Sheffield's Riding high
It was a Sheffield Winsday when Pale Rider stole the show at the GBBF says PHIL DIXON It was a memorable day, that Sunday 21 April 1991. At last, 25 years after their previous appearance (ignoring the FA centenary celebrations) my beloved Sheffield Wednesday were back at Wembley despite being in the then second division for the Rumbelows Cup Final. No-one gave us a prayer against odds-on favourites Man Utd, but we scored in one of our three attacks and they didn't in any of their 47. The cup was ours! Tears, I must admit, flowed. It's not often the words "winner" and/or "number one" appear in the same sentence as Sheffield. At the Campaign for Real Ale's Great British Beer Festival this year I was therefore delighted to hear that the UK's number-one bitter was a Sheffield creation: Pale Rider by the Kelham Island Brewery. Alas, I was driving, and with the quota already completed, I saw little point in queuing to sample this product of the Steel City. The next night, however, accompanied by my parents, I was in the Fat Cat, the Morning Advertiser Cask Ale Pub of the Year 2004, around the corner from the Kelham Brewery. I had two pints of this terrific beer just before they ran out. Tears almost flowed again as my elderly father confirmed: "It's better than that John Smith's Smooth!" undue Derision I have always had a great deal of affection for Camra in recognition of its contribution to the preservation of our heritage and flared trousers with '80s T-shirts. I was, however, somewhat irritated by the boos that greeted the announcement Greene King had won second place at the GBBF. One of the reasons why cask ale remains in our pubs is the refusal of the likes of Greene King, Marston's (W&D) and others to follow the strategic approach of the majors and concentrate on pouring nitrogen down the throats of a generation. We now have the ludicrous situation where relatively large companies feel intimidated by Camra activists simply because they can brew more than 40 barrels a week. The big divide As the Midland's officer of the National Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA), I had to quickly come to terms with the north-south divide. Pubs, profits and publicans were totally different in the Black Country and Potteries than in the sedate rural areas of Oxfordshire. Tenants committees of the major breweries were also regionalised and the same items would appear at north and south Midland meetings. The quality of beer was often on the agenda. In the south, the genteel Jimmy Douglas, representing Oxford LVA, would introduce the subject to the company by stressing: "As you are aware, we have nothing but the highest respect for the skills of our head brewer and the fine reputation the company deservedly enjoys for its beers. However, lately there has been a certain inconsistency with" and he would continue to explain the issue. The next week, in the north Midlands in the Bass offices on Wetmore Road, Burton, the same item would be tabled. The North Midlands LVAs would naturally defer to the Burton Upon Trent Association as the supreme authority concerning any comments on the brewing process. Its representative was one Sam West whose undertaker appearance and glass eye made him quite an intimidating figure. Bass Worthington director Rupert Wilkins would say: "Item 4 the quality of beer." West would observe: "Mr Wilkins, thee Bass has been s***!" Chic 'n' cheerful In any of those TV programmes that list places to explore, Rio de Janeiro always features. And, after years of dreaming, I finally experienced the thrill of sitting on Copacabana beach gazing at Sugarloaf Mountain, reading a rather excellent biography of Samuel Pepys and occasionally (okay then, frequently) being distracted by some of the skimpiest bikinis that have ever adorned the female form. So on the sexiest beach in the sexiest city, what do the sexiest women drink? The answer is beer! What though, pray, is the favourite brand of the Cariocas (Rio locals) ladies Skol Lager! There was of course a time when this was Alloa's claim to fame as it produced thousands of barrels of a bland version of the lager distributed throughout Allied's estate. Eventually directors responsible for England and Wales didn't give a XXXX for the product and replaced it with Castlemaine. However, the Scots kept it for a while. Today it is an old-fashioned cheap supermarket brand. So the next time you see it buried amongst Asda's own, remember this is what the girl from Ipanema believes to be chic! phildixoncmbii@aol.com
