Blue-eyed Beer-loving Lithuanian Beauty

[redsturgeon]

Yes this mythical creature does exist (or was it the effect of a dozen beers?) In retrospect it might have worked better alliteratively if she had been Belarussian.

To start at the very beginning...

The day began with a text at 9am, saying my ticket for the GBBF was with a guy called Simon and I should meet him at Winchester station for the 10.20 to Waterloo. Fortunately we would be travelling only as far as Clapham Junction to change for Olympia, so hopefully avoiding the biggest scenes of wreckage seen at Waterloo since Wellington defeated Napoleon.

First problem was that it was raining heavily, I'd planned to cycle to the station but did not fancy spending the day in damp clothes so decided to drive my daughter's car there instead. She needed a lift to our office near the station so I dropped her off, parked the car and texted her its location so she could drive it home.

Arrived at the station to face a twenty person queue for the ticket office with one clerk on duty and an old dear at the window seemingly wanting the times of trains for multiple destinations across the UK. Nothing else for it, I would have to brave the infamous BR ticket machine. I don't think I have ever quite managed to get the correct ticket out of one of these things, my own fault entirely and I'm sure if I used the thing regularly it would be easy but the fact I have only used it about once a year means that I have to completely relearn it every time...under pressure from the mounting queue of commuters behind me.

Fortunately help was on hand and by playing dumb (not difficult) I was able to enlist the help of a hi-viz bedecked station employee who produced a ticket from the machine in about 5 seconds! Over to platform one and I immediately spot a group of young men wearing matching beer related T shirts.

"Anyone here called Simon?" I ask hopefully.

A slightly confused group turns towards me and I spot they are from the Broken Bridge Brewery rather than the Red Cat crowd that I am going with. I explain this and one of them says that he knows Simon (who I have never met) and he is not on the platform.

At this point the train arrives...5 minutes early! Unheard of, surprised, I ask the guard who confirms that it is indeed the 10.20 to Waterloo and blames the problem at the terminus for the early arrival. This could be the answer to late trains, I thought, just dig up half the platforms of the busiest station on the UK and the trains suddenly arrive early!

I text Simon, "The train's here! Where are you?"

"Behind you", came the familiar voice of Jim the brewer from Red Cat with Simon and Rabbit(don't ask), the manager from my local, just buying their tickets from the machine and only managing to get them to Clapham rather than Olympia.
"We'll cross that bridge later," they said as we all ran to the train to board just before it rolled off towards London and beer!

The carriage was packed as we surrounded a guy trying to hog a whole four seats around a table with various coats, bags , laptops, phones and spreadsheets. There was much huffing as he moved his kit so that we could grab three seats while Simon sat across the aisle talking with his mates from yet another brewery, Flower Pots from Cheriton. This certainly was the brewers special to Olympia! Mr spreadsheet indulged in much huffing and puffing all the way to Woking where he turned to me with a brusque, "I need to get off here!" A please would not have hurt, I thought but probably too much to expect these days from the harassed salaryman.

Our train trundled on towards Clapham grinding to a halt about two miles from that famous junction.

""Bing bong! We apologise for the delay but there has been a points failure at Waterloo" .

I remembered hearing on the news on Monday that any signal or points failure during the works would be potentially catastrophic so I was pleasantly surprised when we rolled into Clapham just five minutes later. Here the guys spotted the train to Olympia waiting at platform 16 so we rushed to board and as the train rolled Northwards discussion began on the strategy for exiting the station at Olympia with the wrong ticket.

"I think I'll just leap the barrier," said Simon. I reminded him that in these days of heighten security and armed police that might not be a wise move.

" I just use my oyster card to tap out" said Jim. I don't think you can tap out without having tapped in I suggested.

"Let's just play it by ear," said Rabbit.

In fact it was all very easy and the tickets worked fine!

Our goal lay before us and it was still only 11.45, so we joined the queue and by 12.05 we were already sampling our first beers!

We grabbed a table by the Belgian beer bar and I consulted my list.

First up was a De Ranke XX bitter. Hoppy but not in your face and at 6% a fresh drinking bitter that hid its alcohol content well.

Next I thought I would stay on the De Ranke theme and try their Saison, I'd been enjoying the Red cat Saison at my local so I thought I'd see how in compared. I thought it showed the Red cat offering in a good light, both seem to lack the "farmyard" funkiness that can sometimes be overpowering in a saison and this offering was light and refreshing at 5% ABV.

Fortunately the Italian beers were available at the same bar so I was able to grab Del Ducato Madamoiselle, a clean Viennese style lager.

I was now a couple of hours into the drinking so thought I would up the ante to try Noir de Dottignies at 9%, one of my dark and caramelly favourites. I actually had the Noir in my hands when I looked across at the bottles in the fridge and saw about a dozen brown trappist beer bottles with no labels.
This could only mean one thing...I pointed

"Are those what I think they are?" I asked the woman serving me.

"Yes" she replied in hushed tones, "Westvleteren"

"How much?"

"£16 a bottle!"

I took an "8" and a "12" and hurried back to the table.

At the table I offered samples to my group who had never had the good fortune to try this nectar since it is generally only available on the grey market outside the Abbey of St Sixtus where it is brewed. They loved it of course.

At this point I received a text from another beer loving Fool, our own Hallucigenia.

I texted back "I am by the Belgian Bar...I have Westvleteren...bring a glass!"

"I can think of worse ways to spend a day", came the reply and within seconds he appeared.

After the Westie 8 and 12 the day seemed to take a turn for the more muddled in my memory but here are the bits I can recall.

Our Hal is indeed a mine of information on all things including beer and he led me away from the Belgian bar to sample with Titanic Plum Porter and Fullers Vintage. It was while queuing for the later that we bumped into the eponymous Lithuanian who was marketeer for a range of bars in Vilnius. She was a delight in every way with the unique combination of the most piercing blue eyes and knowledge of British beer with MIld being her specialist topic.

After savouring the Fullers we then went on to a whirlwind tour of Milds of Britain, led by the polymath that is Hallucigenia.

She was most taken by Hal and even asked if he would be around the next day to continue her education but then like a Lithuanian Cinderella, the clock struck 6 and she had to go...she did not leave her glass nor a slipper, nor a phone number...although online beer profiles may have been exchanged.

The journey home was a blur of snoozing on the train between bouts of hiccups. My daughter picked me up at the station and dropped me home before she went off to the pub...ahh to energy of youth.

I went to bed immediately, fell into a coma and woke this morning at 8 with a very sore head!

Next year I will be more sensible...

John

[Hallucigenia]

Yes this mythical creature does exist (or was it the effect of a dozen beers?) In retrospect it might have worked better alliteratively if she had been Belarussian.

No, it wasn't just beer goggles, I have pictures! Great to meet you, the double Westvleteren was an unexpected treat and cask Fulllers Vintage was a highlight, but I must admit I was a bit disapppointed by the beer overall - maybe I was just a bit unlucky, or just distracted by the Baltic beauty. We bumped into each other later, she'd gone to the tutored tasting of the winners, but then her friends had arrived who I suspect were a more appealing prospect than me after 8 hours on the beers. Still managed a swift one at the Harp later, but I'm really not sure how I managed to wake up at my station, the 3 hours sleep the night before had really caught up with me. And I didn't drop my glass, which was an improvement on last year when it didn't make it out of Shepherd's Bush station....

[Clitheroekid]

After the Westie 8 and 12 the day seemed to take a turn for the more muddled in my memory but here are the bits I can recall.

Sounds like quite an epic day!

As a matter of interest, how much of each beer would you typically drink? The only reason I ask is that with strengths of 5% - 10% even a half of each would probably have me incoherent after a couple of hours!

[redsturgeon]

After the Westie 8 and 12 the day seemed to take a turn for the more muddled in my memory but here are the bits I can recall.

Sounds like quite an epic day!

As a matter of interest, how much of each beer would you typically drink? The only reason I ask is that with strengths of 5% - 10% even a half of each would probably have me incoherent after a couple of hours!

It was indeed epic...just about recovered before a marathon card game last night!

You can buy 1/3rd, half pint or full pint glasses and I usually use a tasting glass, tulip shaped one third for most beers. I still drank too much! The bottled beers a drank were mainly 330ml bottles (I think).

Incoherence set in after about five hours!

John

[JMN2]

Excellent write-up. I had Boulder Colorado brewery's house porter, a German dunkel, and a draft Girardin Kriek as a pick-me-up, the rest were mostly pale cask ales, one that comes to mind was Flux. Wednesday and Thursday, mind you...