...he said.
Trust me, if I wasn't blogging about beer, I'd be blogging about what has pissed me off with humanity (or at least that section of it that annoyed me on the train/tube/bus/shop/pub/out in the street...) today or yesterday.
Anyhow - to what was he referring...? Actually, I don't really remember but I know we were in the Half Moon. Conceivably, it was at my initial disappointment about the flavour of Ringwood Fortyniner which has been a favoured "beer of my youth" (where youth = 20's to 30's).
Howard always has some tied beers (Youngs, Adnams) some old favourites (Crouch Vale, Tring, Oakham) and almost always the odd special. A couple of weeks ago, Ringwood Fortyniner made an appearance.
I remember drinking it fairly regularly when I lived near a real ale off licence in Bedminster (it was called the Brown Jug) and I think we had a polypin of it one Christmas.
More recently, about 5 years ago, I had a holiday with "the boys" in the Isle of Wight and although there weren't any really good pubs in the village, there were a couple of not bad ones, and one of them put Fortyniner on as a guest one afternoon. I remember sitting in the sunny beer garden and introducing C to its delights as we drank rather too much for an afternoon. The same evening, all six of us went to the pub and managed to wipe them out of the remainder.
So, back to the Half Moon...I think I'd had a pint of Oakham Citra and decided that I'd have a half of Fortyniner. As I took the first swig, S noticed my face took on a disappointed look. He tried my beer. "Yeah - that's how beer used to taste" saith he. It's a good pint but things have changed...our tastes have changed.
Maybe in Hampshire, and if I hadn't just had some Citra, it would still have been as great as ever. But am I so swayed to way of the "hopped to fuck and back" beer that something a little more subtle disappoints me?
I do hope not.
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