7 reasons I’d totally bum Bruges

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beer, belgium, bruges, craft beer

1. It’s full of amazing beer. Belgium is known for its trappist beers, which are made by monks and taste like a little sip of heaven. In Bruges you’ll find the Halve Maan Brewery, finely crafting local tipples Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik – the tripel is a potent treat.

2. It’s full of people who love amazing beer. The best kind of people.

3. It’s full of people who love drinking amazing beer in amazing pubs. Must see pubs are the lovely and old Staminee De Garre (try the house brew, mysteriously served with cheese…), the incredibly friendly ‘t Brugs Beertje, Bruges’ oldest drinking den Herberg Vlissinghe, the cavernous and candlelit Poatersgat, and the smoochy, romantic Cafe Rose Red.

4. It has canals. You can take boats on the canals and the tour guide will speak any language you fancy.

5. People live in houses like this.

6. They take chocolate and waffles extremely seriously. As do I.

7. They are also very keen on chips.

Curiouser and curiouser…an evening of beer and chocolate

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beer, beer tasting, chocolate, chocolate tasting, edinburgh, edward and irwyn, innis and gunn, innis and gunn pop up bar

Photography by Mary Overmeer

Few things in life give me greater pleasure than a well-crafted beer or a devilishly indulgent piece of chocolate. Understandably then, I almost did a backflip* when I heard about A Curious Evening of Beer and Chocolate at the Innis and Gunn pop-up bar.

Independent, Edinburgh-based brewing company Innis and Gunn teamed up with artisan chocolatiers Edward and Irwyn for a tastebud seducing evening of beer and chocolate matching.

Since my plus one was a little *ahem* late I spent some time nursing a rather tasty Innis and Gunn Blonde and pretending to scribble some very important notes in my little notepad. Luckily I got a chance to grab a few words with Kirsty – one of the Edward and Irywn chocolatiers – who told me about their plans to open a kitchen up in Morningside in September, and that they believe in making chocolate the old-fashioned way, using techniques like hand tempering.

The tastings kicked off with an Innis and Gunn Original paired with Heather Honey Honeycomb milk chocolate. The comforting chocolate evoked memories of distant Christmas mornings, but my usual favourite beer didn’t have quite the same appeal when mixed with something else so sweet.

Next came a Stewart Brewing Coconut Porter paired with Rye Crumb Vanilla Salt Coconut Meringue – as if my night of beer and chocolate wasn’t going well enough, now I had coconut thrown into the mix – bliss! The chocolate was a challenging mix of hearty coconut, with the sweetness of chocolate and salty toasted molasses which danced back and forth on the tongue. The porter (which I’d tried and loved before) was also delicious, yet I felt the flavours were not contrasting enough to make it an interesting pairing. Rob suggested a chilli beer might have been better to complement the cool coconut flavour.

Next up was the talk of the evening – an Innis and Gunn Rum Finish paired with a deceptively normal looking slice chocolate, the Perfume Spiced Valrhona Blend. The explosion of flavour from the chocolate was quite simply stunning – spiced with vanilla seeds, clove, cardamom and rose – and I thought the pairing with Rum Finish was spot on, perhaps mostly due to the interesting combination of rum and cardamom.

The final indulgence was an Innis and Gunn Canada Day special brew, accompanied by Malted Honey Salted Caramel in extra dark milk chocolate. Made with Scottish Blossom honey, the chocolate caramels were positively melt-in-the-mouth. I’d happily line up eight of these badboys with a nice bottle of red for a quiet night in…

All in all a spiffing evening, and just writing about the chocolate is literally making my mouth water. Now counting down the days until Edward and Irwyn open their doors in September…

Thanks to Mary Overmeer for allowing me to use her wonderful photographs in this post – you can find her at @MaryOvermeer or check out her website.

Five foodie activities for the Jubilee weekend

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ale, beer, diamond jubilee, edinburgh, fynefest, holiday, ice cream, jubilee, looking glass bookshop, lovecrumbs, market, portobello, weekend

Sunshine may be looking a little dubious, but that doesn’t mean this hungry weasel won’t enjoy every minute of the long weekend. I’ll be spending it munching my way around the capital in search of new Edinburgh culinary adventures.

Queenie may favour a cucumber sarnie or two, but if you fancy something to royally tantalise your taste buds, then read on for my top five tips for things to eat (and drink!) in Edinburgh and beyond over the Jubilee weekend…

1.Head to Porty beach for an ice cream

I don’t know about you, but I still enjoy an ice cream by the seaside as much as I did as a kiddie! Just make sure you eat it before it melts everywhere. Pop along to Portobello Market on Saturday and peruse the lovely produce – from cakes and jam, to soap and crafty gifts.

2.Look into the Looking Glass

The latest newcomer to Edinburgh’s coffee, cake and erm…book scene is Looking Glass Books – an independent book shop, which I hear sells a wicked coffee and sumptuous cakes from Lovecrumbs. I’ll certainly be investigating this place soon.

3.Skip along to Stockbridge Market

Get your hands on some perfect Sunday brunch sausages from this compact little market by the Water of Leith. An Artisan Coffee is sure to blow away any cobwebs from the night before.

4.Raise a glass

On Monday I’ll be joining some ale nutters…oh I mean enthusiasts, for an epic journey across Edinburgh taking in 10 of the best ale pubs including Dirty Dicks and Brewdog Bar. You can sign up for the event right…here.

5.Feeling Fyne

Fynefest takes place on the banks of stunning Loch Fyne and offers plenty of beer, food and entertainment to keep you busy all weekend. Try some of those famous Loch Fyne Oysters, washed down with some of Fyne Ales finest…

Oh yes! And a happy Jubilee to you, your Madge! I know she loves reading my blog.

What are your foodie plans for the weekend?

Brew at the Bog – a rather tasty Brewdog festival

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beer, Bogbain Farm, Brew, brew at the bog, Brewdog, churros, edinburgh, festival food, Inverness, Madrid, music festival, Spain

It was an unusually chilly 5th of May, but that didn’t stop us packing up our camping gear and heading up north to the first ever Brew at the Bog festival at the lovely Bogbain Farm, just outside Inverness.

Now I could tell you about the scrumptious beer, my new found love of red ale 5am Saint, how we danced away the cold (almost), the relatively unknown new bands I discovered and what a quirky, unique venue the fairy-lit Bogbain Farm was.

But this hungry weasel had something else on her mind – churros.

Churros come from Spain and when I lived in Madrid I loved nothing better than a 5am jaunt to the famous San Ginés Chocolateria for a post-party snack.
Strips of fried pastry, covered in sugar and accompanied by a pot of thick, melted hot chocolate for dipping – what’s not to love? So when I clocked the Churrio stall at Brew at the Bog my heart did sing a little.

Without exaggeration, the churros were just as good as those I had coveted in Spain. The dipping chocolate was just the right amount of bitter to balance the sweetness of the churros themselves and so warming to my already-numb hands. The only difference was that Churrio had added some cinnamon to the churro batter, but this worked really well.

Another charming dining option was The Tea Posy – a welcoming little caravan serving some much-needed hot drinks and delicious looking homemade cakes.

After hours of dancing, we finished the night with some much-needed fish and chips, and of course the Edinburgh girl in me had to go for salt and sauce.

It would have been great to see some food on offer made with Brewdog beer itself but as this was the inaugural Brewdog Festival perhaps I was expecting a little too much. But, hey, there’s always next year…

For coverage of the ACTUAL BEER check out the wonderful musings of aletotheking.

Who ate all the pies? That would be me…

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beef, beer, mrs cranston's pies, old waverley hotel, pie, pint, restaurant, venison

Last Wednesday I headed along to the launch of Mrs Cranston’s pies at the Old Waverley Hotel. Or should that be re-launch? Apparently centuries ago when the hotel first popped up on Princes Street, Mrs Cranston, wife of the hotel’s owner, used to slave away in the kitchen for hours on a Friday just so she could meet demand for her delicious pies on a busy Saturday.

Mrs Cranston’s pies are back, and I must say I felt like I tasted a little bit of Edinburgh history. Made to the original recipe, the first thing that hits you is the tempting aroma of freshly-cooked, warm pastry.

Keeping it simple, there are two fillings on offer – venison or beef. Both were cooked to perfection and I felt the inexplicable urge to eat even more pie than my belly could handle, which can only be a good sign. The meat was tender and pastry crumbly – a pie well done.

Now you can sample a pie and a pint in the cosy Abbotsford Lounge at The Old Waverley for £6.95 – a good option for recharging your batteries after hitting the shops, or a nice place to entertain guests with lovely views of Princes Street gardens.

While the pies are tasty, the accompanying drink choices don’t give me much to shout about. Edinburgh Gold from Stewart Brewing is the best out of a mediocre bunch – at least offering up something from an Edinburgh-based brewery.

The best bit of the evening was that they managed to conjure up the friendly spirit of Mrs Cranston to come and say hello…

Yummy soup at I Heart Cafe

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beer, cafe, edinburgh, i heart cafe, leith, lunch, soup, tomato

Just discovered this little gem of a cafe on Elm Row when meeting a friend for an after work cuppa. Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and tasty, freshly cooked grub!

Only after I had ordered the cream of tomato and vegetable soup did I spot the authentic looking tortilla – Spanish omelette – only my favourite food from the year I lived in Spain! (Well, that and churros con chocolate…)

The drinks list looked good, with some of my favourites like Innis and Gunn and William Bros Midnight Sun on offer. The breakfast and brunch menu looked scrummy too.

The best thing is this cosy place is open until 8pm, giving us Leith dwellers a good alternative to the pub after work.

I heart cafe, I’ll be back…

Enjoying a stout from Marble Brewery at Sheffield Tap :-)

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ale, beer, pub, sheffield, stout

Mmmmm chocolate, espresso, dark….tasty! The Sheffield Tap has an extensive selection of real ales – a must-see for ale lovers, and right beside the train station!