SWB has got some Bottle!!

Ok, so we've finally bowed to pressure & got our act together & started bottling our beers, exciting enough in itself, but you can now buy them online from our new website here.

There are initially four beers available; Diablo, Kahuna, Rouge-Hop & Barista all in 330ml bottles. Delivery is £7.50 for everyone in Zone 1 see delivery info & is typically a next working day service on orders placed before 10am.

We have big plans for our online store & plan to launch new beers into the store every month so keep your eyes peeled at the end of October when new beers such as 'Hermes' Pale Ale 5.0%, 'Cohort' Black Belgian Rye PA, 8.6% & Lime & Coriander Saison 6.0% will hit the store. We plan to always have a good array of styles available at any one time so that you get get a wide variety of styles in a one stop shop.

And as an opening gift we are offering a FREE Summer Wine Brewery branded stemmed glass with your 1st order (limit of one per 'new customer order' offer ends 30th Sept 2011.)

We look forward to shipping you some of our beers soon...

The Southampton Arms, Kentish Town, London.

During our trip to London for IPA Day our first stop straight from the train to the capital was The Southampton Arms in Kentish Town. A much vaunted ale house that was a destination pub ideal for whiling away our afternoon.

Upon arrival were greeted by barman Ash, whom Andy was acquainted with from a previous visit, looking briefly down the bar the first thing that amazed me was a the spartan nature of the bar, no ugly macro beer fonts glowing obtrusively.  Simply 12 hand pulls filled with cask ale from independent brewers from all corners of Britain not to mention the 6 hand pulled ciders, also quietly nestled at the end of the bar are two small keg fonts serving beers from Camden Town Brewery.

We moved down the bar to see which beers were on & we were truly spoilt for choice, Redemption Brewery's Urban Dusk, our very own Nerotype #4 Herkules Black IPA, Magic Rock Curious, Buxton Brewery Axe Edge, Dark Star Carafa Jade & Kent Brewery Zingiber to name but a few.

We started off with a Magic Rock Curious,  Kent Brewery Zingiber & a pork pie a piece,  the beers were in top nick & Ash is a clued up barman who makes sure everyone who comes to the bar finds a tipple that suits their palate. But let me just spare a minute for the PIES! Holy moly, their pies, sausage rolls & scotch eggs are of stunning quality & hugely moreish!

This bar needs no gimmicks, happy hour or glowing signs it is no nonsense & focuses on well tended beers & ciders from well thought of breweries & simple bar snacks is really all that is needed.

We proceeded to work our way down the bar taking in Buxton Axe Edge, a stunning IPA not dissimilar to our Diablo IPA, Dark Star Carafa Jade, Nerotype #4 & many others, a combination of great chat, great beers in a no fuss pub focused on on top beers & great snacks all too easily devoured hours of our afternoon. We left feeling relaxed after our lazy afternoon & amazed by what a no bollocks cracking pub this really is.

The bar is a like a London boozer of old, pub dog rolling around on the floor, original tiling behind the bar, dimpled pint pots, worn floor & a record player in the corner behind the bar whisking the hours away with an amazing array of classic vinyl.

ALE, CIDER, MEAT. This place has the important things at it's heart & that's what makes The Southampton Arms bare bones CLASS!

Go There!

Follow tweets about the amazing beers they have on the bar @southamptonNW5 

International IPA Day Feast at The Dean Swift, London.

So, August the 4th took us to the Dean Swift, London, in our capacity as the European host brewers of International IPA Day. Planned over the previous few weeks, Max Chater (Manager & Host of the Dean Swift) Momo Medi (Head Chef) & Rick Furzer (Food & Drink Blogger) got together to plan a stunning evening of IPA & food matching. 

Before I go into some detail about this truly memorable evening I'd ask you to watch this two minute video montage so you can get a feel for the spirit of the evening & gauge what dizzy heights food & beer matching CAN reach.

 

The Dean Swift International IPA Day Feast Menu

1st Course
Type: Black IPA
Food: Toulouse sausage scotch egg
Beer: The Kernel India Pale Ale Black (keg), BrewDog Abstrakt AB:06

  

2nd Course
Type: Canned IPA
Food: Calamari with sweet chilli sauce, timbale of avocado and crayfish
Beer: BrewDog Punk IPA, Maui Big Swell  

3rd Course
Type: Centennial IIPA Resurrection
Food: Grilled goats cheese and roasted peppers
Beer: Kernel Centennial #100, Centennial 2010 

4th Course
Type: IPA and Spice?
Food: Tandoori Chicken with Cauliflower Velouté
Beer: Stone Brewing Co. Ruination 

5th Course
Type: Draught IPA: UK vs. US
Food: Lamb Mechoui
Beer: Summer Wine Brewery Kahuna, Stone Brewing Co. IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Great Divide Titan  

6th Course
Type: Dessert IPA
Food: Raspberry and limoncello jelly tartlet
Beer: Mikkeller Sorachi Ace

7th Course
Type: Quadruple IPA, Freeze Distilled.
Food: Aged goats cheese, Vintage Gouda, Monastery Cheddar
Beer: Sink The Bismarck!

The Fresh fruity IPA's were perfect with Seafood.

You simply haven't had a Scotch Egg until you've had Momo's Toulouse Scotch Egg.

Toby & James discuss the subtleties of the canned IPA's.

The whole beer & food movement has been gaining momentum lately & with it being International IPA Day what better opportunity to demonstrate beers extreme diversity of flavours ability to gel with amazing foods.

The most amazing thing about the night was that the beers & food courses were matched supremely well by Max, Momo & Rick & it was clear a lot of thought & time went into developing the menu.

Max Chater is a natural host, Momo is an incredibly talented Chef & Rick is a pure glutton with an amazing palette, marrying their skills together produced an amazing menu.

Andy & James talk about the British Brewing Scene.

If we are to establish beer as a legitimate beverage to match with food then these guys have a the recipe sown up. I believe we will see more events like this in particular at Dean Swift as I know Max has plans to do much more around this fascinating concept.

I'd like to extend our gratitude to Phil Strongman, Max Chater & James Watt for their incredible generosity on this truly memorable evening, also the guys from The Kernel, Toby & Nate. Rick Furzer,  Peter Millar, James Bendall & Patrik Strandberg for making it such a pleasure.

Haven't visited the Dean Swift? You really must as this place has an extremely bright future & a crucial role to play in establishing food & beer matching in the UK.

The night was capped off with stunning hard cheeses with Sink The Bismarck & Black Tokyo Horizon.

Now if you'd like to read the detail of how each course married up get over to Rick Furzers fantastic new blog 'Gastroturf' Rick is very talented & without a doubt has a great future in this area. 

This was just one highlight of our trip to London, I'll be blogging about the other delights in due course.

Announcing International #IPADay August 4th!

INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATION OF IPA, IPA DAY 4th AUGUST

We are humbled to have been chosen as the sole European Host Brewery for this event:-

Announcing International #IPADay: A Social Celebration of Craft Beer 

Attention all craft beer evangelists, brewers, bloggers, and suds-savvy citizens! On Thursday, August 4^th 2011, you are cordially invited to participate in the largest international craft beer celebration and virtual conversation the world has ever seen.

International #IPADay is a grassroots movement to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide through social media. On Thursday August 4^th, craft beer drinkers across the social sphere and across the globe will raise pints in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: the India Pale Ale. This celebrated style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations – making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice.

#IPADay is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. #IPADay is opportunity for breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. Getting involved is easy; the only requirements are an appreciation for great beer and the will to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag, and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend!

http://ipaday.eventbrite.com/

OFFICIAL #IPDAY LOGO

Tips on How to Take Part:

1.       Organize an #IPADay event at your brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, home, or office (Ex:  An IPA dinner/cheese pairing/comparative or educational tasting/cask night/tap takeover…). Share your events on the official #IPADay forum at http://www.ratebeer.com.

2.       On August 4th, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes, and thoughts with the world. Be sure to include the #IPADay hashtag in your posts Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress, RateBeer, Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, Untappd or any other social media site.

3.       See what other people are saying by searching “#IPADay” on Google, search.twitter.com, et cetera…

4.       Track down your favorite IPA’s, ones you’ve been meaning to try, and ones you’ve never heard of; share them with friends and share your thoughts with the world.

5.       Have a good time and know that by sharing your experiences online, you’re strengthening the craft beer community at large.

 

We have managed to team up with some of the UK's top craft beer outlets, The Port Street Beer House, Manchester, The Free Trade Inn, Newcastle, The Rake, London, The Southampton Arms, London, The Dean Swift, London,  Mr Foleys, & Northbar, Leeds ...  To run #IPADay events, mini fests, live blogging, tastings & more! Also being the week of The Great British Beer Festival what could tie in better with the UK's largest beer festival than a day dedicated to the world's most loved beer style!

 

You are encouraged to share links, blog & tweet about the event & above all use all types social media to promote International IPA Day on August 4th. The twitter hashtag is #IPADay.

Get involved in this Worldwide collaboration & give IPA it's very own day!!

Register Yourself on the Event Brite IPADay Page.

The Good Ship SWB Goes Port Side...

Monday July 25th sees the good ship SWB go Port Side, for an evening of exclusives, great beer & informal chat. We have the great honour of hosting The Port Street Beer House's FIRST 'Meet the Brewer' event, we are deeply honoured as we know the guys & gals at Port St. go to great lengths to be avante garde in everything they do, check out their fabulous American Beer Festival & the amazing beers they sourced in all formats.

The evening starting at 6pm is going to be one not to be missed, the beers we will be showcasing are:-

(Cask '7 C's of Rye', Rouge Hop, Valencia & Teleporter) 

(Keg 'Diablo IPA' *Exclusive* Summer of Saison 'Lime & Coriander' *Exclusive*) 

Port Street will be amongst the first to take 7 C's of Rye in cask form, & have national exclusives in the first ever kegs of Diablo & the first Summer of Saison brews (Lime & Coriander).

The event will kick off at 6pm sharp & will involve a tasting session of beers with an informal talk through by myself & Andy. Finishing by 8pm for casual drinks with whoever wishes to join us.

There are 60 tickets available, priced at £8 & they're available from the bar at Port St.

So come along & join us at arguably the North's finest cutting edge craft beer house for national exclusive beers & great conversation. We look forward to seeing you!

Your Beverage Needs You!

So this weekend saw the online beer Twitterati lay siege on Saturday Kitchen on BBC1 at 10am. The idea championed by Hardknott Dave & others using the #saturdaykitchen hashtag was to suggest beer to match foods that were being prepared on the show. The show has previously been entirely biased in only recommending wine matches to suit the food so much so it prompted Dave to make a complaint to Ofcom regarding the complete ignorance of beer as a versatile beverage suitable for food matching by the BBC.

I myself back Dave 100%, the point which he is trying to readdress is the fact that compared to beer, wine gets an inordinate amount of coverage by the national media.

As people who care about beer we saw something completely organic happen in our time lines on Twitter happen on Saturday. Something wonderful, something incredibly positive & a joy to behold. A huge number of beery twitter folk spontaneously backed Dave's suggestion by using the hashtag & taking part.

It was the use of social media at it's best, being used by a group of people who care about something enough to make their voices heard completely off the cuff. During the show there were approximately 1500 beer/food related tweets directed at the programme, recommending a huge diverse range of beers suitable for a range of dishes on the show.

These suggestions were almost certainly certainly picked up by the production team. Hopefully we will see some impact on the show & get the amazing cornucopia of exciting beers in the UK some national television coverage as a great & versatile accompaniment to food.

We may have already seen an acknowledgement from Olly Smith who is Saturday Kitchen's resident wine expert as this morning a piece about beer for wine lovers appeared in the The Mail. A piece for which Olly should be praised for as it brings some balance to the wine over beer coverage imbalance. You can & should follow him on twitter @jollyolly as he appreciates & is knowledgeable about his beer.

The main message that spoke volumes to me on Saturday was that for all of the negativity that permeates the online beer world it was incredibly refreshing & powerful to combine instantly over common ground to unite & the promote the beverage we all love!

When we unite together & fight under the beer banner we ARE capable of doing great things. I will certainly think twice before I publish any blog post in the future & ask myself;

'Will this forward the cause of beer or add value?'
'Or foster conflict & negativity?'

If it's the latter I will now think long & hard before hitting the publish button, I urge you to do the same. It IS possible to bring lots of new drinkers into the amazing world of modern British beer.

IF we talk about the positives!

See you next Saturday 10am sharp on Twitter with the hashtag #saturdaykitchen

If we get a result here, we can go elsewhere into getting Beer the coverage our national drink deserves.

The Slip Inn Battle of the Breweries Photoblog

Here are a few photos from the excellent Battle of the Breweries at The superb Slip Inn, Clementhorpe, York. A great event surrounded by great people & great beer made for a memorable day & credit to Paul & his staff at The Slip for ensuring the beers were all available via handpull & all on fine form too.

This pub is a real hidden gem just outside the City walls. The photos tell a little of the story but if you'd like to read more check out Nick's post about the day over at The Beer Prole.

I'd just like to say thanks once again to everyone who attended & made this great concept a real winner, lets hope others replicate it too!