Beer Review: Tunnel Vision

There comes a time in every man's life when, owning his own lawnmower, he finds that he must cut the grass a second time in a season. For me, that time was today and I can't say it was anywhere near as tiring and complicated as the first time. For a start I did it almost in a single load and for a second the mower didn't need a clean when I was done. Colour me surprised! Still, after that and some heavy lifting (including taking an old TV unit down to the tip) I felt like the weather deserved an ale with tea, because it was 24 degrees centigrade and very sunny. Of course I had been chilling my bottle of Tunnel Vision by Box Steam Brewery for the best part of a week now having simply not getting round to it and so this was the perfect time to have it. So I did.

Look at that lovely fence colour! All the handiwork of my Good Lady Wife from last year. I may have already shown it in other photos, who knows, so would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Wet Your Whistle

Another day of marking and another day of summer. It's been a particularly wet one round our way and there has been a sudden spike afterwards of humidity, as befits the calm before a storm, but then we've had some pretty high wind instead so... who knows? Apart from that I can claim to have had a rather nice day all round if I'm honest. Plenty of warning before tea allowed me to put the ale in the fridge to prepare and a happy accident of forgetfulness allowed me to have it after food, thereby allowing the Wet Your Whistle from Box Steam Brewery to be properly chilled before opening.

On top of that, it was a pretty posh meal. Very middle class and privileged - hand breadcrumb-coated plaice fillet with potatoes that were rolled in grated garlic, Parmesan and that stuff you put on pasta and Italian food that you get in jars and can be green or red. I forget the name all of a sudden. Dang, and the jar is all the way over in the kitchen so I can't even get out of my chair and check. Oh well, so much for the illusion of class. Onto the ale!

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Beer Review: Golden Bolt

Still in the beer festival, though it has now ceased, and a lovely sunny evening. Warm day, busy day, but pleasant for the most part. I decided that I may as well have an ale, well, no, actually Willow decided that she would have a cider with the work she was doing and I thought "hey, I could have an ale with the work I shall be doing" and lo, I am having an ale. Tonight's summer-like addition to the tasting annals is Golden Bolt by Box Steam Brewery. And a very nice bottle it is too.

Children bouncing on the trampoline and screaming hysterically with joy, small stuffed animals from Conkers festooning the sofa and a gentle breeze to take the sting out of the heat of the day (leaving the car like an oven by the by), would you like to know more?

Beer Review: 1914 Ale

With the name of this ale I would have been hard-pressed to ignore it on the shelf. My predilections are very much toward making connections and the centenary of the First World War looms large in my thoughts at the moment. This ale does seem to do a good job of making the whole thing work without too much schmaltz and supports a charity that seems, upon Googling, to do good work with survivors of conflicts that would otherwise be forgotten. So, without further ado, let me introduce the master of tonight's ceremonies in 1914 Ale, brewed by Box Steam Brewery, which is something I've had before methinks.

Be wary of the busy and untidy kitchen, wipe your feet for all that will change matters, and follow me to a better place to sit in the living room and discuss this latest addition to my reviewing journey. Would you like to know more?

A Birthday Bevy of Beers

No, not my birthday. But there was a birthday bash round our way and it happened to be in our house. Naturally, I bought in ales, and at a cheap price too. They seem relatively new and this seemed as good an excuse as any to have more than one ale on an evening and then to blog about them afterward. A new brewery for me to try too! Box Steam Brewery, as it happens, which was quite disappointing to some of the party guests who were hoping that the BSB proudly displayed on the bottles was a reference to Back Street Boys, whom I believe were back, alright?

From our living room come morning.

Obviously, with a selection known as Criminales I was going to pick them up (and at 89p a pop!) but I'll confess to being a middle-class snob of the highest order as I pronounced it like it was hispanic. On reflection, it's less 'crim-in-ah-lez' and more 'crim-in-ails', I'll probably be hard pushed not to refer to them as the former in my head however.

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