Fullers get Punchy !

Fullers are proud to unveil their latest seasonal ale called Brit Hop, available in their pubs  and selected freehouses throughout April.

Brit Hop (4.1% ABV) is brewed with an incredible eight British hops, including an award-winning Admiral 2012*, used for the first time by Fuller’s, brewed in collaboration with Hardknott Brewery, from Cumbria.

Hardknott owner and head brewer Dave Bailey and his wife Anne travelled down to London earlier this March to take part in the first brew with our brewing team.

John Keeling was pleased to be reunited with Hardknott: “I’ve worked with Dave before, on a beer last spring called ‘The English Experiment’, and this time it was Dave’s turn to visit my brewhouse.”

“This is the most varieties of hops that we have ever tried in one beer, and I think probably the most British hops ever used by any other brewer on the planet!”

“The beer was inspired by our very own Chiswick Bitter, which only uses British hops as well. Think of Brit Hop as Chiswick on steroids!”

A new brew for 2013, Brit Hop is a full-flavoured but not overpowering fruity beer, with spicy, peppery notes, rich gooseberry and vine fruit flavours and a soft, sweet aftertaste.

“I am really pleased to be linking up with Fuller’s” said Dave, “I had a great day in the brewery, but the main thing I contributed was to shout "MORE HOPS" at every possible opportunity!”

“I'd like to add a note of thanks for the free flow of technical information from the brewing staff. John and I both agree that craft brewing is about people, attitude and brewing comradeship; something very evident on all my visits to Fuller's.”

*The Admiral 2012 hop won the Institute of Brewing and Distilling award for Best Hop in 2012.

 

If you would like a privillaged "In Cellar Tasting" of this ale, straight from the cask, contact us here at The Red Lion , to arrange a time.

Barnes Business Social

 

 

The pub has long been the heart & soul of British Community life, it has seen this country through good & bad times and should always remain so. The pub is not all about bricks & mortar, the wine & beer or even the cappuccinos or hand cut chips. Without the local community's support it soon becomes an empty soulless shell. In contrast the local community also needs the pub, it gels people together, it's services help fuel debates, people share ideas, discuss other people, help make decisions good or bad, it helps create enterprise just by drawing different people together.


This may all be a quick & lazy analogy designed to suit our requirements, but it is worth thinking about, we have seen it in action & continue to do so everyday.

With all of that foremost in our minds we now take this opportunity to launch a venture onto the business & retail local community in Barnes & it's surrounding areas.
We are calling it the "Barnes Business Social".

Our aim is to create a hub of local retailers, business owners, managers & their like to come together in the pub once every blue moon or so, we'll lay on a few nibbles, & you , well, ..be social ! Get to know one another, share ideas, gossip, moan about Joe public, create or renew ties & bonds. With these new relationships we will all start to support each other & who knows where it could end up ? It's like social media but in an old fashioned format - face to face, how quaint !    

The Red Lion, don't forget played a part ,large or small, in the inspiration for Jimi Hendrix to write his Purple Haze album , so let The Red Lion inspire you too. If you would like to be on board email us now to register your interest, put "Barnes Business Social" into the subject heading. When we have amassed a worthy number we can set a date for our first bash ! , the rest, hopefully, will be history.

Cellar Bar ... A truly unique venue , Open for business.

Fuller's very own beer sommelier Ashley Cherrett in full swing.

Last month saw our very first ticketed event for our beautiful little cellar "tasting bar".

A local business organised a group of 20 people, it was a language school from Barnes, it was not your usual , expected group of language students but a more well healed, mature version that turned up. They had not a clue what lay in store and found themselves in an environment totally alien to them, in the form of a British pub cellar (though no ordinary cellar).

We started the ball rolling with a guided tour and a full run down of casks, kegs, bungs, stillages, shives, keystones, epoxy resin floor paint, gas systems, fob monitors  and many more riveting snippets of information. It was not long before they started to get hooked, in fact it was about the same time that they were allowed to pour themselves their very first pint of Fuller's London Pride straight from the cask. !

 

 Then they were caught in our spell. Just as the first sip of cask conditioned ale was passing their lips, our secret weapon, the brewery's very own beer sommelier Ashley Cherrett pounced into action, offering his expert opinions and advice on flavours that can be found in the pint of bright amber beer and where they have all derived from. We hold many examples of malts and hops, the raw ingredients, here so everyone had a close up, first hand insight into the brewer's mystic arts.

It wasn't long before we unleashed our next stroke of sorcery in the form of an accompanying morsel of food, hand chosen by us, the experts, to compliment the beer, bring out the flavours and take ale drinking to heights they had never dreamed of.
After that they were all, quivering putty in our hands, all completely hooked on cask conditioned ale, food pairing, cellar techniques and the workings thereof.

Two hours passed, more conversation flowed, different beers were poured each complimented with  it's own bite and eventually the merry bunch of beer conscripts, then retired to the more familiar surroundings of the pub to finish their evening, each one owning a little more information than they had before they commenced their journey of discovery.

..... and that's a promise that we make to you too !

If you would like to book yourself an evening as described above then give us a ring (02087482984), drop us a tweet or email a message.

It really is a unique, interesting ,inexpensive, fun, couple of hours, that you'll be hard stretched to find anywhere else. ... go on , you won't regret it, see you soon !

Parties are limited to  a maximum of 20 and a minimum of 10 persons.

A little bit of Spain,

 

 

 

 

 

Probably not a good time to highlight a Spanish special we are running, since it's only 30 minutes since Manchester United got dumped out of the European cup by Real Madrid ! , but hey ho that's football.

For those among you that have not tuned out & shut this brief message down, don't worry it's got nothing to do with football at all.

Just to let those of you who are interested, know of a great deal we are offering at the moment. We are offering the above menu of homemade tapas for two,  with a stunning bottle of Rioja at a fantastic price of £25. It's not very often that we do promos like this, but it's a good little deal for two to relax , enjoy a bottle of good wine, in a peaceful grown up environment. - Hope to see you soon. (hurry while stocks last !)