Scottish Beer and Japanese Pop
Out for a few pints last night but unfortunately the pub we always meet in was playing host to some sort of local Battle of the Loud and Crappy Death Metal Bands and - not having a taste for songs called things like 'Reek of Rotting Flesh' and 'Festival of Flies' - we had a quick pint then headed out the door, seeking pastures new.
I'm not sure if it's a sign of our growing maturity and discernment or simply that at 35 we need a comfy seat and a decent pint more than anything else, but we found ourselves acting exactly the same as we had when we were 16 and looking for a pub. Every pub we walked past was either too busy, too noisy or too bright - the first and third of which reasons were exactly the same as caused us to walk by whilst under-age and looking for somewhere likely to serve us.
In the end and as is often the case, we eventually found ourselves in the excellent Guildford Arms (for those who know Edinburgh, this is just round the corner from the Burger King at the east end of Princes Street). What's nice about this pub is they offer you a sample of all their beers (not common in Scotland) and have a good range of guest ales. I had the Harviestoun's Bitter and Twisted which was very pleasant.
As an added bonus, Dave gave me a pile of Japanese music cds before we went home. I listened to the first one this morning in the car by a band called Yura Yura Teikoku. The album only lasts half an hour or so but it's great spiky pop with a slight psychedelic tinge sung in Japanese (except track 2 which sounds like an oriental Gang of Four singing lyrics in English written by Pete Waterman).
Good night all round...
I'm not sure if it's a sign of our growing maturity and discernment or simply that at 35 we need a comfy seat and a decent pint more than anything else, but we found ourselves acting exactly the same as we had when we were 16 and looking for a pub. Every pub we walked past was either too busy, too noisy or too bright - the first and third of which reasons were exactly the same as caused us to walk by whilst under-age and looking for somewhere likely to serve us.
In the end and as is often the case, we eventually found ourselves in the excellent Guildford Arms (for those who know Edinburgh, this is just round the corner from the Burger King at the east end of Princes Street). What's nice about this pub is they offer you a sample of all their beers (not common in Scotland) and have a good range of guest ales. I had the Harviestoun's Bitter and Twisted which was very pleasant.
As an added bonus, Dave gave me a pile of Japanese music cds before we went home. I listened to the first one this morning in the car by a band called Yura Yura Teikoku. The album only lasts half an hour or so but it's great spiky pop with a slight psychedelic tinge sung in Japanese (except track 2 which sounds like an oriental Gang of Four singing lyrics in English written by Pete Waterman).
Good night all round...
Labels: waffle
3 Comments:
Bea and I sampled the Guildford Arms when we were in Edinburgh around this time last year -- very nice place, I thought, with some gorgeous beer. (I particularly liked the Orkney stout, which I forget the name of but I know I've had at various beer festivals as well.)
It's one of the many reasons I want to visit the city again soon.
That'll be the Orkney Dark Island. I seem to recall being told at some point that it was best drunk in half pints and I have to say I find one pint of it enough.
The Bitter and Twisted was definitely what you would call a session beer, very light and with a slight taste of lemon (God I sound like an idiot reviewing wine on BBC2).
Ah yes, that's the one. I now recall that their Red MacGregor is fantastic as well.
I've not yet managed to try Bitter and Twisted -- it keeps winning awards at beer festivals, with the result that it's usually been drunk within a few hours of the festival opening. Not that I'm a frequent habitue at beer festivals, you understand, but I've been to enough to notice.
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