On my way into London
and to save some money on transportation, I rode my bike to work so I
could get the train from Richmond. Around £3 as opposed to
potentially paying at least £10, it's a no-brainer.
A minor or major
wardrobe choice error led to me sweating so profusely that I was
forced to disrobing and turning my jacket inside out as soon as I
arrived. Droplets of sweat had formed on the inside lining, like the
droplets you see in nature documentaries where the camera has zoomed
in onto a leaf and you can see the minuscule rain droplets. The sweat
came together with the aid of gravity forming larger globules, until
large enough that they took the plunge and dropped off the edge and
onto the floor. My back and arms were saturated, I was soaked. It was
as though I'd ridden through an invisible waterfall and come out the
other end drenched.
Down filled puffer
jackets are not meant for wearing whilst cycling, especially when the
sun is beating down and the temperature rose to double figures.
During the week we'd
taken delivery of new stock, some very cool looking beers. The
special Wild Beer Co beer bottles with the waxed tops, their cans and
some other random British craft beers along with some new Americans
and Belgians.
With £25 in my kitty I
set to work selecting some beers.
A Pale Ale, an IPA, a
Saison, a Berliner Weisse, a Gueuze and a very special bottle of Wild
Beer Co beer. I thought I'd try a couple of sours as I'm trying to
force myself into liking them as they seem to be growing quickly in
popularity. I'd become more excited to try them now rather than being
so scared.
I tried my best to get
through in as good an order as humanly possible, going up the
strength and flavour scale.
I failed miserably and
almost repeatedly picked out and opened the wrong beers. I was
distracted by my uncle and a friend I hadn't seen for a couple of
years. Starting off on the IPA when I was supposed to get out the
Pale. Both were lovely beers, delicious in fact. From Summer Wine
Brewing Co from Yorkshire. A take on classic America styles, a Pale
Named 'Oregon' based on a traditional west coast recipe and an IPA
called 'Diablo'. I went onto 'Epic Saison' by Wild Beer Co. I don't
know exactly what the Saison style of beer is so I looked it up,
after the event of course. All I knew was that the hops are toned
down and they are hazy with a vegetal and earthy taste, some verge on
having a sour tang to them. When I looked them up they are an old
fashioned Flemish (I think) farmhouse ale that used to be brewed by
the farmer and fermented and matured over the wintry months, often
adding herbs and spice. They were traditionally high in alcohol but
were blended with weaker beers before serving. A lesson in Saison
brought to you by research from various sources.
I love being able to
spoil myself with such a diverse selection of some of the best beers
from all over the world.
My second mistake came
when I accidentally opened the beer I'd been saving for later on that
evening. 'Wildebeest' by Wild Beer Co, when I picked it up off the
shelf I failed to notice that it was 11%. I was meant to get
'Calypso', a Berliner Weisse style beer from Siren. A light and
fruity sour.
A small back story of
mine in regards to Calypso, a beer that I should have already tried
if it hadn't been aggressively suicidal. The other night when I got
home from being out and was craving something sharp, tart, sour, my
bottle of Calypso. I opened the fridge and there it was. It lunged at
me like an unsuccessful mugger seeking vengeance after failing to
prize my phone or wallet from me. I didn't stand a chance and nor did
it. As soon as the gap in the fridge door was wide enough for a
bottle to fit out, it struck me. A direct hit in my thigh. It bounced
off and plunged half a metre to the tiled kitchen floor. At my feet,
it hit the ground exploding upon impact, flinging shards of broken
glass all over the floor. Soaking my feet and filling my heart with
mixed emotions of both rage and disappointment. I gathered my
thoughts and found solace in knowing it didn't die in vein. The smell
it gave off reached deep into my nasal cavity and was powerful and
delightful enough to entice me into buying it once again... So I did.
After such a pleasant
beer, Calypso managed to help cleanse my palate and readied me for
what was to come. 'Wildebeest' left such a lasting memory, it is
simply impossible for me to ever forget it. Even if my tastes change
it will always hold a place in my heart. It ploughed so many other
beers out of its way to my top spot. Any beer with the ability to do
that is more than worth a try, every beer drinker should try it at
least once. One extraordinary beer, I'm not exaggerating when I say
that it has literally gone straight to the top spot and is possibly
the best beer I have ever had.
The remainder of the
evening was a blur, so many beers drunk is such a short space of
time. There was one stand out memory of the rest of the night. The
Cantillon '100% Bio Lambic', the Gueuze I'd been dreading but was so
curious about and desperate to try. Now don't take this the wrong
way. It is a very well respected beer and one of the finest Lambics
in the world but...
...but this kind of
beer is the reason I've been unable to and unsuccessful at every
attempt I've made to really get into sours.
Even though leaving an
inch of this astonishingly sharp, tart and sour drink filled me with
measureless depression, I could not bring myself to completing this
task. I failed myself, the beer and anybody who might have once
believed in me.
Tears of sadness and
joy filled my eyes as I poured the remainder of this beer destitute
of any trace of sugar down the sink.
for those into lambics.
a place to spoil yourself like a king (or how I do)
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