A third article I originally wrote for the BeerHeadZ website, first published in October 2018. We’ve all had it. That disappointing moment after you’ve handed over your hard-earned wonga and the barkeep plonks a pint in front of you and you know, by sight or smell alone that it just ain’t right. That’s OK, these things happen from time to …
From the Archives: How much do you value your pint?
Here’s a second article I first wrote for the BeerHeadZ website as a follow-up to my ‘Journey with beer‘ post, which originally appeared in October 2019. Beer has historically been perceived as ‘the drink of the working man’ and, as such, has been expected to be cheap and accessible to all. But is this still the case now? ‘Cheap’ beer …
From the Archives: My journey with beer.
This is an article I wrote for the BeerHeadZ website, originally published in October 2019. My earliest recollection of tasting beer was in the kid’s outside area of a pub, somewhere on the outskirts of Portsmouth, when I asked my dad if I could taste his beer. I took a swig and my face screwed up immediately as the bitter …
Boozing in Budapest
Budapest had been on my ‘to-do’ list for quite a while, and last June I finally got around to it. I made minimal preparation for the visit, just referring to a couple of YouTube videos and beery website links beforehand, so I intended to ad-lib and take it day-by-day, rather than plan it like an SAS operation. Before I get …
BoldBelvoir’s West Coast Wander: Pt.8 – Phoenix & Grand Canyon
SATURDAY 15/10/22 Having arrived the evening before, we’d had an early night, as we were up today at stupid o’clock to get the minibus for our pre-booked tour to see the Grand Canyon. We shared our tour bus with (I’m assuming) an African family and although we couldn’t understand what they were saying because it sounded as though they were …
BoldBelvoir’s West Coast Wander: Pt.7 – San Diego
TUESDAY 11/10/22 After a somewhat tardy start to the day (our bus to San Diego didn’t leave until 11 am), we decided to walk to the bus terminal and stop off for breakfast along the way to split the journey. We made that stop at Guisados which, in stark contrast to their glossy website, was much more akin to Ma …
BoldBelvoir’s West Coast Wander: Pt.6 – Los Angeles
SATURDAY 08/10/22 The day started off so well! It is an easy ride from Concord to Oakland International Airport, via the BART then changing to the new 3.2-mile long, elevated, driverless AirTrain link to the airport terminal. We arrived at the airport the obligatory two hours early and were through security and sat in the departure lounge in good time …
The Elbow Room, Hinckley
A venue that every craft beer geek should visit. A great afternoon spent in the Elbow Room @elbowroomalehouse in Hinckley yesterday, attending their ‘Renewal Fest’. Friendly owner, knowledgable barkeeps, awesome homemade scotch eggs and free jelly beans. Oh, and the beers weren’t half bad either! A mega beer list from some stunning US breweries, including Beer Tree, Branch & Blade …
BoldBelvoir’s West Coast Wander: Pt.5 – Road Trip
TUESDAY 04/10/22 Hooking up with Mark and Suzanne again, they picked us up at stupid dark o’clock outside the Pangaea on the corner of our street, en route from Concord, to start our three-day road trip. After a couple of hiccups finding the highway, we were finally on our way and 100 miles and two and a half hours later …
BoldBelvoir’s West Coast Wander: Pt.4 – Sacramento
FRIDAY 30/09/22 Today was primarily spent travelling. Unlike the last flight, everything went smoothly and we were back at Oakland International by mid-afternoon. An hour or so later we were back with our friends Mark and Suzanne in Concord. Of course, this had to be celebrated with a beer and within half an hour we were all on our way …