…or why beer selection will be restricted this weekend.
We’d pretty much run out of bottled beer by the first week of March. Shortly before I left for Norway we’d made a new gyle (batch) of Merry Andrew that lots of people are waiting for. While I was away Dicky made another gyle of Velocity as well. Last week they were both ready for bottling and so the bottles were duly ordered and dispatched. In theory there was enough time to get both beers safely into bottles and ready for Steyning market this weekend.
As is often the case, I was busy at the office filling out forms for that nice Mr Brown during a bottling day. About 11 o’clock I got the call from Dicky. The bottle lorry had turned up but it turns out that he didn’t have the correct hand operated pump truck to get the bottles unloaded. The courier had to go away and come back with the right kit.
A few hours later during lunch, I had another call. The courier had come back but now neither pallet could now be unloaded. One of the stacks of bottles had fallen over and was blocking the other one. As far as we can tell the stack that had fallen had not been strapped. If you look carefully, you can also see that the remaining stack overhangs the edge of its pallet by several inches making an inherently unstable load. The fallen stack has bulged out sufficiently to prevent the other one from being taken off in any case.
I’m told the lorry driver invited Dicky to take the fallen pallet apart and unload the 1800 bottles by hand. Dicky quite rightly told him to go forth and multiply; in any case the fallen stack would have a lot of broken bottles in it. We couldn’t use any of them safely because of the danger of broken glass.
The earliest a new set of bottles could be sent out was today. Depending on how things went, its just possible that some beer bottled today might be ready for market on Saturday. Our new warming area is quite effective and bottles condition rapidly in it.
I spent the day delivering beer to people and Dicky waited at the brewery for the bottles. And waited, and waited, and waited. They turned up shortly after I did at the end of the day. So no bottling today either.
Sigh. So at market on Saturday we will have St Cuthman’s Red Wheelbarrow, Black William Stout, and a very small amount of Velocity.
Today I read via Mr Eugenides that Chris Giles, the FT’s economist estimates that the UK government will have to raise an astonishing £350 billion pounds over the next two years. I was discussing this with our bookkeeper today and it’s pretty clear that it’s a figure so large that it’s almost impossible to comprehend it.
A few months back, I read elsewhere the idea that became the basis of this short piece. I’ve elaborated on it and changed the math a little but the core idea is the same. I haven’t been able to find the original, but if someone could point me at it I’d be happy to attribute.
South Downs Cellars is a well stocked independent wine merchant located on the high street in Hurstpierpoint. They also have a well chosen selection of real ales and one or two rare imports. We’ll be doing a tasting there of our beers – including St Cuthman’s Red Wheelbarrow – this Saturday between 2pm and 5pm. Although it’s just a tad early, the St Cuthman’s will also be available for purchase – but you have to promise not to drink it until next weekend.
…and so the old sea captain was laid to rest amongst his ancestors. The funeral service was really nice – if you’ve got to die I recommend doing it in Norway.
Western Norway had a very strong temperance movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth century and the remains of this can be seen in the attitudes of some of the older inhabitants to drink, and in the very high levels of duty. A pint of beer can run anything from £7 through to £10 depending on where you are drinking. There is also an absolute prohibition against drinking and driving with jail terms for violations. The practical consequence of this is that my visits to the Bergen region are usually dry. Life’s big milestones including weddings and funerals are notable for the absence of alcohol and this occasion was no exception.
However, I was invited out on Friday by my nephews, all of whom have grown up following the usual Norwegian pattern of turning into blond giants. We went to a microbrewery called Waldemar run by the local regional brewery Hansa. Apparently its where the Hansa brewmaster likes to try out new ideas and recipes. They do six or seven distinct brews of their own in tasting glasses. We tried a hefeweizen, a dark ale, and a Christmas brew.
The hefeweizen wheat beer had been made with the right yeast and had the typical banana and clove tone on the nose. Unfortunately they’d rather overdone the hops making for a rather bitterer brew than a Bavarian would expect. Not bad despite this. The dark ale was not particularly alcoholic but had an incredible honey flavour. I’d give a lot to understand how that effect was achieved – not simply by adding honey I’ll wager. The Christmas ale, was dark and strong, 6.7% if memory serves. It reminded me of Merry Andrew a little.
Because the brewery bar was closing early we then moved into the center of Bergen to a cafe, with a long menu of imported beers and a few Norwegian ones as well. The cafe was very busy, even for a Friday during the credit crunch and it is part of a thriving cafe culture. As in the UK the smoking ban is strictly enforced, and of course the price of a beer is absolutely outrageous, even given the earning disparity between Norwegians and the British. Reflecting on the matter the next day I was struck by the difference between this and UK pubs where the rate of closures appears to be accelerating. I have no idea why this should be.
In Norway, everyone has a few before they go out and of course we all had rather too much while we were out so I spent Saturday feeling rather fragile.
I’m away until the 23rd of March at the funeral in Norway. I’m staying in an area which has no Internet and is also a mobile phone area black spot so I will be pretty difficult to contact. The brewery phone has been forwarded to Dicky Illing. He will be able to help you with any enquiries.
01273 467527