Cornwall Trip Day Two

Day two, 4th August 2013

Not a very good day weather wise, had a lazy morning and booked Sunday lunch in the restaurant at the Globe Inn.

We also booked train tickets, for a trip into Penzance for the Friday, unfortunately the ticked where not available from the train station outside our holiday house. So the others all went into St Austell to pick up the tickets there but I didn't want to sit in a car again for a while and stayed at the house and rested as best as I could.

Day One or Day Three

Cornwall Trip Day One

Day one, 3rd August 2013

Last year we went to Wales to stay with Nicole, Tim and the Twins, as they had a spare room in their holiday home but could only stay for three days.  This year they were going to Cornwall, again they had a spare room and this time Dot could get the full week off work.  Also good for this year, Tim had a seven seater car for the trip, with our topbox on and one seat down we had room for all of us plus all our luggage (at a push).

We set off very early and the drive down was uneventful, although the M5 is very busy and very slow.   My sciatica was a problem though, I was in constant pain for almost all of the journey, even though the doctor had given me a mix of stronger pain killers for the trip (the sciatica is also restricting the amount  of time I can type this blog).  I was glad to get out and walk off the pain as the others unpacked.

We had planned to get breakfast on the way down but is seemed that every service area was stupidly overcrowded, one even had attendants directing the traffic in the car parks, something I have never seen before.  

So the first thing we had to do on arrival, was find somewhere to eat.  We crossed over the river Fowey, had a quick walk around the main streets in the town and then called into the Globe Inn for lunch.

They had three hand pulled beers on offer, including one I had not had (I will cover the beers in a separate blog so I can do them all together, although I will link to them).

We all enjoyed our meals and the beer I got was very good as well.

 

After lunch and later in the afternoon the girls went for a play in the river Fowey, they had seen other children playing in there. There is a small beach next to the old bridge (see the photo of the bridge above), that is perfect for the kids to play next to and in the river, although it disappears at high tide.

Very tired, after showers, we had cheese and biscuits for supper and an early night.

Day Two

Cornwall

In Cornwall on holiday with the family and the beer hunting is going very well but I will wait until I get back before I start writing about the beers and the trip.

Here is a photo to prove we are drinking.

Another day out in Leyburn

For the last few weeks I have been getting pains in my left leg, after about three weeks of it getting worse, I visited the Doctor. This wasn't that easy, it took about four days to get in to see him and he diagnosed sciatica, probably caused by a worn disk in my back. So as well as my normal pain killers for my knees, he gave me some more pills and said to come back in three weeks if it did not improve.

After a week it was much worse, so I phoned for another appointment only to be informed that my doctor was full up today and then on holiday the next week. I asked for a phone appointment and was told he had none available but they would pass on a message to the doctor.

To the Doctor's credit, he phoned me that afternoon and prescribed me different pain killers and upped the dose of the other tablets. None of this seems to work though and it is progressively getting worse, I am having great difficulty sitting, I and waiting to see the doctor again soon.

However if I walk it relieves the pain and if I can combine the walking with beer hunting, all the better. This is the real reason we went to Ripon for a walk the previous week.

This week it was Leyburn and the hot spell we are having was a bonus. We walked along Leyburn Shawl for about and hour and then turned back to town.

We looked around the shops, had a cup of tea and I looked in the shop where I usually get a few beers but unfortunately this time I bought none. It wasn't that they didn't have any new beers, they did but they were just too expensive and I am not willing to pay over the odds for beer at tourist prices.

Disillusioned, we walked back up onto the Shawl for our picnic overlooking Wensleydale, what a wonderful view.

Beer hunting in Ripon, again.

We had a day out in Ripon again last week, nothing to do with there being two good beer shops there, we just went for a day out walking with a picnic.

But there are two very good beer shops there and I had to have a look, just in passing you understand.  The two shops in question I have mentioned before in earlier posts, Drinkswell (they haves a very good selection of beers but it is a bit pricey) and Rhythm and Booze (have a good selection but with plenty of offers).

However, I discovered a large Booths supermarket behind the main street, that I had forgotten all about, we use Booths when we are in Keswick and I knew that they usually have a good beer selection.  So I had a look in there, while Dot was clothes shopping. 

Now I know there are three very good beer shops in Ripon and Boothe is probably the best of them, a very wide selection at very reasonable prices.  I bought about ten new beers in Boothe and still managed to pick up another three new beers in Rhythm and Booze, as I took the previous lot back to the car.

It was a nice warm sunny day, we had a very nice walk and had our picnic by the canal, all in all, a very good day out.

Ten Beers over 10%

Whenever I post photos of beers around the 8% mark, I get comments like, that must be like treacle or it must just taste of alcohol. Well in some cases they are perfectly right but there are some strong beers that taste very nice indeed.

This list will contain both and they will all be over 10%.

I will start at 10% and work my way up to 14%, the strongest I have had to date.

Van Steenberge, Gulden Draak from Belgium

10.5% very dark red in colour with a thin head, lot of fruit in the aroma and the taste is very complex, it was like eating a quarter pound of Midget Gems in one go (this is a UK thing I think), Lyons Midget Gems that is, not Maynards and it is strong, a new favourite for me.

Van Honsebrouck, Kasteel Triple from Belgium

11% gold colour with a good head, the aroma is sweet alcohol and fruitcake, taste is sweet fruits, I like this beer very much but only drink it occasionally, a bit too strong for everyday use.

Rochefort, Trappistes 10 from Belgium

11.3% deep brown colour with a quickly fading head, sweet fruity aroma, fruity caramel malt taste and very strong alcohol mouth feel.

Grolsch, Kanon from Holland

11.6% gold colour with a thin head, grass aroma, sweet malt taste and a very strong alcohol and slightly sticky mouth feel.

Malheur, 12 from Belgium

12% very dark with a good head, sweet malt aroma, very sweet malt, fruit and toffee taste, the high alcohol is not apparent at first but lingers after you swallow.

De Gayant, La Bière Du Démon - 12° de Plaisir Diabolique from France

12% gold colour with practically no head, sweet floral aroma, fizzy sweet alcohol taste, not the best beer in the world but at the time it was the strongest I had at that time.

Dubuisson, Bush Ambrée from Belgium

12.0% amber colour with a good head, nice fruity aroma, fruity caramel taste, not just strong, tasty as well.

Grain d’Orge, Belzebuth from France

13.0% light amber colour with a thin head, sweet malt aroma, taste is sweet and strong.

De Gayant, 13 No Way franc France

13% gold colour with no head, sweet malt aroma, strong alcohol taste, not nice.

John Martin, Gordon Finest Titanium from Belgium

14% deep gold colour with no head, sweet malt aroma, sweet warming alcohol taste. This is the strongest beer I have had to date, it was more like having a whisky than a beer, I will not be buying it again.

Another weekend another headache, the other beers

Besides the strong beers on Saturday night we also had some other beers as well.

Wychwood, Paddy'S tout from England

4.3% black colour with a nice head, roast malt aroma, smooth roast malt taste. Quite a nice stout.

Hatherwood (Lidl), Golden Goose from England

3.8% golden colour with a thin head, average bitter aroma and taste but not bad for a cheap supermarket beer. I think it may have been made by Wychwood for Lidl.

Hatherwood (Lidl), Ruby Rooster from England

3.8% deep amber colour with a nice head, malt aroma, bitter toffee taste.  As above this one was also not bad.