Well, it has been quite a busy couple of weeks yet again. Holidays taken by the team means longer shifts at the Mawson = more cash and the hours go by in a flash. We had our hock Cellar closed last week for some pre-refurbishment works prior to a total closure for 2 weeks in August when it receives a major makeover. So the Tour Tastings took place at the pub which had disaster written all over it but they actually went by smoothly as we were quieter than normal. However, at one stage we had no Tour Guides to take a tour and our Head Brewer had to take over. As she wasn’t able to spare the time to conduct the tasting so this fell to yours truly. As we had a young brewer from Durban on the tour, I wanted to take the opportunity to flex my knowledge and deliver a technical tasting. The rest of the tour group, a bunch of guys on a birthday trip were having none of that so we had to settle for a quick journey through the Fuller’s beer styles on offer! Great fun though, talking about beer to a captive audience.
We have also been treated to a number of notable visitors over the past two weeks. We had the founder of Lazy Frog Brewery in Alamogordo, New Mexico who now owns La Rana Dorada microbrewery in Panama City, Panama. He also owns a distillery, busy man. A top dude came into the pub for a tour the other day. Bruce hails from Fort Worth, Texas and tends the bar at Ye Olde Bull and Bush in the city, a British-inspired draft house. I would love to visit! Finally, Stu McKinlay, co-founder of Yeastie Boys was in last week to brew a collaboration with Fuller’s, a Pacific-style IPA which I’m looking forward to tasting when it is available. Stu was also down the week before as his Dad was over from NZ and was to take the brewery tour. He also introduced me to Stacey who owns the Little Bear Quarter bar in Wellington NZ, along a number of other successful pubs. A top lady who enjoyed her pints and runs her own ‘Beer Geek Heaven’ in the land of the long white cloud.
I’ve also got back to carrying out some tasting reviews as our local store, Squires has put to good use their shelves to display a small but strong range of British craft and Belgain beers for people like me! De Dolle Brouwer’s staples Arabier and Oerbier got a tasting and now the wether is warmer I also got stuck into some lambic, marvellous. During my birthday week I also went along to the Ealing Beer Fest with some mates, highlights included cask Fuller’s Vintage Ale and Kew Brewery’s Dove Tree, a collaboration with Park Brewery, Kingston.
On the work front, things have started to move along quicker than of late. I had an interview scheduled to help run a craft brewery in North London which was cancelled at the last minute. In hindsight, probably for the best, reasons for which I won’t go into on here. I have also had a couple of interviews with Fuller’s this week. They are looking for someone to manage and coordinate their Brewery Tours and also develop the offer at the Hock Cellar when it receives its refurbishment this summer. The other position is for a Quality Development Tech within the labs department of the brewery which sounds right up my street and would give me ample opportunity to develop my beer knowledge further. I have also been networking like mad within the brewery and have some time pencilled in the diary to spend out in the field with Trade Quality and may also be assisting with some beer events in the near future. Oh, and there is the small matter of working on the Fuller’s bar at the Great British Beer Festival to look forward to in a few weeks. Wish me luck and watch this space for more news 🙂
Finally, we’re off Stateside tomorrow so on the weekend I had a lovely afternoon catching up with Laura at the Prince’s Head in Richmond, a pub that used to be my local many moons ago. A great time quaffing London Pride was had and I can’t wait to go back. Next update will be all about the US beer scene and what delights we discover in Washington DC and Philadelphia. Cheers!
Beer Sommelier Kew 