oats. A purely token amount in the case of Fullers. Something more substantial at Youngs. A quantity that probably had a noticeable effect on the character of the beer.

Instead, the Fullers beers have a decent amount of flaked maize. Just like all Fullers other beers.

Two sugars at each of the breweries, If you’ve been paying attention, obviously different ones. Special Dark and two types of caramel (Carameline and London caramel) at Fullers. So many different types of caramel they had in the past. It’s a nightmare.

At Youngs, it was bog-standard No. 3 invert and enigmatic "OM”.  From the name, I suspect the latter was a sugar specifically designed for Oatmeal Stout. Who knows what it might have contained. 

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout adjuncts and sugars
Brewer	Beer	Style	flaked maize	oats	no. 3 sugar	Sp Dark	OM	caramel	total sugar
Fullers	P	Porter	8.28%	0.66%		13.49%		4.91%	18.40%
Fullers	BS	Stout	8.28%	0.66%		13.49%		4.91%	18.40%
Youngs	P	Porter		7.23%	5.19%		5.19%		10.38%
Youngs	S	Stout		7.23%	5.19%		5.19%		10.38%
Sources:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/1.

Flying home

I rise around 8 AM. And potter around in my room for a while before descending for breakfast.

I order bacon and eggs. What else would I have gone for.

“We don’t have breakfast potatoes. Will French fries be OK?”

“Sure.”

The eggs come out sunnyside up again. I definitely asked for over easy. I always do. Because that’s how I like my eggs. I’d make them that way at home, if I weren’t afraid of breaking the yolk when I flip them. It’s disappointing that in a hotel as posh as this they can’t get an egg order right.

On the menu, the breakfast is down at $15. But with a coffee and various other charges, it totals out at double that. This sort of thing really pisses me off. The menu price is pure fucking fantasy.

I hadn’t even bothered unpacking my large bag. Packing consists of little more than bundling up my laptop and ancillary bits.

I’m soon in a cab bouncing along the motorway. Which is, happily, much emptier than yesterday.

Checking in and security are a doddle. Though the repeated announcements to check your carry-on bags for guns are quite disconcerting.

I quickly nip into the duty free for some bourbon. I wouldn’t want to go home without any. I get a bottle of Buffalo Trace.

The Delta lounge is pretty good. With some decent hot and cold food. And drinks, obviously. Though some of the fancier drinks you have to pay for. I opt for Old Forrester, the free bourbon.

For some reason, I have trouble getting connected to the internet. When I eventually get in, I fire up the VPN to watch some Dutch TV.

The plates and cutlery are disposable. Which is a bit of a surprise in a lounge.

I don’t go crazy. Sticking to just four or five whiskies. Though they are very generous pours. I get some food to help soak it up. A sandwich. Then some barbecue pork. Which is rather nice.

When I get to the gate, they’re just about to board my group. Which is perfect.

I sleep, well doze, for most of the flight. Which gets in half an hour early, at 5:30. I roll up at home at around 6:30.

No cup of tea waiting for me, as Dolores is still in bed. Andrew is still up, though. I make some tea and take a cup upstairs to Dolores. Now there’s a novelty.
 

Atlanta (again)

It's my last full day in the US. So I allow myself a little lie in, rising only at 9.

Mike makes me a couple of fried eggs. Which I eat along with a bagel.

Needing to work at the brewery, Mike takes me out to the airport quite early.

There are gun warnings again before security. Not as many as at Atlanta. Still deemed necessary, though. Does that mean fewer guns here? Or just fewer people? Best not think about it too much.

It being a tiny airport, it doesn’t take long to get airside. How to fill the next couple of hours? I know: what about sitting in the bar?

I park my arse on a barstool and wonder what to order. Not really.

“A double Jack Daniels without ice, please.”

I get out my phone and message the family. Then start looking through the Guardian website. It passes the time.

The food isn’t too stupidly priced. An all-day breakfast is $15. I order one. It’s my second lot of fried eggs today. Just as well I like eggs.

“How much is a double whiskey?” I ask the barmaid. I don’t want to get caught out.

“Nineteen dollars.”

I’ll only be having the two, then.

It’s odd paying for drinks in an airport. It’s been quite a while since I last did it. I’d almost forgotten how fucking expensive it is. Almost.

The flight doesn’t take long. We’re in the air just 33 minutes. It’s cost me 5 euros per minute. Totally shit value.

With the little shuttle train to take the strain, there’s not much in the way of walking at Atlanta airport. Until I start looking for the taxi rank. Which is nowhere to be seen. Eventually I ask a security guard who points me in the right direction.

It’s around 5:30 PM. Not exactly the best time to be on the roads. Despite having seven lanes, the traffic stops and starts as we head into the centre. In most large US cities, the traffic seems to be terrible nowadays. I can’t understand why anyone puts up with it. I suppose they have no option, public transport being either crap or non-existent.

I’ve arranged to see Thomas Sjoberg at 18:30 in the Brick Store. But I’m not going to make that. It’s almost that time when I check into my hotel. I message Thomas to delay our meeting until 19:20.

Why have I arranged to meet in Brick Store, when I was there just last week? Because they have cask. And cask done properly. I really loved the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The route is straight along Ponce de Leon Avenue. A long section is lined by mansions, set back from the road and surrounded by massive, mature trees. It looks very posh.

Thomas is standing outside when I arrive. He’s only just got there. We troll up to the cask ale bar. And order two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales.

We chat about all things beer. Like Thomas’s brewing job and judging international competitions. And about living in the USA.

The waitress remembers me from last week. She’s very friendly and enthusiastic.

Thomas tries some other beers. I just stick with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s dead good and when will I find it on cask again? It’s so drinkable. I could drink it all night. Which is exactly what I do.

We leave at about 10 PM. My Ethiopian cab driver is dead into English football. Unfortunately, he’s an Arsenal fan.

“Everyone hates Arsenal. They’re the New York Yankees of football.” I tell him/

I’m feeling a little peckish when I get back. The hotel’s restaurant has closed. And the Subway, where I got a sandwich last week is shut, too. About the only place open in Cook Out. A sort of barbecue place.

I order a wrap, onion rings and a cola. It’s stupid cheap, at just $7. It fills a hole. Being about exactly the right amount of food.

I don’t stay up too late. Even though I’ll be in no rush tomorrow, my flight not being until 15:20.

Whiskey is on hand to take my hand and lead me to glorious oblivion.




Brick Store Pub
125 E Court Square,
Decatur,
GA 30030.
https://www.brickstorepub.com/
 

Let's Brew - 1915 Courage Double Stout

At the start of WW I, typical London pub would have had two Black beers on draught: Porter and Stout. With the latter still worthy of its original meaning of ”strong”.

All three of Courage’s Black Beers, Porter, Double Stout and Imperial Stout, were parti-gyled together. As was typical in London. Which leaves all three with a very high percentage of roasted malts. Hence the extremely dark colours.

A fairly decent hopping rate of 7.25 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) leaves this beer quite bitter at (calculated) 43 IBU. Though all those roasted malts would have added even more bitterness. It sounds just like my type of beer. 

1915 Courage Double Stout
pale malt	10.25 lb	58.57%
brown malt	3.50 lb	20.00%
black malt	1.75 lb	10.00%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.00 lb	11.43%
Fuggles 90 mins	2.25 oz
Goldings 30 mins	2.25 oz
OG	1078
FG	1025
ABV	7.01
Apparent attenuation	67.95%
IBU	43
SRM	51
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	64º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale