On 23 November 2024 I finally managed to put together the beer tasting that I had been envisaging for a while since my trip to Belgium in February (https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/ora-et-labora-gezellig-st-benedict-belgian-trappist-brewing-and-the-joys-of-west-flanders )My thanks to the group of friends who gamely agreed to participate.
My previous tastings have tended to consist of 12 beers of different styles, after which people voted on which was the “best”. I had started to reflect on the fact that this was a bit “apples and pears”. It came home to me the last time I did a “Dads and Lads” tasting. (https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/the-art-of-a-dads-and-lads-beer-tasting ) Had it just been up to the lads, the winner would have been the Amber Ale from the Hiver Brewery of Bermondsey (a gentle 4.2%). Had it been up to the dads, it would have been the mighty Schneider Weisse Eisbock (12%). So I decided instead to focus on head to head comparisons of similar beers - if people then wanted to name their favourite style, that was fine by me but not compulsory.
Which led to a series of Rounds. Every heavyweight contest needs a strong undercard.
Preliminary - “Just how good is it possible for an AF beer to be?”
As a gentle palate cleanser, I offered people “Circus of the Sun” - a “Supergroup” collaboration between Deya of Cheltenham, Verdant of Penryn and Left Handed Giant of Bristol.
Result: The general view was that this was pretty nice, but no more than that. And given that it cost me around £4.50 for the can, that probably isn’t good enough. But it triggered a discussion about how much AF beer has come on in recent years. I was very sniffy about AF beers until recently (“if I want a soft drink, I will have a proper soft drink”) but I have been converted to the fact that they do give you something of the beer experience. So for those days when I want the experience of having a beer on a sunny evening on the deck of my boat - but on a weekday evening when I am not drinking - they make a valuable contribution.
Round 1 - Festbiers
I had the idea of sending in a British festbier - an Oktoberfest style strong lager at about 6% ABV - head to head with one of the German greats. After a bit of research and a judicious recommendation from another brewer (see https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/in-search-of-dutch-courage ), I chose Pillars Brewery of Walthamstow. They advertise themselves as Britain’s first ever dedicated craft lager brewery. Up against them - gulp - Augustiner of Munich. To make it interesting, I made this round a blind tasting. I told people what the two beers were, but not which was which.
Result: WALTHAMSTOW BEATS MUNICH ON A UNANIMOUS DECISION! Sorry to get shouty but that was probably the biggest news of the evening. Pillars have produced something with excellent balance and beautiful flavours. My only fear is whether, as it was a small batch production, they will ever make it again in exactly the same way. With the Augustiner there was just less going on.
Round 2 - American style craft beers - East Coast v West Coast.
Obviously it isn’t straightforward to get the very best American beers in the UK. So I decided to level the playing field by offering up an example of each style from the same British brewery. I did wonder how level I had made it, because I chose Elusive Brewing, renowned for their “Westies” (https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/the-siren-call-of-reading ). Anyway, this was their “Woodstock” New England Pale vs their “Oregon Trail” West Coast Pale.
Result: East beats West on a split decision. Two very good beers. I think it helped that the “Woodstock” was not “too much” in terms of the strong fruity action (looking at you, Verdant…) and East Coast is just a slightly more popular style. Oregon Trail continues to be a personal favourite of mine.
Round 3 - Breakfast Stouts
Sometimes referred to as “Milk Stouts” although for me that has slightly wimpish connotations. But they are basically stouts containing lactose and with a slight sweetness, usually around 6-7%. You could not have a “breakfast stout” round without “Broken Dream” - the beer that more than any other helped make the name of the amazing Siren Craft (see Reading, again). I wondered about pitting it against Thornbridge “Cocoa Wonderland” but in the event went slightly rogue with the fascinating “What’s the Jive? Bird’s Alive” from Pomona Island of Salford - a stout with chocolate, vanilla and fennel pollen. And, on a last minute whim, the Anspach and Hobday / To Ol “45 Days Later” collab - not a breakfast stout but a “Baltic Porter” and a relatively gentle one at only 7%
Result: Pomona Island gave it their best shot and intrigued the panel of judges with their incredibly interesting concoction. But Broken Dream is a masterpiece, so ultimately this was a Siren Craft win.
Round 4 - Monastic
This was the main event - the big Trappist Quadrupels. The actual “made by Trappist monks” quadrupels in the form of Rochefort and Westvleteren, up against the “sort of pretending we are Trappist monks” (St Bernardus Abt). But then, just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, the wonderful nun-designed (albeit no longer nun-brewed) Paix Dieu. A triple, but 10%... how does that work?
Result: Rave reviews for the smooth rich taste and texture of Paix Dieu. General view that it would be invidious to make a simple comparison between Paix Dieu and the darker quads - “I would have the nuns for lunch and the monks for dinner” summed up the mood of the room. The actual Trappists then defeated St Bernardus. Rochefort had its advocates but the crown went to Westvleteren on the splittest of split decisions. Just something about the bit of extra sweetness and richness.
I trust that my friends and I have now settled some key questions which have been exercising beer drinkers for a while. We stand ready to do so again in future. You’re welcome.