Beer! Beer! We want more beer!

All the lads are cheering...

Yes, I admit it, the rumours are true. I drank some beer. I even quite liked some of it.

My brother's ceaseless (some would say pointless) efforts to brew a beer that would be to my liking have finally borne fruit. In fact, he nearly managed to make two. The ales in question were HSP (Honey, Spice and Pine) and Phoebe's celebration ale.

So here are the marks:

HSP was unhopped, which is always a good start in my book but it was perhaps a trifle over pined. The spices didn't quite work either although they made for an unusual flavour. However, that said it was certainly drinkable if a little eau-de-toilet. Not a bad effort at all, 5.5/10.

Celebration Ale
An impressively strong beer made using champagne yeast and magical beer enzymes to sustain fermentation well past normal levels, with a very heavy, sweet, almost chocolatey taste, it's more like a cocktail or desert wine than beer. Which again, is a very good start in my book. This would benefit from being slightly less hopped (I think, after drinking most of it I find that my subsequent memories are a little hazy) but otherwise quite drinkable. A very creditable 7.5/10.

There is a downside to all this beer drinking though. The next morning. As a habitual drinker of clear spirits I don't usually suffer too badly with post session syndrome. Not so with the beer, unfortunately.

Contributing to Global Warming

It's Valentines Day today, so as is traditional we had a Valentines Eve supper of haggis last night.

I do love my haggis, unfortunately it seems it doesn't like me too much. Since this morning I think I've produced enough methane to raise global temperatures significantly. Poor old Hayley has had to bear the brunt of these emissions which hasn't done much to inspire a lovey dovey Valentines Day atmosphere. It's a good job neither of us smoke..!

I wish I knew what it was that's in the haggis which causes me such malodorous problems. I can't imagine it's the oats, I have porridge every day without problems. I can't imagine it's the "meat" - in fact, let's not try and imagine the meat at all. So that only leaves the onion or the spices. Weirdly, Hayley seems immune to this problem, it must be her Scottish heritage.

Thankfully for us all, Valentines Eve comes but once a year.