What is Masculinity?

It is a question that, as I read more and more things about Feminism, I really begin to wrestle with. I just don't actually know what it is and how it can be measured. I mean, femininity has been very much defined and carefully mapped. Everywhere I look online I can find definitions - some of them are very much what you would expect and fit the notions of what it is to be female in circles such as those that this blog moves within: that is, women are ethereal and giggly. There is a femininity that embraces light fabrics, bright colours, delicacy and lace, long hair, long nails, make up etc. There is, within this trope, the accompanying steel of the strong characters in TG fiction who know their own minds and desires to impossibly large amounts. Powerplays are made and male-esque roles are assigned the dominant females, some are even described as 'alpha' and there is an assumption that powerful females can operate as much as males as anything else. Like the main character in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo what we are essentially reading is a cross-dressing male - the mind of a male protagonist altered to cope with the fact that this character has a vagina.

Would you like to see how far the rabbit hole goes?

Beer Review: Ashes Ale

The first day of the Ashes Test ought to have been very different from what it turned out to be. The pundits had been saying for days how the England side were so much more experienced and better prepared, the Aussies had suspended two of their players in the build up for minor infractions (going to a bar and missing a practice session respectively) and it looked like their team was the weakest yet. Botham had predicted a 10-0 series over the course of two Ashes Tests. The weather was hot and dry. The ground had no real swing and nothing to get the seamers into. England won the toss and went in to bat. By the end of the day they had been bowled out for 215 and the Aussies had put on a record breaking last man partnership where their newbie batsman Agar managed 98 off 101 balls.

So I had Marston's Ashes Ale which proclaimed itself "definitely not for Aussies" in solidarity with the English batting order's collapse on Wednesday. I had it chilled and out of the bottle and I had it with a curry.

It says that it is a 'light drinking ale' and Marston's tend to be good at that sort of thing. The English Pale Ale I've previously had by them was a sharp and semi-creamy light beer that went well with a meal without making me tipsy. At 4.1% ABV this is in their light stable and the smell was pleasantly citrus laced. There was a feeling of summer about it, which is presumably why they've marketed it at the cricketing crowd. First taste was pretty much as I expected, no surprises, with an opening twinge of citrus followed by a pleasant fizz on the tongue and a little zest of yeast as it went down. It was nice enough, neither heavy nor light in the end and the chilled nature didn't seem to make much difference. I suspect that this would do well as a proper warm beer and that is a good thing for something that is aimed at people sitting in a warm cricket ground and lunch time picnics.

In that sense then, this is a clever little beer and will no doubt do well in the open air as we experience an actual summer with actual summer weather. The citrus tang is enough to make it a valid option to curb one's thirst and the relatively light ABV means that one can stand a brace without falling over and getting a headache. It is also liquid-y enough to avoid carpet mouth and the taste is subtle enough to enjoy its own but light enough not to dominate in a meal. I mean, granted, I had it with a speciality curry laced with enough tikka to turn the rice red, but it held its own well enough and was still enjoyable at the end.

Would I recommend taking it to see cricket? Well, yes, I would, but I suspect it would do well in most outdoor settings. So, enjoy this with the family at a picnic in some field. Maybe you've brought your own stumps and a bat and ball and will play some cricket, maybe you just like to sit under the trees near a river and listen to the bugs buzzing in the air, maybe you don't have children and want to enjoy this with your significant others. Maybe you're a student and want to enjoy it with friends. Take a brace, pack them in a hamper and don't be concerned about the warm weather, this is a beer that wants to be drunk in summer!

Beer Review: Flying Scotsman

This is something I'd seen ages back at the National Railway Museum in York and decided that I must try. Luckily for me I managed to wait and buy it elsewhere. The bottle was not changed but the price was much better for my wallet and for that I am grateful. However much I like an ale I do prefer paying my usual for it and this came in an offer. By all means buy it if you are ever at the NRM but bear in mind that they have an additional mark up over supermarkets.

What is it? Why, it's Caledonian Flying Scotsman that is as much based on a train as you can get with some yeast, some hops and some water brewed and then bottled for your drinking pleasure. I had it alone, with no food accompaniment, and unchilled.

There is a distinctive, and not unpleasant, smell when you open the bottle; a snick of carbonation, but that just carries the malt and the hops to the nose. The first sip proved it to be a proper Scottish bitter, on a par with Black Sheep rather than the creamy Cumberland brewery. It was sharp, tangy and with an underlying maltiness that gave it a weight befitting something with 4% ABV. It let you know what you were drinking and there is no way that it could sneak up on you and leave you drunker than you realised. In many ways it really is based on a train. Let me explain: once you start drinking this it is clear that each sip will increase the speed, so to speak, of the taste getting to you and you build up quite a head of steam by the end of the bottle. That's not to say that it demands to be drunk in groups, but at the same time I was disappointed to reach the end of the bottle and thus the experience.

If you're a fan of malty tangs, as I appear to be, then you will enjoy this very singular taste. I haven't had anything else from this brewery yet but if this was anything to go by then perhaps I ought to be having more of them and soon to sample just what can be done by these guys. It is properly Scottish too, soft on the tastebuds whilst also packing a nice punch that will leave you warmed and glad to have taken the time to listen to what it had to say. Easily holds it own, and I suspect would make a good partner to any strongly flavoured food because it has such a distinctive taste of its own, it wouldn't back down in favour of anything less than a particularly strong curry I'd imagine.

Drink with a meal, maybe something by the Pogues playing in the background and reminisce on the inter-sectionality of the Celtic world, their trials and tribulations and the evils of bloody Cromwell. Imagine a steam train whistling and barrelling through a darkened landscape, snorting its way up a hill and drawing an express sleeper behind. And then, when relaxed and happy, nod sagely to your drinking companions and begin that game of dominoes that you've promised to do for such a long time and never got round to. A good, strong ale with plenty to recommend it.

Beer Review: Black Cat

Willow has taken to drinking cider now and again rather than wine and the other day she'd bought some in and felt a bit bad that I wasn't going to be drinking with her and so bought me some beer too. Very nice of her. And a good brewery too!

She bought me Moorhouse's Black Cat which claimed to be a dark ruby ale with a rich dry chocolate malt taste.

Would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Late Red

It's not even close to Autumn, probably about as far as you can get from the season in fact, but I saw this and had to buy it because I really enjoy this one. And then realised that I have never actually managed to review this brew and so decided that I really ought.

It is Shepherd Neame's Late Red. For a commercial brewery I seem to end up trying a lot of their stuff and seem to like them rather a lot. Indeed, if we were having some kind of competition then I suppose these guys would be winning even over Marston's and Black Sheep which saddens me as it looks like the South is winning.

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Beer Review: Dizzy Blonde

I saw this, Willow had been talking of going blonde again, and so I had to buy a brace of them to enjoy as a couple. It didn't quite work out as I had intended, Willow had her's a few days earlier than I, but we were able to compare a few notes in the drinking.

Tonight, of course, I am reviewing Dizzy Blonde by Robinson's because it has such a good name. It reminds me, in humour, of the much missed Trashy Blonde by Brew Dog that I enjoyed before I started reviewing ales.

I was surprised by the longevity of the head of this ale, it arrived quite quickly and then seemed to hang around past its welcome. There was a the dryness that one associates with blondes and a thin sort of feel to the ale as a whole. At 3.8% it was very much a drinking ale, on that would stand repetition without giving you a massive headache, but there was also something about it that made me feel as though it would be a one off. Certainly it had a nice taste, which is the best I can do I'm afraid, no long descriptions this time! It worked well with the slightly hot version of the Toscana pizza I had to accompany it and that's about all that I can say for it. It was not over-powered by the pizza but nor was it completely able to hold its own so that I had a hard time placing the taste other than 'nice'.

A mite too fizzy at the beginning but flattened as I left it alone and so improved over time out of the bottle. It had waited almost a week in the bottle and this didn't seem to have done any harm. I had also taken the odd step of chilling it, or rather Willow had stored it in the fridge, so maybe that had an effect. After the Cobra episode I think it's something that I appreciate the point of more, however it did no favours this time and I suspect this would have been better at room temperature.

Drink this for a laugh at the name and maybe as part of a cultural exchange. I am asking much for this to carry its own review and do so with any great fanfare. It is passable and weak enough that you can probably have a bevvy of them and avoid ill-effects. It is a background drink, have in large crowds with loud music and discuss whatever the heck you want in shouted comments, a beer that will support rather than dominate and will leave a nice memory of something fuzzy and ephemeral.

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.