I'm in the pub drinking a pint of real ale because it's Cask Ale Week

I'm in the pub right now. I ordered a pint of British Bulldog from Westerham Brewery, a micro just up the road from here. It's a gleaming bronze with a thick head of foam. Not much on the nose, a little bread and some dried fruit. It's a real thirst quencher, full-bodied and smooth, a backbone of distant caramel and a finish of dry, peppery hops. It's not complicated, it doesn't need me to write detailed tasting notes, it doesn't challenge me in any way, it's just a great drink, a classic to-the-style best bitter, wonderfully kept and spot-on enjoyable.

There's a certain amount of pride which comes with drinking a pint like this. I look around and I see glasses of wine and pints of lager. I'm sitting here with my British cask ale, raising the glass and taking deep, satisfying mouthfuls. I am proud to be drinking it.

It's Cask Ale Week and that means we have an opportunity to champion this wonderful product. Sure, we can drink cask ale every week of the year, but that's not the point, this is about drinking British beer in the pub and celebrating the glory that is a pint of real ale.

I think I'll have another.

Fuller's Bengal Lancer

I had this at the London Drinker beer festival on Thursday and I loved it. I saw a bottle in Waitrose and I bought it. The bottle is open now. The aroma is deliciously enticing: citrus, spice, marmalade, grapefruit, sweet bread. It's very, very good, better than I expected it to be. Smooth, big, full, peppery marmalade, toast, bitter at the side of the mouth, a quenching, dry finish, come-drink-me-now good. I will buy some more bottles this week, you should too.

Hopping out of California

I'm drunk. But it's my last night in the US, so fuck it. The picture above is the full flight of Russian River beers at the brewpub. I also had a Supplication (seriously fucking awesome) and a Pliny the Elder (seriously fucking awesome). Before these I spent the day at Bear Republic, where my lunch was a flight of 16 beers (2oz pours, not pints, thankfully) and a burger on the side. There was also a PBR in the middle and after Russian River we finished at The Toad in the Hole, a cracking pub in Santa Rosa run by ex-pat Paul Stokeld. In there I had the best pint of Bear Republic's Racer 5 (love that beer, it's seriously fucking awesome) and a crazy wormwood and horseradish thing from Sonoma Brewing. I also got to drink with Ken Weaver and his other half Ali, plus Joe Tucker from ratebeer all night and those guys rock.

Now it's time for bed; I have to fly too-many-bastard-hours home tomorrow, preceded by a two hour bus journey and ending with a tube and a train whilst carrying three bags. Thankfully those bags are filled with fantastic beers, and great beer is the reason I came out here in the first place. Beer is lovely.

Selected as America's Best in 1893

I couldn't come all the way to America and not drink one of the classics: Bud, Miller, Pabst Blue Ribbon.

The one I wanted the most was PBR so I picked up a 24oz can for $1.49. It pours (into a lovely snifter) a near-colourless gold, the aroma is almost there and when I do find it it's a swirl of corn; it's smooth in the mouth, totally inoffensive, clean and crisp, almost displaying something similar to hops but not quite. The can proudly states that it was 'America's Best in 1893'. (I've read the fascinating history of the beer and others of that time - check out Maureen Ogle's Ambitious Brew - and it was that win which added the Blue Ribbon to the name.)

I'm drinking in my hotel-motel which is the kind of place that could drip blood through the wall at any time (the just-under-filled kidney-shaped pool outside looks like a cess pit). To me this place-beer combo is quintessential middle America, straight out of the road movie, and after a week of face-smacking hops, cheek-puckering sours and mouth-filling imperial stouts this actually doesn't taste all that bad, in fact it's refreshing to sit back and drink something without having to think about it. My only worry is hearing a beat-up old station wagon roll into the parking lot late at night. I'm living the American dream.

Anchor Brewery Tour

Anchor is probably the most important brewery in the US. Fritz Maytag, the owner, was at the forefront of a changing beer scene and helped to shape the future of US brewing. Arriving there today I meet a big, off-grey building, only suggesting it's a brewery through a few barrels of beer and a pick-up with the familiar logo on the door.

Inside the first thing that hits is the smell: freshly brewing beer - malty and sweet, fruity, delicious. It leads through to a bar and then the tops of three copper tanks, like upside-down beer chalices. This then moves through to the fermentation vessels, down to the cellar and then back to the bar to drink the beer.

They brew five days a week and Steam is 70% of the output. They can fill 100,000 bottles a day. Their output is 60% bottle and 40% keg. They also - which I didn't know before the tour - make three whiskies, two gins and have a winery across the street which makes wine from grapes grown at Fritz Maytag's vineyard (the whisky is Old Potrero and the wine is York Creek).

Onto the beer. Steam was super fresh, clean caramel malt and a dry, quenching finish. Liberty, which is dry-hopped, is lovely and floral and citrusy - a classic US pale ale. Humming Ale, the only one in the range which uses hops other than US grown varieties (Nelson Sauvin), is distinctive of the hop, tropical, dry, clinging and bitter and very drinkable. The Bock is like sweet toffee with a dry finish (too sweet for me). Porter is smooth and roasty with a berry sweetness and lots going on for its relatively modest ABV. And Old Foghorn, the barleywine and the star of the tasting, was amber-red, fruity, c-hoppy, balanced between big malt and big hops and really very good.

The tour is fun. It's also an unmissable stop on a beer trip to San Francisco, as without Anchor Brewery who knows what world beer would be like now.

Super Bowl at an Extra Special Brewery

I happen to be out here on Super Bowl Sunday. This is a big deal, I understand. Frankly, I know nothing about American football and have no clue about the rules, so when I was invited to a Super Bowl party the deal had to be sweetened with the promise of good beer. Thankfully, that's exactly what I got.

It all started in 21st Amendment's bar (which is a very cool place). I was in there drinking stupidly strong beer (it's Strong Beer Month) before midday. At some point I hear the lovely twang of a fellow British accent (albeit fairly Americanised). This happened to be Richard from Elizabeth Street Brewery, a homebrewer with bigger ambitions who serves beer in the garage of his house (for those on twitter he's @ESBale). Long story short, I ended up at his Superbowl party two days later in one of those serendipitous, of the moment, moments.

The football was shown on three TVs, including a 72" beast. There was great home-cooked food everywhere and three beer stations: one station for homebrew, one for a brewery called Cherry Voodoo and one for Rich's beer, including one he brewed with 21st Amendment. The homebrew was literally astounding. A 10% IPA was incredible, a Double Red rocked and a Belgian ale was very, very good. Cherry Voodoo had a few great beers too, including a 19% imperial stout (imperial stout meets cherry brandy). The ESB ESB (that's not a typo) and a 21A imperialised ESB collaboration were both fantastic. The football, however, I have no idea. I figured watching a game would clue me up but it didn't. In fact, I was more interested in the adverts, which were brilliant (check out the Simpsons and Coke - yes, together - ad, some of the Bud Light ads and the Google ad about a traveler to France).

I took along a bottle of Marble Special to share around and that's one special beer. Taking an American barley wine to the Americans is like ice to an eskimo but people liked it a lot. I thought it was truly excellent - big but smooth and easy drinking, hoppy and fruity and bitter, so well integrated and balanced for a beer like this drunk fresh.

Richard from ESB wants to open a commercial brewery and I truly hope he does - beyond the beer he's the perfect host and face of a brewery. He's a great guy and from what I hear a lot of people know his beers and know him. I think he'll do very well.

Sometimes cool things happen. This was one of those times. A chance meeting in a bar, a few beers, an invitation, a one-off experience. Beer is good like that.

Hoppy and Roasty

Double IPA festival yesterday. It was pretty nuts. Most beers were around 9% and bragged tongue-wrecking IBU levels. Everything was served in 4oz pours; enough to enjoy it but not enough to pickle you too quickly (though there were a few stumbling around early afternoon - that's another thing, it started at 11am).

Pliny the Younger was the big one (in many ways). An 11% triple IPA released once a year (the Friday of SF Beer Week) by Russian River. But this came alongside an overwhelming list of big beers. Of course, I had Younger as soon as I arrived (it's good but I need some more of it now). Ballast Point's Dorado was excellent, Bear Republic's Five Zero and 11 were very good, a couple from Drakes were superb (Drakes are a very good brewery, one I didn't know about until the trip), Moylans' Hopsickle (140 IBU!) and Triple Rock's IIMAXX were hop bombs.

The interesting thing was the difference between these beers of the same style. Some were sickly sweet and jaggedly hoppy; some were citrus and fruit; some were floral and herbal and dry; some just drop-kicked your face; some were a confusing mix of the above. Drinking just one style is a great way to pick out the subtle differences in each brew (although these beers are not especially subtle...), even if towards the end they did start to converge towards just 'hoppy'.

After the DIPA fest I went to an Alesmith event at City Beer Store (that's an awesomely cool bar). The Alesmith IPA was spectacular but I was there for Speedway Stout - the regular one and barrel aged. They are both sexy looking beers, darkest brown with one of those chocolate milkshake heads. Regular is silky smooth and rammed with roasty coffee flavour and dark chocolate; the barrel aged is an incredible oaky, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate monster with subdued coffee and great depth. Amazing beers.

After this I went to the Toronado where New Belgium's La Folie tasted like a bloody mary and then I nearly fell asleep at the table (jet lag sucks).

That was a good day drinking. I met and got to drink with so many cool people, which is the best thing about this trip. And a lot of people there are brewers from the area, proudly pouring their stuff while also happily drinking other breweries beers. It's good to have that in the beer scene.

Weathering the ‘Spoons Beer Festival

Tonight I’m on location in the pub for a spot of gonzo blogging. The picture above is my view (although my eyes, thankfully, are a little clearer than that). I’m here because it’s the first day of the Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival and I’m actually quite excited by a few of the beers that are on between now and 15th November. I’ve got two here with me now - Dambuster by Shepherd Neame and Purkmistr Bohemian Schwarzbier – while I wait for my sausage, chips and beans to arrive.

The pub isn’t too busy tonight, but it’s a big place so it’s probably-definitely the busiest bar in town. It’s the first time I’ve dared bring the laptop out through fear of being accosted. And what was the first thing that happened as I sat down and placed by shiny new kit down? I was accosted (by accosted I actually mean spoken to politely). By a semi-drunk, friendly old chap who was impressed by my ‘graphics’ and who said to me, when I told him I was going to connect to wifi, ‘I’m going for a piss, I bet you’re not on when I get back.’ He was quick, I’ll give him that, but I was quicker. In your face semi-drunk, friendly old chap who pees at speed.

[Dinner arrives. Here comes a short interlude while I eat my sausage, chips and beans...]

[Update: This is cheaply delicious. £2.99 well spent.]

Now the beer. I went for the Shepherd Neame to see how they fare with pale and hoppy ale using just Cascades. To be honest I didn’t expect much but I’m totally, pleasantly surprised – it’s good! It’s pale and crisp and an ode to the English(?) Cascade – citrus, floral, sweet tobacco, earthy, pithy, great come-get-me aroma and really quenching. It reminds me of the Cascades I used for the Smoking Hops experiment. I only had a half but I want more now.

And the Schwarzbier (brewed at Marston's), which I’ve just finished. I now have a dirty plate and two empty glasses next to me. Where’s the service in this place? The beer was another good one. Really good actually. Chocolate, smoke, liquorice; good body, great looking. Nice one. Two good choices so far.

The next challenge: get to the bar, buy more beer, don’t get laptop stolen. Question: How does one do this...?

Answer: Safety first. Close laptop, slide into bag, go to bar, order more beer, return to seat, get laptop back out. It doesn’t get stolen (incidentally, I don’t have this trouble getting a new beer at home...).

I’ve got the New Zealand beer now – two international ones on for opening day, good stuff Humphrey – Galbraith’s Mr G’s Luncheon Ale. It’s copper coloured, it tastes okay, it’s a little hoppy but a little middle of the road and forgettable – not bad, just not as good as the others.

I’m impressed with the festival line up and there are a couple of must haves – Thornbridge Pioneer, Toshi’s Amber Ale from Japan and Grumpy’s Pale Ale from Tomme Arthur from Port Brewing/Lost Abbey (brewed at Shepherd Neame) really stand out. Luckily, as I work and live so close to this place I can pop in every day to see what’s on. This means the next three weeks will mainly be spent nipping in and out of here. I think I can cope with that.

[Back to the bar...]

[Another Dambuster. And damn it’s good.]

I haven’t talked about Wetherspoons properly before in a blog. I really must. I have plenty of stuff to say about them. I guess by spending every day in one for the near future I’ll be flooded with inspirational words. At least the wifi works. And the beer is good tonight. And there aren’t too many chavs around.

It’s probably worth noting that writing ‘At least the wifi works’ was a kiss of death. I now have no internet you fickle fiend.

So yes, this post was finished and published back at the flat. So much for on-the-spot, in the thick of it ‘live action’ stuff - at least I wrote it all in the pub.