It's always nice to know exactly what goes in the beer that you are currently enjoying. Many brewers, especially the smaller operations, have made it a quest to source only local grown ingredients. Trouble is, for most breweries in Scotland, the prevailing weather conditions are not very conducive for the growth of hops, forcing them to buy their hops from further south.
Well, according to this short video (click here), farmers are trying techniques used for growing berries, to try growing hops in Scotland. Evidently, the local brewers can't wait for the results, their goal being a fully Scottish beer.
Video by BBC Scotland's Graham Fraser
Pubs and Dogs
Two of the greatest things in the world - and public house and a dog. So if the dog happens to be in a pub, well all that much better. On this side of the Atlantic, you don't often see dogs in a bar, but over in Europe dogs seem to be more welcome.
Anyway, I just ran across this website called "Dogs in Pubs," which is essentially a photo site showing dogs hanging out in pubs. Lots of great photos, although the site has not been updated since 2014. Still, good photos, so click here to stop by.
One of my favorite pubs in all of Europe (well, sort of a pub, or rather pub-like, I suppose). After closing time the owner would lock the doors with a few selected patrons - and dogs - inside. Great times.
13 Things Everybody Should Know About Belgian Beer
An interesting list brought to you by Emily Bell at VinePair.
Read it here.
OK, one more (funny one) from the folks at BuzzFeed:
What Americans Think Britain Is Like vs What It's Really Like.
Funny stuff from Jasmin Nahar and Sophie Gadd - click here.
Fun Facts to Know and Share (about London pubs)
33 Pretty Interesting Facts About London Pubs - by Luke Bailey from BuzzFeed
A good read - click here.
Nice Touch
After a freezing day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - and yes it really was freezing - we stopped in The Brockway Public House - in Carmel - for a fortifying pint of Guinness. Nice touch in the foam - cheers.
Heading up to Indy
Whenever we are on the road we are on the lookout for decent pubs. So this weekend is part of a huge racing month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and as such we are heading north. This is the third iteration of the Grand Prix of Indy - Indy cars racing on the road course, going the opposite direction, at the Speedway. It is the best show in open wheel racing in the world.
Yes, there I said it - the current Indy car series is a much better show than the current Formula One series, and has been for a number of years. And I say this as a guy who attended his first F1 race in 1978. I love F1, but in so many ways it cannot compete with Indy cars. By the way, we attended the last F1 race at Indy, before Bernie decided the venue was no longer suitable. Don't agree - drop me a line - but be nice.
Anyway, this is our third year in a row attending the GP of Indy, and we stopped for an overnight in Bowling Green, Kentucky. We had dinner at a place called the Double Dogs Pub. A nice place, but much more of a sports bar than a pub. Still, the food was great, service was fine and they had a decent selection of beers, including one of my favorites British Ales - Boddingtons in the Pub Can. Speaking of the food, if you are a hotdog fan this is the place. As an American it is in my DNA to love a good hotdog.
Again, Double Dogs is more sports bar than pub, but still a good place - I would recommend it.
The Guys at Innis & Gunn are at it again...
Apparently, this beer has been out for a little while, but as things take a little while to reach my part of Florida, I have only recently found it. Innis & Gunn Bourbon Aged Dark Ale.
I don't really know much about this offering from Innis & Gunn - like which particular brand of bourbon was first in the casks. And, like the first offering from Innis & Gunn, was the bourbon infused with the beer, also. Anyway, I will let you know more when I find out.
If you know more - drop me a line
I know What - Just Wondering Who, When and Where....
Just picked this photo up for a couple of bucks. Like I said, I know the What - a D Production Triumph GT-6 - but am trying to figure out the Who, When and Where. Most likely a track somewhere in the U.S.
Any ideas out there?
Drop me a line - Cheers.
Old Speckled Hen - In the Pub Can.
I have always thought that the Pub Can was a little piece of beer wizardry - a wonderful way to serve a decent pint of ale. And, I have always been fond of Old Speckled Hen - MG connections notwithstanding. So I was quite pleased to find that my local emporium is now carrying Old Speckled Hen in the Pub Can. Cheers.
Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it - Now, bottoms up. Cheers for the Pub Can.
Is Sheffield The World's Real Ale Capital?
Well, perhaps. But, one thing for sure - Sheffield will be on my travel plans the next time I am in the UK.
Interesting story here on the BBC.
Happy Birthday Reinheitsgebot!
A 1983 German postage stamp commemorating the Reinheitsgebot.
So perhaps a bit off topic, but any good beer drinker knows about the Reinheitsgebot. So, 500 years ago - in April 1516 - the Duke of Bavaria laid down the law by issuing an edict dictating just what ingredients could go in beer, namely: water, barely and hops. Sorry, but no yeast. But then again nobody knew about yeast 500 years ago. The new law was called the Reinheitsgebot, say: Rine-Hites-ge-Boat. Some beer historians theorize that the good Duke really didn't care all that much about the purity of beer, but rather he wanted to control the various grain supplies.
The Reinheitsgebot is still in force, but not enforced, today, and many German brewers are now doing their own thing. Regardless, many a German beer purist will insist his or her beer is made to the letter of the Reinheitsgebot law. Indeed, many German brewers proudly proclaim their adherence to the law. Cheers, or more accurately, Prost!
No Spridgets, No Alpines
We stopped by the local British Car Club show yesterday. Decent turnout as always, but strangely there were no MG Midgets or Austin Healey Sprites. And, being a Sunbeam Alpine fan from way back - an Alpine was my first British Car - I was on the look out for an Alpine or two. Nope, a row of pricey Sunbeam Tigers, but no Alpines. Pity.
The Hairy Bikers Visit Some Pubs
Most of know, and enjoy watching, the cooking duo known as The Hairy Bikers - David Myers and Simon King. Well, the pair, which we have followed as they galavant around the world in search of the odd and interesting, has come home to the Old Sod, and launched a new series on BBC2 called "The Hairy Bikers' Pubs That Built Britain." The show is appropriately subtitled "The Hairy Bikers unearth hundreds of years of fascinating history hidden in Britain's boozers."
The first episode is set to air on TV on the 18th of April, and will appears shortly after on the BBC website, so we should be able to see the show over here. Until then there are a few short clips here. Cheers!
O'Riley's for Lunch
Stopped in to a local - O'Riley's Irish Pub - for lunch last Saturday. Nice warm day in Pensacola - perfect for sitting outside watching the people go by. Had a couple of Bass Ales - yes, I know Bass is now brewed in New Hampshire, but I had a couple for nostalgia's sake - and a plate of fish and chips (batter made with Boddingtons Ale, and fresh made chips). Lovely. And then home for a nap.
Exactly how many O'Riley's pubs are there in North America? There are two in Pensacola.
Anti-Theft System - 1955
So who needs a microwave, laser-guided security system with satellite tracking and data uplink to Interpol?
Here is a decided low-tech system from the mid-1950s. Certainly works for me - I wouldn't come near that MG.
Powered by dog treats.
Should there be a crusade to save British pubs?
Here's an interesting statistic - From 2009 to 2013, there were 3,800 new coffee shops opened in the UK. During that same period 4,500 pubs closed their doors.
An interesting article here, by the BBC's Harry Low.
We Have a Winner in the World Cup of Crisps 2016
And...The winner is Pickled Onion Monster Crunch.
Here's the showdown.
Save the world from bad chips...
Fancy a good batch of chips - see what one crusader is doing to ensure you get good ones
Click here.
Gin from Scotland - Wonderful Idea
Here is another quick link to an article on the BBC. Apparently there is quite a surge of gin distilleries making some darn good gin - in Scotland, of all places. It's a bit of a renaissance, if you will. Now, I like nothing better that a frigid Bombay Sapphire Martini (and yes a put a couple of drops of vermouth in mine), but I would certainly be open to trying any one of these.
Click here, for the story.