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Author: wilco
I only recently visited Stonehenge the other month for the first time I know shocking.
[flickr]photo:4162157743[/flickr]
You can’t get close to the stones but those lot over at google now allow you to.
Not blogged about the beers I have drunk for a while, one good reason for this – I have cut down – well in the week and during the day anyway.
So these beers are either with meals or while running my shed empire and used as a typing aid.
UNION 4.9% ABV
This was a lovely European style lager from the great London brewery Meantime – UNION 4.9% ABV, great label as well.
Dark Hare 4.0% abv
Another great regional brewery Bath Ales – I love their beer but this is the first time I have drunk the Stour from the bottle as been lucky to have it both in Bath and my local once!
Dark Hare is a lovely stout – but if your drink the Irish one you wont recognise it, its smooth and the roasted malt gives it a great after taste.
The next few beers are from the outlandish but excellent brewdog brewery.
77 lager 4.9%
AS with a lot of brewdog beers the hops hit you.. and this is not different, unfortunately the Mrs liked it as well, so only had half a bottle, If you can get it try it on your lager drinking mates you will convert them.
zeitgeist 4.9% Black Lager
Another Lager from brewdog but so different from anything else I have had in the UK- I first tried this at a local golf club from cask and was blown away with it – it reminds me of Czech black lagers. Its smooth and has a nice roasty flavor I had it with a curry and it worked a treat.
Bashah 8.60%
Been wanting to try this for a while Strong IPA from brewdog, it’s a Black Belgian Double IPA with help from Stone Brewing (from that America) its a great taste but the alcohol hits you (so that means the mrs does not want to share it!), it was like an expresso hitting you…. i can see me using some of it in a stew or something – be wonderful , if I could spare some.
I have a few bottles of Paradox (10%) in the shed, but don’t think drinking the same time as the Bashah would help me get to work tomorrow.
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When Two (or Three) Buses Collide
Excitement this morning on the way to work – Was walking from the other side of Cardiff as had to get bus as car is still snowed in (we live on hills in the valleys)
Two (or three) Cardiff buses crashed into each other on Westgate street.
If my bus was not late I may not have seen it..
You can see my other not in focus mobile shots here, maybe an excuse to upgrade my HTC magic to a google nexus one 😉
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Beer Swap – a trumpiant in beer swapping
What a great Idea Beer Swap is.
I was lucky enough to get some great beers from the Bucks Area in my swap, but I lost the contact details for the person who sent them… so let me know!
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The glad tidings was my favourite out of the lot from Vale Brewing company, it was quite bitter but had nice fruity aroma and nice and sweet, closely followed by the Grumpling Old Ale… the barley wine was a nice sipping one and my misses liked that (so hope for her yet)
I sent my Welsh beers to seanEclark who works for Adnams brewery.
And he and Sarah did some great Video Reviews of the beers I sent, makes me want to go and drink them myself.. I think Brains Dark and Otley O8 where their favourite with Rhymney Export coming in there – aren’t we lucky in South Wales to have some great beers I don’t think we realise how luck we are.
I can’t wait for the next one, I hope to do better reviews as well, maybe following their video lead.
Have a great Beer Xmas and New year
Took delivery of Christmas beers from the lovely Beer Merchants
Barbar, Blond Speciality Ale, 8.0%, 33cl, Bottle (2 of)
Brugs Wit, Witbier, 4.8%, 33cl, Bottle (2 of)
De Koninck, Amber Speciale Belge, 5.0%, 25cl, Bottle
De Koninck Blond, Blond Speciality, 6.0%, 33cl, Bottle
Lindemans Pecheresse, Peach Lambiek Fruit beer, 2.5%, 25cl, Bottle
Palm, Extra Amber Speciale Belge, 5.4%, 33cl, Bottle
Meantime Union, Vienna Style Amber Lager, 4.9%, 33cl Bottle
Meantime Coffee & Porter Style Ale, 6.0%, 33cl Bottle
Bath Ales, Dark Hare, 4%, 50cl, Bottle
BrewDog, Zeitgeist, 4.9%, 33cl, Bottle
Rodenbach Vintage 2007, Limited Edition, 75cl.
Some of the beers were selected as I wanted to relive the times I went to antwerp when my friend lived there – Barbar,
Brugs Wit, Palm and of course the beer of Antwerp De Koninck.
The Rodenbach Vintage 2007 was a special treat and I got a bottle for Rob from beerlens as well, as this year he has introduced me to some great beers(brewdog & Saints & Sinners) and it’s good to have an offline/online friend interested in beer even though he is from newport.
As you know I am taking part in the beerswap thing and I sent Four Welsh Beers to a chap Called Sean who works for Adnams Brewery in Southwold, Suffolk.
Read their blog review of the beer
My beer reviews will be up very soon! but don’t think I can compare with Sean and Sarahs review!
I was unfortunate to be watching the awful film with Jack Black “Year One” the other day – thank God the London Film Critics’ Circle have just published their list of best films from the last 30 years..
1. 
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1980)
2. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1994)
3. 
The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2007)
4. 
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992)
5. 
Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
6. 
Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1990)
7. 
LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997)
Fargo (Joel Coen, 1996)9. 
. Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1989)
10. 
The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1983)
Not shy of trying new things those scottish brewers at brewdog have brewed they say the worlds strongest beer.
The BrewDog team have pulled off our most audacious and ambitious project to date, and smashed a world record in the process. We have today, Thursday 26 November 2009, set a new world record after creating the strongest beer in the world. Weighing in at an ABV of 32%, BrewDog’s ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin’ beats the previous record of 31% held by German beer brand Schorschbraer.
This beer is about pushing the boundaries, it is about taking innovation in beer to a whole new level. It is about achieving something which has never before been done and putting Scotland firmly on the map for progressive, craft beers.
This beer is bold, irreverent and uncompromising. A beer with a soul and a purpose. A statement of intent. A modern day rebellion for the craft beer proletariat in our struggle to over throw the faceless bourgeoisie oppression of corporate, soulless beer.’
The Antarctic name inducing schizophrenia of this uber-imperial stout originates from the amount of time it spent exposed to extreme cold. This beer began life as a 10% imperial stout 18 months ago. The beer was aged for 8 months in an Isle of Arran whisky cask and 8 months in an Islay cask making it our first double cask aged beer. After an intense 16 month, the final stages took a ground breaking approach by storing the beer at -20 degrees for three weeks to get it to 32%.
Beer has a terrible reputation in Britain, it’s ignorant to assume that a beer can’t be enjoyed responsibly like a nice dram or a glass of fine wine. A beer like Tactical Nuclear Penguin should be enjoyed in spirit sized measures. It pairs fantastically with vanilla bean white chocolate it really brings out the complexity of the beer and complements the powerful, smoky and cocoa flavours.
A warning on the label states: This is an extremely strong beer, it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. In exactly the same manner that you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.
In typical BrewDog style the beer comes packed not in an elaborate box or case, but a brown paper bag with a hand-drawn penguin on it. You can buy yours here: http://www.brewdog.com/product.php?id=46