Saturday 25 February 2012

Open it! Struise Brouwers Pannepeut Old Monk's Ale 2009



Sometimes Twitter can be really annoying, with a lot of waffle going on and often used as an excuse for people to go on self righteous tirades. However sometimes it's just a great way of expressing yourself in 140 characters, exploring the things you love, getting in contact with people you wouldn't otherwise and involving yourself in things otherwise outside of your reach.

For me, one of the great examples of this is Open It! Masterminded by the beer writers Mark Dredge and Andy Mogg. It's an excuse to open those bottles you've been saving for the right occasion - read about it here. All you need to do is crack open something awesome, hash tag #openit, tell everyone about it on Twitter and see what everyone else has been opening. There's something about synchronised drinking that appeals to me so I decided to get involved and open a bottle of Struise Brouwers Pannepeut Old Monk's Ale 2009 that I bought in the Brugs Beertje, heralded by many as one of the best beer cafes in the world - and I have to agree.

This beer is dark, dark brown. The only reason it doesn't have the blackness of an imperial stout is that it shines like the darkest sun. The aroma is a world of raisins, fig, demerera sugar, burnt toast and a Belgian yeasty richness. The first swig of this beer makes you sit back in your chair and let out a big “oh there we go”! The second is rich and expressive. This beer delivers a huge amount of flavour but with an unexpected freshness.

This is an abbey dubbel on steroids, delivering savoury vegemite, dried fruit, saffron and an almost sour cream-like meatyness to the finish...which for the record is very long! The beauty of this beer is that with all those dark, rich, earthy flavours, there's also a bright freshness making it extremely moreish.

Similar to the bracing acidity of the big, chunky wine of  Chateauneuf du Pape, the carbonation and secretive hop snappiness balances this otherwise very luscious beer perfectly.


#openit

Friday 24 February 2012

Battle of the Blonds

It's the first sunny and warm(ish) day of the year. I've got something to celebrate in the form of getting offered a job at London Fields Brewery in East London (more on this in the future) and last week I moved into a new flat - with a garden, no less!

So, sat in my new garden (I say garden, it's more of a great example of crazy paving with a good splattering of moss and weeds...a definite work in progress) it naturally occurred to me that I needed some beer to make this moment perfect, and what better on this oddly balmy February afternoon than a nice blond beer. Blond beers are a great alternative to a lager or pils on a sunny day as they are equally light and refreshing, but possess a little more complexity and fruit flavour.

Popping over the road to my new local offie, I discovered they actually have quite a good range of Fuller's, Wychwood and Ringwood beers amongst others – so, inclined as I am for a bit of light beer geekery, I thought it apt that I compare each brewery's blond beer offering.



First up, we have Fuller's Discovery:
This is a fruity little number with citrus and nectarine flavours and a lovely snappy bitterness. A refreshing dry finish makes you reach for the next glug with gusto. There's nothing hugely complex here, but that's not what we're looking for in a blond. The dryness and light but fruity character goes down a treat. I've had this on cask before and I think it benefits from the cooler temperature of my fridge, enhancing the freshness and making the snappy bitterness more up-front.

Secondly, Wychwood Wychcraft:
This is a much softer and light beer, with less carbonation and citrus flavours than Discovery but with more leafy hop aromas. At the same ABV, this is dangerously gluggable but with a candied, sherbet note on the finish, losing some of the dryness. For me it's not as expressive but does have a pleasing peachy/apricot flavour that sets it apart from the others.

And finally, Ringwood Boondoggle:
As a Hampshire boy, I've been exposed to a lot of Ringwood's beers, which have always featured in the better local pubs. I have often found them of good quality (if a little boring compared to those of other Hampshire breweries), but with now national availability they must be doing something right. Interestingly Shipyard Brewery in the States - who already license Ringwood's Old Thumper - are also taking on Boondoggle too, with Shipyard's brewmaster having trained at the Hampshire brewery. Shipyard are great so it's good news for Ringwood but how does Boondoggle compare to these other classic blonds?

Instantly after pouring a wet leaf and vanilla aroma rises from the glass, implying more richness. Not only is this beer half a percent more ABV than the others – sitting at 5% – it is also fuller in body with caramel, malty flavours sitting underneath the leafy but delicate citrus notes from the hops. Boondoggle has more bitterness than the others, with an astringency to the finish that would make it great with food. On its own however it lacks the pleasing fruit characteristics of the others, with less of that refreshing snappyness. The finish is unusually creamy, again meaning it would be great with food but losing it some sheer summery gluggablility points.

Again and again Fuller's comes up trumps in the 'best of the bigger ale breweries' stakes in my opinion and Discovery is no exception, beating the others hands down. Wychcraft is nice if a little underwhelming, whilst (as much as I want my fellow Hampshire brothers to be on top) Boondoggle is too creamy and astringent for a summery session beer. If I had a big pork roast, Boondoggle would be perfect but for now, I'm off to the offie to buy another bottle of Fuller's Discovery.

Sunday 19 February 2012

Eating With Notepads

If you're into flavours, it's great to be friends with a good chef. But if your interest in flavour more than borders on obsession and one of your best friends is a chef in a Michelin starred restaurant, you have a recipe for a seriously fun time (excuse the pun). Every now and again we get together and geek out on food and drink matches. I teach him about drink and he teaches me how to cook, a great partnership that hopefully you'll see a bit more of in the future.

So what's on the menu? We started with a Thai chicken consomme with prawn dumplings, roasted red peppers, spring onions and mushrooms. An aromatic and herbaceous dish with lots of coriander and lemon grass. Straight away I reach for an IPA for Thai food, and this time I went for Thornbridge Jaipur as it's got a bit more tropical fruit character than some.


The fruity flavours matched the aromatic quality of the consomme and the bitterness balanced the umami savouriness perfectly. The sweet, roasted red pepper snuggles up to the fruit while the coriander worked with the piney flavours from the hops. The beer was a bit overwhelming for the delicate flavours of the prawn mousse in the dumplings, so we thought a little chilli in the mousse would have not only helped balance the beer and food combination, but would also have lifted the dish itself, with the consomme naturally tempering the heat.

Next up on the menu I was lucky enough to be treated to rack of lamb with bulgar wheat tabouleh, roasted red peppers and babaganoush. Always good to be cooked for by someone who is used to cooking fine dining! Rack of lamb is actually quite a delicate cut so I wanted something on the lighter side but with earthy flavours to match those in the lamb, and bright red fruit to work with the fresh tabouleh and the sweet roasted peppers. Michelle Richardson's pinot noir from Central Otago in New Zealand's south island happened to be laying down in the wine rack but hey, that good a cut of meat needs a fancy bottle.


Unfortunately we were a bit disappointed with it. I was hoping the sweet cherry, vegetal and light spicy flavours common in New Zealand Pinot Noir would be great with the sweet roasted peppers and succulent meat but this wine had too way much acidity and a big spike of alcohol, meaning it overpowered the delicate flavours in the dish. We added a squeeze of lemon juice to the food to try and balance the acidity which helped, but the hit of alcohol still took over.

This wine would match acidity-tempering creamy sauces well, but the dish needed something earthier and more delicate, like a good red Burgundy or a Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley.

Some of it worked, some of it didn't but good lessons learned and we enjoyed some amazing flavours. (I also loved eating with someone who doesn't mind me writing notes...and even contributes!).