Westow House Ale Festival

Given how much I bang on about how great my local is, the current Ale Festival at Westow House seemed like as good an excuse as any for me to finally give it the attention that it deserves. I was in to photograph the GM Justin Hutton recently for our local mag The Transmitter, but I thought this would be a good occasion to properly highlight the Westow as (in my slightly biased opinion) one of capital's premier modern beer establishments. Plus I got to taste a shed load of really quite sumptuous beers!

The Friday night was heaving, one of the pub's busiest ever (full of Palace fans mourning a trouncing by Birmingham), so photos weren't really an option, although tasting the beer most definitely was. The focus was on London beers, with local, south of the river breweries featuring strongly - Late Knights, Clarence and Fredericks and By The Horns amongst many others.

The Hop Sonnet, a collab between Justin Hutton, Chris (his AM) and the By The Horns team, is a 14 hop barrage - a palette wrecker that almost completely overpowered my next 3rd. Similar to Arbor's Yakima Valley IPA and the Tap East Galaxy IPA, I liked this beer alot but shouldn't have had it first!

Despite drinking almost immediately after that hop beast, I could tell that the Shamblemoose US Brown Ale was a much subtler affair, ever so slightly sweet, a gentle fruit hop and the merest hint of coffee I think? This is fruity hops + brown ale done well (compared to some of the more boisterous versions perhaps).

Brodie's London Fields Pale Ale - ashamedly, this is my first time trying this. Utterly blown away, possibly the best session beer I've ever tasted. Nuff said.

Some nincompoop switched the pump clips so instead of a Clarence and Frederick's IPA, I ended up with a 3rd of Moncanda Ruby Rye. Very malty, almost a porter.

I went out to take some photographs and returned to an even busier pub for a night cap - my nose had been blasted from taking long exposures in sub zero temperatures, so I couldn't really get any aromas off my Late Knights Hairy Dog. Not a typical 'modern BIPA' as such, it's very bitter, you can't taste the abv and the malts and coffee come though after a gentle intro. I'd be keen to taste this from a keg or bottle conditioned.

Next day I arrived early enough to have the room to take some photos (thanks Justin). Weird Beard Co Mariana Trench - on a par with the Brodie's? A good tip from Justin this one. Available in bottle too I think. Citrusy, slightly hazy, fresh and drinkable for a 5% abv. Exactly my type of beer.

London Fields Triangle IPA - I couldn't get behind this I'm afraid. Something didn't add up. My only kegged beer of the festival so far - it lacked oomph and might have even been slightly watery. (That said, the last kegged thing I had at the Westow was a Stone Ruination, so my current keg benchmark is probably a little bit skewiff at the moment...) Plus it was a good 50% more expensive for my half so I couldn't help but wish I paid less for something that I would've enjoyed more. Oh well.

I had a chance to taste some of Head in a Hat's Bee Keeper beer - a very sweet honey beer. This reminded me of drinking Horlicks and honey before bed as a child. If you like this sort of thing then it's definitely for you - a fine and well put together example of how honey in beer ought to taste. If you don't, it's not.

I'll try and get back to the pub before the festival ends on Monday night. Bunny Basher is also on up in Leyton where all the big hitters are, but the Westow is doing it so well at the moment, I can see this becoming much bigger in the future. Get down now so you can say you you've been before the Hackney Mafia start invading next year.

Partizan Brewery, 5 Grain Porter

I first tried this porter from Partizan at the Cask Pub and Kitchen in Pimlico. Thoroughly opaque and satisfyingly full bodied in taste for a relatively low abv. I had a blocked nose when trying this at home, but even that couldn't mask the thick coffee aromas that came out of the neck of the bottle - drinking it gave my teeth and gums a coating of slightly spiky, worn velvet. One of Partizan's best I think.

Partizan Brewery, Saison Galaxy

I managed to drink this Saison brew from Partizan within about 6 weeks of it being brewed, so I think I got it reasonably fresh. Very hazy, crayon yellow, tropical nose. My first Saison, I couldn't isolate the components of that very distinctive taste as such: winter spices/herbs? Cinnamon? Cloves possibly? (Mouthwash??) The Galaxy hops came through as a sort of parenthesis to the spices - possibly in the same manner that the hops accompany some of those hoppy brown ales (i.e. Kernel India Brown Ale + Brewdog's 5am Saint). Forward thinking brewing for sure, but if I was being uncharitable, the hoppiness might seem to be present only for the sake of it? I absolutely don't mean to say that this pairing of flavours should be frowned upon, but it did have the slight effect that my drinking ended up feeling more like an experiment than classic enjoyment. (I strongly suspect though, that this tacitly says more about my level of experience than it does anything else. Obviously, if it wasn't for experimentation with beer flavours, I wouldn't have started this blog....)

My palate was homemade fishcakes with a fresh horseradish sauce - that strength of flavour could well have influenced my tasting of this beer. Saisons aren't for me I don't think. I'll try another I think (a 'truer' example, the Dupont probably) for parity's sake, but I'm not expecting to be converted.

The Kernel Brewery + Brodie's Fabulous Beers: A Scanner Darkly

First had a swift half of this at The Old Red Cow after a job at Fabric. Such a delicious collaborative black IPA from Brodie's and Kernel. Large tropical nose, chewy malts after the juicy glug and lovely lacing down the glass. So, so satisfying. I've had a few of this modern type of ale - Magic 8 Ball (also on keg at the Old Red Cow), Black Rocks, Black Marble, Brewdog's Libertine and Black Betty. Who does it best? The Brits? (I don't think I've had an American BIPA?) I had this after a bag of chips. I love this drink alot - I went back to Oddbins in London Bridge and snapped up a load more.

The Kernel Brewery, Citra IPA

One of the latest Kernel IPAs, singly hopped with Citra. Very strong sherbet nose + caramel orange in colour and hazy. It tasted like Um Bungo/Tropical Squash/Lilt. I recently had a half of the Stone IPA at the Holborn Whippet and this London IPA reminded me a little of that. The bitterness was relatively mild and the alcohol more or less undetectable (as per with Kernel). I drank this after hopped Saison from Partizan so maybe there was an after-effect from the sweetness of the spices in that drink. Never thought I'd say it, but maybe there's too much tropicality in this? Is there more balance needed? More malt? Or is the point of brewing with Citra to go for that über-fruitiness? (There are increasingly too many question marks in my wrote-ups these days ....)

I had another bottle subsequently, and it made a great deal more sense the second time around.

SE19 + SE20, The Transmitter

I've had some recent photography published in our local magazine in SE19, The Transmitter. Words are by Manish at Good Taste. Featured are Justin at Westow House, Rick at The Grape and Grain and Steve at Late Knights Brewery down in Penge. Get down to Crystal Palace get a copy, have a pint (or several) of excellent beer, then stop by Manish's to pick up some Fyne, Red Willow or Moor (amongst many others!) to take home with you...!

Red Willow, Smokeless

Bit of a disappointment this. After the promising BBQ nose, my Smokeless from Red Willow was utterly flat - no carbonation whatsoever. I wanted a bit of fizz to this porter and not getting it kind of dampened my enjoyment of this drink. Was it meant to be flat? If so, I guess I prefer my porters a bit fizzy. I'm not experienced with porters, having only really tried a Beavertown and the Kernel Cacao. I had the Teleporter from Summer Wines on keg at Westow House which had a slight carbonated edge to it. I guess if I drank this on cask the flatness wouldn't have thrown me so much, but coming like this from a bottle, I just got upset. I'll get another one to double check though as that BBQ essence was great.

Ps - I love the Red Willow branding - very distinctive and elegant.

Wild Beer Co, Madness IPA

Not sure if I accidentally poured any of the yeast into this Madness IPA by the Wild Beer Company - it poured very cloudy indeed. Citrusy and hoppy, a very West Coast style IPA. Immediately on sipping this there was a super fresh taste of something. It faded quite quickly, but it's a dimension to my drinks that I'm really starting to appreciate. Long bitter finish. I got this drink form the sterling Good Taste.

Meantime, India Pale Ale

This Meantime India Pale Ale is quite deliberately (I assume) not an "IPA" - it's definitely an "India Pale Ale" in the non-west coast sense. Savage cold prohibited proper discernment of the nose on this. Very bitter indeed, fat hoppy/grassy flavour, abv noticeable ever so slightly on alternating sips. Bog standard pasta and tomato sauce on the palette (I tend to drink my beers after dinner rather than with). I really did enjoy drinking the whole 750ml to myself, but I couldn't bring myself to say that this stood out for me. It wasn't bad at all, quite the opposite in fact, just not memorable. Mitigatingly, this bottle had been on my shelf for ages so had probably lost a bit over that time. The measurements on the side were in fluid ounces and it had that container deposit info on the back so I'm guessing this bottle was destined for the States. For some reason, it ended up on the shelf in Waitrose where I picked it up for a discounted price (another fact to suggest it wasn't so fresh even before I bought it) of well under a fiver. There was a black and grainy sediment in this that I'm not familiar with in beer.

Beavertown, Imperial Smog

Noteless for this Imperial Smog (Rocket?) from Beavertown, I was watching the new Bond, which was actually quite enjoyable. Bardem was quite creepy. If I recall correctly then, I'm guessing this is a ratcheted version of the delicious Smog Rocket? Just looking at the photo again, my nostrils fill up with thick smoky stoutiness. The booze in this one was very present, possibly too much for me. A slow sipper - this one lasted the best part of an hour I think. My first imperial porter/stout experience, I felt like I needed a cigar to go with it. Bought this from Royal Mile Whiskies. The second of these photographs is inside one of the lifts at the Tate Modern, Ava Jean and I visited there yesterday morning for a blast around the Turbine Hall (and I had a quick visit to Utobeer + Oddbins afterwards).

Remorseless, Red Willow Brewery

I'm not sure, but I think I found a hop leaf on my first sip of this Red Willow Remorseless - is that possible? Not a sherbet/citrus hit on the nose, more grassy and foresty ("UK IPA"?). Decent, thick head and very hoppy. Crisp, refreshing and I couldn't taste the abv. Palette = beetroot + goat's cheese salad (!) with a strong vinaigrette. I want to try their Ageless next.

Sierra Nevada, Northern Hemisphere Harvest

I waited an entire week to drink this Sierra Nevada Harvest after purchasing it from the good chaps at Good Taste. I'd had a half at the Crown and Anchor (£3.50/half) previously. No citrus as such in this one, maybe a touch at the beginning of the finish.

I had a concern with this bottle that it mightn't be too fresh. The blurb on the bottle waxes about brewing with the fresh Yakima hops within minutes of their being picked (or something) and I figured that anything that this brought to the flavour might be lost after a long trip across the Atlantic. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have tasted this at it's best. Nonetheless, I did feel that I got a shot of that West Coast pine forest freshness throughout most of the bottle (although I still couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like drunk minutes after brewing) and coupled with reading the blurb, it was enough to really tune me into the whole freshness thing with hops in beer. I want to drink more über fresh hop centered beers. Was it oily? Possibly. (I could be inventing that after reading the phrase "aromatic hop oils" on the bottle.)

Palette history: I'd had a pungent mushroom risotto for dinner, but nothing too overwhelming in spice/strong flavour (maybe too much salty stock). I got a pleasant all over body warming sensation off this beer which I've not had for a while. I'll be back to get another of these. Pricey though.

Bath Ales, Gem

I fell in love with Bath Ales' Gem back on a stag do in Bath a year or so ago. This pours such an amazing colour - like a deep rooibos tea. Very moorish, full yet fine malty taste preceding a lingering bitterness. Maris Otter barley and Goldings hops - this beer is a triumph of UK ingredients and brewing.

Hop Back Brewery, Summer Lightning

Oops - no iphone notes for this one. Had a taste of Hop Back's Summer Lightning at The Westow a long while back. Quite citrusy (lemon in particular if I recall correctly) made with English hops I think, not dissimilar to Adnams' Ghost Ship. Top summer outdoor juice.