Mmmm, money

So I had a bottle of Broughton's exciseman (scottish) ale last evening, the 80/-. All of that punctuation means shilling, by the way, which I'll be calling it from here on, 80 shilling. This, by the way, referred (I think) to a mark on the cask made by the exciseman, referring to the amount of duty owing, and this varied in shilling amounts according to the strength of the beer. This one is 4.6%.

Quite a nice beer - a little sweet, probably, for some tastes, but as a single bottle it's fine. It's dark, and malty, according to the website, and I'm inclined to agree with it - though I'm no expert... The kind of beer that is unremarkably good, if you know what I mean - just as it is not among the worst I've had, neither is it among the best, but that of course is personal taste! Of course, it didn't taste of money!

Beers....

Last night, I indulged in some old engine oil, or should I say Old Engine Oil - a "dark beer" from Scotland. Apparently, the original master brewer of the brewery had worked for Ford in his previous life, and this beer reminded him of the engine oil.....Now, not having ever drank engine oil (5W40, or even 10W40) I can't say it tastes like it, but it has the colour alright!

It's not as viscous as you'd think - with a name like that you'd expect something gloopy, but it's black and more like stout than a beer. Chocolate certainly does live somewhere in it, but it's bitter too. This would probably be an acquired taste, but you can certainly see there's quality in it. At 6% ABV, you shouldn't knock them back either!

As for my own, it's bubbling away. Had a little taster earlier today, and checked the specific gravity - down to 1.02 from 1.052 last week, so maybe halfway there? Taste still isn't great, but it's a little more beery than it was last week! More on that as it comes along.

More books!

Ian Rankin's a great writer. Books of his just hit the spot, readable and enjoyable. Just finished his "Knots and Crosses," where Detective Sergeant Rebus grapples with the case of somebody who's abducting and murdering girls for no apparent reason. Set in moody Edinburgh, there's a good atmosphere in the Rebus books, where you feel you're watching part of the underworld rather than "normal" life!

Having been to Edinburgh a number of occasions helps, though, but this is by no means a requirement for reading Rankin! Very good fiction this. I have the whole series to read, well, apart from the first!

A little easier to get up this morning, edging ever so slightly back into a routine. Back for my first 2007 swim, so I'll probably hurt tomorrow.