Bank Holiday

I am back at work now after spending the bank holiday weekend in a lazy fashion. Luckily it is ticker Tuesday and I can fill you in on what I have been up too. On Friday evening I managed to get down the Roebuck in Chiswick for pint of Adnam's bitter (which was a little plain) and a pint of Erdinger. I decided to go for the proper real keg as I have yet to have a decent pint of ale there on cask. After this I enjoyed an awesome ribeye steak down the road at The High Street Brasserie. I am going to rave about this steak for a bit as it was pretty awesome. Probably over 400 grams worth with the marrowed bone still attached. I enjoyed it rare as all good steak must be enjoyed! (BTW I washed this down with two pints of Staropramen) I am a little bit ashamed with the after dinner activities which saw me drinking pints of Foster's lager in Belushi's at Hammersmith - a circus of a venue with maybe just a smidge more class than a Walkabout, but not much more. The Fosters was cold and refreshing though and certainly suited to the warm evening.

Saturday evening I nicked down the Parr's Head for a Thai feed and had an excellent pint of Hancocks HB, which tastes pretty similar to Fuller's London Pride (I had the two back to back and I couldn't discern between the two). After dinner I managed to crack open a bottle of T.E.A from the Hog's Back brewery. It was a little disappointing, but it did have a nice solid yeast cake which fell into my glass during pouring. The positive of the solidarity was that I could remove it easily with a spoon!

Sunday was another lazy day and I managed to read a whole book from cover to cover. I didn't end up drinking any beer at all, but did enjoy half of a very nice bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at Gordon Ramsey's Boxwood Cafe. I highly recommend the Veal and Fois Gras burger which really is something special. The crispy pigs trotter entree I had was a little bit too oily and the gingerbread cheesecake I had for desert were a little bit disappointing but overall it's a good place to go for a meal if you are interested in eating in overpriced restaurants (as I am!).

I managed to get one beer in yesterday (Monday) which was freebie sent to me by Nicky who does PR for Marston's. This was Wychwood Beewyched (5% abv) which is a honey laced ale that has a soft honey aroma and avoids the excessive dryness that most braggot (beer brewed with honey) suffers from. I actually enjoyed this beer and would probably drink it again if I was forced to!

So maybe I didn't really get the most drinking out of the long weekendas I could have, but I needed a break and there is more to life than beer - OK well not much more.

Suck and Chew

I have been on a bit of a beer drought. After the excesses of the Christmas/New year period I have been laying low and not showing my face around my usual drinking haunts. I actually made 15 full dry days before I caved in. A significant achievement and probably the longest period of time since I was 16 or 17 that I have gone without a beer.

Anyhow on Saturday, the wife and I went to meet her future sister in-law who is staying in the East end. I have to be honest, this is a part of London I tend to avoid. I think it's an age thing. I don't like hippy stuff and it's been a good few years since I have been a student. I am not particularly fond of graffiti either and the whole of Tower Hamlets to me seems like a spray can ghetto. The fact that the Jerry's plastered the area with 500lb bombs during the blitz does not add to it's aesthetic appeal either, unless you are inspired by post war housing estate architecture.

On this occasion where I left the cosy bubble that is West London I was pleasantly surprised. Not because it has changed to any great extent, but rather of the pub she chose for lunch - The Royal Oak on Columbia Road. This pub has been blogged about a few times by various beer geeks such as myself, most notably Ron Pattinson as it was used in the filming of the TV show "Goodnight Sweetheart" and it's a former Truman's tied house. The war time period interior has not changed, but the beer certainly has. Now Timothy Taylor's Landlord Ale and Adnam's Broadside feature on the bar and the menu is decidedly gastropub. The punters are now all trendy urban young professionals rather than soldiers or aging cockney gents in flat caps, and the staff are tattooed and eccentric. Overall though there was a good vibe for the lunchtime trade and it was a well deserved pint of Landlord to break the drought (ok well a few pints!). I can heartedly recommend the ploughman's lunch as well as the steak sandwich. The bangers and mash looked top spec, but sadly was not on my agenda. After leaving the pub and walking across the road to find my wife, I noticed an oddly named shop which had a door leading up some stairs. The shop is called is "Suck and Chew" and looked slightly like what I would assume a brothel would look like. I'm certain there is a market for such a business in the area! I think I will send Chris (my mate with the big head) to investigate!

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Adnams Explorer Chilled

Recently I enjoyed a pint of Adnams Explorer (5.5% abv) at the Crown near Victoria Park and I was very impressed. So impressed in fact that I went out and picked up a bottle from Tesco! The bottled variety is called Explorer Chilled and again the beer was spot on. Nice citrus like aroma with a nice bitter finish, just the way a good summer beer should be!

Note: Just a special note to let everyone know that the Ealing Beer Festival starts tomorrow. I am planning on getting out there on Wednesday evening for a few pints.

Adnams Explorer

I am slowly starting to get back on top of my posts! Last Saturday I met up with a long lost friend of mine Chris whom lives out in Bethnal Green for a quick crawl around the Victoria Park/Mile End Park area. As the Royal (Hackney side of Victoria Park) was closed for a private function we headed across the park to the newly renovated Crown. This pub has seen a bit of change recently. Originally (ie circa 2005) it was an organic pub, this closed down and was replaced by Tapas bar! That venture failed and the pub has been restored into a modern day gastropub with trendy bookshelves and uber cool cow hide lampshades. The ale selection was a little lacking and we decided to settle for the Adnams Explorer (4.3% abv). Explorer is a British interpretation of a summer ale and has been brewed with American hops (Columbus, Amarillo and Chinook possibly??) The beer is light and similar to the East Green, but makes use of hops sourced in the USA rather than locally. I guess its in a similar vein to James Squire Golden Ale, with elements of an APA, but compromises on the bitterness to effectively make it a pleasing lawnmower beer. Overall I was quite impressed by the beer, but the pub decor leaves a lot to be desired! Oh and the website is here.

Adnams East Green

Adnams East Green Carbon Neutral beer (4.3% abv) recently hit the shelves of my local Tesco and is an amazing Pale Ale and claims to be the first environmentally aware beer from the coast.

This is a beer that I really like. Upon first lifting it off the supermarket shelf I was surprised by how light it is, they have obviosluy gone to the effort of reducing the amount of glass used in production. This accompanied with locally sourced barley and hops have produced a light citrussy session ale, along the lines of an American Pale Ale, but dryer and in a similar vein to James Squire Golden Ale. I have recently aquired another bottle of this and I anticipate that it will be as good as the first! Website here.

Adnam's Broadside

Adnam's Broadside (4.7% abv) is a special bitter along the same lines as Shepherd Neame Bishops Finger. It has a deep amber colour with a strong bitterness with little to no hop aroma. The lack of fruitiness also tends to leave an almond like taste in the beer. It is quite unusual! I'll leave the tasting notes there before I start to sound like a ticker! Adnams have been brewing beer since 1857 and cater specifically for the non-themed pub market. I enjoyed this pint at the lovely "Ye Olde Mitre" a historical pub near work that dates back to 1556! Broadside is also an interesting beer as the cask variation is a special bitter where the bottled version is a potent extra special bitter ranging from 6.5-7.2% depending on year. All in all, its ok!