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

Full strength robust ale...

I think I want some

By the way, where's 2legs? I thought he could sniff out a beer tasting from several miles away!

Just mental. He reckons he's going to get a train. At 3.30am on any day of the week? Where is he going to wait for it? Everywhere's closed - it's the coldest time of day. The only place available would be a hotel room, right? But nobody will take him in a hotel at this time of night.

So stay in the hotel room you've already ing well paid for, eh?

'full strength robust ale' = Don't chug it ?

Yeah, I thought legsy would have been here. To be honest it was a last-minute plan. I had a curry in my hand and passed a beer shop and thought 'sod all the stuff I'm supposed to be doing tonight...'

Ok, last one of the night. It's a stout. They've done the middle beers very well but nothing heavy or light has impressed thus far. This has to be the one that justifies me waking up at midday tomorrow...

'Yeah, I know I was late love, but the beer was fabulous' - she's good for that.

'What the are they selling that for?' - several weeks off the ale.

Beer *and* curry. If that's not enough to get 2legs' nose twitching, nothing is!

That was the most languid beer I have ever seen. It couldn't be bothered to come out of the bottle.

Dark Ness

These guys have really perfected the smooth beer. Tonight I've tried the full range; a couple of beers have really stood out, but most have just fitted the standard. That works to some extent - I think if I wanted an IPA and saw the Red Rock brand, I'd buy it in full confidence.

The issue is that none of their beers have a real identity. They taste a bit like something else or a pale imitation of something - they don't grab you of themselves.

But wow - there's a microbrewery here doing the full range, and doing them all more than competently. The worst you can say about any of them, I think, is that they taste like you'd expect them to. That's a hell of a platform.

So - Dark Ness (the Ness is the big cliff just over the river from the brewery). It's fairly sweet and, although it looks like a stout, it isn't billed as one (it's a 'full-bodied dark ale'). This is a bit annoying - it's clearly rich enough to be a stout, but somebody has decided it's not there yet and sugared it and sold it as a 'full-bodied dark ale'. That's a massive shame - lose the sweetness and it's a perfect stout.

Well gorblimey!
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16237/56011

Ah, 2legs is probably here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9093000/9093591.stm

And then, just as I was getting near the bottom of my second glass, this little gem came on the radio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff5FoGtAbro

It turns out the December-1 bottle is a barleywine from 2008. Mr. Nerd and I are splitting what may be the last bottle from that batch of homebrew while he is making a new batch of barley and I am doing women's work.

Dark coppery red and barely translucent. Citrusy and slightly minty nose, nice but short-lived head. Thick, rich malty but not too sweet. Wish you fellahs were here. Wish we had more.

I wasn't at home... I was round a friends, drinking guinness, and doing musical stuff, and stuff, and y computer stuff, then we went to the pub, where we had the Milton Nuro (a stout brewed just up the road from me).
Then we had to go back to the friends for tequila and more guinness and more and
I got home at about 5 AM and have been doing a good impression of the undead for most of the day today

I'd love to try some of that barley wine, Happy It's not one of my favourite styles but when it's done well I can drink it till I fall off the chair

Sounds like you need a hair of the dog, 2legs... and I'm sure you've already had one by now

I had a taste of some 136 proof absinthe this evening Man, that's fantastic stuff. No wonder they call it the

absinthe is fantastic stuff I had a very drunken night drinkign that at one of the HooToo London meets way back with Stealth...
I've not touched a drop today.... well cept for when I was still drinking before coming home at 5 AM Having spent most the day sleeping it off I'm now not quite tired enough to go to sleep yet

You need a , old son

Innis & Gunn - one blonde, one not.

Claimed to be the world's only oak-aged beer, and if it's true I can see why. Toffee-ish (a bit too much), a hint of whiskey from the bourbon barrels - it put me vaguely in mind of Bailey's cream. Not sure this one knows what it wants to be.