So,Johnny,what mks youu thunk i'vee gott ann opinnionn on bere then?
hic...
Actually it's one of my favoritest subjects! Once,in my younger days
(although,I'm not quite as old as the man who collects different coloured
brake fluids,not quite,but almost),I drank more readily of the amber
nectare!,Ahhh Sherbert,the stuff of life itself,manna from on
high:Beer,origin:middle english"ber",from old english"beor",akin to old high
german "bior"some things changeth not,my old beer swilling chum Johhy!
You will no doubt have noted that the local areas/chapters of the Triumph
Sports Six Club meet in the following venues:The Cock & Pheasant,Axe &
Cleaver,Red Lion, Cock Inn,Black Bull,White Swan,Crown Inn,George &
Dragon,White Hart,Star,Fox Inn,Boars Head Inn,Merry Hill,Seven Stars,Parsons
Pig,Eagle & Child,White Lion,We Anchor in Hope,Inn on The Pond,Black
Castle,Plume of Feathers,Three Magpies etc.
I think you get the picture,but where,pray tell do our colonial cousins hold
their meetings? hmm,let's see,each others homes,(that's no good we'd have to
behave!),breakfast bars,(nice idea,but no,too early for me),at pizza
restaurants,(yuk),
at car dealerships,in motel car parks,(please not)...I rest my case,(my empty
jug actually).,hint hint...My favorite country for exploring new beery
experiences is without a doubt,Belgium,with over 400 independent breweries
dating back several hundred years,they must know something! remember,if you
will that the old Standard-Triumph assembly plant at Mechelen/Malines is now
being used as a sorage facility for beer,(from Little British Cars to Lots of
Belgian Cans!),TSSC Belgium make a point of drinking that "Jupiler" no,not
Jupiter! beer at every possible opportunity.
"servir frais,koel schenken" "Biere de luxe fabriquee en Belgique par la
Br.Jupiler"
I remember,back in 91,when I attended the last Standard-Triumph International
Rally which took place over in Belgium,I was a passenger in a particular
hand-painted red 2L Triumph Vitesse Van,(don't ask),it had but two seats up
front,and we drove the 4 or 5 short miles from the rally/convention site to
the little town of Zelzate,It was built along each side of a wide road with
cars parked on a grassy bit in the middle,we parked up and discorged our four
other passengers,triumph enthusiasts to a man,from the back of the 2-seater
vehicle. we then started out with the intention of finding our friends who
had arrived before us,at the inn at the top end of one side of the street,it
was about 10pm and we felt it our bounden duty to try just one beer,before we
left the hostelry,then visited the next ale house,then the next
etc,etc,well,by 4am (liberal drinking hours in Belgium),we arrived at the
last establishment,and found ourselves back where we started but on the
opposite side of the street! Our erstwhile friends were therein,success! We
then made our way back to the rally site to camp out in our tents in the
rather damp field. Quite exactly why the Belgian police at the roadblock were
unable to see the four chums hiding under the blankets in the back of the
Vitesse van I really cannot say,but it was dark,and I think they were rather
shocked to see such a strange old english registered LBC in the middle of the
night on a deserted country road...suffice to say it was all quite illegal.
however,the point of the story is that although we all got more than a little
merry,none of us had a hangover next day,so it proves that belgian beer is
free from nasty chemical additives and that stuff that gives you hangovers.
OK,that's enough from me on beer,but I could go on to tell how my office is
directly opposite the Olympia Exhibition Centre in Kensington,London,where
the great British Beer Festival takes place,with real ale in unending
supply,but then again I have my drinking problem...ie:I've only got one
mouth!!! Perhaps more from me on the beer subject later? I haven't mentioned
Australia yet!or Finland,or Norway,or Germany or America etc etc...Bottoms Up
Leon (aka The Beer Hunter).
|