Poems and a Review in PB$

The Poetry Bus
Buy it here!


I am very happy to have a poem, a haiku and a review published in the latest Poetry Bus, the 5th issue published by Peadar and Collette O'Donoghue. The Poetry Bus continues to be a very attractive magazine, with high production values and striking full colour imagery.

Its content is broad, but the work inside the Bus normally has quite an edge to it, in content or style- for better or worse. It reads more quick fire than meditative, but an attentive editorial eye has selected pieces that not only demand you chase them down the page but are crafted well enough to stay in and stimulate your mind.

From cover to cover the artwork is bold and intermissions the poetry just enough to avoid distraction either way. Though the images themselves are catching the quality of their reproduction in the magazine is not always up to standard, more likely due to the images supplied rather than the printers or editors fault. The continued presence of comic strips is good to see and I hope more comic writers come to see the Bus as a platform for their work.
The 'My Writing Life' section of the Bus gives writers carte blanche beyond the title which prompts indulgent and flowery lifestyling to honest reflection of the role writing plays in an author's life. Another article in this Bus tends towards more flowery indulgence- a vent against rejection letters which can be seen as an unnecessary feature in a magazine which, I imagine, has a backlog of work waiting to be published.


I feel the role of poetry journals and magazines to discuss the state of the art or the state of the scene it exists in and draws from is currently underplayed in the Bus. But I am optimistic that this role will be optimised in time, as its reputation grows and its understanding of itself increases.

Hornbeer: Hops, Vikings and Stouts

Hornbeer manages to encapsulate the Danish micro-brewing scene while at the same time setting themselves apart from the others with some very distinguished beers.

It is made on the grounds of a fine house an hours drive from Copenhagen.

It is a Husband and Wife operation; Gunhild and Jørgen have 39 beers listed under the Horn brand since they opened in 2008. Most of their output has been IPA's and stouts/porters with a smattering of wheat, bock and fruit beers. But it must be said that when Hornbeer hits the mark it does hit it higher than most.

Tasting

Their capacity has steadily increased as has their recognition in the form of awards (They have as many awards and merits for their beers as they have beers!). This has gained them some needed distinction in a market crowded with Danish breweries producing variations of the same strong IPA's and porters under multiple labels.

Hoping to buck this trend Jørgen told me he plans on a few more sessionable beers with lower abv's and has done so successfully so far with Top Hop and Dry Hop at 4.7% and 5% respectively.

Context aside, Hornbeer's big strong stouts are consistently gratifying and indulgent. Their rightly praised Fundamental Black Horn and Black Magic Women are deep flavoured and flawless, though maybe too straight-forward to warrant their 10% abv.

Viking Chilli Stout is without a doubt the jewel in their crown, a truly world class beer. The chilli is well hidden in its chocolate maltiness. At first it is all truffle and coca fruit and by the time it gets to your belly the chilli comes into play with a sharp, then warming spice.

With their impressive track record so far and a pragmatic approach to evolving beer tastes any new beers from Hornbeer should be drank with optimism!

Fermenters and new brew kit

Old and new bottling lines

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.