What makes a good beer?

Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to be asked to speak on a panel, along side some fully signed-up members of the beer writing glitterati, on the topic of good beer.  In the past few years, especially since we have seen an increase in "big beer" takeovers, there seems to be the assumption that small is good, big is bad and that the beers produced by breweries which are purchased can go from one to the other overnight (I will leave it to my writing elders to elaborate on this but click here for a pretty good take...).  This (in my opinion) frankly idiotic view annoys me more and more as it takes hold, especially when applied to the likes of Dark Star and Fullers, both exceptional breweries.  Surely whether a beer is good or not should really be about, well, the beer? 

With that in mind my notes from the December talk are below - please note that lack of the words "craft", "small batch" and "experimental". 

Decembers panel at Blackwells Bookshop, Oxford. 
Image blatantly stolen from @HalfPintGent

What makes a good beer?

For me the definition of a good beer is simply one which is a true example of a style, has been well made and well-kept.

To elaborate:

Beer styles vary widely and it’s unlikely that you will like every one, however just because you don’t like a particular style or individual beer it doesn’t mean it isn’t good.  You will frequently hear statements like “all lager is crap” when in fact this couldn’t be further from the truth – even the most mass produced beer can still be a great example of a style – for example very lightly flavoured lagers might not be to everyone's taste but, they do taste how they are meant to.

In my opinion a well made beer is one with no faults.  In the same way that wine can be oxidised or corked, beer can have faults too which can be caused during the brewing process, by how the beer is stored and by how it is served.  A good beer should be free of these.  Having a well kept beer is especially important for draught beers, particularly those which are cask conditioned.  For cask beer how it is kept can mean the difference between a pint which is bright and full of life and one which is flat, dull and unpleasant to drink.   Keeping a beer bottled in the correct conditions (mainly cool and away from light) will help to keep if free from faults and in the best possible condition.  Sometimes beer can leave a brewery tasting fantastic and taste awful when it gets to the end customer – this doesn’t mean the brewer made a bad beer – everyone in the supply chain is responsible for making the beer in your glass as good as it can be.

To achieve the above I think that process and people are the two keys to creating a good beer.                   

Process:

“I’m not sure beer should be made by love but by know-how instead”. - Simon Evans

One of my favourite beer quotes is from the comedian Simon Evans who said  “I’m not sure beer should be made by love but by know-how instead”.  I can’t agree more.  Brewing is a science and no amount of love or enthusiasm can make up for a lack of knowledge.  Having good processes, from cleaning to packaging, are the first step to producing good beers – from there a brewer can create amazing beers, but trying to make great beer without having a good framework in place is a recipe for disappointment.

People

Good people make good beer is a rather sweeping statement and one that isn’t always correct – the beer industry like all parts of life contains a mix of people and I am sure that some less than delightful people make excellent beer.  Likewise unfortunately being a lovely person doesn’t mean the beer you make will be equally lovely, however broadly speaking I think there is some truth in that statement.   People who care about the product they are making and serving will put more effort into sourcing the best ingredients, making a consistent product and making sure it gets to the customer in great condition. 

In addition to this, for me the people I share beers with are just as important As the beer itself .  Beer is a social drink, it’s a leveller, in sensible amounts it helps us to think and speak more imaginatively.  For centuries beer has brought people together, from use in ceremonies to a few drinks after work whenever people in the gather together, whether to celebrate or commiserate there is beer.  It’s a massive part of our combined culture.   The beers I have enjoyed most in my life are those drunk in a pub, with friends.

So for me a good beer is a true example of a style which has been well made and well-kept. And is drunk with those closest to you.

PS - The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly sniggering with my long term beer crush, the utterly marvellous Mr Pete Brown, over the repeated use of the work "jerking", complete with hand movements.  It's safe to say to say my childish humour is still alive and well!

Here Gose...

A few weeks ago I took my Certified Cicerone exam.  While I wait with baited breath for my results (trying not to jump every time I get an email) I want to address a hole in my knowledge that the exam highlighted in great style, my knowledge of Gose.  Apart from the very basic sour and salty qualities and German heritage of this beer style it seems that I know next to nothing, which lead me to writing a two page love letter to Magic Rock Salty Kiss rather than the informative essay required.  To rectify this, and allow me to use my new favorite pun several times more than necessary, I am embarking on a Gose-based voyage of discovery so below you will find my short(ish) guide to this beer style, hopefully a helpful reference point for anyone in a similar Gose-knowledge-less predicament.  Here Gose...

First things first, pronunciation:

Gose - "Ger-za", "Goes-uh", "Grrr-za".  Definitely two syllables whichever way you slice it.

This will save me a lot of time and prevent me from having to say "The one that's "O.S.E" not "E.U.Z.E".

The official definition:

The Cicerone certification program uses the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines.  According to them Gose is...

"A highly-carbonated, tart and fruity wheat ale with a restrained coriander and salt character and low bitterness. Very refreshing, with bright flavors and high attenuation."

History:

Gose first originated in the middle ages (beer historians and writers quote years from 1000 - 1600 AD as a starting point) in the town of Goslar on the bank of the river Gose in Lower Saxony, about 115 miles south of Hamburg.  The style proved popular and the main brewing centre migrated from Goslar to Leipzig, the largest city in Saxony, about 90 miles south-east.  1900 there were at least 80 documented Gose houses or Gosenschenke in Leipzig.  From 1900 however the popularity of Gose took a major down turn, driven in a large part by the rise of lager beer styles until in 1945 the German government closed the Ritterguts Döllnitz brewery, the brewing bastion the style.  

All was not quite lost and in 1949 Friedrich Wurzler, a former Ritterguts Döllnitz employee restarted Gose production in Leipzip however Gose continued to struggle and brewing ceased with Wurzlers death in 1966.  Thankfully that wasn't the end of the story and in the mid 1980's a Leipzig bar owner decided to recreate a traditional Gosenschenke and commissioned a brewery in East Berlin to recreate this historic beer style.  Since then  the style has started to once again grow in popularity and several modern interpretations can now be found as well as more traditional beers from brewers in Saxony.  That being said it is still a relatively difficult style to get hold of in the UK, especially in comparison to more popular Berliner Weisse and sour Belgian sours, however many American brewers are now creating versions of this style.

Ingredients:

Modern brewers now use all sorts of adjuncts (that's swanky technical language for "extra fun stuff") however the traditional ingredients for Gose are:  Malted Barley, Malted Wheat (50% +), water, hops (for preservation rather than flavour), salt and coriander.

Originally Gose was spontaneously fermented using wild yeasts, often in the bar cellar rather than at the brewery.  Now a variety of yeasts are used with the addition of Lactobacillus to create the tart/sour flavour.

Tasting time:

It seems very little fun to spend time learning about a beer style without tasting it, to that end I have tried three differing interpretations of Gose.  Here Gose (sorry, thats the last time, I promise)...

Leipziger Gose - Bayerischer Banhof Gasthous & Gosebrauerie
4.6% ABV BB 20.05.2017

What the brewery say:  This original Leipzig beer specialty lends us the name for our brewery. Gose is a regional beer specialty that was brought to Saxony-Anhalt in the year 1738. Originally Gose comes from Goslar, a small town in Lower Saxony, and the river "Gose" in this town. This beer specialty has a refreshing, slightly sour taste and is ideal for quenching your thirst. Gose is brewed with the additional ingredients lactic acid, cilantro, and salt. 

Appearance: Pale gold, hazy, a light head which vanished quickly, a steady stream of tiny bubbles.
Aroma: Slightly farm yardy, tinned peaches, estuary air, like sniffing a warm, clean animal.  I know.  I'm worse than Jilly Goolden.
Taste: Tart and invigorating.  Refreshing.  Remarkably easy drinking, almost swiggy with flavours of under ripe citrus.  Light body with a dry finish.
Overall:  The most traditional of the beers I tried.  Light and easy going - I could imagining happily consuming several after a long, hot, day - exactly as designed I would imagine.

Salty Kiss Gooseberry Gose - Magic Rock Brewing
4.1% ABV BB 23.11.2017

Before I go any further I have to admit to having a very strong emotional attachment to this beer.  The first time I really got the attraction of sour beers was drinking Salty Kiss in the Sheffied Tap.  I can still remember my trepidation which bordered on fear, the hot sunlight on my back streaming through the large window, my excitement when I didn't hate the beer, how it made me curious and drew me in.  I haven't tried it in several years and so was slightly apprehensive that it wouldn't live up to my expectations.

What the brewery say: Originally brewed as a collaboration with Kissmeyer Beer, this is our take on a traditional German style Gose, flavoured with fruit, sea buckthorn and sea salt. Tart, lightly sour, fruity and refreshing with a defined saltiness makes this beer an excellent accompaniment to food.

Appearance:  Pale gold, hazy but not murky, very little head, small stream of bubbles.
Aroma: Turkish Delight, lychee, honeyed.  Made me say "phwoar" out loud.
Flavour:  Just so clean.  Tart but well rounded.  Less drying than the Leipziger.  Rose water.  Zingy. 
Overall:  Still awesome.  I bloody love this beer.

Gose to Hollywood - Gose ale brewed with oranges - To Ol
3.8% ABV BB 06/04/2017

What the brewery say:  To Ol got starstruck.  This is how we went to Hollywood.  Salty sour bright Gose brewed with the best fruits California can offer.  

Appearance:  Very slight haze, peachy gold colour, little to no head.
Aroma: Hops! Tropical fruits, slightly sickly sweet/candied orange.
Flavour: The most noticeably salty of the three, tart, slightly perfumed, almost pickle like.
Overall:  The only one of the three that I struggled with.  In fairness they recommend drinking it on warm summer days rather than rainy March ones.  The only beer with a noticeable hop character, this jarred for me slightly and I found the over all effect cloying rather than refreshing.  I'd like to try a fresher version. 

Full disclosure - some of the beers I tried probably weren't as fresh as they could have been - although I don't think this is as crucial as with a DIPA or similar hoppy style for the sake of transparency I have included BB dates.  Annoyingly short dates seem to be an increasing issue as beer suppliers struggle to supply every beer style known to man.  Anyway...

So there you have it, Gose in not quite a nut shell - maybe a coconut?  I would love to experiment with food matching and cooking with this beer style, maybe using it in a fruit jelly or a pickle, but I'm afraid that will have to wait for another day - mainly because I have finished all the beer.  If nothing else at least I can now answer a Gose based exam question with confidence, it's just a shame it's unlikely to be asked again for some time.

Cheers!


Sources - with grateful thanks:  So you want to be a beer expert? Jeff Evans (CAMRA); The complete beer course - Joshua M Bernstein; BJCP beer guidelines; Wikipedia - everyone's favourite source of slightly dubious "facts"; various other online sources to corroborate..

Hard Running

Today, after what feels like many, many months of preparation I will be running what promises to be a rather wet, windy and grueling 10k.  My original plan when I started training was to blog my progress weekly, hoping to keep track of blisters, minor ailments and training woes on my way to great athletic heights.  Unfortunately, my desire to do this was cut rather short, together, in truth with my desire to do anything at all.  Running is really hard.  Running when it takes every ounce of will power to get out of bed and leave the house with clean teeth and matching shoes is something close to impossible.  Sadness sucks.  Hard.

Over the past few months I have discovered the wonder of an upward emotional cycle driven by exercise – endorphin's really are pretty cool little things – and when the going has been good I have felt better than I have for years and prouder of myself than I can remember.  Being naturally obsessively hard on myself this really is a massive achievement.  It’s just that sometimes getting in to the upward cycle has required more than I have.   Small injuries which should have meant a day or two off from training gave me an (subconscious) excuse for a week of evenings spent lying on the sofa in an emotional slump that at the time I felt I would never get out of.   Sometimes even without the excuse of aches and pains my emotional state left me feeling too bruised to do anything, despite knowing that logically that going for a run would be the best thing I could possibly do.

 

After several weeks of darkness I started to feel that perhaps this was something that I couldn’t do.  Not physically, I have always known that completing the course in a vaguely sensible time (basically before they pack everything down) would be a close to impossible task, but the idea of completing the course when I couldn’t imagine anything other than going to sleep for a very, very long time, preferably several years, was slipping further and further away. 

I’m very lucky.  At the point where I thought I’d lost my cheer leader and felt my lowest and loneliest I was reminded that I have many people in my life cheering me on and supporting me.  I went home, smelt the sea air and tried my hardest to feel vaguely normal.  The love and support of my friends and family gave me the push I needed to get back onto the upwards cycle.  I reminded myself why I was running and also how lucky I am to have a life to lead when others have theirs cut so short.  This wasn’t easy but I am stubborn.  I haven’t let anyone break me yet, I wasn’t prepared to be broken by myself. 

I have learnt that I need stability and routine, and that I need access to the people I care about most.  When those things are taken away everything starts to unravel worryingly quickly but they can also be fixed, I just need to allow myself to be supported by the people who care about me.  None of us can do everything alone.    That support helped me to get back on my feet and back pounding the pavements, paths, roads and anywhere else I could think of to run and keep myself busy and interested.  The ongoing support of my friends, family and total strangers has kept me going and kept me getting out of bed.  The support and encouragement of Grahams family in particular has been invaluable.   Running is really hard.  Running when you know you have support and encouragement is slightly easier. 

I haven’t written this piece as a sob story or as a thinly veiled memo on depression, nor have I written it to prove that my life is any more difficult that anyone else’s, there will be people running today who have over come far more than me I have no doubt – we are all climbing mountains.   I am writing it because these words have been going around in my head for months and need to be released.  I am writing it to remind myself that I have overcome more than physical barriers, that I can carry on from what seems like the end of the world. That I am proud of myself for doing something I didn’t think I could do.  Lets go running. 

Opinions on Hopinions

This week as part of their regular Twitter poll the lovely chaps at The Beer O’Clock Show asked a rather interesting question:

After consideration I have voted “Who cares?” and following a couple of slightly badly phrased tweets to try and argue this point and a failure to fit my thoughts into 140 characters I hope the below will explain my thinking.  

Yes, I’m sure that the input of big beer can effect quality in a negative manner however I feel strongly that the assumption that this is always the case is short-sighted at best.  It works on the theory that all “big beer” is bad and all “small beer” is good which is simply not the case.   I’m sure that in some cases a “big beer” takeover has had negative effects but there are also ample reasons to be believe it could have a positive effect as well. 

More capital and better infrastructure can surely have a very positive effect – better ingredients at lower prices, more consistency, good beer available to more people (although clearly those poor uneducated souls who choose to buy discounted beer in Tesco’s don’t deserve anything decent as they slowly erode “craft” beer bottle by bottle…), better logistics, higher turnover of product meaning fresher beer for the consumer, more marketing spend increasing awareness (although presumably if you’re the person who needs marketing to be made aware of a beer you too don’t deserve to drink it), bigger lab facilities for better QC etc etc.  The list goes on.  I am not for a moment saying that smaller breweries don’t already have these things or that being made in a smaller brewery means that QC etc would be lacking, I am purely trying to point out that there can be positive as well as negative effects.

Whenever takeovers, investment or mergers are discussed the phrase “selling-out” seems to be bandied about with gay abandon.  It’s an interesting concept.  Are we saying that brewery owners aren’t allowed an exit strategy or to try to grow their businesses?  That having worked for years to build a business that someone would want to purchase they should refuse the money because otherwise they will be stripped of their craft colours and be condemned to drink nothing but the latest reincarnation of Watney’s Red Barrel for the rest of their lives.  You never know, the beer could taste good and they get to sit happily for the rest of their life basking in the security of money in the bank – not bad.  What if a medium sized local brewery invested in or purchased a smaller brewer who was struggling to grow and could do so under their umbrella with help and support.  Would that still be considered selling-out?

In any other business sector growing to be so successful that you can float or sell your business would be seen as a great achievement, in beer it’s seen as making a deal with the devil.  Do I think that selling a major share in your business weeks after promising that would never happen is a good way to behave?  No, not really, but maybe pressure from the industry, bloggers, customers and beer-communicators compels people to say what they think we want to hear.  Just a thought.

    

So what are the alternatives?  You want to grow your brewery or get out and enjoy the rest of your life but don’t want to be hunted through the street with pitchforks by an army of angry beer drinkers who have survived on nothing but hops and haziness for the past three years? You could sell privately to another individual.  To my mind this probably has a higher chance of influencing the quality of the beer but it’s less likely to cause Twitter uproar.  You could seek investment from banks, individuals or investment groups but that could increase pressure for increased profit, cost-cutting and business growth – the exact same things which many people who have voted yes to the poll cite as the things which would eventually cause beer quality to deteriorate with a “big beer” takeover.  I’m not a business expert, I don’t have the answer.  I also don’t think it’s my place to judge how others run their businesses.

Maybe we should have a little more faith in the people whose products we have admired for so long.  It’s possible that they might actually know what they are doing.  Surely if anyone is going to care about what happens to their beers it’s the person who created them in the first place.

To me whether beer is good or not has nothing to do with who it’s owned by and everything to do with how it tastes.  If it’s well made and tastes good (no brewing taints etc) then all is well in the world.  As far as I’m aware there isn’t a tasting note lurking in the far dark corners of Untappd which reads “Juicy hops, balanced sweetness but with an overwhelming sense of buy-out bitterness”.  Does the beer taste good? Great!  Does the beer taste bad?  Not so great.  Simple.   And if you don’t like it, drink something else.   

There will be two more Beer O'Clock polls this week, look out for them on Twitter at @BeerOClockShow, check out the Beer O'Clock Show blog here and subscribe to the podcast on the device of your choice,  it's well worth it.   

Run Beer Geek Run - Training Weeks 1 and 2

So here we go, after seven years (probably more like thirty) of procrastination, running time is finally here.  A few weeks ago I hit the mean streets of Berkshire fully prepared to take on the world.  What followed was a short, sharp shock.   Running is hard and I'm not good at it.  More than that, people look at you very strangely if they find you standing red faced on the corner of the street, wearing a Jim Jefferies April 18th T-Shirt and shouting "No you run faster you chirpy bitch" at your phone.  Suffice to say session one did not go well (see below), in fact apart from some most excellent shoe shopping (more on that another day) and stopping to admire Wokinghams' finest knob vending establishment week one was not the greatest success.

The Knob Shop.  Yes, really. 

Post first run - not my best look.

Week 1
	Distance	Time	Ave Pace	Thoughts
04/09/2016	2.6km	God knows, a really long time…	Bad	What on earth am I doing? None of the other runners jiggle like this.  Why are they all so bloody smiley?  I wish the smarmy cow on my phone would shut up, she's not even running.  I'm going to to delete her when I get home, that will teach her!
05/09/2016	2.6km	20.04	7.43 min/km	Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Ooooowwweee.
06/09/2016	Rest Day			My. Poor. Trotters. Must. Buy. Decent. Shoes.
07/09/2016	3.4km	25.13	7.28 min/km	My new shoes are so pretty.  Now I have wings and will fly high above the pavement. This might be OK.  Bollocks a hill.
08/09/2016	Rest Day			Sofa so comfy.
09/09/2016	4.4km	33.08	7.33 min/km	Um, where am I?  I think I'm going to be late for work….
10/09/2016	Rest Day			I'm going to drink a lot of cider today.  After I've walked up this big hill…

Having survived week one (and enjoyed a rather cheering jolly to Exmoor) I have to admit I was feeling pretty pleased with myself and week 2 was nowhere near as awful as its predecessor, at some points I would go as far as admitting it was vaguely enjoyable.  Swapping from the horrid run yourself thin and depressed app to MapMyRun was also a big step in the right direction.

Week 2
	Distance	Time	Ave Pace	Thoughts
11/09/2016	Rest Day			I love Exmoor.  I'm going to eat a cream tea and run when I get home.  Now I feel a bit sick.  Maybe no running….
12/09/2016	3.67km	29.28	8.02 min/km	Running after work, this is fun.  Crystal Palace Park is pretty.  Bloody hell it's hot.
13/09/2016	Rest Day			I feel bad not running.
14/09/2016	4.6km	37.17	8.08 min/km	Wow, Wokingham has a park!  And big hills!  This is my off-road training.  I may finally be getting the hang of this…
15/09/2016	Rest Day			I like gin.  Gin is my friend.
16/09/2016	Rest Day			I think today I would like to mainly by under my duvet.
17/09/2016	4.58	30.32	6.4 min/km	Go! Go! Go! That's nearly halfway there.  Any there were swans.  I think I'll have some wine now.

So after two weeks spirits were high with regards to both running and consumption.  I discovered the joy of running around parks and lakes rather than housing estates, and feeling of actually earning a day on the sofa.  It seemed that completing the 10k in a decent time would actually be achievable!  Then badness happened...

Run Beer Geek Run - The Charity Bit

Nearly five years ago I lost a very dear friend.  Graham suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, a condition which could often make it difficult for him to get about, move this hands or function in a way that I take for-granted every day.  Despite this, or maybe because of it, he was one of the most joyful, happy and kind hearted people I have ever met, never complaining and always putting other people before himself, no matter how much pain or discomfort he was in.   He also had a quite staggering appetite for curry.

G and I, mid curry club.

The NHS describes Multiple Sclerosis as "(MS is) a condition which can affect the brain and/or spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.

The main symptoms include:

• fatigue
• difficulty walking
• vision problems, such as blurred vision
• problems controlling the bladder
• numbness or tingling in different parts of the body
• muscle stiffness and spasms
• problems with balance and co-ordination
• problems with thinking, learning and planning"

It's a daunting list but Graham dealt with any symptoms with a smile and an overwhelming amount of good humour.  I only wish that I could learn to deal with obstacles in the same way.  

It seems to be one of life's most painful ironies that (to badly quote the song) you really don't know what you've got until it's gone.  Had I thought for a moment that I wouldn't have G in my life for many many years I hope I would have been a better friend, making the effort to see him more rather than getting caught up in my own existence would have most definitely been my gain.  I wish I had told him quite how much he meant to me, how much I valued his kindness towards me, how amazing I thought he was.  Admittedly that would most probably have made us both feel exceptionally awkward but I wish I had done so all the same.

In November I will be running the Adnams 10k to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society  and in memory of my lovely lovely friend.  The MS Society works to both support sufferers and to research cures and treatments.  They are an organisation Graham actively supported, mainly by encouraging the excessive consumption of cake which now seems like a far more sensible option than this running malarkey.   If you would like to donate to this great cause, please visit my Just Giving page by clicking on the link.  This will not only give you a nice warm fuzzy feeling but will also give you the right to laugh at my exhausted huffing puffing state as I drag myself over the finish line and crawl to the nearest bar.

Any support you can give would be really appreciated, no matter how small.  Thank you. 

Run Beer Geek Run

It's been quite a while since I last wrote anything here, 2 years, 8 months and 10 days to be precise.  In that time many things have changed, I've got divorced, moved half way across the country, changed jobs (twice) and have discovered that life isn't quite as easy as advertised.  Much of the last few years has been hard.  Some of it has seemed intolerable.  However despite the tough moments I now feel (if you ignore some momentary wobbles) more myself than I have ever been before.  I have learnt the power of friendship and feel so grateful to have such amazing and supportive friends and family, people who know my faults and short comings and love me all the same.  I have had adventures, and learnt how to build a life, a small one for now but all mine; and I have people in my life now that I never want to dream of being without.  I have also discovered that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

And so, in this, my year of being 30 I decided to start saying yes to things, to do things that I never thought I would or could, and that, it seems, includes running.  Running 10k.   In November.

Now I'm aware that for many people running is quite a normal thing, some people even seem to enjoy it.  Weirdos.  I'm also aware that for other people 10k really isn't that far - my amazing friend Belinda once turned up to watch the Adnams 10k (the race I'm entering) in jeans and accompanied by a rather hairy golden retriever.  They (both her and the dog) proceeded to get round for "fun" in a great time, seemingly without either of them breaking a sweat.

I however am definitely not built for running.  It makes me jiggle in all the right places plus many of the wrong ones.  It makes me sound like a steam train after minutes and is generally one of the least pleasant ways to spend time I have ever some across.   I like sofas and pubs, beer and pizza, not lycra and early mornings, stretches and sprints.  The idea of running 10k actually makes me feel a little bit sick and this will certainly be the biggest physical challenge I have ever set myself.  However for the past seven years I have been standing on the sidelines cheering people on, handing out water (and beer), getting obsessive over timing sheets and looking awful in high-vis thinking "that looks fun"; "it can't be that hard" and "I'll definitely run it next year."  And so, in this my year of saying yes, finally I have signed up, am hitting the pavements and will be sweating my way around the course in what I would imagine will be a highly unattractive manner.  I'm planning to blog my training progress, mainly so that I have a reason not to give up!

I will be running in memory of my friend Graham (more on that to come) and in aid of the MS Society.  You can sponsor me or donate in exchange for the comedy value of me running here , and make sure that I'm getting out of bed to train on this blog or on Twitter at @BeerFaerie #RunBeerGeekRun.  If you want to get involved Adnams is always looking for volunteers, you can find out more here and if you sign up you'll get the pleasure of seeing me crawling to the bar afterwards for yourself.  There's also some very decent beery goody bag action.