Speaking of St Austell Brewery (as I was earlier today) they’re currently running a competition that’s right up this blog’s street; combining folk music and real ale in a bid to get more people singing in their local pub.

The contest is called Tribute Act (we saw promotional beer mats all over the place when we were in the South West last week) and prize details are as follows:

“Winner of the first prize for best video gets an exclusive performance by the world-famous Port Isaac Fisherman’s Friends in their own local. We’ll also be giving away lots of St Austell and Fisherman’s Friends goodies along the way; but you’ve got to be in it to win it.”

If you’re wondering who the Fisherman’s Friends are, they’re a group of Cornish fishermen turned shanty-singers, who sound rather marvellous and a lot like this:

To enter the competition, St Austell are asking people to submit “videos of themselves and their colleagues, family or friends performing their version of the traditional Cornish pub song ‘Little Eyes’.”

…which goes something like this:

Full entry details can be found at www.tributeale.co.uk/tributeact and the winner will be announced in October. I’ll try to remember to post up the video when it appears on YouTube.

When I got back from holiday and switched on my PC on Monday, I found an email in my inbox from Harriet at St Austell Brewery, which included words to the effect of “I’d like to send you one of everything we brew, have you got an address?”

Blimey, there was an offer I wasn’t going to turn down in a hurry. And blimey, Harriet was quick off the mark, as the following big box of beers arrived by next day delivery:

So, that would be one each of Proper Job IPA, Admiral’s Ale, Korev Cornish lager, Clouded Yellow wheat beer, Trelawny ale, Smuggler’s Vintage Ale, Tribute, Cornish Bock, HSD Strong Ale and Proper Black IPA. More information on most of these at St Austell’s Bottled Beers page and you can buy anything you like the look of from the St Austell Brewery online shop.

Me, I shall be letting those rest up for a few days and then will start sampling my way through. Probably starting with the Smuggler’s and Proper Black (both of which I’ve enjoyed before now, but are in clear bottles so at more risk of becoming light-struck over time) and then most likely moving on to some of the ones I’d actually not even heard of before the box arrived: Trelawny (a relatively new one), Cornish Bock, Korev, and HSD.

More detailed tasting notes to follow, but in the meantime: cheers and many thanks again to Harriet and everyone down at the brewery!

If there are any other breweries out there who feel the urge to ply me with samples, please do drop me a line at any time via the details on the contact page…

Brewery: St Austell
Location: St Austell, Cornwall, England
ABV: 5.0%
Version: 500ml bottle

Founded in 1851 St Austell Brewery Company Limited, to give its full name, is more than just a brewery, it’s a major employer in the south-east region of England, with over 1000 employees, annual turnover exceeding £90 million, and 169 pubs and hotels, 25 of which are run by company employees and the rest by tenants. They produce 9 beers, selling over 45000 barrels of them each year, none of which are lagers, and between them have notched up 50 awards.

Admiral’s Ale was launched in 2005 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lord Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, and picked up the Supreme Champion award at the 2008 International Beer Challenge, which apparently makes it the World’s Best Bottled Beer. It’s a lovely dark bronze colour, with a reddish glow when held up to the light, and gives off a floral, fruity aroma with a hint of malt.  The flavour is quite malty, biscuity with some fruit notes, backed up with hints of caramel and raisins, and just a touch of bitterness. Nicely balanced, it’s a very smooth ale with a slightly dry biscuity finish, understated and very pleasant. By no means the best bottled beer I’ve had but it’s a lovely drop and I’d certainly get it again.

[DT:] Ladies and gents, it gives me very great pleasure indeed to present BlogoBeer.com’s very first Guest Post. The author of the following piece is none other than Mr Tim Lebbon, one of the UK’s best-loved and most prolific modern horror and dark fantasy writers. He’s the author of recent novels including Dusk, Dawn, The Everlasting, Fallen, Mind the Gap (with Christopher Golden) – and many, many more besides, see his website at www.timlebbon.net for details – as well as the winner of multiple awards for his fiction and a thoroughly good bloke to boot.

Tim and I were e-chatting a couple of weeks ago and he happened to mention a forthcoming trip to Cornwall, during which he was planning to make a point of sampling a few local beers. I asked if he’d be interested in writing a guest post for us, Tim said he was up for it (I said “Huzzah!”) and so, without any further ado, here we go:

Beheaded at the Polperro Beer Festival, by Tim Lebbon

Sometimes, I don’t think my wife believes me. Let’s face it, we booked that weekend in Cornwall at the beginning of the year, and it was only a week before we were due to leave that a friend told me that the Polperro Beer Festival was on at the same time (3rd – 5th October). Once we arrived at our caravan site and her suspicions faded away, we popped along with the two kids for a couple of hours trying out some of Devon’s and Cornwall’s finest (I was doing the trying, not the kids). It would have been rude not to.

The Old Mill House in Polperro is a proper pub. The atmosphere is very friendly, locals sit at the bar with their lazy dogs, the staff are welcoming and very cheery, old pub games hang on the walls or sit around on little tables, and there’s a cat sleeping on the bar. “It’s a real one!” my 5 year old son merrily confided in me as he poked it in the head. It was indeed.

The theme of the festival this year was ‘Beer Less Travelled’ – in an admirable effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the event, all the beers were from local breweries. There were twenty-nine ales on offer, ranging from light session beers to several stouts and porters. My kids didn’t fancy a pint, and my wife isn’t a fan (I know … I know …), so I ordered food for the hooligans and a prawn curry for Tracey, and went about trying a few for myself.

I headed straight in with a pint of Black Prince from St Austell Brewery. I’m a big fan of dark ales – Hobgoblin and Theakston’s Old Peculier are two particular faves – so Black Prince was an absolute delight. Deep and dark when it was poured, a rich nutty nose, and it went down a treat, leaving a surprisingly full-bodied fruity taste afterwards. A gentle 4.0% volume, it tasted stronger, very rich in body and feel. I’d have happily had a couple more … if there weren’t twenty-eight other ales on offer.

So next I plumped for Organic Brewhouse‘s Serpentine. Not as heavy as the Black Prince, this was a deep ruby colour, quite tangy (a bit too tangy for me, I think), and though it was 4.5%, there was something lacking. Perhaps going for a lighter pint after Black Prince was a mistake, but this one didn’t quite do it for me.

The kids were almost finished with their meals now, and Tracey’s prawn korma was reduced to a single sad bugger swimming around in what was left of the sauce. Startled, I took a closer look, but the ripples were merely caused by my son kicking the table. “I’m bored!” he said, so I offered him a swig of Serpentine. Bless him, he quite enjoyed it. Fighting the temptation to ensure a good night’s sleep for us all, I finished the drink myself, and then went up to peruse the menu of ales.

The pub has a perfect set-up for an ale festival, with the barrels stacked nicely in a marquee that connects through a set of French doors into the rear of the pub. So those not indulging in the festival ales (and it’s a very reasonable £3.00 entry, which includes a commemorative glass and a programme) can sit at the bar and enjoy the still-impressive selection of beers available as standard. But I didn’t want that – oh no – not with twenty-seven other brews to choose from.

I guessed this would be my last pint. Sadly, with a tear in my eye and a flutter of excitement – or was that trepidation? – I ordered a glass of the festival’s winning ale, Beheaded, from Keltek Brewery. I say trepidation, because this was noted as a 7.6% ale … and I have to say, every hint of that was there in the taste. Gorgeous. A beautiful deep golden colour, and sweet to the taste, though not cloyingly so. Its power was obvious, but the brewers were patently not simply out to produce an ale of almost apocalyptic strength – they have taken great care to ensure that taste is still present. The name is apt, as I’m sure that after three pints of this you’d feel as if you’d been beheaded and shown your own backside.

I waved a fond farewell to the Old Mill House and all those lovely ales, and promptly went and spent £40 on a leather fedora-like hat. My kids think it makes me look like Indiana Jones (but without the diamond stud earring and bank balance, eh Harrison?), and though I purchased it whilst in the cosy fuzz of real ale squiffyness, at last nearing the age of 40 I believe I’ve found a hat that suits me. “Since when have you been a cowboy?” some kid in my village asked recently. I asked him when was the last time he’d played baseball.

And it’s all thanks to the Polperro Beer Festival.

There are already plans afoot to attend next year as well, but this time for a full weekend, not just a flying visit (live music in the evenings, too, which is also a big draw). I’d thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a fabulous place to stay. Polperro is one of our favourite places in the world, and that love has just been boosted ten-fold. It has many comfortable hotels and bed and breakfasts (including the Old Mill House itself … sleeping above a real ale festival … there is a Heaven after all), and some excellent places to eat.

Also, pasties. Need I say more?

On our long weekend away I also tried several more local brews in bottle form … but that’s a story for another time, and another hat.

In a fit of what appears to be sheer optimism (judging by the forecast for the weekend, at least), The Independent ran an article on Monday that featured Roger Protz’s ‘Ten Best Summer Beers’:

• Adnams East Green
• Fuller’s Organic Honey Dew
• Meantime IPA
• Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay
• Budweiser Budvar
• Duvel
• St Austell Clouded Yellow
• Young’s Kew Gold
• Brakspear Oxford Gold
• Goose Island IPA

I posted tasting notes on the Adnams East Green yesterday and the Kew Gold back at the end of June. I’ve got the Fuller’s Organic Honey Dew lined up next. Tried the Whitstable Bay and Oxford Gold a while back, but I’d need to re-visit before I could comment.

As for the others: Budvar is one of the better-flavoured commercial lagers out there, the Meantime IPA is on sale in our local Tesco’s and Duvel is available pretty much anywhere, so shouldn’t be too hard to track down. The Clouded Yellow I can’t drink (it’s a wheat beer and I have an Intolerance, or an allergy, or something – whatever, wheat is evil and makes me feel like crap after consuming it) and Goose Island is apparently only available in cases of 24 from T’Internets. Hmm.