18th February 2013

I had a damn good reason to celebrate this weekend. My favourite football team, Barnsley FC, made it to the quarter finals of the FA Cup. Might not seem like much, and any non-British readers might not have a clue what I'm talking about, but it's still cause for a celebration for me.

Black Albert (Belgium)

It's hard to believe that you're drinking beer with this stuff. It tastes more like a red wine that a beer. There's a definite sweetness which I've never noticed in a beer before. That sweetness can be explained with a close inspection of that there picture. There you will see the list of ingredients, and the final one is "candy". Doesn't say which kind of candy it is, which is a little bit perturbing. And it certainly doesn't mean it's suitable for children. At 13% this will give you the same kick in the head that red wine will. Enjoy in moderation, because everyone knows that red wine hangovers are the worst.

And I know what you're all thinking, but don't worry... I've already had a haircut.

11th February 2012

At the pub last week was a beer theme. That theme was dark beer. Stouts and porters aplenty. Luckily for me, a couple of them were in my book. And here's one of them...

Founders Breakfast Stout (USA)

The glass was passed around the table and everyone gave their input. "Like licking the bottom of an engine" was one comment. I don't know from where he drew the comparison, but it must have been a very nice engine that he'd licked the bottom of. 

Double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout it says on the bottle, so that explains the breakfasty name, I guess, although I'm not sure about chocolate for breakfast. I'm also not sure that my boss would appreciate me drinking this for my breakfast either. Although it would be a handy excuse to avoid working with heavy machinery. 

This 8.3% beer has just the right strength and bitterness to keep me very interested, while safe in the knowledge that my missus won't steal it. Because she's not going to like it.

4th February 2013

So January is over, and now I can drink again. Technically I could still drink during January but I chose not to and I'm quite proud of the achievement. But to be honest, I missed sitting down on a Friday evening after work with a carefully chosen bottle of some wonderful craft beer. Let the good times roll from now on.

Duvel (Belgium)

I wanted my first beer after my self-inflicted prohibition to be something a bit special. This ticked all the boxes for everything I wanted to drink, strong, pale and fresh. It seems to be quite a popular choice too, at least among the people on Twitter, and it's easy to see why. The strength (9.5%) is well hidden, which could be dangerous if you're not careful. But this would be a good starter beer for those who are only comfortable drinking lager, but would like to become a bit more adventurous with beer. For example women and children. The taste isn't overly powerful, but several times better than that can of Carlsberg you're holding.