The beer geek pub quiz at the Holyrood 9A

Ahh, the pub quiz. One of the warm traditions of British life. The elbows-together attitude of people hunched around too-small tables, brows furrowed with concentration. The other groups that really don’t care, happy only to come up with as smutty a team name as possible. Everyone else, trying to just get a few right, bothered continually by that question three rounds ago that they really did know but weren’t quite sure enough to suggest yet the answer we went with really wasn’t right but everyone listens to Derek don’t they just because he has a Masters degree but Business Administration really has no bearing on the back catalogue of Phil Collins does it.

As a subject, beer lends itself perfectly to the medium of the pub quiz. For a start, many people are drinking it right there as the quiz takes place; although immediacy doesn’t necessarily equate to knowledge. But beer has a history, it has impenetrable terminology, and it has more than a plethora of geeky followers who consume this information just as readily as the end product.* Yet I’ve never been to a beer-themed pub quiz before – until last night, at the Holyrood 9A here in Edinburgh, held for charity and hosted by the fantastic Melissa Cole.

*But I am no beer geek, of course

I’ve put some of the questions below, to see just how you might have got on. The hardest, but most fascinating, part was the tasting round – at the end of each set of questions, as small beer sample arrived and was accompanied by a specific question. What’s the abv of this? Kernel Table Beer! 2.8% (right beer, wrong batch, wrong abv). What style is this? California Common! (right on the money, Anchor Steam). Where does this beer originate from? Ah, trick! It’s a Scottish take on a Belgian style! (it was Leffe). What hop features in this beer? [One sniff] CITRA!! (Simcoe).

It was fantastic. Trying to remember facts is all well and good, but being put on the spot about tasting beer is something most people never get the chance to do. Anyway, after an enjoyable couple of hours, it transpired that the BeerCast team (team name: Craft On, Craft Off) had actually finished first and won the whole thing, and proudly got to display our winners’ badges proclaiming we know our Citra from our Simcoe. Which we quite obviously don’t. Although, I did kind of think it was Simcoe, but then everyone listens to Kenny don’t they just because he’s a teacher and…

Some sample questions are below, feel free to have a go, I’ll post the answers as a comment later on. Huge thanks to Caroline and the team at the Holyrood for putting on the quiz, and to Mel for travelling up to host. Our first prize for winning was a private tour of the Stewart Brewery, but seeing as I already enjoyed one of those back in August, with Stewarts’ agreement I’ll be giving the tour away on Twitter, so keep your eyes peeled!

Sample questions (answer is final, just for fun etc etc)
What are the three most common pubs names in the UK?
Which country has the most beer brands?
What year was CAMRA formed?
What was the punishment for brewing bad beer in ancient Babylonia?
From what country did the first shipment of hopped beer arrive into the UK?
What’s the name of the German purity law, and what were the three allowed ingredients?
What was the name of the Sumerian goddess of beer?
What is incorrect about the much-attributed Benjamin Franklin quote, ‘beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy’?