I feel a bit like a well poured pint: everything got a bit lively at the beginning, with a lot of bubbles and exciting froth but perhaps not so much body and substance. Mouthfeel ay?

However, left a little while to settle, that foam begins to condense into something solid in its own right, trapping volatile aromatics (and the occasional volatile of other sorts) and building the foundation of a perfectly drinkable beer.

This second year has not had so much of the excitement of the first year but it’s had some absolutely solidly golden moments – Oktoberfest, Imbibe, Ardennes homebrew (thank you Rudi!), a Wiper and True collaboration and the list can, and will, go on.

So to begin!

We left the story in June, when I had just started working for a Craft Beer Giant. Through sheer good fortune, timing and a huge amount of beer geekery, I finally got myself promoted to management level in their Bristol bar. Yay! (Obvs no mention of names here!)

It was a whirlwind adventure – leaning how to actually speak craft beer to customers who actually wanted to talk about it and being able to stock breweries like Mikkeller, ToOl, Brasserie de la Senne and even Orval at one point, made me realise how little I still knew about the beer world, its heritage and the giants who built it.

I was starting from scratch.

June came with my first ever talk on beer – presenting a series of IPA’s for National IPA Day, a woefully unprepared speech and the repetition of words such as awesome, delicious and bloody bitter attempting without avail to hide my shameful ignorance – looking back on it I’m surprised that the people who came to the event still talk to me – thanks for having faith and sticking with me!

July – Bristol 24/7 In July some absolute trollop wrote; with conjecture and ignorance to rival even my own; an article damning craft beer as the reason Bristol was going to the dogs, drawing out the my very mild competitive edge and forcing my hand to pen a counter argument https://www.bristol247.com/opinion/your-say/craft-beer-can-be-a-great-career-bristol/ and create a meme which remained glued to the back of my phone for at least 6 months…which upon reflection was probably a bit excessive.

September – Bristol Beer Festival (august)

What an absolute cracker! The very first Bristol Craft Beer Festival (https://bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk/) was a roaring success and I wangled my way in each day to enjoy beers from all over the world – that imperial stout from La Debauche (France), that sour Heather Ale from White Hag (Ireland) the ever incredible BA Bearded Lady from Magic Rock (Huddersfield) to name a few.

October – What would a beer lovers Autumn be without Oktoberfest? We did it in style, driving through Belgium (see our epic Orval experience and beer journey here) and attempting to maintain a sense of dignity whilst slopping steins of beer down our merry bellies.

Also – the most epic AirBnB with Rudy, an avid homebrewer, distiller and maker of magic elixirs who’s boundless enthusiasm and incredible collection of homebrews (some with his own face printed on the bottles) will remain cherished in my memories for ever.

November – The Wiper And True collaboration Brew

December – Wine vs Beer

Held my dream event – a Wine Vs Beer pairing night where we pitched the likes of BA Albino Squid Assassin (oaky and spicy imperial rye IPA) against our heftiest Carmenére and care to the conclusion that Nelson Sauvin hops are startling reminiscent of Sauvignon Wine #terroir (https://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/new-take-terroir/)

Also launched Local Tap committing to support local breweries with a dedicated tap line.

January – Visited the timeless Tuckers Maltings (https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/beerwineblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/take-us-to-tuckers/amp/) and developed an almost embarrassing passion for floor malting and a definite (hopefully temporary) Somerset accent.

February – Got to go and brew with my favourite brewer in the world and experience the less is more principle of rauchmalt in the divine Black Angus which was then aged in an @independentspirit whisky barrel.

March – With my favourite day of the year but a few hours ahead of me, I fell off my bike and broke my foot in time for Paddy’s Day – tragically this meant that all I was able to do all day was sit in the bar and drink epic Irish Craft Beer. *sob*

April – East Bristol Brewery Trail should be one of the top 10 tourist attractions in Britain. What can be better than lush local beer, live music, basketball in the sun and all the pop up food stalls you can ask for? And there’s no such thing as too many dogs and beer photo opps.

May – Great honour bestowed upon me by Imbibe magazine – so proud to have been a part of their judging panel in an IPA taste competition which left me only slightly wobbly after the 49th beer…

June – My first visit to Barcelona and the beginning of my love affair with the European Craft Beer scene…as well as finding a rogue can of Death by Coconut in the BrewDog Barcelona fridges..

Plus of course…

And so my second year of beer ended – with the promise of more beer to come..

Cheers 🍻

Jo x