Japan - the Biru

The beer tourist is much like a scuba diver...

For most people, they only know the top of the ocean and are more than happy with playing on the surface. They get excited when a dolphin or other life breaks the surface, but that is as far as their interest goes. However, a scuba diver knows that there is a whole other wonder beneath the surface, a variety of life and experiences those on the surface will never know.

And such is the way of the beer tourist. My recent trip to Japan was no different.

The beer

Most will be familiar with the three main brands - Sapporo, Asahi & Kirin. I found Sapporo to be to my liking more than the other two, especially on draught in a hot yakitori bar. Kirin probably my least favourite, seemed to be more grainy than the others.

These main brands dominate the scene - similar to Lion & DB in NZ. The pale lager is pretty ubiquitous, though each also seem to throw in a black beer for colour, and with our timing, a seasonal amber autumn beer as well. But most unusual was the plethora of canned pale lager each brand seemed to promote. There was gold label, green label, tanrei (meaning "beauty", yeah right), and the bizarre promotion of beer with 70% malt (wow, lucky us!). And there was also the smallest can of beer I have ever seen, just 140ml!

But like scuba diver I am, it was the beers beneath the surface that I was more interested in...

Like the NZ craft beer industry at the moment, there was a lot of hops. The pick of these was the Baird Suruga Imperial IPA I had at the Nakameguro (Tokyo) Tasting Room. Lots of stewed fruit and caramel on the nose. A rich, slightly salty palate, with biscuitiness from the malt along with berries and melon. The type of complexity you would want from an IIPA. Another of note was the Swan Lake IPA.

But there were also a number of other interesting styles. Top of the list was the Ise Kadoya Kodai-mai (Ancient Rice) Ale at the famous Popeyes (Tokyo). A dark amber, I struggled for words to describe what was a very unique aroma and flavour - fruit, banana and spice, toffee and a salty palate. But most importantly, it was delicious.

It was interesting to note the number of Kolsch and Altbiers in the craft brewery ranges, obviously a popular style in Japan and ones we don't see so regularly in NZ. But there were also Espresso Stouts, Raunchbier, Black IPAs, a Pineapple Ale. A full list of the beers I tried is on ratebeer. The breweries that stood out were Bairds, Hidatakayama, Hitachino and Sankt Gallen.

The bars

Perhaps more impressive than the craft beer in Japan was the venues. And some of the venues were equally as hard to track down as the beer itself.

With the trip starting off with only one night in Osaka, I had already put down Beer Belly as place I wanted to visit. A tiny little bar down a small street in a quite inner city suburb, I wasn't sure we were in the right place onto we were pretty much on top of it. The bar just about took up half the space, with about 8 taps and 2 handpumps (including the local Minoh brewery). Some of the beer names were in english and some not, which was a problem for our two-and-a-half words of Japanese.

Of course, beer is the great interpreter, and it wasn't too long before the barman was translating the blackboard into english for me. A multi-talented barman he was too, when later we watched him cook and remove chips from a deep fryer with only a pair of chopsticks. With so much beer on offer, it was beer belly indeed!

It was also here that we witnessed the weird ritual that was repeated at nearly every other we visited. Before your pint is poured, the barman will run off a small amount from the tap into a bucket/tray first. I'm not sure what they think will be wrong with that first spurt, but they must go through a fair amount of the keg that way.

After a night away with Buddhist Monks (no beer there), we had 3 nights in Kyoto. My pre-trip research had shown a dearth of craft beer bars in Kyoto, so expectations were low. However, I had noted Tadg's Irish Bar as worthy of a visit. However, as someone else has also recently noted on ratebeer, the map posted there is wrong. So after not being able to locate it, I thought I would be clever and ask the concierge at our hotel to ring the bar and find out where it was for me. After she had called them up, she politely told me that the the name of the bar had in fact changed and gave me the right directions...and then sent me to the wrong place! I didn't know it at the time but I was much disappointed with The Gael, as it didn't have any of the exciting beers I had read on ratebeer. It became obvious when I cam home and worked it out, that somehow the friendly concierge had rung the wrong bar.

Nevertheless, what I did discover in Kyoto was that the large department stores stocked a great range of craft beers, and I managed to pick up many bottles from the micros to enjoy back in the room at the hotel. A similar theme played out over the next week, as we travelled through the Alps region without little prospect of any craft beer bars. However, I was able to pick up numerous bottles on our journey to enjoy along the way.

This break also allowed me to prepare for the tour-de-force that would Tokyo. I did have intentions to stop at the Baird Brewery on the way to Tokyo, but it worked out my eyes were bigger than my stomach and it was one thing I couldn't fit in. Armed with Dom's (from Hashigo Zake) must-do list of bars to visit, I had a busy couple of days ahead of me.

The first was potentially the best. A bit further out in Shimokitazawa - a cool suburb that was worth the visit on its own - we managed to track down the hard to find Ushitora bar(s). It was going to be an ongoing trend of being very difficult to find all these bars. Back to Ushitora, which was actually two bars. We were a bit early and had to wait until they opened at 5pm - nothing like a bit of enthusiasm. And the wait was worth it. In the bigger bar, there was a number of Japanese and US micros on tap. I decided to stick mostly to the local beers, the Yo-Ho Tokyo Black Porter on handpump being very memorable. We also struck up conversation with the barman who had just been at the recent Great Japan Beer Festival in Yokohama (unfortunately a couple of weeks before our trip) where one of his favourites was Tuatara APA.

The bar hop was very easy as we slipped next door to check out the second, even smaller, Ushitora bar. You could imagine my delight when I saw on the menu that they had all the Mikkeller Single Hop IPA series on tap. The Amarillo was my favourite, by then I am a bit of an Amarillo-fiend. We also had the barman try to teach us how to play with a Kendama, a Japanese folk toy, which consists of a wooden, hammer-like object with a ball connected to it by a string. We could hardly say a word to each other, but tried to take directions on how to complete tricks with it for a couple of hours.

The following night I had set aside to pay homage to the famous Popeyes. Popeyes must be one of the pre-eminent beer bars in the world, let alone Japan the beer bar in Japan. And after tracking it down in what seemed the middle of nowhere, it was obvious to see why. Proudly proclaiming 70 beers on tap (I wasn't able to verify them all, but I tried), many some the best that Japanese and American brewing has to offer. Table service from some of the happiest barman I think I have ever met. And the buzz of a full bar that just speaks people happy in their beer. For any beer nerd, there was just too much to choose from. But even that was made easier by the option of ordering a flight of ten 100ml tasters of any of the beers. And considering the strength of most of them, this wasn't a bad idea.

It was here that I was able to have the top rated beer in Japan - Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout - followed by Southern Tier's Farmer's Tan Imperial Pale Lager (one of my beers of the trip). There were also offerings from Stone, Rogue and Green Flash. This is a place you just want to come to every night.

Earlier that day I was able to find the Bairds Tasting Room in the suburb of Nakameguro (strangely located on the second floor of a Plaza building), to try and make up for not being able to visit the brewery. It was a bit early in the day, so lacked a bit of atmosphere, but I was able to sample a number of the Bairds beers - again I had too many choices, there must have been 20 on tap. All were really good, my favourite being the Suruga Bay IIPA and Bierre du Biwa, an ale made with the fruit of the loquat tree and fermented with a belgian yeast. And of course, I couldn't miss the chance to order the Tuatara Ardennes on tap - a bit of a treat.

Our last day, and I was able to stumble across the Bulldog as part of our wanderings. Disappointingly they weren't serving any of their tap beers during the day, but by a stroke of luck this forced me to order a Stone Dogfish Head Victory Saison Du Buff - another very memorable beer of the trip.

That night we had a pre-dinner drink at the Aldgate, another english-themed pub that was very popular with ex-pats. It's hard not to feel a little wrong sitting in an english pub when not in England, though the pint of Jever Pils and Baeron Rye helped lessen my doubt.

After dinner, I was very keen on tracking down Craftheads, renown for having rare American craft beer on tap. The beer isn't the only thing hard to find though, as we wandered around the streets of Shibuya trying to find the bar. After about 45 minutes I was about to give up, before checking down one last narrow street we finally stumbled across the stairs that led down to the bar. It was a very cool setting underground (nods to HZ), and the beer list was impressive as it was expensive. Stone, Three Floyds, Green Flash, Lost Abbey, Founders. At over $40 for some 300ml glasses, I kept to some of the more affordable options. Not that those disappointed. My last, the Southern Tier Pumking, was probably the beer of the trip and a great note to sign off on.

Footnote: For any one thinking of making a beer pilgrimage to Japan, I can highly recommend it. But start saving now, it was the must expensive place I have drunk in. With some of the 'cheaper' glasses of craft beer nearing $20 and tasters at $10, your wallet gets as much of a work out as your taste buds.

Part Two – Czech’ing it out

Though we flew into Prague Airport, that was as close as we got, as we had already been to Prague many years ago. This trip was about touring a bit of the Czech countryside and, surprise surprise, visit some fine Czech Breweries with the Good Beer Guide: Czech Republic in hand.

It was certainly an interesting trip. Straight away it was clear it was a strange country, where you are offered a choice between a Mercedes-Benz and a Ford Focus as your rental car – pretty easy choice that! And the roads themselves were very interesting. There seems to two trucks to every car on the road, the result being that the roads themselves are in pretty bad shape. The right-hand lanes of the motorways seem to be one endless series of potholes.

The Czech drivers themselves seem to be of two breeds. One breed seems to be perfectly comfortable driving 60km in a 90km zone. The other seems so concerned to check that their steering is working, they have to change lanes or overtake every 2 seconds, and seem intent on reading the maker’s name on the screws that are holding your license plate to the bumper!

But out in the countryside it is very scenic, with bright green rolling hills studded by attractive little towns (that’s where there isn’t some hulk of a Communist concrete block towering above them). The Czech countryside reminded me of how intensive livestock farming and forestry have ruined much of NZ’s countryside. The Czech people seem to take advantage of this as well – with plenty of hikers and cyclists about. Though this is in sharp contract with the rest of their lifestyle – which involves a lot of smoking (especially in pubs and restaurants, which is difficult getting used to again) and not what you would call the healthiest of cuisine’s. Stodge, stodge and more stodge. I love a dumpling as much as the next man, but after 5 days of them it was admittedly getting a bit tough. Not that it seems to be slowing down reproduction, there seemed to be newborn babies everywhere.

And there is also lots of water. Every town seems to have to have a pond or lake of some description – most of them dammed. You wouldn’t swim in them though. Perhaps they are used to farm Carp, which is on the menu everywhere, but has to be the top nomination for the most flavourless fish around.

So our first destination was Telc in South Moravia – a beautiful Renaissance town that was probably the pick of our trip. We had a room overlooking the town square and I got my first taste of some good Czech beer (Bernard) – though what stunned me more than anything was the price, about $1.80 for a pint!

The next day we criss-crossed our way across southern Czech Republic, arriving at Ceske Budejovice for lunch and the famous Budejovicky Budvar – famous for being the original “Budweiser”. I was able to sample two of their beers that are not as commonly available – the krouzkovany lezak (which is “yeast beer”, where a dose of young beer – fresh yeast and wort – is added after lagering), and the svetle vycepni (which is a lighter version of their Premium beer).

After lunch we drove through South Bohemia up to our destination of Plzen (we skipped the awesome Ceske Krumlov, as once again we visited it on a previous trip), stopping by at a couple of breweries, and though their beers were OK, not worth a special mention. Plzen itself is nice enough (it is a big student city), but the main reason it was our destination was because it is home to Pilsner Urquell Brewery, and also the opportunity to taste their amazing kvasnicovy (yeast beer again). The citrus sweetness combined with the yeasty dryness to make it very moreish.

After walking around the grounds of Pilsner Urquell Brewery the next morning, we made our way out to the small town of Dobrany just outside Plzen to lunch at the Modra Hvezda brewpub. This was a real find, as we sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed one of our better meals on our trip. They had a range of four different beers on tap, and I couldn’t find too many faults with any of them, the tmavy (dark lager) and a stronger bock particularly good. Anna also had her first taste of what we saw a lot of people drinking – Birell, a 0% alcohol beer. The Czech Republic is a zero alcohol level for driving, and these Czechs enjoy their beer so much (they have the highest beer consumption per person in the world), they knock back this 0% beer in large amounts. I guess is was OK for what it was – but I was happy that Anna was doing the driving...

From Dobrany we were just making the relatively short trip to Chodova to the brewery/hotel/restaurant/spa, where we were both staying and taking in a massage and beer bath. Yes, that’s right, a beer bath! In a warm, brick-lined cellar, a steel tub-for-two was filled with a 50:50 mix of mineral water and a specially brewed low-alcohol bathing beer, at a temperature of 34 degrees. Admittedly it was a bit weird. The water was pretty murky and full of little bits, which I am assuming is some of the mash. But it was hard not to enjoy when you just sit back and get passed glasses of a light Chodovar lager. But then things got weirder…

After 30 minutes we were ushered out of the bath – the woman didn’t seem fussed that we were naked – and led to another even warmer room where we were swaddled with blankets and told to lie down on a chaise-lounge. It didn’t take long to get a big sweat on – and I guess that is the point, a bit like a poor man’s sauna – in the midst of the sweet malt and spicy hop aroma rising from your skin. It was difficult to decide whether to relax or laugh.

After that experience, later that night we ate at the Chodovar restaurant, which is set within lagering caves from the 12th century. While the setting was cool, our fellow diners were not. It seemed that a couple of busloads of pushy German tourists had also turned up without reservations and intent on squeezing in on our table. Even Anna’s evil-eye didn’t seem to work on them.

The next day we drove around the northwest Bohemia, famous for its spa towns. They are bizarre affairs, very opulent, but now also very touristy. The towns were made popular because of their mineral waters, which people were prescribed for various ailments. Now it seems tourists buy the ridiculous porcelain mugs things and drink the sulphury tasting water, the irony of also smoking a cigarette lost on many of them. We could only take so much of these spa towns, so decided to pop over the border into Germany for lunch – Bavaria no less, so it would have definitely been rude not to – and found the very nice town of Waldsassen. I relief at eating a meal not involving goulash or dumplings could probably be heard back in the Czech Republic as we enjoyed schnitzel (of course) and venison, as well as a couple of local brews, including a delicious Hefeweizen.

Back across the border and we only had a short trip to Loket – where we would be spending our last night. This fairy-tale town, perched on a mountain ridge with a river that serpentines it way around it on three sides, is also known for featuring in Casino Royale. We stayed at the brewpub/hotel, where their one beer was one of the best of the trip.

Our last day brought something new on this trip – rain. Until then, we had had beautifully warm and sunny days. Driving back towards the airport and with time to peruse the Good Beer Guide, I found one last brewpub that I wanted to visit – and it was only 15 minutes from the airport. And what a great call that was, as it had the best beers of the trip. The Chyne beers were absolutely stunning, my favourite was their cerny (dark lager), but the potomavy (half-dark) and svetle (light) were equally good. It was with much regret that I had to pull myself away – and even more so when we got to the airport, only to discover that our flight had been delayed for three hours.

It was a very enjoyable 5 days in the Czech Republic. There might not have been the wow factor, but a very enjoyable place to travel around. It was only the cuisine that we tired of; you can only take so much stodge – even me. And on the beer front there were some real finds. Though not typically beer styles I warm to, when they are brewed with such skill as were on offer here, it is hard not to be impressed by the bittersweet qualities of the variety of Czech lagers. A fine education for a Yeastie Boy.

World Famous in New Zealand

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4717117a13.html

And if that looks like a big grin, that's because it is about the 50th I have had to pull! Taken at the "commercial launch" of Pot Kettle Black, at Bar Edward in Newtown (Wellington). Was a successful night, the first keg on the Yeastie Boys went very quick, and we weren't far off going through the second. And it was tasting delicious off the hand pump again.

Plenty of inquiries from the article - which was seen as widely as Marlborough and the Hawkes Bay, as well as being feature article in the Business section of the Dominion Post. Not a bad start for the Yeastie Boys...

BrewNZ & Beervana '08

This was it, the first time Yeastie Boys went public - at BrewNZ, NZ's annual beer awards and Beervana festival.

Unfortunately there was no award for us. The low down is that though the judges enjoyed our Pot Kettle Black – and it made it to the second round – ultimately it was not considered for an award as it was deemed that it wasn’t entered in the right style. Apparently it should have been entered as an ‘International Porter’, rather than as the 'American Brown Ale' we entered it as. Word is that if we had entered it as an ‘International Porter’, it is likely we would have won a medal of some description. So that is a bit of a bugger, and I guess is a beginner's mistake we can learn from.

However, it was a good night for Steve Nally and Invercargill Brewery - who we brewed Pot Kettle Black with - as it took two best in class awards, for his golden lager 'Biman', and with his Boysenbeery. Well deserved. But it was Tuatara that took out the Champion Brewery award.

But it is the opinions of the punters that really matters, and it was at Beervana that Yeastie Boys was a huge hit. I don’t think it could have gone any better. Got such awesome feedback from so many people. Many were shocked at the taste and how it challenged their perception of what a porter should taste like. The most brilliant was the guy who, after taking his first sip, told me that we were “fucked up” and that the beer was "weird"…and then proceeded to have 3 glasses in about 15 minutes. Lots of people said it was the best beer they had tasted on the night and wanted to know where they could get.

The story was a real hit as well. Everyone loved the local flavour (a piece of genius having us labelled as 'Wellington') and the fact that we were just starting out, contracting brewing recipes from the backyard shed, and still in our day jobs. The ‘Yeastie Boys’ branding worked a treat as well, pulling people in and getting a lot of comments.

A lot of credit also needs to go to the 'marketing team' that was out on the floor. There were Yeast-T's everywhere, telling people where to go and try Pot Kettle Black. Lots of other stalls had fancy set ups, but this viral advertising was the coup of the night I think. People were tracking us down. We should have had some Yeast-T's for sale, everybody wanted to buy one.

We went through 2 full kegs over the two days in the end. We couldn’t have got through much more. I would say that would have been the most of any single beer sold. And if they had a Beervana public vote for most popular beer, I would have been surprised if Pot Kettle Black didn’t win it.

But this all came at a cost – my feet! I was absolutely beat. It was hard work for a desk jockey like myself. I pretty much manned the stall the whole time, so I pretty much stood for 2 days straight – when I went for lunch on the Saturday I literally couldn’t walk on my heals. And I pretty much talked myself hoarse – it was just a constant talk fest with the punters. I could hardly lift my arms they are so sore from lifting and moving kegs and boxes. This manual labour and customer service is hard work!! And most surprisingly, I hardly drunk any beer myself, I just didn’t get the chance.

So it was a great debut for the Yeastie Boys, it was a shame Stuey wasn't there to share in it. Since then we've already had orders for at least half our kegs, and there have been enquiries at places about when they are going to have it in. So now the planning starts for the follow up to Pot Kettle Black. At the moment we are thinking a low strength bitter for summer, and doubling the batch size. Hopefully it will go down as well as the Pot Kettle Black.

Some photos of the Beervana on the Friday night and an indication of how much the Yeastie Boys 'marketing team' enjoyed themselves...

Yeastie Boys: Live In Wellington
Media release: Yeastie Boys
25/08/2008

New kids on the brewing block, Yeastie Boys, will launch their hoppy Pot Kettle Black porter at the Beervana festival on 5 September, Yeastie Boys co-founder Stu McKinlay announced today.

‘Pot Kettle Black is the result of a friendly debate I had with Wellington beer writer Neil Miller over whether hops or malt is the most important element in beer,’ said Stu.

‘I’m all about malt, while Neil is a certifiable hop head. Pot Kettle Black, the first release from Yeastie Boys, is an American-style porter that combines the delicious elements of dark malty beers with the huge hopping rates usually reserved for modern craft pale ales. This beer will certainly save us a plenty of time arguing at the bar.’

In true Kiwi style, Yeastie Boys' recipes all originate from a 40 litre pilot brewery in a Wellington backyard shed. ‘Operating on such a small scale there was little chance of the beer making it any further than ourselves and those in the know, until we partnered with multiple award-winning brewer Steve Nally of Invercargill Brewery to produce our first batch of commercial beer,’ said Yeastie Boy Sam Possenniskie.

‘Part of the Yeastie Boys concept is to utilise the excess capacity of New Zealand's best little breweries and to promote the diversity in New Zealand’s craft beer scene. Steve, being one of the best experimental brewers in the country, is the perfect partner and mentor for us to produce our first beer with.’

Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle Black is only available on tap for a limited time. It will be available at the upcoming BrewNZ "Beervana" festival, and at selected outlets specialising in craft beer from early September. For more information on availability see www.yeastieboys.co.nz.

Rather than a hip-hop tribute band made up of gynecologists, as the name may suggest, Yeastie Boys is the brewing brainchild of local brewer Stu McKinlay and New Zealand's most notorious beer hunter Sam "The Grandmaster" Possenniskie. In the name of research these two beer lovers have spent the last three years immersed within the secretive inner sanctum of the brewing world, tasting more than 2,000 different beers, in 70-plus different styles, from over 50 countries. Yeastie Boys are now set to unleash this research with a series of seasonal beers unlike anything else the New Zealand beer drinking public have tasted. Stay tuned…

Pot Kettle Black by Yeastie Boys
Tech info: ABV = 5.2%, OG = 1061, IBU = 47
Malt: NZ Pale Malt, Melanoiden Malt, Crystal 55L, Pale Chocolate, Black Patent Malt.
Hops: Nelson Sauvin, New Zealand Styrian, Organic New Zealand Cascade.

For further information please contact:
info@yeastieboys.co.nz

Yeastie Boys: The Beginning

The child of many late night discussions over a pint or three, the day came when Stu and I brewed our first commercial beer. The big day happened, of all places, down at the bottom of the country, at the Invercargill Brewery. Under the stewardship of one of the best brewers in NZ - Steve Nally - we turned one of Stu's favourite recipes into a 1200 litre commercial brew.

Pot Kettle Black is in the style of an American Brown Ale, likely to be around 5.7%, with a chocolately malt palate with a serious orangey hop bite. This will be a hoppy beer to test the Kiwi palate.

The brewing itself is relatively simple exercise. First step was to unload the 360kg of malt into the miller to break up the husks. The milled malt is then put into the mash tun, where the malt is mixed with water at a temperature of 68 degrees to create the 'mash'. The temperature of the water is important, as it dictates the degree to which the starches from the malt are converted into sugars. The mash is then sparged (rinsed) and filtered before the liquid - called the 'wort' - is pumped into the kettle to boil. The wort was boiled for 90 minutes to sterilise it and prevent infections. It is during the boil that we added our 3 varieties of hops, giving our beer it bitterness, flavour and aroma characteristics. After the boil is finished, the wort needs to be quickly cooled to around 20 degrees on its way into the fermenter (again to prevent infection, as well as other off-flavours that occur at high temperatures and to achieve the optimum temperature for 'yeastie' activity). Once into the fermenter, we 'pitched' the yeast into the brew, which over the past couple of weeks has been turning those sugars extracted form the malt into alcohol. Since then, Steve has transferred our beer into a conditioning tank, where Pot Kettle Black will be finished off.

So now Pot Kettle Black is only a couple of weeks away from release - planned for the Beervana festival at Brew NZ in Wellington, September 5 & 6. The 1200 litres will be keg-only, and as well as the beer festival, will be available at some of the best independent bars and pubs in NZ. I'm looking forward to a taste - I hope you are too.

Beer Scene - Chile

As with Argentina, I did have some expectation from the beers that would be on offer in Chile. However, in Chile the quality end of the craft brewing scene was more difficult to get to. This was mostly down to the domination that a few of the bigger craft breweries had over the whole scene - most particularly the Kunstmann Brewery. Not that their success shouldn't be applauded, as it is a welcoming sight to see so many cafes and restaurants offering a craft brewery as the source of their draught beers, rather than a tasteless national brand. But I do think that this might be making it harder for some of the smaller brewers to get their beers out in the public.

Nevertheless, there was plenty of variety on offer in Chile if you searched for it - though there seemed to be less experimentation with different styles than I saw in Argentina. In fact, it wasn't really until my last day in Chile that I was wowed by Chilean beer. And that was due to the magnificent Szot beers. I only had the chance to taste a couple of them, but the Szot Stout has gone down already as one of the finest beers I have ever tasted - it was like drinking black gold. It's a shame they are so difficult to find - I had to go to the Santiago Ritz Carlton to taste these - and even more of a shame that I could only have one.

Beer Scene - Argentina

What a turn up this was. I knew heading south was going to be an improvement on what I had seen and drunk before, but I wasn't quite prepared for the selection and variation of what would be on offer in Argentina.

There are the bigger brands that dominate of course - but even there is quite a bit of competition so that there is some choice. But it is the number and quality of the craft breweries that surprised me, as well as their availability. At many a bar, cafe or restaurant they will have a selection of artesanal cervezas, some more than others. I spent a couple of enjoyable nights at the Antares bar in Buenos Aires, their beers of mixed quality, but the bar itself a very cool and seemingly popular place. But the highlight is most definitely even further south in the Lake District. This is clearly the craft brewing capital on Argentinean with more different breweries than even a commited beer rater like myself could get through. There is a definite German influence in the brewing and I even came across a couple of rauchbiers (smoked beers). And I didn't even get down to the town of El Bolson, where I have been told ever man and his dog brew their own beer. It certainly was a lot of fun trying all the different beers Argentina has to offer and visiting the various brew pubs (like Blest and Berlina) - but best of all, there is plenty of scope for returning and trying many more.

Beer Scene - Bolivia

What a surprise this was, after the desert that Ecuador and Peru were of beer choice, Bolivia was like an oasis. OK, it wasn´t anything astounding, but at least the main brewer had more than two beers. In fact, I tasted ten new beers in Bolvia, after only tasting six in Ecuador and Peru combined. The highlight was most definitely the Saya Beers brewed at The Adventure Brew Hostal in La Paz. It was refreshing to drink some differnt style of beers, brewed well. Their English Ale even reminding of drinking back in London. And even the national brewer gets in on the act, with seven different varieties. Though some of them were variations on the same pilsener theme, there was better quality than from most mass-producers.

My faith in brewing has been restored again and my palate feels revitalised heading into Chile & Argentina.

Beer Scene - Peru

Well fellow ale lovers, I have to report that things on the foamy front have not improved in Peru. The local beers available are again of your standard lager/pilsener type, the only variation on the theme being the ´Malta´version of the dominant Cusquena brand. Unfortunately, this dark beer resembled a cheap cola more than a beer of any note. And then, causing me much distress, the two brewpubs in Cusco that I hoped to visit both appeared to have closed in recent times.

So after collecting just two new ratings in Ecuador, I have only five new ratings to add from Peru - and none of them really of any note, the Cristal being the pick for me but still only scoring a 8/20. I expect Bolivia to be a continuation of the theme. I´m now particularly jealous of those of you still able to get yourself a fresh English pint and already looking forward to my first trip to Galbraiths when back in Auckland.

Beer Scene - Ecuador

Well, there wasn´t much to report on this front. Ecuador was a little similar to Greece in the way that wherever you went you were limited to just the same choices - typically what seemed to be the only two beers brewed in Ecuador, Pilsener and Club Pilsener. The Pilsener was surprisingly drinkable, the Club was not....

The beer scene in Ecuador seems best illustrated by the fleeting escape I thought I had find when seeing a Ukranian porter for sale in a supermarket. On taking it back to the hotel and sipping my way through a pretty awful half glass, Brad pointed out to me that the expiry date on it was for last year!

Fortnately - I guess - I haven´t had much cause to do a lot of drinking as I am still afflicted by some stomach bug (or parasite as Anna likes to call it). It laid me up in bed all day on our first day in the Galapagos, and I am still suffering from vicious stomach cramps. I hoping it decides to go and be a parasite in someone else soon.

Nevertheless, it doesnt´t look like there will be much relief from this derth of decent beer until we make our way down to Chile. But I do have a couple of brew pubs lined up in Cusco to check out, so the report for Peru may be more favourable....

Pub Watch: The Bricklayer's Arms, Putney (London)
Before I left I had to post a blog about my favourite local bar in Putney - The Bricklayer's Arms. Tucked down a little side street, I didn't actually know about this pub for my first year here - despite only being a 5 minute walk from my place. However, when we found it, it instantly became my favourite.

It is nothing like most of the other bars/pubs in Putney, which while many are good, cater more for the young crowd. Nothing flashy inside or out, The Bricklayer's is most definitely a 'beer pub' and excels at this by having the whole Timothy Taylor range on handpull (the only pub in London to do so). And not only is this selection good, the ales are always in tip top condition - some of the best I've found in London. So it is not surprising that the Bricklayer's recently won the Greater London Pub of the Year, a huge achievement for a small Putney pub.

I know I will certainly miss being able to pop down there for a good pint of Landlord or Ram Tam.

Pub Watch: The Falkland Arms (Great Tew, Oxfordshire).
Situated in an incredible quaint thatched village in the heart of Oxfordshire, "this pub is a haven for drinkers, with an unspoilt, relaxed atmosphere". I had actually been here three years earlier when Andy & Yasmin brought Anna and I for a couple of pints on a warm summers day. My second visit was after our weekend away at the Lake District. Driving back with Si & Kel and with the prospect of hitting London in the middle of rush hour, I thought of the Falkland Arms again and we decided to make a detour and enjoy the evening with some good beer and food.

The village itself is worth a visit alone, a small collection of thatched cottages in the Oxfordshire countryside, and the pub is also thatched and is a great old building. It is very small, just the one room, while the rest of the building is a small dining room and lodgings. While being very cosy inside (perfect for a cold and dull English summer's evening), there is still room for a selection of six handpumps of cask ale. Definitely worth a mention is that this is also one of the few pubs that I have been to that had no keg taps whatsoever at the bar - the only lager being some Bitburgers in a small fridge behind the bar. This is my type of place!

But not only is the ale good, so is the food. We had a delicious baked camembert with chutney to warm us up, before moving to the dinner room where our meal was equally delicious. It was definitely worth the stop off and the late night return to London, and in my mind is one of the quintessential English pubs.

RateBeer 1000
It was only about 3 months ago that I looked at my number of ratings on ratebeer.com and thought that it might be possible to hit 1000 before I left the UK. Back then, I thought it would be a close call. But I ended up getting there with nearly a month to spare!

It came clear that the big moment was going to come on our trip up to the Lake District, so it took some careful management to ensure that it was going to be something special. Driving up there on the Saturday, referencing the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and the road map, I had picked out the Coniston Bluebird Bitter for the big moment - whose credidentials include 1998 CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain, as well as various other national and international awards. And futhermore, I could have it at the brewery itself, in its attached brewpub - The Black Bull Inn in Coniston. The name of the beer "Bluebird" has plenty of meaning as well - named after the boat that Donald Campbell died in attempting to break his own world water speed record on Coniston Water in 1967.

So how was the beer itself. Well it didn't disappoint - see rating. Hopefully the next 1000 will be as enjoyable as the first 1000 (though probably a little less accessible back in NZ).

P.S. To put it in some context, I am still not in the top 300 raters on ratebeer.com and am still well behind the top rater, who is just shy of 9000 at this stage. Though Stu tells me that when I return to NZ, I will be the top rater there.

Pub Watch: Jerusalem Tavern (Farringdon, London)

Making sure I visit all my favourite spots around town before the imminent departure, Thursday night was the turn of one of my favourtie pubs - Jerusalem Tavern. The Good Beer Guide says a "tiny pub with a huge reputation". And there is not doubting that, everytime I go there the place is always pack, and in Thursday's case, spilling out on the road.

Inside is small and bare, lots of wood and candles with a medieval feel - which is fitting as a pub has stood on the site since at least the 14th century. The beers inside are all from the St Peters Brewery, who brew a large variety of unique, if not always brialliant, beers. Though the bottles that the beers come in - large medicine-type - bottles always attract interest, and the taps mounted as barrels in the wall behind the bar are also a little different.

I'll certainly miss going to this place, always has a great atmosphere and just that little bit quirky.

BBBB Tour

Boys, Belgium, Bikes and Beer - you can't ask for better ingredients for a short weekend away.

On Friday night, the boys boarded the Eurostar to Brussels, bikes in tow, for a last boys weekend away before Brad and I leave in August. Joining Brad and I were Rich, Jabs and Si - unfortunately Todd had to give a rain-check (literally, as he was off to play in the mud at Glastonbury). At Brussels it was just a matter of a quick change of trains and up we went to the gothic city of Ghent. Jumping on our bikes at the station (and remembering that we had to ride on the 'right' side of the road), we made the simple ride to our hotel for the night. That is 'simple', as in stop a few times to scratch our heads and wonder where we are and ask four different locals for directions (who surprisingly, didn't seem to know where they were either!). In fact, it was somewhat by chance, when trying to decipher some very confusing Flemish directions from a group of school girls, that we saw that our Eden ('Hotel Eden' that is) was just on the other side of the intersection.
It was getting late, so with no mucking around, we quickly locked up the bikes, drew cards to see who didn't have to listen to Rich's snoring all night and headed out to get a few beery delights. I should add here, that walking through the city, it was very picturesque, with lots of towering Gothic architecture, canals, large squares - and plenty of Belgian bars. First stop was the cool little bar Aba-Jour, which the 'bible' (Tim Webb's 'Belgium Good Beer Guide') recommended for food and, of course, beer. To set the taste buds tingling for the rest of the night I started with a Lambic, ordering the Cantillon Gueuze, Si joining me with the Cantillon Kriek. But the rest of the boys were scared off by warnings from our waiter (they are very sour) and opted for the still very good Chouffe. We ordered Belgian stews all round and had, of course, plenty of chips. With it being a nice night we decided to move on and try to find a bar where we could sit outside and enjoy the evening. (Little did I know how I would regret this. Aba-Jour had the one beer above all others I wanted to try - the Westvleteren 12 - considered the best beer in the world and the highest rated on ratebeer.com. It was on their menu, for the not so small sum of €11, but I thought I would probably see it somewhere again and preferably as an end of the nigh tipple. I never did see it again....)

After a bit of wandering around, we found ourselves at the Waterhuis bar, apparently "a Ghent institution", with a good little spot at a table canal-side. The service was a little slow, which isn't necessary a bad thing when the beers are 9%, and the waitress was a rare find - one that wasn't hard to look at (well, it was a boys trip after all). In fact, with a decent beer list, we ended up staying there until closing time, indulging in the perfect boy's trip treat - late night meaty snacks. Mindful of the fact that we were due to jump on our bikes in a few hours time, we sauntered back through the city to our hotel in the early hours of the morning.

Waking up the next morning there was a clamour to get our heads out the window, partly to get some fresh air, but also to make a nervous assessment of the weather - the forecast had predicted rain for the weekend. At this stage, both were pleasing to the senses. After stocking up on the usual European breakfast and waiting for Brad to do his hair, we slipped into the lycra and headed out on the bikes. Once again, having a whole map of Belgium printed onto an A3 bit of paper proved to be pretty useless when trying to navigate our way around the streets of Ghent, but when we eventually asked for directions, once again we happened to be right where we wanting to be.

Our route from Ghent to Brugge was along the Ghent-Brugge canal, a ride of about 50-odd kms. Those Europeans certainly know how to treat their cyclists, with the canal having 3-metre wide paved bike lanes on both sides pretty much the whole way, even cutting into the countryside from time to time - impressive stuff. Of course, it was only about 5 minutes along the canal when what we had all been dreading finally arrived - the rain. So on went the wet weather gear, but onwards we went. In fact the rain wasn't too bad - though there were a couple of instances when it was a fair deluge and it was a surprise not to see Noah himself cruising down the canal. But when you are soaked through, there is not much you can do - and it actually became enjoyable, man battling the elements.

And for much as there were periods of rain, there were dry periods, sometimes even sunny, and riding along you dry up pretty quickly. During one such dry spell, we happened past a small bar canal-side. Deciding to enjoy the moment, we took up the seats outside and ordered ourselves a round of Palm Specials at the crazy price of €1.20 each. Of course, this was one act of defiance too many for the weather gods, and we were promptly sent packing indoors to the bar - which was pretty much the front room of their house - and a second round of beers (there's a silver lining to every cloud, even one that is raining).

With some horrible attempts at Flemish goodbyes, to the humour of the locals (read "local"), we headed back out into the rain in pursuit of another bar further along that I had picked out for lunch. Once again we found ourselves a little locationally challenged, but sheltering in the bus stop from another Noah-inspiring deluge, we managed to prise out some directions from a fellow rain-avoider in exchange for a couple of Minstrels. With rumbling tummies and wet everything, we parked up outside the 'Seventh Heaven' bar in the small village of Beernem (with a name like that, it was obviously meant to be) and headed in. I'm not sure what the women running the bar thought of us bedraggled lot, especially as the only other people in the bar seemed be Octogenarians in their Sunday bests. Nevertheless, she was friendly enough and we quickly ordered some drinks and food (well, as quick as you can when we had to have her show us that "Brood" ont he menu was bread). This was a great little place, done up really nice with an impressive beer list, and even more impressively, one lady behind the bar who was barwoman, waitress, and chef. And she did a fine job of it all as well, with the grilled beef ribs being the perfect boys weekend lunch.

With 15-odd kms still to go to Brugge, we reluctantly left 'Seventh Heaven', though made all the more easy by the glorious sunshine that had now come out. With 3 more good beers and a great lunch in the belly, off we cycled along the canal again. Of course, as these things tend to go, we didn't get far. Just a couple of kms along we came across another bar, ominously called the 'Half Moon' (there is a pub by the same name on my road in Putney), and a democratic decision was quickly made to have just one more. For once, showing some constraint, we did just have that one, and enjoyed the last 10kms in the sun into Brugge, and not surprisingly after all the beers over the day, with much merriment.

After quickly finding our hotel for the night (true this time), we all spruced ourselves up with a shower and converted our rooms into a Chinese laundry. Having not had a beer for all of an hour, our target was what is quoted by some as the 'best bar in the world' - Brugs Beertje. With a huge beer list and good mix of tourists and locals inside, it lived up to its reputation (for more, see the Pub Watch post). In fact, it was so good we went twice! After our first spell at Brugs Beertje, we went off in search of the one thing that must be part of every boys weekend - steaks! After doing a circuit of Brugge, we ended up going to the restaurant across the street from Brugs Beertje, which served us up some big steaks with peppercorn sauce - perfect. As mentioned, once we finished up dinner, we decided that Brugs Beertje was so good that there was no need to check out any other bars, and back we went across the road. Plenty of brilliant beers later, we reluctantly took our leave of the lock-in, some of us in better shape than others.

Sunday started with a few sore heads and blurry eyes and it was a bit of a slow start by all. There was the odd spot of rain outside and plenty of fluffing about inside. Eventually we agreed to go out for a shortish ride for lunch and get back for our train to Brussels around 3pm. After a cruise around Brugge we headed out along a picturesque tree-lined canal, our minds and bodies better for the fresh air. Only about 10km outside of Brugge we came up to the attractive town of Damme, decided to stop for a drink....and didn't end up going any further. Though, this was entirely our fault as the pizza's we ordered took over an hour and half. They were good, but not that good - I think there must be an inverse relationship between the service you get and the amount of sweaty lycra you are wearing.

With time up, we had to cycle back to the Brugge train station and took the trip back to Brussels to drop our bikes off in time to get on our Eurostar back to London. This gave us just enough time to fit in - you guessed it - one more beer. It was with much regret that we had to leave, as soon as the Eurostar left the platform I wanted to turn around and go back. It may be a while until I get back to Belgium again, but I definitely will be returning.

Epilogue: Arriving back into London, there was just one final leg of the boys weekend left. This was a quick cycle around to Si's where Kellie had recorded the All Black-South Africa game for us from the day before, accompanied by the last thing that would make a boys weekend complete - curry!

Click here for more pics.

Pub Watch: Brugs Beertje (Brugge, Belgium)

Tim Webb's Belgium Good Beer Guide has this to say about Brugs Beertje:


The one and only, the original "Little Bruges Beer". You cannot call yourself a well-travelled beer lover until you have been here. This is the place that made us decide to create the Guide.

And it certainly lived up to such a reputation. So good, I had to go twice.

The inside is what you want from a bar, simple with interesting paraphernalia on the walls, a good noise level that just breaths conversation, and a beer list as long as your arm (well, if your arm has 250+ beers on it). And the service was superb - very friendly and it was hard to believe there was just to two of them as you never had to wait. With such a reputation, it was not surprising to have quite a few tourists there (we were ones ourselves I guess), but there was also a good sprinkling of locals (mostly up at the bar) to suggest it is still a genuine bar and not just a tourist trap.

All the beers were in superb condition, and of course this being Belgium, were served in the appropriate branded glass. On my two visits, I got through some fine beers: La Rulles Brune, De Dolle Extra Export Stout, Het Kapittel Watou Prior, De Ranke Guldenberg & Witkap Pater Singel. The pick for me being the Het Kapittel Watou Prior.

It seems the quintessential Belgian bar to me, and certainly one of the best bars I have ever had the pleasure of drinking in, and one I will have to revisit again.

Pub Watch: Craft (Athens, Greece)

On our night in Athens I had specifically set aside some time to visit the Craft brewpub (http://www.craft.gr/) and at last sample some half-decent Greek beer. The brewpub is conveniently located close to a Metro stop and strikes quite an impression from the outside - all glass front and modern. On the night we went there was a Greek football game on and the downstairs bar was full with Athenians watching the large screen TV. So we headed upstairs to the restaurant area, again stylish with dark lighting. Maybe a little soulless, but it fits in well with a lot of other Athenian modern design and architecture.

But more importantly....the beer. Foolishly, we were paying our visit after enjoying a very large Greek meal which I could foresee as severely limiting my ability to taste their beer. Luckily though, no sooner had we sat down than a tasting tray of their six beers was presented to us. Though not as good as a full pint, it was perfect for a beer-rater with a full stomach. Sipping my way through the six beers, I found them to be of mixed quality. The Bohemian Pilsner was a good starter, being crisp with a clean honey and fruit flavour. The other surprise was seeing they have a Rauchbier, and though they weren't hitting the quality of Bamberg, it still had that unique smoked flavour. The more highly rated Black Lager was OK, but a bit below expectations for me (it is the highest rated Greek beer on ratebeer.com). Both the Hefeweizen and the Red Ale were good efforts, and the Athenian Lager was, well, a lager....

So with tastings consumed, we ordered ourselves a proper drink, myself selecting the Rauchbier and The GrandMistress opting for the Hefeweizen. With bloated stomachs we sipped at our beers, me rueing not coming here before dinner. And then fate, and clumsy hands, confirmed it just wasn't to be, when Anna decided to knock the second half of her pint over herself, the table, the floor and any other object in our near vicinity. Taking this as a sign, I finished up my Rauchbier and called it a night. A shame to be sure, though I think overall both the beers and the brewpub were a little unimaginative, though certainly a step up on the drought of good beer throughout the rest of Greece.

Truism #1

Borough Pub Crawl

With the girls away for a weekend in Champagne, what better way for the boys to celebrate than go on a pub crawl - especially with the Master of pub crawls, Tom, leaving in a week. After a late Friday night playing poker and an early morning getting up to watch the League final, the boys congregated at the Borough Markets on the Saturday to take in a few of the fine pubs the area has to offer.

First stop was The Market Porter, and institution and seemingly always busy with a huge selection of cask ales - typically about 15 or so. First pint up for me, and on recommendation from the manager, was the superb Broughton Winter Fire - so smooth it was like drinking velvet. After a couple of pints to put us on our way, we made a quick pit stop through Borough Market (foodie heaven!) and picked up a delicious turkey, stuffing and cranberry roll. Our hunger for food satiated, we continued on with our other hunger - for good beer.

Next stop was The George Inn - a famous old 17th coaching inn, mentioned by Charles Dickens in one of his books and protected by the National Trust. It is a brilliant building, even better in the summer when you can take advantage of the seats outside in the courtyard. Unfortunately, the ale selection is dominated by the uninspiring Greene King range, so after a quick pint of the house George Inn Ale (actually brewed by Adnams) we went in search of our next destination - The Charles Dickens.

A funny little local this one stuck in the middle of, well, of nowhere really. If I lived close by, I could definitely see this place being a popular spot for me - 6 very different cask ales and a cosy feel. Time for a one and a half pints and see the England rugby team lose once again, and then we were back into Borough and to the Wheatsheaf (a Youngs pub) so that the boys could watch the All Black test match against Wales. ABs too good once again, and so was the draw of The Market Porter next door once again, where I had the tasty Elgoods Old Black Shuck after the game.

Now probably with more beers than is good for us someone proposed the sensible idea of getting some food. Seeing that we had had curry the other night, it seemed stupid to give up a good thing and away we went for curry #2. After another good but of spice, it was off to our last pub that I had been saving for the end of the night. Unfortunately, one of us wasn't quite up the task....

The Rake is a new pub opened up by guys who run a beer stall in the Borough Markets. Reputedly the second smallest pub in London, it is a cool little place with a great selection of beer - both on tap and in the fridge. The Crouch Vale Amarillo on handpull was too tempting to deny - being reminiscent of the great Emersons Bookbinder. But someone wasn't up to the task, as Daygs decided that sleeping against our table was a much better idea. We did our best to make sure the table didn't go over with him and also to tell others in the bar that we were out celebrating the marathon he had run that day. It looked like the evening was soon up, though not before I treated the lads to a bottle of the incomparable Schlenkerla Rauchbier.

Eventually we gave in to taking our "marathon runner" home, which probably wasn't a bad idea for all of us, and we still had plenty of time to have fun with him on the train ride home.

For some more pics, click here.