My Alcohol-Free And Gluten-Free Real Ale Has Arrived
I have been drinking Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5% beer for some years now.
It should be noted that as a coeliac, I have to drink gluten-free beer and because I am on Warfarin, I can’t drink much alcohol.
My body has certified the beer as gluten-free, ever since it was released a few years ago.
On Saturday, my first consignment of the new Ghost Ship 0.5% beer arrived, which is properly certified as gluten-free.
This paragraph from this page on Adnams web site describes what they mean by gluten-free.
Ghost Ship is inspired by tall tales of the ghostly ships that haunted the shores of Walberswick. The seeds of these stories were likely sown by smugglers in a plot to keep the Suffolk coast clear. In contrast, Ghost Ship 0.5%’s creative new look invites you in, flying the flag for low-alcohol beer. It has been painted by a talented local artist with a love of that very same coastline. Adnams invested in a de-alcoholiser specifically to craft Ghost Ship 0.5%. This reverse osmosis plant allows the team to brew and ferment Ghost Ship 0.5% like all our other beers and then, at cold temperatures, remove the alcohol. It leaves all the lovely flavours from a full fermentation in the beer, allowing it to sail away with those original characteristics. Our Ghost Ship 0.5% 330ml cans are validated as gluten free. When producing Ghost Ship 0.5%, we use an enzyme to help with filtration when using our de-alcoholiser. This breaks down gluten-type molecules which helps with the process, reducing gluten content to below 20 parts per million (ppm). Only foods that contain 20ppm or less can be labelled as ‘gluten-free.’
I’ll go along with that!
But then I’ve been drinking Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5% beer for at least five years and I’ve never had a reaction.
Will 22 Ropemaker Street Have Shops?
As I walked past 22 Ropemaker Street on Sunday, the builders appeared to be finishing off the Ground Floor.
Looking at the building’s web site, there is no mention of retail.
- But the web site does show off the transport and walking connections.
- It also has its own entrance for cyclists.
- Car parking is not mentioned on the web site.
- The web site also details the building.
It’s certainly a well-designed office building.
UK Sees Cleanest Power Grid In Q3 As Renewables Grow, Drax Report Says
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewables Now.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Renewables supplied over 40% of Britain’s electricity demand, the highest ever for the third quarter, helping the country achieve its cleanest power grid on record, according to the Drax Electric Insights report.
In the third quarter carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the generation mix were an average of 143 grams per kWh, for the first time below 150 g per kWh over the quarter, says the report, which is commissioned by biomass power generator Drax and prepared by a team from Imperial College London.
We’re certainly getting somewhere!
Building Inside Mountains: Global Demand For Pumped Hydroelectric Storage Soars
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Construction-Europe.
This is the sub-heading.
Pumped hydroelectric storage plants around the world have been secretly storing electricity in remote mountain lakes for the last century. But the switch to renewable energy sources is prompting a surge in new construction.
These two paragraphs introduce the article.
Looking out over the ragged beauty of the Scottish Highlands, Coire Glas, a horseshoe-shaped valley holding a clear mountain lake above the shores of Loch Lochy, seems like an unlikely spot to build a megaproject.
In this remote location, surrounded by clumps of pine trees, a team of construction workers from contractor Strabag are tunnelling their way through the rock which they hope will form part of a vast new power storage facility.
The article is a must-read that talks about pumped storage hydroelectricity in general and SSE Renewables’s 1500MW/30 GWh Coire Glas power station in particular.
The Future Of Pumped Hydroelectric Storage
These two paragraphs from the article give a glimpse into the future.
According to the International Energy Agency, global pumped storage capacity is set to expand by 56% to reach more than 270 GW by 2026, with the biggest growth in India and China.
Current pumped storage megaprojects currently in construction include the Kannagawa Hydropower Plant near Minamiaki in Japan which when fully completed in 2032 is expected to have a total installed capacity of 2,820MW; and Snowy Hydro 2.0 in New South Wales, Australia, which is currently expected to complete in 2028.
Note.
- I can count two Indian and ninety Chinese systems under construction. All have a capacity of upwards of one GW.
- The Kannagawa Hydropower Plant appears to be the largest with a capacity of 2.82 GW. The Japanese are keeping quiet about the storage capacity.
- The Snowy Hydro 2.0 has a capacity of 2 GW and a storage capacity of 350 GWh.
- The Wikipedia entry for Snowy Hydro 2.0 states that it is the largest renewable energy project under construction in Australia.
Against this onslaught of massive systems, SSE Renewables are pitching the 1500MW/30 GWh Coire Glas and the 252MW/25 GWh Loch Sloy systems.
Pumped hydroelectric storage will have a big part to play in decarbonising the world. Even in little old and relatively flat UK.
Brent Cross West Station – 10th December 2023
The new Brent Cross West station opened today, so I went to have a look.
Note.
- There are two island platforms.
- The platforms can handl2 12-car Class 700 trains.
- The Eastern island, which is Platforms 1 and 2, is for Thameslink and has two escalators, two lifts, two sets of stairs and two toilets.
- The toilets on the Eastern platforms are an identical pair to cater for everyone.
- The Western island, which is Platforms 3 and 4, is for the main lines and has one lift and two sets of stairs.
- The arriving Thameslink Class 700 train is stopping in Platform 1 on the way to London.
- Signs indicate a cafe, but I couldn’t find it, so I assume that is for the future.
- The shelters on the platforms are heated.
- Both entrances have two lifts, at least one or two escalators and stairs.
The outside photos were taken two days later.
I have some other thoughts.
The Station Layout
The station has a slightly unusual and very practical layout.
- There is a longish and high bridge over the multiple tracks through the station.
- It is step-free with lifts and escalators at each end to give step-free access across the railway.
- The bridge is wide and is built for cycles.
- The trains are accessed from a spacious lobby, which is separated from the bridge by a long gate-line.
- The lifts, stairs and escalators all lead down from the spacious lobby.
The station must have a very high passenger capacity.
The Track Layout
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at the station.
Note.
- The Eastern island platform between the 90 mph Thameslink tracks.
- The Western island platform between the 100-105 mph main line tracks.
- The two most-Easterly tracks give access to the Cricklewood Depot.
- The two black tracks
- The blue tracks connect to the Dudding Hill Line.
- The two black tracks between the blue tracks and the main line tracks are the Up and Down Hendon tracks, which run between Hendon and West Hampstead Thameslink stations, which seem to allow trains to cross over from one side of the tracks to the other.
The large number of tracks must make operation easier.
The West London Orbital Railway
The Hendon and Kew Bridge route of the West London Orbital Railway is planned to call at Brent Cross West station.
It looks like it will use the two Hendon tracks through Brent Cross West and Hendon stations and trains will take the Dudding Hill Line to Neasden to the South of Brent Cross West station.
The West London Orbital Railway will connect Hendon and Brent Cross West station to High Speed Two and the Elizabeth Line, so it will be a very important connection for the residents of the area.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout between the Dudding Hill Line and Hendon.
Note.
- Hendon station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The orange tracks are the Midland Main Line
- Brent Cross West station is marked by the blue arrow.
- The yellow tracks going towards the South-West are the Dudding Hill Line.
The Hendon route will need new platforms at Hendon and Brent Cross West station.
Conclusion
I like the station and I think others will be built on similar principles.
The Anonymous Widower 