The BeerCast

London’s Borough Market has long been a popular attraction for food-loving locals and tourists alike, with plenty of stalls offering choice items from around the world. It can also be a worthy destination for the beer lover, with three fantastic – and very different – drinking experiences within thirty seconds of each other. Inside the market itself is another - Utobeer (pictured above), a beer stall with an outstanding selection of bottled beers – including a regular selection of rare US craft brews. For example, I picked up a bottle of Stone’s fantastic Supremely Self-Righteous Ale (8.7%) – not cheap at £8.20 for 22oz, but absolutely worth it.

Anyway, to begin this mini pub crawl, stand where this photo was taken from – and instead of looking into Utobeer, turn right and the Market Porter will be right in front of you.

Market Porter 9 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AA
Open: 6am-8:30am, 11am-11pm (Mon-Fri); 12pm-11pm (Sat);
12pm-10:30pm (Sun)
Link: Official Website

The first thing that strikes you about the Market Porter is that it looks like a proper pub. Green wooden frontage, colourful hanging baskets, a crowd of drinkers spilled out onto the pavement. There must have been about fifty people outside, getting a quick lunchtime drink in the sun. Inside, every conceivable space on the wall and ceiling is adorned with old pump clips, and the bar serves around ten cask ales. They always have at least one beer on from Harvey’s (when I was there it was their 4.0% flagship Sussex Best). The pub is named after the workers from the wholesale market (which opens from 2am to 8am every weekday), and to cater for the end of their shifts it opens in the early morning – 6am to 9am (last orders at 8:30am).

Beer choice – when I was there I wanted something summery and that I had never heard of before, ending up with a Summer Sizzler (4.2%) from the Coach House Brewery in Warrington, Cheshire. It had a dark gold colour with a thin head, but unfortunately for me was too thick and sweet, with an aftertaste of honey that rode over the session strength to make it pretty unappealing.

The Brew Wharf 14-16 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Open: 11:30am-11pm (Mon-Sat)
Link: Official Website

A short stroll along Stoney Street brings you to the entrance of Brew Wharf, with the iron sign spanning the entrance, set back from the street. As the name suggests, it’s a functioning micro-brewery – but one with an emphasis on food rather than just beer. As a result, it’s probably not for the cask lovers – but they have an incredible range of beers from all over the world. When I was there, on tap were such delights as Straffe Hendrik’s Brugse zot Blonde (6.0%), Meantime Pale Ale (4.7%), and De Koninck (5.0%). The range of bottles was even better, with Mikkeller GIPA (6.6%), Kernel IPA C.S.C (7.1%), Founders Centennial IPA (7.2%), and Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale (6.4%). Admittedly, Brew Wharf isn’t cheap – the latter will set you back £7.50, and a pint of Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted is £4.50 – but there’s a great choice of beer there, and they brew their own after all.

Beer choice – as tempting as those beers above were, I had to go for something produced on site. The day before I’d visited the Kernel Brewery (stay tuned for a Kernel BeerCast special as a future podcast), and Evin had recommended Brew Wharf’s Military Intelligence Black IPA (6.8%). I’m glad he did, it was outstanding – an aroma of sweet malt with a trace of hops, totally black pour with a thin coating of bubbles on top. The taste was some hop and then all roasty malt – it doesn’t taste 6.8% at all, until halfway down when the punch hits. Very drinkable stuff – I had no idea the name was a pun (even though Evin hinted at it) – military intelligence, otherwise known as Black Ops. Black hops. It’s easy when you know…

The Rake 14a Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AG
Open: 12pm-11pm (Tue-Fri), 9am-11pm (Sat), 12pm-10:30pm (Sun)
Link: Utobeer (who own The Rake)

If you leave Brew Wharf and turn left, a few seconds meander will put you at the junction of Winchester Walk (where Brew Wharf morphs into Vinopolis). A small blueish building on the right is one of the smallest pubs in London – the Rake. This tiny room (I judged it to be about 15ft x 10ft) has a small bar at the back, with a couple of large fridges, and a patio outside underneath a jumbrella – which pretty much doubles the size of the establishment. The staff are really friendly, and the right-hand wall is emblazoned with signatures of the many brewers who have stopped by over the years. Being owned by the same people as Utobeer certainly means a fair number of beers (around 120) find their way into the fridges, with a decent selection on tap as well. I can imagine the Rake would get incredibly busy (i.e. if there were more than ten people there), but a trip to Borough Market isn’t complete without trying to squeeze in.

Beer choice – I’d been to Utobeer earlier and had bought a bottle of the BrewDog/Mikkeller collaboration I Hardcore You (9.5%), being the first time I’d seen it on sale. As it happened, the second time was when I entered the Rake and found it on tap – so had to order one (I’ve kept the bottle for a rainy day). A blend of Brewdog’s Hardcore IPA and Mikkeller’s I Beat You, and at £2.60 for a half – it was too much to pass up. Outside under the jumbrella, thick, dark amber with no head to speak of. There’s a massive hop aroma, and a dark, sweet hop flavour with a resinous bitterness. Rich, punchy mouthfeel and that US craft-esque long piney aftertaste, I Hardcore You is outstanding. It reminded me a little of Stone’s Ruination IPA - and you can see how highly we think of that from our BeerCast rankings. A great way to finish London’s shortest pub crawl.

There’s definitely a reason why BrewDog elicit more conversation and comment than any other Scottish brewer – arguably any other British brewer. Just when you think their last wacky stunt is the peak of ingenuity/madness, within a couple of months there’s another press release, another bizarre and totally pointless beer that enters the market. Anybody who has come across the work of the Fraserburgh twosome will be familiar with the marketing angle they have taken (and well and truly cornered – in the UK at least). The ‘us against them’ mentality (usually the ‘them’ being the Portman Group or the rightwing press, or both), the uncompromising and often nonsensical language on their products.

But underneath all this is the foundation – some very good beers. We’ve been writing about and featuring BrewDog’s output ever since we started (the BeerCast and BrewDog both began life in April 2007). To be honest, they make it very easy to write about them – the attention-grabbing releases, packaging and branding. And they are at it again. Announced today is the zenith of their ‘abv war’ with all and sundry – most notably the German producer Schorschbräu – over who can (or would want to) brew the “beer” with the highest alcohol content. Following in the footsteps of Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%) and Sink the Bismarck! (41%) is their newest offering The End of History (55%). Oh, and it comes in rather unusual packaging – roadkill.

Yes, for £500 you can acquire a bottle of The End of History inside a real, dead stoat. Splash out another two hundred and get a £700 grey squirrel jacket. I’m guessing the animals are somehow attached to the bottle, and you can’t transfer the stoat to your next 330ml bottle – it would make a talking point at barbecues, after all. The actual beverage inside is Belgian-style blonde infused with juniper and nettles. There’s no mention on the website of how they come about the 55% abv – which is a shame given all the discussion on what constitutes a beer once you get beyond around 25%. But as the whole ethos of BrewDog revolves around fucking the trend, once again their specific brewing methods will get people talking.

Surely there’s no way back from this – where the hell do they go next? Quintuple hopping IPA’s? Making leather-effect bottle labels out of skin flakes from Tom Jones? The trouble with an astonishing stunt like The End of History – which is surely what it can only be – is how you top it. As the name of the beer refers to Francis Fukuyama’s theory of the pinnacle (and therefore end) of evolution, maybe it signals the end of BrewDog’s crazy phase once and for all, not just the end of their abv one-upmanship race with Schorschbräu.

It would be great if they could henceforth stick to what they do best – things like the outstanding Hardcore IPA, Trashy Blonde, 77 lager, Atlantic IPA - now more than ever would be the time to switch to a Stone/Dogfish Head-esque mentality of strong (i.e. 7-12%), flavourful craft beers. Of course, this is pretty much what they do already – it’s just that their fantastic core beers are overshadowed by the stunts. It’s time for BrewDog to flood the market – not with outlandish press releases, but with their everyday beers – to show those people intrigued by the publicity that behind all the self-indulgent controversy there are actually two highly talented brewers.

**UPDATE** All bottles sold out on the first day of release **UPDATE**

The End of History release, BrewDog blog

We never thought that we’d make it all the way to fifty podcasts – and if you’ve listened to our first few then probably you didn’t either – but here we are. Three years and 181 beers later and we’re having a mini celebration in honour of our half century. We thought long and hard about what to do for a 50th show, eventually deciding on the popular ‘bring a beer’ theme, only with a more explosive feel to it. Podcast regulars Richard, MrB, Shovels and Grooben were tasked with sourcing an unusual, rare or liver-trembling beer to put to the panel, and the results were pretty spectacular.

We ended up with (literally) some real corkers, as we begin with Grooben’s offering – Neuzeller Anti-Aging Bier (4.8%) from Germany, containing specific ingredients to actually make you younger. Apparently. Next up was Richard’s choice – the limited edition BrewDog Abstrakt AB:01 (10.2%), a vanilla bean-infused Belgian-style quad from Fraserburgh’s finest. Third on the podcast was Sierra Nevada Estate 2009 (6.7%). Provided by Shovels, this wet-hopped ale is pretty rare this side of the Atlantic. Finally MrB rounds things off in enormous fashion, unveiling Brasserie d’Achouffe’s Big Chouffe Anno 2010 (8.0%), a magnum of their famed La Chouffe blond ale. Thanks to all for providing, and special thanks to everybody who has downloaded, listened to, or commented on one of our podcasts over the years. Here’s to fifty more!

1. Neuzeller Anti-Aging Bier (4.8%abv)
Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle GmbH, Neuzelle, Brandenburg, Germany. 500ml glass bottle

There are well-established health benefits of drinking good beer – the high levels of Vitamin B6 can protect against heart disease, for example – but the claims on a bottle of Neuzeller Anti-Aging Bier (4.8%) take things even further. Several bizarre-sounding adjuncts have been added, resulting in an elixir of youth – this beer actually claims to make you younger (although this may be as a result of the beer acting on the antioxidant Vitamin E in the body). Flavonoids are naturally found in hops, but by adding more in their beer Klosterbrauerei are really pushing the anti-carcinogen properties of the nation’s favourite drink. But just when you’re sold on the idea, discovering the beer has algae added as well sounds very strange, and when a quick check of their website reveals Klosterbrauerei also make a Badebier – ‘bath beer’ – ”for outside application as bath salts and for internal application as a beverage”, then the mind really boggles.

What They Say -
“We have now formulated an “anti-aging” beer. Having consulted with several universities and health institutes, our beer contains: Water from hotsprings, rich in minerals, flavonoids, beer (malt, water, hop, yeast), and spirulina (Algae).” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels - I quite like that, it reminds me of Erdinger Dunkel 8
Grooben - I wanted to find something completely different! 7
Richard - Smells a bit portery but with that extra vegetable hint that must be the algae 6½
MrB - Presumably all other beer is pro-aging? 6

2. BrewDog Abstrakt AB:01 (10.2%abv)
BrewDog Ltd, Fraserburgh, Scotland. 750ml glass bottle

BrewDog are without doubt the most talked-about brewery in Scotland, with their charismatic press releases and wacky ideas. Not afraid to experiment, at times they produce some fantastic beers – and at others some pretty duff ones. But there’s no denying they always elicit strong opinions. What is often overlooked amidst all the hoo-hah over 41% beers and Portman Group-baiting is that they have only been going for just over three years. The first BrewDog brew rolled off the Kessock plant lines in April 2007 – which by a rather neat co-incidence was the exact month the BeerCast began as well. So with that in mind, and given the numerous BrewDog beers featured over the years on these pages and podcasts, it would be remiss of us not top try their newest (at time of press) offering – the limited edition Abstrakt AB:01, the first of a new concept brand from the Aberdeenshire duo.

What They Say -
“Abstrakt will only ever brew and release a beer once. BrewDog’s Abstrakt is about exciting, progressive and conceptual beers, beers which not only push the boundaries but smash them up completely.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB - The first taste was lovely, it’s like a Belgian tripel 8½
Richard - Sweet full mouthfeel but the alcohol balances it out 8½
Shovels - Subtle for BrewDog, not much aftertaste apart from alcohol 8½
Grooben - It’s got sweetness but I wouldn’t have guessed vanilla 7

3. Sierra Nevada Estate (2009) (6.7%abv)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Chico, California, USA.
710ml glass bottle (24oz US)

Sierra Nevada are one of the cornerstones of American craft brewing, and as a result have almost unrivalled access to types and strains of hops. Hailing from California, their mighty reach spreads all the way to the hopgrounds of Washington State, where they conduct research into new strains and varieties. They also like to experiment, and a few years ago came up with the idea of brewing a seasonal ale using only freshly-picked hops, rather than waiting for dried or using a combination of dried and fresh. This ‘wet hop’ ale is produced every Autumn, and as you’d expect has a pretty hefty hop whack about it. We sampled the 2009 Estate vintage, purchased from the excellent UtoBeer stall in London’s Borough Market, which only contains ingredients sourced from the Sierra Nevada estate in Chico.

What They Say -
“This Estate Ale is rich with the flavors of the valley—featuring hops with earthy, grapefruit-like flavors and layered spicy aromas and barley with mild sweetness and smooth, toasted flavors. Together, these crops grow alongside the brewery to make a truly unique brew.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard - It’s wonderful, there’s a little bit of a spicy edge to it 9
Shovels - More IPA than double IPA, really hoppy but not overpowering 9
MrB - Has extra bitterness compared to sweeter Torpedo IPA 9
Grooben - There’s no way I’m not going to like this 9

4. La Chouffe Big Chouffe (8.0%abv)
Brasserie d’Achouffe, Achouffe, Houffalize, Wallonia, Belgium.
1500ml glass bottle (magnum)

Grape lovers will possibly know the fact that a magnum is 2 standard bottles of wine, or 1½ litres for the metric types amongst us. In Belgium – as pretty much every grain lover knows – they do things just a little bit bigger and better, so why not have a magnum of beer? Brasserie d’Achouffe’s bending gnome (‘Chouffe’ in Walloon dialect) grins out from beer fridges and bottle-shop shelves throughout the beery world. Their flagship 8% blond ale La Chouffe is released every year in a hefty magnum, which is branded Big Chouffe, and has a customised alternate label drawn by a famous comic artist. The 2010 vintage collected by MrB (from the Brasserie itself, in person, no less) was illustrated by Johan de Moor, son of legendary Belgian cartoonist Bob de Moor.

What They Say -
“La Chouffe is an unfiltered blonde beer, which is refermented in the bottle as well as the keg. It is pleasantly fruity, spiced with coriander, and with a light hop taste.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB - Had it on draught and liked it, it’s just as good in the bottle 8
Richard - I can taste the coriander and cloves in there 7½
Grooben - Doesn’t taste 8%, I give it an extra point for the bottle 7
Shovels - I usually have a problem with Belgian beers because of the alcohol strength, but it’s drinkable for a wheat beer 7

Panellists - (clockwise from top left) Grooben, MrB, Shovels, Richard

BeerCast panel verdict
Sierra Nevada Estate 2009 (36/40)
BrewDog Abstrakt AB:01 (32½/40)
Brasserie d’Achouffe Big Chouffe (29½/40)
Neuzeller Anti-Aging Bier (27½/40)

Stay tuned for our next podcast, as we get back into the more regular swing of things with BeerCast #51, an episode revolving around some of the other things MrB brought back from his trip to Alsace and Belgium ….

Collaborations are without doubt a great idea when it comes to brewing - two different mindsets, two different approaches, many different flavours. The US Craft Brewing scene in particular embrace the sharing of ideas when it comes to one-off specials - Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head with their ‘Life & Limb’ series, New Belgium and Elysian’s ‘Trip’ beers, not to mention many from Stone done in conjunction with others. Back in BeerCast #42 we featured Bashah, a black double IPA from Stone and Fraserburgh’s BrewDog - so it’s good to see the British brewers getting in on the action. Speaking of which, BrewDog have also joined up with Denmark’s Mikkeller, a very similar producer (both have the word uncompromising in prime position on their mission statements).

The result of this particular co-operation is Devine Rebel, an oak aged barley wine which was first released in 2009 following a Mikkeller visit to Aberdeenshire. That vintage weighed in at 12.1%abv, the 2010 version tops out at 13.8% in the 330ml bottle. Speyside whisky barrels provide the punchy flavours, with a further period of maturation in stainless steel tanks to give extra weight. It’s clearly highly carbonated, a furiously fizzing head disperses within seconds to leave a continual rising carbonation in the glass. The colour is wonderful - deep hazy raspberry, almost an opaque burgundy red. The smell is very tart, bitter, with some tobacco smoke mingling with the dark woody aromas from the Speyside casks.

On the taste, peaty smokiness comes out, with a long, lingering finish that becomes almost rauchbier-like (although not as intense). It reminded me of their first foray into record-breaking, Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%) - but with everything dialled back a couple of notches. It’s more drinkable than other oak-aged beers as there’s no caramel sweetness that can make other notable examples extremely cloying. It’s still a challenging beer however, the alcohol burn would make it overpowering after a while. As it warms, this becomes more and more apparent - at room temperature the strength really comes out. Oak-aged beers are difficult to balance, but Devine Rebel really benefits from the double helping of know-how imparted by BrewDog and Mikkeller.

BrewDog
Mikkeller

Well, the dust seems to have settled slightly around the blogosphere following the latest announcement from Fraserburgh’s BrewDog a few days ago. I’ve been reading as many articles on the forthcoming Sink the Bismarck (41%) as I can, and have been digesting the various opinions on the Aberdeenshire twosome re-taking the strongest beer in the world title. Seeing as we’re a Scottish-based beer website, it would be remiss of us not to add to the collective murmuring. We’re big fans of BrewDog here - mostly - and have written about them on many an occasion. In fact, they have been tagged more on the BeerCast than any other brewery, which is no doubt a reflection on their forward-thinking marketing and ideas.

But have they gone too far with their latest stunt? Stunt is definately the word, James Watt has admitted they wanted to get back at the German Schorschbrau for out-trumping the 32% Tactical Nuclear Penguin with a 40% ‘Schorschbock’. You can read our thoughts on TNPenguin here, and it clearly divided opinion. Personally I liked the dark, rough smokiness but at the time wasn’t sure of the target market - which obviously holds for Sink the Bismarck. I think BrewDog are in danger of flying too close to the sun here - a Teutonic tit for tat is harmless enough (the director of Schorschbrau has said he thinks the whole thing is hilarious), provided of course it doesn’t interfere with their other beers.

BrewDog do some outstanding beers - they just seem to be pushed into the periphery by the charging press releases about TNP and now Bismarck, together with the ongoing feud with the Portman Group and the frankly embarrassing self-complaint over Tokyo*. Stick to what you do best boys, please. Atlantic IPA, Punk IPA, Trashy Blonde are all outstanding. These should be the core beers they shout about. When the mischievous glint appears in their collective eye, you end up with things like Nanny State (1.1%), or the objectionable How to Disappear Completely (3,000 IBU’s). Their collaborations with Stone have produced some interesting results - Bashah went down really well. Hopefully there’ll be more in the offing from that partnership.

The key to all this is publicity. BrewDog’s share option is due to close at 11pm tomorrow (the 19th), and at first it was really struggling. Headlines in the majority of British papers and practically every beer website (including this one, now - fashionably late as ever) can only help their cause in tempting investors. In a post on the Beer Advocate forum, James wrote that they had dispensed with any PR representation in December - so clearly they feel they’ve got the hang of this publicity thing. I wouldn’t bet against them, that’s for sure. They managed to reach their minimum target for subscribers, and hopefully will do well from the flotation. Plus they piss off the Daily Mail, which is never a bad thing.

So we’ll have to see how Sink the Bismarck does - I’d love to give it a go, but it’s £10 more expensive per bottle than even TNPenguin, so maybe a special occasion might tempt me to get the BeerCast wallet out. The name is a bit tasteless, they could have gone with any of several ways to poke fun at the Germans - but by all accounts the beer is a massive hop hit. Which I imagine it would be if they quadruple-hopped it. For me, the recent news that they are relaunching Hardcore IPA is something more enticing - their (paltry by comparison) 9% staple was re-thought after some consideration, which is great as it was pretty good beforehand. Humility and 41%abv in the same paragraph? Can only be BrewDog…

…oh, and the rivalry with Germany is set to continue - Schorschbrau MD Georg Tscheuschner has said they have a response in mind…“We’ll just brew another, stronger one,” he said. “Forty-five percent shouldn’t be a problem and we have beer enthusiasts waiting for it.” Who’s going to be first to 50%?

Sink the Bismarck Press Release