Adnams Brewery Review

At the Brewery

Disclaimer: I have had a lovely visit to the brewery and had every question I asked answered, I am also proud to be selling their beers where I work.

Adnams is superficially an unassuming seaside brewery on the East coast of England. Much of its branding is quaint; lighthouses, tall-ships, sailors and clam shells- it is bad poetry old men write on deck chairs.

Their core range is, as a rule, very satisfying. Their Broadside a dark ale, has just enough fruity punch to carry the malt and if you are lucky a pleasant hoppiness will come through, their Southwold Bitter, when in good form is effortlessly drinkable- with a delicate and nourishing mineralism and a fresh sea air saltiness that you'd only expect advertising to lie about. Aside from these they offer 3 other mainline beers with a hoppy focus. Fat Sprat, an amber, and Ghost Ship, a luminously pale ale. They share a moderate fruitiness and spicy hoppines as well as naff names. Their Wild Hop Amber is also notable, the green hops are almost buttery but quickly off set by a tobacco spice bitterness.

View from the Brewery

These hits aren't without their misses, with beers like Explorer, Gunhill and Topaz Gold being lesser versions of beers already being made by Adnams. Those beers at least show that Adnams is very capable of being any other mediocre English brewery when it wants to.

The real gem, though not necessarily the heart of Adnams is its Jack Brand range. The contemporary ingredients and styles of this range are well grounded by the otherwise traditional characteristics of the brewery. The Innovation IPA shows what the big modern American style IPA could be if those brewing this style allowed you to taste the hops. The Mosaic Pale Ale offers all the freshness and tropical fruitiness you would expect tamed by a 4.1% ABV and crisp finish. Their 1659 Smoked Ruby Ale is the most drinkable smoked beer I have drank, though that is not saying a lot. It has a distinct bitterness that clears its well measured smokiness. On the butt of the Jack Brand range is their Crystal Rye IPA and Dry-Hopped Lager. The former is agreeable in itself but the hops are somewhat lost in the rye, though its freshness and bitterness are enjoyable. The latter is an attempt to give those stuck for lager a way to look sophisticated or an attempt to make an unremarkable lager that people will buy expecting to enjoy a degree of dry hopping.

Jack Branding

Jack Branding

The brewery is well set, in that it's classic range will be maintained by its Jack Brand range and due to its classic range its Jack Brand range will perceiver after the current craft balloon bursts. Adnams successful branching out into whiskeys, gins, vodkas and other spirits and liquors show a sustained thirst for quality. Their embrace of green technology and waste reduction is admirable and convincing and all reasonable misanthropy aside it is something beer drinkers need to start appreciating.

Distillation Columns

Whiskey

Mini Stills

Southwold is an idyllic seaside town, the brewery and adjunct distillery are sophisticated works of art surrounded by easy going pubs and shops incessant with walked in sand, that bang and shake with the wind like boats. It combines childhood notions of a holiday with the existential anxiety we all enjoy and that Morrisey vocalised- though it still holds enough honest charm that no one sings “come, come nuclear bomb”.

Craft Beer Revolution in TheMurmur.dk

Piece I wrote on Craft Beer in Denmark.

Many thanks to Henrik at Amager for meeting me and Anders from the Danske Ølentusiaster for his help too!

It is hosted by TheMurmur.dk an alternative and genuine english language news source based in Copenhagen.

Available on their website here.

Read the full edition here.

Skål!

Ølfestival 2014- Copenhagen

The Venue

Ølfestival 2014 organised by the Danske Ølentusiaster (Danish Beer Enthusiasts) has taken place annually in Tap 1, a venue in the "Carlsberg City" section of Copenhagen.

Tasting Glasses...off site.

Inside, 77 breweries and distributors offered their wares to the interested public.

The large venue, the token for beer system and the presence of distributors and some larger operations, for whom beer is more about business than brewing, created an atmosphere more sales convention than festival. Entry was about 100DKR per day with tokens available for 12.50DKR which can be exchanged for a tasting glass of beer or snacks such as popcorn or sausages.

Never the less it provides a good view of beer in Denmark- an environment where Mikkeller (with some good beers but a somewhat lacklustre presence) share the same space as Carlsberg (with a large presence and dutifully lacklustre beers).

These guys know that numbers can be used to order things numerically.

Though the Copenhagen Beer Celebration earlier in the year offered more of an experience (free flowing beer with the brewers at the taps), logistically the Ølfestival was superior with plentiful toilets, substantial food and a sensible layout.

The majority of the breweries were Danish, and offered their full repertoire of beer allowing you to taste some of the more obscure beers from trusted names such as Hancock, Thisted Bryghus, Ørbæk Bryggeri and Nørrebro Bryghus.

International beers were present by virtue of distributors, or as acquisitions of Carlsberg. So while the presence of Erdinger, Grimbergen and Kilkenny via Carlsberg was a little redundant, an interesting selection of English, Belgian and American and others from distributor One Pint added a little to the mix. Nevertheless their presence diluted the Danish offering, but perhaps the international offerings are more appreciated by the Danes. 

On another note the presence of "McGargles" a plastic-paddy spreadsheet-beer featuring the ominous "Brewed in the EU" warning soured things a little for me. This attempt to cash in on a beer heritage that is only being recaptured from make-em-cheap and sell-em-high conglomerates is sad to see as being pushed as Irish beer, which at least one representative there thought it was. On a more positive note O'Hara's was available courtesy of Premium Beer Import.

The Danish breweries I was most interested in, Ugly Duck, Stronzo and Amager did not disappoint. All offered a broad range of beers, some more rounded than others- but all of these young operations make me very excited about the future of beer in Denmark.

In an attempt to foster a greater identity for Danish beer the festival invited brewers to enter beers into their New Nordic Beer Competition. Building on the idea of New Nordic Food (old ingredients and recipes with a modern twist). The only two I managed to taste were Thisted's Xperimentet 3, which replaced its hops with a range of Nordic botanics making for a herbal and lightly spiced beer with the body of a lager. The second, Det Lille Bryggeri's; Crazy Viking, was made with beetroot and flavoured with liquorice, the colour is as you expect and if you were a little fonder of beetroot than I am, this would be a very enjoyable beer and it certainly was well crafted!

Fellow Travellers

Memorable beers:

Ugly Duck offered a very solid range, stand outs would be:

Rye Porter: Very good use of Rye to give this beer a tasty dryness- very drinkable at 7.8%

IPA Armarillo/Citra: I may be going through a phase of loving softer hops, but this beer balances them with the bite and bitterness you'd enjoy from a more aggressively hopped IPA.

Højsaison: As with the above beers, they offer you exactly what the style should offer, a very fresh beer with more fruit than spice and a crispness that was greatly enhanced in the version that was aged in white wine barrels.

Flying Couch:

Dark Matter Raspberry: An imperial stout with raspberries all the body with a fresh fruit finish. Their Dark Matter was also available with Cherry or Coffee.

Amager Bryghus:

Gluttony: Despite the name this Imperial IPA doesn't over do it. It does all it should. Drinks like a super-full normal IPA, the flavour is just about contained a hair away from overwhelming.

To Øl:

Jule Mælk: A sweet Christmas Stout, still good this time of year. It has a long treacly linger with a warming swallow at 15%.

The Banana Republic and the Bailout published by Jusos Kiel

I was asked to write an article by my Comrades in Jusos Kiel who were kind enough to show me all around there lovely homeland a couple of years ago.

It focuses on the state of the nation post-bailout and why The Boomtown Rats still matter.

The article is available in English here.

And translated into German here.

Enjoy!

Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2014

The Copenhagen Beer Celebration takes place in a sports-hall in Østerbro, Copenhagen each May since 2010. The festival is organised by Mikkeler, the microbrewery and pub chain based in Copenhagen.

The festival hosted 40 breweries over 4 “sessions” with each brewery presenting 2 different beers per session. Breweries from the Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US. There were well known names such as Brew Dog, Three Floyds, De Molen and of course Mikkeler itself.

Numbers can be used to label things numerically or randomly.

The first 3 sessions sold out quickly, so they added an extra one, at 10am Friday morning...

This is the one I attended and after 40 minutes of queuing me and my fellow travellers arrived into the sports beer hall and received our tasting glasses. The glasses at 60ml were practical for tasting, and you were more than welcome to get seconds if desired. Though their were some fountains to clean your glasses, most of those manning the beer taps were using bottles of water to rinse the glasses to save everyone inconvenience.

Despite the crowds the atmosphere was relaxed and after 30 minutes of everyone was pretty jovial from the sampling. Those dispensing the beers were as a rule from the breweries and were enthusiastic though extra signs to show what brewery was where and what they were offering would have certainly helped.

The Glasses fit safely in my pocket when urinating or gesticulating

Tasting Glasses

You get a map that tells you your location is else where.

There was coffee, fancy hot dogs, Smørrebrød and pork burgers available for those that needed less beer based nutrition. The location was pretty handy despite the toilets available, two high-end-but-still-festival-standard-porta-loo-cabins, being outside the entrance. But it was a sunny day and it was nice to be able to take your beer out for a walk in the sun.

Among all the fun and little beers, I had a melodramatic insight into a well publicised family feud, where Jeppe from Evil Twin (Mikkels Evil Twin, for more on that) was greeting people with hugs on the ground floor, Mikkel was taking it all in from an upstairs window, as menacing as DarthVader in the Death Star.

Here is a brief overview of Breweries that stood out for me, in alphabetical order:

Arizona Wilderness: Presented a very good Barley Wine, which managed to balance its traditional sweetness against good grain.

Buxton: Had a Raspberry Rye that allowed you to taste the bitterness and mouth-feel of fresh raspberries mellowed in rye. They also had a Stronge Extra Stout that was nice but unremarkable.

De Molen: Their Hot & Spicey Terrible Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Chilli was, well it was hot sauce in a glass. Could be better used, as, well hot sauce.

Evil Twin: The Mini Dingo, a good imperial stout, this was late in the day so I can't offer more...

Academics

Funky Buddha: This was something special, their Bonita Applebum: an apple pie brown ale, gave you all the spices, crust and apples you'd expect from apple pie in a glass. A great example of what a dessert beer can be. Their Last Snow, a Coffee Porter with Coconut, White Chocolate and Caramel was a delicious as it sounds as well, but not as distinguished as the Applebum.

Kernel: I always enjoy what they bring to the table, though I enjoyed their HBC 466 India Pale Ale,and their Pale Ale, with Cascade Chinook Citra their delicate qualities are best enjoyed sitting down with some time to mull them over.

Kuhnhenn: Their Fluffer Session IPA was exactly what it promised and I'd be interested in more of their range.

Professional Researchers

Levrig: It's not often I get to enjoy Norwegian beer as I don't have the oil money to buy it, but I found Levrig's Galaxy IPA and their We Love Wheat (a collaboration with Nøgne Ø) very well crafted beers.

Mikkeller: Their A X Imperial Stout Black Spirit Olorosso Barrel Ed., an imperial stout, fell on its face for me as some of their more complicated beers do, it seemed like a good beer with some bad sherry thrown in (on another note, I had a stout aged in Calvados from Mikkeler, at the Viktoriagade bar the day after and it worked wonderfully!).

To ØL: Their Yeastus Christ SuperSour was a beer I was looking forward too, though it was very enjoybale and had a good long linger, I think they can aim higher than Christ and up the sour. Their 10 Finger Discount, a Cedar IPA was a good full IPA.

M gasin: My first publication in Denmark

I've been in touch with the few Danish poetry journals I could find to see if they would consider work in English.

One that welcomed it was M gasin, a journal run from Aarhus.
It features poetry and artwork in colour with a hard cover- a nice little production.
M gasin is "uncensored", with its editors trusting that self-censorship is the best kind, so editing it is a matter of filling the pages.

The February edition features 3 poems by myself and it can be read here.

And submissions can be sent here mgasin@gmail.com

I got in touch with Jeppe Ottow the current editor to learn more about M gasin:
(dryly translated from Danish to English by myself!)

How would you describe your relationship with poetry?

Anyone can be involved in poetry and/or writing poetry. It's about finding the right form. I do not like all kinds of poetry. I best like poetry with a lot of humour, but I can also be gripped by other styles.

What is your role as part of M gasin?

I am the guest-editor, and perhaps a little more than that.I gather the texts, make the layout, find the money for printing, communicate with authors, send M gasin in the post to the authors and others who would like a copy. I do a lot, but could not without help. Others in the environment are good at inviting authors, that I don't know, to send texts and there is great support for the project from everyone I meet.

How did M gasin all start?

In 2001 there were 4 who wished to present the peoples poetry in writing so we came together and started M gasin. The first 2 volumes were black and white booklets with 12 A4 pages. It had no name but but it was simply titled ”I” and ”II”. Later the journal was named M gasin. We passed the department store M*agasin and the light in the first ”a” had gone out. We took this as a sign that the journal should be called M gasin...followed by the number we were at in Roman numerals.

What does M gasin publish?

M gasin publishes what there is space and budget for in each edition. As a rule we print 100 copies and each author or illustrator has 1-2 pages to themselves. It is important for M gasin that it is the author who decides hat will be in M gasin. We take pride in not censoring the journal. There are so any other publishers and journals censoring and when all is said and done self-censorship is the strictest type.

The current issue features many images, how do you pair them with texts?

Many of the texts and illustrations are put together beforehand by those who wanted to collaborate or they are done by authors who also make illustrations. Others are paired in the review process. After I have but M gasin together I send a pdf round to all who have contributed to this edition. Then you can correct errors, but you also have the opportunity to be inspired by others observations so then a text will suddenly work with an illustration or another illustration will fit a text.

Tell me more about the Poetklub in Aarhus?

The Aarhus Poets' Club has existed since 2002. We established the association so we could seek subsidies from the commune to fund M gasin. But suddenly it took on a life of its own, at one point we held the Aarhus Poets' Club 203 times a week. We had poetry slams, open mic's, The mad Poets Café, The Church in Swing, Lyricarium, various other events and of course the journal M gasin. The Poets' Club spread throughout Denmark and it had members in Jutland, on Funen and Zealand. There was even a member in Sweden. For M gasin it has always been important for the Aarhus Poets' Club to provide space for poets and the public where all can participate. The Aarhus Poets' Club cherishes the grass-roots poetry scene in live and in book form. Currently the Poets' Club Wednesday Salon is held in Trøjborg Beboerhus one a week and there is an open mic once a month at Løves Bog og Vin Café. Any one can be a member of the Aarhus Poets' Club. It costs 200 DKR a year and it helps support the associations activities. We are happy just for people to show up.

How's the poetry scene in Aarhus?

There is really a lot in Aarhus. Løves Café is well visited and there are also many other great literary things in Aarhus. There are places for poets whether there are established or underground and the audiences always have an interesting scene for poetry.

How can people submit work for future issues of M gasin?

You can find more info on the Poets' Club and M gasin on the associations homepage www.poetklub.dk. You can also find info on Facebook. Look for M gasin or Poetklub Aarhus.

Anything else you would like to say to the world?

Put a pair of poetic glasses on and take a walk. It is really good fun.

Zugzwang: New poem on the Irish Left Review

Link here: http://www.irishleftreview.org/2014/03/13/zugzwang/

The Irish left Review on line and in print is a great resource for cultural, historical and very current writings on Ireland and further afield. 

Advertising Amager

Amager is an island to the south of Copenhagen, which is largely the result of a large exercise in menial labour during World War II. It features large barren spaces, large barren architecture and an airport- accessible via a metro line which is elevated to minimise contact. Below are some images from Amager's new promotional campaign.

Hyggelig housing

A set from Bladerunner

The worst of the Urban with the worst of the Suburban

Image sourced from Google Street View, Here and Here.

*Amager at least has a big aquarium which I am sure I will love and it has nice beaches. If they got rid of all the other stuff it would be great!

Dancing like nobody's watching and Limerick City of Culture: Part 2

Efforts have been made to adjustment the structure of Limerick City of Culture to make it appear acceptable that Pat Cox attempted to gift Patricia Ryan with a job and a generous wage packet. The interim appointment of Mike Fitzpatrick and the introduction of further representation from cultural groups and Councillors should of course be welcomed, but should never have had to be fought for.

The papers read:

“Cox said he was “determined to do everything I can and we can to hit the reset button to put together in place the necessary resources.” ” [1]

“Mr Fitzpatrick now has the opportunity to show people there is more on offer than squabbling.” [2]

“I firmly believe that, the negativity created recent events, Limerick can and will put the past week behind it, seize the fantastic opportunity to highlight all that is positive about that fine city and get on with the project.” [3]

The ‘reset button’, ‘squabbling’ and putting the ‘past week behind it’.

The need to forget and move forward is important, discussing the circumstances that allowed the controversy to exist is ‘squabbling’ and going on blindly despite the nation witnessing an obvious fault is progress.

We are all once again asked to dance like nobody is watching.

The virtue; in being more determined after clear failure is a selfish one, adopted by Patricia Ryan before her resignation and now being adopted by much of the media to the comfort of Pat Cox.

In his previous defence of Ryan’s gift, Conn Murray, Limerick City and County manager, stated:

“"I accept the criticism around the process and if, quite honestly, I had been given a different approach to this, different time lines, obviously the approach would have been different" [4]

It seems all it took was prolonged outrage and organised action by the people of Limerick to find a different approach. Ryan’s quality of being available at short notice seems, somehow, more dispensable than before, when we see that an interim Chief executive could be appointed. Perhaps they can find someone who is as available as Ryan and maybe someone who will not be as reliant on others with a capacity for the job at hand, as Ryan made clear she was on Karl Wallace to handle the job she was gifted [4].

Something which is important to acknowledge when culture is used as a promotional tool is that culture is not necessarily positive in design or in action.

Culture is more than what you can sell and more than entertainment.

Culture can be designed to be ugly and uncomfortable, and cultural practitioners should be aware that in the creation of their work- they may design something which is in effect and interpretation ugly or uncomfortable.

Their ability to create discomfort and ugliness was used to make Ryan resign.

It is vital that arts and cultural practitioners not only use their darker talents in the creation of their work, but also in defence of their work.

[1]http://www.irishcentral.com/news/irishvoice/limericks-city-of-culture-tenure-in-uproar-as-ceo-patricia-ryan-resigns-239298791-239671761.html#ixzz2qxGEX0bU

[2]http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/relief-greets-new-limerick-city-of-culture-appointment-1.1647455

[3]http://www.irishexaminer.com/analysis/limerick-can-emerge-from-debacle-with-strong-legacy-254655.html

[4]http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/festivals/festivities-and-fireworks-as-city-of-culture-shakes-off-controversy-29876207.html

Dancing like nobody's watching and Limerick City of Culture 2014: Part 1

The departure of Karl Wallace and the subsequent departure of Patricia Ryan; played out publicly what many people know or assume about the terms 'Board', 'CEO', 'Director' and 'Brand' mean in relation to public administration.


Such titles and jobs are more associated, with an uncertainty about credibility and a certainty about personal profit, than they are with work or production. The Patricia Ryan's of Ireland are all about 'delivery' and 'oversight'. They ensure the project is delivered, to her credit, so her and others like her can perpetuate the myth of their competence. They oversee who responds to their invented authority and who questions it, so further recruits for the pyramid scheme can be identified.


The multiplication of the hierarchy is important, it guards its existence. Patricia Ryan did not pick up her pay check so those implicit in gifting her (not hiring her) for a job she was not suited for nor needed for. The reality is, she lost nothing in this exercise, it is not clear why she was hired or if she was needed, all she needed to do, was nothing to receive her gift.


It was the actions of Karl Wallace and his colleagues Jo Mangan and Maeve McGrath who's depatrure brought her down. Unlike Patricia they have lost financially as they gave up positions they had to compete for, they lost personally as unlike Patricia, they had labour of use and they applied it to the concept at hand and they have of course lost professionally as they showed a disregard for paymasters.


In the media storm that followed Patricia did what the rest of her ilk would do, they danced like nobody was watching.


In the blind determination she showed in her inability and her vacuousness regarding how she could not relate how professional artists, cultural workers and anyone who attempts to be rewarded for their ability viewed her salary.


She danced like nobody was watching, assuming enthusiasm would qualify her, that in ignoring all that was around her;


Eyes clenched closed- her appointment she didn't think “was very relevant to people on the ground”


Fist's pumping- she thought “people were more interested in the programme, what’s going to happen, and what’s in it for them...that’s what my focus has been and that’s what it will continue to be”


hips- with a life of their own that she was doing the job she was needed to do and despite it all she said “If anything I’m even more determined”


Then, her friends stopped the song, put a coat on her and called a taxi- so they could continue their party, without her.



*Quotes from http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/artistic-director-of-limerick-city-of-culture-resigns-1.1641819