Back to some old favourites - July Diary

I know it is not meant to be consistently as hot and sunny as this. I do care about the future of this planet for my descendants. But, in the meantime, I think we do have to enjoy our short span on earth in the best way that we can, and on days like this then that means drinking the occasional beer.
As July comes to an end, this is a quick look back on the beer that I have consumed over the past few weeks. I have now visited all but one of the venues which have been newly added to my Beer Passport.  The only one that remains is the logistical challenge that is Titsey Brewery. Not the best connected venue in terms of public transport, so I may need to plan a long hike across the North Downs to get there.

If it is possible, I am enjoying the use of my Passport even more than I did last year. Whereas last year I was challenging myself to visit every single venue, this year I know which subset I want to visit so I am putting myself under less pressure. I have also managed to get out of my head the notion that the only possible unit of beer consumption is the pint. Two halves for the price of one is a perfectly acceptable way of exploiting the Passport offer, and less problematic for my vital organs.

That said, I now have an additional temptation to contend with, which is the fact that I am able to enjoy half price food and drink at all of the remaining BrewDog bars every Monday (an offer which has been promised to last at least for a year).  The new owners, Tillray, have unsurprisingly scaled back on the range of beers that are being sold under the BrewDog name. They are offering beers from their American stable – I have tried a few and they are very nice if not the absolute best that the US has to offer. I did enjoy a first visit to the bar at Seven Dials for a quick pre-theatre drink, which had a good selection of BrewDog fare, including a favourite of mine that I have not seen for a while in 5 AM Saint red ale.

In the meantime, James Watt has performatively stated his wish to re-purchase BrewDog from Tillray. He claims to have a large number of former Equity Punks behind this bid. I think that is because various of us were asked if we wanted free shares in his (unspecified) new venture and replied “sure, I suppose…“.

Anyway, my July visits with my Passport were a combination of the local and the venues that I particularly enjoyed last year.

Brightwater Brewery (“Claygate Station Platform Three” - because Claygate Station only has two platforms…).  

This place has a charm about it that no other venue can match. Brightwater basically is Alex Coombes.  The venue is open when Alex is available - the clientele is overwhelmingly locals who walk past on their way to and from the station. The “range“ of beers is whatever Alex happens to have brewed recently. This time, he had a pale of his own called Little Nipper, together with a guest IPA (Greensand) from Surrey Hills. Alex is also a local councillor, so he uses the bar as a means of keeping in touch with his constituents. The main topic of conversation while I was there was the preservation of the Green Belt.  Alex is a really interesting guy to talk to, and his beer is very good. So this venue continues to be well worth the journey, so long as you are not expecting something that it is not. I promised to do whatever I could to help Alex’s beer get into the Long Room Bar at the Oval, where it would be a perfect fit in terms of taste and in terms of vibe.  (I asked Alex if he had a favourite social media platform to give him a plug; he thought for a bit and said no, not really, he doesn't bother with any of that...)

Heading home from Claygate, I decided to change train at Wimbledon and head back out to Norbiton to drop in for a quick beer at Park Brewery. The park offers Passport holders their first pint for free, so I opted for my reliable favourite which is the Amelia Pale.  I sampled a couple of others and eventually opted for a half of the “Reasons Part Two“ IPA.

On a subsequent Friday, I decided to revisit another local highlight from last year – the Queens Arms just off Queenstown Road, where the Czech lager maestros Bohem are in residence. If anything, they have got even better. They were very accommodating in interpreting the BOGOF deal as permitting me to order four different halves for the price of two – not every venue is as flexible. So, having drunk the Pilsner and the amber lager, I was then able to explore two funky offerings – a lager called Radek made with horseradish (! but it worked) and a black lager called Nicholas (which actually had a bit of dark malt flavouring about it as opposed to some which just taste like lagers that happen to be black).  I then succumbed to the temptation of their guest beers – the Rafiki Pale from Villages of Deptford (now there’s another venue I need to revisit) and the Four Grains cask ale from Twickenham Brewery.

The final thing to mention this time round is that I have rediscovered Brixton, as this was the location for some of my favourite action last year. I dropped in on Supercute near Loughborough Junction.  Supercute as an organisation has very much a funky party vibe, and this plays into their beers. They specialise in Wit beers with interesting flavours, so I enjoyed the “Witch Bier”. Their Big Coat IPA was also a powerful taste experience. The service was generous - my "halves" in pint glasses were more like two thirds, and there was a big bowl of complimentary popcorn. Sometimes a Supercute beer may just be a bit too much in terms of funky flavours, but that is perfectly consistent with their brand and overall I think they are a good thing.

I then cycled around the corner to the Brixton Brewery taproom, and came away a little bit disappointed. This continues to be an atmospheric space, and the service was extremely friendly. I tried their Electric tropical lager because I wanted to try something different, but I found it too sickly sweet. The guy behind the bar assured me that it was made with fruit not artificial sweetener and that it was proving very popular – which I suppose makes sense, given the burgeoning success of Jubel. Anyway, I decided to leave on a positive note by ordering a Reliance pale, which continues to be reason enough to drink Brixton.

And then… oh, London Beer Lab, I had missed you. The great thing about this place is that you can go as many times as you want and, because of the whole “nano“ philosophy, there will be lots of new stuff every time. And, no matter how outlandish it sounds, it will be amazing. No gimmicks here. I started (relatively) conventionally with the Black IPA and the Belgian dubbel. Then I thought here goes nothing, and moved onto the Numb Numb Sichuan Pepper infused session IPA and the Cherryfic ice cream cherry sour. How can two things that sound so wrong taste so right?

Let me close with some exciting personal news. I am now a fully fledged associate member of the British Guild of Beer Writers. I mean, I’ve got a pin badge and everything. Cool. I guess I have no option now but to carry on doing what I have been doing.