Saturday April 11th 2020
Wow – I’ve made it to two whole weeks of Quarantine Diary entries! This is the most writing I’ve done in a short space of time since my intense, poorly managed but ultimately fruitful fit of writing that I got this blog started with, running (well, actually JB driving) from taproom to taproom to make sure I had the whole of ATX covered. How times have changed.
It is traditional (at least in my world) for every good bank holiday weekend to have one day that is a total hungover write-off, and being someone who likes to uphold traditions, Saturday was well and truly this day. After having a total blast on Friday drinking beer all afternoon and video-chatting late into the night with our awesome friend Lorenzo over far too many glasses of whiskey, Saturday was a painful reminder that turning 40 has not in fact made me hangover-proof. We still had a couple of fun video chats with friends and family, but the pounding in my head and aching in my joints ensured a relatively sedate and early night involving two episodes of The Plot Against America – a beautifully filmed adaptation of Philip Roth’s unsettling and scarily believable counterfactual novel. A nice quiet night in that for once didn’t feel like too much of an imposition!
Oddwood Ales Acid Western Sour Ale
I am such a huge fan of the fab folks at Oddwood and am already missing hanging out in their lovely wood-panelled taproom terribly. When we rolled up to collect our to-go beer there was a little lump in my throat as I ached for our many happy afternoons relaxing over a flight or two, chatting in the sun or playing a few rounds of Tekken. Oddwood is one of our homes-away-from-home and we will be propping up the bar again as soon as the green light goes off! I love all of Oddwood’s high-end, sophisticated brews, but knew this one was going to be pretty special and it blew both of us away. A delicate, complex sour ale aged in wine barrels and refermented with peaches, it had a biscuit-yeast champagne-like quality that made us savour every delightful sip. Both the wine and peach flavours are subtle but brilliant and combine to create a beer that is special-occasion classy af.
Craft Beer Amethyst 