What Would You Like To Drink?
Here’s a question I was asked last night.
-Would you like Waggle Dance, Bishop’s Finger, or Guinness?
Can you guess what I answered?
I’m out of touch with England and her beers.
In Ireland I drink only Guinness. On draught that is. A long time ago, on another visit to England, I decided to stop drinking Guinness in England. On draught again. England makes too many good beers to ignore them in favour of the muck pubs throw at you and call Guinness.
Pressing a button to cause a half-pint of Guinness to be automatically dispensed into a pint glass, followed by pressing it again, does not a pint make.
But in bottles or cans anything goes. And on this trip I’ve been surprised by the bottled English beers that seem to be everywhere. I don’t remember it being like this. And I don’t recall even seeing large bottles (either half-litre or the imperial pint) when I lived here briefly over 15 years ago.
Bishop’s Finger. That’s what I had. And very good indeed it was.
In fact, just like Waggle Dance it makes the Independent’s list of the 10 Best Bottled British Ales.
I’ve had 5 of those 10 beers. Which means I need to come back and have the other 5. But tomorrow I go home to Ireland. And being a stereotype that means I go home to Guinness. Because as every little child knows we are about to begin the 12 Days of Guinness.
More of me and the Drink:
• Pub Crawl Memories
• Christmas: A Drinking Story
• Good Friday: A Drinking Story
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
Hope the fog doesn’t mess up your trip home. I hear it’s bad down London way. A bunch of flights postponed and some cancelled.
Been in deep fog for the last 36 hours. Painted all day yesterday in it - strange up on scaffolding in the fog. Only hours after finishing did it occur to me that I should check out the airport.
At the moment the flight’s on the board. I think Heathrow was hit much worse - I’m going out through Stansted. It’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas.