mighty meadow

Had a guid few pints of Tennents Light at the Medda game yesterday. Pretty decent session beer for those times when you fancy a few beers but want to avoid getting drunk. Drinking this one now which takes me up to 230 unique beers for the year. Bottle conditioned so quite cloudy. Lots of spice and bit of banana. Another good one from St.Andrews.

Best pint I've had in a while. In the Auld Brig right now. Velvety chocolate and a hint of smoky coffee. Slips down too easily. Lovely.

Pint of Victory at Waterloo with my breakfast in the Auld Brig. Quite hoppy.

Pear & Blueberry Drench

Couple from last night. #222 Lerwick Brewery 60 degree North. Pretty decent lager but some musty yeast in the finish. #223 Strathaven Ales Festival Ale. Not the best I've had from this brewer. Ok with a smoky finish but not much else. Drinking this now, first of the day... #224 Oban Bay Skelpt Lug. Easy drinking malty sweet. Decent.

Now drinking a pint of good North Ayrshire tap water.

Bottle of this from the Aldi Scottish Beer Festival. Not great to be fair. Quite a musty, yeasty flavour. Crisp and drinkable but nothing better than just ok.

Just off night shift. Twinings Mango & Cinnamon.

500ml bottle of Mcewans Amber from Aldi Pretty decent session beer. Went down well in the sun

Had a bottle of Burnside Brewery Wild Hippo last night. Nothing wild about it, in fact it was pretty tame. Little bit floral. Some citrus and biscuit but overall a bit bland. From Aldi Scottish Beer Festival.

Chocolate smoothie with a dollop of Aldi coffee flavoured ice-cream added. Lovely.

Had a wee run on the bike this afternoon. Thought about heading along the cycle track to Troon or further but the wind at Irvine beach was almost gale force so turned back and headed home.

Pint of Deuchars IPA in the Auld Brig. £1.49 a pint. You cannae complain

Bottle of Hobgoblin.

500ml bottle of Drygate Outaspace Apple Ale. Been in my cupboard for a while now but another one that is in Aldi at the moment. Quite cloudy, apple puree taste. Almost like a snakebite. Nice.

Couple of beers last night from the Ayr Brewing Co. Hippopotamus. 500ml bottle from Robbie's Drams in Ayr but available at the moment in Aldi. Full of hoppy bitterness. Not sure I would want to drink this all night but it is lovely. Dr. Blacklock #11 Watermelon Stout. 1 litre bottle also from Robbie's Drams in Ayr. Lovely looking stout with a big, bubbly head which lasts all the way down. I was tasting chocolate limes rather than watermelon and a hint of sweet coffee. Much better than I expected and good to drink in smaller measures. The flip top lid means you don't have to drink it in one go. £8 a bottle but you might get it cheaper if you see the brewer at the local farmers markets.

Chocolate and banana smoothie. Fresh from the blender.

33 bottles purchased from Aldi this morning.

The 'Aldi Scottish Beer Festival' starts today and is the biggest one yet apparently. 50 beers from 50 different Scottish brewers

Pint of Deuchars IPA before jumping on the bus over to the football. At £1.49 a pint it would be rude not to.

Just had a pint of Abbot Reserve in the Salt Cot. Actually pretty decent for a Greener King and quite strong at 6.5%. Think this is number 211 for the year. Now having a pint of Old Hooky. Nice and fruity and a paltry 4.6%.

Pint of Abbot Reserve in the Salt Cot before crossing the border into Ardrossan for the Medda game tonight. 2 taps off in the pub so limited choice but not too bad for a Greener King. 6.5% so not great before the fitba :-)

3 beers yesterday. #208 Broughton Spring Ale. Pretty run of the mill by this brewery's usual standard but a nice, light session ale all the same. Broughton Dark n Cloudy. I sampled this at a ' meet the brewer' session a couple of months ago. Lovely oatmeal stout with coffee notes. Both above beers were £1.99 a pint in the Auld Brig (Irvine) #209 Arran Clyde Puffer Special Reserve. 500ml bottle from Robbie's Drams in Ayr. The standard version of this beer is solid enough but this version takes it up a notch. Whisky and sherry from the casks is very evident along with dark fruits. Well worth checking out.

Few beers last night after work. #205 Innis & Gunn Toasted Oak IPA (5.6%) I've drank this before but somehow missed it out of my list. Nice easy drinker which doesn't quite have that signature I&G sweetness. (330ml bottle) #206 Batemans Marks & Spencer Lincolnshire Orange Barley Beer (5.5%) A bit like a strong Currie's orangeade. Quite fizzy but not unpleasantly so. Starts off really tasty but gets a bit sickening towards the end. Not bad particularly as it was half price when I bought it. (330ml bottle) #207 JW Lees Manchester Star Ale (7.3%). Lovely dark ale. Very rich, thick and tastes every bit the 7.3% without being harsh in the slightest. (500ml bottle). The rest were duplicates and don't count towards my target of 365 beers in 2015. Brewdog Punk IPA. Remaining bottle from a Christmas gift pack. Sierra Nevada Porter. Possibly my favourite style of beer. Lovely smoky flavour. John Smith's Original Bitter. The owners of my local pub, The Kings Arms in Irvine have given up the lease on the pub and yesterday was their last day so popped in for a couple of pints for old time's sake. Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Couple of bottles while playing snooker last night. Not great but probably the best available in the club. And after all that, I've got a bit of a sore head this morning

Last one for tonight. #204 The last one went down the sink so decided on a cider to finish off the football. £1.49 from Aldi for a 500ml bottle. Very sweet and sherbety but far better than more famous Swedish brands.