Grimbergen's In Town!

Here's a blonde with good head - Grimbergen Blonde (6.7%)

Did you know that Luen Heng Sdn Bhd. (a subsidiary of Carlsberg) was the champion that had the foresight to bring in Hoegaarden into this market eons ago when it was literally unheard of in this market? While it has now become a very popular, hip, drink to be seen with these past few years,  it is THE BEER that made me change my mind about beers almost 10 years ago. So that's my way of saying, I liked it before it was even cool to like it (/kiasu).... and also indirectly admitting that I'm kinda.... old. :(

So, these guys at Carlsberg and Luen Heng have been very busy bees. Over the past couple of years, they've been bringing in other really awesome imported beers like Kronenbourg 1664, Kronenbourg Blanc, Asahi, Little Ceatures, among others, and just last week, Grimbergen ..... on TAP. YEAY!

DIY Pina Colada (Cheat One)

L to R: "Pina Colada", Bacardi, Pineapple Juice, Malibu

The mere mention or even thought of the name of the drink always reminds me of this cute oldie by Rupert Holmes' called Escape. Oh, you know... the one that goes like:

"If you like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
If you're not into yoga
If you have half a brain
If you'd like making love at midnight
In the dunes on the Cape
Then I'm the love that you've looked for
Write to me and escape".

.... and I always remember how it had this really funny but totally weird ending because the singer finds out that his blind date was....[SPOILER ALERT: SKIP THE NEXT LINE IF YOU LIVED IN A CAVE ALL YOUR LIFE OR ARE TOO YOUNG..AND THUS, DON'T KNOW THE LYRICS TO THIS SONG]....

Victoria Bitter, Revisited

A Bottle of Victorian Bitter, All By Its Lonesome.

Studying in Sydney, Australia (a shout out to all the crew from IHMA, Sydney!) was when I truly had my first real experience of alcohol - Toohey's, shitty cheap wine from a carton boxes, whiskey Coke, Kahlua milk, XXX, Victoria Bitter and a taste of some other cocktails and shots.

Don't need to say how I felt about the shitty cheap wines because I believe it's a universal understanding that they truly SUCK, but I can tell you back then I had no love for beer in any form. It won't be an exaggeration to even say I hated it. My virgin tongue couldn't stomach the bitter after-taste at all. I especially hated Victoria Bitter because it was especially ... bitter.

However, fast forward (more or less)10 years to today, you can safely say that I now drink pretty much anything - beer, wine, spirits. But I'm using the words "pretty much" very, very loosely (give a girl her artistic license can ah? :p )

True Story, Bro

Seen on the back of a Craftbrews' staff's tshirt:

Love Yourself. Stop Drinking Crappy Beers.

Word.

Happy new week!

Brothers Cider is Yum!

5 Brothers In a Row

I have a confession to make. I actually do enjoy Singapore. At least, some aspects of it. One of the biggest reasons why I enjoy Singapore is the fact that it's a treasure trove for all sorts of booze brands.

Introducing Brothers cider - a brand of pear cider from England which I've had the privilege to savour at my short visit to Singapore.

Ice Cold Taps

Brussels' Ice Cold Taps

If I were the king of the world, I would mandate all draught taps AND glasses be frozen. Simply because everything tastes heavenly that way.

I know a place in Singapore that does this - Ice Cold Beer (specially the one along Emerald HIll). My second home while I was there. Every other day, I would park my butt at the bar and order myself an ice cold Hoegaarden just to wind down, washed down with their delicious chicken wings or hotdog. Do you have any idea how good ice cold beer in an ice cold mug feels after a long, long day at work in Singapore? Words can't describe. And oh how much I miss it!

Back in Malaysia, we do have some places that HAS frozen taps. The taps illustrated above are from Brussels. It really makes a difference to my drinking experience. But I haven't had the chance of coming across bars that serves ice cold beer in ice cold mugs. It's usually one or the other and the experience is just NOT COMPLETE.

Please god! Bring Ice Cold Beer to Malaysia! Please please please!

GAB's Special

The Tavern's Special

Man, I hope I'm not breaking any rules here by sharing this.

This awesome testing concoction is made out of..... half a pint of Cider mixed with....

Guinness.

And did I say that it is awesome? It's awesome!

The cider's sour acidity is balanced out by Guinness's bitterness. So it's really easy to drink.

This easy to drink smooth, slightly malty and tangy mix is something the guys at GAB like to call  "The Special".

If you ever get the privilege of checking out the Tavern, try to ask for one at the friendly bartender while you're there.

It's a glassful of Yum!

No ABV Beer? But Why?

A Joke. In a Bottle.

Non-Alcoholic beer? Really? Why not just call it Orange Malt Drink?

What will we come up next? Non-Pork Bacon? Oh wait, we already have that, don't we?

Beef bacon? Turkey bacon?

Haha. Hahaha. Hah.

Totally defeats the whole spirit of this thing.

Spirit! Haha. Hahaha. Hah.

I totally crack myself up.

Snow Beer

A Glass of Snowy Goodness

Somewhere deep inside Cheras, lies this frozen beauty awaiting to be consumed at some ah pek coffee shop called 1008.

What's so special about it? Well, the bottle's frozen, and so is the drinking glass. Once in contact with the glass, the beer turns into bits of ice. Ice blended beer - who would've thunk?

Once you pick your chin up from the floor and get over the novelty, the beer goes down so quickly and before you know it, you're asking for another bottle. And another. And another.

Paired with the in-house special, sinfully delicious glazed fried pork - it's like a little bit of heaven on earth.

Your wallet won't thank you (about RM18 per btl of large frozen Heineken), but your taste buds sure would. It's just a matter of prioritising ain't it? Are you really going to allow your screaming wallet to boss you around? No, I don't think so.

Hic.

Sapporo on Tap

Had a hankering for Asahi on tap in an ice cold mug. Something which Singapore has loads of but in Malaysia, NADA. NONE. MEI YOU. TAKDE. YILEK!

However, luckily for me, someone from either the top floor or the bottom one heard my cries and Bar Madrid @ Jaya One has a something almost as good - Sapporo on tap. Apparently it's the Only joint that does that in Malaysia.

For RM38++, you get 2 mugs for the price of one before 7pm. 1.5 mugs for the price of one after 7pm. Is that awesome or what?

The beer did not taste like water. The mug was chilled (would prefer it FROZEN though, why don't people do that here? This really is mind-boggling since it's really not rocket science why it should be done = make your customers happy = more orders = more money = owner happy!). The perfect beverage to refresh yourself with after a long, hot, humid day. What more could a girl ask for? (apart from the perfect man, diamonds, a sports car, expensive holidays..... but let's be realistic - a mug of ice cold beer's easier to get. :P)

FA + Cold Beer = Lots of Happehs

Do you know why I'm wearing a shit eating grin? That's because I am batshit happy.

Yamseng!