Sweeties, Pies and Ginger

While we were in Malta for Andy and Lisa's wedding, I felt duty bound to only drink the local brews. This meant that I didn't have to subject myself to drinking crap continental lager, or in the case of the hotel bar, crap nitro-keg Caffrey's. It seems that the Maltese brewer is Farsons and they produce a modest range of beers. Although looking at their website, it seems that they are the local bottler/distributor for a whole range of beverages.

Since I didn't want to go all that way and just drink Carlsberg I realistically had a choice of three local brews, Cisk (pronounced Chisk), Hopleaf and Blue Label. According to their website Cisk was "launched in Malta in 1928" and "is a golden-coloured, bottom-fermented lager with a distinctive and well-balanced character. Its rich hop aroma and pleasant bitterness, combined with a mild astringency, make it an outstanding thirst-quencher." In other words it's a continental lager, nuff said.

Hopleaf on the other hand, according to their website "Hopleaf is a Farsons Classic Brew produced since 1928. Brewed with high quality malt and traditional English hops it has a strong, fresh character with a pleasant bitterness." It's actually quite a refreshing pint, perefect for those balmay Maltese nights where you don't want anything too sickly.

I really quite liked it that is until I got a pint of Hopleaf Smooth 'N' Creamy; nitro-keg madness has even reached Malta. It took ages to settle, was far too cold and had a head on it you wouldn't believe. It's a shame, because pumping that much nitro through the beer really ruined the delicate floral quality that I found quite appealing and replaced it with a faint metallic aftertaste.

All of this meant that I started to seek out the third brew, Blue Label. According to the website, "Blue Label, one of the Farsons Classic Brews was first launched in 1928. Locals and foreigners alike immediately appreciated the high quality of this beer and by 1952 Blue Label was awarded the Championship Gold Medal and diploma for the best beer on show at the British Empire and Commonwealth competition."

Blue Label is darker than the other two and looks more like a traditional ale and this is backed up in the taste. At only 3.3% ABV you might be left wondering if this was in fact a mild, but it's not dark and doesn't taste like any milds I know of. Like Hopleaf, it's getting the Smooth 'N' Creamy nonsense, but the original is still available in bottles.

It's a shame that the brewer is ruining two perfectly good keg beers by pumping unnecessary nitro through them. All I need to do now is try and find an importer of Hopleaf, because we are having a bit of heat wave here at the moment and as bottle or two of that would just go down a treat.

Got back from Malta yesterday, very tired after all the travelling and a longer flight. I suppose I'm glad to be back, but with everything that going to happen in the next few weeks, I'd rather still be sunning myself on a beach somewhere hot. I do feel very relaxed and centred though, although how long that will last having to drive around Cambridge, I don't know.

I decided that since Karen and I are off to Malta for a weeks holiday and a wedding, that I'd try and find out what's happening to me at work. My reasoning was that they could ponder on my future while I was away and give me an answer when I got back. So when I got into see the head of HR, there was my "confidential" envelope waiting for me. So I'm out of a job again as of the 16th of June. Anyone need a highly skilled Java/J2EE programmer...? I will be consoling myself by drinking Maltese beer and frying on the beach. See you in eight days...

I don't know why, but I felt about 7 feet tall today. I walked out of Tesco's this evening after picking up some tomatoes and just felt like I was taller than everyone, my car even looked smaller as I approached. Maybe it's because today was a good day.

I've not been in the best of moods recently, a combination of thing that I'm not going to go into, but suffice to say I've got to work some of it out. So here I am relaxing after a solid days work, drinking a beer and just chilling. Maybe it's because today was a good day.

I was on fire at work this afternoon; the build system on this project is way out there, really complicated. After being helped through setting up the necessary files it was all systems go. It was one of those days where everything is flowing so well you don't want to stop coding; I ended up leaving work late after tearing myself away from the screen. May it's because today was a good day.

I'm also feeling quite chuffed with myself as I haven't been eating crap at work, normally I get through a few packets of crisps or other assorted nonsense throughout the day. I've made a conscious effort to not buy any and even bought some apples and pears to help stave off the hunger cravings that plague me before lunch. I didn't even think about buying junk food today. May it's because today was a good day.

You might be getting the idea that I'm in a good mood today and you'd be right. It hasn't been happening very often lately so I'm revelling in it.

I cooked myself fish and chips for tea last night and I think it might be the last time I indulge in this great British delicacy. The batter on the fish was the best I've ever done; I think it was all down to super hot oil rather than the Lefe Blonde I used as the liquid though. I thought I do what they do in chip shops and put the cooked fish on top of a grill in a warm oven. Shame loads of liquid came out of the fish, sat underneath it and steamed the batter into mushiness.

I'm not sure what to do about fish at the moment though and I'm having to do quite a bit of soul searching. I haven't eaten any meat for over a year, the main reason being that I disagree with the way animals are farmed. I don't eat fish farmed fish for the same reason, but I'm beginning to wonder about eating wild fish as well.

Most fish stocks are declining due to over fishing and we're constantly being told that we shouldn't eat certain types of fish so their stock levels can recover. Part of me is saying that I shouldn't eat fish because of this, if the fishermen caught their fish differently then it may be another story, but I would like my children top grow up in a world where there are fish in the sea.

This brings me to my main concern; if I give up fish do I have to give up most beer as well? Most beer is cleared with isinglass finings, which is a very pure transparent gelatin obtained from the swim bladder of certain fish, especially sturgeon. I don't want to be a hypocrite, so if I give up fish, I have to give up beer that is fined with fish, just like I've given up food that has animal and dairy extract in them.

I like my beer and I like going to beer festivals and pubs and trying beers I've never seen before. If I give up fish, will I have to give up this as well, or can I find some happy medium ground? I don't think it would be right to stand there and say I don't eat fish and still drink fish parts in my beer.

While this might seem a really good way of never drinking beer again, there is hope. The Co-op for instance does fantastic Organic Premium Ale that is brewed for them by the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh. The beer is Vegan, tastes good and isn't too expensive, but it could get a bit boring drinking the same beer all the time.

This is where it gets tricky, how do I tell what beers are Vegan when many don't list the ingredients or the fining material? That's the tricky bit and I'm not quite sure what the answer is yet.

Yesterday I was in a bad mood, but today I just can't be arsed. I'm bored, restless and bloody hungry, so hungry infact that I might have to nip to the vending machine for a packet of crips...

I really don't know what's up with me today, but I totally got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.