A letter to the editor of The Times from Jonathan Neame - published 23rd February 2012

Sir, Following Alastair Campbell’s thought-provoking Panorama programme, Britain’s Hidden Alcoholics, and your own recent coverage, one thing is clear. Neither minimum pricing of alcohol nor higher excise duty, as advocated by many, will deter the small minority of better-off drinkers who drink to dangerous excess.

What is clear is that the path to a healthier society and less alcohol abuse lies in policies that actively support beer (as the drink with the least alcohol) and pubs (a controlled drinking environment).

However, beer tax has increased by 52 per cent since 2004 for a miserable 10 per cent increase in revenue. This has resulted in 8,000 pubs closing, investment falling to one third that in 2000 and substantial job losses - this in a sector in which 50 per cent of employees are under 25 and where a huge numbers of jobs could be created quickly in a more benign environment.

While beer and pubs have been actively undermined, vodka and cider have become cheaper per unit of alcohol - and hospital admissions have increased substantially as a result of the relative attractions of staying at home to drink or "pre-loading" before going out. 

Hopefully, the Prime Minister will announce an alcohol strategy that takes us back to an era of controlled drinking in pubs. This is in the social, cultural, health and economic interests of this country.

He can start by cutting the tax on beer in the next budget.

JONATHAN NEAME

Chief Executive, Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent

Last night I was challenged to attend a blind vertical wine tasting where we sampled 5 vintages of Chateau d’Angludet ranging from a 1997 vintage to a young 2005 that is still maturing, to see how the wine developed with time or which year gave the best flavours.

Why me? – Well I think there was an element of intrigue as to whether I could transfer beer tasting skills and apply them to wine. Thankfully we instantly disobeyed the first rule of wine tasting and swallowed the taste samples rather than spitting them out. From there the skills are remarkably transferable as is a lot of the vocabulary with the range of fruit descriptors, tannins, even metallic being used during the evening although each area does have its unique descriptors (hoppy, dms, diacetyl and bitter hang were phrases I could not apply to the wines and I cannot ever remember describing a beer as having legs). The scoring mechanism used was also slightly different, we used a 100 point scale (where anything less than 50 is deemed undrinkable) so we could compare to published scores from international wine critics – I personally believe a standard 0 to 7 scale is just as meaningful.

The second challenge was for me to devise a comparable beer tasting for sometime in the future. Most beers have a best before date and do not improve with age so it is not something I had considered before. The exception is bottle conditioned beers, these still have live yeast present and so secondary fermentation can take place in the bottle, producing carbon dioxide, a little more alcohol and progressive flavours over time. Vintage strong ales can also be tasted in a similar way if you are dedicated enough to keep them, I tend to enjoy them at their fresh best and so never have the beers to lay down for the future tasting. Alternatively I may try a tasting more in line with single grape varieties by seeing if I can select a number of beers of the same style or which use the same single hop. I will let you know how I get on when the tasting happens.

So beer or wine – I enjoy both, do you?

Cheers

Stewart Tricker - Senior Brewer

Our special Mother’s Day menu features a choice of delicious dishes and is priced at a recession-busting £19.95 for three courses. We’ve also created a Mother’s Day kids menu too. Which means you can enjoy a tasty family meal without breaking the bank. Just remember, Mum’s the word.

Click to see the full menu or the children’s menu then book your table at any of these pubs:

Aviator, Isle of Sheppey Telephone: 01795 666094

Britannia, Guildford Telephone: 01483 572160

Crown, Blackheath Telephone: 020 8852 0326

Crown Inn, Chislehurst  Telephone: 02084 677326

George and Dragon, Thames Ditton Telephone: 020 8398 2206

Manor Farm Barn, Southfleet  Telephone: 01474 834967

Marine Hotel, Whitstable  Telephone: 01227 272672

Millers Arms, Canterbury Telephone: 01227 456057

Ship and Trades, Chatham  Telephone: 01634 895200

Singleton Barn, Ashford Telephone: 01233 629379

The Spitfire, Kings Hill, West Malling  Telephone: 01732 220754

Ye Olde Whyte Lion, Orpington  Telephone: 01689 852 631

Give Mum a break from carving the roast. The Conningbrook has a special Mother’s Day carvery menu  and a kids carvery menu too.

Conningbrook Hotel, Ashford  Telephone: 01233 636863

What do you associate with Valentine’s Day?

Roses, chocolate, champagne, romantic dinners for two?

What do you associate with beer?

Drinking pints in the pub, crisps, peanuts, anything but romantic dinners?

Does it need to be this way – there are a myriad of beers from stouts to lagers, full bodied to delicate, super strong to low / no alcohol, yet generally they are not associated with Valentine’s Day.

Many brewers have tried to change this, over the past few years we have brewed everything from hoppy and light Maid in Kent to beers with maltesers or oysters added to them.

This year Heart Warmer has been brewed with rose petals and passion fruit (as well as hops and malted barley). It is strictly a limited edition for Valentine’s Day so you may struggle to find it.

Why not try a beer for Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t have to be in pint glasses – halves or a bottle shared in red wine glasses makes an ideal accompaniment to almost any food. So think ale rather than red wine with your steak, delicate lager rather than white wine with fish or a fruit beer as a change from champagne.

Cheers

Stewart Tricker - Senior Brewer

The brewery was featured in Kent on Saturday at the weekend, we are signed up to the Job Centre Plus scheme that gives jobseekers aged 18-24 the skills and experience to equip them for the world of work.

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