James Watt – BrewDog founder

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, you can’t help but admire the enthusiasm of BrewDog and their ability to make fantastic tasting beers; not to mention their boundary pushing exploits with Toyko*, Tactical Nuclear Penguin, and the controversially named Sink the Bismarck!

The driving force behind BrewDog’s’ anti-establishment attitude is James Watt: entrepreneur, fisherman and head of all things penguin.

This week James gets stranded on our desert island with only a handful of beers and an interesting luxury item to keep him company…

James Watt, BrewDog Head Penguin

The Beers

James, which beers would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island? And you’re only allowed one of your own!

Barrel Aged Speedway Stout by AleSmith, 12% – “An absolute masterpiece. I would rink it from a snifter I fashioned from a coconut sitting by the fireside on the beach in the evenings”

Ruination IPA by Stone Brewing, 7,7% – “A savage IPA from the dark princes of big, bold irreverent beers. I almost cried the first time I tasted this it was so good”

5am Saint by BrewDog – “Our new 5% red hop bomb. Insane hop flavours and dangerously drinkable”

The Meal

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

“The 7^th wonder of the world that is the Pizza Hut buffet”

The Record

“The men’s 100m freestyle. I am going to have to catch my food and escape the sharks!”

The Book

“My one, I might even get a chance to finish it if I did”

The Luxury Item

“Is Natalie Portman a luxury item?”

We’re trying to sort out Natalie Portman right now. She doesn’t like pongy ale much though and was a little bit unsure about eating nothing but Pizza Hut buffet until a rescue party arrives. Perhaps if we swap the 100m freestyle record for some music we could tempt her?!

Jeff Evans InsideBeer.com

Jeff Evans – beer writer

Jeff Evans writes about beer and loves it. You can just tell. The author of more editions of Good Beer and Good Bottled Beer guides than I’ve had hot meals, he shares a passion for running and Hook Norton Double Stout, both which I could easily get excited about. And to top his achievements – Beer Writer of the Year 2001, author of new beer book ‘A Beer A Day’ and contributor to numerous off- and on-line publications – Jeff can proudly add ‘World Record Holder of the fastest compiled Desert Island Beers ever’ to his email signature (with a link to the post of course!).

So, remember the rules? 3 beers, 1 meal, a record, a book, a luxury item. And one deserted desert island. To be fair our past two castaways have managed to bend the rules a little bit in their favour (ingenuity is vital for survival!) and once again we’ve succumbed to pressure. This time though their was no beating around the bush as Jeff simply asked for more beer!

The beers

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, 5.6%
“The classic American pale ale. It offers vibrant Cascade hop character but is not as demanding or overpowering as many US hoppy beers. This will be my everyday drinking beer.”

Hook Norton Double Stout...it's brlllliant!

Hook Norton Double Stout, 4.8%
“Stout is probably my favourite style of beer and this is one of the best, especially now it is bottle conditioned, full of bitter dark chocolate flavours, some coffee and a little caramel.”

Schneider Aventinus, 8%
“When I get tired of ‘orthodox’ beer flavours, this will provide a perfect alternative with its mix of sweet marzipan, bananas, tart raisins and exotic spice.”

Rochefort 10, 11.3%
“There’s no point in settling for simple flavours in this situation, so I’ve gone for extreme complexity with this one. If the day is long and miserable, at least I can cap it off with this sweet, nourishing, warming, fruity Trappist creation.”

Rodenbach Grand Cru, 6%
“My palate is going to need a pick me up from time to time and there’s nothing better than Rodenbach, with its sharp, acetic bite to shock the tastebuds into action.”

The meal

“Nachos, refried beans and spicy salsa – and plenty of it. There will be no one around to suffer the consequences.”

The Record

“Forever Changes by Love. Psychedelic classic, riddled with acid-driven anxiety but soften by strings and mariachi horns. I never tire of hearing this album and can substitute beer for LSD.”

The Book
“Dante’s Divine Comedy. At last I will have the time to go back to this epic, which I studied at university. It won’t be an easy read but there are so many layers and levels to explore – spiritual, moral, historical, poetic, metaphysical – you can never exhaust it. Either this or anything by Katie Price.”

Luxury Item
“Pair of running shoes. Running will hopefully keep me sane and work off some of the beer and nachos (as well as build up a thirst).”

A big thanks to Jeff. It’s Saturday morning but I’m craving a plate of nachos and a big glass of Rochefort 10.  Plus I’ve already kicked off an electro-fueled DIY session thanks to iTunes and Spotify. If anyone knows how to re-tile a bathroom be round in 20 minutes and I’ll pay you in Marble Decadence (the fruit ones!)

For more of Jeff’s writing check out his online beer resource at insidebeer.com there’s some great articles on beer and brewers!

Pete Brown – beer writer and marketer

Picking our first post of the New Year was easy. The ‘Bill Bryson of the beer world’, Pete Brown is one of the UK’s best loved beer writers, his three books Man Walks Into A Pub, Three Sheets To The Wind and the much celebrated Hops & Glory are responsible for much laughing, beer drinking and fits of coughing when we do both at the same time.

Fresh from his coronation as The British Guild of Beer Writers Beer Writer of the Year, 2010 is Pete’s year to enjoy so what better way to nestle up with one of his books and try some of his favourite tipples too.

A quick reminder on the island rules: Pete can pick three beers to take and a meal to eat with the beers, plus a handful of personal effects to keep boredom at arms length: a book to read, a record to listen to and a luxury item. For the pedants amongst you we’re going to assume that the friendly island gods will take care of opening your beer bottle (or cask!) and the playing of your selected music…

Pete Brown reads from Hops & Glory on his book launch tour in 2009

The beers

Pete, which 3 beers would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

Goose Island IPA - a fine example of a North America IPA

Goose Island IPA

“Because there’s never a time when it doesn’t feel right – you can take it anywhere and it always delights. If I was to encounter a tribe of Amazonian warrior women on my island, previously unknown to western civilisation, Goose Island India Pale Ale would convert them to beer and they would proclaim me their king”.

Worthington White Shield

“Watching tropical sunset with a very lightly chilled White Shield in my hand, as the local wildlife turns slowly on a spit over my expertly built fire, the anticipation of how well the beer would marry with the caramelisation on the meat would make me feel my island was the best place in the world”.

Thornbridge Bracia

“After dinner, as the cicadas chip in the grass and the fire burns low, the richness and warmth of this beer just before turning into the sound of the waves would be the perfect end to a hard day trying to build a boat.  It might even make me change my mind about building the boat”.

The meal

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

“The first proper curry I ever tasted – chicken pathia from the New Balaka, St Andrews, Fife (if it’s still there)”.

The record

What record would you take?

“Only one? That’s not fair! If I could only listen to one album ever again it would probably be Elbow’s Seldom Seen Kid – the variety and inventiveness on there means it would never get monotonous”.

The book

What book would you take?

“The Life of Samuel Johnson, by Boswell. I’ve been wanting to read it for years. It’s so big I think being stranded on a desert island is the only scenario in which I’d ever have time to do it justice. If the Amazonians leave me alone long enough”.

The luxury item

What luxury item would you take?

“A fridge for the beer, perhaps with a bicycle contraption attached to the side to generate electricity if we’re going to get fussy about it”.

Thanks Pete, we admire your Ray Mears attitude and particularly your consideration of Mrs Pete Brown, running your beer fridge with pedal power and keeping you beer belly at bay so you’re fit as a fiddle on your return home (unless of course you take enough Bracia to avoid any escape attempts of course!)

Zak Avery – beer writer and shop owner

Welcome to the first ‘episode’ of Desert Island Discs, our regular interview with beer lovers. Our first week starts with a bang, with British Guild of Beer Writers’ Beer Writer of the Year 2008, Mr Zak Avery.

Lots of you will know Zak, and many may have read his beer words, for those who are lucky enough to live in Leeds you might have bought a few bottles of beer from Zak’s shop, Beer Ritz in Far Headingley.

Zak’s shop is probably the most welcoming emporium of beer I know, but what will he make of the hospitality on our Desert Island?

Actually, he made himself right at home, taking advantage of our not very stringent rules!

The beers

So Zak, which three beers would you take on a desert island?

Zak’s Desert Island Beer #1: Anchor Steam Beer

“A lot of people overlook Anchor Steam Beer, but it’s a key beer in American craft brewing. I’ve drunk it at house parties in Leeds, and I’ve drunk it in fancy restaurants. It’s subtle and understated, but everytime I drink it, a different nuance dominates. John Peel wrote about his love of The Fall, saying that they were always the same, but always different. That’s how I feel about Anchor Steam.”

Zak’s Desert Island Beer #2:Duvel

“Duvel is a stone cold classic. It has a long history, in fact it used to be a different beer altogether. It was a dark Scotch-style ale until the 1970s. I love the depth and complexity that it has, and the fact that it’s quite drinkable for a strong pale beer. I used to keep having one too many of these on nights out – I think I’ve learned my lesson now.”

Zak’s Desert Island Beer #3:Harvey’s ‘A. Le Coq’ Imperial Stout

“Harvey’s A. Le Coq Imperial Stout used to be bottled on the now-defunct Gale’s bottling line, and the cork-closed square-shouldered bottles were prone to infection. The robustness of the beer meant that it could just about carry this infection, emerging with stunning complexity. The latest batch, under crown cap, is a revelation, and would rival any American imperial stout”.

The meal

“Ha! That’s three courses. I’ve start with ‘tortillitas de camarones’ – basically a Spanish sort of shrimp batter/croquette affair, with a squeeze of lemon, which would be good with the Duvel. Main would be something hot & spicy – I’ve yet to grow tired of jerk chicken (thighs are best), with rice & peas, which would be OK with Anchor Steam, although the Steam Beer is really along for everyday drinking too. Fried bananas and vanilla ice cream to set off the Harvey’s stout.”

The record

A little cheating here on Zak’s part, but seen as he is provider of much of our beer cupboard inventory we’ll let him off!

“I couldn’t pick just one record – I’ve got a secret passion for diverse music, from Bob Dylan to Public Enemy to Steve Reich and everything in between, so I’d have to settle for a fully stuffed iPod as my luxury item”.

The book

“Something useful, either Larousse Gastronomique or Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher.”

The luxury item

“Err, can I put the iPod in a restaurant spec kitchen….?” Umm, you’ve already used the luxury item Zak? But why not, I’m just not quite sure what you’ll do for leccy?!?!

A big thanks to Zak for being our guinea pig on this and taking part. Watch out for the next episode (New Year’s Day hopefully)

Desert Island Beers

A while back we posed the question ‘What would your emergency beers be?’, after a night gazing into the beer cupboard and not being able to choose anything to drink. Usually having a wide selection of beers in the house is great, but there are the days when everything is new, or everything is tired and you just don’t have anything in that shouts drink me.

On the days you something need a fall back, a beer that you always rely on, those tried and tested brews that you never tire of and can always, always rely on to satisfy your thirst.

The responses to the Emergency Beer post planted the little seed of this idea, and got us thinking about ‘What beer would you want if all other beers in the world were destroyed’ and ‘What beer would you want if you were Will Smith in that film where no one else is around?’.

Which led to the obvious question, ‘What beer would you take to a desert island?’.

And that’s exactly the question we’ll be asking you, beer lovers of the world, in our new (hopefully regular) feature: Desert Island Beers.

The concept is simple, just like the Radio 4 show we’ve taken inspiration from, we will be asking guests what beers they would take to a desert island. We’re going to ask each guest to select 3 ales they just could not live without. And as we’re generous island chiefs, we’re going to allow our castaways a couple of extras: a meal to go with the beers, one luxury item and a song or record they’d like to keep their spirits up.

Keep your eyes peeled on the desert island, we have some cracking guests lined up including beer writers, brewers, bloggers, beer lovers and perhaps even the odd B(eer)-list celebrity!