Earlier in the week I made my annual pilgrimage to the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia.This is the same venue that in May hosted the London Wine Fair and the two events do share some features and yet are very different.
The LWF is a trade only event, that is free to visit for those who have a strong enough link to the business of wine to qualify, whereas the GBBF is open to anyone with £10 to spend. (£8 if you, like me, are a CAMRA member.) Once through the doors at the LWF producers are keen to share their wines and provide samples to anyone holding a glass (which they will find for you if you have left yours in a safe place). At the GBBF the visitor can buy or rent a glass and then fill it with beer samples (buy only) in three sizes, a third, a half or a full pint. One noticeable difference is that there are no spittoons provided at 'Britain's Biggest Pub'. Maybe because the event is aimed at the consumer rather than the trade or, more likely, because no-one is expected to spit out a sample they have paid for. Conversely, there were no pork scratchings or 20" bratwurst at the Wine Fair.
The greatest similarity that struck me as I swirled, sniffed, sipped and swallowed a range of milds, bitters, porters and others at a leisurely pace, was the huge variety of styles on offer and the efforts the producers need to make if they wish their output to fare well in comparison to all of their available competitors. It seems that tasting notes are now as commonplace in the world of beer as they have been for a long time in the world of wine. That and the awarding of medals. Is this a short cut to help those to whom all notes sound the same? Maybe, as the awarding of the title of 'Champion Beer of Britain' to Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker generated an impressive queue to the corner of stand B18, where it could be tasted. The long queue appeared to me to be made up of people who looked like they had put lots of effort into understanding beer, and will doubtless have their own favourites, yet they still want to know what the judges say 'excellent' tastes like.
I have yet to progress beyond the rank of 'associate judge' at any competition, but an example of what I think tastes excellent is:
Week Y (2014) is Yalumba Organic Viognier 2012. £9.49 Waitrose.
Any followers of my game (see 52 Weeks : 52 Wines) will notice I have again bent the rules and selected this week's wine not on grape variety, but by the producer. Yalumba hold the claim to being Australia's oldest family-run winery, having started producing wines in 1849. Their excellent website says 'we planted vines which grew into a family tree'. Their marketeers should be pleased to hear that I rather like that. The originator of this family tree was an English brewer named Samuel Smith (no, not that one, this one came from Dorset) so it seems my visits to Olympia have one more connection.
Yalumba produce a great variety of wines and that allowed me to select one of my favourite grape varieties; Viognier. The variety is known best, historically, as the premier white grape grown in the Northern Rhone valley and used to produce the whites of Condrieu and, as a minor blending partner, Cote Rotie and other great reds from the region.
This wine is fresh, intensely flavoured and full-bodied. It has 13.5% abv and almost no residual sugar (0.5g/l) so it is bone dry, but the combination of the fruits and possibly influenced by the high alcohol content it still has a perceived sweetness. The flavours are of warm stone fruits, with floral tones and a gentle spicy kick. It has a long and pleasing finish, leaving an apricot and light honey flavour as it fades away calling to be tasted again. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
My opinion is that this is very good value for money and that I will buy this again. A much more compelling endorsement is offered by The One's mother who, at the age of 94 and claiming that the years have robbed her of the ability to taste anything, is still very capable of spotting a good thing when it passes her way. 'This is nice', she said, so I must be right.
The LWF is a trade only event, that is free to visit for those who have a strong enough link to the business of wine to qualify, whereas the GBBF is open to anyone with £10 to spend. (£8 if you, like me, are a CAMRA member.) Once through the doors at the LWF producers are keen to share their wines and provide samples to anyone holding a glass (which they will find for you if you have left yours in a safe place). At the GBBF the visitor can buy or rent a glass and then fill it with beer samples (buy only) in three sizes, a third, a half or a full pint. One noticeable difference is that there are no spittoons provided at 'Britain's Biggest Pub'. Maybe because the event is aimed at the consumer rather than the trade or, more likely, because no-one is expected to spit out a sample they have paid for. Conversely, there were no pork scratchings or 20" bratwurst at the Wine Fair.
The greatest similarity that struck me as I swirled, sniffed, sipped and swallowed a range of milds, bitters, porters and others at a leisurely pace, was the huge variety of styles on offer and the efforts the producers need to make if they wish their output to fare well in comparison to all of their available competitors. It seems that tasting notes are now as commonplace in the world of beer as they have been for a long time in the world of wine. That and the awarding of medals. Is this a short cut to help those to whom all notes sound the same? Maybe, as the awarding of the title of 'Champion Beer of Britain' to Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker generated an impressive queue to the corner of stand B18, where it could be tasted. The long queue appeared to me to be made up of people who looked like they had put lots of effort into understanding beer, and will doubtless have their own favourites, yet they still want to know what the judges say 'excellent' tastes like.
I have yet to progress beyond the rank of 'associate judge' at any competition, but an example of what I think tastes excellent is:
Any followers of my game (see 52 Weeks : 52 Wines) will notice I have again bent the rules and selected this week's wine not on grape variety, but by the producer. Yalumba hold the claim to being Australia's oldest family-run winery, having started producing wines in 1849. Their excellent website says 'we planted vines which grew into a family tree'. Their marketeers should be pleased to hear that I rather like that. The originator of this family tree was an English brewer named Samuel Smith (no, not that one, this one came from Dorset) so it seems my visits to Olympia have one more connection.
Yalumba produce a great variety of wines and that allowed me to select one of my favourite grape varieties; Viognier. The variety is known best, historically, as the premier white grape grown in the Northern Rhone valley and used to produce the whites of Condrieu and, as a minor blending partner, Cote Rotie and other great reds from the region.
This wine is fresh, intensely flavoured and full-bodied. It has 13.5% abv and almost no residual sugar (0.5g/l) so it is bone dry, but the combination of the fruits and possibly influenced by the high alcohol content it still has a perceived sweetness. The flavours are of warm stone fruits, with floral tones and a gentle spicy kick. It has a long and pleasing finish, leaving an apricot and light honey flavour as it fades away calling to be tasted again. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
My opinion is that this is very good value for money and that I will buy this again. A much more compelling endorsement is offered by The One's mother who, at the age of 94 and claiming that the years have robbed her of the ability to taste anything, is still very capable of spotting a good thing when it passes her way. 'This is nice', she said, so I must be right.
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