Women beer-lovers host beer and cheese tasting

A group of beer-loving women is holding a beer and cheese tasting in central London next Wednesday, 8 October,  to encourage more women to discover the delights of our national drink.

Dea Latis – named after the Celtic goddess of beer and water – was established by a handful of women working in pubs and breweries, and hosts regular tastings to demonstrate beer’s versatility as a partner with different foods.  The beer and cheese tasting is being held on:

Date:               Wednesday 8^th October

Time:              3.00 – 5.00 pm

Venue:            The Bishops Finger,  9-10 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9JR

Guests will be offered five different beer and cheese combinations, from goat’s cheese and fruit beer to traditional ale and cheddar. Hosting the event and explaining the beer and cheese matches is Annabel Smith, one of the country’s only female Beer Sommeliers.

Annabel says, “The hallmark of a great match of beer and cheese, or indeed any food and drink, is that they enhance each other’s taste.  Beer works especially well with cheese as its natural carbonation cuts through the fattiness of cheese – which is something wine can’t do.”

Tickets, including five beers, cheeses, expert talks and tea/coffee, cost £17 per person. Please visit our Eventbrite page to buy tickets:  http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dea-latis-beer-and-cheese-tasting-tickets-12781994289?aff=es2&rank=0

Further information:    Ros Shiel, ros@shielporter.com

Lisa Harlow: lisa@lisaharlow.co.uk

Beer and chocolate tasting: 25th March, London

Date:               Tuesday 25th March

Time:              2.00 – 4.00 pm

Venue:            The Clarence, 53 Whitehall, London SW1A 2HP

We’re delighted to be staging our fifth annual Dea Latis Beer & Chocolate tasting. This time, we’re holding it central London and we hope many of you will be able to join us to taste two of our favourite things in life!

Once again, we’ll be tasting a number of chocolates with beers specially chosen to complement them, with guidance from beer sommelier Annabel Smith and other experts.

So whether you’re a lover of beer, or chocolate, or both, please join us for this enjoyable and informative event. Tickets, including beers, chocolates, expert talks and tea/coffee, cost £17 per person. Please visit our Eventbrite page to buy tickets:

http://bit.ly/1fKLa8W

If you have recently signed up to become a Dea Latis corporate member, discounted entry is available, please email lisa@lisaharlow.co.uk to put your name on the list.

Two Dea Latis members gain top beer recognition

The first two accredited female Beer Sommeliers have been announced by the Beer Academy.  Six months after the Sommelier qualification was launched, Dea Latis members, Sophie Atherton (pictured right) and Annabel Smith (pictured left) were accredited as Beer Academy Sommeliers following a stretching viva examination with Beer Academy Chief Examiner, Dr George Philliskirk.

George said “Traditionally the vast majority of UK beer has been drunk by men.  But things are changing.  Women do enjoy beer but tend to be more discerning that the average male beer drinker.  They like to know how it’s brewed, what raw materials are used and how these affect the flavour of the final product and which beers are the best partners for different foods.

The Beer Academy’s two new sommeliers are exceptionally well placed to take the beer message to both women and men across the UK.  A beer lover for nearly 25 years, Sophie is a journalist and beer blogger writing about beer in the national, local and specialist beer press.  In her work with Cask Marque, Annabel is in regular contact with their 8,000 accredited pubs around the country and in her spare time she is a founding member of Dea Latis, the forum set up to increase women’s awareness of beer.

George added: “We are delighted to welcome two such passionate experts to the pool of Beer Academy Sommeliers that is growing up around the world and look forward to many more women joining their ranks.”

After passing, Annabel, who is also a founding member of Dea Latis, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have achieved the Beer Sommelier accreditation with theBeerAcademy, and it’s an honour to be recognized as an ambassador for beer. I have an absolute love for the beer industry and the wide range of styles and flavours it produces.”

To achieve Beer Sommelier status, Annabel was required to attend and pass a number of BeerAcademy training courses. The courses covered in depth knowledge of beer production, understanding raw ingredients and how they contribute to flavour, identify different beer styles from around the world and understand what types of beer paired best with food.

Annabel had to submit a portfolio of evidence illustrating her practical competence of using beer menus in retail outlets, her knowledge of beer and food pairings and demonstrations of high end beer retailing and image standards through cellar hygiene standards and training retailers

At the assessment with the BeerAcademyon 10^th July Annabel had to identify a number of beer styles from around the world, differentiate between them, and illustrate her knowledge of the principles of beer and food matching

Pubs, patriotism and pints…

Dea Latis member, Joanna Dring, was recently asked to write the Guest Column in the brand new Bedfordshire newspaper, Bedford Midweek.

Here’s the column in full:

As if us Brits need an excuse to celebrate….Have you recovered from an over-exuberance of patriotic parties yet?

I’m quite sure that at some point over the weekend, the majority of you stepped foot in a pub. Perhaps you are a regular and knew the events the pub was laying on, or perhaps you haven’t been down your local for a few months but knew that at times of national celebration, there is no where quite like the pub.

We are so lucky in this country to have pubs. No other country quite gets pubs. Bars – yes. But pubs – no. (The Red Lion(s) in the Costas don’t count either….)

Just like the Queen (WARNING – a tenuous link between pubs and Her Maj) pubs are always there for us. There is no other place that has quite the same atmosphere and is the focal point of the community. Pubs are a place where people come together to celebrate and I have seen over the last few months many pubs leading their community’s Jubilee celebrations. From beer festivals and street parties to live music and Queen quizzes – the Great British Pub has reigned supreme over this weekend, and got the nation partying.

I was in the White Horse on Newnham Avenue last week for their regular pub quiz and Nigel the landlord read out the list of Jubilee events they were holding. Events for the whole family and ones that would make the weekend extra special. This is no mean feat. This is utter dedication from a licensee who knows the importance his pub plays in the community and works tirelessly to create a welcoming, comfortable and relaxing environment, and a memorable weekend for all.

And Nigel’s not alone. It must have been two and a half months ago that I saw the Embankment pub was already advertising its Jubilee events – providing something special and different to their usual weekend activities.

The Horse And Jockey in Ravensden ensured a British-bonanza by theming their menus to all things British and hosting a BBQ for the community on the Tuesday.

I think it’s quite easy for people to forget the important role pubs play in their community – they can be taken for granted as always being there, a constant feature of your town or village. But the harsh reality is that pubs continue to close across the country – a sign of the continued pressure the challenging economic downturn is having on the nation.

This year is the perfect storm of patriotic events. We’ve had the Jubilee and now have the Olympics to look forward to. Add in EURO 2012 and Wimbledon, there is every excuse to get down the pub. And if sport’s not your thing, there are quizzes, live music, open mic nights, charity fundraisers, beer and food matching evenings….the list is endless.
So if you have neglected your local recently, why not find out what’s on and drop in?

They are a British institution – we need pubs and pubs need you.

On Monday evening I had ventured out of Bedford to visit a friend in Weston-Super-Mare where we saw the lighting of one of the 4,200 beacons for the Queen. Of course this was followed up by a pint of ale in the local as we watched the closing of the Jubilee concert. After Prince Charles had spoke there was a huge roar of cheers from the crowd and a round of applause. I heard one lady say: “They can’t hear us but I’m going to clap anyway – it feels like I’m there!”

Surrounded by people who were bursting with pride and joy, the atmosphere was electrifying.

And that for me sums up why pubs are so great – there’s no place like ’em.

This column first appeared in Bedford Midweek on Thursday 7 June 2012.

Follow Joanna on Twitter.

Follow Bedford Midweek on Twitter.

Beer and chocolate… what’s not to like?!

Details are now confirmed for the Dea Latis Beer & Chocolate tasting. This is now in its third year, making it an annual tradition for anyone wanting to break two Lenten abstinences in one afternoon!

We will, once again, be tasting a selection of beer and chocolate matches suggested by brewers, who will be on hand to explain their choices and answer questions.  So please join us:

Date:     Tuesday 27^th March

 

Time:    2.00 – 4.00 pm

 

Venue: Draft House Tower Bridge, 206-208 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP

All female beer brewing competition won by Dea Latis member

Trumpet heralds at the ready:  DeaLatis member and confirmed beer advocate Louise Ashworth is the winner of a competition for women to create a recipe for their perfect beer. Louise’s fabulous recipe triumphed and later in Spring she will be travelling up to Grantham to brew ……. Wheat Watchers! 

Jane Peyton, Principal of the School of Booze devised the competition in collaboration with Sara Barton at Brewsters Brewing Company as a way of inspiring women to consider brewing beer.  Entrants were asked to take inspiration from one of DivineFairtrade chocolate brands and come up with a beer that they would want to drink.  The prize was for the winner to brew their own recipe with Sara at Brewsters.

Louise described her inspiration for Wheat Watcher’s “My idea is for a wheat beer with raspberries as I think that a lot of women, and men, can be put off from drinking real ale as they think that it will be too bitter. I think that wheat beer is delicious and can be more accessible for non-ale drinkers than many other styles of beer. Unfortunately it isn’t always easy to find a wheat beer in the majority of pubs. I would really like to see wheat beer more widely available and hopefully the beer that we are going to create will be onsale in a large number of pubs.”

Jane and Sara were really impressed with the quality and inventiveness of the competition entries.  Dozens of women entered (and a few men too!) and Sara judged the entries blind.  She chose these recipes as the top 3:

 1st place: Wheat beer with raspberries. By Louise Ashworth

Inspired by Divine Dark Chocolate with Raspberries.

2nd place: Stout with raspberries, cardamom and black pepper. By Orla Lambe

Inspired by Divine Dark Chocolate with Raspberries.

3rd place: Golden ale with chestnut honey and thyme (the honey is supplied by the entrant’s friend from local bees) by Hazel Paterson

Inspired by Divine’s Fruit and Nut

Sara chose Louise’s entry as the winner because she “liked the contrast between the light fruity style of the wheat beer and the dark chocolate with raspberries and felt it would really complement the flavour of the chocolate. Wheat beers are a very interesting complex product with interplay between malt, hops and yeast in particular giving a deceptively full flavoured brew. I am really looking forward to producing the winning entry and am sure it will go down well with publicans and drinkers alike.”

Another really inventive entry was by another DeaLatis member – Niki Skaife, publican of the excellent Masons Arms, Bishop Monkton, near Harrogate.  Niki received an honourable mention for her delicious sounding Mild with Sloe and Juniper.

Jane and Sara had such fun with this competition – and judging by the amazing recipes that came in, so did the women who entered.  It was obvious by all the recipes that us women love flavour! 

When Louise’s Wheat Watcher’s beer is brewed we’ll let you know – maybe you’ll find it on the bar of a pub near you…..

A Dream Come Brew

Have you ever dreamed of brewing your own beer in a proper brewery as opposed to a bucket in the airing cupboard?  I have.  Many times.  Then last year I met Sara Barton, founder of Brewsters Brewery at the launch of Project Venus’s brewing collaboration – Venus Jade.  I confessed my aspiration and Sara responded with an emphatic ‘Do it!’

Turns out that I was not the only DeaLatis member harbouring the brewing fantasy because when I mentioned it to Marverine Cole (@BeerBeauty) and Shea Luke (@RealAleGirlShea) they also had that ambition. We discussed our ideal recipe and decided on a dark spicy winter ale. So on a very auspicious date 21/1/12 (it’s a palindrome) the three of us accepted Sara’s invitation to ‘do it’ and we travelled up to Brewsters Brewery in Grantham and did it!

And as I write this, a wonderful yeast that smells of green apples is bubbling away and turning our 30 barrel brew into delicious beer.  What an incredible thought. But who knew what hard physical work it is to brew beer?  Hauling the malts around, hoisting buckets up high, pouring the contents into mash tuns and coppers, and then the cleaning afterwards.  Oh the cleaning – raking out the mash tun, poking around in the hot copper to extract the thousands of whole hops, washing out vessels and leaving the brewery as we found it.  But what satisfaction!And what fun.  All three of us virgin brewers felt as though we were in the best toy shop imaginable – and one in which lunch was served with Brewsters Pale Ale, and Brewsters’ brand new Black IPA (called Cruella) decanted straight from the conditioning tanks.  Heaven.

In a couple of weeks Brewsters will cask and bottle condition the beer for sale through their ‘Wicked Women’ range. We’re waiting to mention the beer’s name until the launch party in late February or early March – most likely at London’s Tap East with its incredible range of beers (thanks Glyn!) so hopefully you’ll come and taste the difference.

Huge thanks to Sara, Sean, and Richard at Brewsters for making our dream come brew.  I’m even more in love with beer than I was before and my maiden voyage on the brew boat has made me even more obsessed with brewing.  We’ve done a winter brew, but there are three more seasons in a year.  So how’s about it BrewsterSara, Beer Beauty, and RealAleGirlShea?

By Jane Peyton, Principal of the School of Booze