Dan's Beer Diary - The first chapter...

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When you are on a long holiday, you come up with little ideas in your spare time while your partner (or should I say fiancé) is showering, drying their hair, packing, etc, etc. My latest idea is a beer diary which tracks the different weird and wonderful golden nectar that I consume on my holiday. Of course I won’t track all the beers I drink, everyone knows what Fosters and Carlsberg is. Instead I will concentrate on finding the local beers, the true heart of a country, and include a small review and photo.

I stumbled upon this idea after the completion of our first month of travel so I will have to summarise the beers already consumed. Unfortunately these beers are without photos (except for the Everest and Kingfisher beer), something I will ensure is included for the future diary entries.

I’m sure there are a few blokes reading this who are bored with the stories of trekking and sightseeing so I hope this adds a little variety...

Everest, Nepal (Brewed in Nepal) - The number one beer in Nepal due to its mystical mountain climbing powers. Rumour has it that Sir Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing used to drink this beer instead of bottled oxygen during their successful summit of Everest in 1953. The only question still unanswered is why the Southern Cross constellation (also on the Australian flag) is shown on the bottle?! Last time I was on the north face of Everest I don’t recall seeing this star formation...

Everest retails for Rs. 80 (70p) in beer shops and Rs. 200 (£1.70) on the Annapurna Trail. This quickly increases to Rs. 300 (£2.50) above 3,000 metres, but is not available above 4,000 metres as it is now considered cheating to use such assistance above this height.


Nepal Ice, Nepal (Brewed in Nepal) - The cheaper brother of Everest, this beer tries to emulate the lofty highs of its favoured sibling but just can’t seem to get to the summit. Preferred beer of Nepalese winos due to the cheaper price.


Turborg, Nepal (Brewed in Copenhagen) - Appears to be the preferred imported beer in Nepal, and for good reason. It has a deep malty taste which is refreshing, yet subtle.


Kingfisher, India (Brewed in India) - Brewed with the stagnant water of India, this local beer is mild in taste and frankly, pretty average. Comes in a 650ml bottle and retails for Rs. 90 (£1.20) from beer shop and between Rs. 150 (£2) to Rs. 300 (£4) from a restaurant. Can’t say I would recommend it and wouldn’t order it if there was a better option... where is all the Cobra?!?

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Photos

Everest
Better than bottled oxygen...

Everest 2
Toasting Everest beer after my successful climb to 4,200 metres using nothing but beer and raw talent... and some whiskey.

Kingfisher
It might look good but it lacks substance and quality...

Beer
Forcing one down... not the best beer but it does the job...

Comments

[Chris]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!!!!!!!!! ...brrrrrrrrrrrp..........hic!

[Andrew]

Southern Cross
The Southern Cross is on the bottle because Sir Edmund Hillary was a New Zealander, and it is also on the New Zealand flag.