24th September 2013

I know, I know- I'm getting lazy at this blogging business. Yesterday I was still recovering from a rather heavy weekend, so writing about beer was the last thing on my mind. As for all the other editions I've skipped, I'm too lazy to even try to think of an excuse. 

St. Peters Fruit Beer (Grapefruit) (England)

I drank this once already on my birthday, but I was already so far gone that I forgot to write any notes or take a photo, so I had to buy another bottle. So in the end I had to pay double to bring this beer to the blog. But it was worth it, this is probably the best English beer I've had so far. I only got a slight taste of grapefruit from it, even though the citric smell was quite strong when I stuck my nose in the glass. I also like the shape of the bottle, which looks like it's been squashed a bit. I passed this around my friends and the general consensus was that this is really good stuff.

Ayinger Ur-Weisse (Germany)

You might not be able to read the picture properly, but that is Ur-Weisse in the middle. The reason for the blurred picture is because I had to take it fast so I could escape the gaze of the world's grumpiest barman. This is a dark wheat beer, which means it was never going to be anywhere near the top of my list, but even so, I was expecting something better than this. I also had to pay crazy inflated airport price for this too, which probably made it taste just that little bit worse.

4th September 2013

I know it's not Monday, but I finally plucked up the energy to write something on here. I just logged in and noticed that I've just gone past 3000 page views in just under two years, which is fantastic because I didn't think anyone would care to read what I think about all these beers. So thank you very much for reading, and I hope you continue to do so. 

Old Slug Porter (England)

Let me tell you a little story. It was a Friday night and I really fancied a porter because I hadn't had one for ages. So I drank this. End of story. This porter was pretty good, but it had a strange aftertaste, which may be because I fudged the temperature and drank it colder than I perhaps should have. It tasted a little bit like coffee, which is what it's supposed to do. Not the best I've had, but I would buy it again, so you may consider that a recommendation. But only if you like porter. 

James Boag's Premium Lager (Australia)

As you can see, I've put this picture in an Australian-friendly manner. This way readers from the land down under will be able to see it properly. I was assured by the barmaid that this is the best Australian beer, but I dispute that. I've already had two Aussie beers that were better than this, both of them from from the Coopers brewery. This was light and refreshing, but nothing special.

19th August 2013

Nothing really exciting happening this last week. My first week back at work was pretty uneventful. I did try to culture myself by trying to learn to like red wine, but it still tastes like vinegar to me. So that's the end of that, I'll stick to the beer in future.

Bel Pils (Belgium)

The problem with trying to write the blog while on holiday is that I end up writing notes on the back of receipts or whatever other scrap of paper I can find. Those scraps of paper are very easy to lose. So I'll have to try to remember what it was like. This was drank in a small pub in Helsinki on a very hot day, and as you can maybe tell from the colour of this beer, it was a great refresher. And although it looks really pale, it still had a very nice taste, not very strong, but a great way to cool down. Oh, and it's my girlfriend's fingers you can see through the glass, it wasn't served with a packet of sausages in it.

Titan IPA (USA)

This was drank on the same day as the Bel Pils above, so I've lost the notes for this too. And it came served in this non-descript glass, so you'll have to trust me that it's definitely Titan IPA in it. As regular readers of this blog will know, I love the American IPAs, and this, although not the best example of those, is still a really excellent beer. I just love the bitter hoppiness, it was also a great beer for a relaxing afternoon beer on a summer day. I can't really remember much else about it, there's been a few weeks and many beers since I drank this.

12th August 2013

I know it's been a while since my last update. But I've been away on holiday for a couple of weeks. But not to worry, I've come back feeling invigorated to start writing this blog more regularly again. Hopefully.

Žatec Xantho (Czech Republic)

Surprisingly, Prague is a difficult place to find beers from my book, with most places selling the usual Pilsner Urquell or Kozel. I expected to be bouncing from pub to pub quaffing gallons of good new beers. Unfortunately I only found this one during my trip, in a rather excellent pub, the Prague Beer Museum, which you can read about here www.praguebeermuseum.com. I say unfortunately, but I shouldn't really be too disappointed, for this is an excellent beer. The book mentions something about this beer helping women through menopause, but I'm not really interested in that...yet. It was a very nice bittersweet dark Czech beer, which was great to drink in the beer garden, even in the melt-your-face temperature of Prague in August.

Zlatý Bažant 12% (Slovakia)

Since the Czechs invented lager/pilsner in the 17th century, they have gone on to become one of the world's brewing powerhouses. The same cannot be said of their former countrymen. I guess being a Slovakian brewer is a bit like being Janet Jackson, you may do some pretty good stuff, but you'll always be overshadowed by your sibling. There are only two Slovakian beers in the book, and I couldn't find the other, even in Bratislava, so I'm beginning to worry that it doesn't exist any more. This was my first Slovakian beer, taken from the minibar in our hotel room and replaced with a bottle I bought from the supermarket for a fraction of the cost. Prudent. It's actually quite a good beer, nothing extravagent, but very drinkable. And don't worry, the 12% is not the abv, I actually don't know what it means.

10th July 2013

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me, so I've been a bit tired and lazy to write the blog. But last week I promised to give you an update, so here goes.

It's only a couple of weeks until I go on holiday with my lovely girlfriend. So if anyone can recommend any nice pubs in Budapest/Bratislava/Prague I'd appreciate it. Preferably away from all the tourists and stag parties full of dudes wearing morph suits.

Dragon Stout (Jamaica)

A 7.5% stout should taste stronger than this. Although, the Jamaicans probably want even their dark beers to be refreshing, and this certainly is that. It was more like a dark lager than a stout. It was good, just not what I was expecting.

Wadworth 6X (England)

This photo was taken during a party so forgive the fantastically poor quality.

Nice, if a little boring. A bit like playing draughts with an old friend who you know you're going to beat anyway. Nice, but simple.

-Words by Graeme

I actually can't remember what it tasted like, so you'll have to be content with my friend's review.

24th June 2013

It seems ages since I last wrote here. Since then there's been some occurances, namely the midsummer festival, which is a pretty big deal here in Finland, and it was also my 30th birthday. I know, I do look good for my age, thanks.

Also, apparently there had been a miscount. Last week I had counted that I had drank 166 beers so far, but thanks to Facebook buggering up my list, I had to recount them, and it turns out I'd drank 167. So this week you only get one beer, because I have an OCD about even numbers.

Xingu Black Beer (Brazil)

And so, from the land of weird pubic hair comes the beer that looks like the official beer of the TV show, Survivor. Since you only get one this week, I thought I'd make it a special one. I'm not sure how to pronounce it, but it seems like it might be related to a certain plasticine penguin. And it's actually very good. Really dark, but without any coffee-ish bitterness, it was almost fruity and a little bit oaty. My first ever Brazilian beer was a very pleasant surprise.

10th June 2013

The last couple of weeks have been filled with planning for our summer holiday, which will include a visit to Prague, where I hope to find plenty of beer from my book. So excpect a special Czech edition of the blog in a few weeks.

Krušovice Černé (Czech Republic)

Surpringly popular in Finland, considering I'd never heard of it before I got this book. It's a strange beer which caught me offguard because I wasn't expecting this. It tastes like a slightly smokey, slightly wheaty dark beer. So it's a bit hard to give a review, because I just don't know what to make of it.

Adnams Bitter (England)

Bitter is a good old-fashioned English type of beer, usually drunk by old-fashioned English people in old-fashioned English pubs. But it has to be said that it has stood the test of time pretty well. Despite the name, it's not actually that bitter, no more than a pale ale, but it's a tribute to Adnams that they produce a beer that can stand up to all the pale ales flooding in from all over the globe. This just goes to show how good bitter can be.