Worshipful Company of Management Consultants' Day
2nd August 2017Windsor
It would have been very difficult to turn down a day out in Windsor which included a visit to the Windsor & Eton Brewery followed by lunch at a speciality meat restaurant “Meat at The Parish”. The BBC weather forecast promised showers and it was spot on. A leisurely train journey of almost one hour took me from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside station, where I joined a small group of masters for the 5 minutes walk to the brewery. I would recommend the brewery tour to anyone interested in the alchemy of turning barley, hops and yeast into ale and the relatively recent proliferation of craft beers. I have done several brewery tours but this one was the best: informative and fascinating. Windsor & Eton produces a remarkable selection of ales with distinctive and different characteristics. Our guide handed out different types of barley and several types of hops as we enjoyed samples of the beers that derive their characters from the ingredients. Our starter was Knight of the Garter which was an excellent golden ale with a good hoppy bitter flavour with citrus after notes. Their Republika pilsner is a rare lager that can boast a flavour. For my palate, the highlight was Treason: a west coast IPA of the American variety. I have enjoyed many excellent American craft IPAs and it was a revelation to find one made in this country that will stand comparison with the best on the other side of the pond. Treason can be found in well stocked branches of Waitrose.
Master Management Consultant, Noorzaman Rashid, called for taxis to transport us across a wet Windsor to the restaurant. After 90 minutes in a brewery with numerous samples to consume, we were pleasantly lubricated as we sat down to a lunch of chateaubriand. The beef was exceptional. My table included the Masters World Trader, Brewer, Engineer, IPM Framework Knitter and Mistress World Trader. The talk was entertaining, convivial and engaging. Before I knew it, I was dashing for the 17:10 slow train back to Waterloo.
Many thanks to Noorzaman and his clerk, Julie. The organisation was faultless and the programme was inspired. A perfect way to start August. The Masters will now enjoy a month of downtime to recharge their batteries before it all kicks off again in September.