Old Thumper in the USA

My apologies.

I know it's been a long time since I blogged on 'Truffles', but there have been other calls on my time. I also know that The Hogget has an updated wine list, the result of much arduous work Vicki, Tom and I put in at the annual Bibendum wine tasting earlier in the year! But that will have to wait for another post, because however much I love wine, my first love (in the alcoholic beverage sense of course) was beer, and it's beer we'll be concentrating on today.

I miss 'The Hogget', I miss especially those laconic, halcyon spring and autumn lunchtimes drinking a pint or two of Ringwood Best with the regulars. Now owned by Marstons Brewery, Ringwood was founded in 1978 by the pioneering Peter Austin, widely regarded as a founding father of the British micro-brewing industry, and inventor of the Brick Kettle brew system featuring traditional open-top fermentation (with patented Ringwood yeast). But what I hadn't appreciated, up until Monday night that is, was that at least one of Ringwood's ales is brewed and sold in the US!

So, what's this about Monday night I hear you asking.

Lynda and I had driven across the San Mateo bridge to meet a colleague of hers at his hotel in Redwood City, home to the mighty Oracle Corporation on Redwood Shores. Lynda had done some research on Zagat, and we hit upon the 'Old Port Lobster Shack' for dinner. Outside, the Shack looks like any other US small town retail outlet, but inside, well, you could believe you were in any small seaside town beach cafe. We ordered chowder, lobster and blackened salmon and a bottle of Viognier (from the Clautiere winery in Paso Robles), and settled down to eat, drink and discuss matters of import. It was while discussing Cisco's use of the Oracle Project system, who has the most conference calls, and the daring 'shag, marry, jump of a cliff' game, that I espied an outsize version of an Old Thumper pump clip on the wall. I went over to the waitress who kindly poured me a sample. It's a keg beer, and came with a nice, tight, northern head, and slipped down in a creamy, malty, smokey gulp. Ahhhh! Some research on t'Interweb thingy led me to Alan Pugsley who, having worked at Ringwood in the early days, and being mentored by Peter Austin, crossed the Atlantic and eventually set up his own Shipyard Brewery in Portland, Maine, where he brews Old Thumper under license, and yes, using the aforementioned Brick Kettle brew system. He brews other beers of course, but Old Thumper is a the one closest to a British, or perhaps I should say, Scottish beer, and is available across the Northern American continent. Hooray I say!

I also say 'Hooray' for another Scottish beer, although this is brewed for the American market, but brewed, I believe, in its home town of Dunbar. I speak of course, of Belhaven and in particular Belhaven Scottish Ale.

You see, my local, The Hopyard in Pleasanton, has been serving Belhaven Scottish Ale since at least 1997, and I must say, a most beautiful glass it is. Exhibiting the same creamy, smoky and malty taste as Old Thumper. But, and here's the best, it's only 2 miles from our apartment! For the more curious readers, here are the tasting notes from the Beer Me! website when Belhaven Scottish Ale made its first appearance in Pleasanton.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2168)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Copper-brown, clear, nice head. Smoky-earthy aroma. Smooth, sweet, lots of smoke. Finishes sweet and smoky. The prototypical Scottish Ale.

So although keg does reign supreme in the US, you can avail yourselves of most types of beer and ale in the American colonies, and only the most fussy and inward-looking of individuals will turn their nose up at the choice.

Until next time, Cheers!