Kilkerran Wee Heavy

Stouty McStout Face

NAO Lanzarote

Blindsided

All Blacks:Caledonian

Estrella Damm

B is for Beer

Beer. It has been around for ages & comes in so many forms it can make your head spin. But what makes a beer good? If you have come here looking for the answer sadly we will disappoint you. As with so many things in life, your definition of good will be subject to your own tastes & expectations. When deciding on a beer’s drinkability we need only ask, can I actually drink this to the bottom of the glass, would I buy another one, & occasionally perhaps, will I need to sell a kidney to pay for it?

Like so much of our image obsessed world the appreciation of beer seems to have become about flash & not so much the substance. Less about the appreciation of its simplicity & more about impressing those around you with your knowledge of industry buzzwords. Beer was meant for the working class. I recall the days of old when we would pound back a few & laugh at the wine connoisseurs, with their ponce descriptions & pretentious tastings. Unfortunately, they have stealthily invaded the land of our working class forefathers with their pontification & snobbery. It is time to take back the sacred drink of Ninkasi & reclaim our heritage!

Beer is something that you can make at home. It is not some mystical unattainable craft that requires one part sorcery & a backroom deal with the devil. From what I hear, my grandfather used to make homebrew & hide it so the local authorities wouldn’t find out. I bet you have similar stories from your past. It is in our blood. It is something that you can do with simple ingredients and a little ingenuity. I embrace chaos brewing in my home endeavours. I am not so great with the math or the science (which is why I have a day job), but I enjoy the creative process. Will I ever scale up to mass production? Not likely, but if I do any of you that are mathematicians or scientists can send me your resume!

Our aim is to share with you our beer drinking adventures. To tell you what we like & what we don’t like. You in turn can call bullshit at anytime or agree with us. That is the point. We are not spending your money to drink beer, YOU spend money to choose your own. You get to choose what you like & dislike based on your own criteria. Help us on our quest to break the cycle of fakery & snake oil salesmen! There is nothing wrong with enjoying a well crafted beer, be it homebrew, from the local Brewhouse, or even from one of the big corps. It is your money, your free time, your birth right as humans. Embrace it!

As we begin this adventure, we will be sharing the beers we are trying with you & giving you our thoughts. Our rating scale will be as follows: straight in the toilet, nice in a pinch, or pour me another. Occasionally as the mood hits we may advise if a brew has hints of sadness or fresh cut grass, but that should make you wonder how in the hell we know what fresh cut grass tastes like. We will be posting vlogs & assorted musings on our blog & through our Instagram & Twitter feeds if you care to follow along. If any of this has offended your beer sensibilities & assaulted your foundational knowledge of the craft, then you have our apologies, but you may need to see above. Beer is to be enjoyed. Beer brings us together. Beer will set you free. Adventure is out there, so let’s crack on shall we? Cheers!