Feel the Schwarz

Last night after work I met up with a mate of mine Rodney whom has just moved to London from Sydney. Rodney is one of those mates who even if you only see him once every couple of years, it feels like you were only chatting to him yesterday. Anyhow, Rodney likes a bit of a schizzle over a few beers so I dragged him along to the media launch of BrewDog's new black lager - Zeitgeist. I won't harp on too much about the event as basically just about every other blogger has posted about it. The beer is pretty damn good though, and I was excited about drinking out of a bottle - a taboo issue in the UK, but common practice in the Antipodes. Chatting to James, BrewDog's head honcho bossman I had the hop and grain bill guessed after the first couple of ice cold sips. I like my beer cold, and it's the way a good lager should be. James was sporting a rather cool BrewDog tattoo on his arm. I was telling everyone that it was real, so I was a little embarrassed later on when he revealed that it was a stick on. I still thought it was cool, but cooler still he gave me one. I'm going to put it on my neck at the next CAMRA sanctioned event I go to.

Speaking of CAMRA, I was rather taken back by the reaction of several CAMRA members to the beer. Do they realize that this beer is not 'real' ale, actually not ale at all? It certainly is well outside their remit. Even old Protzy was getting in on the action. My guess is that they (CAMRA types) attended because the beer was free and they could escape a JDW boozer for an evening. I am also proud of the BrewDog guys for giving something away for free - They are Scottish aren't they? There was plenty of tickers making notes, intellectualizing and the like, but I just got on it and appreciated the beer for what it is. A good solid sessionable lager - hopefully a glimpse into the future of keg beer in the UK.

Anyhow after leaving the BrewDog event, Rodney and I smashed down roast beef bagel's from one of the fine establishments on Brick Lane and headed home. Whilst in my inebriated state, I ran into a friend from my university days and spent my whole tube ride across London waffling my special brand of verbal diarrhea. Yes my friends, Zeitgeist bestows the gift of eloquence, much the same as the Blarney Stone. Magical stuff.

Bangla

As my brother in law is in town with his girlfriend for a few days we decided to take them on a trip to Brick Lane to sample some of London's finest curry. Our destination was Aladdin, which apparently was praised by Prince Charles at some point or another. The other benefit of this particular establishment is its BYO - or Bring Your Own grog for those philistines who would not be familiar with the term!
I snuck out to the off licence nearby and picked up a few bottles of Bangla (5.2% abv) which I thought was a little more authentic than the other usual Indian inspired choices. I have to report back that This beer is really nice compared to your generic Indian lager. It's thick and malty in mouth feel and texture and has a crisp bitterness which cuts through the spice and oil of good curry. My only criticism is it did have a slight acetaldehyde aroma and taste, but then again lots of Real Ale has this as well, especially if it has not been kept properly or is served too early. Anyhow, more information is available at their website. http://www.banglabeer.co.uk/