On the train back west after a BGBW committee meeting at the sinister headquarters of the BBPA in the open spaces of Vauxhall. As the Secretary of this illustrious organisation I’m the person who takes notes of the gnomic utterances of folk such as Zak Avery and Pete Brown, whom those in the blogworld will know as well as their own mother, as well as the ever cheerful Larry Nelson, who edits the invaluable Brewers’ Guardian, the dapper head of Cask Marque Paul Nunny, and the inscrutable Chairman Tim Hampson. However, this post isn’t about them, it’s about the plastic glass of Tribute that sashays about on the drop-down desk (what else could I call it) in the seat next to me. It’s from a can and is absolutely delicious (and I have matched it with a bag of cheese and onion crisps, which is a match that Garrett Oliver will be not celebrating any day soon). Having enjoyed a canned Steam Engine lager (though Stan Hieronymous tells me he’d had a duff one at their brewpub recently), I’m willing to give decent beers like Tribute a go when they come in a can. This is lovely — floral, aromatic spring cut flowers leavened by a light undercurrent of soft caramel, it helps to put up a sunny wall against the darkness outside. I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between this and a bottled version, though draught might be more of a challenge. More please. How about Proper Job in a can? In the words of the Marxist historian (whose work and utterings were the bane of my first year in college) Christopher Hill, the world is turned upside down. First, canned beer is good, whatever next? Oh I know the pre-meeting pint of Young’s Bitter in the Riverside at Vauxhall had a mouth-zapping, palate snapping bitterness that I don’t recall in the Wandsworth model, and I loved it. The world’s gone mad.
I find many canned versions of "decent" beers are deliberately given less carbonation than the bottled equivalents in a misguided attempt to emulate the draught product, and end up just seeming a bit flat and lifeless.
ReplyDeleteI really do fail to see the problem with cans, especially given that can have a coating which prevents contact with the metal. I wonder who will be the first brewer to can their beer in single pint size casks as a gimmick? Although I don't see a problem with cans, I do prefer bottles - mainly because I can re-use most of them for my homebrew.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought I was the only one mad enough to wax lyrical about serious beer and crisps matching. :o)
ReplyDeleteMy favourite combination is sweet paprika crisps (one of the basic flavours 'round these parts) with Schlenkerla Märzen.
Curmudgeon — given the excess carbonation some bottled beers have especially those emanating from the Marstons stable have I would be glad of something a little less jarring in the mouth, but the main thrust of this is that on a train I can have a decent beer.
ReplyDeleteVelky — I think it was Cains who used to put on eof their beers in a pint can, but not sure what it was like.
Laurent — I would have thought smoky bacon a better combo…
It's interesting that it is becoming more popular with US craft brewers.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough ATJ I wrote half a post about this but am waiting until I've done some blind tastings to see if my theory is correct about people's perceptions of canned beer.
ReplyDeleteI also believe, although will know more after today, that there is different technology used here and in the US for the beer cans, but I could be talking bobbins!
More will be revealed soon but in principle I'm behind more canning for the craft brewing movement.
Melissa don’t wait too long, best do the tasting in the field (ie trains) where decent bottle beer is hard to come by — also despite enjoying some canned beer, I still find its aesthetics a bit of a hurdle, taking me back to a callow youth with a hairy hand around a can of Hofmeister.
ReplyDeleteOh and don’t be late for Zak… ;-)
Beer and crisps. That's my sort of pairing. I wonder what goes best with salt and vinegar?
ReplyDeleteRon
ReplyDeleteCantillon Cru Bruxelles mayhap? Might try it over the weekend.
Interestingly, my local general store had some 500ml cans of Deuchars IPA for a bargain 99p each or £3.50 for 4. The beer has "normal" carbonation, as opposed to the soft "draught" carbonation - although not too excessive - and to my mind is indistinguishable from the bottled version. I still prefer Caley 80/-, though.
ReplyDeleteI think you can often tell the difference between beer out of a bottle and beer out of a can, the beer from the can usually tastes better. Its far less likely to be oxidized, and is certainly not going to be light struck.
ReplyDeleteThe marketing aspect (here the public associates canned beer with cheap and mass produced) and the difficulty in small brewers being able to afford canning lines are the only downsides I can see.
Although obviously something that could never be done under the auspices of CAMRA, it would be interesting to see a present-day bottle vs can blind tasting, to find out:
ReplyDelete(a) whether people could tell the bottled and canned beers apart, and
(b) which they thought were better