Dead Cat Bounce

Had one of these over the weekend, it's a new IPA from Siren and is made in a "California" style (meaning dry, bitter and fruity) with Citra, Simcoe and Nelson hops. It's a nice beer that kinda needs warm sunshine to be best enjoyed, luckily that's exactly what we had over the weekend so it went down a treat! I'm not sure why it's called "Ricochet", something to do with the last West Coast IPA not selling so great perhaps, like a dead cat bounce perhaps?

Monday Mirth

The old ones are the best ones..

Memories of Vietnam

Thinking back to 2024 and our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, one of the places in Saigon we visited was the memorial to the monk who immolated himself in protest against the pro-Catholic regime running the country at that time, it was a seminal moment captured by an American press photographer who snapped a picture that became famous a thought provoking spot.

Fruity for days

New collaboration between Elusive and Verdant a classic Westy that I managed to snag from the Elusive "Fridge of Dreams" on my way through Finch this week! Very pale and packed full of flavour from the unusual combination of hops added (Nelson Sauvin, Superdelic, Krush and Ekuanot), fruity for days, a nice effort!

So True

Strange how we have to constantly remind religious people of this simple concept (so far as everyone who does not share their particular flavour of faith is concerned) - You'd think that people who believed they had ALL the answers to life's difficult questions would be happy, apparently they're not until you believe their answers too?

Friday Smirk

The barmaid explaining to the lads how faith in science is not the same as faith in God (any God) But, when you think about it, semantics are very important to theists, after all, it's all they've got..

Weekend Beer

We visited a local bottle shop last week and they had some Verdant beers in stock, I snagged a couple of cans of this beauty "When Myth & Science Agree", a 5% pale ale made in collaboration with the "Plant One" charity who aim to restore 500 hectares of fish forests over the next five years, a worthy cause. The beer itself is delicious, classic Verdant murk loaded up with Nelson, Krush and NZH-106 (first encountered by me last year), a flavour explosion of limes and tropical fruits, a real pleasure to sup!

Floridian Memories

Back in March 2025 we packed our bags and escaped to Florida for a couple of weeks and as part of the trip we visited the Florida Keys, an archipelago of islands jutting out into the Caribbean Sea off the bottom of Florida. At the very end of those islands and closest to Cuba is the island of Key West, it's a real party town and has been for many years. One of it's most famous inhabitants was the author Ernest Hemingway who lived there in the 1930s and is know for his hard drinking and sport fishing, I can see why, the vibe of the island is kinda that way inclined. His house in Key West is pictured above, it's now a museum, an interesting place to wander around for an hour or two, must have been a hell of a time to be alive (and rich)..