Happy St. George's Day

Well I’m not far off retiring and the bloke who took me in has since retired. (Never too old for good beer)

Only my 2nd visit to Glasgow, the first time we only got as far as the Burrell collection (on holiday in Ayr with the kids).

 

I make it a policy never to drink anything that makes you **** a different colour.

 

beer snob

who the **** is drinking that much carlsberg though!

 

I’ve drunk a lot of different beers for many years and nothing ever beats Belgian for me. That isn’t to say it’ll be for everybody of course, but I love Belgian beer.

I don’t mind Polish lager to be honest, but if I get any cans in the fridge these days it’s usually Estrella. I like a nice steady drink if I fancy a few in the house and they’re lovely.

I have genuinely no idea how anyone can willingly sup Carling. I can’t say much for Fosters either. If there’s nowt else, fair enough. But they are awful. Amazes me to see that list that Loko put up. One can only assume it’s just because it’s in every shop.

 

It was something I heard. I worked in one of his pubs back in the day when he was the main man on the Glasgow scene - interesting times.

 

Didn't realise it was St Georges day yesterday. Had a couple of tipples with beer we brought with us. The last one was an earl grey IPA (think it was vocation). Was much more like a DIPA. Quite enjoyable once my taste buds got acclimatised.

As for that list, thats just grim. But I don't think you'll see anything overtake them because most are just one brand mass volume. Are there are stats over last decade to show what percentage are made up from smaller brewers now? It definitely feels like there are more taprooms, craft beer pubs and general pubs that at least nod to something beyond the main stream, but thats just my perception and nothing evidence based.

 

I do love belgian beer too, but it never seems to taste the same in the UK so I rarely drink it here. I think it was when I did my first Cantillon brewery "tour" (though its fabulously not a tour and just an unguided wander up rickety staircases into the bowels of an old building with barrels galore topped off with drinking beer! Anyway, the guy at the end said historically, many of the beers were just brewed and consumed locally and that the spores of local bacteria in the air gave their flavours for the gueuze and fruit flavoured beers, so when you had them it that locality, they just tasted better because of the air you were breathing and inhaling.

It was the discovery of Gueuze and the Lambics that got me more interested in beer and to be braver. Prior to that, if I drank anything I'd go for Budvar (which i'd discovered in Prague and it cropped up in a local near me), but otherwise it was pretty rare to find it and sadly I think Budweiser, after years and years of trying to stop Budvar stating they were the oldest real Budweiser and several legal actions, Budweiser just went and bought them. And now you just don't see it anywhere (which is probably a good thing if they got their hands on it!).

I don't know if you've spent much time in Belgium, but if you find yourself in the wonderfully underrated city of Brussels once and if life leans towards normality, there is a cracking bar in there that do amazing meat and cheese platters and have a very wide array of beers, more modern efforts too. Moeder Lambic its called.

The other place I loved was in Utrecht, Netherlands. All belgian beers inside an old church. Think it was called something like the belgian beer cafe.

But so many fantastic places that serve a huge variety all over Belgium. *sigh*.... how I miss europe.

 

All the above are rank compared to a nice cup of earl grey. Deep down you know I'm right too.

 

Tempest are worth a look - their Armadillo is a really good cask beer. I'm sure I've had some Fierce in cask too, but I think that's more of an occasional thing.

 

Cloudwater, Northern Monk & North Bar's Transmission would be my preferred tipples.

Most of the time in lockdown it's been Aldi's Argentinian Organic Malbec though, Buenas Vidas.

The grape & the hop.

 

We have very similar drinking habits John.
I’m a big fan of Cloudwater, Northern Monk but don’t recall having Transmission - but I’m not drinking too much beer atm.

Argentinian Malbec is our favourite red atm and that Organic is top VFM.

We may differ on G&T though, whilst I’ve been off beer it’s my drink of choice. Has to be a good std gin though (nowt spicy or fruity) and Mediterranean tonic.

 

Went to George and Dragon at Wentworth for tea, marvellous safe service. 4 pints of Farmers Blonde and some lovely food in the sun.
Went last Thursday as well exactly same service but had a couple of pints of Moonshine.
God I've missed it!

 

Went to Brussels just before the COVID outbreak landed on these shores. Been to Brugge previously too. Wonderful country and like we say, their beer is something else. Brought a stupid amount home with me purely because like you say, the Belgian stuff you get over here just doesn’t taste as good.

I watched the Reds beat Fulham away last season in a Brussels bar drinking a random beer I can’t recall the name of, but it was 8% and at full time I felt fabulous.
My one game that I missed, and we won 3-0. Typical

 

I could down a G&T or seven, but I largely lay off spirits. Transmission is 6.5%, but is a very quaffable pint. I had four at New year 2019/20, the only New Year I didn't DJ at, apart from the last one & that had me swaying. (I elected to play a club on Saturday 28th 2019, which was my last gig, until I played a gig in some woods in Swillington a week last Friday. That was under a massive tipi, socially distanced & sat down, with Moroccan food & stone baked pizza). I normally DJ digitally now, but that was an all vinyl set.

 

I love Brussels. Been so many times just jumping on Eurostar and being there in 2 hrs. I liked Bruges, but its a bit overrun with tourists now. Ghent is heading the same way but I think thats prettier than Bruges. Leuven is a lovely quaint place and alleges to have the world longest bar (it's basically a big square where just about every place is a bar) and then my personal favourite, Mechelen. het Anker is based there that makes gouden caroulus which does both a fabulous blond and a dubbel.

And 8%... you do know thats what the belgians give to their kids to get them ready for the proper stuff in later life ;-)

 

1) Glad to hear that. It's ages ago (could easily be a decade now) but I'd read Budweiser (InBev) had lost another legal battle so had tabled an over the top bid. I really liked Budvar. Had it in Prague in one of the beer halls (U Medvidku) where the bar tender just kept bringing beer until you told him no more. He'd plonk it down, scribe two pencil lines on a piece of paper and walk off again. It took us a while to clock on what we had to do! I mean who can say no to beer just brought to you?!?!?!?

2) If you can eat one of the food platters on your own you've done well, let along have a go at the insanely large beer menu! Did you win, or was it called an honourable draw?

 

Not a big lager drinker, but Budvar, Lindeboom & Dortmunder Union would work on a sunny day.