Beer & wine

For my Dad.

We've gotten to try a few beers and wines on the trip so far. This post will be a recap.

In Ireland (Northern and the Republic) I had a few stouts. Obviously, the first was a Guiness, and it was delicious. I also had a Murphy's and one I can't remember, but I know I've had it in the US. We also had a few Harp and Smithwicks, made by the same people that make Guiness.

In the UK a lot of people seemed to drink ciders (pear and apple). A popular brand is Magners. We tried a few, but they weren't really our thing.

As for other beers, we had some Tennets (made in Scotland, a good Lager) and some Stella Artois (a good go-to beer when you can't find a menu or see the taps).

In Scotland I tried a Belhaven's Best, which was good. It was kind of like a Boddington's (light in color, but more full/thicker like a Guiness).

We also tried a local Scotland IPA (can't remember the name), which was good, but not very hoppy at all.

One last drink in Scotland was, of course, a scotch. It was hot the whole time, so scotch never sounded appetizing, but i got one the last night anyway. I had a Glenfidich 12 year and it was good, and cheap. It was about 6 US dollars at the bar, where a beer was $4, not bad.

In France it's been mostly about the wine, but the first night we randomly found a local brew pub called "The Frog" (it is a Parisian chain that clearly catered to Brits). You can probably google it. Brooke had a pint of Ginger Twist (very ginger-y and citrus-y). I had a dark beer that had a very smokey flavor, similar to a Wisconsin beer I had right before leaving.

Wine
So far in france, we have stuck to either the red house wine or the cheapest Bordeaux red wine. We figure we don't have the taste buds to really tell the difference, and we can pronounce "Bordeaux."

That's about it so far, I don't see our drink choices changing much until Italy early next week when we get to Cinque Terra. I believe they're known for their sweet, white dessert wine.