Westvleteren

Written by Mr Ticker (@BradfordBeer)

I saw a debate on twitter regarding Westvleteren 12 and whether or not the beer was worth the hype (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/westvleteren-12/4934/). I have tried all three of the brewery's offerings, paying, as many have before, the frankly astronomical price of €12 for the '12 (funny that) €10 for the '10 and €8 for the blond. I paid the price because I was aware of the hype, and wanted to make my own informed decision. A Birmingham pub currently offers the '12 for a whopping £25 so is the beer worth this much money? No.

The quality of the beer is not in question, @Filrd recently undertook an experiment involving the Westy '12 (http://beersay.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/trappists-laid-bare/) and surprised himself with the result! I have some Westvleteren bottles in my garage, not the kind I was talking about above no, mine is much more special. I got mine direct from the Abbey de Sint Sixtus.

My dad had taken pintsizedticker and I on a holiday to France and to thank him for the holiday we arranged a night in Bruges. A week before departure, at the allotted time, I rang Abbey de Sint Sixtus to place an order. I really fancied the '12, however, the beer on offer was the blond, but I still gratefully put the order through. 

We timed the visit to coincide with the journey to Bruges, I was due to pick the beer up at 14:15 which was immediately after the monks lunch, and I did the British thing and waited politely until a queue started to form and dutifully joined it. There was an exciting atmosphere. Being third in a line of twenty or so cars full of beer lovers from lots of different nations all in this tiny hamlet for one thing was amazing. There were the Belgians who were nonchalantly reading papers, presumably this would have been a more regular experience for them, the cars full of young blokes on a boozy trip, the dads dragging families along with them and us, the tourists having lots of pictures taken!

This is where the value for money argument is moot. Direct from the brewery a 24 crate of '12 will set you back €39 plus €9.60 for the crate and €0.10 per bottle a grand total of €51. At today's rate of exchange that's £41.20 divided by 24 = approx £1.70 a bottle (£1.40 for the blond and £1.55 for the '10) Can anyone argue that is not value for money?!

Part of the enjoyment I get from the beer is remembering that special day, I have enjoyed sharing it with fellow beer drinkers. The shops shouldn't sell the beer, then everyone who wants some will have to make the pilgrimage that will make the beer taste even better! The shameful mark up of bottles to £25.00 each is disgraceful. But that is not the fault of the brewery.

Food Pairing Adventure

My first experience with beer and food pairing came with a BrewDog evening at Coopers, Guiseley earlier in the year, way before blogging began. It was a revelation. Every beer went perfectly with the food, and added something to it, and the food added something to the beer. Another dimension. However. Every beer that I've tried since beginning blogging has been drunk solo (with the exception of Cobra, which I ate alongside a curry). There may have been the odd crisp, or square of cheese munched down in between beers, but I've generally stuck to drinking beer post-eating.


Until last night. It was more of an accident than anything else, which perhaps shouldn't be the way to do it. Dinner was smoked salmon linguine, with capers and dill, courtesy of Mr. Ticker. And the beer...

85: Motueka, Mallinsons, 4.2%
A single hopped ale. Tropical fruit aromas, as would expect. Really hoppy, but not too heavy, or too bitter. Drinkable, tasty beer.

As for paring with food... tropical fruit and salmon might not have been the best match in the world, but having said that, the beer cut through the oily salmon and cleansed the palate. It worked pretty well. Next time, will try and do some research beforehand. As if learning about beer wasn't enough... now I appear to be venturing into food pairing... uhoh....

I love autovac me

Controversial as it may be, I would like to offer an alternative position on the auto vac question. I am Mr. Ticker. A 10 year veteran of pub drinking and a proud Yorkshireman. I have worked in many pubs, pubs that use the auto vac system and pubs that don't.  I believe the auto vac system serves the best kind of pint, it leaves a creamy, creamy head and enhances the flavour.

Some people think that auto vac is used to minimise wasteage, in my experience, however, this is untrue. If a pub uses drip trays the waste should be nil. It has become common practice for barstaff to fill a pint glass 3/4 full and then let this settle before topping the beer up, so there are no drips and no overpour. Auto vac however needs cleaning DAILY and there is 1 to 2 pints left in the pipes which becomes waste. In Auto vac, when a pint is being pulled, the beer does not go back into the barrel it stays in the pipe, and is reintroduced along with fresh beer when the next pint is served.

The only argument against the auto vac system in my eyes could be cleanliness. The auto vac itself is, or should be (it was in every pub I worked in) cleaned after every shift. It is completely dismantled and all parts get washed in the dishwasher apart from the tubing which is cleaned as regularly as other pub lines. The dishwasher sterilises as it cleans. Personal hygiene of bar staff  is a different matter, I will concede that as beer spills over hands, there is no room for mediocre hygiene.

I may be old fashioned, but I enjoy seeing a pint served through auto vac, it is a symbol of local tradition. Maybe my rose tinted glasses are side effect of all the 'bacteria' ridden beer I have consumed, or maybe I am getting so old I prefer the way things were in my youth.