Crown Brewery Pt 1: Django Reinhardt Damson Double Porter

One of the things about doing what I do (and although I realise this leaves me open to abuse of all kinds, if anyone can describe what it is that I do, in a way concise enough for a business card, I'd love to hear it) is that it is usually interesting, always varied, and every now again, really good fun.

I met Stuart Ross, brewer of the Crown Brewery, at the Great British Beer Festival last year (2009). We ended up spending most of the day wandering around the festival together, drinking beer and engaging in that great beer festival tradition, talking nonsense.

Stuart asked if I'd be interested in doing a brew with him, and we settled on doing something seasonal with an unusual ingredient. We settled on a damson porter, adding 10lbs of damsons to the copper. They gave a bit more fermentable sugar, and added a deep fruity note to the finished beer. You can read Stuart's account of the brew day on his blog (I'm sure it was 10lbs of damsons, not the 20lbs he claims, but hey, I'm not the brewer).

One of the things that I enjoyed about brewing a one-off special with Stuart was his willingness to make things up as we went along - I'm hoping that this is the sign of a confident and experienced brewer rather than dreadful ditherer. All through the brew day, although we had a clear idea of what we were aiming for, Stuart was tweaking as we went along, cutting sparge and collection a bit short to increase the OG of the wort, and only deciding at the last minute to ferment with a Belgian-style yeast strain, rather than a British one. That's why it's a damson double (i.e. "dubbel") porter.

The finished beer is pretty damn good, even if I do say so myself. The sweet fruitiness of the damsons is evident on the nose and the palate, with the darker malts giving a roasted, slightly smoky note. The slightly funky earthiness of the Belgian yeast contributes significantly to the aroma and flavour - it would be interesting to do the brew again, and ferment with a more neutral yeast strain. Shall we set a date now, Stu?

In summary, the Crown Brewery rocks, and is hopefully set for great things in 2010. But don't just take my word for it. That bloke Pete Brown (by which I mean the British Guild of Beer Writers' Writer of the Year 2009) rates Stuart as his second favourite brewer of the year, just behind John Keeling. And there's no shame in coming second to the man Keeling.

Coming up soon in part 2: Crown Brewery India Pale Ale and that bloke Pete Brown.

De Dolle Brouwers Stille Nacht 2008

Inspired by this post by Andy at Beer Reviews, I cracked open a bottle of Stille Nacht 2008 last night as a nightcap. I know - a magnum of La Chouffe and a bottle of Stille Nacht all in one day. I did actually share the La Chouffe, but still - don't tell the government.

It seems a bit perverse to pick on a beer recommended by a brewer, as opposed to one of Mikkel Borg Bjergso's own creations. In fact, coincidentally, the good lady and I shared some of Mikkeller's Single Hop series the other evening, courtesy of beermerchants.com (in fact, for the sake of transparency, I'll mention they were a gift). The Nelson Sauvin was the stand-out beer for us both, having just the right amont of sweet hop fruitiness (lots of passion fruit character) to offset the big, chewy bitterness. But when a man who brews beer that really rocks your world, and he cites Stille Nacht as a beer that he wishes he's brewed (and even says "oh yeah" about the 2008 vintage which he just drank), well, my interest was pricked.

Stille Nacht is De Dolle Brouwers' christmas beer. It's unusual for a seasonal winter beer in that it's quite pale, but also typical in that the alcohol is high (12% abv). It has a lot of dense, fruity malt (apricots and peaches), but the fruit is kept well in check with a big peppery hop character. There's a bit of cognac and alcohol burn in the finish. It's a big beer, very good as a nightcap (because you'll be wanting a nap shortly after finishing it).

It's a good beer, but for me, there is a little bit too much going on - all the elements are crammed in and holding a riot on the palate, rather than a nice synchronised line dance. I'm not one for hoarding or cellaring, but this definitely needs a couple of years to settle down. Then perhaps it will elicit a Barry-White-esque "oooh, yeah" from me too.