The Beer

How long did it take me to write a post about the Beer... a bit too long.  Let's be honest, its basically all the same here. English Beer should become the new definition of Session Beer. I can't even count on two hands how many Beers I have seen sub-3% out here... that's practically a juice box that has been sitting out for a few hours! What the hell am I going to do with a 2.5% beer? Beyond this they are all bitters.  This means that they are extremely malty, with a dry hop finish.  And don't be fooled by the different lables; Wheat, ESB, Old Ale... They are all the same.

This is not to say its bad. Its a hell of a lot better than that fermented yellow fizz that so many Americans call beer; but should instead hail it the same as what it's called when it exits the body. It's just sooo dammnnn homogeneous.

One of the main difficulties is that legally anything over 6% is taxed at the same rate that wine is taxed.  This is to curb binge drinking, but ultimately what happens is that the Brits just drink shots if they want to get pissed. As we all know from blue laws, people will always find a way to get drunk, no matter what is written.

What I do love though, is that though the microbrew culture is not in full swing, the culture is ingrained with beer.  No one will look at you weird if you want a beer for lunch, or on a Tuesday night think its a great idea to go running for 4-5 miles in a giant group simply so you have an excuse to drink (www.cityhash.org), which I might add is a total blast.

Even through it all, there is the tingling of the revolution. Brew Dog  has had explosive growth, with no signs of slowing down and a new brewery Camden Town, though not reaching as far from the Londoner palate has some very nicely balanced and crisp beers, extremely well made for food pairing. If you are ever in London, visit the brewery or grab a pint at a local pub, it is a truly enjoyable session beer.

The next 5 years, I believe, hold the same potential of the last 5 years in the US.  If anyone wants to get in on the action email me and I can tell you where to send your loads of cash... to become rich... beer rich ;)

Ultimately, its a million times better than Los Angeles, I can still find the same beers; its just a bit harder.

The Police

London...... London...... London....... so many police, that are so tremendously ineffective... at first site.  Before the new year the officials here in London politely asked the Occupy St. Pauls to vacate promptly. Due to my US upbringing I assumed this meant they would get about an hour before the pepper spray, batons, rubber bullets, and tear gas came out.

Nope, that is not what happened. In fact the only thing that has happened so far is the camp has gotten larger every time I run past it. They keep mainly to themselves, and frankly don't smell at all.  I do think that they could use some consulting on how to make their information tent more inviting. The main point is that although the have been sternly told to leave, their refusal has not led to an incredibly over the top response by authority figures.

We have also been watching quite a few of the cop shows. One cop pulled over some teens that were going quite a bit too fast around a circle.  Instead of just issuing a ticket the cop pulled the kid out, showed him how the inside of his tire was going completely bald because of how he was driving.  He also assisted the kid in changing his first tire.  The ticket still came, but a valuable lesson as well.

I like that the police that one sees on the street aren't even carrying pepper spray.  They are informative personnel with only the weapons of pen, paper, radio and the British legal system.  There are elite squads that do carry pepper spray, and even more elite squads that carry guns.  The more weapons they carry, the more they are trained, as the misuse of these often leads to public distrust like what happened this summer. What you would never, ever see here, is a university rentacop with minimal training, less education and a obvious hatred for college kids armed with military grade pepper spray or a NY cop with a vendetta against already contained women carrying the same.  What you generally see here is a mutual respect between public and public servants.

This all gives me the sense that the government is afraid, if only a little, of the people, and not the other way around.

Roasted Monkey Nuts

While on the topic of food, I discovered these today. Does this mean that baseball fans are monkeys?

Culinary Adventures

As I write this post, David is busy in the kitchen preparing some wild duck we picked up at Broadway Market today along with some Wild Boar ravioli.

The past few weeks have been filled with some new adventures in food. Some of which I’ve blogged about already (Percy Pigs and Haggis).

One of my favorite things about Europe in general, is the variety of food that is available to us. From the grocery stores to the markets, there’s always something new to try.

Recently we went to the Rivington Grill with our friend Theresa. They specialize in posh traditional British food.  There we saw something on the menu, you’d never see in the states: A warning to watch out for the shot pellets that might be left in game.

It was also there that we tried new things like mashed neeps (turnip), bubble and squeak (a fried patty of the remnants of Sunday roast – potatoes, carrots and such), and blood pudding. All quite delicious, although I can’t say I’ll try blood pudding again – didn’t like the texture. I think I get points for trying though! We’ll definitely be visiting the Rivington again.

Then there were these beauties (conveniently located next to my beer) that my colleagues introduced me to:

Basically they are Cheetos without the cheese, add fake roast beef flavor. Mmmm….no. I think that’s something you had to grow up on, but appreciate the opportunity to try all the varieties of crisps (chips) offered here. 

Haggis, Not a Myth

Readily available just in time for Robert Burns Day.

I have to admire the British use of most parts of the animal. However, I will not be trying Haggis. Sorry.

Percy Pigs

According to everyone here these are awesome:

I've been hearing about them for quite a while, but today my colleagues Brad and Pete thought we should buy some a client meeting. They are right, Percy Pigs are awesome:

And just so you know this is not candy, it's a sweet. They don't use the term candy and get quite upset when you use it. It's either "chocolate" (if it's chocolate) or "sweets" (for everything else). 

Siri is an Imperialist

Megan: “Yes, you heard me right Siri, I think you are an imperialist.”

Siri: “If you say so.”

Megan: “Why yes, yes I do.”

For those of you who don’t know, Siri (he in the UK, she in the US) is Apple iPhone’s voice assistant service.

After much ado about getting a “real” phone (see my previous post on surviving with a phone from 1999 until I could get an iPhone here, and David’s rebuttal to my post here), I have my iPhone. And it’s great, except for one HUGE flaw. See the below conversation:

Based on my research, this is a widespread issue and there is no way around it except to begin speaking with a British accent. So upon this discovery during Boozy Lunch and Museum Sunday (will explain in a future post), imagine three Americans taking turns to see who could get Siri to understand them.  We all lost, horribly.

No I didn’t say, “How many miles between here and Martin jealous.” (I actually said, “how many miles between here and Los Angeles.”)

I guess in the mean time we’ll just go on practicing: "The rain in Spain stays mostly in the plain. The rain in Spain stays mostly in the plain. The rain in Spain stays mostly in the plain…”