A Year in Beer – May

I may have mentioned in my last post that I was confident that you, dear reader, were probably a little tired of just reading about my Year in Beer challenge. And to that end, watch this space for an upcoming post that is in no way just about beer.

That is not this post however, which is, I’m happy/afraid* to say, just about beer; specifically, May’s wander through another five beers from the list of the 50 top beers.

(* delete as applicable)

Peer sneer fear

I have an admission to make. My exercise mojo is missing.

You may have realised this already; it seems others often see you much better than you see yourself. I know exactly why this has happened. The trouble is, knowing why doesn’t seem to be helping me overcome this malaise.

But I have made a decision, today whilst sat in the office wondering why my belt felt a little tight around my midriff. I have decided to recapture my exercise enthusiasm. I have a week off; what better time to get back into the swing of things?

Feeling devalued

I guard his belongings.

I am always there for him when he needs me.

I am Mr Running Buffet’s pound coin.

And this is my story…

A Year in Beer – April

We entered April and the world was meant to be warming up, I was meant to be enjoying the 2013 5×50 Challenge and four more beers were meant to be ticked off from the Year in Beer list. Well, one out of three isn’t bad…

Week 28 – Magic Rock High Wire

The Magic Rock brewery is a recent addition to the brewing world, starting up in 2011 and quickly establishing themselves and their reputation (they managed to get two beers into the 2012 top 50 beers list, for example, with this being the first of the two). They also have some of the best bottle labels I have seen so far, and were deservedly mentioned in a recent article by Will Coldwell (the journalist behind the top 50 list) on the art of beer bottle design.

What a lovely way to spend a day (part 2)

I hadn’t done too badly. I had scoured the supermarkets, browsed the bottle shops, ordered online and surveyed the service stations. I had found 42 of the 50 beers on the Year in Beer list.

The trouble was, I still needed to find the last eight.

I may have four months to go until the end of the challenge, but you need to plan ahead. If I don’t find the beers, I can’t drink them. If I can’t drink them, there goes the Year in Beer challenge.

Where do I look next? It’s not as though one of these beers is just going to magically appear in front of me. Is it?

What a lovely way to spend a day (part 1)

Where do you buy your beer from?

The pub perhaps? Or the supermarket? In today’s world, probably the internet as well.

So far, my Year in Beer challenge has led me through the bright lights of the supermarkets, the dusty shelves of bottle shops, online, to service stations and, just recently, to spend a sunny afternoon at a beer festival. And it isn’t over yet!

Where to get beer from wasn’t a question that popped into my mind when I decided to start drinking my way through the Independent’s list of the top 50 beers. I had scanned the list. I recognised several of the breweries. I knew they were all UK or Irish beers. No problem!

And to be perfectly honest, up until now, that has been true. I started out in the supermarket, where beers from Youngs, Timothy Taylor, Fullers, Brakspear, Wells and Innis and Gunn were all easily obtained. Being in the South West, it also meant that Otter and Badger beers were stocked on supermarket shelves as well as in the pubs.

Then there are the specialist retailers. On the edge of Exeter lies Dart’s Farm, home to a great number of bottled beers from around the country. They concentrate mainly on the South West, however I have been able to pick up beers from Sam Smith, Guinness and William Brothers as well as those from closer to home.

Having exhausted the supply of local beers, as well as those available in the supermarkets and at Dart’s Farm, where should I turn next?

A Year in Beer – March

This will be an unusually short entry into the Year in Beer collection. Why? Because March celebrated a watershed moment as I cruised past the 25 beer mark. I’m half way through the list. And, in recognition of that fact, I wrote a 25th special post, meaning that the March entry is left with just two beers to try.

Week 26 – St Peter’s Golden Ale

This is a golden ale, with an attractive orange colour. It has a slight burnt aroma and taste with a fresh bitterness that was not cloying. If anything, this was a little more towards the bitter end of the scale than I had been expecting.