Author: wilco

Categories
Beer

It’s not all about big smoke – the odd decent pint

I visited the big smoke that is London for a few days, if you care why you can read about it on the shedblog, otherwise I will just list the few beers I had (it was not not a big session) which was a shame.

Thursday evening started well after getting off the steam engine from Cardiff and settling into to our palatial top floor suite 😉

A pint of Youngs in Marylebone train station pub Victoria and Albert – it was closest pub to the hotel. and we need to get tickets for the next day, but half decent for a train station pub.

Next pub was The Perseverance a small local boozer not bad but the misses said the loos had a lot to be desired, the London pride was drinkable.

Final pub before going back to hotel was this interesting pub at the top of Baker street The Volunteer – real ales & ciders plus Belgium/German on tap – a bit trendy for me but perfect if you are that way inclined, nice pint of Tribute and mrsUW had a half and it was in a nice handles glass.

Friday I was busy all day, but met up with Mrs later in the day and we went for some food at the lovely Cafe Below under St Mary-le-Bow Church on cheapside – had a bottle of Meantime – London Stout, lovely and went well with the Lamb stew I had, sorry for the photo but it was in a crypt of a church!

Walking back (we did a lot of walking round) we popped into the St Stephen’s Tavern‎ by Big Ben for half decent pint of Badgers Pickled partridge, never had it before.. the mrs had a half of Badger Bitter, decent pub but some over exuberant (ie pissed) office workers.

That was it really not a great amount of ales, I had a bottle of Chinese lager on the Saturday as we eat in China Town.

Categories
Beer

Beerswap : the South Wales Beers

I have just packed my beerswap beers and will hopefully drop them off to the Collect+ point tomorrow, please note they are not just in the box as the photo would have you believe!

As its the first time I have done something like this I thought I would pick some good honest Welsh beers they may not be ground breaking but I am happy drinking them. I wont go into much detail as the person who gets them can make up their own mind.

Beerswap

Brains dark 3.5% it’s a classic Welsh mild from SA Brains

Rhymney Export – 5% – Easy to drink but full of body – from Rhymney

08 -8% award winning (Champion Beer of Wales 2008-09) strong ale from Otley brewing

Cwrw Gaeaf – 4.7% a seasonal beer from Tomos Watkin

Enjoy!

Categories
Beer

Would you be afraid of me on a friday night in Cardiff?

update: The photo of me made page 2 in todays South Wales Echo I wondered why people where looking at me strange (more than usual)

In my day job I sometimes get asked to pose for photos (no not like that), I think it’s because I sit next to the picture desk and if they need someone with ladies wrists or a sock model then they turn to me.

But today I was asked by Andrew James to break a bottle with a brick and attack him as if I was a drunken nutter in Cardiff on a Weekend (no sniggering), who says regional Newspapers are not true to life!.

Two things wrong with these pictures

1) I would never drink budweiser
2) I am a pacifist (coward)

Who says the camera never lies.

Anyway you can see more of Andy’s shots over at his blog and his shots of Kate humble are worth a look.

Categories
Beer

Interested in Beer then there are some good reads out there

[flickr]photo:4039646914[/flickr]

Since I have taken part in the #beerswap (getting my 4 Welsh beers ready this weekend)

I have been looking at the some of the people taking part’s websites and there are some great Beer blogs out there, these are the ones I have managed to read so far.

markdredge – Visit website
chilliupnorth – Visit website
woolpackdave – Visit website
ToonBeerFest – Visit website
the_beer_bear – Visit website

of course if you love seeing photos of pubs and beer then beerlens.com is always worth a look

Buckingham Arms, London From beerlens.com
Buckingham Arms, London From beerlens.com

And for Welsh Beer news then there is only one bar to lean on.

Categories
Beer

Two Welsh Beers in Indy Top 50

Great news that Otley 08 and Brains Dark have made it into the Indepenedant list of The 50 best beers, there were some mighty beers in that list… I suppose we are so used to Dark in Cardiff and a good pint is always a pleasure.. 08 what can I say – hope to get some 08 this weekends OCT O BAR FEST 2009.

In search of the perfect pint? Toby Green presents the experts’ guide to crisp and clear lagers, hoppy ales and brilliant bitters

The STRONG category
Otley O8
< otley08

‘O8, from stylish new Welsh brewer Otley, is a heady beer that combines the zing of summer ales with the richness and depth of barley wine,’ says Pete.

Brewery Otley Brewing Company (www.otleybrewing.co.uk)
How much £3.34 8% ABV – 500ml

and in the DARK ALE/STOUT Brains Dark

brains-dark
‘Finally achieving widespread recognition as a minor classic, this dark ale is chock full of coffee, chocolate and liquorice flavours, along with a faintly briny savoury note,’ says Zak.

Brewery Brains Brewery (www.sabrain.com)

Categories
Misc

Thing a week : closeup or macro

I have been adding a couple of photos to the Thing a week pool on Flickr for the last few weeks, hopefully the aim is to try and get me to concentrate every week on taking some photos.

This week was the first time I did them with my DSLR as I have been using my camera on my android phone for the last few..

Its a great community group as people do comment on your photos which helps you develop

This weeks “Thing” was Close up..

I fixed a reverse ring (i bought from that ebay ages ago and never used it) to an old lens.. the downside is that your lens loses any automatic focusing, so its all down to good old manual – so its hit and miss getting them in focus.

[flickr]set:72157622230806315[/flickr]

the only problem is that I decide which photo to send to the groups (as it’s only one a week)

Categories
Blog

BrewDog launches 1.1% “Nanny State Beer”

Missed this yesterday but well done to Brew dog for a bit of humour.. From BBC

A brewer criticised for making what it claimed is Britain’s strongest beer has unveiled an ale with a 1.1% alcohol content.

BrewDog said it launched Nanny State in response to the outcry caused after launching Tokyo* with an 18.2% alcohol content.

In July health experts said a high-alcohol percentage can cause as much damage as drinking to excess.

A 330ml bottle of Tokyo* contains six units of alcohol – twice the recommended daily limit.

BrewDog, based in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, said the stronger beer will help change the country’s binge-drinking culture because it is so rich that people will consume less of it.

Richard McLelland, the firm’s sales director, said today: “We are very responsible retailers. People in the UK want to buy beer based on flavour not on alcohol content and BrewDog creates bold, dramatic, flavoursome beers.

“We’ve had to control the brewing process to create a very low alcohol content.

“Nanny State’s available in cask just now. It is being bottled at the moment but it should be available later this week.

“Nanny State is mild imperial ale containing more hops per barrel than any other beer ever brewed in the UK.

“It is an extraordinary little ale, jammed full of all the brewer’s favourite hops, giving it as much body and mouth feel as possible, ensuring that low strength does not translate into reduced flavour,” he added.

Mr McLelland said the new beer had such a low-alcohol content that the Government did not class it as a beer and it was not subject to beer duty.

BrewDog founder James Watt wrote on his blog: “Anyone who knows BrewDog, knows beer, or anyone has more common sense than a common (or garden) gnome will know that the scathing and unrelenting criticism we faced was pretty unjustified.

“If logic serves the same people who witch-hunted and publicly slated us should now offer us heartfelt support and public congratulations. However I fear that this, unfortunately, is an arena devoid of logic and reason.”

BrewDog also caused controversy earlier this year when drinks industry watchdog the Portman Group said its drink Speedball should be withdrawn from the shelves because it shared a name with the drugs cocktail which killed actor River Phoenix.

Nanny State will be available online at www.brewdog.com with bottles costing £2.49 each.

Categories
Blog

Has Cardiff sold it’s soul to … John Lewis

Well today is the day, World peace breaks out NO, Famine is eradicated NO, the day John Lewis opens it’s largest store outside of London, YES.

Surprised you did not know about it, if you have been in Cardiff recently, the shadow of the mighty church of shopping has loomed over the City for the past X number of months, as part of the building of the StDavids 2 shopping complex and multitudes of city centre flats that will lay empty well into the next decade.

Granted some clever marketing from the John Lewis People

Flickr Image from worldofoddy

Flickr image from worldofoddy

Flickr image from worldofoddy

CC photos from worldofoddy thanks

and this week Cardiff Council have put up crappy but repeated banners all over town just in case your forgot and the metro has gone JL mad

oh and I have bitten the John Lewis apple as well, by blogging about it, see I told you, no one can escape.

Ok it will bring jobs to the city and visitors for shopping – “Cardiff will become a shopping destination” someone said, yes people come to towns to shop and someone got paid to find that out!

But do we need four more floors of goods most people can’t afford?

I say no, I say invest in the central market and the arcades and get more small unique retailers into the city, instead of making it a carbon copy of LiverpoolOne or every other town in Britain but alas it’s too late.

rant over, now I wonder if they sell sheds 😉

Categories
Blog

Beer of the Week : Jaipur ipa again + some cider

I had a quiet pint (is that possible in the Otley? when they were filming a Zombie movie) last night with all round beer bloke ArfurD

Also has a lovely pint of White Bear, from a brewery we both have not tried, Kempsey

then went on the Otley 01 well it would be rude not to..

Earlier on mind you I had a pint of the “new” cider over at ‘spoons “marcle hill cider” a nice but generic cider..

Categories
Beer

Fancy a tour of a real ale cellar – Goat and Tricycle Bournemouth

A work friend of mine is leaving Cardiff and moving to Bournemouth in Dorset.. so after saying congrats the first thing to do is of course look what decent pubs are there in case me and mrs UW get invited down for a visit.

I have not been to the town for a few years but I do recall (after a few beers) going to this great pub The Goat and Tricycle

Photo taken by Bill

The Goat and Tricycle is a traditional real ale pub, with a huge range of hand pulled real ales including the Wadworth classics which are always available: Bishops Tipple, Horizon, 6x, JCB and Henrys IPA, there are up to 11 Guest ales which change every 2 – 3 days, so there is always plenty of variety to choose from.

Situated in Westhill Road which is about 400 yards from Bournemouth town centre in an area known as The Triangle, we serve a superb range of real home cooked food; there is even a real Goat Curry and yes it is very nice indeed!!

They have a video on youtube showing their cellar as well.

So do you know any other great pubs in the Bournemouth area..