UK "international" Lager in 1978

Time for the rest of the Lagers. Not the ones solely for the UK market or ones from large international concerns. With names that are. mostly, more familiar today than the regionally-brewed Lagers from last time. Much of which were put to sleep long ago.

Do Harp and Skol still exist in the UK market? I'm not sure. Skol is definitely very much alive in several markets. For example, Brazil.

With the exception of Harp, most have a distinctly higher gravity than the UK-based examples. Beers such as Holsten and Grolsch seem to be at full continental strength, weighing in at over 5% ABV. Oddly, Stella Artois, infamous for it s high strength, is one of the weakest in this set. And clearly well below the strength of the Belgian version.

A high average rate of attenuation - though not as high as for the "UK" Lagers - leaves the value for money in terms of ABV better than that for OG. Not only are the prices high, but high for the strength. At 62p per pint, Grolsch Pils is by far the most expensive beer of all those sampled by the Sunday Mirror.

The average score, at 9, is the same as the worst-performing Bitter class, Scotland. That's despite two of the seven samples - Grolsch and Stella - getting a very good score of 11. Two of the oldest Lagers in the UK market - Skol and Harp - got shit-poor scores of 6 and 7, respectively.

That's 1978 done. What's next? Well I've a load more analyses from 1971 and 1976. It would be a shame not to use them. 

UK "international" Lager in 1978
Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (p)	º gravity per p	% ABV per p	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	score
Allied	Skol	36	1.07	0.11	1038.6	1008.2	3.95	78.76%	6
Carlsberg	Hof	40	1.05	0.11	1041.9	1007.2	4.52	82.82%	9
Grolsch	Pils	62	0.79	0.08	1049.1	1008.9	5.24	81.87%	11
Harp	Kronenbourg	43	0.91	0.09	1039	1008.7	3.94	77.69%	9
Harp	Harp	33.5	0.97	0.10	1032.4	1005.6	3.48	82.72%	7
Holsten	Pils	40	1.14	0.13	1045.5	1006.4	5.11	86.04%	10
Whitbread	Sterra Artois	50	0.81	0.09	1040.5	1007.2	4.33	82.22%	11
Average		43.5	0.96	0.10	1041.0	1007.5	4.37	81.73%	9
Source:
Sunday Mirror - Sunday 08 October 1978, page 4.

UK Lager in 1978

Now I'm done with all those travel posts, I can get back to where I was. With my head stuck firmly up the arse of the 1970s. 

Many thanks to the Sunday Mirror for also analysing a load of Lagers in 1978.Well, you aren't going to find gravities in the Good Beer Guide for these beers.

First we're going to look at the Lagers which were UK brands. Or at least ones brewed by UK regional brewers rather than large national or international concerns. OK, Scottish & Newcastle are in there. But McEwans Cavalier was very much a UK-only brand. AT least that's my excuse.

There's a good deal of variation in strength, ranging from 1030º to 1045º. Approximately very Ordinary Mild to Best Bitter. Though the majority are in the mid-1030ºs. 

The rate of attenuation is mostly pretty high, averaging almost 85%. A good bit higher than the Bitters we looked at earlier, which for most regions averaged out around 79%. Which is important when we look at value for money.

You probably don't remember this, but Bitters averaged out at 1.17 degrees of gravity per penny. Quite a bit better than Lager's 1.05. But in terms of % ABV per penny, Lager is only just behind at 0.12, compared with Bitter's 0.12.

But look at the variation. Federation Ace of Clubs scores as well as some of the best value Northern Bitters. While S & N's Cavalier is one of the worst value beers of any type.

Of course, most of these were Lager-like liquids rather than beers which had been cold fermented and lagered. And were pretty dreadful. One of the people at Robinsons described Einhorn as "A beer we're not particularly proud of." Praise indeed. The Sunday Mirror tasters agreed, as it gets a pretty poor score of just 7 out of 12.

Speaking of scores, they are generally worse than for the Bitters, whose average was over 9. Though, weirdly, watery Cavalier was the only beer to score a perfect 12 out of both the Bitters and Lagers.

During the 1970s, most regional brewers decided that they needed a Lager in their portfolio. But mostly had neither the equipment, nor the inclination, to brew them properly. Which might explain why virtually none of the beer listed still exists today. The exception being Tennent's Pilsner. Which came from a brewery properly equipped for brewing Lager.

Things have sort of come full circle. Some of the current large-selling UK Lager brands are fermented warm with a top-fermenting yeast. Not naming any names.

International Lagers next time.

UK Lager in 1978
Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (p)	º gravity per p	% ABV per p	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	score
Cameron	Icegold	33	1.16	0.13	1038.4	1005	4.35	86.98%	9
Federation	Ace of Clubs	27	1.29	0.13	1034.9	1007.2	3.60	79.37%	10
Hull	Top Score	38	1.00	0.11	1037.9	1005	4.29	86.81%	8
Sam Smith	Alpine Ayingerbrau	40	0.90	0.10	1036.1	1004.3	4.14	88.09%	11
Vaux	Norseman	34	1.14	0.13	1038.7	1005.9	4.27	84.75%	8
Greenall Whitley	Grunhalle	33	1.11	0.12	1036.7	1005.4	4.08	85.29%	8
Hydes	Amboss	35	0.99	0.10	1034.7	1008.55	3.39	75.36%	7
Lees	Gold Medal	36	0.94	0.11	1033.7	1002.7	4.04	91.99%	7
Matthew Brown	Slalom	30	1.24	0.14	1037.2	1004.75	4.23	87.23%	8
Oldham Brewery	Rheingold	30	1.17	0.12	1035	1007	3.64	80.00%	7
Robinson	Einhorn	34	1.06	0.12	1035.9	1004.1	4.14	88.58%	7
Thwaites	Stein	37	0.94	0.09	1034.6	1007.8	3.48	77.46%	8
Scottish & Newcastle	McEwans Cavalier	33.5	0.90	0.10	1030	1003.95	3.39	86.83%	12
Tennent	Pilsner	32	1.16	0.12	1037	1006.55	3.96	82.30%	8
Shepherd Neame	Hurlimann	48	0.94	0.00	1045				9
Hall & Woodhouse	Brock	36	0.90	0.10	1032.4	1005.5	3.50	83.02%	7
Palmer	Shilthorn	40	1.04	0.12	1041.4	1004.7	4.79	88.65%	9
Average		35.1	1.05	0.11	1036.4	1005.5	3.96	84.54%	8.4
Source:
Sunday Mirror - Sunday 08 October 1978, page 4.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1940 Barclay Perkins KK

As the strongest regular draught beer KK was always going to see its OG fall considerably during the war. And that’s exactly what happened, with 4.5º being chopped off in the first year of the war.

Though KK remained not far shy of 5% ABV, well above average strength.

There have been only minimal changes to the grist. There’s less pale malt and more mild and SA malt (combined in the recipe as mild malt). And the adjunct has changed from flaked maize to flaked rice. Exactly the same substitution as in all their beers.

The boil time has been reduced by 15 minutes, but the level of hopping remains identical. Which, as this version is slightly weaker, means that the (calculated) IBUs have increased slightly.

The hops themselves were Mid-Kent Fuggles from the1938 and 1939 harvests, both kept in a cold store. The dry hops were East Kent from 1939.
 

1940 Barclay Perkins KK
pale malt	1.00 lb	8.79%
mild malt	7.75 lb	68.13%
crystal malt 60 L	0.50 lb	4.40%
flaked rice	0.50 lb	4.40%
No. 3 invert sugar	1.50 lb	13.19%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.125 lb	1.10%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.33 oz
OG	1052.5
FG	1015.5
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	70.48%
IBU	37
SRM	23
Mash at	147º F
Sparge at	172º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

This recipe is one of 553 in my recently-released BlitzKrieg!, the definitive book on brewing during WW II.

Get your copy now!

The second volume contains the recipes. But not just that. There are also overviews of some of the breweries covered, showing their beers at the start and the end of the conflict.

Buy one now and be the envy of your friends!

 

Festival fun

I don't really do festivals any more. Too much standing and queueing. Just the really cool Lager ones at Butcher's Tears. Then again. Amstercam's Brettanomyces Festival isn't a beer festival.

A celebration of all sorts of wild shit. But that's not what I'm going to talk about.

Which is going on a proper, old-fashioned piss-up. A long session of ordinary-strngth beer. Which slipped down so well, I was shocked when my third shout came around. In my round with John Clarke and Sebastian Sauer. I make that 11 pints each, at least. Unless my maths brain has melted.

It brought back memories of Friday nights in Leeds. Where the session started at 17:30 opening time and ended at last orders at 23:00. With lots and lots of Tetley's Mild consumed.

After listening to an enlightening talk about Prize Old Ald by Henry Kirk, we - a ragtaggle bunch of brewers, geeks and me - flopped over to Paleis Straat. Where there was a block party going on. And Bierkoning were serving beer the way god intended. Straight from the cask.

Good stuff, too. Like Zehender Kellerbier. And other things. I forget what they all were. I was too busy talking crap and supping down.

Fuck me. Is it really 20:00?
 

Finally it's here!

Or rather they are here. As it's a book in two volumes. Blitzkrieg! My nook on brewing in WW II.

My original plan was to publish in 2020. I missed that deadline by the tiniest bit. Here we are in 2023 and it's finally done. A couple of roadblocks delayed me for quite a while.

The first was the restrictions on brewing during the war. I found it surprisingly hard to track down the details. A problem I didn't have with WW I. Then there are the two volumes.

Why did I split the book into two? I could say, because I didn't want to lumber non-homebrewers with hundreds of recipes. Truth is, the book was simply too big for Lulu at over 1,000 pages.

The reason it's so long is also why it took so long to complete. The 550-odd recipes took a while to assemble. As you cam imagine.

With the publication of this book, another section of my history of UK brewing over the last 200 years is complete. The other books being Armistice!, Peace! and Austerity!. Together, the four books cover 1914 to 1973. A big chunk of the 20th century. The current book I'm working on, Free!, coves 1880 to 1914. Not sure when that will be published. Possibly nest year. More likely the year after.

The first volume cover all the fun history bits: brewing materials, techniques and equipment. Along with beer styles and background information about taxation, pubs and brewing restrictions. Even if I say so myself, it's pretty groovy stuff.

Get your copy now!

The second volume contains the recipes. But not just that. There are also overviews of some of the breweries covered, showing their beers at the start and the end of the conflict.

Buy one now and be the envy of your friends!

Both covers are courtesy Russell Gibbon, one of my readers.

Provincial Brown Ale during WW II

I'm posting this for a reason. Not just that I got a bit tipsy this afternoon at Brett Fest things. 

Well, that is sort of the reason. Because, without the distraction of meeting people, All would be done and dusted with my latest book. The one I've been working on for five years.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I'll finally get the bugger published. It will be a special day. For me, if no-one else.

I’m afraid that I have no details of any specific provincial Brown Ales. As Whitbread’s spies didn’t get out much during the war. No beers called Brown Ale appear in the brewing records I have, either.

Hence the very sparse table.

Luckily, the two beers do encompass the two main types of Brown Ale. Which for simplicity’s sake I call Strong Brown Ale and Weak Brown Ale. I’m reluctant to call the former Northern Brown Ale as there were beers in that style brewed in London. Whitbread Double Brown, for example.

The Newkie Brown was pretty highly attenuated. Was that to compensate for the fall on gravity? As you’ll see later, post-war versions had a higher OG but lower degree of attenuation.

Quite a contrast is the Dam Smith’s beer. Looking more like a Mild. Which is what it probably was. Perhaps primed a little differently. Not so great attenuation means it was probably fairly sweet. 

Provincial Brown Ale during WW II
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1940	Newcastle Breweries	Brown Ale		1048.5	1008.5	5.21	82.47%
1942	Samuel Smith	Taddy's Nut Brown Ale	10	1033.4	1009.8	3.06	70.66%
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number TU/6/11.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.

This is an excerpt from my recently-released Blitzkrieg!, the definitive book on brewing during WW II.

Get your copy now!

The second volume contains the recipes. But not just that. There are also overviews of some of the breweries covered, showing their beers at the start and the end of the conflict.

Buy one now and be the envy of your friends!

 

Leaving Vietnam

I'm awake before my alarm goes. Quickly rising, brushing my teeth and packing away my laptop, I’m ready in a jiffy. Too early for breakfast. I'm in my taxi by 6:02.

It takes a different route to the airport. Along a street of French colonial villas. Very nice. Colonial days must have been so much fun. If you were one of the colonisers. It’s very easy, as a white European, to assume that’s what I would have been.

We pull up outside the airport two hours before my flight departs. With me pushy-inning all the way to airside, I'm left with a good hour in the lounge. Happy days.

There's free-pour booze. Evan Williams bourbon and a couple of other spirits. The former will do for me. I get well stuck in. And, as I missed brekkie, a pork and egg stew thing. Along with some fruit. I have to look after my health, after all.

It's a pretty good lounge. Though one black mark. The cheese offering is way inferior to Air France’s. But so is every other lounge.

The whiskey bottle is looking quite sad by the time I'm done. It's about half empty. Was anyone else drinking it? Probably not at 7 AM. Though airport rules do apply.  It's got me right in the mood for a long flight. Half-pissed and half-awake.

I tip on the plane with my pushy-in boarding. As I've booked a better seat, I've more legroom than on the way up from Danang.

I had worried a bit about changing in Bangkok. Just 75 minutes. But we're on time and there's not too much faffing or walking. I'm at the gate before boarding starts.

Not much drama on the flight. Other than, about two-thirds of the way in, an announcement asking for a medical doctor to go to seat 31A. I worry that it might be like the return flight from Santiago. When a medical emergency over the Atlantic had us divert to the Azores, delaying our arrival in Paris by hours. Thankfully, we continue on our way.

Oh, and the bloke in the window seat by me has a massive argument with the woman in front of him about her reclining her seat onto his knees.

As I’ve seen all the films I’d like to. And several others I didn’t really. I go for the TV series entertainment. Sharp Objects fills in the time pretty much exactly. It ends a bit weird. Not sure why they had that long bit after the loony mum got banged up. I don’t bother watching the credits. I can’t be doing with just boring lists of names.

We’re given a last meal an hour or so before landing. It’s not too awful. But what is really surprising is the drink I order. I eschew the wine and have an orange juice. That’s a first for me. Turning down the offer of a free alcoholic drink.

We land two minutes early. Soon I'm at home clutching a mug of hot tea. Is there a better partner than Dolores?

Let's Brew - 1898 Cairnes Table Beer

Someone asked if I was going to publish any post-war Irish Mild recipes. Well, no. Because I'm working on a book on a different period. One of the many books I'm working on. But this is a sort of Mild. Albeit from a much earlier period.

Until 1830, Table Beer had been one of the two tax categories. Attracting a tax of two shillings per 36-gallon barrel, compared to the ten shillings due on the other category, Strong Beer.

After the tax on beer was dropped in 1830 and only malt and hopped were taxed, most brewers in England quickly dropped brewing Table Beer. Barclay Perkins persisted for a while with a Table Beer version of Porter, but it was really only in Scotland that the style lived on. William Younger was still brewing one in 1898.

Which is why I was quite surprised to see Cairnes still brewing one at the same late date. How would I classify it? Sort of like a low-gravity Mild Ale. Well, low-gravity for the 19th century.

It’s not a complicated grist. Just base malt, some sugar and a touch of caramel. I’ve no idea what the specific type of sugar was. I’ve picked No. 2 invert as it’s a fairly neutral choice.

All I know about the hops is that they were English. No year or type are listed in the brewing record. Though there is a decent amount of them for a beer of such modest strength. 

1898 Cairnes Table Beer
pale malt	8.75 lb	89.56%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.00 lb	10.24%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.02 lb	0.20%
Goldings 120 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1045
FG	1010
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	77.78%
IBU	41
SRM	8
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1084 Irish ale

Train street

Brekkie just before nine again. Two fried eggs again. This time over easy. And more fruit for afters. Mikey has a tea bag for me again so I can have proper tea.

It’s amazing what a difference a proper cup of tea makes to the start of the day. Well, two cups. The bag is strong and the cups are small. Two cups from one bag is no stretch.

Mikey has an English breakfast again. Without bacon and with an extra egg. Not impressed with the bacon here, either of us.

When we’ve polished off the eggs and shit, the waiter asks if we want anything more. It seems we can order as many items off the menu as we want. Which is pretty cool.

I’ve eaten two breakfasts in the past. When I lived in Leeds. We went to café where the breakfast was a bit too small for me. I often ordered a second. Unbelievable that I was a skinny bastard back then. How long ago was that? The café had a Space Invaders machine. Which was all the rage at the time.

We head off on a wander. First task is to change a little dosh as I don’t have quite enough dongs. Or knobs as Alexei would call them.

Spotting a T-shirt shop, I remember that I haven’t got both the kids something. And I remember how much they liked the Pablo Escobar shirts I got them in Columbia. I buy one that’s basically the Vietnamese flag and another that’s a map of the country. Hopefully they like them. The ungrateful little gits.

After a while we stumble across the lake again. We start walking up it and spot a pub. But it's far too pricey. Eventually, we hit the same lakeside terrace as yesterday. I go for mojitos this time. I can do with a long, cold drink. It's effing hot again. But bearable in the shade with an icy cocktail.

I notice someone fishing in the lake. Just throwing out a line by hand.

"It must be reasonably clean, if there are fish in it." Mikey says.

"I suppose so. Or they all have three eyes or two heads."

On the way back to the hotel, I drop by a supermarket. For vodka and fruit. Just the essentials.

“Are you getting more of that fake vodka?”

Mikey wasn’t impressed yesterday when he saw it was only 29.9% ABV.

“I’m getting a different brand today.”

“Is it any stronger?”

“Er, no.”

“Why are you bothering? Don’t they have anything stronger?”

“Yes, they do. But the vodka is dirt cheap.”

“You’re such a cheapskate, Ronald.”

After a while chilling, it's time for lunch. There's a place, Bách Phương, just at the other end of the alley. Which is lined by little hole in the wall shops. Literally holes in the wall. Most are food shops whose owners seem to be having a siesta, blankets covering their wares. While they slumber behind them.

I thought there was just an extract of their menu on the web. But they really do only have two dishes: beef noodle salad and chicken stew. I opt for the former, Mikey the latter. A good choice on my part as it's really nice. While Mikey's is a lump of boiled chicken in a weedy-looking broth. With just chopsticks and a spoon to eat it with. He doesn't really manage any.

We head back to the hotel to chill. Literally. It's still effing hot. I couldn't survive without the odd nip back into air-conditioned bearability.

This evening's plan is train street. Mikey walks off there alone after getting fed up waiting for me downstairs at the bánh mi place. So I get a taxi. He's a bit of a way down the street. But I soon spot him. It\s impressively narrow to have a train run down it.

I'm on mojitos again. After a while, there's a bit of a commotion. Something is coming. Though no trains are scheduled for hours. Turns out it's a locomotive being moved. It passes impressively close by our seats.

Mikey is getting hungry. We head back to the area around the hotel. Where we settle on a fairly random restaurant, Thủy - Ngan cháy tỏi.

"Look, Mikey, they've got fried swan."

“Great. But I want noodle soup.”

I order the swan. A small one. Mikey goes for a chicken noodle soup. Of course. I choose the smallest swan option. No way I could eat a whole swan. Surprisingly, there's still a pile of food. Noodles, soup, pickled ginger, green stuff. More than I can eat. Not sure about it being swan. There's a wing which is about 30 times too small for a swan. And just right for a chicken.

After eating, we go to New Gentry. Mikey for cheap beer. Me for a Thon Dantes Inferno, the Belgian Quadrupel again. Full of alcoholy goodness.

I only stay for the one. I have to be up at 5:30 tomorrow. Wish me luck.

A watery vodka nightcap again. Oh, the horror. Maybe as well, given the earliness of my start tomorrow.


Bách Phương - Bún Bò Nam Bộ
73-75 Hàng Điếu,
Cửa Đông,
Hoàn Kiếm,
Hà Nội.


Thủy - Ngan cháy tỏi
76 P. Bát Sứ,
Hàng Bồ,
Hoàn Kiếm,
Hà Nội.

My first new book in a while

Which I literally finished writing this morning. It's volume four of Tour!, assemblages of my travel reports.

 But this one does have some new bits. Because I forgot to post some of the reports from Brazil. No idea why. it just seems to have slipped my mind.

Here's the cover that I previewed the other day.

 Buy a copy now!*

https://www.lulu.com/shop/ronald-pattinson/tour-vol-iv/paperback/product-9y65rv.html

* A forlorn hope, based on past experiences.

Beer street

I meet Mikey a bit before nine for brekkie. Two fired eggs for me, English breakfast for him. He's kindly brought a Yorkshire tea bag for me. Mmmm proper tea. Enough for two cups.

I have various bits of fruit for pudding. Have to keep healthy. There's a long, sweaty day ahead of me.

After a bit of a rest, we make our way to the lake. It's not that far. But, in 36º C heat, any walk is tiring. 

The lake is rather pleasant, with well-tended gardens and shady trees lining its bank. And a couple of islands with temples on them. A surprisingly peaceful spot in such a busy city.

Luckily, there's a pub. The perfect place to cool down after our strenuous ten-minute walk. Did I mention that it’s effing hot? You know what would hit the spot? A cocktail. I get myself a margarita. Mikey has a beer. The wimp.

This is nice. Watching the world go by and sipping cocktails. How did my life go so wrong? To think I could still be working. Thank you, boss, for sacking me a couple of years ago. I've never looked back.

It’s all very relaxing. So we stay for a few. Cocktails for me, beer for Mikey. They aren’t expensive. That’s my excuse. And I’m on holiday. It’s not that far away from midday. Everyone knows that airport rules apply when you’re on holiday. It’s acceptable to drink at any time of day. Even 6 AM.

This is nice. Watching the world go by and sipping cocktails. How did my life go so wrong? To think I could still be working. Thank you, boss, for sacking me a couple of years ago. I've never looked back.

After few cocktails, we have another sweaty walk back to the hotel. Pausing only to buy fruit and vodka in a supermarket.

“How strong is that vodka?”

“Not sure. It’s quite hard to read on the bottle.”

“Let’s take a look. 29.9%? They’re taking the piss.”

“I’ll just water it down less.” Or not at all.

“You dilute vodka, Ronald?” I feel so ashamed.

On the way back to the hotel, we spot a rather flash car.

“Look at that, Mikey. A new Rolls Royce.”

“You can definitely feel the communism here.”

A rest and a shower later, we're ready for some food. Noodles, green stuff, spring rolls and meat balls in a broth. It's OK, but the broth is a bit sweet for Mikey's taste. At least it's cheap. We don’t manage to polish off the spring rolls and get a doggy bag.

They’re unlike any spring rolls I’ve had before. Thicker, meatier, more pastry. Pretty much totally unlike the ones I’ve had in Europe. Better? Worse? Different.

After literally chilling at the hotel, we then return to New Gentry. Where Mikey finds an expensive beer he likes: 1817 Porter. I have some IPA and DIPA. Being a pisshead. But, also, another Porter. I’m surprised they have so many of them here.

Thom Fade to Black English Porter, 6.7% ABV, 99K for 33 cl
A bit sourish. Not as good as the crazy Kurtz beer.

Labtory Factory Pale Ale, 6.3% ABV, 89K for 33 cl
Mikey orders this by mistake. He meant to get the 1817 Porter. I’m happy to drink it for him. It’s fine, in an American hoppy sort of way. At least it’s clear.

We don’t linger long. Mikey wants to go to Beer Street. Pretty sure that’s not its real name. It’s a place where lots of the bars are. So over we walk. It’s not far. Thankfully, as it’s fucking hot. Did I mention the heat here?

On the way we walk along a street that seems to be all toy shops.

“This must be toy shop street.” I remark.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you notice all the toy shops?”

“No.” Mikey must have his eyes on something else.

“Somewhere to avoid if you have small, demanding kids.”

“Or large demanding ones, like you.”

Beer Street turns out not to be the place for a quiet drink. More like total chaos. Tables and chairs spread onto the narrow street. Through which cars, mopeds and scooters squeeze. It's loud. Very loud. Why the hell are people here with their small kids?

I get a mojito, Mikey a beer. A woman comes up selling hats. Pretty cool ones. Mikey gets a green one. I get a black one with a red star. For Andrew. Mikey haggles to woman down from 100 K to 80 K each. A bargain.

We walk through a little of the chaos and settle on another random bar.

"Do you have cocktails?"

"No. Only mojito." Mojito it is, then.

We sit and watch the crowds stream by. Not sure I’d want to come and drink here every night. Not exactly relaxing. OK once for the experience.

“It must be great living in one of those flats opposite.” I remark.

“I suppose you get used to it. Or move.”

Just before leaving, I venture to the bog. Which is right next to the kitchen Neither looks very hygienic. What is that layer of liquid on the floor of the toilet? Best not to think too much about it. Just concentrate on not getting any on my clothes.

"I'm glad we didn't eat here."

"Why?"

"I've seen what the kitchen looks like."

Around 11, we wend our way back through the darkened streets. It's still 31 C. So pretty sweaty. Plenty of locals are sitting out on the street. How hot must it be in their homes?

After a bit of Standy-Uppy blokes I go to bed. And sleep like a baby. With only that fake vodka to nudge me sleepwards.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1912 Russell Imperial

I almost missed this beer. Because I only have a single photo of it. And it took a while for me to read exactly what the name of the beer was.

OK, so it’s called Imperial. What sort of style does that mean that it is? And it’s effing strong. My guess would be Barley Wine. Though I’m not sure how the brewery would have classified it. Possibly, just simply as a Strong Ale.

The grist is simpler than for their other beers, consisting of just two elements, base malt and No. 1 invert sugar. The latter, for once, specifically named in the brewing record. A small percentage of the malt was made from foreign barley, the rest from English. That’s about the only complication in the recipe.

The two types of English hops were pretty fresh, both coming from the 1911 harvest. This beer was brewed in February,

I can’t imagine that Imperial was sold without ageing. Most likely, quite a bit. A minimum of twelve months, I reckon. In the company of Brettanomyces, obviously.

1912 Russell Imperial
pale malt	21.25 lb	90.43%
No. 1 invert sugar	2.25 lb	9.57%
Fuggles 150 mins	3.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	3.50 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	3.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.50 oz
OG	1109
FG	1030
ABV	10.45
Apparent attenuation	72.48%
IBU	89
SRM	9.5
Mash at	156º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	56º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1768 English Special Bitter