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In Search of a Better Beer [A Love Story]


Contributor and friend of D&C, Nick recounts the worries and glories of searching for beer in a new country. When Nick is not recovering from bouts of drunken debauchery, he whiles away the hours as a kick-ass User Experience Designer in London.

I departed the green shores of young New Zealand early last year, eagerly anticipating the welcome tastes of European beers. My grand idea was to write about every different beer that I consumed in an attempt to be like Michael Jackson--the beer writer, not the man(?) who grabs his crotch and squeals. My mouth could barely contain the drool as I thought of all the delicious and varied brews that were going to pass my lips. Some of my favourite drops while living in NZ were Continental beers such as Duvel and Leffe, plus I'd tasted several yummy ales and stouts from the Motherland (read: England). To say the least, I was excited.

I've been in the UK for over a year now and have written nothing.

They drink lagers over here.

You should have seen my face drop when I entered my first true English pub and all they had on offer was Kronenberg, Fosters, Guinness, a cider (blurk) and a couple of muddy ales (I'm sure they make them from dirt). Scanning the fridge behind the bar in the desperate hope of something interesting, my eyes met with nothing more than dirty Mexican Corona and his mate Stella "Wife Beater" Artois.

This just couldn't be true. This wasn't happening. For years I'd dreamed of every pub having wall-to-wall, top class beers from fine breweries all around Europe. I mean, Europe was right there! But no; the British have become very good at consuming mass produced, average-to-below quality products, and it seems that beer had fallen foul of this as well.

The one thing that brought me joy the pub down the road from my apartment that poured pints of Leffe. I don't remember the first night I discovered this but I've heard stories my actions

Yet all was not without hope. With some Kiwi ingenuity, a little bit of asking around, and a lot of searching I've found places that with a descent drop or two in their collection. Belgos is one. If you can get past the fact the serving staff are wearing either monk smocks or knight garb then you can salivate over the 30 or 40 Belgian and European beers they have on offer.

Despite my aversion to chain stores, one place that serves a beer I particularly like is Wagamamas. Granted, you need to endure bar noise worse than a school girl outing, and the 10 minute "Hey it's Christmas" queue to get in. Yet one quaff of the Asahi Black Draft makes it all worth it. The beer itself has many similarities to my old fave, Montheith's Black (I miss you!). The Asahi Black works well with the Japanese chomp because of its not-too-sweet chocolately / malty / coffee taste that isn't too strong. The other quite appealing aspect of it is that it isn't a thick dark beer as you would traditionally expect so is easy to drink.

Next up, the Great Exodus . . .

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