It is now almost 6 months since I started my journey into – hopefully – a new and satisfying career within the world of beer. So I thought it would be a good time to take a short look back in time to what formed my passion for the amber nectar.
A retrospective.
I first got into beer while studying for my A levels and being dragged to the local on midweek night by school pals. Brains beer was our tipple of choice, supplemented by Bass and Hancock’s HB and even Courage Directors when visiting the only Courage pub in Penarth. This was in the days of the Big 6 pub and brewing monopoly, where craft beer was unheard of. Welsh Bitter, Allbright, Watneys Party 7 – also featured unfortunately, a catalogue of gassy, tasteless liquid marketed inappropriately as beer. However, treats were in store for those of us lucky to have a friend who had passed his driving test and, luckier still had the keys to his parents’ motor. Off we would troop, 8 wedged into a car to the wilds of Aberthaw, 30 miles West of Penarth. Opposite the power station still sits the Blue Anchor Inn. At the time it was one of the few pubs around that dispensed numerous real ales unheard of within the pubs of Penarth or even Cardiff. This is where I got my lips around some Wadworth 6X for the first time. Other beers to be tasted included Marston’s Pedigree, Ringwood’s Old Thumper, Theakston’s Old Peculier – all classics and much loved by me and my mates. Thus began my beer education.
Mid 1980’2 and I finally left home and initially worked for Whitbread and Courage – 2 of the notorious Big 6. Time off for socialising was rare but I still sought out freehouses who had gained a reputation for serving a diverse range of beers – Camra’s Good Beer Guide was a Godsend – or a Bible to be correct. Pubs such as the Pontefract Castle, Wigmore Street and the Sun Inn, Lamb’s Conduit Street offered a huge range. I had moved to London you see and while I was struggling to get used to London’s unique take on real ale – flat, no head at the time – I still loved trying new beers and Camra’s regular beer festivals also helped in that respect.
Later on, when I had finally settled down and married wifey, foreign travel became a regular leisure activity, seeking out new places around Europe and obviously trying local beers. A trip inter-railing through Europe brought me to Belgium for the first time in 1990 and we decided to visit Bruges (Brugge in Flemish). This had a huge effect on me as I had never tasted beer quite like it. A real epiphany if ever there was one with pubs regularly stocking over 200 beers, each with their own special glass. The hunting of new Belgian beers to try, while sticking by the ones that I loved best has become an obsession for me ever since and it is rare that we go more than 4 months without a visit across the Channel to Belgium, visiting new places, sampling new beers and stocking up the car.
The early 90’s saw our move to the USA, a planned permanent move but one that only lasted a year and a half before the lure of Europe proved too big a pull to ignore. It was in Boston where I picked up on the US craft beer scene big time. Being located in Beantown meant that Samuel Adams and Harpoon were the craft beers most readily available on tap. However, most liquor stores carried a huge range of beers from right across the States and once again, tracking down new and exciting beers to try became a regular pastime. I always seek out new brews whenever we are back in the US and am looking forward to returning again this July.
Since our return to the UK in 1995, the beer scene here has changed out of all recognition. The Big 6 had begun to fall apart from 1992, either giving up brewing altogether and just running their pubs under a different guise, while others eventually merged into multi-national brewing companies, foreign-owned. Britain eventually got its very own craft beer revolution, with numerous brewers setting up their own breweries during the early 21st century, creating a wide range of beers of all styles, suiting an enormous variety of tastes. It is far easier to purchase locally-brewed beers to try at pubs and specialist bottle shops have sprung up all over London and the rest of the UK where you can not only purchase a mouth-watering selection of brews from far and wide but can fill up flagons from both cask and keg and even discuss the relative merits of different beers at the numerous ‘meet the brewer’ events being showcased regularly at shops, markets and bars. A few weeks ago Real Ale in Twickenham hosted a cider and perry tasting with Felix from Fine Cider. A unique opportunity to get immersed into the wonderful world of cider and to taste some wonderful stuff. The Fine Perry was a delight!
So, 2014 became year zero for me, where a potentially new career began, when I completed my Beer Sommelier training and decided (bravely or unwisely?) to leave the world of catering once and for all and embrace everything beer-related. So here I am, plugging away at Fuller’s, a brewery that I have a huge amount of respect for. They brew great beer, run fantastic heritage pubs and have a core set of values and ethics that I greatly admire. Where better to start this journey?
Recently I have been meeting with their ‘People Team’ to discuss where best I can use my skills and experience within the organisation. We have discussed the possibility of being involved more directly with the brewery tours and hopefully working with the training team in the longer term, mentoring our pub teams in beer knowledge, service delivery and developing an ambassadorial spirit within the business. It will be interesting to see what happens as I seriously hope that a career that focuses on creativity and less on finance can be found here.
At the Mawson Arms, business continues as usual, although less busy than we would hope. Thank you Fuller’s has been and gone and we have another one to look forward at the end of this week. On a personal front I am struggling to keep up with Beer Tastings as there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day. However, a review of Brasserie de Bouillon should be finished by the end of the month and will be posted accordingly.
Cheers!
Beer Sommelier Kew 