Gnaws
Not so much a train of thought, more a replacement bus service of godless waffle, jokes and memes with a snifter of wine and craft-beer related stuff on the side..
Sunday, April 06, 2025
Saturday, April 05, 2025
Miami Vice - Part 4
So, after a fairly uneventful 3 hour drive up from Naples we arrived in St. Pete's and checked into our Hotel. We'd booked in for five nights and were looking forward to some serious relaxation, St. Pete's is well known for it's craft beer scene and I was particularly interested to see what was around and how it might be different from say, the scene in London or New York etc. St. Pete's is a scruffy place, not like the shining glass and steel towers of Miami more like Shoreditch (but with Sunshine!) but what it lacks in modern sparkle it makes up for in authenticity and genuine, welcoming and slightly left of centre people.
The weather was cracking, around 28 degrees without the slightest hint of humidity, perfect for walking around popping into the odd museum, eating ice creams by the sea and, of course, visiting some really distinct and interesting taprooms. First on this list was St. Pete brewing, their brewery being only a ten minute walk from our hotel, most of the familiar styles were on offer, I opted for a nice hazy IPA to kick things off with (see above) but they also had a bunch of more esoteric options like sours and imperial stouts, we had all week so I only had the one, which was delicious, and we moved on.
Most of the tourist and restaurant action was happening along the sea-front, thats where most of the "TTD's" (things to do) were too. For our dinner we opted for steaks (and usual accompanyments) and I was pleased to pair it with a wine from Ridge (one of my favourite US producers) and doubly pleased to see that it was a lot cheaper than the same bottle in the UK (about 2/3 price!) I must say that we noticed a general trend for things, especially restaurants, being significantly more expensive that the last time we were in the USA (2022), maybe that was a Florida/Tourist thing but some of the prices were truely eye-watering and the quality of the food not great value for money compared to, say, London.
During our stay in St. Pete's we visited several museums and galleries, there were a couple of stand-outs, firstly the fine art museum in the centre of downtown. They had an exhibition of Ansel Adams photographs, I love his work and it was a real treat to see the originals! (see below)
Their tap room is a rather splendid space (above) with loads of outside seating, a really chilled place to sup a few beers. I opted for a couple of their hazy numbers (see below) all of them were excellent, fresh as you like and really distinct flavour profiles and in thirty degree heat they were just the job!
Friday, April 04, 2025
I wonder..
So, that talentless grifter Russell Brand has been formally charged with rape and sexual assault, I wonder if bears shit in the forest, the truth is out there somewhere...
Hey America..
Friday Smirk
Jesus and Mo illuminating the very real cognitive dissonance that our religious brothers and sisters suffer from when it comes to the subject of homosexuality (well, sexuality in general really) anyway, if their Gods didn't want it why'd he make them that way... still waiting...
Thursday, April 03, 2025
Futuristic IPA
Tried one of these last weekend, it's one of the three celebration beers made by Siren for their 12th birthday (hence the logo on the can). Called "Persistence of time" it's an IPA made with some rather futuristic ingredients. Firstly the hops are all experimental varietals including Incognito®, Super Sauvin®, Cryo®, Dynaboost® and Hyperboost® it also contains "cannabis Terpenes" which are the chemical aroma and flavour elements (essential oils) of the cannabis plant. It was interesting to see if I could pick out the flavours but since hops are very closely related to cannabis anyway, and often very similar in flavour profile I couldn't honestly say that I detected anything particularly different. This beer is exceptionally "dank" (i.e. weedy) though, which people often say is typical of cannabis, anyway, certainly a futuristic IPA
Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Rainbow Boozer
Walking into town late last Sunday evening we noticed this rather odd rainbow effect on the side of a chimney stack on top of a local pub. It wasn't obvious what was casting the colours but the sun was very intense and there are a bunch of road signs (with reflective backgrounds) on the junction below, possibly the cause of this rather attractive lighting effect, either that or God is sending me a message telling me to drink more beer in this boozer, I think I should obey such a "sign", don't you?
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
Better than the original
Tried one of these at the weekend, one of Siren's 11th birthday celebration beers it's a spin on their house IPA "Lumina" except it's a lot hazier and also at 5.4% a bigger mouthfeel and a little richer and deeper in taste profile, I like it, better than the original IMO.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Monday Mirth
A spectacular piece of street art (in Aberdeen), what does it mean though? I reckon it represents all those people who voted for Brexit, i.e. they'll fall for anything.