22nd
Brown Beer With Mud & Twigs In It
Brown beer with mud and twigs in it. It’s ever-so chic. Okay chic may not be the word to describe it quite yet, but real beer (or ale to be precise) is coming back in a big way. Long-gone are the days where tasteless fizzy lager makes you seem suave and sophisticated. That was way before most of us were born anyway. Real-ale is like wine. It’s time to sharpen-up and get educated to the delectable delights of the yeasty beverage served in all the best venues.
So you’re a student, and you’re not particularly concerned about appearing ‘suave and sophisticated.’ For many students the cheapest will do. Anything that’ll get you ‘twatted’. An attitude that’s spawned hundreds of bars where the house-red is a pint of snakebite and black. Fine, if that’s what float’s your boat (or has you hurling off the side of it).
Of course I wouldn’t be a very good food & drink writer if I didn’t look down upon this with a slightly snobby sense of disdain. So for the more discerning drinkers out there, or those just willing to give it a bit of a try, I present to you the world of real-ales.
“But I don’t like it” you might say. Rubbish. The world of real-ales is so diverse, there’s a beer for everyone’s palate. Hardened lager-drinkers will no-doubt enjoy a blonde (cue the jokes). Light, snappy beers with floral aromas and citrus tangs*. Red-wine lovers will fall for intense, malty stouts, with deep base-notes of toffee and banana**. And with thousands of brews in between, there really is a beer for everyone.
A venue like the Canal House, not far from Nottingham Train Station, is somewhere where you can indulge in beers like this. Backed by quality local brewery ‘Castle Rock’, they also stock a wide-range of speciality beers and lagers from all over the world (Belgian lambic fruit beers are good fun to try). They’re also the hosts of the SIBA national championships, the Oscars of the beer-world.
For those frightened of being lumped with a jar of silage having made an ill-informed decision, you’ll be in safe hands. Ask nicely and the bar-keep will be more than happy to let you sample the brews before you make your choice. And with a canal running right through the middle of the bar, you’ll be in an interesting spot to enjoy it when you do.
* Golden Champion 5% abv, Badger Brewery
** Old Tom 8.5% abv, Robinson’s
The Canal House: 48-52 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EH, 0115 955 5060, castlerockbrewery.co.uk
Originally written for Platform Magazine
