Dec 20, 2006 0
Sep 13, 2006 2
A Summer Day At Gadds
I was recently lucky enough to have a private invitation to the Gadds brewery. I knows the guys from my time at the pub (finished that today, whoop!) and after they heard me banging on about their stout they said I could come up and see their place at work. I learnt a lot about brewing while I was there and got a far better understanding of not only the methods for brewing ales but also the ale industry as a whole.
It wasn’t all work work work though. They were decent enough to give me and my accomplice Jay a taste of their latest batch of East Kent Pale Ale (EKPA) from their own private bar (The Rams Head) and I’m happy to say that it was delightful. We sat outside and chatted about all sorts. A thoroughly nice afternoon and my thanks to Eddie and Ian for being such good hosts.
Sep 8, 2006 1
Stout, mmmm
A couple of posts back I stated that Eddie was a stout pusher… but I love him for it. The reason I said this was as simple as the statement. While I was at the jazz festival on Ramsgate seafront the other week I went to the Gadds tent to get myself another beer, but he had run out. What he did offer me though was two small unmarked bottles from some boxes he kept behind him. I asked how much to which he replied “on me”. Difficult to say no to that! I guessed this was a new product that he was testing the ground with. I poured it, tasted it and found it to be the divine nectar. This dark 7% wonder was the kind of drink you only dream of! At that point I concluded that what he was doing was getting us hooked before releasing it to the public. The method certainly worked on me, I was left dreaming on when I could next get my grubby mits on some more.
Tonight I saw Eddie and quickly asked him where I could get more of his magic juice. His reply was simple; I can’t. Stunned horror. Dear God, why? As it turned out, this was a test run they did to check the setup of their equipment in its new location a couple of months prior. They didn’t want to do a brew that they’d feel bad not being able to sell (eg No.3), so Ian came up with the idea of a stout. Brilliant, but not ‘commercially viable’.
So now I’m not sure what is worse. To have tasted it and know that I will never taste it again or, if things had been different, to never have tasted it at all. So, no longer do I love him for being a pusher, I now believe him to be a cruel cruel man!