Glass Wear :)

I know this is a bit late on the whole measure debate, (hey I can rhyme!) but it should be voiced.

Now I'm all in favor like most about the 2/3rds measure glass, but something occurred to me the other day;
Why the hell have we not got some of these!?!?!?

Those Germans get all the fun, It's about time we had some mass steins to throw about, and don't give me that crap about English ale going warm before you'd finish a stein because there's some pretty damn good breweries that make awesome lager in the UK aswell! (and to quote Cookie if I can - if you can't drink 2 pints of English ale before it goes warm then your a 'poof!')

Bring on the Maaasss Steeeiiin!!!

What Happens on a Beer Ritz Xmas Do.....

....Stays on the internet!

You may think the 3rd of January to be a bit late to be having a staff Christmas party but trust us, this year we were very organized and the 3rd was very early for us!

So there we were, 5 beer renegades, on Leeds station platform, waiting for the 7.40 train to where? but where else - one of the best pubs we know of. It's only the Grove in Huddersfield!! Don't believe the quality of this pub? well read on good sir...

  

Being loutish as we are the train journey had to be accompanied by beers so roll on Goose Island Christmas beer and Old Rasputin Imperial stout to get us in the mood :)

On arrival at the Grove we were welcomed by pumps of beauty;

The Grove has two main bar areas with many keg and cask options. We started out with a variety of samples.

After wetting our appetites it was time to go a little more hardcore!

Round 1: - Bourbon barrel aged Mikkeller 1000 IBU's

                - Celebrator Bock

                - Mikkeller/Brewdog 2010 Divine Rebel

                - And a (not very nice) can of red ale from Nevada

After that it was time for some quiet contemplation. And time to take in a little artwork.

Roll on round 2....

Three Kernel beers, one hopped with centennial, one hopped with chinook and the last hopped with both. We tried to make educated comments on how the different hops imparted on the beer and make comparisons, but we were thirsty and this was good beer!

Next we had a little treat as the very kind staff members at the Grove allowed us to take a little tour of their cellars and all the goodies which lay within. We were suitably impressed.

Jeff raiding boxes

Rory raiding casks

Roll on round 3...

- Some green hopped ale from Gadds 

- Stones Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

- Stones Smoked Porter

- Marble Vuur + Vlam

Indeed tasty stuff was being had all round, the Self Righteous made some big impressions and was the clear winner for that round.

So roll on round 4....

-Victory Hop Wallop

- Marble Special Utility IPA

- A crazy (Danish?) export stout 

- And a garlic beer (and yes I didn't like this one, It had a whole clove of garlic at the bottom!)

Time ticked on and we became merry indeed. After a few more pints of interesting things (cask 7.5% Darkstar beer, and 8% Moor beer - couldn't remember names at this point) it was time for some finishers.

For me that had to be some Cask strength Edradour aged in Chateauneuf du pape casks, and the new 3 year old all English Whisky - very impressive stuff! For others it was more beer.

After being nice and rowdy for the best part of 3 hours at the Grove, unfortunately like any other pub they have last orders at 11 :( 

They do however allow you to take away bottles, So roll on take outs...

We all got a few different bottles each, mine were;

- Stones Double Bastard 

- Goose Island Bourbon County Stout aged with vanilla

- Mikkeller Big Worse

- Mikkeller Big Worst

It was back to the station with our spoils after that.

.... And of course more beer on the train home, which had to be more bottles of Stone's Self-Righteous Ale :)

The train pulled up in Leeds and we were back, whew...what a trip! Now the story ends not there though, as it was still rather early for a couple of us. Jeff, Tom and Zak all agreed they were suitably drunk enough and decided it was probably for the best they headed home, so we said our fond farewells and they were bundled into taxis.

I had a look at Rory and just said 2 words to him; 'North Bar!'.... He agreed, and they were o so happy to see us!

Time for a bit more beer then, Roll on the final round.....

Now my photo skills weren't the best at this point but you can just about make out Sierra Nevada Northern Hemi Wet hop ale, and some crazy 10% Burton Old Ale that took us away into the night... Ahh Bliss!

So that was it for the night. Grove - One of the best pubs I've ever been too and I'm sure we all agree if you've not been you have to go. Surprisingly no mad, crazy or embarrassing tales to tell. We were pretty well behaved! We must be growing up, at last. So from Tom, Jeff, Zak, Rory and the Ghost we will bid you a goodnight, because we won't be awake for a couple of days!!

Merry Christmas from the
Ghost (in January!)

The Dangers of Beer

- (Not the dangers of drinking beer mind, but the dangers of a life revolving around the sale of beer.)

Now I know I'll never hear the end of this from Zak because he's always telling us that we lift far too much at Beer Ritz in one go. It transpires though that at the beginning of last week I felt a dull pain around my downstairs area, and being the paranoid hypocondriac that I am, decided to get a quick check up. After a pleasant man handling at the docs, that us guys know all to well, it turns out that I'd given myself a small groinal hernia.

Now it's unclear what actually caused the hernia (because you can even get them from coughing too much!) but it's pretty probable that the culprit was lifting a few too many beer crates over the busy christmas period. Now the good point to all of this though is the fact that I've just got a tiny hernia, it causes me no distress, apart from a little ache after I've sat down for too long in the same position, and the doc says it should right itself in a couple of weeks (hopefully). So good news is to be had there, but there is a more important point to the story.

This could have easily been a lot worse! Bad hernias can be very painful and will usually require sergery to fix them, in fact hernia sergery is one of the most common sergeries performed in the UK. With 35% of males in this country who will develop one of the hernias I have in there life, a shout out to all my peeps in the alcohol industry needs to be voiced.

We all need to take it easier. Not saying we need to work less, just work smarter. Spread out your lifting loads, lift less, and lift with your legs not your back. Get a belt support as well, it will greatly help when it comes to racking your firkins and getting your crates of beer out of the cellar. If we all worked a little smarter we could make it so hernia opperations go down the top ten list of surgerys in the UK.

Now I will be fine, my little hernia does not impeed my work life at all, but what about you? If your in an environment where heavy lifting is the norm then it could just be a matter of time. Can you afford to go under the knife? And yes I will be changing the amounts I lift at once in the shop.

Good Old Customers

Just a short list of some of the things you can try to avoid saying in a specialist off-license, it would make us very happy if you did;

1. - Do you have any deals on?

2. - If I buy 2 bottles of wine do I get one free?

3. - If I buy 4 bottles of this beer will I get a free glass?

4. - Any 2 for 1 deals on? (thanks Threshers)

5. - Is Budvar as good as Budweiser?

6. - Do you have 3ltr bottles of White Lightning?

7. - Can I get discount if I buy 3 of anything?

8. - What's you cheapest largest beer?

9. - What's your cheapest wine?

10. - Is glass wear free? (yes I have actually been asked that!)

11. - Do you do home delivery? (wouldn't be too bad a question if we weren't a corner shop.)

12. - (one of my fav) When asked if you would like a bag, and you would not, the correct answer is "no thank-you" not "no, I'm saving the planet!"....... No you are not saving the planet, not one bit, even a little! If you want to help at all, take a bag and RE-USE IT!

13. - Do you have any wines for under a fiver? (then pay with a £50 note!)

14. - What do you mean your not serving me!?!? you can't tell me how much to drink!!

15. - Is a library card valid I.D?

Like I said, just a short list. Now with my little rant over, the next time you speak to any sales assistant, just remember - there people just like you, so if your nice to them they will be a lot more willing to help you.

Scott Adams - "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people."
- I kind of disagree, for me it is stupid people asking stupid questions.

New Years Res'ale'ution (...sorry)

After drinking Ilkley's Mary Jane and bottles of Delirium Tremens till 5 in the morning last night in Arcadia, I thought it was time for another New Years resolution. (5 may seem a bit late to some but it's the best way to hear the birds singing on the walk home)

So for 2011 I have decided that I'm going to be more open to trying new things. The new year ushers in new beginnings and another new start, so it's only fitting to try as much new stuff that I can.

One of the beers I've always wanted to try to enjoy is the infamous Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Germany.

Now I've tried sips of this beer in the past, and have never had the desire to try the second. If any of you have not had the opportunity to sample this beverage before, the taste has been likened to 'smoked ham'  and similar tasting items, 'Rauchbier' itself meaning 'smoked beer'. Many people have told me in the past though, "you need to drink about half a pint before you really get it." So this will be my first 'new' mission for the year - to try get through a whole bottle of Schlenkerla Rauchbier, and see if makes more of an impact on me. Will let you know later how I get on with my task.

Any one else have any New Years Res'ale'utions?