h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've had a trying old week, lots of ups and downs, and what better way to resolve it than by weeping into an old Skol ashtray in the corner of the Horse while the jukebox pujmps out Springsteen?

I've got a number of beers from the red Rock brewery in Teignmouth, which I will happily devour one by one as soon as I've had my Friday night curry. From light to dark, in H&G style, I have almost thei8r entire range:

Rushy Mede
Drift Wood
Lighthouse
Red Rock
Break Water
Humber Down
Capstan
Dark Ness

While there's only going to be me here all night, it's only fair to point out that this really is rock night as my Last FM profile will testify:

http://www.last.fm/user/skankyrich

By 10.30 I'll be back on Goldfrapp like a grown-up, of course, but hey - I tried

Ok, I haven't had the curry yet, but I'm thirsty - here goes...

Rushy Mede

Billed as a 'Premium Organic Pale Ale', this rushes out of the bottle with an appealing fizz. It's only as I pour the last drops out of the bottle that I remember Red Rock brew live beers so my IPA is full of yeast, but fortunately I'd had a taste by then anyway. It's quite crisp and gentle on the palate, slightly flowery and with a hint of vanilla in the aftertase, and I'm left in the awkward position of finding another IPA that I secretly rather like.

Man, that curry is sitting very heavily. Almost can't drink. And so...

Drift Wood

Just the kind of ale that gives ales a bad name.

You're out with Lagerboy. He wonders what the dark brown stuff you're always raving about really tastes like. He has a swig, makes a face, and goes back to his lager.

'No', you plead, 'this isn't a starter ale! This is Scruttock's Old Dirigible! There's no way you'll like this! Let me buy you one...'

So you head for the bar and there's nothing suitable on tap, and you look at the bottles and nothing leaps out, but what's that? You recognise the brewery but not the beer, but it looks light and golden and maybe enough of a bridge to tantaslise Lagerboy...

Unfortunately you've bought Red Rock's Drift Wood, which isn't despicable but has nothing to recommend it at all. Lagerboy is off back to the bar for a Stella, and you have a swig and reflect that it's giving you wind already.

Lighthouse

Now this is more like it. It's fairly light and gentle, very nutty, and not a hint of sweetness. I think it would go better just a tad fuller, but it's a thoroughly pleasant ale. Think a leafy pub garden with rust-brown leaves falling everywhere and a bonfire in the distance. This fits that scene perfectly.

You still there Rich? May I join you in a bevvy or two?

Absolutely

Red Rock

The beer I hoped Lighthouse was going to be. Nutty and just rich enough, this is a proper old-fashioned session bitter with a distinctive bite and sharpness. This is almost a Pedigree in smoothness and character - a real achievement for a microbrewery beer.

Pedigree How I miss that beer. And every chance I get, I ask brewery reps and beer importers to bring it into Texas.

Any road up...

Great Divide Titan IPA
One of my favourites beers So much hop flavour, with a strong malt balance and just the right amount of bitterness. Actually, I could stand to see a few more IBUs in this one, but not many. At 7.1% it's not exactly a session beer, but deffo a fine way to start a session off.

We get so few US beers over here, every time American beer is mentioned I launch into a 'when Gosho was here' defence. Shame I can never back it up with actual ale. Asda did Sierra Nevada IPA for a while a couple of years ago, but the idea of educating the UK masses seems to have been quietly dropped.

I hear that Stone (remember the Smoked Porter?) are looking at opening a brewery somewhere in Europe, and for a while I think they had a closed brewery building in the Midlands in their sights. I don't know what became of that. Stone make some excellent beers - Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard, Imperial Russian Stout (not Russian Imperial Stout), Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, Old Guardian Barley Wine, and one of the best double IPAs around - Ruination. I really hope they pull that one off.

There's definitely a market for it - even if only among those of us who want to show our mates there's beer beyond Bud

On to Humber Down now:

I always expect brown ales to be fairly full and rich, and though you can taste the malty richness in Humber Down there's no fullness whatsoever. It's the thinnest beer of the night so far in fact, and the lightness has to be deliberate - you can't imagine any brewer taking a swig and saying 'yeah, classic brown ale'. It works, but I don't see anybody getting truly excited about it.

Brown ales can be hit and miss. If you find a place that still Sierra Nevada see if they have any Tumbler, which is Sierra's current seasonal and a fantastic brown ale.

Moving right along, I'm going with one you probably can get in the UK (and probably pay a lot less for it ), in a spirit of solidarity...
Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock
Beatiful dark copper colour with a small white head. Lots of malty sweetness in the nose, and in the taste too, but with some floral hops too. I think there should be a little more in the way of caramel/toffee flavours in a doppelbock than you find in this one, but it's not bad. Good body.

How have you been anyway, Gosho? It's been flipping ages.

Break Water

Someone's been switching these beers. The 'full-bodied ale' I have here tastes just like gassy brown ale.

Actually, 's not bad. It's a proper ruby, nice sweet malts, lingering aftertaste, autumn cliches. Best of the evening - just

Not bad, thanks. Things are moving along at work - I seem to be running the bar less and being the company beer nerd more, which is no bad things as far as I'm concerned In about ten days we're showing Inglourious Basterds with a full-on beer feast featuring a local brewery - Live Oak http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=7792 It's all part of Austin Beer Week which starts on Saturday next week

I'm coming to the end of my two weeks annual holiday - I go back to work next Wednesday But the weather is finally decent again following the Texas summer heat. It always throws me this time of year, and especially once the clocks go back because we can have a day that I consider to be a pleasant summers day - warm, sunny, low to mid 70s - but it's dark by 6pm

How are things in the Torquay hotel trade?

It's all ok. I've been trying for three years to get us to treat the place like a proper business, but when there's nine members of the family involved ideas spread like lichen. People have counter-ideas and in the end everything cancels everything out. Finally, though, everyone has realised that nobody is entirely sure where the money comes from nor when it goes, and my modest suggestion that we try to find the answers has been accepted.

I knew things moved slowly in Devon, but...

(Of course, I'm still studying like a maniac just in case...)

Mendocino Brewing Eye of the Hawk Strong Ale

I should declare a (sort of) interest here - Happy Nerd's husband is a brewer at Mendocino

The closest British equivalent to an American Strong Ale is probably barley wine, but the ASA is far more hoppy and has a higher ABV. And more malt. Your lagerboy wouldn't like this at all, oh no A dark copper colour once more, bags and bags of American hops in the nose, which means piney, grassy, citrusy aromas. Plenty more of the same in the taste but with a big malt balance. Delicious dry, bitter finish. I wish it wasn't 8% cos I could drink this all night long. There are better ASAs on the market (such as the aforementioned Arrogant Bastard), but this one's pleasantly restrained and drinkable.

But it's hard work. It's hard trying to shift ideas. It's hard trying to get people to understand that if you're clever you *can* estimate income and expenditure, and if you've got a good model you can feel data back in and improve it further.

That's really dull, eh? I'm taking an ECB coaching course in a couple of weeks and by Christmas I should be qualified to teach kids about cricket. That any better?

There's nowt wrong with being a bean counter, as long you don't let it become the highest priority. If you're running any kind of business it doesn't hurt to use a few tools of the trade - spreadsheets, income/expenditure, cost/benefit, that sort of thing. Efficiency in any walk of life is no bad thing. Just don't forget that people come first.

By Jove, this Mendocino's going down a treat

And the ECB course sounds triffic