Beer Compurgation

The end of year usually signals an influx of "Golden Pints" posts and indeed I have joined in for the last four or five years. However, whilst giving it some thought as we moved into December I realised that little had changed in the names that fell under each category. Best cask beer, keg beer, small pack beer, brewery etc... would all be the same repetitive answers given for the last two or three. It is a little bit of a shame as few people have joined in this year and I didn't want to stop as well. That doesn't mean that I haven't got mental lists of beers, breweries and events that I enjoyed in 2019; au contraire I have more thoughts than ever. With that in mind, I've opted for two (perhaps three, depending how long I go on for) lists of those attributes that made Beer in 2019 for me. The first are my eleven favourite beers of the year, for whatever reason that may be. Enjoy. Beers Jarl - Fyne Ales - Cask - Various In a regular...

This post is quite personal and my apologies for that. Equating everything into beer and written word is clearly my coping device.   It was only last weekend when a friend of mine asked me where to go in Liverpool for beer and I extolled the virtues of the Philharmonic Dining Rooms . I said how sitting with a pint in either the Brahms or Liszts rooms is the most satisfying pub experience in the country. I will make a point of visiting the pub every time I come to Liverpool (drinking) and I’ve even dragged friends and girlfriends with me. But the very first time I was taken to the Philharmonic was by my mother and my Nanna. I can’t remember the exact year but I’m guessing it was either ’07 or ’08. My Nanna was already in her late 80’s by then and it was possibly the last time I ever went anywhere with her where she seemed perfectly mobile and capable. We did a mini pub crawl that day (entirely their idea) – sitting earlier in the War Office room at Ye Cracke before ...