Love Good Beer

Brewdog has a pub in London now

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 | Beer | No Comments

In Camden to be exact, and it’s been there for about a month.  I was really excited when I found out Brewdog opened their first non-Scottish pub in London (4th pub overall) in December.  There are few epic beer bars in London, especially when you consider the scale of London and how much time people spend down the pub.  Brewdog Camden joins Craft and The Euston Tap as beer nerd destinations in Londontown.

Erik was around over the holidays, so naturally we hit up Brewdog Camden.  I was very impressed by the look of the place, which is very clean, modern, and on brand.  I was even more impressed by the beer on offer, there were twenty odd taps and hundreds of bottles.  The bottle selection was almost solely constituted of hardcore craft beer, mostly American (mostly Californian), some Danish (mostly Mikkeller), and Hitachino Nest of Japan.  The majority of the taps were of Brewdog’s own beer, but there were also a few guest kegs from the likes of Stone and Mikkeller.  Much of the Brewdog beer on tap I’d never seen in bottles before and I believe some were experimental.  I really enjoyed the Winter Porter and the Hops Kill Nazis (a hoppy imperial red).  I didn’t love the Wasabi Stout or the Dogma, but that’s just me.

Us guys at Brewdog Camden

What I really liked was that both Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32% ABV) and Sink the Bismarck (41% ABV) were on offer, £6 for a 25ml taste.  I’d only ever come across these beers in bottles in the UK and didn’t buy because they carry a hefty price tag, so this was my first taste.  We tried Tactical Nuclear Penguin (they were out of Bismarck) and it was a delight.  It’s very syrupy in the glass and it tastes very sweet, more like madeira than beer.  It also warms the throat in a good way, like a fine brandy or cognac might.  A bottle would be dangerous in my hands.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin in the glass (Hops kill Nazis in the background)

Erik tasting TNP with an aristocratic air

London beer tourists, in this order, visit Craft, Brewdog Camden, and the Euston Tap.  My one criticism of Brewdog Camden is that  there aren’t many session beers to be had, which might turn off the casual beer fan.  I don’t think Brewdog cares though, beer for punks after all.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: brewdog, brewdog camden, craft beer co, euston tap, hitachino nest, hops kill nazis, london, mikkeller, stone, tactical nuclear penguin

Great beer at the corner store?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments

I spent this past BC Day long weekend at a cabin near the foot of Mount Baker, a short jaunt across the border from where I live.  Just before the cabin on the road to Mount Baker, there is a small grocery store called Nooksack Market.  I’d visited this market two years ago on a previous visit to the same cabin.  When my wife told me we were heading to here uncle’s place, all I could think about was getting back to this market.  Why?  Because they have a fantastic craft beer selection stocked with delicious Washington and Oregon beers that you can’t get at any of BC’s best beer stores!  It was really overwhelming shopping at that tiny market because I wanted to buy everything.  I ended up buying a lot of the Stone, Lagunitas, and Deschutes beers that you can’t get here.  It was a good weekend, but I drank too much.

A sample of what's waiting for us right across the border

On the way back to Canada we stopped at the Sumas Liquor store to stock up.  This liquor store is two blocks from the border, within clear sight of the crossing.  They too had a fantastic selection and I picked more of the same great beers, plus a few Laughing Buddha bottles.  An American reading this blog might think I am crazy, stupid, or both, but the beer selection right across the border is enough to get this Canadian beer enthusiast exited.  Curse our stupid liquor laws!  If trucks carrying this delicious beer can get to the border, surely they can get across too, right?  We’ll even pay double, which is pretty much what we pay anyway.  At least we get Health Care…

The Booze Bear at Sumas Liquor Store, ha

Also, I had a Bud Light Lime this weekend and I thoroughly did not enjoy it.  It tasted nothing like beer, but like malty sprite.  I still think Bud Light Lime is horrible and implore you fans of this perverse liquid to seek out and explore other light beers and alcoholic beverages.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: bud light lime, deschutes, lagunitas, laughing buddha, oregon, stone, washington