Minis in the Monte Carlo Rally

Not exactly sure of the year, but a good video all the same. For some classic Mini rally action - click here.

Just Having a Quick Pint Before Dinner

This one is new to me - Carrig Brewery's Cael and Crede Irish Ale. Aged in oak barrels that used to hold Irish whiskey presents quite a fine flavor. Has anybody else been able to find this - or any other of Carrig's beers - over here? I found two bottle at a local shop - and bought both. Wise purchase.

For more about the Carrig Brewery and the name of this particular ale, please stop by the beer list.

Hint, it's a tragic Irish love story.

Is This The Happiest Place In The UK?

Now, I've been to a lot of places in the UK that make me happy. I can think of a small country pub that I used to frequent - after a nice walk on a great public foot path - that being there right now would make me very happy, indeed. To tell you the truth, I a pretty much happy where ever I am.
Anyway, here is a quick article on a place in Scotland that I would be very happy to visit.

The Best - and the Worst - James Bond Cars

Well, that is, at least according to the new Top Gear folks over at the BBC. The trouble is that the very first car James Bond drove - in the film Dr, No - was not even mentioned. Pop quiz: Do you remember what that car was. (I have always liked that particular car because over the years I have owned two of them.) In the movie Bond drove a later version of the car, as compared to the version of the car that he drove in the novel by Ian Fleming.
Anyway, click here for the story, and see if you agree.

Riley, Wolseley, Hillman, Jowett and even Triumph. Are These Cars Set To Make a Comeback?

Some are well known, and some are not so much so. The British automobile industry can count dozens of car companies that were once quite popular - and profitable - that are all but forgotten today. Is it possible that some of these are poised to make a comeback?
Click here for an article by Tony Middlehurst, over at the Daily Mail

Care for a Round of Bat & Trap, perhaps some Ringing the Bull, or maybe some Dwile Flonking?

Pubs, a few pints of ale and some good clean competition all seem to go nicely hand in hand. Depending on where your favorite pub is located, you may be keen to play some of the above listed games. Click here for a great article - "The Weird and Wonderful World of Pub Games" - by David Gilyeat, over at the BBC.
So stop watching the game on the television and play some games for real. You may just work up a sweat!

Dogs in Pubs Boost Business - Well Duh...

The Mortimer Arms is a dog-friendly pub in the UK. Stop by their website here.

According to a recent survey by the UK Kennel Club, pubs that have become dog friendly are seeing a boost in their business. Makes sense to me.
Click here for the whole story. 

Like Pub Dogs?
Here's a link to a great book - Pub Dogs of London, by Fiona Freund and Graham Fulton.

If It Had Been Guinness, I Would Be Crying

So...A beer truck with brake issues was heading down the Wolf Creek Pass, in Colorado, when the driver took one of those mountain escape roads. Fortunately, the truck came to a safe and successful stop, only to then dump its load of 42,000 pounds of beer - Bud Light. I guess if you like Bud Light, you would shed a tear or two.
Here's the whole story from the folks over at VinePair.

OK, This is Hilarious...Air Traveller Checks a Single Can of Beer

A man flying on Australian airline Qantas was traveling fairly light - he only had a single can of beer, which he checked in as baggage. Dean Stinson was flying from Melbourne to Perth and as a stunt decided to check his single can of Emu Export beer. The airline obliged and the can was loaded as checked baggage. Click here for the rest of the story...

Stongcastle - Excuse Me....?

OK, so I must have missed this one. Or perhaps I noticed it, but am just too much of a traditionalist to have given it much notice. Anyway, it seems that a couple of years ago - this is an older article - the idea of mixing half Newcastle Brown Ale and half Strongbow Cider - 50/50 - came into vogue - the results being a Stongcastle. No, I have not tried it, but I will. 
I know a Strongcastle sound rather weird, but imagine the reaction to the dude - or dudette - who mixed the first Black & Tan. Click here for the story.

Nottingham Pub Turns 777 Years Old

If you ever get a chance to pub crawl in Nottingham you will get to experience some great - and really old (olde?) pubs. One of these - the Ye Olde Salutation Inn - the Sal, to her regular customers - has just turned 777 years old. Not a bad run in business.
Click here for the story.

7 Day Quiz - Question #1: What libation has recently surpassed beer in the UK for the first time?

Every week the BBC posts a "7 Day Quiz," I guess to see if you are actually paying attention to their news feeds. So on 7 June 2017, they posted a quiz with the above listed question. Do you know the answer. I got it right, but it was a guess.
Click here to take the quiz.

Surreal Pub Names

An older post from the folks over at Buzzfeed listing a bunch of the oddest British pub names. Some are truly strange. Click here for the list. Cheers!

Rain is Ok, A Tropical Storm, Well Maybe not

Now, normally I am not adverse to driving my Midget in the rain, but with a tropical storm coming up from the Gulf I opted for staying in the garage. And, since I will not be driving I decided to have a couple of beers and just sit and watch the rain. Cheers all!

For the Beer Historian - Brewing Beer in 1788

We just uploaded a chapter from an old book published back in 1788, in London, called The Lady's Complete Guide, which is a big cookbook, but also has a great chapter on brewing beer. Here's a clip on the selection of the proper water:

Of Water proper for Brewing. To speak in general terms, the best water for brewing is river water; such as is soft, and has partook of the air and the sun; for this easily insinuates itself into the malt and extracts it virtues." 

Please stop into The Reading Room and click on The Beer Historian - cheers.

Nothing Better Than Drinking Beer Outside on a Warm Day, Well...

From the folks over at Buzzfeed comes a few epic beer garden fails - funny stuff.
Click here.

And, while you are there - check this quick video out: Five weird beer tricks. Yes the last one is a bit gross, and no I will not be trying it.

Race Weekend at Indy

Indy Grand Prix weekend.
I stopped into Muldoon's Pub for a quick pint of Guinness and a bite to eat. A nice, comfortable pub that I can certainly recommend if you ever happen to be in Carmel, Indiana - a northern suburb of Indianapolis. 
Cheers,
Dave

Thank You, Mr. Wilson

Yesterday, Mr. Robert Wilson passed away at age 75, certainly a sad day for his family, which includes his three sons Owen, Luke and Andrew, all actors. Personally, I would like to thank the elder Wilson for something he did back in 1974. That year, while running KERA TV, a local Dallas, Texas public television channel, Mr. Wilson made a deal with the BBC to bring an unknown, at least over here, sketch comedy show to the U.S. That show was Monty Python's Flying Circus. And for that I would like to say, "Thank You, Mr. Wilson."

And In London Pub News...

The city of London, according to a recent survey, has lost over 1,000 pubs in the last 15 years, which is too bad as I imagine some of them were pretty cool.
For the story, from the BBC, please click here.