Barnsley Schwäbisch Gmünd Twin Town Society

News Archive

04/04/19
Fruity Ale and Beer with Yorkshire Pride.

"There's a right beer for every occasion, but not every beer fits every occasion." declared Armin Ruch last Tuesday evening at the first "British Ale Tasting" event in Gmünd. He went on to explain various types of beer and what the differences in taste are.

Ale taste

Due to interest in 'ale' but also in the town twinning with Barnsley this proved a popular event, about two dozen visitors decended on the cinema pub KKF in Gmünd. It had been organised by the Association for Town Twinning in Gmünd, who also procured the beer. It came from a small brewery in Gmünd's English twin town Barnsley. Acorn Brewery is a small, independent but hip brewery that still produces its beers in a manual process.

Acorn brewery

"In former times 'ale' was brewed without hops, but "beer" with, explained Ruch " 'ale' was usually a top-fermented beer."
The variety of English beers is almost as great as those in Germany and in order to get to know some of them this tasting evening was organised. The evening was primarily about ales but also about advertising for the town twinning with Barnsley.
Robert Abzieher, deputy chairman of the Twin Town Association stated that Brexit had led to something of an awakening in England and it is precisely due to Brexit that a new awareness within the population for town twinning has arisen, for the importance of the connection between the citizens of the twinned towns. Barnsley is one of the places where new efforts are being made in order to strengthen the partnership with Gmünd, for example, a forthcoming event introducing people of Barnsley to German Easter traditions.

Armin Ruch has tasted numerous ales in the past and analysed their taste so he can now not only recognise the differences but is also able to describe them."In ales you can taste many different flavours, it's a bit like with wine," he eulogised "there is 'Yorkshire Pride' for example, which gives off a "nice note of honey."

Y Pride

"Or the 'Indian Pale Ale' which goes back to Great Britain's colonial past, because it was intended for the British in India." he continued, "One problem that had to be solved at the time was the long transport routes. A lot of hops had to be used to ensure that the beer didn't go off during the voyage which resulted in the drink becoming bitter. What was needed were hop varieties which tasted less bitter and they were found by crossing German and American hops, producing a lighter ale. This, of course, changed the taste of the beer, and it now has a note of lemon and a mango-like flavour.
"This ale tastes strikingly fruity" were Ruch's introductory words for the drink.

Not everyone liked it, Frank Mysliwitz and Hanna Feifel preferred the varieties 'Barnsley Gold' and 'Yorkshire Pride.'
Hanna had been drawn to attend the event at KKF because of her interest in town twinning but more importantly they were 'fans of the British pub' culture. Hanna regaled an anecdote from the past about the visit of the mother of an English friend of hers. During a visit to her grandchildren's school in Mutlangen, the mother gave a talk to the parents of other pupils about England and English customs. At the end she was asked "In England, does it get dark at night as early as it does here?" after short contemplation, "I don't know," she replied "I'm always in the pub at that time"!
The first "British Ale Tasting" event in Gmünd was clearly a big success as all 280 bottles from the first of several deliveries of Barnsley's Acorn beer have been drunk. Cheers !