Elbow are the kings of soaring melancholy, masters of poetic northern introspection.  Let Elbow’s albums flow over you and you can be mesmerised by their beauty alone. Put in the time to listen, to soak up the poignancy, the humour, the extraordinary manifestations of the ordinary and their albums become life affirming tributes to the everyday.

Conversely, it’s quite easy to stick an Elbow album on and realise thirty lethargic minutes later that time – and the music – has flown by virtually unnoticed, Guy Garvey’s drawl caressing one’s ears so gently it barely registers. He even swears with care for the ears, a remarkably sophisticated trait few can master.

Nutty and fresh to smell, Build A Rocket Boys! is Elbow’s first foray into brewing, a collaboration with Frederic Robinson’s of their native Lancashire. It’s an unpompous beer, utterly enjoyable without ever shouting too loud. It’s underpinned by a coy bitterness spliced with fleeting glimpses of sweet fruit (freshly dried prunes?!) and a largely sweet barley finish. And much as Elbow can sometimes fade into the background, Build A Rocket Boys! can be knocked back with apathetic ease: it’s easy on the eye, quaffable; it’s a quiet no-fuss pleasure with which to lubricate conversation without becoming more than a footnote in the minutes of an evening at the pub.

But on closer consideration – like many of Elbow’s songs – it’s also something greater, it pays homage to the art of everyday brewing in the UK. Poured slowly it’s a understated shrine to the allure of the pint, a glowing amber hearth topped with a soft cushioning foam; it’s subtle flavours and traditional malt-heavy backbone are typically British, designed to provide sustenance in the most typical of British settings.

Build A Rocket Boys!

It’s a shame it’s limited edition and that my sample is in a bottle, but hey ho, modern life is rubbish, eh? Here’s to assuming that the live version is every bit as heightened experience as seeing the band get in the flesh. Oh and ours was sent to us, so we’ve donated a fiver to the Oxfam East Africa fund, for which Build A Rocket Boys! profits will be helping.

This week to talk to chief brewer and financier at irreverent Yorkshire brewers Steel City Brewing. Dave Unpronounceable is jointly responsible for beers such as ‘Weapons of Mouth Destruction’ and possibly the first pump clip made almost entirely from a QR code.

After homebrewing at university, Dave spent a couple of years learning the trade at Moor Brewing before moving to the dark side and spending the next ten years as a bean counter (which is still his day job). But in 2009 Dave decided he was bored with the UK beer scene and it was a case of ‘if you want it done right, do it yourself!’. After much toying around, Dave created Steel City’s inaugal beer at The Brew Company in Sheffield, and the rest is history!

Unpronounceable

Dave tells us “When The Brew Company started a mere two years ago, it was because there was hardly any beer brewed to our taste in this country; since then a combination of decent new breweries and older breweries getting better means we are much better served… But we still think we can offer something a bit different, and having the luxury of not being financially dependent on brewing means we can continue to knock out beers to our taste and not really care if other people like them (though luckily they do – bonus!).”

The Beers

Hi Dave Unpronounceable! We’ve heard you described as a ‘hophead’, let’s see if it’s true! Which 5 beers would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island, and why?

1. Two Brothers Hop Juice (USA – 9.9%)
   “Simply, this beer was something of an awakening for me. By the time I made my first visit to the USA, I was already becoming bored with the UK beer scene. I’d tried over 10,000 beers from nearly 1,000 British breweries, but the majority I’d file under ‘meh’, a significant number were filed under ‘yuk’ and a very small percentage I actually thought were great beers. Then I went to a cask ale festival in New York and had this, and it literally reawakened my love of beer. It was this (and a couple of hundred other US beers!) that made me realise just how good beer could be, and ultimately pushed me to start Steel City Brewing. This beer’s 100 IBU became our benchmark (though we usually exceed that now!). 9.9% but the alcohol totally hidden by a massive charge of bitterness and citrus hop.”
2. Steel City A Slight Case of Overhopping 3 (People’s Republic of South Yorkshire – 5.0%)
   “To be honest it hadn’t occurred to me I was allowed to choose any of our own beers, so when I was told I could ‘only’ pick one of ours this was actually more than I’d planned! This was the third in our ‘A Slight Case of Overhopping’ series, whereby we add up to four times the normal quantity of dry hops to a cask (all our beers are dry hopped as standard). This one was based on Blanes Half IPA, our attempt to mix things up a bit by laying an IPA hop charge on a pale mild wort! Over 8 kilos of hops in a 5.5 barrel brew, giving 163IBU and a massive flavour mix of mango, tropical fruits, coconut, pineapple, hop oils, leafiness, ganja and who knows what else.”
3. Brewdog Chaos Theory (Scotland – 7.1%)
   “I’m hoping this desert island can be reached by time machine, as the beer I refer to is the original brew from a few years ago, not the pale imitation they put out last year. Peppery aroma followed by huge grapefruit bite, and like the Hop Juice the high alcohol content (7.1%) is almost totally hidden.”
4. Cantillon Kriek (Brussels, Belgium – 5.0%)
   “An acquired taste, and I’ve certainly acquired it! I love getting unsuspecting ‘normals’ to try this, especially if they’ve told me they like Kriek based on St Louis or similar such alcopops. Sour, intensely fruity, sharp, everything I want from a lambic.”
5. Bersaglier Cream Stout (Argentina – 6.0%)
   “I seem to have omitted dark beers so far, and although hop monster IPAs are my usual weapon of choice, I also like a good roasty stout (i.e. both ends of the spectrum, it’s the dull brown rubbish in middle I don’t like!). This particular stout is jet black, with a very heavy roast flavour, and huge coffee & chocolate notes, and a spicy burnt finish.”

And which beer (of those selected) do you regard most highly?

“I’m going to pick ours, not because I think it’s better than the others, but because for me the sense of satisfaction from knowing that we made it adds another dimension to the enjoyment.”

The epitome of Dave's philosophy: if you can't find what you like, make it yourself

Designed for the Rutland Arms apparently, the first QR code pump clip?

The Meal

You can also take one meal to go with your beers, what would it be and why?

“Some form of curry – I love most food (proper food anyway), but Indian food is the only sort I think I could eat every meal without getting bored. The lamb tikka tamil from my local (Café Masala in Sheffield) is probably my favourite. Towards the hotter end of the spectrum, plenty of fresh chilli, intense spices, and sour lime makes it match perfectly with the citrus tastes of the IPAs I love (though it could be I’ve abused my palate with so many hops and chillis that lupulin and capsaicin are the only things I can taste!). With a Nargis Kebab for starter, obviously.”

The Books

You might be waiting a long time on your lonesome on the desert island, so we will automatically allow you a few books to keep your mind busy. You can pick between two beer books and two tomes: ‘The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food’ by Garrett Oliver, or ‘Beer’ by Michael Jackson; plus The Bible, or another appropriate religious or philosophical work

”Beer book… I’ll take the pub guide for the island I’m stranded on. Religious book? Probably the Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, as it’s the only religious book for atheists, and fits in quite well with my personal philosophy.”

And a non-beery, non-philosophical book, something a little less taxing on the brain, what would that be?

“War and Peace – never got round to reading it, and if I’m stuck on an island I need summat that’s going to last!”

The record

You have a CD/mp3/long player but you can only take one album. Choose wisely!

“Mortiis – Smell of Rain. Probably my favourite album by the ex-Emperor frontman, and a regular on the brewery playlist. We name a lot of our beers after metal & gothic music, though so far the only Mortiis-inspired name was Decadent & Desperate.”

The Luxury Item

And finally, what luxury item would help make your stay on the island bearable?

“Would it be cheating to say I want a fully-stocked brewery? Oh, ok then, I’ll have my bed”

Thanks Dave! I’m not sure your pub guide will come in much use other than for irewood though! For more information on Steel City’s ‘craft beer from the grim north’ see http://www.steelcitybrewing.co.uk/

This article syndicated with All Gates Brewery blog as part of our ‘Desert Island Beers’ collaboration.

This month the government has quietly stepped up its attack on binge drinking, by increasing tax on beers such as Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Fullers Vintage and Belgian classic Duvel.

For years these beers have been the staple of Britain’s drinking woes, associated with football hooliganism, anti-social behaviour, reckless vandalism and drunken brawls in market towns across the land. In northern England such beers are being blamed for virtually all teenage pregnancies and at least 99.7% of Saturday night street vomiting.

Kestrel Super, (£0.004495 per ml)* equally responsible for binge drinking as...

...Dark Island Reserve, a mere 6.7 times more expensive for just 1.5 times as much beer

The above of course is not true, even if you add to the list Tenants Super and Carlsberg Special Brew. But, in a bizarre and cruel twist of legislation, beers over 7.5% are being singled out for a significant increase in tax duty under the banner of improving our fine nation and reducing the drink related burden on society.

The high strength beer duty amendment is detailed here and here – in practice it will probably mean a rise in price of anywhere between 10p and 75p per bottle of higher strength beer – roughly a 5%-10% increase in price per bottle.

It’s a nonsensical argument – these beers account for 0.5% of UK alcohol sales and include the most expensive beers available to buy. The majority of these beers are not consumed for binge drinking despite the reputation of some of the canned beers that fall within this category. As a headline though, HSBD is an easy sell to Daily Mail readers whose ignorance (in the dictionary sense of the word) of artisan beers means that on paper the change in law seems like a no-brainer.

The government of course know this, and they know that premium drinkers will pay premium prices. They also know that they can get away with singling out beer for their fight on booze. After all how would the audience of Saturday Kitchen feel if all wine over 7.5% suddenly received a hike in price due to tax? How would Mr J Sainsbury, Mr WM Morrison et al feel?

Controversial but delicious

Duvel - one classic set to rise in price

Strong beers make great candle holders

Tempting, luscious, and one to drink slow

Beer in the UK is experiencing a renaissance. So, in times when we desperately need to stimulate the economy, why add measures that thwart innovation in a growing industry?

On balance UK brewers are benefitting from three measures that will help trade: small brewer’s relief, the launch of the 2/3 measure and the reduction in duty on beers under 2.8%, which we entirely commend (even though we currently only know of five beers that will benefit, made by Harvey’s, Greene King and JW Lees).

Yes we think the government should encourage small measures (how else to enjoy a strong beer?!). And yes we believe there is not only a market but a need for less strong beers (despite obesity levels we are an increasingly health obsessed society, and whilst most brewers will agree that brewing a tasty beer under 3.4% is not easy, it’s a market to untap).

Taxing strong beers is taxing the endeavour of brewers. It is taxing the concept of slow food, and more than that, it’s fundamentally not tackling the issues it’s purported to be addressing.

Does anyone remember those three words ‘Education, education, education.’

They may have been uttered by a different party to those in blu-tacked power, but when it comes to booze, there are no three words better placed to resolve our countries struggle with the binge.

Recommended reading:

• By us, on binge drinking and elections
• The Independent, on canned super lagers in 1993
• BBC Inside Out on high strength lagers (before they employed web designers it would seem) http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2008/05/01/london_superstrength_alcohol_s13_w10_feature.shtml
• On Kestrel Super, and again
• Opinions on HSBD – Zak Avery, James Clay, SW Brewery, The Indy, Moor Beer, Gadds, Broadford Brewer, Magic Rock, PDNC, Ghost Drinker
• On the under 2.8% tax (and some crucial caveats) – Hardknott Dave, Big Hospitality
• On supermarket beer prices http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2011/10/super-tax.html,

And beer prices or tax duties come from our secondary research:

• Kestrel price http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/product.asp?id=6331
• Dark Star price http://www.beerritz.co.uk/buy/orkney-dark-island-reserve-2010-release_690.htm
• Beer duty in £s: various above plus comments of http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/09/new-duty-rates-on-beer-and-new-glass.html and http://thebeerboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/higher-strength-beer-duty-my-view.html

And for some high strength beer reviews during October, see our friends at http://thebeercast.com/2011/10/big-beer-month.html

Over the last few months the Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt has been taking place providing a welcome opportunity to try some different beers from the familiar supermarket shelves.

And in October Bad King John from Ridgeside Brewing was crowned winner of a six month national listing in 300 Sainsbury’s stores. Bad King John beat beers from around the UK to the throne via four regional heats (120 beers), a three week stint in Sainsbury’s stores (16 beers) and a grand judging final in London (final 8 beers). Spearheading the competition was Caesar Augustus by Williams Bros of Clackmannanshire which clinched a listing across 150 Sainsbury’s stores.

From ginger beer to wild hops...

...to all the great leaders?!

This year’s 16 finalists were:

Flying Dutchman Wit Bier, Caledonian Brewing Co, Alva, Scotland

Orange peel and a herbaceous twist make Flying Dutchman easy to identify. Intriguingly, caramel and liquorice offer something the average wit beer might not, and something syrupy-sweet mops everything up. An interesting start!

Golden Seahawk, Cotleigh Brewery, Somerset

An aroma of freshly cut garden weeds (those sticky buggers that find their way onto the bottom of shoes, gloves, the seat of your pants); flavours of wholesome cereal doused in honey. A nice golden ale.

Frederic’s Great British Ginger Beer, Frederic Robinson, Stockport

Perfect with fish and chips it says. Well I’m late home from work, sore from five a side and soaked through with autumn rain. The (award winning and only nearby late night) chippy was shutting but let me jump the chairs blocking the doorway to pick up fish cakes and scraps. Perhaps any beer would have done but Robinson’s Ginger Beer cut through the sweat of the chips like no other: spicy, tongue tingling and sweet. Still, I couldn’t help feeling I’d rather just have had a Ben Shaws…

Wild Hop IPA, Harviestoun Brewery, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

A beery lemon marmalade on just-golden toast, with a contradictory bitterness – sharp but simultaneously mellow. The hops might be wild but the beer isn’t: its gentile, moreish and gulp-able – beautiful with undercurrents of sex.  In a beery kinda way.

I lust this beer.

Full Bore, Hunter’s Brewery, Devon

A whopper at 8%, it’s a shame Full Bore smashes toffee and not a lot else at me (a left hook of honey perhaps?), thus feeling like an opportunity missed. But drunk after three other Sainsbury’s Beer Hunt beers it feels like I missed the opportunity to give it a fair crack of the whip. Now to find a bottle left on the shelves and give it a fair trial…

Two Hoots Golden Ale, Joseph Holt, Manchester

Through the clear bottles it’s a vibrant golden ale but poured and tasted it’s flat and sun kissed to the point of no return. Crystal malt is about the only flavour discernible behind disintegrated hops. Unfair to pass judgement except on the colour of the glass.

Stronghart, McMullen & Sons, Hertfordshire

Strong and ruby-tinted brown like creosote, Stronghart packs the a bitter punch and a wallop of brandy-seeped raisins. Sweet and tart like opulent plums and just a tad balsamic. Don’t let it knock you out – it’s strong enough to.

Bishop’s Farewell, Oakham Ales, Peterborough

All Oakham’s ales (that I’ve tried) are citrus influenced and this is no different. A decent beer to sup on an evening but nothing makes me want to wax lyrical on the joy on hops like some of Oakham’s ales do.

Churchill Ale, Oxfordshire Ales Ltd, Bicester

Toffee apple aroma introduces a strong malt backbone perfumed with citrus hops. Far from your typical strong IPA this is a gentle and very English pale ale. A soft spot for Churchill (because I used to work not far from them) was enough to make me go back twice for more, but the first bottle remained the best.

Ivanhoe, Ridgeway Brewing, South Oxfordshire

If the label takes you back in time then it’s a warning that pale ale in this context might mean ‘paler ale’ (compared to what was available in the days of Ivanhoe, anyway). Harvest fruits and English malt make for a pleasant beer drinking experience. We’d be lying if we said we bought it, we saved a few pounds by remembering this bottle.

Bad King John, Ridgeway Brewing, South Oxfordshire

Spent cocoa beans and a boozy Bailey’s aroma, perhaps a dash of vanilla. Dark, dry, sweet and roast: a cacophony of intriguing characteristics emerges from the depths of nowhere. Bad King John must have been a complicated fellow. Thick without cloying, the King has soul and a long bitter aftertaste. It’s Ivanhoe’s nemesis and it’s even more memorable.

Worcester Sorcerer, Sadler’s Ales, Stourbridge

Toffee apple and raisin nose, and smells just a little like my Burton Ale home brew. The flavours defy this initial bouquet, revealing a muskier side, molasses and burnt grain. Call it Worcestershire Sauceror and serve with roast dinner. Strangely likeable.

Caesar Augustus, Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland

Wowser. Now this is a good beer! Caesar’s honey gold complexion and medicinal Saazy nose tingles nerve endings (perhaps helped by 24 hours in the fridge the first sip hits my front molars with a scintillating pulse!). Caesar Augustus is boundlessly refreshing. An innovative lagered IPA? Come on, the result is a crisp and vibrant pilsner, surely? A joy to behold.

Profanity Stout, Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland

A vodka and vanilla nose, followed by reams of bitter Green & Blacks mellowed by a lingering smoked coffee bean dryness. Sophisticated but living on a thin line: its ABV may deceive you.

Golden Summer, Wold Top Brewery, Yorkshire

An old favourite from one of the most consistent brewers in Yorkshire. I tend to buy Wold Top’s beers from the most charming farm shop near Bradford, on the road between Halifax and Keighley, usually alongside strange vegetables and local cheese. Against The Grain was unremarkable to many, but as a gluten-free beers go I think it was a triumph. And Golden Summer is no different, on the face an unremarkable beer but it’s incredibly perfect in too many situations to be called average. As HopZine say, a great bridging beer, and in my mind eminently versatile. You can find grapefruit and lemon if you try, but it’s the cereal backbone that I love. A summer beer that genuinely shines.

Wye Not, Wye Valley Brewery, Herefordshire

…because the other beers are probably more enjoyable. Weighted in the favour of its malt ingredients, it never quite lives up to its biscuit billing. Should malt be your thing though, you could do much worse.

Bad King John, good 'king beer

And if we’d been picking the winner? Well Wold Top’s Golden Summer and Harviestoun’s Wild Hop IPA were stand outs, whilst Bad King John fought the corner of the darker beers and Stronghart offered something a bit different. But for sheer brazen excellence, Caesar Augustus provided the most enjoyment and refreshment. It’s exactly the sort of beer I’d pick up regularly in the supermarket, and for that reason, we’re firmly sold.

Topping a line up of strong leaders, Caesar Augustus

Beer lover and eccentric Richard Chennells was born and bred in Zululand, South Africa. Richard has worked extensively in the tourism industry for SA and did a brew masters course through The American Brewers Guild.

He worked in the UK for The London Stock Exchange, Barclays Capital and finished in 2005 at The Bank of America. After brewing school in the USA in 2005, he went home, bought a family hotel and with his brother Graham and established the Zululand Brewing Co. in Eshowe, Zululand.

Richard Chennell, Zululand Brewery

In 2010 Richard was invited to brew Zululand Brewery’s flagship beer Zulu Blonde Ale at Marston’s Brewery for the JDW International Real Ale Festival. Of the 50 ales in the festival Zulu Blonde was voted number 1. Richard was then invited back to the UK to brew a further 120,000 pints of Zulu Blonde but this time at Everards’s brewery to supply the pub chain in time for the World Cup Kick off. Richard has been invited back again to the Real Ale Festival in 2012 and the brewery is launching Zulu Blonde in bottles in late 2012.

The Brewery is on site at The George Hotel in Eshowe where its beers are available on tap at The Happy George Bar. The brewery is the smallest on the KwaZulu-Natal Brew Route, capable of producing only a maximum of 3000 L (800 Gallon) a month in batches of 300 litres (80 Gallons). Because the brew house is so small they brew up to four times in a day just to fill two 150 L (40 Gallon) fermentation tanks! Due to demand Zulu Blonde is also now brewed under licence by the Nottingham Road Brewery in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and will shortly have operations in the Czech Republic and Belgium

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