Heralding Easter with Eostre!

Yes, Kent Brewery (website) have once again brewed a 'seasonal' Eostre (4.2%), essentially, as they say, brewed "with a full-on dose of Citra hops" (hopslist). Indeed, it is refreshing, pale, citrusy and bitter with a dry finish. Another excellent version of a Citra ale, and only what I expect from the brewery, notably grapefruit in the taste, but a hint of forest fruits too. Nice one! 👍

But why the name Eostre? I've done a wee bit of research, and it's a bit complicated. Depending on where you read, Eostre was a Germanic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, even Celtic, goddess of the dawn, spring and fertility, whose name was previously associated with the month of April, when a festival in honour of her occurred. Whatever, her name was adopted by the Christians for the Easter festival, another example of Christianity taken over pre-existing festivals. An interesting read and analysis about Eostre can be seen at the History Cooperative website.

Happy Easter folks, cheers! 

A Day in Bruges

Belfort

Many years ago, circa 25 years, I met a lad called Jannes in Sheffield, and we had a few bevvies; Jannes who came from Bruges recommended I visit Bruges, particularly for the beers and bars. Many years later I have now visited Bruges, not only encouraged by Jannes, but also after seeing the film In Bruges (YouTube). The bell tower pictured above, the 13th century Belfort (website), is at Markt 7, 8000 Bruges, and has significance comically and tragically in the film.

Café Vlissinghe

Our first disappointment was the 1515 Café Vlissinghe, Blekerstraat 8000 Bruges (website), the oldest continuously running café in Bruges. Disappointment only in the fact that it doesn't open Mondays and Tuesdays, we were there Tuesday, oh well...

I had to photograph a canal and bridge

De Vloamse Trine

Anyway, we had a wee wander around, getting hungry, so thinking about food, obviously, but the centre of the city was very busy, however, we managed to find a quieter bar still pretty much in the centre, and quiet, although it started filling once we had found seats. De Vloamse Trine, Kraanplein 5, 8000 Bruges (website) became our food and drink provider, and not a bad price for food or drink either. Enjoyed the food and I drank another Duvel (website), as I had done the day before, and as I've written about before (blog), a very dependable tasty ale to go for indeed. 

Kruispoort Gate

We decided to walk off the food so headed towards the main canal that encircles Bruges and reached Dampoort, then just east of south to one of the remaining 4 city gates to Bruges, Kruispoort Gate, built way back in 1402 (website) and in wonderful condition!

A little further south is the Hof der Gefusilleerden (Courtyard of the Executed - website), Kazernevest 8000 Bruges, where memorials to the 13 civilians shot there for giving assistance to Germany's opponents by the German occupiers between 1916 and 1918, now stand. Included is the monument above for the second British civilian executed during World War I (the first was the British nurse, Edith Cavell in 1915) Captain Charles Fryatt (Merchant Navy), who was court-martialled by the Imperial German Navy and executed on the same day, the 27th of July 1916. His crime was to not stop his ship the SS Brussels when confronted by a German submarine, but he headed full steam towards the submarine. A year later he was arrested whilst leaving the Hook of Holland, from where he was transported to Bruges for trial and execution (Historic UK).

De Garre

We wandered around a bit more, next to canals mostly, and then headed for the Staminee De Garre, De Garre 1, 8000 Bruges (website), literally down a very well hidden alley off Breidelstraat, off the Burg. We missed the entrance to the alley (like a small doorway between shops) once, and Dan had been there before! So don't rush if you want to find it. As you can see, it's in an older building, but De Garre will celebrate its 40th anniversary next month (21st April).

Drink-wise I had the 8.7% Brugge Tripel (website) in De Garre, a very nice tripel that I hadn't had for many years, not since Dan had given me a box of said ale with a complimentary glass, very similar to the glass in the photograph, as a present; I still have the glass. Dan had their very own house beer on draught, their De Garre Tripel, brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge (website), and 11.0%, Dan was surprised, but he enjoyed it, right enough! 😉

't Brugs Beertje

Our final port of call on our way back to the railway station was the bar that Jannes had specifically advised me to visit, and with over 300 beers on sale here, he was certainly a good advisor! That is 't Brugs Beertje, Kemelstraat 5, B-8000 Bruges (website), where we drank Straffe Hendrik Tripel (website), 9.0% of full flavoured ale, with hints of citrus, caramel and banana, with a gentle bitter finish, nice one to end with, cheers!

Oh yes, and we met a nice couple of couples from East Anglia  at 't Brugs Beertje too, I had to pry Dan away to catch our train, then we took a wrong turning and missed the train anyway... Then we caught the wrong train, but there's another story!

Back to Brussels we eventually went...

A Day in Brussels

I did have a couple of drinks on Eurostar, sadly they no longer sell Duvel in their buffet bars, but they do sell Leffe Blonde (website), which is very nice too, but drinking on a train isn't drinking in Brussels, so... I stayed nearby at my sister-in-law and brother's flat, on the other side of the Parc du Cinquantenaire to our first bar on the day, and the first bar I ever drank in on my first visit to Belgium many many years ago (apparently changed ownership since my last visit), that is the 120 years old La Terrasse, Avenue des Celtes 1, Etterbeek, 1040 Brussels (website).

I've already been questioned by a friend about my drinking lager here, as I'm more of an ale drinker, but for me the 5.2% Jupiler pils (website) is the best pilsner there is, indeed it is the highest selling beer in Belgium with 40% of the market share! It has flavour but is refreshing and very easy to drink, and okay, it is a pilsner style lager... 😉

We wandered through the Parc du Cinquantenaire (visitbrussels) and on to Chez Bernard at the Cafe L'Espérance, in the small square at Pl. Jourdan 47, Etterbeek, Brussels 1040, with my brother diving in ahead of me in the photograph above!

It was very quiet inside, much busier outside, but we sat down with this view of the bar (above) and Dan ordered the ever-good 8.5% Duvel (website), and I drank a trappist ale, the 9.5% Westmalle Tripel (website), my favourite Belgian ale indeed.👍Indeed, I wrote about both of these beers in my blog a couple of years ago.

We ate with my sister-in-law, after she got away from work, at Restaurant Volle Gas, Pl. Fernand Cocq 21, 1050 Ixelles (website). To the right of where I took this photograph from (above) is the Ixelles' Municipal Hall, where my youngest niece's birth was registered. If you visit, don't be surprised by how far back the restaurant goes, even if it does look quite small, there's much room downstairs, not to mention upstairs. I drank Westmalle Tripel again, as did Dan, it so goes with food, and I ate a hearty... I'll not say what, I don't want to upset any vegetarians reading this, but excellent food, and many thanks to my 'sis' Shirin for treating me, cheers m'dear!

Next stop Bruges! 🍺

Dark Star Brewing (& Meantime) Moving Again!

Hmmm... Yes, the brewing of the Dark Star range of ales is moving yet again! It began when Asahi bought up Fuller's (blog), which had previously taken over Dark Star, and then started brewing Dark Star Hophead at the Griffin Brewery at Chiswick to 'maximise' production. On realising that Hophead just wasn't up to scratch whilst brewed in West London, brewing Hophead was returned to the Dark Star brewery at Partridge Green. Then! Asahi decided to close down the Dark Star Brewery at Partridge Green and move brewing of Dark Star ales to the Meantime Brewery in South East London (blog).

Meantime had trouble getting the formula right and Hophead again began tasting nothing like Hophead, but recently it seemed like they'd sorted it out and the quality of Hophead improved again, thankfully. But now Asahi have decided to 'maximise' again, indeed, have decided to close down the Meantime Brewery in South East London (The Drinks Business) and move all brewing to the old (Fuller's) Griffin Brewery in West London... 😣 It doesn't bode well for the future of the quality of ales with Asahi I'm afraid, although, apparently, there's some sort of plan to have a smaller brewery and brewing experience in Greenwich (The Drinks Business). 

We'll wait and see what happens, it's all we can do...

The Eight Bells & Sambrook's Black Forest

On my way to London yesterday I noticed on their Facebook page that The Eight Bells, 89 Fulham High Street SW6 3JS, had put on a very interesting ale, so we visited for a couple of pints. The 18th century building became The Eight Bells about 1754, although a pub had been on the site as far back as 1629, when originally licenced as the Blue Anchor. The pub is situated just north of Putney Bridge in Fulham High Street, which used to run down to the older wooden bridge, originally Fulham Bridge, that was built in 1727-29; the present Putney Bridge (opened in 1886) is a hundred yards or so to the west of where the older Fulham Bridge's north end was.

The ale that had interested me is brewed by Sambrook's Brewery (website), which is now situated in the old Young's Brewery site in Wandsworth, London SW18 1UR, and was their 4.5% Black Forest. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it wasn't the stout or porter I was expecting, but a cherry flavoured bitter! OK, I wrote "I get the cherry, but quite subtle with dry bitter finish." Much easier to drink than I thought it would be, and not bad! 

My brother drank Fuller's London Pride, which he assured me was one of the best pints of Pride he's drunk for a while, and the 2 pints together came to £9.80, which is pretty good for the Fulham/Putney area. Overall, a very nice pub, pleasant service, happy bunnies, cheers! 👍

2 Excellent Pale Ales, Spoilt for Choice!

Indeed, yesterday I was in The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website), and was spoilt for choice, not just the 3 regular ales, Dark Star Hophead, Harvey's Sussex Best and 360 Degrees Bluebell Sussex Best, but Harvey's Old as one of their regular winter guest ales, and 2 spectacular pale hoppy guest ales! And regular readers will be well aware of my love of pale dry bitters, and first I shall  refer to the ale in the photograph above.

From Derby based Shiny Brewery (website), whose goal is to create excellent hoppy beers, but also to make people happy (REM + Kate Pierson of the B52s - YouTube), their 4.6% Affinity. This is a vegan friendly and gluten free golden ale, consequently slightly hazy, although dropped out more for today, so much clearer on the third day after placing on stillage. A big fruity aroma hits you as soon as it's poured, and it stays there in your nose, plenty of body, and apparently with Citra hops used (Hopslist), thus explaining the citrus, particularly grapefruit, and forest fruits in the taste and aroma, and finished with a refreshing dryness, excellent!

For comparative research purposes, obviously, I also drank the more local, from Kent Brewery (website), and a similar strength at 4.5% Pilgrim, #37 in their single-hopped series, and very different from Affinity. Pilgrim hops (hopslist) were developed in England and released for sale in the year 2000, and produce a much more subtle fruitiness than the US developed Citra, but still with grapefruit and pear taste and a hint of berries. This dries out much more than the Affinity to a dry bitterness, I'd advise, if you were to try both, start first with the paler golden Pilgrim, yet another excellent ale from Kent Brewery, and a tad more refreshing than Affinity, nice one!

What can I say in comparison, I'd be happy to drink either in any session, cheers!

London: More Serious than just a Pub Crawl, honest!

I travelled to Charing Cross Station on Saturday because of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, although I didn't join in with any other commemorations or demonstrations (Independent) as I had my own objective. I did enjoy my walk from the Station, when soon after leaving Charing Cross you reach Trafalgar Square, and can cross to The Mall, which is closed to traffic at the moment, so meaning a peaceful walk along The Mall to Buckingham Palace (above).

Buckingham Palace was originally called Buckingham House when John Sheffield, then the Duke of Buckingham acquired the property and had an older house demolished and the site then rebuilt on at the end of the 17th century. George III acquired Buckingham House in 1762 as a residence for his wife, Queen Charlotte, and when his son (George IV) acceded to the throne in 1820 he decided to turn the building into a palace. Over the years since, and under many monarchs, the building has been altered and added to. For a detailed history of Buckingham Palace go to the Royal Collection Trust website.

If you pass to the right of Buckingham Palace and walk up Constitution Hill you reach the Wellington Arch (above), situated on the Hyde Park Corner roundabout. The arch was originally built as an entrance gate for Buckingham Palace, later becoming a 'victory arch' following Wellington's defeat of Napoleon. Above it was added the largest bronze statue in Europe depicting "the Angel of Peace descending on the 'Quadriga' - or four-horsed chariot - of War." (English Heritage)

From Hyde Park Corner I crossed through Hyde Park, walked north-westerly to Victoria Gate on the Bayswater Road, where I crossed the road to Brook Street. Then walked along a short distance, ignored Hyde Park Gardens, and turned right onto Stanhope Terrace and along to a small roundabout. Here sits The Victoria (above), on the corner at 10a Strathearn Place, W2 2NH (website), a mid-19th century Grade II listed building with an original 1864 built counter and a wonderful interior indeed. Legend has it that Queen Victoria stopped here once on her way to nearby Paddington Station, oh yes, and I drank a couple of pints here too. 😉

Friendly welcome from the staff on entering the pub just after opening at 11.00. I drank Fuller's Grand Slam Spring Ale (3.4%), which the brewery says very little about on its website, so nothing to link. However, I did note at the time that it does what it says on the label, "refreshing, light gold and a subtle fruitiness, nice one" - it must have been, as I did drink 2 pints. 😉

When I left The Victoria I walked straight down Stanhope Terrace to Lancaster Gate and turned right (westwards) onto the Bayswater Road. In just a short distance I reached Leinster Terrace and turned right where, on the right, I reached The Leinster Arms at number 17, W2 3EU (facebook). The Leinster Arms is another Grade II listed mid-19th century pub, and  yes, I had another wee pint. 👍

Again I went for their House Ale called Lennie (4.3%), brewed by nearby West London brewer Portobello (website). Hasn't changed, still a decent enough pale amber bitter, a wee bit sweet to taste at first, and I have no reason to believe that it's not Portobello's 4.3% Star British Bitter, but probably a variation on the theme with English hops used. But I'm only guessing still, however I'm always ready to try something different, and the only alternative was Doom Bar...

On leaving, I headed back to the Bayswater Road, turned right westwards yet again, and continued on to Notting Hill Gate, where the road then becomes Holland Park Avenue. Just before reaching Holland Park tube station, on the corner with Holland Park, on the left (south side of the road), I reached my link to the Ukrainian anniversary day:

The statue of St Volodymyr (above) on the corner of Holland Park Avenue and Holland Park. Volodymyr was from Kyiv, and a major actor in bringing the Russian peoples together in the 10th and 11th centuries. He had been a 'pagan' and converted to Christianity for 2 reasons. He believed having a single deity as in Christian Byzantium (Constantinople), rather than having many pagan deities, would help the unification of the Rus' tribes, and he could only marry the sister of the Byzantine Emperor Basil II if he converted to Christianity (Encyclopedia of Ukraine). 

Volodymyr successfully ensured the unification of the Rus' people, and their conversion to Christianity, and was canonized in the 13th century. However, this statue remains a symbol of Ukrainian defiance of the Russian imperialist assault on Ukraine as you can see from the photograph above, taken yesterday. Incidentally, St Volodymyr is not only the patron saint of Ukraine, but a patron saint of Russia too...

Whilst in the area, I also visited The Castle, 100 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UA (website), which was originally built in 1827. and the frontage added in 1857. I hadn't been here for about 15 years, and it was strange to discover it is not a listed building when I searched the Historic England website, because it's really a lovely building. 

I drank the Suffolk brewer Adnams (website) Ghost Ship (4.5%), a pale sharp refreshing ale, with a slight citrus flavour from the Citra hops used (and other unspecified hops from the USA) and a dry bitter finish, their best ale, I believe, and enjoyable too.

Oh yes, and I did come for football too.😉

And I was lucky with the weather, that's all for now folks, cheers!🍻