Weekly Beer Diary - Inspired by Pete Brown's "Sociable History of Beer"

As a result of too many "one click buy" incidents on my iPhone's Amazon app, I once again have piles
of used paperback books that I'm never going to read sitting in my flat. "People who bought this book also bought..." sorts of books. The sort of books that when purchased, reinforce Amazon's already terrible opinion of your reading habits. They get bought, they get delivered and they all too often get squeezed into the crevice beside my bed - pristine and unmolested forever. Like Marvel action figures still in their original packaging, you must never touch or open them or they'll become worthless forever.

Books. Still there.

Every once in a while though, when the internet isn't working very well, there's no one to play video games with and nothing on the telly, I'll open one of these depressed and neglected tomes and start to read. And it turns out its easy! This reading stuff. (Look! You're doing some of it right now). Especially when you open a book that is as thoroughly enjoyable from off as Pete Brown's "Man walks into a Pub: A Sociable History of Beer". Within the first chapter or two, the author invites the reader to log everything he drinks (beer wise) for a whole week with the promise that the results will be surprising if nothing else. 

Once upon a time when living in a squalid basement flat in Newcastle with bandmates, ants nests and  up to 30 pet slugs at any one time,  this sort of weekly beer diary would have consisted of Carling x 56 and half a bottle of dry cooking sherry. I'm imagining my tastes have moved on a little bit since but lets find out. Its not like there's a beer festival to write about this week or anything. 

Monday 12th August 2013

1 x Kernel Single Hop Pale Ale (Cascade)
1 x Odell St Lupulin Extra Pale Ale

Both were drank at work in celebration of 4pm and 7pm respectively. Its extremely hard to not drink a beer when you are surrounded by 400 excellent beers. Picked them because Hoppy Pale Ales are my favourites. I guess.

1 x Lindeman's Framboise

This is one of those few beers my girlfriend will happily drink so I always try to have one or two in the fridge if she ever wants one. Nothing else in my flat and these taste just like lovely refreshing sour fizzy Ribena. Definitely not ashamed. 

Monday is one of the few times in the week where I selected a beers without fear of being judged just a little. Weird to think about that. Shall I drink alone more?

Tuesday 13th August 2013

1 x Adventure Brewery East Galaxy Bitter
1 x Adventure Brewery South New Zealand IPA

These two were work. Really. I had to drink them. For test reasons. Because Beer. There were really nice. I went for the hoppy IPA and the Hoppy Bitter because I have no imagination and go straight for things that say "Hops" on the side apparently. 

1 x Goose Island IPA

Finishing work beer at The Prince of Wales, Putney. They have a few decent bottles but sometimes you can't beat a Goose. Unless you're an overly aggressive turkey. Drinking with my girlfriend and her mate so feeling the need to drink something that doesn't make me look too much like a beer snob. Attempt failed though. 

1 x Asahi

 My girlfriend took me out for dinner after to celebrate her new job and our favourite Japanese restaurant sells it. So I drank one. I don't remember being disgusted by it but I can barely remember drinking it either. There was no other beer available. Didn't really give it any thought. Would have definitely forgotten that I'd drank it if I didn't write it down. Mildly unsettling thought.

Wednesday 14th August 2013

1/2 a bottle Adventure Brewery North
1/2 a bottle Adventure Brewery West

Again... these two were work related. I was delivering beer all day around central London, often having to swerve wildly to avoid/run down men in kilts and came back to find the other two samples open. Would have been foolish to turn them down. I needed to try them for work reasons too. They were pretty good by the way. Cool labels. 

3 x St Austell Korev (Pints)
1 x Tripel Karmeliet
1 x Flying Dog Snake Dog
Maybe an extra pint of Korev at the end. 

Got pretty silly this evening with a couple of mates. I suggested a trip to The Windsor Castle - a cracking little pub in Notting Hill. A combination of me suggesting this and my friend bestowing upon me the role of "beer expert" for the evening I felt compelled to only drink nice stuff so as not to shatter the illusion that I really don't know nearly enough about beer to be called an expert. Having said that - they made me taste the Snake Dog blind and I guessed what it was which seemed impressive at the time. 

I ate a battered sausage after this with chips and went home. Definitely a drunk.

Thursday 15th August 2013

Had a day off beer and went to York to see my parents.

By which I mean I drank two bottles of Kronenbourg 1664 just before bed. They don't count right? I had accidentally taken a train to York without packing sufficient beer supplies from The Beer Boutique. And after a day spent home brewing with my old man, I needed a beer. There's nothing wrong with that. Stop looking at me. I could have chosen Carling or Strongbow which were also both in the fridge. I think I picked 1664 because its the least terrible tasting and my parents would think there was something wrong if they saw me drinking Carling. 

Friday 16th August 2013

Another day off sort of. Half a pint of Old Golden Hen in the Skyrack pub in Leeds before watching Leeds Rhinos lose to Hull. Went to the bar to buy a two pint cup of Carlsberg for during the game but couldn't face it bought a king size Twix instead. Felt like a twatty beer snob for about twenty minutes after. Can't bear to drink bad pints in front of people I don't even know. Plus it tastes awful and seeing them all in the pouring rack just made it look unappetising. 

Managed to sneak a very cheeky half of Magic Rock High Wire in at The York Tap while waiting for Firuze to arrive at York station. It was 11pm at night. What have I become? Really good boozer though.

Saturday 17th August 2013

Ahh....treat day. Nice. You can do what ever you like on treat day. No reasons needed.

Half a pint of Thornbridge Chiron. 

A bottle of Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA - Both in Pivni. Awesome place in York.

A pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord. 

Half a pint of Red Squirrel Jack Black IPA

Half a pint of Citra Pale Ale by someone else. Not Oakham

Half a pint of Blueberry Ale that tasted like it MIGHT have once been in contact with a half a blueberry. 

A pint of Copper Dragon Golden Pippin. 

A plate of Brisket with Salad followed by a massive bloody steak. "Double Beef" if you will. 

Banoffee Pie (Would have gone great with a Flying Dog Raging Bitch but we're in a steak house so no can do.)

The meal isn't over when I'm full. The meal is only over when I hate myself. Felt rough after this lot.

Sunday 18th August 2013

Oh no I couldn't possible drink a beer. Absolutely not. 

Oh OK since we're in York station again I'll have a pint of Magic Rock Carnival and half a Sierra Nevada Torpedo. But that's all. Nice relaxing pre-train journey beers. 

In summary:

I drink way more than I thought I did. For far stupider reasons. This week I'm drinking nothing until my birthday on Saturday at The Sloaney Pony. And when I get there I'm gonna drink whatever the hell I like.