Beer Review: Cobra

I know, I know, what's the point in beer reviews of commercially giant beers that aren't ales, don't pretend to be ales and are beers that anyone with a brain and a mouth have tasted? The point is, of course, that I said I would review all the beers I drank in a conversation with my wife at which no one was present but we two and she doesn't read the blog or care to. That's the point. No, I'm not autistic, why would you ask?

Anyway, all this preamble brings me to the beer of the evening that is sharing a rather delectable Morrison's own curry for one: Cobra beer, that was on a lovely offer and came ready chilled so of course I shoved it into the fridge when I got back and drank it chilled.

I have been out on many a curry night where Cobra is the beer of choice and so assumed it must only be something that one can get at Indian food themed restaurants for some reason. I mean, I know that I've seen in it in supermarkets and the like but my brain is an odd place. As it was chilled there wasn't much of a hiss when opening and the fizz on that very important first taste wasn't too bad either. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. It was smooth and tasty and generally nice in a way that I found totally unexpected. Indeed, it was the perfect companion to the more strident spice of the meal I had with it and helped the whole thing go down more easily. I am therefore seeing where the companionship with spicy food began and why it is stocked where it is.

At 5% ABV it does pack a bit of a punch, and in the larger than expected bottle that I got, it was quite a powerful beer compared to what I usually decide to drink on an evening. I was very much pleasantly hammered by the time I'd finished and though it was a good taste I would counsel caution on repeating the experience on a night. I realise that I am a bit of a lightweight and that most people would likely be untroubled by this, however, so take that with a pinch of salt. Still, I was glad of the larger than expected bottle as it allowed me to keep drinking after the end of the meal and thus clean the palate enough to enjoy the beer proper. It was akin to golden ale, there were honey notes amid the smooth taste overall and I thought I detected some citrus notes implying hops. I, of course, did not take notes and the bottle is already at the bottle bank so I can't confirm that right now (no, I refuse to google it).

Overall, this is a beer to that likes to go with strong flavoured food and with company. I am impressed, I may well avail myself of this to drink the next time I go out to a curry. Drink with Indian food from the basin of the British love-affair with curry: Bradford. Drink with a little humility and a naive heart that is willing to be impressed by pretenders that ought not to do much for you. Drink with the sure knowledge that beardy men such as myself may well get sniffy if you compare it to ale and real ale in particular. It is not real ale. It is beer and it is nice, so enjoy it anyway. I shall be repeating the experience.

Where do we live again?

I know, I know, this is supposed to be a day of me writing stories of the woods. But... it isn't.

A while ago now, on a political forum, I was arguing in favour of Feminism and, I think as a consequence (and by having a gender neutral handle) I was mistaken for a woman and treated differently to my normal experiences online. Since this time I have sought out such things, that is - sexism online. And... well, the avalanche of stuff and ridiculous opinions, the horrors and the out-and-out ignorance! I am shocked. I know I shouldn't be, I know, but I am. And I feel like apologising for my entire gender except for the fact that there are women out there who can be as bad as the men. Also, it wouldn't make any difference.

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EDM time

Apparently there is a thing called EDM which is big at the moment and is rising in the States. It includes artists like Parralox, and is indicative in their latest single, and also covers stuff like Moby and Archive as well as the greats like Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. It is 'Electronic Dance Music' and, if I'm honest, the term confuses me. How can dance music ever be anything other than electronic and how come it's only a thing now? I mean, including all those artists in it then this has been going since the early 80s when it was called House, a term I never fully understood. To catch homages to the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode in Parralox tracks is one thing but to see Mode, Moby and PSB collected deliberately together is quite another.

I have never managed to attend a rave or any kind of club that played the kind of music that I enjoy. The nearest I've ever got was a goth club that had some precursor to dubstep playing in the basement. All hard music and vibrating floors with people dressed in masks. And there I was in jeans a crappy CCCP t-shirt. Heh. I never did muster the courage to dress in line with my musical taste.

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Whisper-stories: Lucy the Giant

Time for another tale from the children, if you can stomach it.

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Pretentious?

This blog is written in a very... particular style. It is pretentious. Not deliberately, but that is how it seems to have developed. Something about writing epic poetry and talking about the development of language and human beings lends itself to a wordy, verbose and otherwise impenetrable mess of words.

However, there are antidotes. They are called children.

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Whisper-stores: The Evil Wizard

A bit of explanation is perhaps required. In my last post I mentioned "whisper-stories". They are something my father used to do, though I don't remember, and that he introduced to my children the last time we stopped over at his house. These are stories that are made up on the spot and are told in hushed tones. The intimacy of the whispers and the fact that they are made up on the spot adds to the wonder. The Girlie started making her own up, aping those told by my father, and both children enjoyed them immensely.

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Archive?

So, I have been listening to Archive tracks a lot since I last posted and I have been enjoying them and I appear to have created a review of some of their stuff, some of which I only found while putting this together. I wish I could have been more productive, I wish there was a more interesting blog post here about something that mattered or relating the whisper stories that have been filling the time with the children, so are relevant to this blog. But there isn't. There is only music. and so I shall just have to do with what I can create. If you haven't listened to any of these tracks before then I can recommend them and advise you to take the time to listen. It's worth it.

Oh, I'll warn you straight out, there's swearing, so listen with caution!

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