London Fields Brewery are holding their launch for the whole of this coming Bank Holiday weekend which will include 3 new beers and a lager, so if you around and are looking for something different then head along to Hackey.
I should be heading along on Sunday, personally I can't wait to try 'Love not War' which was apparently brewed when they were locked in against the riots.
For more details: http://www.londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk/
Friday, 26 August 2011
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Brighton Rocks!
Not sure what happened at this pub to get this sign;
But I wasn't going to ask..... :)
I have always loved Brighton, always a new surprise each time we head down to the coast. Shops are the biggest indicator with some steady regulars but the rest changing with each visit, individual independent shops that provoke window shopping and unusual purchases. This time around I found more places taking up the beer flag and running with it from a cocktail bar (called the Black Dove) which now has an impressive bottled beer list to the old haunts that sell more variety to tempt drinkers to stay a bit longer.
When we arrived we headed straight for the Evening Star despite numerous visits to Brighton we have never managed to get in a visit to this pub, and we didn’t on the Friday either as it was shut until Saturday for a refurb. Oh bottoms! Still we did get to have a couple of drinks in there on the Sunday before we got the train home. It is very close to the train station but just on the other side of the island heading down to the shops, I think we have mainly missed it because usually on heading out of the station we head left to go straight to the Lanes, won’t be doing that from now on though.
Darkstar have a charming pub on their hands in Brighton, plain but designed well so I should imagine even when it is busy that you aren’t going to have too much trouble getting to the bar. Both pints I had were top notch and well worth the wait for the pub to open, as we were early and spend twenty minutes sitting on one of the tables out the front chatting. They do takeout which I would loved to do for the Original I was drinking but unfortunately with the heavy bags I had with me the best I could carry was the two bottles of Imperial Stout which I also love and have difficulty finding.
We stayed in Kemptown in a lovely B&B which is near the always brilliant Hand in Hand pub and brewery whilst the Sussex drinker mentions that they are still brewing we haven’t seen their own beers in the pub for the last couple of visits. We really do hope they are still going but unfortunately haven’t had a chance to try their beers in a long time. However I did enjoy a half of Young Tom on the Friday after we booked in and dumped the bags, as usually we ended up standing outside as the pub was packed out when we got there!
Whilst the pub didn’t have any of their own beers on, they did have a bigger selection of different beers from around the country and Belgium both on cask and keg plus a good bottled selection which has been expanded nicely, this could be down to other local (can’t remember the name as it changes each time we are down there) now serving real beer. Provided they both keep good standards then this is a good thing for locals and visitors alike!
We had a terrific time in Brighton, the Saturday was spent chatting to friends old and new at a conference and the evening in the Marlborough putting the world to rights over a few drinks. As always with Brighton we can’t wait to go back and should that lottery win happen…..
But I wasn't going to ask..... :)
I have always loved Brighton, always a new surprise each time we head down to the coast. Shops are the biggest indicator with some steady regulars but the rest changing with each visit, individual independent shops that provoke window shopping and unusual purchases. This time around I found more places taking up the beer flag and running with it from a cocktail bar (called the Black Dove) which now has an impressive bottled beer list to the old haunts that sell more variety to tempt drinkers to stay a bit longer.
When we arrived we headed straight for the Evening Star despite numerous visits to Brighton we have never managed to get in a visit to this pub, and we didn’t on the Friday either as it was shut until Saturday for a refurb. Oh bottoms! Still we did get to have a couple of drinks in there on the Sunday before we got the train home. It is very close to the train station but just on the other side of the island heading down to the shops, I think we have mainly missed it because usually on heading out of the station we head left to go straight to the Lanes, won’t be doing that from now on though.
Darkstar have a charming pub on their hands in Brighton, plain but designed well so I should imagine even when it is busy that you aren’t going to have too much trouble getting to the bar. Both pints I had were top notch and well worth the wait for the pub to open, as we were early and spend twenty minutes sitting on one of the tables out the front chatting. They do takeout which I would loved to do for the Original I was drinking but unfortunately with the heavy bags I had with me the best I could carry was the two bottles of Imperial Stout which I also love and have difficulty finding.
We stayed in Kemptown in a lovely B&B which is near the always brilliant Hand in Hand pub and brewery whilst the Sussex drinker mentions that they are still brewing we haven’t seen their own beers in the pub for the last couple of visits. We really do hope they are still going but unfortunately haven’t had a chance to try their beers in a long time. However I did enjoy a half of Young Tom on the Friday after we booked in and dumped the bags, as usually we ended up standing outside as the pub was packed out when we got there!
Whilst the pub didn’t have any of their own beers on, they did have a bigger selection of different beers from around the country and Belgium both on cask and keg plus a good bottled selection which has been expanded nicely, this could be down to other local (can’t remember the name as it changes each time we are down there) now serving real beer. Provided they both keep good standards then this is a good thing for locals and visitors alike!
We had a terrific time in Brighton, the Saturday was spent chatting to friends old and new at a conference and the evening in the Marlborough putting the world to rights over a few drinks. As always with Brighton we can’t wait to go back and should that lottery win happen…..
Monday, 22 August 2011
Eye of the Beholder
No, not a post about Dungeons and Dragons but on photography. I often borrow or nab my partner's iphone for the purposes of taking a photograph of the beer I'm about to drink but the pictures never seem to make the blog.
Yet they are one of the things I enjoy looking at on other people's blogs, so I'm going to attempt to remember to actually download my efforts and put them up on the blog... starting here!
Yet they are one of the things I enjoy looking at on other people's blogs, so I'm going to attempt to remember to actually download my efforts and put them up on the blog... starting here!
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Beer & Gender
Again, I know I posted on this before but as it still is going around.
Yet again marketing research from big companies assume that we need female beers or ales to get us to drink the stuff. Why?
Seriously, why on earth would you do that?
I cannot understand about marketing departments is this need to give a drink that can (and is) enjoyed by both sexes a defined gender for a brand of it. Let's face it, partly the reason for women not drinking beer is down to gender stereotyping, beer is seen as a man's drink. This can be enforced by advertising or social rules, so why not make all your products from the stables appealing to both women and men? You know be edgy and break the mould rather than steel girdering it?
Some wines used have these labels. Yes, most men have tried and do enjoy drinking certain wines which due some advertising were seen as feminine. Because a lot of wine advertising now alternates between the sexes instead of focusing on one of them. This has made wine come back into a drink for everyone to enjoy in that wind-down after work drink. Beer markerting could do this and yet often doesn't.
A drink which is lower in alcohol for us ladies, again why? We drink spirits and wines which are at the lowest end are often 9% and go easily upto 40% depending on what it is you are drinking. I just hope these female beer products actually taste of something rather than an unexciting bubbly mehness of bland.
All you are doing by having female 'friendly' drinks is building up a wall that doesn't need to be there, make your marketing and product appeal to everyone.
Athough a pretty bottle... and you have me on that one, I love a good bottle label and if it has a matching glass I'm there.
Yet again marketing research from big companies assume that we need female beers or ales to get us to drink the stuff. Why?
Seriously, why on earth would you do that?
I cannot understand about marketing departments is this need to give a drink that can (and is) enjoyed by both sexes a defined gender for a brand of it. Let's face it, partly the reason for women not drinking beer is down to gender stereotyping, beer is seen as a man's drink. This can be enforced by advertising or social rules, so why not make all your products from the stables appealing to both women and men? You know be edgy and break the mould rather than steel girdering it?
Some wines used have these labels. Yes, most men have tried and do enjoy drinking certain wines which due some advertising were seen as feminine. Because a lot of wine advertising now alternates between the sexes instead of focusing on one of them. This has made wine come back into a drink for everyone to enjoy in that wind-down after work drink. Beer markerting could do this and yet often doesn't.
A drink which is lower in alcohol for us ladies, again why? We drink spirits and wines which are at the lowest end are often 9% and go easily upto 40% depending on what it is you are drinking. I just hope these female beer products actually taste of something rather than an unexciting bubbly mehness of bland.
All you are doing by having female 'friendly' drinks is building up a wall that doesn't need to be there, make your marketing and product appeal to everyone.
Athough a pretty bottle... and you have me on that one, I love a good bottle label and if it has a matching glass I'm there.
Monday, 15 August 2011
1648 Brewing Co
At the end of July we ended up in Eastbourne for the Lammas Festival which is held yearly, nice weekend out with gorgeous weather on the coast so far so good. Even better was the beer tent which was next to the stage, mainly serving 1648's beers with a couple of other breweries such as Darkstar. :)
Very nice brewery with a good selection of styles of beer, Bee-Head (4.6%) was a lovely soft tasting beer with a hint of honey coming though on the end. I liked this style of honey beer as it never tended to the beewax taste that so many do such as Waggledance.
Other great beers were Ginger No1 (4.2%), warming but light. Rather like a gentle Crabbies Ginger Beer, more refreshing in my eyes. However it was Warrant (4.8%) the porter which really caught my tastebuds to be honest. It packed a nice punch with it's intense nutty coffee flavour, despite the heat of the day it didn't overwhelm the tastebuds but just matured nicely.
Of course we could sample these without trying their Lammas Ale (4.2%) which is brewed for this festival, fantastic and I just wish we got their beers up here in London/Essex! We had a great time sitting listening to music and drinking good beer over the sunny Saturday and Sunday just a shame the weekend had to end so quickly.
Very nice brewery with a good selection of styles of beer, Bee-Head (4.6%) was a lovely soft tasting beer with a hint of honey coming though on the end. I liked this style of honey beer as it never tended to the beewax taste that so many do such as Waggledance.
Other great beers were Ginger No1 (4.2%), warming but light. Rather like a gentle Crabbies Ginger Beer, more refreshing in my eyes. However it was Warrant (4.8%) the porter which really caught my tastebuds to be honest. It packed a nice punch with it's intense nutty coffee flavour, despite the heat of the day it didn't overwhelm the tastebuds but just matured nicely.
Of course we could sample these without trying their Lammas Ale (4.2%) which is brewed for this festival, fantastic and I just wish we got their beers up here in London/Essex! We had a great time sitting listening to music and drinking good beer over the sunny Saturday and Sunday just a shame the weekend had to end so quickly.
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