India Pale Ale (IPA)

Booze Blog

Raja's Reward IPA

July 2014

I think that this brew had the shortest shelf life on record. Apart from a sample pint, the keg went from full (40 pints) to empty in less than two hours.

Now before you go thinking that my ability to drink beer has sky rocketed I think this needs a bit of explanation. You will recall from my recent posts that we included a launch event for the Jam Butty during the Birmingham Floating Market and, as is traditional, we felt it appropriate to whet the boat with a dash of ale.

Now I gave my selection quite a bit of thought as I perused the board of fayre offered by Barry on The Homebrew Boat and settled on an IPA which offers a light, bright taste which seemed appropriate for a summer evening. What is more IPA originated at the Burton on Trent breweries for export to the far East because it travelled well. We may not be travelling far but the brew was certainly going by water so all in all it seems appropriate.

The actual kit was Raja's Reward which I part fermented in a vat for five days and then transferred the still active brew to a bottom draining keg for the rest of the fermentation and settling. As a result I avoided all contact with oxygen and the problems that causes, but also removed the bulk of the yeast sediment.

As I transferred the brew to the keg I added the hop "Tea bag" which I suspended from the filler cap with a bit of thread which added a further tang of hop to the taste. The keg then had natural pressure which created a good head when the beer was released. In fact this head can be a bit excessive and my approach is to drain the beer off into a jug and then pour into glasses leaving the excess head behind - which then settles off and is included in the next pint poured.

Montgomery supporting a barrel of Raja's Reward

As for the brew, it was excellent. Light, tangy with more than a little frutiness for good measure. It was a little more cloudy than some brews but this is probably due to the bottom drain tap pulling is a bit of sediment.

I really enjoyed the two pints I consumed and was rather looking forward to drinking a few more in the days after the event. However, this wasn't to be as the guests found the brew to be equally acceptable and many return trips were made to the barrel on the roof of Montgomery and even the last dregs were expertly removed! You cant get a better endorsement than a bunch of the real ale quaffing boaters!

Birmingham Floating Market 2014

Birmingham Floating Market 2014

June 2014

Birmingham Floating Market represented the first official outing for The Jam Butty so it was all a bit of trial and error. 

Birmingham Floating Market 2014

A Kev Maslin special portrait

The mechanics of using Montgomery as a sales platform went very well, with the adjustable floor working to perfection and the ability to pull the loaded stall back into the middle of the boat and leave it set up under sheeting made overnights a delight.

The Jam Butty in trading mode

Rather irritatingly the weather was not great with rain pretty much all day on Saturday. Undaunted we decided to try out our wet weather option which involved erecting the gazebo over the boat with the front legs 1m over the towpath. This worked surprisingly well and allowed us to continue to trade all day, even offering customers much appreciated shelter. To tell the truth I think they came for the shelter and then got sucked into the whole Wild Side thing!

 Dragon Boat racing

Whatever the reason, we had a very good days trading on Saturday and Sunday in spite of the elements.

Saturday night saw something of a celebration of The Jam Butty's launch attended by friends, fellow traders and even Mr Parry from the C&RT. The participants were fortified by Helen's jam on scones and Cheese / Chutney on crackers washed down with jugs of Pimms and a keg of Andy's Homebrew (IPA). The whole event went off well and was enjoyed by all.

The Jam Butty's official launch party

It was particularly good to meet up with Sue and Ade from the Cheese Boat and Ricard and Sue from Indigo Dream who were both in Birmingham for the weekend.

The new and the old in Birmingham

We took our leave at 6.00pm on Sunday under a setting sun, waved on by Andrew Denney (Granny Buttons and Waterways World) and made a solitary trip to Tipton arriving at 9.30pm. The setting sun was magnificent and added a whole new dimension to the New Main Line which can be a bit dull at times.

Leaving Birmingham

For the return trip I altered the trim of Montgomery to make her stern heavy with her bows up 2 inches plus altered the towing straps. The result was dramatic and she towed better and faster.

Sunset on the New Main Line

All in all a good shakedown for the new combination and good preparation for our trip down to Oxford in 10 days time.

The long haul

To Birmingham Floating Market

June 2014

After all that effort this was the first proper trip out with the butty - Calf Heath to central Birmingham for the Summer Floating Market.

Leaving the marina

Having crept into Cover and dusk we were off again at 6.30am for a rendezvous with Martin, one of our regular relief crew, at the bottom of the Wolverhampton 21. He arrived at 8.15 just as we were rising in lock 21 and was straight in the business of keeping the boats moving.

Good going on the Staffs and Worcs

As it happened all the locks were for us and in spite of some slow progress between the locks we still made it up in a very creditable 2hrs 15 mins.

Towing in Wolverhampton

Towing  from Wolverhampton to Tipton was a bit challenging, with a narrow weedy channel waiting to catch us is we strayed off the limited navigation channel. After one of two incidents where The Jam Butty decided to try and declare UDI we dropped the butty onto a 40 foot line and Martin steered. This was we made strong progress abd Wand'ring dark was better able to bight into the water and pull both boats along as at a good pace.

Jam Butty being towed through Coseley Tunnel

At Factory Locks we were caught by a hire boat who decided to but some jam - over £30 worth! A lovely bonus and a great family group. Down on the New Main Line we reverted to the cross straps and the hire boat passed us at the Gower Branch. A bit further along we came upon The Tea Junction which had broken down and was being inched to the city by another trade and we effected what was probably our only ever overtaking maneuver when towing the butty!

Catching and passing The Tea Junction (ex Hatherton Belle)

And so we arrived in central Birmingham at 6.00pm, winded at Old Turn Junction and took our spot by Sheepcote Bridge and prepared for the weekend's trading activity. Foreast for Friday is poor but picking up.

Jam Butty reporting for service

Ready to Birmingham's Floating Market (just)

June 2014

Its hard to believe that its just a month ago that we took delivery of the Montgomery - so much has changed!

I do have a bad habit of setting myself overly stretching targets and the preparation of The Jam Butty is a prime example. Originally we were thinking about the Black Country Boating Festival in September as a probably launch event but then along cane the Floating Market and the schedule was advanced. 

I figured I could get it done but has no idea how close it would be. I have spent most of my spare time working on the butty and crucially we managed to arrange for the sign writing this week.

This week I spent Friday and Saturday on the task and progressed to the point that the butty is fit for purpose, albeit with quite a lot of bits and bobs to be finished off later on

Most of Friday was spent constructing an adjustable floor which allows the trading platform to operate at 6", 12" and 18" above the waterline, depending on the height of the adjacent towpath. The floor rests on two side rails held up with cut down lock gate bolts rescued from the skip at the Bradley works and the middle rests on the top plank. This top planj rests on a ladder like contraption at the front end and Dan came up with the idea of an extendable box within a box to offer a stable and sturdy adjustable rear support.

The raised floor at max height

Saturday was then a day devoted to painting and the manufacture of some sheeting to cover the hold. I recycled the heavy duty tarp used to protect the paint from the rain and fashioned side cloths which look rather stylish when raised. Then there is the main tarp which goes over the top and provides most of the protection.

I also fixed the security bolts to the cabin and the attachments for the front fender.

The paint on the bow flashes is a bit of a nod to Ernie Thomas, who ran a huge fleet of day boats and was the founder of the basin there we moor. He used two yellow crescent moons and a squashed diamond shape in the middle but in his case the background was red, not green as I have used. I dont suppose anyone will ever notice this but its a nice touch I think.

The Jam Butty, coming to a canal near you!

The elum (tiller) defeated me. It came painted Raddle Red and I simply ran out of time to get it completed. This aspect will have to be a work in progress for a few weeks.

So there we have it - The Jam Butty all ready for its first outing on Thursday when we head into Birmingham via the Wolverhampton 21. I have every expectation that it will be the head turner we plan as several of the moorers at Calf Heath have come over to me to show me their photos of Montgomery, almost as if its a new grandchild!

Sign Writing Montgomery

Sign Writing
June 2014

Sign writing, like plastering, is one of those activities which is generally best left to the experts.

I know my limitations and I can't sign write to the standard needed to make the most of The Jam Butty so I called on the services of Jim McCormack (http://www.mwsignwriters.co.uk/). Jim applied the lettering to Wand'ring Bark seven years ago and I have always been delighted with the work he produces so I had no hesitation about using him again.

Jim worked like a Trojan for over six hours today and this was the end result:

 A retro Cratch Plate

 Jim McCormack in action

Stern Bends and cabin sides

What do you think?