Tim: A superlative beer tasting masterclass at one of London’s best Microbreweries accompanied by Brewhouse and Kitchen‘s signature “beer-can chicken”!
Rating:
Appeals to:
- Certified, verified and bonafide beer geeks
- …. or people who are keen to learn a little more about their beer
- (with the eventual aim of becoming certified, verified, bonafide beer geeks…)
The Event and the Host
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to attend an event for curious bloggers at Brewhouse and Kitchen in Highbury (north London), which is part of one of the largest microbrewery groups in the UK. The Brewhouse group has two locations in London (Highbury and Islington) as well as a number of other sites across the UK.
Each pub has its own on-site microbrewery with a Head Brewer who is in charge of making a set of bespoke beers that they serve on draught. They focus very much on trying to work on reflecting the local market – at Highbury, for instance, they name a large number of their beers after Arsenal FC; including: the “Romford Pele” (a homage to Ray Parlour), “No Fly Zone” (a tip of the hat to Dennis Bergkamp – who famously refused to fly) and “The Goalscorer” (named after Ian Wright).
Each site also stocks a large number of beers from other producers that have been specially selected. All-in-all, there is plenty to whet your appetite.
The evening was a taster (literally) for what you get when you undertake a Brewhouse and Kitchen Beer Tasting Masterclass. Each session is run by the site’s Head Brewer and the idea behind this session is that you learn a little bit about how to taste beers and then put this in to practice. At the end you should have learnt a thing or two about the world of beer and (hopefully) had a bit of fun! So how did I get on…?
The Beer Masterclass
The session was led by Brewhouse Highbury’s head brewer, Pete Hughes, who is a very experienced and knowledgeable brewer as well as being a member of the National Guild of Beer and Wine Judges.
We started out with what I would have sworn was a Porter – it was a deep, dark black. In fact this was a Krombacher Dark Lager which Pete put in just to throw us; expecting a rich, spicy Porter I was surprised to find a surprisingly light, smooth and easy to drink lager. There were some notes of caramel but by-and-large this was a beer that you could settle in on and drink quite a few of – 6.0/10.0
Next up we moved to the only one of Brewhouse’s own beers that we tried, the “Romford Pele”, which was an English Golden Ale. On the nose it had aromas of citrus, probably lemon; whereas on the mouth it was a tad more buttery with a secondary note of pear. It had a decent light and smooth mouthfeel to it and seemed to be a good representation of a Golden Ale; this is not a genre of beers that particularly excites me, however – 5.0/10.0
Third beer of the evening was one that I’d had many times before, Beavertown’s Gamma Ray American Pale Ale. Bang! That was the blast of citrus that you get from the hops. A palate cleansing firm bitterness is the characteristic of this beer. If you like your white wines with tons of acidity (fortunately I do), then you will love this beer – 7.0/10.0
We then tried our first beer that was served ex-bottle, rather than from draught. This was a La Chouffe Strong Blonde Ale. At 8% this was a bit of a big boy and had a really interesting set of aromas which I characterised as tomatoes and oregano. On tasting this it had a latent sweetness to it, which reminded me of banana bread. Trouble is, I detest banana bread (bananas are evil [ed: DONT YOU SAY THAT, DONT YOU EVER SAY THAT]), so this wasn’t for me – 4.0/10.0
Beer number five was an Innis and Gunn IPA. I’d had Innis and Gunn beers a few times before and think very highly of them – this beer added further weight to that opinion. On the nose it had a slightly malty, rich and smoky characteristic. When tasted there was definitely an IPA style there, but with a little more substance – 8.0/10.0
Time for some fruit beer! This was a Timmermans Raspberry Lambic Beer which relies on gaining some spontaneous in-bottle fermentation. As you’d expect the dominant aroma profile was fairly full on with raspberries, but possibly a little Kirsch in there too. On tasting this beer was somewhat sour and fruity, I likened it to the Haribo Cherries that you get in a bag of Tangfastics – I like those, I didn’t particularly like this beer though – 5.0/10.0
As Monty Python would say, “and now for something completely different” – the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. I’d heard big things about Rauchbier (smoked beer) but this was my first foray into its smoky world. Wow! Pretty much all I could write down at the time about this was that it was smoky bacon in a glass. That may not sound great, but I can certainly tell you that it was. It was a complex, intriguing and alluring beer that really did make you stop and think. Noch eins bitte! (Another one please!) – 9.0/10.0
The final beer of the evening was a Milk Stout from the Left Hand Brewing Company, which had aromas of chocolate Nesquik and a slightly nutty taste. The mouthfeel of the beer was very smooth. A very nice beer to finish up with – 8.5/10.0
So you can see from this list the range of different beers that you try on this masterclass. As ever, personal preference plays a big part in deciding what you like and don’t like, however the critical thing is that you get to try out a number of different styles and hopefully learn about a new style or producer that you can then start sampling more from. I certainly had this with the Rauchbier!
Beercan Chicken!!
After all that beer sampling we were getting pretty hungry. Fortunately Brewhouse and Kitchen is both a pub/microbrewery and a restaurant (the name does kind of give it away…!) So, what better way to sate our appetites then with a beer-can chicken…?
Our eyes must have lit up like children at Christmas as a number of these impressive beasts were delivered to our table. The name of the dish is derived from the fact that the chicken is placed atop a stand made from a beer-can which means that as it is roasting in the oven it retains its moisture allowing to remain deliciously succulent.
The fact that the chicken is stood upright on the platter gives the meal a real sense of drama. Like another well-known purveyor of chickens you can get yours marinated in a number of different sauces which vary in levels of spice.
However, what makes the chickens from Brewhouse and Kitchen particularly delicious is that chickens have been marinated and cooked in beer which gives a wonderfully malty characteristic to the flavour.
The platters come with corn-on-the-cob, French fries and home-made slaw.
(…the perfect way to end what was a very enjoyable evening!)
The Verdict
I very much enjoyed myself at this event and would like to thank Pete from Brewhouse and Kitchen for his expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm, as well as Su-Lin for her hospitality and organisational skills.
The Details
There are a number of Brewhouse locations across the country and I believe that more are currently being added. Check their website for details.
The Beer Tasting Masterclass costs £15 per person (which I think represents particularly good value).
Brewhouse also offer Brewery Experience Days where you can spend a day with an expert like Pete and get to brew your very own beer, which sounds like a brilliant idea!
Disclaimer
I was invited to this event as a guest and did not pay for my food or drink. Nonetheless, the opinions contained within this article are my own.