King For 13 Days

Andorra 0 v England 5 

FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group I 

Saturday 9 October 2021 

Estadi Nacional in Andorra la Vella was the 375th different ground I've watched football on. And the match was my 146th England Away game. In case you didn't know, Andorra is a Mountain Enclave State, sandwiched between & surrounded by Spain & France. I've been to see England play Andorra twice before, but both those games (March 2007 & September 2008) were played down the hill in Barcelona at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

A lot of the beer you can easily grab in Andorra is from Spanish Industrial breweries. Even those bars with interesting looking bottle fridges tended to have Spanish Micro Beers (rather than Andorran). But, you know, we're the Carrier Bag Firm. Our mission, which we have fucking chosen to accept, is to track down, drink & tick beers from the country we are in. In this case, Andorra.

But, let us be realistic. There were times when we were meeting & greeting other non bagging firms. And times when we were just generally sorting shit out. And times when we'd mooched so far up yet another mountain valley that we had to grab what was available. So, firstly, I'll report I pushed my Spanish Beer Ticks up to 54.

And a notable shout out to;

Estrella Damm, Complot IPA at 6.6%

True, from one of the Big Niños. But, lovely. Nice & complex. All floral & herby up top. But lots of malt as you get down it. In 2014, Damm set up a project with Prades Town Council (call it two hours West of Barcelona) and the Prades Cooperative to grow Hops there. August 2017 saw the first harvest. And the Prades Nugget Hop, along with 7 (seven) other Hops is used to brew this Complot Mediterranean IPA.

Honestly, I found the Andorran Beer Hunting a tad frustrating. The best beers, indeed the only ones I found on Keg (rather than bottles), came from La Birreria Andorra. They even have their own bar in the centre of town. That was our prime target. But, the first time we went in, although they had the clip on, the beer was off. Frustrating.

Anyway. Let's start at the top.

La Birreria, Trapella La Sogra, India Pale Lager on Keg

That had ALL the right things going on for an IPL. It was nice & malty. With a good whack of malt, leaning treacle.

La Birreria, Trapella Vikinga's, IPA on Keg (it said 6%)

There was just an initial hit of bitterness, that moved over for rich & intense peach sweetness.

Boris Mikhailovich Skossyreff was born in Lithuania in 1896. Following the Russian Revolution, Boris sought Political Asylum in England - Refugees Welcome, now as then. Later, he settled for a bit in the Netherlands. The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service marked him down as an International Swindler. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. He's ducked. And. He's dived. And, he's pitched up in Andorra in the 30s. And, as you do, he made a proposal to the Council Of The Valleys (effectively the Andorran Government) that he should be appointed King Of Andorra. Got some front the fella. He declared War on the Bishop of Urgell. Well, because it's the obvious thing to do, ain't it. Bish sent one Sergeant & three Plod to nick him. And, his thirteen day reign was over.

Nowadays, his legacy is celebrated by one of the Andorran Microbreweries - Boris Craft Beer.

Boris Craft Beer, White Ale (Wheat Beer) from a Bottle at 4%

Boris Craft Beer, Golden Ale from a Bottle at 4.5%

And, the best of the Boris's, beloved by the Old Pretender no doubt.

Boris Craft Beer, Brown Ale, from a Bottle at 5%.

That was gentle and well balanced. Some toffee & liquorice there, although hidden a bit.

Why the fuck would Borisy Baby declare war on the Bishop of Urgell? Well, as you ask. The hill we now know as Andorra was given by Charles The Bald (giggling here) to the Count Of Urgell in the 9th Century. It later passed into the Diocese Of Urgell. But after a bit of bluster, the Bishop was getting a bit shit scared & placed himself under the protection of the Lord Of Caboet. Unbelievably, the Count Of Foix became Caboet heir through marriage. So, stay with me. Andorra was owned by the Bishop Of Urgell who was under the protection of the Count Of Foix. And, you guessed it. They had a big fucking fall out.

It was all sorted out in 1278 by the signing of a pareage. An agreement that Andorra would be shared between the Count of Foix and the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell. The pareage, a feudal gizmo, recognised the principle of equality of rights shared by two rulers. And, Andorra's borders have remained unchanged since the signing in 1278.

So, when Boris declared War on the Bishop, he was declaring War on one of Andorra's two sovereigns. It wasn't just random.

And……

The 1278 pareage is celebrated by;

And & (that's the name of the brewery), 1278 Andorra, Blonde Ale from a Bottle at 4.1%

That was one of three ticks from And &, by far the most historically significant.

And &, Cervesa Rossa from a Bottle at 4.2%

And &, Cervesa Torrada from a Bottle at 6.3%

The next Andorran Microbrewery was Cervesa Alpha. They are responsible for the frankly flat as a fart & shockingly unappealing

Cervesa Alpha, Le Font Del Bisbe from a Bottle at 5.6%

and, the much better

Cervesa Alpha, La Dama Blanca D'Auvinyá from a Bottle at 5.1%

Completing the ELEVEN Andorran Ticks was;

Heikels Premium Helles from a Bottle at 4.9%.

At one stage of the trip, I thought I was having a Siesta. Turns out, as I'm in Greater Catalonia, I was actually having a Migdiaba. Matters not. Because whatever it was, the CBF woke me up from it with a start.

"Phil, the pitch is on fire……"

What. Can. You. Say?

Strange old atmosphere in what is a small ground at the best, with reduced capacity, and apparently zero interest from the locals. Many England fans had home end tickets. Stroll in the park for all concerned except the Beer Tickers.

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