18th November 2013

It's exactly two years since I wrote my first ever blog post on these hallowed pages. I can't think of a way to celebrate that, but I guess nowadays dragging my lazy bum to the computer is a kind of celebration in itself. Lately I haven't had much time to write on here, because, since her laptop started making strange noises, my girlfriend has hijacked my computer to play Candy bloody Crush all day long. And typing is a little uncomfortable right now, since I almost chopped off a fingertip trying to slice a pizza.

Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (Switzerland)

I seem to be saying this quite often, but this was the most expensive beer I've had so far. It smells like wine and looks like something that was drained from a portable toilet at a Romanian music festival. Sour beer is definitely an apt name for this, it tastes like malt vinegar. It wasn't as bad as the Belgian sour beers, but maybe that's because I'm British and I bloody love vinegar. Put some fish and chips in this and you'd have a great meal. Unfortunately, I had to drink this giant 750ml bottle by myself, at least my innards should be well preserved.

Anchor Steam Beer (USA)

Anchor has probably become my favourite brewery. Which is something I've discovered while drinking my way through this book. This tastes like a good old-fashioned British bitter, but with a lot more force in the flavour. After almost a fortnight of travelling through Europe drinking I thought I would need a break from it. This beer proved me wrong.

2nd November 2012

I've now given up on trying to write a new blog post every Monday, it started to feel too much like a chore. Instead I will update it whenever I have the energy, which I hope will continue to be once a week from now on.

Dreher Bak (Hungary)

There's only one Hungarian beer in the book, which is understandable as the whole country seems to be more concerned with wine. This 7.2% concoction is the only one deemed worthy. And it is worthy. It's powerful and bitter, but also slightly fruity. It tastes a little bit a batch of Dr. Pepper that had gone wrong, like they'd forgot to put sugar in it or something. I didn't make it sound delicious, but it is.

Jacobsen Sommer Wit Weissbier (Denmark)

So, this one isn't in the book. But there is one in there called Jacobsen Sommer Wit, which I descovered will probably never be brewed again. I went to the Carlsberg museum in Copenhagen, where this stuff is brewed, and a very informative man told me that the Sommer Wit wasn't actually very good, which makes me wonder how it found its way in to the book. The man also told me that this is about as close as I would be able to find, so I'm using it as a substitute. And it's a pretty good substitute. For a weissbier this is very drinkable, even for me. Regular readers will know that I'm not exactly a fan of wheat beers. But this one isn't too wheaty and doesn't leave a taste in your mouth like you've been chewing the same bagel for three days. Thumbs up.