This post is a part of the 2015 New Beer Every Day Beer Diary Challenge, #ottbeerdiary. Over the course of 2015, I will be trying a new beer every day. Please read the background in the link above, and enjoy reading about the most recently tasted beers below. If you’d like to join the challenge as well, let me know in the comments below, and be sure to check out Grown-up Travel Guide and his #grownupbeerdiary, where Andy Higgs came up with the diary format in use below. You can catch up on all of our posts as part of the challenge under the tag ottbeerdiary.
Day 184: July 3, 2015
Diary entry:
Today was a sightseeing day around London with my sisters and niece.
One of the themes of the weekend is Harry Potter, my niece’s favorite, so we started off with a run to King’s Cross Station for a stop by Platform 9 3/4. Holy mob scene! Definitely much busier than when I first popped by the platform in 2008! So much so, in fact, that they had to move the cart to a more open area to accommodate the crowds. They even have a whole Platform 9 3/4 shop there now, too!
From there it was down to Covent Garden for some coffee, some lunch, and some shopping.
We wandered through SoHo, and down to the embankment before settling in at Gordon’s Wine Bar for a bit, enjoying wine in a true wine cave, which looks like it exists in the area between the roof of a tube tunnel and where they cut through the bedrock to make the tunnel. Pretty cool!
The Beer:
Name: 1845
Style: English Strong Ale
Producer: Fuller, Smith & Turner
Alcohol content: 6.3%
Bottle size: 0.5l
Purchased from: The Churchill Arms in Kensington, London
The Churchill Arms may look like a bit of a dainty pub from the outside, covered in flowers, and sitting in a fancyish looking neighborhood, but when you see the crowd outside, you have to wonder why. It may be in large part due to its food, which is some of the better Thai food available in town. The beer selections are pretty much the full line of beers by Fuller’s, most of which either did not jump out at me or I had tried before. I did try the Honey Dew on draft first, but it was not all that great for me. I spied this bottle in their cooler behind the bar, and decided to give it a shot. Much better! Very nice, dry bitterness and fruity malt flavors.
Commercial Description:
1845 is a strong, rich, dark beer brewed to 6.3% ABV. It is known for its sweet fruitcake aroma, fruity taste and dry finish. The beer is allowed to mature for 100 days prior to its release, and, as a bottle-conditioned ale, it continues to develop in flavour for as long as it sits unopened thanks to a residue of live yeast in the bottle.
