Desert Island Beers #9: Des De Moor

Amongst many things Des de Moor is a beer writer. Based in Deptford, London and though born in England to an English mother and speaking English as a first language, his father was Dutch.

In summer 2011, Des will be publishing his first book, The CAMRA Guide to London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars, a comprehensive guide to one of the world’s great beer drinking cities and a timely celebration of the current renaissance of London brewing.

Since 2002 he’s been writing regular bottled beer reviews for the member magazines of Britain’s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), first for What’s Brewing, then for BEER, as well as the occasional feature on topics like beer retailing and pub walks, and was a contributor to 1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die.

His areas of expertise are beers from the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Des also writes about his passions outside of beer — he’s a regular contributor to the Ramblers magazine Walk Mag (he was previously their books editor) and works for the Ramblers as a day job, promoting everyday walking for health, developing projects and doing policy work. In a more leisurely frame he has a walking blog focused on walking in London, London Underfoot.

The Beers

Hi Des! So, which 5 beers would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island, and why?

1. Boon Oude Lambik (Brouwerij Boon, Lembeek , Belgium 6%)
   “I’m assuming there’s water on this desert island so I wouldn’t need to quench my thirst, in which case I’d pick beers to linger over – big, complex and rewarding ones that will give you new sensations at every swallow. If I was simply picking my favourite beers the selection would likely include a few more easy going choices, but stuck on that island I’d want stimulation of the senses. The first one that comes to mind is a whole wooden tun of top quality mature still unblended lambic, perhaps a three-year-old Boon Oude Lambik. The Boon base lambics I’ve had are completely astonishing beers, so complex in flavour – one I tried at the brewery on the Toer de Geuze recently was like liquid Danish pastry with apricot and nuts, but still with that wet plastic lambic smack, a beer epiphany. Could there be a cool cave on the island so the beer could continue developing please?”
2. Rochefort 10 (Brasserie Rochefort, L’abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy à Rochefort, Belgium – 11.3%)
   “A solid Trappist beer would be another must – I did consider Orval, which can age in interesting ways, but I’d settle on Rochefort 10 which is arguably one of the best beers in the world. Again it’s really complex, and also deep and dark, which is very much my end of the beer spectrum. A couple of cases would age well in that cave too.”
3. Pliny the Elder (Russian River, USA – 8.0%)
   “Marooned on the island I’d have an opportunity to acquire new tastes, and although I’m much more tolerant of contemporary hophead beers than I used to be, I still don’t think I’m tuned into them completely. So perhaps a chance to get better acquainted with a West Coast alpha acid extravaganza like Bear Republic Racer 5 or Russian River Pliny the Elder“
4. Harvey’s Imperial Extra Double Stout (Harvey’s – 9.0%)
   “An Imperial Stout would be a must – again it’s the complexity and the ageing potential that would keep me interest. I still have four nip bottles of the very last bottle conditioned Courage Imperial Russian Stout brewed at John Smith’s in Tadcaster in 1993, but if I couldn’t take them along, I’d settle for what is surely the current benchmark, Harvey’s Imperial Extra Double Stout.”
5. Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby (Sarah Hughes Brewery, Sedgley, UK – 6.0%)
   “I was going to pick yet another long ageing high ABV beer like a barley wine (Fuller’s Vintage uppermost in my mind as it’s also accounted for some of my most enriching beer experiences) but I think I’d need something a bit more straightforward from time to time. Milds are one of my favourite beer styles but the low gravity ones probably wouldn’t stand up to the environment. So a good supply of Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby would keep me going, and I could always imagine myself on a quiet night in the Beacon Hotel in Sedgley”

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

“The Boon lambic, without a doubt. There is nothing else like fine lambic.”

Harvey Imperial Extra Double Stout: just perfect for Christmas on a desert island?!

The Meal

You can also take one meal to go with your beers, what would it be and why? Is it a ‘last supper’ or a perfect pairing for one of the beers?

“I confess I’m not a great beer and food matcher as I’m usually concentrating on the taste of the beer. I’m also assuming I wouldn’t starve on the island, though I might not be able to stick to my usual vegetarian diet. So a generous plate of fine cheeses please – an excellent and very civilised beer and food match. Well matured Keen’s Cheddar, some fine ripe Stilton, a nice runny soft rind cheese like a Brie de Melun, some of that very old rich Gouda that flakes when you slice it, a decent unpasteurised French goat’s cheese, some homemade chutney, mustard for the Gouda, some grapes, apples, celery and Carr’s Table Water Biscuits. Am I asking too much?”

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

“I’d pick Garrett’s book because I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read it yet. I’ve read quite a lot of The Bible and consider it overrated, but I only got a few chapters into the first of the three volumes of Karl Marx’s Capital so I’d like to read the rest of that, please.”

Des de Moor, San Francisco, 2009

The record

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

“Presumably you wouldn’t let me have a box set of Beethoven String Quartets. So it’d have to be Jacques Brel’s last album, simply entitled Brel, from 1977. The closing track, ‘Les Marquises’, is even about a desert island.”

The Luxury Item

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

“Could I have my complete collection of Hergé’s Tintin please? Looks like we might have to claim this desert island for Belgium!”

Very many thanks to Des for taking part and being our castaway for the week. You can follow him on his beer culture blog and pages and contact him at des@desdemoor.com
Do you agree with his choices? If you’d like to be involved in our Desert Island Beers feature please contact us via twitter or email mark(at)real-ale-reviews.com