The Session is back! I missed its most recent return last month (I blame holidays) and nearly missed it again (general life stuff), but managed find a brief window to put something together. The question posed is quite a simple one, and thanks to Ray & Jess for the prompt:
What’s the best beer you can drink at home right now?
And while the answer to the question itself is going to be quite straightforward, the context for drinking-at-home is a little more complex than it might sound, at least, in my interpretation. You see, I have a practically-pathological avoidance of ‘going out on Friday.’ On one hand this is because I AM TIRED by Friday afternoon, even during the most perfectly productive and easily-planned week possible. On the other hand, I believe that I have been thoroughly conditioned into this sort of schedule: back in the 1990s, that’s when all the good telly was on. The Fast Show, Shooting Stars, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Father Ted, Eurotrash and more were Friday night staples (only season two of Fortean TV made the Friday night schedule, as I’m sure my fellow weirdos recall); going out seemed like a waste in a pre-on demand era. If you missed these shows, what might you have to talk about in the pub when you did go out? And so, as someone whose ‘going out’ patterns were built and hardened as a postgrad in the UK during that time period…well, Friday night has always been Pizza Night.
These days, it’s…well, not rather more sedate, since it was largely that way to begin with, but it does involve better pizza and more child-friendly programming (or did, until said children got ‘old’ themselves and/or bored with our viewing choices – I have no regrets about saving The Great Pottery Throw-down or other life-affirming programming for this use case every week). When Friday rolls around, we order pizza and have a few beers. I always like to have at least one Irish beer to kick off the evening, and then I may have a more ‘exotic’ follow-up, but I have the following in constant Friday night rotation:
1) Ballykilcavan Bambrick’s Brown Ale, 5.8% – probably the most perfect ‘all-weather’ Irish beer; goes with nearly everything, and great to pair with dessert, too, if I remembered to pick some up. It’s also a great ‘at home’ beer as it’s rarely on tap anywhere around Dublin…but there are a few sneaky cans at Juno, just a short walk away. If you haven’t visited the gorgeous farm, well – do make it a priority if you’re in or visiting Ireland. Say hi to Cleo; she’s a proper doggy celebrity now.
2) Rascals Sidekick IPA, 5.3% – gather around, children, and you’ll hear the tale of how IPAs used to be clear and bitter, but with a nice malty heft to them. Relive that experience at home, with this wonderfully balanced beer – pour it from the can into a glass, hold it up to the light and look through! While this does appear on tap at Rascals itself as part of their regular lineup now, it’s not flip-flops distance like Juno; I love it on tap, but it’s a must-have for a relaxed Friday night at home.
3) Hope Limited Edition 34 ESB, 5.9% – yes, I understand the meaning of ‘limited edition,’ but I also live in hope (see what I did there?) that it may make regular re-appearances, and I’ve stocked up for the near term. It’s another goes-with-everything beer, and seems universally praised by those who have tried it – it’s not just me.
With some sort of must-do, scheduled event most other nights of the week, Pizza Night every Friday is a much-needed time to unwind and do a bit of semi-intentional carbo-loading before Parkrun on Saturday and whatever long-distance training is in the books for Sunday. Having the opportunity to support some fantastic independent Irish breweries from the comfort of your own couch is a great bonus.
Everything pairs well with loungewear.