Beer in Malta, Comino and Gozo with Quinno

A guest post by Quinten Taylor, with Reading & Mid Berks CAMRA roles, who is on Twitter as @SirQuinno [Photos also by Quinno]

First, a quick geography lesson.

Malta is, in fact, an archipelago consisting of three separate inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. Malta is the largest and most densely populated of the trio. Gozo is a smaller, quieter and more agrarian island whilst Comino is a small outcrop between the two with a population of about five people (all based in the hotel!). This is useful to know, as we’ll be island-hopping in this article.

Malta - View of Valletta harbour from the Saluting Battery

Whilst English is spoken by almost all islanders, the official language is Maltese (an offshoot of Sicilian Arabic). Most menus are bilingual or fully English though, as are the people.

Getting around on the beers. If you don’t drive, transport is via the notorious Maltese bus network – notorious in that punctuality isn’t in their dictionary (to be fair when you’ve taken a few journeys through the narrow streets and traffic, you’ll appreciate why). However since the introduction of modern buses a few years ago and the availability of the bus company app, things are a considerably better. Do yourself a favour and get hold of a 7 day ticket (Tallinja card), which easily pays for itself after a couple of journeys. See publictransport.com.mt for details.

Beer and brewing in Malta is dominated by Simonds Farsons Cisk plc whose beer permeates almost all bars and supermarkets. Cisk lager is the predominant brew, with other brands such as Farsons (Red, Blue and Green labels) and Hopleaf complementing their portfolio. There are a couple of small independents – the established names of Stretta and Lord Chambray and the new upstart, Huskie (Phoenix Raw is listed on Ratebeer, but I found none of their stuff and the last Untappd check-in for them is August 2021). There’s also The Brew (brewpub in Sliema) and a cider producer, Tuff. In contrast to Maltese produce you’ll also come across a diverse selection of Italian brews and a less diverse (but pervasive) selection of British stuff.

There were a couple of places I had on my list that simply weren’t open. Whether this was temporarily or permanently due to COVID was unclear, so do have a look before you travel to see if Caffé Berry and Beer Cave have re-opened their doors.

Following in my footsteps, let’s start in…

Gozo

Now I’ll state upfront that Gozo was my favourite part of Malta. 

Beautiful place, with the highlight being the Gozo Salt Pans which produces salt directly from the Mediterranean Sea. A great place for walking as well. There are plenty of bars, but for the beer hunter there were only two that came up on the radar which were open;

Lord Chambray Brewery Tap (Mgarr Road, Xewkija XWK 9014)

An odd little place tucked away in a small semi-industrial estate (look out for the Mgarr windmill and you’re almost there, it’s the turning off the roundabout). 

A compact two-level brewery with a tap room at the front and most of their portfolio was on draught when we visited – 12 in all. 

They do a diverse range across various styles brewed for the islander’s palate. The friendly barmaid took us through the options and we decided to flight our way through them all. 

My fave was their bergamot flavoured White IPA, with a beer of real interest being (if not to my taste) Wild Fennel flavoured with – you guessed it – local fennel! My wife loved that one, even if I didn’t. Pencil in a good couple of hours here.

Gebuba (St. Peter & St. Paul Square, Nadur NDR, 1010)

The main venue on the island for beer choice is Gebuba, a little away from the action in the quiet town of Nadur. It’s a small bottle bar and due to COVID restrictions we were all outside in plastic tents on the pavement. 

Of all the places in Malta this is the one to hunt down local beers as they seemed to have a bottled version of almost everything produced by anyone, so useful for bagging the lesser-spotted Farsons/Cisk range and Lord Chambray beers not on tap at their place (including their amazing winter ale – made from carob honey and galanga root!). 

Seemingly popular with the expats as well, we got chatting with a friendly pair and could have happily spent all evening here. Again, two hours is a minimum spend in my opinion.

Maldonado Bistro

If you end-up staying in Victoria let me recommend Maldonado (Vella Street 18, VCT 1461) as your dinner destination; it was so good I went two nights on the trot, unheard of on my Euro travels! Booking essential.

From Gozo we head to…

Comino

Now, Comino has no proper bars. In fact all it has is a hotel. 

However, it’s well-worth the trip over to explore the wilderness (and for the ride, if nothing else). 

Beer recommendations? Well, there are three or four cabins by the dock which sell the basics, so if you want to try an ice cold can of Cisk lager, do it here; sat on the beach with the waves lapping and the sun on your face – you’ll find that it tastes pretty good!

Malta

Undoubtedly where most of the action is. However the best bars are concentrated in two places – downtown Sliema and the capital of Valletta. The density means that these places aren’t distinct individual areas, they are part of the same urban sprawl along the coast. Beware that you’ll have to get transport between most of them though.

The Brew (74, The Strand, Sliema, SLM101)

Not what I expected; The Brew is a brewpub slap-bang on the Sliema party strip so don’t expect much in the way of beer aficionados here. 

When they hit (Porter, APA) they taste good but when they miss...it's pretty mediocre homebrew. Table service only on my visit which I think may be standard. 

45 mins will do you unless you want to tick all their beers.

Hole in the Wall (31, High Street, Sliema, SLM 1549)

A lot of online hype about this one but to be honest I didn’t really see the fuss. 

It’s a pretty small place with a range of bottles and cans though without much out-of-the-ordinary, it’s mainly British. Staff (bar one honourable exception) were also pretty lacklustre. 

Two beers I found to tick off, one of which was the Simonds Hopleaf – “Weak pishy and slightly metallic. An insult to Reading's finest” was what I recorded at the time! 30-45 mins here, I’d say.

Salisbury Arms (81, High Street, Sliema, SLM 1540)

OK so this one is a bit leftfield for this article as it’s one of those generic ‘Brit pubs in Malta’ which doesn’t exactly major in beer. 

However, I can thoroughly recommend it for the relaxed 90’s style interior and 90’s style pub food - my burger was as close to an old skool Wimpy as I’ll ever see again. 

Grub and a herbal high? This is one is for you. 60 mins if you stop for food.

Jack of All Trades (Depiro Street, Sliema, SLM 0035)

Offbeat bar. Visited mainly because of the range of Belgian beers on offer (as opposed to Maltese delights). Run by a guy who looks like a Focus roadie who was good value once he warmed up a bit.

The beer list won’t necessarily excite the tickerati but there’s plenty of Lowland standards to imbibe and if you like 70’s music (we got Pink Floyd’s Animals album in full) you’ll enjoy it here. 

COVID restrictions meant that it has been trading at a loss for a while and it’s touch-and-go as to whether it survives as a long-term proposition, so do give it your support. Stay length dependent on your wont for Belgian beers – I was happy with an hour.

67 Kapitali (67 Old Bakery Street, Valletta, VLT 1426)

In Valletta proper, this one came with a lot of online praise and it didn’t disappoint. 

From a Maltese point of view it’s Chambray-heavy though it also stocks Huskie beers which is your win, they had three of them and they were all pretty decent with the black IPA Tuta being the stand-out.

There’s also the full range of Tuff ciders. 

Have a good look at the bottle list and random point-of-sale stuff; we came across a brand new beer they had literally just had delivered from Sicily - Birrificio Alveria - which uses Maltese barley, wheat and Gozitan sea salt from the Xwejni salt pans. It was my beer of the session and on another day I’d have had a second. 

Stayed for just over two hours and could have easily clocked up more.

Wild Honey (127 St. Lucia Street, Valletta, 1183)

Comes with the maxim of ‘time your visit’. It’s a very small bar and we had to sit outside on the street (where you will see all sorts of characters). 

A genuinely eclectic selection from around Europe, we finished-up (via a bottle of Tynt Meadow from Leicestershire) with a rather expensive but lovely Goliat Bourbon Barrel Aged by To Øl, which was priced slightly cheaper than it would be in the UK. 

Stay time is dictated by your seat and the depth of your wallet – if you’re willing to splash the cash there’s enough here for a whole evening.

The Pub (136 Archbishop Street, Valletta, MT 1444)

Very small and tucked out of the way. Gets a lot of rave reviews but I didn’t really see too much as an English tourist to get excited about bar the Oliver Reed connection (he died here but luckily they've kept it tasteful and don't make a huge thing of it. There's fewer than 20 massive photos). 

One or two beers of interest in the fridge. 30 minutes to say you’ve done it.

Café Society (13 St John Street, Corner of St Pauls, Valletta)

Another one to time your visit – we were there on a Friday night where it was transformed into some sort of dimly-lit techno nightclub. 

Very multimedia, there were rolling videos of vintage beer adverts and general odd stuff. 

A fair beer menu with Huskie and Lord Chambray bottles we hadn’t encountered elsewhere. 

Link to Cafe Society tweet by @Sir_Doris

Quinno

NAO, Lanzarote

 A guest post by Richard Scullion, Campaigns Officer South East Sussex CAMRA.

Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, is a great place to visit in November! Apart from warmth, blue skies, dramatic volcanic scenery, and the amazing architecture of Cesar Manrique, craft beer can be found with a little effort. At the main resorts most bars serve international brands but a little sleuthing will reveal the strong Estrella Galicia 1906 Reserva Especial from mainland Spain, and the Canarian brewed Dorada - a perfectly acceptable lager with a pleasant sweetness.

To my knowledge there are just three independent brewers on Lanzarote: Malpeis which produces three beers, Jable, a 5.3% golden ale, Bermeja, a 6.7% double malt pale, and Rofe (the local name for the black volcanic ash which covers much of the island and is actually spread over fertile soil to retain moisture), a dark beer at 7%. Whilst available in bottles in shops and some bars, I didn’t track any down on draft.

The second brewery, Los Aljibes, was the first craft outfit on the island with two bars serving their two draft beers. Aguita is a dark American pale at 4.8% and TEA is a 4.8% red ale. Despite bus trips out from our base in the capitol, Arrecife, to first, Costa Tequise, and second, Puerto del Carmen, both their establishments were closed and looked unlikely to open any day soon!

Success was achieved however at the island’s star show! Located in a former fishing net workshop and hardware store in the harbour area of Naos, El Camarote is the Nao Brewery taproom (at 5 Calle Foque, Arrecife). 

Established by Miquel Lasso and his partner Loreto about five years ago their operation began with just two beers, La Gloria, a 3.5% Berliner Weisse, and Capitan, a 4.8% copper American pale ale. My son Paul and I started gently with the Berliner Weisse in draft form.

We then shared a bottle of the excellent Black Patron, a 7.6% beer described as a black APA, but in my book a first rate porter. This was followed by a draft Mucho, a 6.5% malty copper IPA (delicious), and a Marinera, their 4.8% blonde. 

All these were served efficiently with charm and complimentary peanuts by our host, Aida. 

Our final beer was a bit special! 

Many decades after the destruction of most of the island by volcanoes between 1730 and 1736, agriculture in a basic form began to return, and it was discovered that, with a clever system of rock-built windbreaks, the land could support vines. A Portuguese grape, Malvasia, was brought in from (relatively) nearby Madeira, and this has formed the basis of the island’s wine production. To those who may be interested the reds are probably best ignored, the whites are quite good, but the sweet, dessert style whites - a tempting golden colour – are exceptional. 

All this to say that our final beer was a shared bottle of their Maresia. This is an 8% limited edition full bodied grape ale, using the malvasia and served from an a suitably elegant blue corked bottle – is it a beer, is it a wine? It’s for you to decide when you visit this delightful and welcoming island!

Richard Scullion - 25 November 2021

Richard Scullion is a real ale (and more recently craft beer) enthusiast, born and brought up in Horsham, Sussex, where his first pint was King and Barnes, probably in the Dog and Bacon. Work took him to the West Midlands where he particularly enjoyed Batham’s and Holden’s. Moving to Newbury, he rejoined CAMRA and became first Social Secretary and then Chair of the West Berkshire branch. He has always believed that since the demise of K and B, Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter, is the gold standard for that beer style. Helpfully he now lives on the Sussex coast which has a plentiful supply of Harvey’s outlets, and where he greets each seasonal beer with enthusiasm. Recently he has become Campaigns Officer with the South East Sussex CAMRA Branch, and is on the organising committee for the April 2022 CAMRA AGM and Members’ Weekend.  

Portishead pubs - July 2021

 

Many people have heard of Portishead, perhaps from M5 motorway signs or from the eponymous trip hop band who released Dummy in 1994.

However, apart from Bristolians and sailing / boating types, not many people have visited the town on the Severn Estuary just west of Avonmouth, where the river Avon reaches the sea.

Thursday 1 July 2021

We arrived in Portishead after a mainly rural ride on the top deck of a bus from Bristol, passing Ashton Court with a slow ascent of Rownham Hill and later crossing the M5. After a walk from the bus stop we reached the Lake Grounds and then the Esplanade giving views of Portishead Point lighthouse and the yellow-painted walls of the Open Air Pool.

The Royal Inn

Instead of following Woodlands Road we opted for a walk on the quiet footpath through the woods which also leads to the impressive Royal Inn. A one way system was operating and after entering through the main door and signing in we were shown to a table in the spacious garden at the edge of the woods.

I ordered Butcombe Original from a choice of two cask ales where Doom Bar was the alternative. It's always nice to see a beer served in the correct glass but on this occasion my glass may either have been old or not entirely clean inside, judging by the line of air bubbles seen near the top.

However, the 4% abv beer looked and tasted good. Living in Bristol, Boak & Bailey recently eulogised over a pint of Butcombe in a blog post Pubs and beer all spick and span 'Leafy hop character, cracker-crust malt, a hint of rustic mystery from the yeast… A great way to break the cask fast'. This post was illustrated with a more recent version of the Butcombe glass etched with 'Truth in every taste'. With table service and its wonderful setting overlooking the Severn Estuary, £4.40 pint seemed reasonable for a pint at the Royal Inn which caters mainly for diners.

Portishead Marina

Heading down Pier Steps towards Portishead Lifeboat Station, there was an opportunity to get a photo of Portishead Pier and the dockside cranes of Royal Portbury Docks beyond.

A large lock separates Portishead Marina from the Severn Estuary and it was filling with water as a number of expensive-looking cruisers were raised to the level of the Marina.

At the north end of the Marina, there are several shop units housing Mokoko Coffee & Bakery, a Co-Op and a community pub - The Siren's Calling.

There were tables and chairs outside the Siren's Calling but unfortunately it was closed due to limited opening hours and we would be heading back to Bristol at 4pm, the Thursday opening time. There are usually four local cask ales, eight keg beers and lagers and nine bag in box ciders available at the bar.

Half way along the Marina lies Hall and Woodhouse, Portishead (built 2012). The bar / restaurant was designed by architects Mackenzie Wheeler and was awarded CAMRA Newbuild Pub of the Year 2013. 'Designed to be highly sustainable, the building comprises a two-storey, fully glazed, concrete-framed structure, flanked with 28 recycled shipping containers that accommodate the private dining and meeting rooms, toilets, staff accommodation and Marina facilities'. 

There is also a Wetherspoon pub next to Lidl, near the southern end of the Marina. The Posset Cup had seating outdoors on two sides but on our visit this area formed a wind tunnel and so we passed by and instead caught a bus back to Bristol. 

Although we did not make the most of opportunities to visit the pubs in Portishead, it was fascinating to learn about the history of the area from information provided by Gordano Civic Society on a board by the Marina. The Marina, now surrounded by modern housing, was once a dock handling timber and supplies for the Albright & Wilson phosphorus plant powered by cheap electricity from a local power station.