Beer Reviews: The Wild Beer Company Madness IPA, The Waen Brewery Chili Plum Porter, and Brains Barry Island IPA

Welcome to the newest feature on my blog - the Brewer Half's Half Brewed Reviews!

Brewer half does not like that name.  Rachel in Wales like that name, and so it stays!

Brewer Half says:

I like drinking beer!

First beer up for review - The Wild Beer Company Madness IPA

This is my first review, and have already hit upon a problem. My tasting notes from this beer are not long enough to expand into a decent length review. I think from now on I will be doing a live update style review as I'm drinking, so expect future reviews to be more rambling. 

I was attracted to this beer by the description on the label, which I have now forgotten but was similar to this text copied from the website: "Our beers are brewed with a combination of ancient and new techniques, with the aim of producing a beer for people who want to discover and understand new tastes and flavours." Also, the brewer comes from California.

Sounds great. I love my beer with some flavour. 

My first impression of this beer was hops - the aroma is so intense I could taste the hops before the beer had even passed my lips. Not that this is a bad thing - this beer tastes amazing. It's an IPA, but with a pleasant earthy overtone to the hop flavour, and the bitterness is well balanced.

This is all I have on this one, so on to the next: 

Hellish Good Beer - The Waen Brewery Chili Plum Porter

I'm always keen to try Welsh beers, so was very pleased to find this beer from a brewery in Llanidloes. I couldn't resist the combination of flavours - chili and plum in a porter-style beer. 

I've had a few chilli beers, and they have not tended to be very nice. However, this one did not disappoint. 

This beer has a subtle and balanced blend of roasted malt, chili, and fruit flavours. It still tasted like beer, but with extra depth provided by the added ingredients. I couldn't discern the plum element of the flavour, but there was definitely a fruity overtone. There was also a lingering chili warmth. I'll be having this one again!

And on to the final beer in this session:

Brains Barry Island IPA

I actually drank this one first, but didn't want to start my new beer review blog with a disappointing beer. This beer sets its sights high, as an American style IPA. This means alcoholic potency and an assertive hop flavour.

On the first sip, this beer promises much but doesn't deliver. There is a lot of hop bitterness, but no freshness from the hop flavour. The flavour then quickly disappears after each mouthful. 

In fact, each mouthful is like a miniature whistle-stop tour of IPA flavours - a bit of malt, a quick punch of bitterness, a slight hop flavour, and then it's all gone. 

On that sad note, it's time for me to go and drink some more beer. I hope you enjoy my new beer review feature, comments are welome!

All of the beers from today's reviews were purchase from Discount Supermarket - our favorite massive beer emporium masquerading as a corner shop.  Check them out!

Discount Supermarket
97-99 Whitchurch Road
Cardiff, CF14 3JP
02920 619049

My Favourite healthy quick meal

I love stir frys!  They are so quick and healthy!  Yum!

Here is how I make mine: 

Step 1: Heat some oil in a pan.  I use sunflower oil as a model and food blogger once told me this is better, and I do everything models tell me to.

Step 2: Chop up a load of veggies.  Onions, peppers, cabbage, mushrooms, sugar peas, mini corn, water chestnuts (if you have them)... Or just buy a bag of pre-chopped veg.  It's up to you!  

Step 3: Cook the veg in a pan.  Throw in a lot of sweet and sour sauce.  It's full of sugar and bad for you.  Do it anyways.

Step 4: Defrost a load of frozen shrimp.  Or eat fresh shrimp, if you're fancy like that.  Or eat discounted fresh shrimp that's going off today, if you're like me.  Again, your stir-fry, your rules!  Chuck all the shrimp in with the vegetables.

Step 5: Put in a lot of bean sprouts.  YUM!

Step 6: Stir for 2 minutes and then put everything in a massive plate/bowl.  Chop up some avocado and chuck it all over the top.

Step 7: Finally, cover the whole thing with lots and lots of Sriracha!  OMG I LOVE SRIRACHA.

Step 8: Eat!  You have made an amazing stir fry and now you will eat the amazing stir fry and you will be so happy!

The whole thing takes about 10 minutes from thought to eating, especially if you use pre-chopped veg.  There are some optional extra steps you can include for extra protein - I like to throw in some cashews and also to fry an egg into it right before I add the shrimp.  In fact, there is my timing:

-10 minutes: heat oil in pain

-8 minutes: add veg and mix

-5 minutes: add sweet chili sauce

-4 minutes: add cashews 

-3 minutes: add egg

-2 minutes: add shrimp

-1 minute: chop avocado

EATING TIME! MIX IT TOGETHER AND EAT!

Cafe Des Amis Penarth: Restaurant Review

Recently I went to Cafe Des Amis to celebrate a friend's birthday.  We decided to head out of Cardiff and see what Penarth had to offer - though Penarth is so close I'de never been there before except to cycle through it!  Penarth is adorable and I'll surely be returning.  By the end of the night I decided I wanted to move there, but when I saw the house prices I decided I'd rather stay in Cardiff.

We arrived at 8pm and the restaurant was fairly empty, we were greeted by a lovely hostess who showed us our seats and the specials board.

The restaurant is family run and uniquely decorated, there were loads of art and quirky pieces on the walls and it had a definite bistro feel.

The mains were £15-£18, the starters were £4–£8.  It was a bit on the pricey side but we decided it would be a nice treat for a birthday:

L and I ordered a starter off  the specials menu - crispy squid with sweet chili sauce (£6.50):

The squid was very well done - not chewy at all, it tasted fresh and delicious.  The portion size was fairly big as well, and L and I both had our fill. It was not overcooked nor too chewy - certainly the best squid I've had in Cardiff!

For my main I ordered the tagliatelle pasta with field mushrooms, asparagus, garlic cream and parmesan (£9.75)

The pasta was creamy and cheesy - I don't normally order pasta at restaurants but I was craving something savory.  The dish was very good - though I would have liked more asparagus as it seemed a bit sparse.  All dishes made with pasta and butter and cheese will be delicious, and this was no exception.  Very creamy sauce, very good pasta, nice presentation.  A great dish.

L ordered the Chargrilled butterfly breast of chicken with lemon herb dressing, chargrilled asparagus, and garlic potatoes (£13.75):

My photo is not the greatest but the chicken was perfectly cooked, tasty and moist.  The mixed veg and potatoes made for a mouthwatering and filling base, and the asparagus was perfectly grilled.  I did have a bit of dish envy - her plate looked so good!

We enjoyed our mains with a bottle of wine

We were given ample time to enjoy our mains and our wine, and the restaurant filled up as the evening went on.  All the seats in the front were full by 8:30 and the back started to fill up too.  The ambiance was pleasant and everyone's dishes looked great as they came out.  At one point the table behind us was served cod and chips, but the cod was fried after the guest ordered it steamed.  The owner apologized profusely and brought him a new dish quickly - both dishes looked amazing and her service was very professional.

We decided to try one of the deserts and chose a chocolate brownie with ice cream.

The chocolate brownie was very rich and chocolaty.  It was served warm, though it was microwaved in plain view which can sometimes put people off.  My only disappointment of the evening was the ice cream - it was served from what was clearly a Tescos value tub.  Deserts are fairly cheap to make, and it's a shame to use poor ingredients - especially for ice cream which keeps for ages.  A good quality ice cream - especially a Welsh brand like Joes or Mon ar Lwy or Cadwaladers - would have made the desert much better.

All in all it was a lovely evening - at the end we were brought 2 complimentary cosmos (they heard it was L's birthday!) which really topped off our night.  

Cafe Des Amis was a lovely and unique resturant in Penarth.  We had a great evening, the owner and her family were very friendly and accommodating made ever effort to welcome us and make sure we enjoyed our food and our time in the bistro.  It was a bit on the expensive side - but so is Penarth - and I would definitely return for a birthday meal or a special occasion!  The total came to £50 for the 2 of us, which was very decent for the quantity and quality of food we enjoyed!

Cafe Des Amis

4 Washington Buildings

Stanwell Road

Penarth

CF64 2AD

02920 709600

My first trip to Whites Level - Mountain Biking at Glyncorrwg (Afan Argoed)

Today I was supposed to rent a car to go see my sister who lives in Oxford, I was supposed to help her move, and I was supposed to pick things up from Oxford and bring them back to Cardiff.  But when I woke up the sun was out, and the weather was supposed to get up to the high 50's (8 degrees C), and my brewer half and friends were all headed to Whites Level for a morning of mountain biking.  I called my sister at 7:30am to see if we could reschedule, and when she didn't answer (probably due to sleeping) I assumed she was okay with my change of plans and I packed my bike and jumped in the car to Glyncorrwg!

The initial ascent was closed due to forest things, but after treking my bike up a hill I was back on the trails.  It was a truly stunning day!

Dave says "look, blue sky!"

I was a bit nervous on the single track because I had never been before and I was by myself - I try not to slow the boys down when they are biking and I am very slow on the ascents so I usually just head off before them and then let them pass me.  Whites level seemed a bit more technical than Y Wal - mostly because of the stones and pebbly bits.  I'm just figuring out how to ride over roots, riding over stones is a whole different story.  

Here's me looking happy and pale and with my eyes shut after the final ascent:

Then we hit the descents together. It's well noted that I love Y Wal - but Whites level is a serious contender.  It had a bit of everything - some steep, some fast, some flow-y, some rocks.  It even had some awesome boardwalk bits!

(I stole this picture from the internet)

Whites level had something for everyone.  I've never been anywhere that was so custom built for mountain bikers.  The final descent was the best I've ever done - straight across the side of a mountain, looking over the beautiful Welsh valleys.  I felt like I was roaring down but Strava tells me it was 10mph - I'm sure I will go even quicker next time.

I managed the whole trail without any crashes today, which would possibly indicate I'm not pushing myself enough.  There was one bit that I didn't like - too many rocks and I couldn't see my line (line = the path I'll cycle to not fall off) but instead of slowing down I pedaled faster and made it over without any problems.  

As a wise man once said "If in doubt, go flat out!"

Today I watched this same wise man take the trail without working back brakes.  He went flat out.

Then he got to the bottom and tried to do a wheelie.  You can't do a wheelie without a back brake.  He ended up flat out... on the ground. We all laughed.

All in all another excellent day at Afan!  And I'm sure my most loveliest sister (who also is my blog editor), will understand a Californian in Wales's need to be outside on a bike when the sun is out!

Ben is top 50 on Strava now for the final descent. Nailed it!

Pile on the Miles - Running for April!

So far this week I have been a terrible exercise blogger, but an excellent exercise person!

I've been toying with the idea of doing monthly totals for bike and running, but havent yet done so because I don't Strava all my rides (like commuter miles) and I don't Strava treadmill miles (which are rare, but count).  I cycle to work daily which is 6 miles roundtrip, 30 miles a week, but it's nothing compared to actual training.

My total miles run in March was 17.

This was not good enough.  So this month, I'm going to see how many miles I can rack up.  This is part of step 1 for being a better runner: run more.

On Wednesday I woke up at 6:30am, and went for a very painful hour long run (painful because it was 6:30am, and painful because it's hard to run for an hour!)  I managed 5 miles

Today after work I went for another hour run, and this time managed 5.5 miles in that same time.

CURRENT RUNNING GOALS:

5k in 27 minutes

10k in under an hour

finish a half marathon in October

I'm realizing more and more that I can't do everything - I'm running now and doing a fair amount of gym time as well (twice this week and again tomorrow!) but I haven't been on the road bike in ages.  The weather has really knocked my interest in cycling - it's windy and cold and the idea of pedaling behind people in a line up busy roads sounds so awful that I havent even tried for weeks.

The last Ajax ride (long cycle) I did was February 24th - I guess that's only 6 weeks but it feels like ages.  Racing season has started and I'm already fearing my next attempt to gasp my way through a steady ride... because I haven't kept it up.

Strava doesn't lie - this winter has hit my endurance activity levels hard:

Now granted this graph aggregates cycling and running, and all my miles for April have been running, but still - i need to be aiming for September totals (241 miles), not January (62.7)

So here's hoping the weather gets good, the bike gets out, and the running gets easier! Wish me luck as I pile on the miles this month :-)

Cosy Club Cardiff: Restaurant Review (or: Best Brunch in Cardiff?)

On Good Friday the Brewer half and I decided to use our day off wisely - by going out for brunch.  After five years of living in Portland, Oregon (where young people go to retire) I had gotten accustomed to delicious brunches at my fingertips.  Wholegrain pancakes, fluffy veggie scrambles, and all sorts of delicious day-starters. In the UK I have discovered the fry-up and the bacon butty are the standard breakfast treats.  The quality of a breakfast is usually judged only by size and price, lots of food for less money is a common theme on Tripadvisor reviews.  But I was not to be deterred in my search for a delicious brunch in the UK...

Cosy Club opened in November 2012, and is a pretty unique venue in Cardiff city centre.  They serve good beers (Tiny Rebel!) and good food as well as maintaining a pretty quirky atmosphere.   

It was fairly quiet when we arrived at 10am on Friday.  The staff were nice and we had a lovely seat by the window.  I had checked our the menu the night before and knew what I was ordering (have I mentioned I LOVE food?) but there were plenty of options for the undecided.

I started with a latte, Brewer Half had an americano

I ordered the Cosy Eggs (£6.50) - or Eggs Royal as they are often called.  I've been craving eggs Benedict ever since my weekend in Bath and the amazing eggs Benedict I had at Wild Cafe.  Twenty minutes later I was served this delicious dish:

The eggs were perfectly poached - runny in the middle but fully cooked white.  They did not skimp at all on the salmon, there was loads and it was nice and soft, not stringy at all.  The hollandaise sauce was delicious, more buttery then lemon-y but still creamy and thick.  The cracked pepper on top was a very nice touch. The only disappointment was that the hollandaise was somewhat cold, as was the English muffin.  I'm not sure if it was prepared cold or had just sat a bit before being brought out to me, otherwise it was only a minor flaw in an otherwise delicious dish.

Brewer half ordered the Cosy Breakfast (£7.50), which came as described:

He had no quibbles, to me an English breakfast had only 2 variations: good and bad. This was certainly one of the best I've seen.  Everything looked tasty, nice thick cuts of bread, cute pot of beans, chunky streaky bacon.

I loved my breakfast at Cosy Club.  The price was good for brunch, under £18 for the two of us.  The staff were friendly and attentive, the food was served quickly (but not too quickly) and the quality was superb.  I will certainly return to Cosy Club soon - would love to try their dinners!

Here's another picture of those tasty tasty eggs:

Cosy Club

St. Davids 2

Cardiff

CF10 2LE

02920 225998

Swim Session with Cardiff Tri

On Sunday I swam with the Cardiff Triathletes.  They do 3 swim sessions a week, and I make it about once a month.  Each session is different, some focus on speed, others on endurance, but I mostly focus on two things - moving forward and not drowning.

(This is me swimming in Morocco.  Not sure what stroke I can do in 2 inches water)

I used to swim a fair amount - its one of the perks of growing up in California. I was on swim team as a kid and a lifeguard in college.  Swimming is something I generally enjoy and was one of the things I looked forward to in triathlon...

... Until the fateful thursday.  It was about two weeks back, I'm not sure what the problem was, but I was not swimming well. I was gasping and getting "dropped" and everyone was swimming fast and I was swimming slow.  I was trying to go faster and I was getting side cramps and my stomach was hurting and suddenly...

... I did not feel good.  I was half way down the pool and had visions of one fateful day on swim team  when we were all doing laps, and we saw one of the boys stop swimming, and we saw him look around, and then he opened his mouth and spewed chunks of cheerios and milk all over the pool.  I remember watching those cheerios sink and the milk float and the boy cry and thinking... gross.

So with that vision, I realized I was going to be that boy in a second.  And i jumped out of the pool, beelined for the girls toilets, and I'll spare you the details but it was... gross.

(Cat is not me, but my story was gross and cat is funny)

After that I decided never to go swimming again, but at parkrun I met one of the triathletes and as we chatted he encouraged me not to give up.  With those words of encouragement I hit the pool again on Sunday and I did exactly what I hoped to do - swim for an hour and not give up.  I was in the slowest lane and only did 1.25 miles, but I'm not afraid to go back anymore and I'm even looking forward to the next session.

It just goes to show that if you don't give up on things you're moderately bad at, then you'll never stay moderately bad at them!

I'm rubbish at inspiration.  Here's a photo instead: