Salvator, Hardcore, Hooky and Coopers.

My old pals - Barry, Phil, Stevo, Karl and Erin stopped in last Friday for Jenga and beers. Unfortunately the game format of the night had to be altered due to the lack of remembrance on Barry's behalf. We dug out 'Operation'. As the steady hand wouldn't be my forte, I was disqualified 1st Round for leaving the ice-cream cone in the operated gut...... I'm far better at Jenga, i think.

Phil had a couple of Paulaner Salvators. At 7.9% he'd severe difficulty with sentence structure and coordination. This is a full bodied beer - round ripe fruit palate with a slight malty finish and a nice balanced sweetness.

Barry and I shared a few Samuel Adams Hardcore ciders. Really good easy drinking cider. Red apple flavour, a medium dry palate with good carbonation. Bar also had a few Longueville Cidre de recoltant. I've posted on this before and it definitely slots into my top 20.

Steve, Erin and myself had a few Coopers sparkling ale. This is brewed to be consumed somewhere in Western Australia but didn't taste bad on Nutgrove avenue. Fresh, zesty palate. Citrus fruit with a nice crisp dry finish. Ice cold with some 40degree weather and a bucket of Oporto Chicken..... Almost contemplate doing time for this.

Karl, a bag of McCoys barbecue and a Hooky Gold. He reckoned it went better with these than the toffee crisp that followed. Golden ale, a bit of an all rounder. Easy drinking and a great alternative to a commercial lager.

A late night, loads of reminiscing, good beer and even better stories.

Ruthxx