Glug-a-Spoon, O Glug-a-Spoon, O grant thy faithful CAMRA's boon!

Religion requires certain rituals and observances from the faithful and CAMRA is no exception. On a recent trip to London I was able to fulfil one of them by calling in at the Royal Oak in Borough for a pint of Harvey's Dark Mild, thus doing my duty in the Beery Month of Obligation and saving mild for another year. 

Mild saved again

The main reason I'd been in London though was to meet up with an old friend in a 'Spoons. I'd made sure I was supplied with a stock of CAMRA Members' Real Ale Cider and Perry Vouchers (or in the vernacular, 'Spoons vouchers) before going. There is some controversy over these, though it's not true that we have to sing to Tim Martin each year to be granted this boon (it is of course to Roger Protz). I've never understood the objection myself. I don't drink in 'Spoons often but if I spend less when I do it's surely a good thing all round? Less money for Wetherspoons, more money for me. 'Spoons prices in central London are more than I was expecting too so the discount was welcome. 

A whole pound I didn't spend

And I have to say as I drank my discounted pint of Jaipur served as god intended, having the one true living beer enter my life, and mouth, I remembered that virtue is its own reward. 

Why should I care if a brewery is independent?

Once again the stench of heresy assaults my nostrils. Our Mother Church has voted at its recent AGM in favour of this motion:

"This Conference agrees that UK beer lovers have been badly let down by the lack of leadership and imagination shown by the multinational brewers and large property firms that, between them, control the UK beer trade. Conference therefore instructs the National Executive to ensure that all relevant CAMRA publications and communications pledge preferential support to beer producers and suppliers that are independent of the influence of the multinational brewers, and to make the case persistently for this stance."

That CAMRA is favouring smaller brewers over large is nothing new, I can remember the wailing and gnashing of teeth when Allied Breweries (one of the "Big Six") won the Champion Beer of Britain in 1990. I can't help but think though that the formal adoption of this motion is making the error of modernism, denying objective truth.   

I am a man of simple faith, not a CAMRA theologian, but beer that is pleasing to god is defined by being matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed. Such fripperies as as the share ownership of the company producing it are irrelevant. And have not heathens complaining about listings in the Good Book regularly been told the correct orthodox position that inclusions are based beer quality not other minor matters?

Beer that is pleasing to god. And I didn't need to visit Companies House to determine that. 

Over in barbarian lands the Brewers Association regularly changed their definition of "craft brewery" and now the beer produced doesn't get a look in at all. Just about all that's left is that share ownership is mostly independent. Producing as much beer as the country of Denmark produces annually is fine and I have no idea what benefit being independent brings us. I wouldn't not like to see this road to hell being followed over here. 

I've drunk good and bad cask beer from both independent and multinational breweries. I've also worked at small and large breweries. The multinationals are undoubtedly evil but then again some of the biggest cunts  most awful people I've ever met have been running small breweries. Let us remain true to the core beliefs of our faith and venerate all beer that is pleasing to god. 

Finally: a wilt-tolerant Fuggle

A very interesting article by the hop goddess Klara Hajdu in the CIBD magazine gives an update on the latest research from Wye Hops.

Breeding English hops with stronger, high intensity flavours, is now into the third generation of crosses and Real Ale Hero laureate Eddie Gadd has been carrying out the brewing trials. He's also added another title to his name as Wye Hops experimental brewer which is cool as fuck. 

Eddie and Klara in action

It will be very interesting to see what flavours these new hops bring but even more exciting than that is the news that a hop breeding mission going back at least 70 years has finally reached a successful conclusion: a wilt-tolerant Fuggle has been developed. 

Verticillium wilt is a fungal disease that can devastate hop crops and is difficult to treat. The best solution is to grow resistant hop varieties in affected areas. Sadly as each hop "variety" is really a single female plant propagated from cuttings it's very difficult to breed in desired traits such as disease resistance without breeding out the characteristic flavour. Cascade for example has a lot of Fuggle in its ancestry but gives an entirely different flavour to beer. 

The need for a wilt-tolerant Fuggle is mentioned in a paper back in 1955 and in 2013 I heard the long quest might be only three years away from a successful conclusion. It's taken considerably longer  that that but craft beer geeks everywhere will be delighted to learn that variety 15/10/23 has now completed its trials and it beer made with it no noticeable change of taste was detected compared to true Fuggle. The hop was released in late 2024 as Wye Fuggle. 

The Session: What is the best thing to happen in good beer since 2018?

Dates get hazy for me if I go back further than the last weekend. So what exactly has happened since 2018, rather than say 2017 or 1911, isn't immediately obvious. But the stand out thing in the world of good beer for me only happened a year or two ago. Unless it was three, but definitely within the required time frame: I brewed Thomas Hardy Ale. Yes, me. Brewing one of the final five! Do things get better than that? Not that I can think of and I'd be very surprised if any of my fellow sessioners can either.