Drinking with Josip Broz

Slovenia 2 v England 3

Sunday 14 June 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Deity on a bike, I had the Swindon away, 5 all shivers at one point.

The Beer

I've had a right old ticker's dilemma there. Many places in Slovenia have bottles from a brewery called Bevog. If you ask at the bar for "beer from smaller Slovenian breweries", they'll recommend Bevog. A Slovenian beerhead fella I trust has Bevog as one of only two reliable Slovenian micros. I'm told the Bevog owner/brewer is Slovenian. I'm told he even lives in Slovenia. And can see the brewery across the way there in Bad Radkersburg from his house. Yeah, over there across the border in sodding AUSTRIA.  Sue me, I'm ticking 'em on this trip.

1. Reservoir Dogs, Grim Reaper from a bottle at 7.1% in the Paleta Bar, Camping Lucija. Gloriously opaque. Dull amber. No head to speak of. Smells clean & refreshing. Maybe a bit of peach, apricot going on. Quite complex. A bit the wrong way around. Bitter first, some sweetness in the finish. Sometimes happens. Doesn't bother me too much. The bitterness is nice & intense. Some ginger. Seems to become "a bit less of an IPA" as you get down it, as the sweetness dominates. It is NOT syrupy, sickly sweet though. More pleasant, fruity.

2. Bevog, Kramah IPA from a bottle at 7% in Hangar Bar, Izola. Wine gum sweet on the nose. Tongue swirling bitterness. Grows into a mouthfilling finish. Poured straw yellow. A bit opaque. The bitterness is good. But the further I get down it, the more it's upfront & dying. My mouth is a bit anaesthetic numb though.

3. Pelicon, Stout from a bottle at 5.5% in the Lord Byron Pub, Koper. Poured flat as a fart. Deepest black though. First impression. Tastes great. Lots going on. But all in sync. Some red fruit at first. Rich. Quickly gives way to some toast. Just a hint of smoke. And a gentle bitter finish. Roger all that.

4. Reservoir Dogs, Warrior, Pale Ale from a bottle at 5.6%. Bought at the Paleta Bar, Camping Lucija. But drank in the apartment. Quite malty in the mouth, without much sweetness. Lovely amber in the glass, with a New Zealand ODI shirt beige head. Puts me more in mind of an English bitter than a pale. There is some icing sugar dusting on my lips. But also a nice gentle bitterness. Good, simple, full of flavour.

5. Bevog, ABCD Dirty Deetz, from a bottle at 4.6%. Bought from my Slovenian Brothers at Hoppiness Beershop in Koper. Gold in the glass. Some apricot & peach in the smell. Refreshing. Upfront spicy bitterness. We're in hopped Pilsener or Kolsch territory here. Very good. Easy drinking, hop kick.

Ticks 6 & 7 were a Slovenian Black IPA Face Off. Reservoir Dogs, Starvation at 8% vs Bevog, Rudeen at 7.4%. Both in bottles from Hoppiness.

Rudeen has more upfront bitterness. Although on the second go, there is some blackcurrant sweetness. 

Starvation starts a little sweeter, toffee, treacle, then icing on the lips. Rich. The dominant initial impression is sweet. It does develop a slow bitter finish.

Starvation is definitely more complex. It's a superb beer. But I'm a one trick pony hophead. I'm giving it to the Bevog, Rudeen.

8. Bevog, Tak (Pale Ale) 5.5% on keg in Zlata Ladjica Pub, Ljubljana. Gold leaning amber in the glass. Mouthfilling flavour. Lovely, straight ahead pale. Bitterness comes in gently, but it's a stayer. Some citrus in the bitterness, but it's intense as well. Seville orange & marmalade near the bottom.

9. Carniola, Hop Head in a bottle at 6.7% in Zlata Ladjica. No. Irn Bru in the mouth. A sort of metallic taste. Orange jelly cube straight from the pack. Bittering sort of gets there in the end. But via route circuitous. No.

10. Pelicon, the 3rd Pill in a bottle at 6% in Petkovsek. Here we go. Rich, intense effervescent smell. So deliciously bitter, "you can smell it". Tropical, pineapple maybe. But all fruit, no sugar. They've got the bittering spot on. Grows. Grows. Grows. Stays. Great beer. I also had 3rd Pill on keg in Fany & Mary. If anything,that was even better.

Ticks 11-14 were on match day. So, I was busy doing my carer duties. You know the drill. My tasting notes are sketchier.

11. Bevog, Ond (Smoked Porter) on keg in Petkovsek at 6.3%. Loved that. Rich blackcurrant gives way to gentle toast & smoke. And then a good bitter hit finish. You could taste all the components & perfectly in balance. Great.

12. Mali Grad, India Pale Ale from a bottle at 6.5% in Petkovsek. Lovely Amber in the glass. Nice white head. Sweet on the nose, lavender even. Bittering is rich & intense. Keeps developing. Comes up as a long finish.

13. Vizer, Mirko Pale Ale from a bottle in Petkovsek at 5%. Came up more as an English Bitter than a new world pale. Some malt at first, with a little bit of candied fruit sugar.

14. Mali Grad, Pale Ale on keg at 4.6% in a last knockings cafe by the hotel.  Very refreshing, easy drinking pale.

15. Vizer, Gringo IPA from at bottle at 6% in Du Bop. Quite a bit of grapefruit in the smell. Taste is initial rocket leaf bitterness. But it does grow from there into a nice finish. Nice enough, but not right up there.

16. Bevog, Who Cares at 5.8% from a bottle in Du Bop. One of their experimental series. Put me in mind of some BrewDog efforts. Simple pale malt bill. See what the hops deliver. It was OK. The hops hit, but it seemed all a bit in the mix.

Right, 16 ticks ain't bad. Two candidates for Stand Out Beer Of The Trip. The Bevog, Ond Smoked Porter vs The Pelicon, the 3rd Pill IPA. I'm gonna give it to Pelicon (keg). Partly because it's made in Slovenia. Not a spit over the border in Austria.

Tourist

My second time in Slovenia. This time around it was five days on the coast at Piran. And two days in Ljubljana. Thoroughly & heartily recommend. Ljubljana is a superb weekend city break type place. And the coast is scenic & fairly quiet.

The Football

I thought England sort of did enough. For once, I was fairly low in a small stadium. So, I felt I could work out what was roughly happening. Initially, my prejudice that Premiership defenders don't have & don't like players running at them at pace was confirmed. At one point if Cahill had backed off any further he'd have been sat next to me. And FFS, the strikers just need to put the little dinks away & put their foot through it.

Sterling is great with the ball at his feet. On a string. He's also fairly difficult to knock off the ball. Wilshere took his goals well. Good strikes.

152/327