Sweeties, Pies and Ginger

So I'm currently staying in the heart of Silicon Valley in the US, North Sunnyvale to be precise. It's pretty grim I have to say, it's like living in the middle of a large industrial estate. There's nothing of significance within walking distance of the hotel and I've been working all hours for the last week to help out with a deadline that was supposed to be for this morning.

So instead of working sixteen hour days and eating take-a-ways for dinner and wondering what the nightlife is like here, I decided to go out for dinner. I headed for downtown Mountain View and Castro Street, where I'd been told there was plenty of restaurants to choose from. I ended up in a Thai place that had a veggie menu, it was nice if unspectacular.

I then popped round the corner to the Tied House Café & Brewery where I partook of a some ale. In particular their Amber and their Oatmeal Stout. The Amber was nice, the Oatmeal Stout had too much roasted malt in it and for me wasn't smooth enough. If I'm ever back this way, I'll go back and sample some of their other beers that's for sure.

So I come to the conclusion that this blog is pretty well dead. Karen has been badgering me for weeks to get on Facebook, which I wont be doing, just out of principle. I'm definitely going to change over to using WordPress and I think I'll only write occasionally about beer. It's the subject closest to my heart and I wouldn't mind starting to home brew again, so that's what I've decided to talk about.

I'm in a bit of a quandary about what to drink on Christmas day. I could pop down to the Bacchanalia and get some rather nice ale, or I could pop out to Cambourne and visit the Morrison's supermarket and get some Budvar Dark. I might just end up treating mysekf and doing both, after all, life's too short to drink crap beer.

Karen bought me a couple of interesting beers the other day for Arjuna in Cambridge. They are Fair Trade fruit beers and worth tracking down for their novelty value; they certainly taste of banan and coconunt. Evidently they do other flavours, but they were shut when I went there this afternoon, I'll just have to go another time to see what they have.

So it was a bit on the sad side to be blogging while in the pub, but I had to do it at least once... This is just a quick note to say what beers I drank and what I though of them. I should really have drunk them all a bit slower as I was a bit tipsy upon leaving to go home.

I started with a pint of Landlord which was in fine form and is one of my favourite beers; you just don't get too see it on draft enough round here though. After that I tried a Summer Lightening which was really good too, although I do think it's more of a summer beer. It was strong, smooth and quite moreish, but it really needs a balmy summers evening to be at its best.

I then tried the Entire Stout which didn't disappoint; it was dark, roasted and utterly gorgeous. I can't remember then next one I had as it was off when I wrote the entry to my blog, what's worse is I can't remember what it tasted like either...

For my final pint I decided to try the Banks & Taylor Aragon, which I though was off. It had very strong apple notes, almost liker a Lambic beer and was really sharp, I asked the barman and he said that's what it's supposed to taste like and he said yes. Luckily he offered to replace it, so I got a pint of the Brewer's Gold, which was superb.

All in all it was a great wee trip to a pub that I don't get the chance to go to enough. Over all the beer was top notch; I'll have to try this Aragon stuff another time to see if it really is supposed to taste like that.

I'm currently standing in the Kingston Arms as it's Andy Heckford's birthday. I must say having free internet access in a pub is a bit strange as you could end up blogging while pissed, which might not be the best idea...

On the beer front the Kingston has the following ales on at the moment - Landlord (Timothy Taylor), Brewer's Gold (Crouch Vale), Entire Stout (Hopback), Black Dog (Elgoods), Summer Lightening (Hopback), Norman Conquest (Cottage Brewin Company), Aragon (Banks & Taylor) and Hereward Wake (Fenland).

I'll blog again to let you know what they tasted like, if I can remember. I can sy the Landlord if flipping marvelous and going down a treat, Summer Lightening next me thinks...

I went out in the village last night with Jeff, who lives two doors down the lane. As neither of us had been to The Chequers before, we headed off there for a couple of pints. We were both surprised at how large it is inside as it doesn't look too big from outside. After getting slapped at darts we headed off to The Wagon and Horses for another couple of pints, as Jeff hadn't been in there either.

We managed to get on the pool table after a bit, but as it was getting on we only managed a couple of games; I won the first and Jeff one the second. As we've now both been to all the pubs in the village, we are going to have to try the social clubs to see what their beer is like. The intention is to then publish Bob and Jeff's Cottenham Pub Guide on a website near you. Look out for it soon...

I pitched up at the beer festival around half past eleven after picking up a few items in town. This was probably the earliest I’ve been to a Saturday at the beer festival in all the years I’ve gone. Bumped into a n old colleague who was also helping out, which was quite cool, although we were working on different bars so I didn’t have much contact with him.

I started out working behind the bars and since we had quite a lot of staff it was quite relaxed. All too soon it got a bit busy and with staff off on break or off home, things got quite hectic for times. Around quarter past four I was asked to go and work on glasses; the most feared job at the whole festival.

Well, what an education that was, I’d never realised that glasses could be so manic; we were running around like headless chickens. We had no pint glasses, no change and only two of us trying to service hundreds of people coming and going out. It was total pandemonium. I’ve got a whole new respect for Anthea and Les who do the glasses year after year without complaint.

It wasn’t until quarter to six that I managed to escape, I was going to leave at five, but I couldn’t leave the other chap on his own. So I got myself another beer after ditching the Milton Jupiter and found some friends outside on the grass. After a couple of half pints it was off to catch the bus, which I duly missed. A couple of texts later and Karen came out ot pick me up, which was really nice of her; otherwise I’d have had to wait for another hour for the next bus.

So in the order that I drank them, these are the beers I tried:

Branthill Light (4.3%), Fox (Heacham)

Might have been off! Tasted pretty rank, really malty, sickly and a bit cloudy. Ditched after a couple of sips.

???

I had a beer before the Shefford Mild, but I haven’t a clue what it was. Not very good note taking on my part...

Shefford Mild (3.8%), B&T (Shefford)

Lovely and smooth with a lingering malt aftertaste

Palomino Pale Ale (4.2%), Old Stables (Sandy)

Nice and fruity refreshing pale ale. Recommended this to loads of people and they didn’t complain.

Jupiter (3.5%), Milton (Milton)

Ditched it as I was too dehydrated and it was too sickly and malty to the taste. Only ditched so I could get a couple of pints of water down my neck before having a lighter beer, not a reflection on the quality of the ale.

Beacon (3.8%), Everards (Narborough)

Nice and light, refreshing with slight malt overtones

Blue Bell Bitter (3.6%), Plassey (Eyton)

Nice and refreshing even with the dry finish

All in all it seemed to be a successful festival and I’m pleased I managed to work more sessions than I have done for the past few years. Beer festivals are such an important tool in educating people about good beer, so they deserve all the support we can give them.

Was at the beer festival again last night and managed to work the whole night behind the bar! This was mainly due to telling someone that under no circumstances was I working on glasses and that I was going behind the bar or no where. A teeny bit selfish, but I much prefer to work behind the bar as you get to interact with people more.

So in the order that I drank them, these are the beers I tried:

Straw Dogs (4.5%), Wolf (Attleborough)

8/10 Really quite nice

St Audrey Ale (3.9%), Fenland (Little Downham)

8/10 Quite malty to the taste, very nice

Lemon Dream (4.4%), Salopian (Shrewsbury)

8/10 Tastes vaguely of lemon meringue pie

Wordsworth (3.9%), Facer's (Salford)

7/10 Nice

U-X-B (3.8%), White Star (Southhampton)

7/10 Quite pleasant

Spitfire (4.5%), Shepherd Neame (Faversham)

9/10 Beautiful

The beer of the night had to be Spitfire, it was awesome. I’ve never had it direct from the cask, but I’ll certainly be having more next time I see it; miles better than the bottled version.

I managed to make it to the beer festival a bit earlier last night and was again hoping for a god night on behind the bar, but had to do a stint by the front door for a bit first. After that was done it was off behind one of the bars for the rest of the night which was more like it. I spotted quite a few people I knew last night and had the misfortune to kick someone I thought I knew who turned out to be someone I didn't know, quite embarrassing really.

So in the order that I drank them, these are the beers I tried:

Meridian (4.0%), Atlas (Kinlochleven)

6/10 Nice if a bit watery

Raspberry Wheat (5.0%), Iceni (Ickburgh)

8/10 Very smooth, excellent. Much better than you'd expect

Lia Fail (4.7%), Inveralmond (Perth)

6/10 Good solid Scottish ale

KSA (4.9%), Eastward & Sanders (Elland)

6/10 Not bad for a Kölsch style ale

Stout (5.0%), Elveden (Thetford)

7/10 Not bad, quite a roasted flavour

Salem Porter (5.0%), Bateman (Wainfleet)

7/10 Nice

Hedonist (3.8%), Wylam (Heddon-on-the-Wall)

7/10 Nice light session ale, fruity and refreshing

I was feeling well enough to make it to the beer festival last night; I still wasn't feeling quite myself, but knew I just had to get along and try some of the beer. When I got there I was hoping to get behind a bar and get on with it, but I has to go and work on food. This was a bit disappointing, but sometimes you have to do these things. I did manage to get on the bar for the last half hour so it wasn't so bad.

So in the order that I drank them, these are the beers I tried:

Amarillo (5.0%), Crouch Vale (South Woodham Ferrers)

6/10 Nice

Gorse Porter (4.8%), Cwmbran (Upper Cwmbran)

7/10 Nice roasted portery taste

Dark Ruby (6.0%), Sarah Hughes (Sedgley)

9/10 Rich, creamy, absolutely gorgeous

Schiehallion (4.8%), Harviestoun (Dollar)

7/10 Nice pint

Village Bike (4.3%), Potton (Potton)

7/10 Staff beer can't remember much about it...

TEA (4.2%), Hogs Back (Tongham)

9/10 Nice and smooth, a cracker

The best of the night had to be the Sarah Hughes, Dark Ruby, it's just such an amazing beer. I've yet to see if for sale in a pub though, I only ever have it at the beer festival; the anticipation is rewarded for the year long wait upon the first sip.

The Cambridge Beer Festival opens today and I'm going to miss it. I was planning to go along and even cycled in, but I'm now feeling like death warmed up. So instead of imbibing load sof quality ale, I'll be at home asleep under a duvet hoping I get better for tomorrow.

While on the flying visit to Scotland at the weekend I went out on the lash on Saturday night with a few of my friends. I met them in some sports bar near Waverley station where I necked the evenings first pint of 80/-. We then made our way to the Grassmarket and headed for the beer garden at the Beehive, where some more 80/- was consumed.

While sitting in the beer garden it became apparent that there were quite a few hen parties out and about. We must have seen upwards of 10 groups in the various venues we went to, I've never seen that many in one night before. Bunny girls (x3), Pink ladies, Men + Cocks (that's what they had on their t-shirts), Sashes (x3), L plates and even one bunch with rat noses and ears (very bizarre).

After the Beehive we headed into the Cowgate; this is an area where we used to drink over ten years ago, my it's changed. We started off in the massive Three Sisters, this pub is massive and it's been really busy both time I've been to it. I'm not a big fan of it as they don't do any decent beer and you have to queue to have a slash, simply outrageous!

So we headed off over the road to another place whose name I can't pronounce and certainly can't spell. We stayed there for a bit but it was a bit pants so we left tot go to Espionage. This place is split over five floors and has one club and four bars, it's huge; it was also free to get in which was pretty cool too.

I'm not quite sure how long we were there for, but I was well pissed when we left. We managed to get a taxi from Waverley Bridge and he dropped me off at Dalgety Bay before taking the others up to Dunfermline. I eventually stumbled into bed just before four o'clock and passed out pretty much straight away.

Yesterday was interesting as I hadn't had that much sleep and I'd had way too much to drink. I don't think having 80/-, Guinness and vodka was the best of plans, I felt really, really rough. I made it home in one piece and after dinner soaked for a bit in the bath. I'm still feeling a bit muggy today, so I hate to think what I'll end up like on my Stag night in a month or so's time...

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.

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.

I fancied some decent beer last night, so when I was out during my lunch break picking up some food for the meal I Was cooking I stopped off at the Jug &l Firkin. Normally I would be drooling all over the foreign beers, but this year I found myself drinking more British beers, so I plumped for a City of Cambridge Multi-pack. The pack consists of two bottles each of Boathouse Bitter, Hobson's Choice and Atom Splitter.

I've been a fan of the City of Cambridge brewery for some time now and really like the majority of their beers. Boathouse Bitter (used to be called True Blue) is a lovely refreshing light session bitter that is perfect for a balmy summers evening. Hobson's Choice has slightly more body to it and is slightly stronger, but as equally gorgeous and quaffable. Finally Atom Splitter is a stronger darker coloured best bitter and my least favourite of the three, it just doesn't taste as good.

Overall though the multi-pack is well worth it as all three beers are bottle conditioned and very drinkable. It's certainly something I'll be buying again.

The Cambridge & District CAMRA Winter Ale Festival is on at the moment and last night I managed to get along for a couple of hours. I was quite late getting there as it was Jilly and David’s birthday night out, so I had to go and have a pint with everyone before hand. This meant I didn’t get to the venue until just after nine o’clock, which left the only option of working so that I could get staff beer and try a few more fine ales that I would have if I didn’t work.

As in previous years the festival was held in the refectory of the Mumford Building at Anglia Polytechnic University. It’s a bit like being back having school dinners really, as it’s not the most appealing of venues. The bar is quite short, but this year they opened up the back of the stillage so that they could fit even more beers onto the programme. What a programme it was too, I’ve not seen that much Scottish beer down here in a long time, I was really looking forward to getting stuck into some of it, especially the newer breweries.

An Teallach (4.2%), Atlas (Kinlochleven)

I though this one was absolutely smashing, a lovely fruity sort of beer that left me wanting more. I recommended this to so many people that it sold out, that just means I’ll need to keep my eyes peeled so that I can have it again next time I see it. Definitely recommended.

Wayfarer (4.4%), Atlas (Kinlochleven)

I wasn’t sure about this one as there seemed to be a subtly yet distinctive metalicy aftertaste that was just taking the edge of what I think would normally be a lovely beer.

Turkey Stuffing (3.8%), Bridge of Allan (Bridge of Allan)

This one was a real puzzler, as I just couldn’t describe what it tasted like. Some of the punters reckoned it really did taste like stuffing, but it certainly didn’t taste like onion and sage to me.

Bronwyn Festive Blonde Ale (4.2%), Bridge of Allan (Bridge of Allan)

The programme said that this beer was smooth, full bodied blonde ale with a rich, fruity aroma and rewarding aftertaste. Personally I wasn’t to enamoured with it, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. Having said that you could really taste the spices they’d during in the aftertaste, so it was certainly distinctive.

Good King Legless (4.5%), Harviestoun (Dollar)

My notes only have a one-word description for this one - excellent. I must admit to not really remembering what it tasted like, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Harviestoun beer,so for one to be excellent, it must have been good.

Black to Front (4.5%), Harviestoun (Dollar)

If the Good King Legless was excellent, then this one was off the scale as it was definitely the best beer I tried on the night. Dark, roasted and so moreish it was unbelievable; I could drink beer like this for the rest of my life and die a satisfied man. Awesome.

Forest Gold (3.8%), Iceni (Ickburgh)

I had this one during staff beer, so I didn’t really note much for it to be honest. It was nice, but that’s about as much as I can remember. I should really get one of those little tape machines so I can record my thoughts at the time, or maybe that would be a bit on the sad side...

Centurion’s Ghost Ale (5.4%) York (York)

This was the last beer I tried before heading off the met up with Karen and share a taxi home, so unsurprisingly I’ve not noted anything for this beer. It was dark and went down a treat, but that’s about all I can tell you.

So I managed a few, but there was still about another four beers I wished I’d tried. It’s a great wee festival, but it’s just a nightmare to get to in the winter as it’s too cold to cycle all the way home on a bmx during the early hours of the morning and getting a taxi each night would be too costly. So I think I’m just going to have to console myself with getting the occasional visit in the future.

Well I don't think I made too much of an arse of myself at the departmental Xmas night out, although I did have to explain why I'm so loud on a couple of occasions. The night started off with a quick bottle of St. Peter's Organic Ale in All Bar One, as Karen was waiting on an old Uni friend, I then proceeded to The Eagle where I had a a pint of Greene King Abbot Ale, which was in fine form. It was from that point that things started to go down hill...

One of the things that gets up my nose is the lack of good beer in restaurants, most only seem to pay attention to how much of a premium they can stick on a bottle you can buy for half the price in a supermarket. This is true of the establishment that we went to for our food, now I'm quite a fan of the Loch Fyne chain or restaurants, as I love seafood, what I'm not a fan of this their shite selection of beer.

Initially, they assume everyone in a large party will be drinking wine, so you have to butt into the inevitable, "who wants white, who wants red?" argument. "So what beer do you do then...?", to which the reply was, "Bud, Becks, Fosters and John Smith's", great I though, shite or even shiter. So I ended up having to either drink water, or John Smiths, which is quite frankly like drinking some bland tea coloured partly flavoured water.

So why is it so hard of restaurants to sell some decent beer...? It's not like I'm asking for 10 real ales on tap, just a modest selection of bottled beer. Why should I be discriminated against just because I don't drink wine, or cheap shite beer...? Find me a restaurant that sells good beer and I'll go there more often, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who feels like this as well.

Finished off the last of the beer Tabitha brought back from her holiday's last night, been a bit of a beer monster this weekend and it's felt so good. People keep asking me why I don't drink wine, apart from the smell making me want to vomit, there's far too much beer out there that I haven't tried, why would I want to drink wine...?

Tonight's tipple was La Goudale a blond beer reminiscent of Leffe Blonde, although a bit stronger and in a 75cl wine bottle size with cork. It was strong, sweet, but not too overpowering although I wouldn't have called it refreshing. I ended up drinking it out of my Duvel goblet, which I think helped as you got a right good nose every time you went for a sip.

Decided to keep drinking the beer Tabitha brought back from her holidays, yesterday. We'd had a nightmare day going shopping in town and then the supermarket and we didn't get back to the house until well after 5 o'clock. How come it seems to take all day to do the shopping, it's a complete waste of a Saturday. I ‘d spend the whole day wanting to do some programming as well, which made a change, so to be denied the chance was quite frustrating.

I started off with a wheat beer I'd bought in Sainsbury's the night before, their Taste the Difference range is supposed to be higher quality than their ordinary stuff and since Tesco's wheat beer is quite nice I thought I'd give this a go. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it was a wheat beer brewed in the UK, so that's quite nice. Will I have it again? Maybe if I'm down that way I'll purchase a bottle or two, or maybe I'll try some of the other beers that they do that I can't get else where in Cambridge.

Next up was a couple of fruit beers, although they say Lambic on the front, they're not the sour challenging type of lambic beers I like. Having said that, they're not bad, sweet and fruity and very easy to drink. I think Karen preferred the Cherry beer to the Blackberry, which tasted more like very sweet Ribena than beer.

We ended up watching The Others and I'd figured out what was going on half way through the film. Karen kept asking me if I was scared, but to be honest, if Nicole Kidman hadn't been in it, I'd probably have switched it off. Scared no, bored most probably. I had my final beer of the evening while we were watching the film, Belzebuth is a bit of a monster at 15% and was very sweet. It wasn't undrinkable like some super strong beers I've had, but I wouldn't want to drink too many of them.

Tabitha came round for tea last night, I made Gado gado with steamed vegetables and I must admit to it being one of the better Gado gado's I've made. We hadn't seen Tabitha or Will for ages as they've been on holiday in France and then had weddings and such like to go to. Tab always brings back a box or two of beer, to go along with the copious quantities of wine, from their continental journeys and normally it contains a few interesting brews.

We started off on the Hoegaarden, which I really like, although I would have preferred it if it had been a bit cooler. The one problem with Hoegaarden is that it is so expensive to buy, it's over £3 a pint down the pub and four 33cl bottles cost £5 in Tesco's. I don't mind though, as I really like the light and refreshing floral taste, the hint of spices and the fact that you can drink it like it's orange squash.

Next up I decided to try the Amadeus, a French white beer that came in a 75cl wine bottle with a cork in the top. Only after I'd drank it all did I notice the bit on the front saying to drink it with a bit of lemon, but then that would have brought up the whole lemon debate and I just wanted to chill with a beer. It was quite nice, not anything like the Hoegaarden or the Korenwolf, not so floral, more malty but not.

Finally Tabith and I tried the Gulpener Korenwolf, which according to the back is made with three grains and exotic spices. The name comes from the Dutch for Corn Hamster, which is often found munching on the grains used to brew this beer. Personally I though it was trying to be a bit too much like Hoegaarden, the light floral notes with the hint of spice, but it just wasn't the same. Not bad, but not great, although it's cheaper to buy it in Sainsbury's than Hoegaarden, so you never know, I might have some more...

On Friday night we went out for Ben's birthday at the Hogshead in town, so I offered to drive. I managed a pint of Old Hooky at the start of the night and made it last for what seemed like an eternity. On Saturday night we went round to Ant and Sophie's for dinner and again I decided to drive, so only has the one bottle of Budvar. By Sunday I was gagging for a couple of beers and since I had to go back to Tesco's anyway, I decided to pick up a few.

I haven't had any Spitfire for ages, so it was quite nice to have a bottle as I'd sort of forgotten how it tasted. Nice nut brown colour with the bitter taste of hops, but nice and refreshing. Next up was some Exmoor Gold, this is only about the second time I've had it in a bottle and the first time I tried it was at a Cambridge Beer Festival, where it was very good. It was also quite good this time as well, although I'd prefer to have it straight out the cask any time.

Finally I got my hands of a bottle of Adnams, Suffolk Strong Bitter (SSB) and it was really nice. I'm a bit of a fan of Adnams beers, you can't beat a pint of Regatta on a balmy summers evening down the pub. SSB is just the ticket for those cooler Autumnal nights when you want something a bit stronger and warming.

After standing around in a field all day yesterday at an official EARS launch, I was ready for a couple of beers when I got home. Luckily I'd left two of the lambics that I'd bought on Saturday, to drink after I got home from the rockets. I started off with the daddy of all lambics, Cantillon Gueuze. I love this beer, sour, fruity, dry, juicy, it just gets my taste buds going every time. It's also not too tart, our sour, which makes it incredibly easy to drink. It's perfect chilled on a hot summers evening, or after standing in a field all day.

Next up was the Oud Beersel, Oude Geuze Vieille which was quite nice, but slightly more sour and tart from what I can remember, definitely one I'd have again. That was it, finished, no more beer and just when I was really starting to crave another Cantillon as well...

I'd been standing around in a field most of the day being a Range Safety Officer. One of the EARS members was being filmed by a TV crew for a future broadcast and they needed an RSO to certify his Level 1 attempt. We finished earlier than I thought we would, so I headed into town and the Jug & Firkin offie, which is the best in town, to get some nice beer for the evening.

I ended up buying six beers, three German wheat beers and three Belgian Lambic beers. I'd really been looking forward to having a Cantillon Gueuze at the Histon beer festival during the week, but they didn't have any in the fridge by the time I got there. So that was first on the list and the rest just sort of followed on from there.

I can't really remember how they tasted apart from the Aecht Schlenferla Rauchbier, Weizen, which if I'd been paying attention I wouldn't have bought. A wheat beer brewed with smoked malt doesn't sound like the greatest combination, but I somehow managed to overlook the Rauchbier plastered on the label. It tasted like off smoked sausage and coupled with an extra hot madras, I ended up not finishing either.

The 3 Fonteinen, Oude Geuze was quite nice and I'm starting to think I've maybe had it before, but I wasn't sure when I bought it. I just love that style of beer though, as it can be quite a challenging drink, a few friends and acquaintances think I'm mad. I'm nowhere near as mad as Ron "Lambic Monster" Buchet, who will now describe to you what a Lambic beer is…

Just got back from the Histon Beer Festival, which was held at the Red Lion, as in previous years. Since I'm working round the corner from my old employer, I met up with a load of my ex-colleagues and we all trooped round to sample the beers on offer. I'd decided to try and take it easy as I'm going to have to cycle into work tomorrow and don't want too much of a hangover.

There was around 24 real ales, 4 ciders, 2 perries, some country wine and some really nice Belgian bottled beer. So we immediately got stuck in with one of my favourite beers and it all went from there. I did pop out after a couple of half's to get a poke of chips from the local chippie, due to the dead flash merchant not doing any sort of veggie burger.

I also bumped into a Jemma, who I worked with for a few days at Park Street Car Park while I was temping there. We had a bit of a chat and she's off round the world in a couple of weeks, it's all right for some. Karen showed up to give me a lift home just after closing time, by which time I'd managed to sample seven beers and have a quick taste of a few more. The only sour point was the lack of Cantillion Gueuze in the fridge when I went to finish off the evening with a cracking Belgian masterpiece.

During the evening these are the beers that I managed to sample:

Duchers I.P.A. (3.8%) - Caledonian Brewing Co. Ltd (Edinburgh)

This is one of my all time favourite beers and I always have a pint of it if I see t for sale. It's not strong at only 3.8%, but this makes for an excellent session bitter that you can drink all night. It's hoppy and fruity and just generally a really nice beer, one to try the next time you see it. Read Roger Protz's article on Duechers winning the Champion Beer of Britain at the recent CAMRA Great British Beer Festival.

Latitude (3.6%) - Atlas Brewery Ltd (Kinlochleven)

The Atlas brewery is very new, in fact it's only about four or five months old, but this is the second time I've tried this beer. The first was that the Cambridge Beer Festival earlier in the year and it was just as good then as it was tonight. Fruity and hoppy, although not quite on a par with the heavenly Duchers.

Pale Moonlight (4.2%) - Oak Brewing Co, Ltd t/a Phoenix Brewing (Heywood, Manchester)

I can't remember much about this beer or ones that came after it as I forgot to take a pen and didn't make any notes. One thing that sticks in my mind is Chris making some daft joke refernce to Batman half the night though, something to do with The Joker. It was very good from what I remember though and definitely one I'd have again. The blurb said: Straw coloured beer using Goldings hops - a full flavoured malt finish.

Pressed Rat & Warthog (3.8%) - Triple FFF Brewing Co. (Alton)

I can remember this one as it was the only dark beer that I drank the whole night, I quite like dark beers that have bags of roasted malt aftertaste and this was going in the right direction. The roasted aftertaste was quite subtle, not over powering, but well blended into the rest of the beer, which was quite dry and fruity. This beer was awarded Champion Mild of Great Britain 2002 at the recent CAMRA Great British Beer Festival.

White Dwarf Wheat Beer (4.3%) - Okham Ales (Peterborough)

I've had this beer before and the description in the programme made me want to try it again. As well as liking dark full flavoured roasted beers, I also like light fruity hoppy beers and this one promised a citrus hop palate rounded off with underlying sweetness, finishing off with a very dry hop finish. All I can add to that was that it tasted very good and I'd have it again.

Wight Spirit (5.0%) - Ventnor Brewery Ltd (Isle of Wight)

It was getting late in the evening now and I'm at a loss to remember just how this beer tasted. I can remember thinking that I should go for something with a bit of body behind it and the programme offered: Very interesting pale hoppy deceptively strong ale. It went down a treat from what I can remember and left me with enough time to get another one in before closing. Their website doesn't seem to be working at the moment...

Golden Thread (5.0%) - Salopian Brewing Co. Ltd (Shrewsbury)

I was a bit disappointed with this beer, due to an undercurrent that I got in the aftertaste that wasn't unpleasant, but wasn't particularly great either. The programme promised: Most refreshing and deceptive golden ale with citrus aromas and First Gold hops. I can't remember it being that refreshing, but it was the last beer of the night on a battered palate. I'd have to try it again, before making a final judgement on whether I like it or not.

Had two different beers last night, one bottle each of Duvel and Well’s Banana Bread Beer. Unfortunately the label from the BBB, didn’t really appreciate being soaked in water overnight and didn’t scan in well at all, so you’ll have to make do with just the Duvel label. I really like both of these beers, although they are like chalk and cheese in the taste departments.

The Charles Well’s Banana Bread Beer is brewed with fair trade bananas and really tastes like your drinking liquid banana cake. Now I like banana cake, so this is no bad thing, although I don’t think it would be everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve never had more than one bottle of it at a time, so I’m not really sure how I’d fair if I was drinking it all night, but for the odd tipple it’s really quite nice.

Duvel on the other hand is a completely different beer, a Belgian bottle conditioned masterpiece and it tastes even better out of a proper Duvel goblet. It’s bottle conditioned and depending on your tastes you can add the sediment or leave it out. Generally I pour until the sediment is just going into the glass and then stop, but each to their own. It’s a strong beer at 8.5%, but the taste doesn’t really reflect this, so you need to be careful just how many your pouring down your neck.

Out of the two, I’d probably rather drink Duvel all night, but since it’s such a great beer I don’t want to spoil it by having it too often. Both are definitely recommended and are perfect for a balmy summers evening.

Well it turns out that I did get some beer on the way home last night, so there was something to look forward to. Waggledance is brewed with honey, so has a sweet flavour, but none of the overpowering maltyness associated with strong sweet beers. You can drink it two different ways, in winter drink it at room temperature and in the summer chill it in the fridge. Same beer, two different tastes, lovely.

Tim Taylor’s Landlord is an award winning Pale Ale, which you only have to taste once to realise why. It is totally gorgeous and I always buy some when I see it in a pub, which is far too infrequently. I had two bottles of it last night while we were relaxing watching the TV after dinner and it was absolutely smashing. One of my favorite beers.

I’m not sure what to say about this beer other than it’s brewed by the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh on behalf of the Co-op. Two of my favorite beers are produced by the Caledonian brewery, so it’s no surprise that I like this one to. Unlike the Golden Promise and Golden Pale, the two organic beers that the Caledonian brewery has produced over the years, this one is much darker in colour and seems to have a heavy body to it. If you get the chance I’d definitely recommend that you try it.

As wheat beers go, Tesco’s offering isn’t too bad at all, it’s certainly no Schneider Weisse, but then again, nothing else comes close to that classic wheat beer. The best bit out getting this beer form Tesco’s is that I don’t have to trudge all the way across town to the Jug & Firkin to pick it up.

It’s not too dark or light in colour and gives a good foamy head when poured correctly with all the sediment. As with all wheat beers, it’s best drunk on a balmy summers evening after being chilled in the fridge for a bit. Just be careful if you stick it in the freezer for a quick cool down, I left one of mine in a bit too long and nearly ended up wit ha wheat beer popsicle.