Tales of IPAs, Acorn, Tetley Dave and Barnsley truffles
Ok! Confession time. The other night I sneaked myself a Stella. I’d like to say it was for some selfless professional reason. In truth, I was thirsty and there were a few tinnies left over from my lad’s post wedding bash. Somehow they ended up in my fridge – and there was nowt else.
I’d love to wax lyrical about it. But on the can it simply states ‘contains malted barley’ - so not much to go on there then. Anyway, as I gently rolled it around my taste buds, desperately chasing flavours, it caused me to reflect on my latest beer sojourn; a pint or two with a chap called Pete Brown, the boys of Barnsley’s Acorn Brewery, and Jim Bowen look-a-like 'Tetley Dave'.
So what’s the connection? Well, I can now name author and marketing guru Pete as one of the guilty men behind the huge success of the famous ‘wife beater’ brand. Apparently he was on the brain-storming team that came up with the ‘reassuringly expensive’ strategy. His Storm Lantern consultancy website (www.stormlantern.co.uk ) also reveals his Machiavellian-like meddling with many other brands, including the 'sensational' Labatts Ice and something mysteriously named Arc Lager.
But before genial Pete is condemned by the European Court of Beer Justice for crimes against ale drinking humanity, I plead his mitigation. I can report that Pete has mended his wayward ways quite a bit in recent years and is a now a beer writer extraordinary. In particular he is a big champion of IPA (India Pale Ale), one of Britain’s great beer styles.
Pete’s works include the hilarious Man Walks Into Pub and Three Sheets to the Wind. But by far his wackiest exploit to date, I think, was a recent three month trip to India following the old sea routes – carrying a barrel of his beloved IPA, just to see what the ale was like when it got there. I don’t think you can get much wackier than that. The book on this travail is out next year. Oh, and I believe the beer was excellent.
You see, IPA is a highly distinctive style of beer that was ‘invented’ in the 19th century to quench the thirst of ‘our boys’ looking after the Empire. In the torrid heat of India they required a lighter, more thirst quenching, beer than the porters and stouts that had previously prevailed in British brewing. And it saved them from the horrors of the indigenous Arak, which, at best, made you blind if it didn't kill you first. So IPA was a health drink then.
To survive the long sea journey, the beer was heavily hopped and brewed to a superior strength. The hops and the alcohol preserved the beer and gave it a special character. These days there are several quite low strength imitations about.
But back to our meeting. Pete, although exiled in the soft south for many years, is originally from the proud South Yorkshire town of Barnsley. And it was there I found him slurping a few IPAs and other lovely brews at Acorn – a fast growing brewery that has won a mash tun of awards since owner/brewer Dave Hughes and his wife Judi kicked off five years ago. These days their beer can often be seen around the B&P estate.
Last year Acorn took the top business gong from SIBA ( the Society of Independent Brewers) for a range of single variety English hopped IPAs. A different beer was brewed each month at a chunky five per cent strength with only the hop variety changed.
Dave Hughes and his team have done the same again each month for 2008, but with American hops. It was this that caught Pete’s imagination. So what better on Independence Day than to taste a couple of the beers - Cascade for June and Liberty, of course, for July - to celebrate Acorn’s fifth birthday with a hard bitten bunch of northern pub licences and their acolytes.
Provisioned with a delicious buffet, we set about the task with relish.These were very thirsty lads, so sniffing, swirling and all that nonsense caper went out of the window fast. They were keen to down a few. Your blogger, as usual, practised sensible drinking and sipped away delicately while Pete faced down his hecklers with panache.
My verdict on Cascade IPA was that it paired very well with a mouth-watering growler from Barnsley Pork Pie specialist Percy Turner - 'Barnsley truffles' Pete calls them. And he agreed with me, but was a little more effusive. 'Cascade', he said, was ‘a tropical fruit salad, with papaya and citrus fruit that compared well with Sauvignon Blanc’. This obviously played well with the audience. They promptly shouted for another.
Moving on, Pete acclaimed the Liberty IPA as toffee caramel, with spice, full bodied, rich and complex’. 'Pretty good', we believe Tetley Dave to have muttered as he devoured yet another growler.
Manfully soldiering on, Pete also took a look at some of the award winning regular brands - the top selling Barnsley Bitter that won a silver medal at GBBF 2006, Barnsley Gold, Old Moor Porter and the smashing newcomer Summer Pale that recently hit the Harker's 'A (for ale) team' right between the eyes. "White gold, with a floral, sherbet aroma and pear drops washing over the tongue," waxed Pete - and I can honestly say he'd never tasted it before. Beer writers, eh?
Now Pete has handled many a tough challenge in his world travels, but in this field of engagement it was clear he was fighting a valiant but ultimately doomed action against the ‘expert’ audience of rottweilers.
Before finally yielding, Pete was last heard to pronounce, “Acorn is producing some fantastic beers .....with this understanding of hops and how they work it will be very exciting to see what Acorn will do in the future.” (See beer notes for more on Acorn ales).
On that note Pete handed the floor to double act ‘Tetley Dave’ from the terrific sounding Shoulder of Mutton in Castleford (‘no food, no machines, great crack’) and the inscrutable Rob, landlord at Barnsley’s Gatehouse cask ale haven. Rob turned his pub around by keeping a fine pint of cask - but you wouldn't want to argue about the beer with him. Pete’s own blog() sums him up thus, ‘His hard gaze can make you void your bowels involuntarily’.
Now these lads have been round the houses a bit. Landlord Dave – the proverbial Tetley Bitter Man (he’s a former employee of the eponymous brewer) – reminisced about Tartan as the 'ladies beer' while Rob remembered the days when pub landlords used to whiz the slops back into the mild, 'cos no one could tell'.
Anyway, some lively chat and a few beers later Tetley Dave was converted. He took such a shine to Acorn’s ales that he grabbed a cask as he dashed off, late, for his evening shift. Hope it played well with the missus Dave - better than flowers eh?
Us and the Acorn boys? Well, after a hard days tasting we needed to relax. So we headed off to Sheffield for a few beers and a curry - sadly without IPA.
PS: It's that time of year when I grab my sandals and false beard and head off to the Great British Beer Festival at Earl's Court. We are promised the biggest and best ever with some 450 beers to sample. And this year there's even a 'Girl's Guide to the GBBF' with beer writer Melissa Cole. Hope I don't get caught up in that one - watch this space.
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