Toothpaste Adverts and Mass Murder

I had some terrific feedback from Hayle Bay Honey. One landlady said it’s the best beer she has ever sold. Before you quip that she only opened in September, she has been in the trade for 16 years. Another couple of pubs sold out in an evening. Not everyone liked it. The (bar)steward of a very westerly club called in to tell me it was sh1te. I’m glad he took time to provide the constructive feedback and I’m sure he understood and valued what I was trying to achieve.

With “edgy” artistic endeavours you will always get polar views.  When my band Snot Trof used to play gigs you inevitably ended up with sparsely populated venues but those who were beating each other senseless on the dance floor were in audio heaven. Apart from that 12^th Birthday party at TGI Fridays that was.   

WIGIG 2 which was eventually renamed as Triple A (AAA or Anglo, American Ardennes ) has gone in days. I’ve just been down to the cellar to steal some and there’s none there. It will now be on bars or in cellars so you should find some if you drink in brilliant pubs. I’ll send anyone (Sharp's Brewery staff and friends excluded) who can guess why the original name of BEARS was dismissed, a case of beer.

This brings me on to the next WIGIG, Project Wheatcore. It is a collaboration between James(z) from Camden Brewery and I. We are setting out to brew the ultimate wheat. We are borrowing from Germany, Belgium and the UK to get a wheat beer which gets the best from the grains but really showcases my favourite yeast in the whole world ever, the Belgian Wit. It’s juicy, fruity and refreshing but still allows the other great ingredients to show off their olfactory moves.

The grist will be wheat malt, pale ale malt (Concerto) and low colour cara. We are using malted wheat because just to add more difficulty to the challenge, we are attempting to achieve a clear beer in cask using only finings. Hops will be Hallertauer Northern Brewer in the kettle with Cascade and Aurora in the hop back. Dry hops of a yet-to-be-decided sexshy variety will added if we don’t get the weight of hop in the beer we are after. We are leaving it un-spiced allowing the yeast to paint pictures of spices in the mind of the consumer.

To make this beer extra special the plan is to brew it live in front of a Dutch hardcore DJ playing a full set in the brewhouse. If we get it right you should be able to taste every one of the beats in the flavour of the beer. 

I also have another potential WIGIG in FV. It’s 100% Citra-hopped amber ale. Can’t decide if it’s a keeper for bottle or will work as a WIGIG. Plenty of time to decide…