Desert Island Beers – Tim O’Rourke
Meet Tim O’Rourke, Master Brewer and all round beer expert. Tim 
has been brewing for over 30 years, having worked in International Breweries such as Bass (now Coors) and Courage (now Heineken) and more recently as a consultant. He works for Microbreweries both in the UK and overseas and has set up breweries in Canada and the Falkland Islands, and is currently acting as a consultant and brand advisor to breweries in the UK, Ireland and Malaysia.
For the last ten years he has also been involved in providing technical education to the brewing industry, mainly on behalf of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling but also through his own company “The Brilliant Beer Company”. He was one of the founders of the Beer Academy and one of the core lecturers. He is passionate about good beer, and really enjoys passing his knowledge onto people not necessarily connected with the brewing industry.
In addition to all of the above he is also an auditor for Cask Marque, a beer journalist, and was a former technical editor for the Brewers Guardian. He continues to write and has published over 250 technical and educational articles.
Tim believes that brewing and beer should be fun and interesting. In Summer 2011 he organised the Great Baltic Adventure taking 14 different samples of cask Imperial Russian Stout by sailing ship from London to Saint Petersburg and then judging the beers to find the beer which best survived the journey and have it crowned as “ A Beer fit for an Empress”.
His mission in life is to prove that drinking beer is an enjoyable pastime and likes to share his enthusiasm with everyone but says that like all great things, beer has to sampled and enjoyed in moderation.
The Beers
Tim, welcome aboard our desert island. With your experience in sailing beers around the world we fear you may not be here long though! Whilst you are, which five beers will you be enjoying?
Frederic Robinson Ltd – Old Tom (Stockport, U.K. – 8.5% )
“This is a classic example of an old ale with rich dark fruit notes a well balanced bitterness and sweetness and full of rich flavor. This is a beer I would enjoy on a chilly evening after the sun had gone down and is typically the style of beer I would drink at home after a long day to relax when I wanted a night cap.”
Thornbridge Brewery – Kipling (Bakewell, U.K. – 5.2%)
“Thornbridge brewery has developed a exquisite range of Cask & Bottled beers, most of which would be a delight to drink during my time on a Desert Isalnd. I chose Kipling because not only does it have the fine malt flavours balanced by a fierce hop bitterness but it comes with the wonderful aromas of New Zealand Nelson Sauvin which gives this beer an extra dimension through its intense fruity aroma of lychee and mango. A refreshing beer to be enjoyed in the shade at midday on the Tropical Island.”
Stärker Aromatic (Malaysia 5%) brewed by Napex and distributed through the Over Time Pub Chain.
“This is truly one of the first fresh beers to be available in the Tropics. It is sold un filtered and unpasteurized and its only means of microbial stabilization is through a short shelf life (less than 10 days from racking to dispense) and being keep cold (less than 3C) throughout the supply chain. In consequence it delivers a crisp clean flavor augmented with delightful aroma and taste of citrus and coriander, popular in Belgium Wheat Beers. Served ice cold it refreshes all parts of the body regardless of temperature. Winner of two gold medals in Brew Asia in the last two years.”
Kronenbourg 1664 ( brewed in the UK by Heineken (and sub contracted to Coors( 5%) Although the parent brewery in France is owned by Carlsberg (what a contractual mess).
“Ironically I prefer the UK brewed Kronenbourg and it was one of my favourite beers when working for Courage in Reading and is in my opinion the best UK brewed lager. This beer was chosen as a session lager which is easy to drink and is very refreshing when cold. When in good condition is has malt notes and a fresh citrus aroma from Hersbrucker Hallertau and I think more recently Strisselspalt hops which gives it the clean aroma and palate.”
Harveys Brewery – Sussex Best Bitter (Lewes – U.K. 4.0%)
“When looking for a no nonsense good traditional beer whose pedigree and style has remained unaltered over the decades it would be difficult to find a better example than Sussex bitter. A well balanced session bitter with a sensible alcohol strength with a good robust aroma and bitterness from English hops. This well favoured beer has won many accolades and gold medals but is only available near the brewery and in a few selected London pubs. My concern would be getting fresh supplies to my desert Island!”
And which beer (of those selected) do you regard most highly, and why?
“Probably if I was there a long time and could only sample one beer 
I would stick with the session lager or ale and in view of the heat probably chose Kronenbourg provided it could be kept and served cold. In my sessions I hope I won’t have to drink alone and that a Man Friday or preferably a Girl Friday would turn up and share the drinks with me.”
The Meal
You can also take one meal to go with your beers, what would it be and why? Is it a ‘last supper’ or a perfect pairing for one of the beers?
“Because of my interest in beer and food pairing (and ignoring the weather) even Tropical Islands have winters I would prepare a banquet to support my 5 beers.
Starting with fish – possibly fish and chips or if I was feeling healthy baked fish I would enjoy it with my Kronenbourg.
To be healthy I would chose a salad maybe with some of the local fruits and some goats cheese and that would be complimented with the fruity and hoppy notes from Kipling.
Coming to the main course we would have beef or even a rich meat pie such as Steak & Kidney pie all washed down with fresh cask conditioned Sussex Bitter.
I love cheese cake and assume a tangerine topping that will go well with the Stärker Aromatic wheat beer.
To finish and to wash the meal down I would enjoy cheese (strong cheese such as stilton and mature cheddar) with the “Port” of beers – Old Tom.”
(Tim, that’s three meals but we will let you off, seeing they are beer and food matchings!! Just this once.)
The Record
You have a CD/mp3/long player but you can only take one album. Choose wisely!
“I like music particularly from the 1970 & 80’s but don’t listen to it as much as I should. I would therefore choose some compilation such as the “More Than This”, the best of Brian Ferry & Roxy Music or Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits.”
(And that’s two albums!)
The Beer Book
You might be waiting a long time on your lonesome on the desert island, so we will automatically allow you a few books to keep your mind busy. You can pick between two beer books and two tomes:
• ‘The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food’ by Garrett Oliver, or;
• Beer by Michael Jackson; plus;
• The Bible, or;
• another appropriate religious or philosophical work
“I have just bought the Oxford Compendium to Beer edited by Garrett Oliver and since I have not had time to read it I hope I can take this along with me to improve my beer education.
Following on from my Great Baltic Adventure I am in the process of writing a book and so I would chose to take Pete Brown’s book about nearly taking IPA all the way from London to India – Hops and Glory to see if I can pick up any useful writing hints.”
The non-beery, non-philosophical book. You can also take a something a little less taxing on the brain, what would that be?
“I should read more and only read Brewing Books and rubbish fiction when I am travelling or on holiday. If I had a reasonable amount of time without wanting to completely chill out I think I would like to read Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species as a book that changed the world and to follow how a great intellect argued his points in forming his ideas.”
The Luxury Item
What luxury item would help make your stay on the island bearable?
“Other than the obvious of a bottle opener and fridge for the regular beers and a stillage and hard and soft pegs for the cask beer, I think I would chose to take my diving gear so I could swim around and enjoy scuba diving. It may also be useful in helping me collect lunch from the sea.
P.S. Also could I please have some sun cream and insect repellant as well.”
For more on Tim and The Brilliant Beer Co. check out their website. And we’ll be looking our for the story of the Great Baltic Adventure too!
Have you tried Tim’s favourite beers? Let us know and many thanks to him for taking part and being our castaway for the week.
This article is syndicated with Real Ale Reviews as part of our ‘Desert Island Beers’ collaboration.
Tags: Brilliant Beer Co., Desert Island Beers, Frederic Robinson Ltd - Old Tom, Harveys Brewery - Sussex Best Bitter, Kronenbourg 1664, Stärker Aromatic, Thornbridge Brewery - Kipling, Tim O'Rourke