Exam update

Ok so I haven't blogged in a long time!
Have my first exam (Project management and Decision analytics) tomorrow and then probability and stats on Monday then I am free till the new year.
Will try and blog something worthwhile over Christmas!

European Crisis Part 1

Just heard a report that Sarkozy is having separate meetings with the Germans and the Spanish over the next few days.
Now I understand that this is probably the way these things get done and maybe Sarkozy is playing the facilitator, but to my mind this send a message that the solution is purely being driven by Germany and France and that the other countries are waiting to be told what to do.
If we are trying to sell the idea of Europe as a unified state that is not purely driven by a Franco-Saxon agenda then this is not the way to go.

Big day today for Europe - Greek Austerity Vote

Its a big day today for Europe.
I know its a big day for Greece but its potentially a pivotal day for Ireland as well.
If the Greeks do not vote through the austerity measures then they have as good as defaulted. At that point it makes more sense for them to leave the single currency. That way they can set their interest rates, devalue their currency and address some of their problems without the straightjacket they are in now.
Notice I say leave the single currency. Their is no pressure on them to leave the common market.
If they do vote in favor then I can only imagine that the streets of Athens would be a no-go zone for the next week.

For Ireland ( a country that was more than willing not to blindly accept Europe in two referendums) this could be a big moment. If Greece defaults then we will be in the firing line along with Portugal as the next to go down.
And with Greece blazing a trail (particularly if they leave the single currency)then we have a precedent to play with. It could strengthen our bargaining position against Europe and force the ECB into accepting a policy of restructuring. Of course if we are allowed then we may be in technical default as well.

If Greece accepts the Austerity measures then we will continue to kick the can down the road, but I don't see how it helps all of us in the long run. The problem remains in place, to be born by taxpayers that are rapidly running out of patience. If Greece does accept Austerity then it will be at the expense of voters in other countries; and those whose economies are relatively sound but experiencing cuts and unemployment may lose patience with the process. Indeed that could easily become an election platform for the opposition.

Ending this post prematurely as the vote is on right now: 20 For / 18 Against so far!

Update: Motion in Favour passed by 4 votes. Will be interesting to see the counterfactuals in years to come

Hello to my Iranian readers!

 سلام

 Apparently I have had some page views from Iran, so welcome to the blog, and I look forward to any feedback you might have!


regards
Damien

Repossessions

Was Listening to Liveline last week
A man who had his house repossessed has vowed to picket the house for the rest of his life, presumably unless he is reinstated into the property on reasonable terms.

Part of his reasoning is that he should never have been given the mortgage in the first place. Thats quite a true statement. I wonder if at the time, had he been turned down for a mortgage, would he have gone on Joe Duffy to bemoan the fact that he couldn't get financing.

Hearing the phrase, "they shouldn't have given me the money" hardly ignites sympathy in peoples minds, but it is nonetheless a correct statement; so why did they? Our personal solvency laws provide that the borrower remains liable for the full value of the mortgage, even if the house is sold.

In the US the borrower can hand back the keys which closes out the mortgage. This should mean that borrowers would be more discerning as they would stand to lose money as well.

Here the borrower is on the hook for the full amount, which means that the lender can do less due diligence and still make a reasonable assumption that they will get back the bulk of their money. In addition, they have an incentive to sell the house and realize the funds ASAP, rather than hold out for an offer that is a reasonable market price, which would reduce some of the outstanding debt of the borrower.

We are going to see more of this behavior as the number of repossessions rise, not less. There is a substantial danger that we will marginalize those people and their children and in doing so reduce society's respect for personal property.

Mays Beer Post

Its a cracking day out there and i've been stuck inside so I wandered up to Sweeneys Off Licence in Phibsboro to pick up some beers for June, only to realise I hadn't posted in May!

A salute to Polish Beers!
I was in Poland during May so I decided to do a special bit on the country's beers. I started early with Jboy and went through 3 of the better known ones here. This was actually a good idea as the tipple of choice over there was Vodka, and while it was excellent, its hard to write a review after 3 of them

Lech 5.2%
Lech is the first beer I'm trying and I have to say I'm quite impressed! It pours with a golden colour and a head that quickly dissipates. The first impression is crisp and mild honey tones. It finishes with a nice smoky flavour. I always thought Lech was going to be a very generic beer but this would make a good alternative to Heineken

Zywiec 5.6%
Zywiec is more golden in colour than Lech and far less carbonated. I can only describe the aroma as mealy. If I got this from a tap I would even suspect it was slightly off but I am reliably informed this is the way it should smell. Flavour wise it was more hoppy ad bitter than Lech and with a very dry finish

Tyskie 5.6%
Same as the other two Tyskie shows a classic golden colour but the flavour has a lot more bite. There was even a faint white wine smell that I was unable to shake. Quite Bitter

Bierhalle Pils 5.2%
This is the only beer that I actually properly tasted in Poland. The beer hall was in a shopping area in Lodz. They Brewed 3 of their own beers with more to come and even had waitresses dressed in the German beer hall style. Since i was with a group the beer came in a barrel that could be poured by the customer which was a nice touch!

The beer itself was slightly cloudy with a lovely light honey scent. The flavour relfected this with additional corriander and smoky tones.

Also Ran
After I came back I was pretty well behaved for the rest of the month, but I did try a few more:

Flying Dog Double Pale Ale
Flying Dog are going up in my opinion. They modelled themselves after the writings of Hunter S. Thompson and the artwork on the label is always psychadelic.
The double pale ale is a belgian style, with a very high alcohol content. It would be similar to Delerium Nocturnum in flavour. Amber in Colour and a wonderful berry smell. The flavour is a mixture of hops and Citrus. Definetly worth a look but one at a time!

Raging Bitch IPA
Another Flying Dog offering and an IPA to boot. I am on record as saying I don't like IPA's but after a good experience with this and Jagged Edge I am going to give this style another go. This one poured a lovel Amber colourand had a bitter but orangey finish. Quite dry as an after-taste.

Jagged Edge IPA
The final taste for May was Jagged Edge IPA. The Amber colour was once again in evidence but with a less pronounced bitter scent and flavour. The finish was citrusy and I find this style of Fruit flavoured finish makes an IPA more attractive.

Just a reminder to anyone who is reading the blog.

Deveneys in Dundrum is running its Beer Festival again this year in the Tripod. Tickets are on sale now so go buy them, its a great festival and a fantastic way to expand your knowledge!

Official Festival Site
Ruth Deveneys Beer Blog

April Beer Post - I know its actually May but most of these beers were drank in April.

I was in the porterhouse with some lads I went to college with last night. Against my better judgement I started tasting some beers and while I enjoyed the beers I am paying for it today. All of this reminded me that I haven't done a post in a while!
(I also believe they may be as well!)
Goose Island, India Pale Ale

As a rule I'm not a big fan of IPA's because of the bitter taste but this one was suprisingly tolerable!

I can't describe the colour because I didn't get a glass ( a mortal sin I know!) but the flavour was slightly caramel and orange rind with a mildly malty after taste. I'd definetly recommend this to other people who aren't fans of IPA. According to the beer advocate there are hints of pine but I didn't get these! At 5.9% its certain to give you that happy feeling!

Paulaner Salvator

I had never seen or heard of this till I saw it in the fridge in "against the grain" on Camden St. Clearly a dark beer rich in flavour, its actually a double bock ( stronger version of single bock which is itself a strong sweet malty beer). It loves up to its taste as a lovely malty finish deep. Strong bread like smell with a sweet slightly fruity finish. at 7.9% this was the strongest of the beers taht was tasted in Against the Grain

Triple Karmeliet

I tasted this at a Trappist beer night arrenged by the porterhouse north. I can't remember the name of the guy running the event but he had tremendous knowlegde of his subject.
Triple Karmeliet pour slightly cloudy into the glass with very little head. The aroma was immediately coriander with a hint of caramel and a vague nutty scent and the flavour was all of the above. The taste was a bit hoppy for my liking but certainly a beer to taste, almost like a desert wine. 8.4% gives it a good kick!

Metalman IPA
Metalman has been causign a stir in the Irish craft brewing community over the last few months to the point where you have to dash to a pub when you hear its on tap to try and get a taste! Metalman are basedin Waterford and seem to release batches of their beers on draft only.
The colour is blonde but with a hint of red (i'm colour blind so don't trust this description) As with all IPA's its bitter but with a smoothness I have only seen matched by Goose Island above. The taste is caramel (again!) and honey, but the scent is more about the hops.

Trouble Or
The final beer I am blogging about is Trouble Or. I was lucky enough to taste this just after the keg was opened in the Bull and castle. Its brewed by Trouble Brewing, another addition to the growing army of Irish Craft Brewers.
I'm a bit stumped as to how to describe this. Their spiel is:
"A smooth, refreshing golden ale that is full-bodied and has a distinctive hop flavour.
Brewed using the best two-row Maris Otter pale malt interwoven with a complimentary selection of speciality malt for a robust taste. It is hopped with a combination of traditional English and modern American hops, to produce a beer with subtle fruit flavours and a crisp, lingering finish."

What I tasted was slightly different. I'd definetly agree with the malty falvour but it seemed uncarbonated to me. The colour was golden but slightly cloudy while the flavour was honey, like Fullers Honey Dew. The smell was of grain as well. I'm not certain if this is supposed to be the way it should taste or if it was too young or had not come out right, but I quite enjoyed it. I think the only way is to try it again :)

The problem of education

I've been thinking about the problem of the teaching profession in Ireland because of all the teachers union conferences recently.
I'm not going to pretend to understand the full career requirements or motivations of people to choose teaching over another profession; but I think that it is an important area of ambiguity that needs to be addressed.

From my point of view the benefits and positives of being a teacher are:

•     Stable employment once your are taken on full time
•     Opportunity to work with young people
•     Opportunity to shape and direct young adults
•     Able  to focus on a subject that you have some interest in
•     Long holidays
•     Tenure (where you are full time)

The negatives (for me) would be:

•     Putting up with disruptive kids
•     Repetitive nature of the material
•     Lack of direction in terms of career development.

I want to focus on the last one for the moment as its probably the one I know least about.
How does a teacher progress? I assume that you start off on an entry grade and over time maybe you teach higher level classes, or more subjects or become year heads. Maybe the ultimate objective is to become principle or vice principal? (Feel free to enlighten me, I really know nothing about this topic!)

In my line of business I advance by going for roles with more responsibility or I move into roles that I feel can benefit from my experience plus give me knew understanding. In theory I can indefinetly move diagonally upwards. to my mind there is effectively a cap on how much authority you can achieve as a teacher.

How do you get salary rises? If your salary is linked to the number of students you teach, or the number of classes you take then you might be able to cheat the system by offering your services and targetting those classes and subjects that are in demand at that time. However this reflects nothing of your achievements. Good exam grades might be a start but only exam year teachers could be assessed. Non-standardised end of year exams can be easily gamed to produce lots of good results; Cross-marking and exam setting have the same vulnerability. Obviously a class full of A's isn't likely so the bell curve can be used to detect cheating in that way, but in effect it pre-determines performance and therefore remuneration?
If anyone wants to explain to me how the Irish system works!

Good Friday

Just a quick post.
I'm sure these sentiments have been echoed in the media many times before but I just don't understand the logic now in prohibition on Good Friday. It temporarily shuts pubs till midnight, so people stock up in an off Licence the day before, or go out on the tear on the Thursday night instead.

The government should drop the ban for many reasons:

• It forces people with other religous views to comply with the Catholic churches laws.
• It fails to prevent people actually drinking on the day
• It prevents tourists from drinking on a good friday

The biggest reason though is that it attempts to enforce good behaviour. The people who feel strongly about not drinking as a mark of respect to their religion are still free to do so. In fact it should earn them a higher place in Heaven; if they can resist temptation then they really do understand the sacrifice.

Of course one problem is that most people manage to resist that temptation 5 or 6 days each week.
So telling them they can't drink and then closing off all of their options is basically nannying them.
As we we have all experienced in our own lives; when you are told that you have to do something it makes you more likely ro "rebel" and not do it. It might make more sense to force people to drink on the day, that way they might "rebel" positively and not drink!

March Beer Post

Sorry Folks
Haven't been many beer posts in a while. I have been drinking I just haven't been posting due to laziness!
So let me make it up to you!

Weissenofer Bonator
The find of the pack by far, beautfiul Brown colour, Caramel, chocolate and pine, smooth with no bitter after taste. 8.2% hit me pretty hard!

Helvick Gold
From the Dun Garvan Brewery, Unfortunately I don't have many notes on this one, cloudy in the glass with a slightly citrusy flavour, worth a look, not least because its Irish

Goose Island - Christmas Ale
Wonderful flavour in the best Winter beer tradition. Dark but not black in the glass, Strong flavour with rich caramel tones.

Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
I had expected this to have either a bitter black chocolate taste or a smooth creamy milk chocolate taste but I was wrong on both counts. The chocolate flavour is mild and a bit watery in the finish. If you're expecting a hot chocolate I wouldn't go for this. If you find something like that, let me know!

Fuel Economy and Driving to work

In a moment of idleness last week I started working out how much my car was costing me per month. I’m thinking of trading up next year; hopefully get something more fuel efficient.

For the most part I drive about 750 miles a month, which is made up for trips from my home in Drumcondra to Cherrywood. Some months I drive about 600 miles (when I travel abroad) and when I have to work in Limerick the number can go up to 900 miles. My car gets about 6.5 miles to the litre, or 390 miles to a full tank, which hardly makes it a green-mobile. At €1.50 a litre I’m spending about €173 a month on petrol. The drive to and from Cherrywood is about 25 miles round trip.

Fuel is not the only cost I incur though. My insurance is about €600 euro a year. My car tax is €324 a year and I also have the AA at €210 a year. I expect to spend around €300 on maintenance and repair over the year as well.

There is one more cost that is less straight forward. Strictly speaking the cash isn’t going out every month. In fact the cash has already been paid out. Its an opportunity cost; what I could have done with the money if I hadn’t tied it up in the car. I know this sounds like a fuzzy concept; I’ve already paid the money right? But here’s the thing, If I sell the car right now I might get €4000, but If I hold on to the car till next year like I plan to it might be worth €3000. In a way I am renting the car or slowly surrendering value day by day. I figure that the car is worth about €1000 a year. If I had a more expensive car then it would be worth more.

So having worked out all these costs I can look at the three scenarios and work out how much money I’m spending a month. I can also calculate a proxy for “convenience” i.e. The value I am paying to have the car for average use. I can then compare this to my utility value – How much I am willing to pay for this privilege. If my utility is greater than that of convenience then I should keep using the car but if its less then I should use substitutes I.e. The DART, where they exist.
The easiest way to summarise the options is with a table.

As you can see the more miles I do the lower the total cost, but it also shows that the cost of having the car under each scenario is way over the cost for the same trip to Cherrywood on the train.
In reality I'm paying an average of a 61% premium or €7.67 to use the car on my round trip to and from Cherrywood.
I know I said I'd calculate my utility value but I actually haven't a clue how to (If anyone wants to suggest how to do this I'm happy to try it) I just know that a 61% premium feels too high for me though. I suspect that if it was raining when I got up I'd prefer to take the car but with the summer coming up hopefully I'll think of my pocket and take the train!

Funday

Not a major post for the weekend.
Two things that stand out.
I've been resisting shaving / growing a goatee for the last two weeks with mixed results. Amazingly there is a lot more grey and a lot less ginger than the last time 10 years ago, I'll try to put up a photo to compare shortly.

The other thing I did was to put up a shelf for the LAK. It was a cheap one from Woodies, but it put me up against the 2 years of selling DIY to actually prove that it was easy to do.
What was bizarre is that the 2 supports were definitely not level and yet the shelf is!

No Posts for a while!

Afraid I've been lazy the last 2 weeks.
Actually I've been sick with the man flu for the last 4 days, and was at a stag party the week before. (I see no connection!)
I have been active though so expect some bursts of updates next week around beers, Prague and Politics

As for the Election:
The outcome was easily predicted. All of the posturing now is disappointing and I am a little concerned by the looks of smugness from FG are worrying. Like I said before. The 25% vaccum of votes left by FF had to be filled somehow. As for the Wipeout, FF will be above 20% next election and in danger of becoming a real coalition option next time round.
I feel sorry for the independents. They fought hard and have won...nothing. No real power, no legislative authority. I think many of the new ones will do a George Lee and quit because they are frustrated by the glacier like pace of change.

FG Labour
Lets see what happens. I have a feeling the departmental briefings are going to scare some of them and there will be a lot of "look at what FF did the country". This will fly for a while but eventually they will have to start solving the problems in front of them. Because if they can't make a dent themselves then they aren't any better  than the outgoing administration.

Thats all for now, The virus is still at work and my mind is not using english properly

Election Update 15-02-2011 - Deep Concerns about the games being played with jobs

I listened to the debate last night and like most people came away with the feeling that what I heard was about point scoring rather than serious discussion.

Labour and the Retail Sector
Labour's focus on the retail sector for jobs is worrying me. Jobs in the retail sector have a wide level of access - many people are capable of doing these jobs (as compared to say programming, or science or nursing) and they are definitely a boon for lower skilled workers. My concern is the reason why stores hire staff. The common view seems to be that business rates and rents are too high and that's probably true, but how much is that reducing the numbers employed? Back in the boom the same rents and rates were in place, but we had higher employment in the retail trade - why?
We are now at the employment level of 2005-2006 for retail according to CSO statistics
Demand, confidence and credit in the economy are the answers:

• More people working right across the economy in every sector
• More disposable income per person
• Easier access to credit via cards, loans, low(er) interest rates.
• Greater confidence around getting and retaining jobs, wage growth, debt repayment

Thus people were spending, and that spending drove jobs in the retail sector.

I worked in Brown Thomas for a year and a half in their TV and HiFi department back in 2000. It was a great time because there was so much money in the economy, combined with shiny new technologies like, flat screens, wide screens, LCD's MP3 players and play station 2. During the week there were about 4 people on the floor plus a manager, but at the weekend that would go up to about 8 people. Often times the full time people would work a Saturday to make up for the slim pickings during the week. And this staffing experience is common to many retail operations - If there isn't demand you don't need people on the floor.

Right now there is over 200% more people unemployed in the economy (13.5% vs 4.5% for the same period in 2005). That's a lot less disposable income, fewer people willing to spend on their credit cards and most importantly, a tremendous lack of confidence in the short to medium term income prospects. If retailers don't see changes in peoples short term confidence then why would they hire in the first place? If I dont think my wages are going to rise in the near term (or worse still that I may lose my job) then I am not willing to make unnecessary large purchases taht require credit in case I can't pay them off. I understand Labours reason for targeting jobs in the retail sector, its an area where low skilled workers could re-enter the workforce quickly but creating the reason for retailers to hire in the first place is much more important.

Just as an addendum:
The current employment laws around working while on the social welfare would be a far better place to start.
People on social welfare can work up to 20 hours per week without endangering their entitlements, however it must be the same 20 hours every week. Most people who work in stores (or in other places like cinema's leisure centres, call centres etc) will tell you that most of the time their hours vary to match busy times, employee holidays and specific initiatives. There are very few of these jobs that can support this type of inflexibility in their employees. If you took away this outdated condition then you could get people back into part time work and  reduce the burden on the state. In addition you would make them feel like they are contributing and ensure that their skills are not eroded over time.

Election Update 10th February 2011 - Lennys gambit

Well
All the parties have been setting out their manifestos for the last week and a half.

The prime time debate went well, the quality of argument was high and both leaders acquitted themselves well.
Martin was much more ferocious on the attack, which makes sense since he cannot defend the record of the government. Gilmore came across well though in my opinion, "labours way not Frankfurts way" is childish rhetoric when Europe can simply say "No More Money". The other stage show was in Leitrim where Enda addressed probably the smallest meeting in the country and got heckled by what probably was a plant.




 The other news of note was Alan Dukes telling us that Anglo need another €15bn. Lenny has quite smartly turned around and said that he no longer has a mandate to inject capital into the banks so that the incoming government will need to do that. I think this is a brilliant tactic on his part for two reasons:

• He actually doesn't have a mandate anymore
• It puts it up to all of them as a practical situation - What are you going to do?

Any of them who say we'll stop paying the banks etc are now in a position to do so, those who are just spouting rhetoric will have to reveal their true position, or at least  give a nod that FF had no other choice.


Me and the LAK had quite a debate on this today. She thinks he is a scumbag for having us in this position in the firstplace (TRUE) and is now being sneaky about it - which I disagree with.
I promise that I wont vote FF this time but you have to have a grudging admiration for their tactics!

Election update 3rd February 2011

The president dissolved the Dail on Tuesday and the election date is set for February 25th.
This is more of a summary than anything else since my last post a few days ago.
Sources are "meet the leader" podcasts from NewsTalk

Jobs

The Labour party has come out with a €500 million recommendation for jobs which sounds remarkably like FF's €500 million smart economy fund.
FG - TBA

Croke Park
FG and Labour have also said that they won't renegotiate the Croke park agreement but expect productivity gains, redundancies and natural attrition. I assume FF won't want to renegotiate the Croke Park deal.

Income Tax
FG said they won't raise income tax
Labour - TBA

Privatization
Labour - not against selling off bodies but hasn't listed any ones that it wants to
FF- Much the same, prefers to retain strategic interest

Residential property tax
Labour want to exempt the tax on the primary residence, elimination of reliefs (section 23)
FG - TBA
FF -Favours site value tax

Healthcare
FG - Abolish the HSE, set up Dutch FairCare over 5 years
Labour - TBA
FF -  Would not chance HSE

Education
FG - Free third level, 30% contribution over 10 years after graduation
Labour - NA
FF - need to cut costs, loan system (Australian system)


The Bailout
FG - Will renegotiate on interest rate, constitutional referendum on budget targets
Labour - Will renegotiate on interest and duration, say they never signed up in the first place
FF -  NA but I guess either renegotiate or hold.

Additional comments
Labour have a "digital Ireland" platform which is all about broadband roll out. I don't want to seem arrogant here but is this really an issue? I understand that in rural areas broadband it probably is but it seems to me that there is plenty of broadband packages available.

Fianna Fail have now announced their front bench with nobody particularly special included. FF want to abolish the Seanad and suggest being able to appoint non-Oireachtas members as ministers. Its funny to see Willie O'Dea back, Proves he's a wily operator, Get canned just early enough so that no one really remembers him too painfully. His banishment to the political backwaters has worked quite well.
Looking at Micheal Martin I think he is a clever guy, He is clean enough to get some votes in this election and reduce the available voting space for the rest - shrink the Governments majority. It wouldn't surprise me  if he  tried to promote independents to further erode majorities.

Electoral strategy
FG and Labour are simple, get as many seats as possible and either be the majority party in coalition or single party government. According to recent polls FG would be the majority partner, and rumor is that FG will give up an extra ministry to get their hands on the Finance portfolio.

FF are of course trying to get as many votes as possible, but their outcome is different. Every % that goes to them or independents/ Sinn Fein / Green party / Others is a reduction in the governments majority and puts more pressure on an FG / Labour Coalition Government. If FF can get between 16% and 20%, Sinn Fein and the Greens get 10% between them and the Independents get another 10% that only leaves 60% between FG and Labour. It puts them in opposition during a difficult time (which is the place to be) and gives them 4 years to rebuild the party, mostly with a "lower taxes, small Government platform" next time round.

Latest MRBI / Irish Times Poll
FG 33%
Labour 24%
Fianna Fail 15%
Sinn Fein 12%
Remainder - 16%

A Year in Food

Just to complement the year in beer I thought I'd post up the food photos as well,
So many happy memories!

 

Coffee at 3FE on their Birthday

 Breakfast waiting for the Car to be Serviced in the Diner in BallySimon Industrial estate, Limerick

 Bratwurst in the IFSC Christmas Market

 Gourmet Sausage Rolls and Coffee in Cafe Noir, Limerick

4 Seasons Pizza in the Dell canteen in Bratislava

 Dorty 3 in 1 in Charlies in Dublin

 Seafood Chowder in Dolans in Limerick - Say it Frenchie!!

 Salmon and goats cheese Bruschetta at Dolans in Limerick

 Nachos with Grilled chicken in Eddie Rockets

 My Plate at Thanksgiving Dinner in Cape Cod

 Roast Rib eye of Beef (cooked by me) at home in Killiney

 Mussles in white wine sauce in Rome (with the LAK!)

 Have No idea what it is or where, looks tasty though

 Spare Ribs in 1752, Bratislava

 Spare Ribs at the Stockyard in Boston (Not pictured - Extremely strong but tasty Manhattan)

 Small Sushi plate at Sushi Plus, Bratislava

 Large Sushi plate at Sushi Plus, Bratislava

 Terrifying Colour coded sushi Bar in Dundrum

 Turkey stuffing, Thanksgiving, Cape Cod

 Shot of the table, Thanksgiving, Cape Cod

 Desert, Thanksgiving, Cape Cod

Shot of the table, Thanksgiving, Cape Cod

A Year of Beer

I'm changing phones at the moment so I decided to get all the photos off the old and I discovered a huge treasure trove of Beer photos, mostly beers that I opened planning to review, then drank a second one and forgot. Which means that I have to do it all over again :)

Bacon Beer - actually tastes and smells like bacon!

No memory of this one!

Always find Anchor steam too bitter and hoppy - Doesn't mean I don't keep trying!

Aventinus - 8.2% and German, Nuff said!

Baltika 8 - Russian wheat beer

Selection of beers from early on in the year - Duvel, Ola Dubh and Headless Dog are still favourites!

Blue Moon - Fantastic replacement for Hoegaarden creamy texture with distinctive orange rind and coriander aromas - I nearly drank a bar dry of it in Kildare

No memory of this one!

Brooklyn Pennant Ale - I expected more of this

Don't remember much flavour wise but I do remember being quite impressed by it

Chimay - Peres Trappistes no memory at all

Another Nice selection, The ODell and Dogfish heads are well worth a look, Hollows Ginger Ale is beautiful

Wasn't for me

Dark microbrewed Slovakian Beer- reviewed elsewhere in the blog

Delirium Tremens - A Belgian classic, strong % with the smooth finish, very distinctive bottle

Dogfish Head 90 minute Imperial Ale - reviewed in the blog

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre - reviewed in the blog

Duvel 8.5% - Another classic, lovely flavour, was €1.89 a bottle in Tesco Ballybrack

Erdinger Alkoholfrei - The best 0% I've tasted (yet)

The tastiest Gluten Free beer I've tasted, perfect for a house party, bit expensive though

Fullers 1845 - Special brew by Fullers of whom I am a huge fan

Fullers Honey Dew, beautiful honey flavoured beer, would be perfect for a summers day

Fullers Discovery - No clear memory ofthis one

Fullers ESB - Another tasty offering from Fullers

Gluten free beer in Boston - I didn't drink any of these

Goose Island - Another of my favourite breweries

Goose Island Matilda - almost like a wine, caramel flavours

Goose Island Pere Jacques - Closer to the belgian style

Goose Island Sofie - Reviewd in the blog

Pint of the black stuff- poured by me (I'll never be a bar man)

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12 - beautiful scottish dark beer matured in highland park whiskey casks

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 16 - reviewed in the blog

Headless Dog in Bull and Castle - Fantastic Belfast Beer, tasty and light

Hollows Ginger Beer - Slightly lighter than Crabbies

Don't think I tasted this, was going email the picture to George Hook

Anchor Steam Humming Ale - Reviewed in the blog

JW Dundees Honey Brown - beautiful honey finish, quite light - started me on my beer tasting hobby last year

Kirin Japanese beer - Can't remember too well

Hitachino Nest White  Ale - Coriander and orange, creamy finish

Kwak server in the proper glass in Belgium

La Biere Du Demon - 12% and strong, may have triggered an attack of Vertigo in Rome

Lat Trappe Dubbel - Belgian Abbey beer - no memory

Leffe Blonde - Classic Belgian drinking beer

Leffe Bruin - a dark beer perfect with food

Maredsous - same brewery as Duvel, also strong

Moosehead Pale Ale - good drinking beer from Canada Eh

Odell Barrel Pale Ale - No memory of the flavour

Odell Isolation Ale - reviewd in the blog

Curim Gold - Irish Brewery

O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale - Don't think I liked this one

No memory of this one at all

View of the craft beers brewed by the Porterhouse

Quillmes - Argentinian beer pleasant but not outstanding

Sam Adams Boston Lager - quite bitter wasn't one of my favourites

Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale - Fantastic beer will write a proper review when i find a bottle in Ireland

Sam Adams Utopias - Didn't drink this 25% and about $600 a bottle

Tasting Glass at the Sam Adams brewery

Sam Adams range and awards

Sam Adams 6 pack range

Sam Adams bottled range

Santa's Butt- dont remember this clearly - strong, very much a winter beer

Beer selection

No idea what so ever! Think I bought it because it was from Cornwall

Shiner - lovely Black Lager from Texas, very like Ola Dubh

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - too bitter for me but quite popular

Speights - no memory

Crazy bottles of wine in a dodgy off licence in Rome

Crazy bottles of wine in a dodgy off licence in Rome

No idea but it looks like something from the Porterhouse

Westmalle Trappist Dubbel - No memory

1752 blond beer in bratislava, bitter but enjoyable, brewed by the pub itself

 

Yuengling Lager and Black & Tan, Hoppy American beer - Oldest continuously  operating brewery in the United states