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

Kickoff at about 8:30 folks.

It's very much a drink-your-own session tonight. And not in the sense of that Blackadder episode with Tom Baker in.

My list, running - roughly - from light to dark, will be:

Thwaite's Wainwright
Holt's 1849
Pedigree VSOP
Everard's Tiger
Worthington's White Shield
JW Lee's John Willie's Bitter
Wychwood Hobgoblin Special Reserve
Thwaite's Nutty Black

Quite like the symmetry of having a Thwaite's to start and finish, as it happens.

B

Good evening

I've just finished gardening and haven't had dinner yet; however Mrs B is going to make me something when she gets back. Bless her.

I have an eclectic and entirely different set of beers, which I can't be bothered to list.

Dammit, I've just got a 2l bottle of Weston's Scrumpy in.

You could taste that four times...

B

Speaking of which...

Healey's Cornish Cider

At 7.4%, this packs quite a punch. It's a still cider and is very much brewed for the tourist scrumpy market - it's clear, there isn't any straw in it, and it has been considerably sweetened. I'd imagine a dry version of this would be very nice, but this doesn't really do it for me

Oh, if you've started I will, then.

B

Thwaite's Wainwright.

Now I like my pale ales, as you know, and this one is a stormer, especially fresh out the fridge. A real fresh nose on it when you flick the cap off - almost like cider with notes of apple and plum. Pours beautifully and not too gassily; lovely gingery colour in the glass. Creamy in the mouth but with a slightly bitter finish which doesn't quite earn it full marks. Smashing summer drinking, though.



B

Cracking job. How've we all been, anyway? I notice the H&G has been steadily busy in my absence, a good few reviews coming from the other side of the pond

All's well in Ross. I noticed the other day that my local deli has a huge range of local ales - at least 20 or so - that would be ideal for a RL tasting session if there's ever another one on the horizon.

B

And mice have been eating through the server wires at the Beeb.

We should get around to another RL tasting sometime, shouldn't we? Make a weekend of it, take in a brewery tour, get ratted.

Jesus, is it always this bad? It's taking me three or four refreshes to post.

Dunno about brewery, but there's Westons cider just down the road from us. We've done the tour before, but it's a decent day out.

B

I think there is a major server problem at the minute. The Eds posted something about it yesterday. Didn't read it.

B

Westons cider just about one of the nicest ciders sounds like a nice trip

The Thwaite's got more and more fizzy as I drank it, so I'm downgrading it to 4/5

Now we're on the Holt's 1849

Pubby aroma, definitely got that rich, yeasty beer smell. Chestnut coloured; good head but not fizzy. Very smooth drinking; nutty and maybe a little bit smoky, but probably a bit thin to be really satisfying.



B

Weston's would be great. There's a couple of breweries within five miles or so of the hotel, but it would be good to get up your way at some point.

You're always welcome. We could probably send the girls off shopping.

B

Brahma

Oooh, a Brazilian premium beer. Nice bottle. Not very big, though. Pleasantly fizzy, clean, quite bland apart from a lovely lingering aftertaste. Not bad, but doesn't stand out from all the other 'premium' beers at all.

The only beer I've got in is some, well a shelf, full of guinness... and I appear to be having period pains... or stomach cramp I guess So on consluting medical advice to 'drink clear liquids' I'm just having neat vodka.