A Real Ale for The Transit of Venus
This idea has been brewing for a while now (sorry).
So I’ve been looking into the Transit of Venus since early last year. The Horrocks observatory is a few minutes away from me on Moor Park – I’ve been trying to get access to it and after many failed attempts I think I’ve found someone who can get me in to have a look.
The inspiartion for the ale came from reading about Captain Cook and his journey to Tahiti to observe a transit of venus… to be completey honest I thought he’d taken lots of lemons on board as an experiment to combat scurvy. It turns out it was Saurkraut. I guess I have real ale on the mind quite a bit. I’ve helped serve at a few real ale festivals at the Continental (one of the finest pubs in Preston) and there is a real ale shop on Lovat rd which is just round the corner from my house. I’d been discussing the idea of getting them to make an ale for an exhibition.
So I think these thoughts collided and beacme one idea for a Transit Ale with a lemony twang.
What I’d like to do is make a real ale which can only be drunk in a year when there is a Trasnit of Venus – so twice every 120+ years. I’m hoping that The Harris museum and Art Gallery, Lancashire records office and UCLAN will keep the recipe in their archives until the next transit.
I really like the idea of starting a tradition, but I especially enjoy the thought that I’ll never know if it ever becomes one. A bit like people who design parks and gardens never seeing the finished result. Also the possibility of a celebration that is goverened by the planets. This seems to tie in nicely with the Preston Guild. In fact its the only time the 2 events have happened in the same year.. need to figure out when they are next likey to coincide.
I’m hoping that we are going to start brewing the first prototype Ale next week. I’ve been visiting the Real Ale Shop every week and discussing it with them. They found a recipe for an IPA (India Pale Ale) from the 1700’s – its 7.1%abv. If all goes well it will be ready for the Preston beer festival – happens in March
