Free Who?

There's breaking news today that the Freeminer Brewery, located at Cinderford in the Forest Of Dean, is about to change hands.

Many beer lovers around the UK beer scene will know their larger-than-life head brewer Don 'Demon Brewer' Burgess, but might have wondered where his beer was. The answer, these days, seems to be mostly in Cooperative stores, but it's less than a decade since he was winning plaudits for Trafalgar IPA and, my favourite, Deep Shaft Stout, a bottle-conditioned beer that stood several years of ageing. I left my first bottle for over 4 years, and Don had been known to stash the odd case to see what happens. I had a 10 year-old back in 2009, and it was superb.

Don Burgess - Half Man, Half Badger

Don was interviewed by Roger Protz some years back after Freeminer won the business to brew Co-op's ethical bottled beers, while a year or so back, if you'd bought a bottle of Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Ginger Beer, that tiny signature on the label was his. But of Freeminer beers, there has been little sign.

However, with new ownership, I hear that there should be a new lease of life for the brand. Deep Shaft Stout will hopefully be making a welcome comeback, and I'd be interested to see where Trafalgar sits on the spectrum of hoppy golden pale ales. I wonder if Don will update the recipe? There's also whispers of a collaboration with one of our larger brewers.

I think that's good news for Freeminer, and good news for UK brewing. I think the scene will be more lively with Burgess and Freeminer back in it with serious presence.

Crafty

 So you go along the Brixton Road until you reach the market on Station Road. When I was a kid, we'd come along to the stall which bought old Marvel Comix, while another guy sold punk records. Twenty years ago, I played football at Brixton Rec. Now Brixton has Craft.

Finishing touches were being applied as I lurked outside in the pavement seating area. Station Road was buzzing even though the market was closing. I saw my neighbour and her daughter heading up to the Rec for swimming while I sipped a Dark Star Kiwi in autumn sunshine.

London CAMRA stalwart John Cryne is also waiting for a look inside. Pints downed, Martin and Peter give the sign, and we can go in. Huge neon sign dominates the left-hand wall. The bar space is constrained by the room layout, but they've been clever. Fridges are topped with a copper counter, ten beer engines fixed to the backside. A pipeline takes the Kraft Keg up and over your head. There's 20 taps up there, your server stretching up to pour your beer.

Peter Hates Camera, Camera Loves Emma

The floors are bare boards, the tables and chairs a peculiar pick 'n' mix. A narrow staircase has loos on a half landing and if you don't wnat passers-by watching you sup downstairs, a quiet upstairs room with a retro feel, like dominos or card games should be going on. Sepia felt right when I snapped it.

If you're eating, it's pork pies and scotch eggs, but there's the revived Brixton Arcade about five minutes away, with some of the best street food in London.

Craft aren't accepting Brixton Pounds right now, but they're looking into it. That would feel right. The Crown & Anchor (sister to The Jolly Butchers) is ten minutes along Brixton Road towards The Oval. Jump on a 133, 415 or 333 bus, and 15 minutes away towards the Elephant & Castle, will be The Mansion House, Oakham's first London pub.


South London has been overlooked for good beer for too long, but now that's all changing.

The Craftening

I was supping a pint of Dark Star APA in The Harp on Chandos Place last Saturday (September 1st), when legendary landlady Binnie Walsh asked about that Craft Beer. I declared myself generally in favour, and she agreed, saying she was putting in some extra keg fonts just for craft keg. She's been researching, and yesterday Phase One saw bottles of Kernel beers taking their place in the fridges.

That sound of wailing and the gnashing of teeth you may hear emanates from some local CAMRA types who have implored Binnie not to install fonts for The New Keg. None of the nine beer engines is coming out, so I don't see what the problem is. It'll just be one more good reason to drink at The Harp. It also makes business sense at a time when pubs are still closing at a rate of a dozen a week. Good pubs don't get complacent or rest on their laurels, and with Craft Beer Co opening two more London bars and craft beer popping up at other pubs and bars around the city, it seems there's still a growing market.

Yesterday a pleasant couple from Brooklyn in New York pitched up at The Harp. The male, Bill, seemed pretty well-informed about Dark Star beers, including APA's recent bronze medal at GBBF. He ought to be, as our mutual friend is Alex Hall. This 'nexus of weirdness' stuff usually happens to me at Cask. The World Of Beer Is Smaller Than We Think.