Tag Archives: Scotland

Blaven

Posted on by
Reply

A dear friend brought this back from her trip to the U.K. I certainly haven’t seen it in any of my local retailers. Heck, I don’t know that I’ve seen anything from Isle of Skye.

They say:

The strongest of the regular Skye ales, Bla Bheinn, the blue mountain, is a deep golden ale, malty and full-bodied, with a fruity, hoppy character and a delightful Fuggles hop aroma. Originally a winter ale, now available all year round due to demand.

It pours a nice clear golden color with an off-white head a couple fingers’ thick.
Slightly fruity aroma which reminds me of a not-quite-ripe peach. It has a big body but only about 5% ABV which is a little surprising. As it warms I’m getting a hint of vanilla.

This is pretty good; I’m glad it made it over the Atlantic.

Tennent’s Lager

Posted on by
Reply

Beer-a-Day #262Tennent's Lager

Born in 1885, Tennent’s was the first lager to be brewed in Scotland, and has remained the market leader and one of Scotland’s favorite beers since then.

Tennent’s Lager, [sic] has a distinctive, crisp and satisfying flavor with a fresh, bright appearance. Made entirely from natural ingredients, including the finest Scottish barley & the purest Highland water, Tennent’s beers are part of Scottish history and at the very heart of Scottish culture.

This was, until very recently, an InBev brand. It was acquired by Irish cider maker C&C (maker of Magners) when Anheuser-Busch InBev spun off all of their Irish, Northern Irish, and Scottish brands. According to the BBC, Tennent’s accounts for 55% of pub sales in Scotland.

Yeah, I know. Another light European lager in a green bottle. I thought I was done.

Pale fizzy yellow, with a big white head. Slightly lightstruck, with precious little aroma beyond that. Flavor is light, and leaves an odd chalky film on my tongue. Fresh, it might be quaffable. This is barely potable.

Tennent’s

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

Posted on by
2

Harviestoun Old Engine OilBeer-a-Day #100

Huzzah! Triple digits!

I didn’t put much (read: any) thought into what I should have for beer number one hundred, but this seems like a good choice. Says the label: “Viscous. Chocolatey. Roasty.” Those sound good. Actually, they’re three adjectives that could be assigned to me from time to time.

(Enough blathering. Open the bottle.)

Not as black as some other beers I’ve had lately, but pretty darn opaque in the glass, with a creamy medium brown head. Primarily chocolate in the aroma. Big roasty flavor (just like they promised) with a good hop bite. I find it hard to believe that it’s only 6% ABV.

A good choice to hit the century mark, if I do say so myself.

Harviestoun Brewery

Next up in online gaming: anti-drunk driving ads

Posted on by
Reply

The Scottish government is spending £10,000 to display advertising in Xbox Live games. All in an effort to reach younger drivers before they drink and drive.

BBC: Xbox games tackle drink drivingdrunk-driving-psa-xbox-live.jpg

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said the innovative initiative was a “huge opportunity” to get the anti-drink driving message to a new audience.

Mr Stevenson said: “With statistics showing that road deaths, particularly among young people, are continuing to rise, it is clear we must look at new ways of getting road safety messages across.

“This is exactly the kind of initiative we should be trying.

“It is innovative, it is new, and it is far removed from the more traditional methods we have been using. I believe that is what we need if we are to reverse the number of Scots families suffering the tragedy of a loved one being lost.”

According to the BBC, more than 70% of 15 to 24 year olds in the UK have a gaming console in their home.

On the one hand, I think this is genius. I’m an “old guy”, and I spend more and more of my time online and less interacting with “traditional media”. Younger people certainly spend an even higher percentage of their time wired in. If you want to reach them, you need to go where they are.

On the other, as a gamer, I lament this further intrusion into my escape from the everyday. I didn’t like it when ads appeared in PlanetSide, and if I actually had time to have an Xbox and a Live account, I’m sure I wouldn’t like them there either. I’m glad that the ads will be “non-intrusive and subtle”, but it just still feels wrong to me.

(via Boing Boing (via Wonderland))

Five centuries of drinking in Edinburgh

Posted on by
1

The Museum of Edinburgh, on the Royal Mile, will be running an exhibition on the full social and cultural impact of alcohol and drinking in the Capital going back over 500 years.

The exhibition, entitled “Here’s Tae Us!” and will be at the museum from December 10 to March 3.

It will chart the history of some of the Capital’s oldest bars, the rise of temperance societies in the 19th century, the cultural change in the 1960s – when women first began to regularly socialise in the city’s bars – and the relaxation of laws curbing Sunday drinking in the early 1990s.

Famous landlords and landladies will be recalled, including Willie Ross, the famously rude boss of the Oxford Bar in the city centre, and Betty Moss, who used to signal last orders at the Old Chain Pier, in Newhaven, by firing a starting pistol and would clear drinkers with the use of a sword.

It will also have a large collection of products featuring the Tennents “Lager Lovelies”, who began appearing on the Tennents’ cans and remained a staple for over 30 years.

They came about by accident after Tennent’s, which was already featuring scenic pictures of Scotland on their cans, started using pictures of model Ann Johanson, who featured in a series of images.

TV presenter Carol Smillie has previously spoken of her disappointment at missing out on the chance to be a “can-girl” when she was an aspiring model.

Edinburgh Evening News: Show cheers bevvy of beauties

Tennent’s Lager Lovelies Archive