Brewery: Morrissey Fox
Location: Tickton, Beverley, England
ABV: 5.0%
Version: Bottled
Source: Tesco

Morrissey Fox Aussie IPA is really rather tasty. It’s a palatable, slightly sweet, distinctly malty, fresh-tasting, easy-drinking pale ale. But at only 5% ABV and with that much up-front malt and almost no hop-bite to the finish, it’s not really an India pale ale, is it? At least, not in the sense that the style is currently understood: big, hoppy, sharp, dry to the point of ascerbic and noticeably stronger than the vast majority of most session bitters. Or – having read Pete Brown‘s Hops and Glory – in the sense the style used to be understood, back in its C18th-C19th heyday: rich and smooth, with a much more mellow hop-profile – as a result of several months of secondary fermentation and maturation in the cask en-route to India via the South African Cape – but still packing that serious alcohol-punch.

The over-use and abuse of the IPA label has provoked debate and discussion around the beerblogosphere a few times already (see posts by Mark Dredge and Zak Avery for interesting examples) and whilst I don’t really want to kick off another round of “what the hell is an IPA”, I have to admit that it does bother me. Why? For the same reason that I don’t think you should label a bottle of claret as ‘port’, or a box of Assam tea as ‘Earl Grey’: it’s just wrong. I think the wording on the label should accurately reflect the style of the beer in the bottle. If what the brewery puts in the bottle is a perfectly good pale ale, then why not call it ‘pale ale’ (or a ‘golden ale’ or ‘light ale’ if you have to be different) and have done with it? Why try to dress it up and pass it off as something it’s not?

Also, unless I missed a whole chapter of Hops and Glory, Australia doesn’t get much of a look-in, IPA-wise. Although having said that, in the relevant chapter of Amber, Gold & Black – Martyn ‘Zythophile‘ Cornell’s excellent and extremely detailed history of British beer styles – I discovered that there were actually some Australian brewers who produced their own take on India Pale Ale as far back as the 1870s. As far as I can tell, though, they were basing their IPAs on the original Burton IPAs, rather than developing a particularly distinctive, Aussie take on the style.

So have Mr Morrissey and Mr Fox combed the archives, seeking out rare combinations of malt and hops that were only ever used in nineteenth-century Australian breweries in an attempt to faithfully re-create a lost local version of the IPA? Or are they cashing in on the growing popularity of US and English ‘huge hop’ IPAs? Or do they think they’ve discovered another hybrid style (remember their televised proclamations of stylistic originality when they came up with their first ‘Blonde’ brew?) The blurb on the back label is no help at all – just some fairly inane waffle on the theme of “G’day Sports!” and “…a fruity finish to tempt the mildest sherry-supping Sheila” – and the relevant page on the Morrissey Fox website hasn’t been updated since they released the draught version last August.

All of which leaves me with the nasty suspicion that ‘Aussie IPA’ has come about through the dreaded ‘design-by-committee’ process. I could be completely wrong, of course, but to me it just smacks of focus-group thinking (“It’s pale, shall we call it an IPA?” | “Been done before.” | “What about Aussie IPA?” | “Ooh, ooh! Hats-with-corks!”) and if that’s the case, then I think it’s a bit of a shame, because here Morrissey Fox have come up with another refreshing, tasty, interesting beer with a great flavour profile; one that would go down really well at a barbecue (maybe that’s why they’ve gone for the ‘Aussie’ schtick?), or with a roast dinner, or pretty much any sort of traditional, savoury food. But how many people will actually take a chance on something as weird-sounding as ‘Aussie IPA’?

I bought a bottle because I’ve enjoyed Morrissey Fox’s other brews and wanted to try their new one. But what if I saw ‘Aussie IPA’ on a label from a brewery I’d never heard of? As a regular beer-buyer I’d probably assume they didn’t really know their beer styles, or were trying too hard to cover up a mediocre session bitter. Either way, I’d most likely give it a miss; always better things to spend my beer-money on. And if I wasn’t a real ale enthusiast? If I was a passing supermarket punter thinking of trying something a bit different to the usual? How tempted would I be to try something called “Aussie IPA”? Probably not very. ‘Aussie IPA’? Bit confusing. Think I’ll try a ‘Best Bitter’ instead. Or here’s one called ‘Pale Ale’, that sounds okay…

So, unless I am completely wrong about the whole thing and there’s actually a very genuine reason for calling it an ‘Aussie IPA’ – in which case, if anyone from Morrissey Fox (or their advertising agency?) happens to read this and can set me straight, please do feel free to leave a comment – I’ll conclude with: good beer, dumb name.

I’ve been rather lazy on the beer blogging front since getting back from Tenerife at the end of October, I know. That goes double for beerblogosphere link-harvesting, but I’ve finally pulled my finger out and pulled the latest batch of links-of-interest together. But this first post-holiday round-up of beer-related blog-posts is going to be a bit of a monster so why not crack open a bottle of your favourite ale while you settle in for a skim-read?

Oh, incidentally, the big buzz while I was away was obviously all around the launch of Brewdog’s Equity For Punks share scheme, but I’m hoping to round that one up in a separate post as there’s a tonne of material to digest and I think it rather deserves a stand-alone.

Right then, without further ado…

(more…)

Our local (Prestwich, Manchester) branch of Tesco has scored poor to middling for its bottled real ale section for some time, but I usually stroll down the appropriate aisle on the optimistic, but usually-disappointed, off-chance that they’ve managed to stock something interesting for a change.

So I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I wandered on by and discovered a scattering of ‘NEW!’ shelf-tags in the section. Pick of the bunch had to be two from Flying Dog, not only their pack-leading Classic Pale Ale but also one of their speciality brews: Gonzo Imperial Porter. At 8.7% I’m betting that one packs something of a wallop and I’m looking forward to trying it (£2.49 a bottle, by the way, and I think it was £1.69 for the Classic Pale).

I also picked up a bottle of Budweiser Budvar Dark Lager, on the grounds that there’s always room for another Czech dark lager in the beer cupboard. And then, crossing the aisle to the UK real ale in a bottle section, I spotted a few that were new to Tesco but that I’d either already sampled or seen in Sainsburys. Although the, up in the top-right corner, I spotted a few bottles of Morrissey Fox Brunette, so I grabbed one of those for sampling as well. The beer cupboard is once again full to over-flowing and there’s another consignment on the way from BrewDog as well. I know, I know, I really need to drink more…

But yeah, anyway, head on down to your local Tesco – you might be able to pick up something new and interesting. And speaking of supermarkets, have Sainsbury’s cancelled this year’s real ale competition / promotion or something? Not a sniff of it in our local branch, and I haven’t heard anything about it on my regular-read blogs, either. Anyone know what happened there?

Brewery: Morrissey Fox
Location: Marton cum Grafton, North Yorkshire, England
ABV: 4.2%
Version: Draught
Source: Doggett’s Coat and Badge, BlackFriars Bridge, London

I’ve been wondering what the Morrisey Fox chaps have been up to since the initial splurge of publicity for their new brewery venture died down after the first airing of the Morrissey’s Risky Business TV series. I know that they’d produced another couple of beers to add to their initial Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale offering (according to their not always bang-up-to-date website they’ve produced a bitter and a couple of seasonal ales) but I hadn’t managed to encounter any of them – they certainly hadn’t turned up alongside their elder sibling on the shelves of Tesco’s real-ale-in-a-bottle section.

So I was interested to hear (via The Publican‘s Managing Editor Daniel Pearce ‘s @DanielPearce Twitter feed) that a new promo-venture was in the offing. The result is Proud of Pubs Best Bitter, brewed by Morrissey Fox (or, rather, under license from Morrissey Fox by a much larger operation) and publicised by The Publican to help promote Proud of Pubs Week, which runs from July 11th to 19th this year. And when my boss and I headed across the river for a working lunch at Doggett’s Pub last week, there it was on draught. Had to be done.

Morrissey Fox Proud of Pubs turned out to be a golden-brown bitter that poured with a decent head (even with the darn-sarf absence of a sparkler, unless they’d snuck one on for this particular brew) and had a rich, malty flavour with alight caramel-sweetness. It was very tasty indeed, definitely good enough for me to go back for a second pint and, frankly, one with the makings of an excellent session beer. Worth trying, especially if one of Mitchells & Butlers’ Nicholson’s or Classics pubs happens to be near you. Or worth having a word with your local real-ale-friendly landlord to see if they can get a cask (keg?) or two in.

So it would seem that the Morrissey Fox blokes have cracked it again by produced a beer that’s highly drinkable and, backed by a decent promo campaign, should do rather well for itself this summer. I’m not sure, to be honest, if it it’s a stand-alone brew or a re-badge of their Brunette best bitter, but at the end of the day, that’s probably not all that important. Because if it tastes good and encourages a few more people to take some Pride in their local real ale Pub as a result, then that can’t really be a bad thing, can it?

I’ve been stocking up on a few tasty ales to sample over the course of this year’s season of goodwill (and, hopefully, good ale) to all and sundry.

Firstly, the BrewDog Paradox Longrow and Paradox Springbank that I ordered the other day arrived this afternoon, along with a couple of very handsome BrewDog pint glasses. So that means I’ll have no fewer than four bottles of head-fucking rocket fuel potentially delicious strong stout to try over the Xmas break, for a start. Which is nice.

Added to that, I’ve got a bottle of Innis & Gunn Triple Matured (which Ed sampled recently), plus one of Wychwood‘s Plum Duff, which apparently isn’t their seasonal beer for December 2008: they have one called Winter’s Troll (see what they did there?) instead, but I haven’t seen any on the shelves of my regular supermarket haunts.

Speaking of beers not being on the shelves, I went looking for Morrissey Fox‘s seasonal ale – or their Best Bitter, which is meant to be a bit tasty – in my local Tesco the other day, but all they had was the blonde ale as usual. (Quick aside: you’d think that, what with all the attention they’d been drumming up for themselves recently, the MoFo boys would have bothered to update their website with something other than the same crappy holding page by now, eh?) Neither have I been able to find any of the Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale 2008 (which Ed also sampled recently).

Anyhow, back to the cupboard. There are a couple more strong ales in there that I’ve been saving for a dreary December day: Greene King’s Abbot Reserve and Morland Old Crafty Hen (also brewed by Greene King, although when I tried to find some official info online, I ended up stuck on their bloody infuriating Old Speckled Hen website) both of which look like they ought to be able to warm my cockles in fairly short order, all being well.

And I’m planning on revisiting Meantime‘s Winter Time in the near future and hope to take a more detailed set of notes than on my first attempt. I will, of course, be letting you know how I get on…

Brewery: Morrissey Fox (or Morissey Fox, or Morrisey Fox… you choose)
Location: Marton cum Grafton, Yorkshire, England
ABV: 4.2%
Version: Bottled
Source: Tesco

Long Intro…

I’m sure everyone is well aware by now that actor Neil Morrissey and chef Richard Fox are currently starring in a TV micro-series – Neil Morrissey’s Risky Business – about the pair’s venture into micro-brewing and pub-owning, the first two episodes of which have aired on Channel 4 recently.

I had no idea that the beer was linked to a TV series when I picked it up in Tesco the other week. I bought it because it was just something new to try and maybe, just a little bit, because I once met Neil Morrissey at a bookstore event that I helped to run back in my book-selling days – he and Martin Clunes were promoting one of their Men Behaving Badly spin-offs and came along to do a live in-character interview and Q&A session, which I seem to remember resulted in a damn good night had by all.

I tried Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale last night and then watched the first episode of the series (courtesy of our Sky+ box) this morning. I thought the most interesting parts of the first episode were the segments in which the two intrepid micro-brewers sat down at a London marketing agency Antidote to discuss an advertising campaign that would catapult their product onto the supermarket shelves. Most probably because I work in marketing myself; beer plus marketing, best of both worlds.

Anyhow, the chap they were talking to (I think it was agency owner and M.D. Tim Ashton) was presented as the voice of sanity and reason amidst the wild, laddish enthusiasm of the other two. And the main point he kept coming back to was a rebuttal to Morrissey Fox’s mission statement – to present themselves as young, enthusiastic, passionate (and media-friendly) micro-brewers and by doing so convert a whole slew of lager drinkers into real ale quaffers instead – which could be summed up quite nicely with a pithy: “so what?”

As in: so, guys, you’ve bought a pub and a micro-brewery and made an initial batch of homebrew and tested it by giving freebies away in Harrogate and folks seemed to like it… but so what? What does Morrissey Fox have to offer that will make the venture stand head-and-shoulders above the hundreds of other micro-breweries with much better brewing credentials, above the 5,000 or so beer varieties currently produced in the UK, and above the huge amount of corporate competition for that all-important, coveted supermarket shelf-space?

To be fair the pair were quick to acknowledge that their main asset in their long run has to be the quality of their beer, the success or failure of which will be the main determinant of the overall success or failure of the entire project, long after the media-buzz (which has to have helped get their bottles on the shelves of Tesco, surely?) has died down again and they’re left with the serious business of actually running a pub and micro-brewery.

So they key question has to be: how does the beer itself shape up against other micro-brew products of a similar ilk? Is it just a case of a gimmick that plays on Morrissey’s celebrity status, or does it have a genuine strength of character that will enable it to stand on its own, without the additional media attention? You know, I’d really like to have been able to voice a resounding “yes!” at this point – if only because the show is very entertaining and I’ve learned quite a bit about brewing, just by watching the first episode and both Morrissey and Fox seem like good blokes and all. The thing is, though…

Actual Tasting Notes…

Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale is a 4.2% pale ale which, the label claims, lies “somewhere between a lager and an ale” brewed with a blend of “aromatic, fruity” hops and lager malts. And I suppose that, given the previously mentioned mission statement to convert lager drinkers to real ale, this makes a certain amount of sense. But the result is a beer with a bit of an identity-crisis which, given the decent amount of choice generally on offer in most supermarkets, isn’t going to help it get past the ‘curiosity-satisfying’ purchase stage and turn it into a staple cellar-filler. It’s pleasant enough. And as the vast majority of the taste-testers who were filmed said, it’s “not bad”. But then, it’s not “great” either. Nobody on the TV show said “wow!” when they tried it, and neither did I…

The first thing I noticed, on sniffing the bottle-neck, is a rather pungent aroma of… well, I wasn’t really sure what, but it was something not entirely pleasant. The beer poured a very light golden colour with a frothy white head and luckily the aroma settled down and became more recognisably beer-like in the process. First impression on tasting was of a definite effervescence, a malty, biscuity flavour, a hint of sourness, a hint of hoppiness. After that, things got a little… flat. It was beery, definitely, but lacked the outright mega-hop hit of a good IPA (and I’ve had a few big IPA’s recently, so they’re still fresh in my mind) leaving it languishing rather in bland summer ale territory; it reminded me a little of the Theakston’s Lightfoot Bitter I tried a while back (which is ironic, seeing as the pair seem to have rather fallen out with Paul Theakston). The hop notes did develop towards the end of the glass after it had been breathing a while, but overall I’m afraid I was left with a sense of… yeah, “not bad”. Nice enough, but… so what?

Further Thoughts…

I could hazard a guess (without having seen episodes 2 and 3 yet) that, in an attempt to make their debut brew palatable to those legions of pre-conversion lager-drinkers out there, they could’ve dumbed it down to make it (literally) easier to swallow. But in that case, I’m rather afraid they’ve probably dumbed it down to the point of depriving it of a distinct character, something to make it stand out from the rest of the real-ale crowd. Which could either be chalked up as a failure or a success, depending on your point of view. And I rather think that – given the intention to establish this one as a supermarket-regular, commercial brand rather than a characterful (but perhaps, more commercially limited) Real Ale – Mssrs Morrissey and Fox would actually prefer their first beer to be described as a lager-like summer beer that’s easy enough to drink but won’t leave you feeling like you’ve tried something too new, or too distinct.

Let’s not forget, as well, that this is just their first brew and they’ve already announced plans to release two new ones in the near future. So perhaps with their next batch, having established themselves as a presence on the shelves of Tesco with their Blonde Ale, they might actually go for something a little more interesting and challenging.

To summarise: I, personally, wasn’t hugely impressed with Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale, but then I don’t think I, or any of the other Blog o’ Beer guys, or anyone who might get around to reading these tasting notes, will be the intended audience. And I’m not going to write these guys off just yet. They might not be doing anything quite as interesting as the likes of Meantime or Brewdog or any one of hundreds of other well-established, small, independent and/or micro-breweries, or at least not just yet. But they are prepared to use Morrissey’s celebrity status, Fox’s reputation as a chef and the production budget of a Channel 4 documentary show to promote the cause of real ale and real ale drinking… and that alone seems worth supporting.

So I reckon that even if you only buy one bottle of Morrissey Fox, just to give it a go, and then never go back again, you should at least do that. I’ve had my one, and I probably won’t be having another Blonde Ale in a bottle, but if I find myself in Marton cum Grafton in the near future then I’ll definitely nip into the Olde Punch Bowl to try a pint of the draught version, and to see what sort of new additions they’ve made to the range.

The BBC website reported yesterday that UK beer sales are on the way down again – in pubs and off-licenses alike – to the tune of 7.2% year-on-year for July-September, according to figures from the British Beer and Pub Association.

The BBPA (or the BBC interpretation of the BBPA press release) was quick to blame the combined effects of the worsening economy and a 9% hike in duty on beer. I was surprised, though, that they didn’t make the rather obvious connection to the generally lousy weather we’ve had this “summer”. Surely that, coupled with the inability of any of the home nations’ football teams to qualify for the European Championship, would have had a fairly significant impact as well, no?

Anyhow, economic collapse and footballing ignominy aside, I’m happy to report that I’m still doing my bit, with a trip at the weekend to the (usually lamentably under-stocked) real ale section of the local Tesco which, to my surprise, resulted in the acquisition of no fewer than seven new (to me) interesting-looking bottled beers:

• Brewdog Punk IPA – recently reviewed and highly-rated over at The Beer Diary, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for this one.
• Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale – I actually had no idea when I picked this one up that it’s the subject of the new Channel 4 TV series Neil Morrissey’s Risky Business, which starts tonight. I’ll be watching that one via Sky+ later in the week.
• Williams Bros Midnight Sun – a rather interesting-looking porter from one of Ed & Joe’s favourite breweries (judging by the growing volume of their combined tasting notes to-date…)
• Farmer’s Harvest – a benefit ale for the NFU, but I’m not sure which brewery this is from as I couldn’t spot it anywhere on the bottle (or the NFU website).
• Jennings Golden Host – A premium ale from Cumbria.
• Orval – Belgian trappist ale; should be a good Autumn warmer.
• Pivovar Herold – Czech dark lager. One for the fridge.

There you go. Can’t say I’m not doing the best I can to help reverse that trend, eh?