UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifiers Group C
Monday 20 November 2023
Played at Tose Proeski Arena, Skopje
England Away Game #153
North Macedonian Beer Ticks #6
NFDR
No Football Don't Read
Alcohol Free Heineken on sale in the ground. So, expecting a big demand, they went with this impressive pre-pour. Look at the queues!!!
The other main highlight in the ground was the excellent and (I guess) impromptu tracksuit and bib game from the N Macedonian ballpersons. This one shows them lining up behind the goal as Enis Bardhi steps up for the penalty and opening goal for the North Ms.
The Horrendous Lemons were sorted for Es. But not Wizz. We were let down somewhat by schedule changes from our chosen supplier - WizzAir. That truncated our trip to just two days. Actually arriving on match day FFS.
So truncated in fact, that the advance beer hunting party, upon finding there was only ONE bottle of a particular limited edition beer left on the shelf, bought it for me and saved it on the table, before I had even landed at Skopje Airport.
My Peoples. They were on Cask Mild obvs.
Marsky Matzz, xBEERIMENT 2023 #13, Kiwi Chocolate Coffee Stout from a Bottle at unknown abv.
That was bought in the excellent Beershop Sakim Pivo, Maksim Gorki 25/4, Skopje 1000. And consumed in the equally excellent MicroPub Skopje (next door). I'm not sure of the exact relationship. But, you could grab a bottle or tin off the shelf in the BeerShop, carry it next door to the MicroPub, where you'd be charged for it, top lifted off, glass produced.
The MicroPub itself had four on Keg.
Pivolabs (Skopje), VEDA, Hoppy Wheat on Keg at 5.2%
That was a great HopfenWeiss style. Some underpinning spice (?coriander). But all helped out by them Hops.
Pivolabs, FOKS Pale Ale on Keg at 6%
A lovely, strong, malty pale. Nice and old skool. With minimal fucking about.
Gluvo Kuche notIPA, on Keg at (the barman guessed 5%)
Oddity. This was in a bar/restaurant called Gluvo Kuche. There was an impressive chalkboard list of North Macedonian & Serbian micro beers. As the Carrier Bag Firm pointed to each one, we were told - Sorry, Gone.
Indeed, as we regrouped at a table to decide how to handle the situation, a stepladder was produced, chalk was produced, and an X was chalked against every beer that was off. I got the distinct impression nobody had asked for a beer off that board since Balkanisation. Lot of fucking Xs man.
The intel was that the IPA on Keg was a House Beer, but was different to the House Beer listed on the menu, so it was not IPA. Love that. Make sure we understand what the beer isn't. They know full well we don't actually care what it IS. Just so long as we can Tick it into the sacred lists.
We finished off our hunt with two excellent stouts.
Pivara Bakrevski (Bitola, North Macedonia, Bak Stout from a bottle at 4.2%
Pivolabs, Winter Fusion - Coffee Vanilla Stout from a bottle at 6%
Keen eyed readers will wish to note the amazing, and frankly worrying, amount of crossing outs on the menu. It was that sort of trip.
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