Last Weekend Behind Bars...

As I may have mentioned one or two thousand times, this past weekend was my last as Assistant Manager of the Masons Arms. I'll still be there at weekends for the time being, but it was a strange feeling to be driving away, knowing that my foot was half out the door, so to speak. I've enjoyed a brilliant four years there, made so many great friends and - above all - learned so much about beer.

I was tested to my limits on Friday night, however. We had Hawkshead's fantastic NZPA on the bar, which at 6% would normally be a little strong for us, but the amazing flavours from four New Zealand hops carried it out perfectly. Well, apart from one customer...

"Is this beer alright? All I can taste is hops..."

I thought about this for a split second (I had time because I wasn't serving him, merely a bystander in this exchange).

"What has Alex done to it?!"

Now I'm getting a bit worried...

"I brew beer for a living and I know Alex Brodie fairly well."

Phew! I decided to ask what brewery he worked for, just so I knew what to avoid in the future. Obviously, I'm not going to publish what he said here, however it is a well established micro-brewery from elsewhere in the country.

"I'll be sending an email across to Hawkshead about this."

Now, I'm all in favour of open criticism, if you don't like a beer then fair enough. But to question if it has been conditioned/looked after properly because it doesn't taste like the boring, bland beer you brew on a day-to-day basis is an affront to me as an innkeeper.

Later on, I also heard him scoffing about Brewdog, claiming they "couldn't brew real beer" and that Tactical Nuclear Penguin, Sink the Bismarck and The End of History are all malt whiskies, rather than beers. Plainly not true.

I don't want to get into the middle of a fanboys vs critics debate, but I like Brewdog beers, I think they are innovative and tasty. There is also no denying that they are bringing the culture of beer in to the modern age with their marketing and branding, no matter how questionable some of it may be.

I decided not to get involved with the gentleman's opinions again. It struck me that if I'm going to aid Dave and Ann in their quest to change people's perceptions of beer, then the task may start with certain brewers, rather than the drinking public.