Great beer, shared saliva and some ska
One of the best things of living in St. Albans, and in England generally, is availability of some great pubs - a fact supported by the choice of St. Albans as the headquarters of CAMRA - the campaign for real ale.
Last night I joined a few friends in the Lower Red Lion for their mini beer festival celebrating the local Alehouse and Church End breweries. So many great beers, so little time ... we made sure we got through as many as possible by choosing 2 beers each getting a half of each, tasting and passing to the left. This resulted in us sampling many beers, along with, I suspect, a fair amount of communal saliva. Never mind - later we got jugs of our favourites
So, a quick summary of the best and worst. Definitely near the top was "Head Full of Cascade" (4.4% pale and hoppy) - evidenced by the barrel running out very early, "Ivor's Premature Swallow" (4.5% Copper coloured smooth hop flavour), "Willpower of a Moth" (4.6% pale with a sharp bitter after-taste) and "Sensation Ale" (4.9% pale with a big hop nose [their words, not mine!] and light finish).
The worst was definitely the "Robust Porter" (4.3% black with big dark roast flavours and a bitter hop edge) which just tasted of burnt nuts liberally sprinkled in dark soy sauce. Ugghh!
Other interesting facts about the night were: the second pump from the left in the small bar is reputed to be the second oldest in Hertforsdhire (the guy who told me this was pissed and probably is not to be taken too seriously) and Lars managed to wear his Japanese purchased bling - mock diamond encrusted silver pendant in a dollar motif - not really a good look with dark checked shirt and suede loafers.
Anyway, if you are in St. Albans, I'd highly recommend the Lower Red Lion.
So, having thoroughly enjoyed the evening some of us finished up in my shed drinking Bishops Finger, Spitfire and Whiskey to the sounds of some classic Ska (Skalites particularly notable - thanks Moritz!). The highlight though has to be two grown (and supposedly intelligent) guys wrestling on a damp lawn - the only rules being the first who cries "Mamma" looses. Priceless entertainment!
Last night I joined a few friends in the Lower Red Lion for their mini beer festival celebrating the local Alehouse and Church End breweries. So many great beers, so little time ... we made sure we got through as many as possible by choosing 2 beers each getting a half of each, tasting and passing to the left. This resulted in us sampling many beers, along with, I suspect, a fair amount of communal saliva. Never mind - later we got jugs of our favourites
So, a quick summary of the best and worst. Definitely near the top was "Head Full of Cascade" (4.4% pale and hoppy) - evidenced by the barrel running out very early, "Ivor's Premature Swallow" (4.5% Copper coloured smooth hop flavour), "Willpower of a Moth" (4.6% pale with a sharp bitter after-taste) and "Sensation Ale" (4.9% pale with a big hop nose [their words, not mine!] and light finish).
The worst was definitely the "Robust Porter" (4.3% black with big dark roast flavours and a bitter hop edge) which just tasted of burnt nuts liberally sprinkled in dark soy sauce. Ugghh!
Other interesting facts about the night were: the second pump from the left in the small bar is reputed to be the second oldest in Hertforsdhire (the guy who told me this was pissed and probably is not to be taken too seriously) and Lars managed to wear his Japanese purchased bling - mock diamond encrusted silver pendant in a dollar motif - not really a good look with dark checked shirt and suede loafers.
Anyway, if you are in St. Albans, I'd highly recommend the Lower Red Lion.
So, having thoroughly enjoyed the evening some of us finished up in my shed drinking Bishops Finger, Spitfire and Whiskey to the sounds of some classic Ska (Skalites particularly notable - thanks Moritz!). The highlight though has to be two grown (and supposedly intelligent) guys wrestling on a damp lawn - the only rules being the first who cries "Mamma" looses. Priceless entertainment!
posted by RoboGeek | 9:29 pm
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