Beer comes in many forms....

Todays chart shows the overlapping complexities, that distinguish the many types of hopped based, tasty beverages out there! Hats off to the people over at Pop Charts for designing this info-graph of happiness, Homer would be drooling right about now - I know I am...

(click for a larger image)

For many years though this was far from the case, when I first started drinking I discovered that larger was not my friend, it brought out a darker side that despised smiling, not something I was/am very comfortable with, so in 18 years I've rarely touched the stuff.

I suppose everybody has their demon drink, it was just unfortunate that mine happened to be one of the most readily available, but a saviour (of sorts) was the boom of alchopops - please forgive me - and the likes of Two Dogs, Hooch and Mule flooded the bar fridges. It was great to be able to enjoy a drink with my friends without dark clouds blocking out the sunshine and life was good - or so I thought...


Some years later I moved away from my home town in Essex, to the big city and I remember well the day I said goodbye to my sugary past. It was St.Patricks day and I was bought a Guinness - not through choice - at a traditional pub in Stoke Newington, everyone was drinking this dark, not at all bright yellow, beverage. The first sip was uncomfortably bitter, but as I drank I started to notice the character hidden within the flavour, something I had never experienced before, and best of all, I was still smilling - I was a changed man.

After sticking to the Guinness for a short while I started to pay attention the hand pumps that often sat, rarely touched, at the ends of bars. Most pubs in London would offer the same drinks as any of its competitors, but these hand pumps often displayed varying badges, usually adorned with bizarre names like 'The hairy eyeball' or 'Nuns delight'. But trying them turned out to be a bit of a gamble, with some tasting like you where drinking from a buxom maidens radiant bosom, to others that tasted like you where drinking out of the washing up bowl. So with dubious consistency but plenty of variety, an appreciation of Ale was born, a - not so -secret love affair that I endeavor to indulge in, whenever I see a brew I've never tried before. The not knowing of whether it will be a bosom or sink experience, being part of the adventure.


I'm lucky enough now to live near an amazing Ale house, where the beers are always tip top. But only once have I managed to drink through all 11 varieties they have on offer in one session, much to the detriment of my memory - thank goodness for photographic evidence! - the real heavy hitter being the 3rd pint in, an 8.6% Christmas Ale, mmmm good times...


Thanks for stopping by...