Tag archives for alcohol

  3. Super Brew 15 in review

    By Leonid Mamchenkov

    I haven’t seen this brand of beer in the local shops (gladly), but I still recommend reading the review.  It’s good, inspirational writing.  And absolutely hilarious content with some nice heavy tunes to accompany the laughter and it give the proper atmosphere.

    super brew 15

     

    Here are some quotes to get you started:

    The aroma is . . . bracing. A flood of synthetic-smelling burnt caramel gives way to butterscotch, a touch of maraschino cherry, and then to what I can only describe as rubber cement. If you’ve ever wondered why rubber cement is so unpopular as a custard flavoring, take a whiff of this beer.

    And:

    In keeping with the absence of a proper head, Super Brew 15 has a thin mouthfeel, despite its potency. The flavor starts inoffensively—oily toffee, subdued fruitiness (green grape, tart apple), and a faint maltiness like stale graham crackers. Combined with the alcohol heat, this has been enough to remind some online reviewers of brandy. But then something tragic happens: an aftertaste arrives that splits the difference between gasoline and nail polish remover. I’m convinced this shit is eating the enamel off my teeth.

    The best ones though, I wouldn’t post for the reasons of the strong language.  But you should definitely click through to read it. LOL.

  4. Geroskipou Beer Festival

    By Leonid Mamchenkov

    I came across the announcement for the Geroskipou Beer Festival somewhere in my Facebook stream.  Being a big (literally) fan of beer, I couldn’t not post it.  Even with the heavy heart after all the previous beer festivals I’ve been to in Cyprus.  This one seems to follow the general pattern: 5 EUR entrance buys you one beer.  You’ll pay for the rest, and there are about 40 different ones to taste.

    As these festivals usually go, you’d probably overpay for the beers, and the variety won’t really be of 40 different brands.  Judging from previous experiences, small can of Keo, large can of Keo, small bottle of Keo, large bottle of Keo, and a draught Keo – are five different varieties and not one.  Heck, I’m not even sure I can list 40 different brands even if I’ll remember all the beers I ever drank or saw on sale in Cyprus!

    Just for the fun of it, I’ll try .  First of all, the local ones, obviously: Keo, Carlsberg, and Leon.  Mythos from Greece.  Then the usual suspects: Hoegaarden, Guinness, Krombacher, Stella Artois, Warsteiner, Veltins, Heineken, Beck’s, Budweiser, Pilsner Urquell.  Then slightly less usual suspects: Kilkenny, Caffreys, Erdinger, Konig Ludwig and Konig Ludwig Dunkel, Weissbier, Franziskaner, Amstel, Grolsch, Fosters and Bavaria.  Then a few Belgian beers: Blanche, Duvel, Kwak, Leffe (blonde, dark, and red), Chimay. A touch of Mexico with Corona and Sol. Ciders, although not technically beers, are almost always present at beer festivals – Magners, Strongbow, Woodbecker and Somersby.

    How many are these? 38.  Throw in a couple of non-alcoholic names that I don’t know, a coupe of Asian (Chinese and Japanese names that I cannot remember), and, just to get rid of any doubts, a couple of nice ones from Bavarian Delikatessen shop – those names are tough even for Bavarians.  There you go – 40 or so varieties.  Now, can you imagine all of them in one place?  I can’t.   Not even in supermarkets which offer a great variety these days.

    Somehow, the more I think about this festival, the more I think it’ll be like the others.  What do you think?  Is it worth driving all they way over to Geroskipou just to get the same beers you can get in any Limassol pub or supermarket?

  6. Police enforce new drink and speeding regulations →

    THE POLICE have started issuing on-the-spot fines for speeding and drinking offences this week implementing a law that empowers the police to immediately punish offenders, the head of traffic police Demetris Demetriou said yesterday.

    “Now we’ve got immediate sentences rather than sentences in court after two years,” Demetriou said.

    For drinking under the influence of alcohol, the police will issue on-the-spot fines and/or penalty points to anyone whose breath test registers up to 70 micrograms per 100 ml. The limit is 22mg/dL.

    The fines are €100 for up to 35mg/dL; €200 and two penalty points for between 36mg/dL and 55mg/dL; €300 and three penalty points for between 56 mg/dL and 70mg/dL.

    Anyone reading over 70mg/dL will go to court and could get six penalty points, a fine of up to €400 and at least €150, and/or a jail sentence.

    Drivers will also be issued on-the-spot fines and will be punished with €1.0 for each kilometre per hour when they have exceeded the limit by up to 30 per cent.

    When driving between 31 per cent and 50 per cent faster than the limit, drivers will pay €2.0 per km/h and two penalty points.

    Driving between 51 per cent and 75 per cent faster than the limit is punishable costs €3.0 per km/h and three penalty points.

  7. Drink more alcohol to save the environment!

    By Leonid Mamchenkov

    While browsing through the news articles from a few days ago, I noticed two separate items from Cyprus Mail newspaper.  These articles weren’t linked or related in any way, but in my news reader they came up right next to each other, and I think the connection is obvious.

    The first article was about Cypriots drinking less alcohol than their European Union peers:

    CYPRUS has among the lowest consumption of alcohol per capita in the EU but when it comes to those who do like a tipple, binge drinking is quite prevalent.

    According to a report released yesterday on alcohol in the EU, compiled by the World Health Organsiation (WHO), Cypriot alcohol consumption stands at 9.3 litres per capita compared to the EU average of 12.4. Malta came in at the lowest with 8.1 litres per capita, Greece with 10.5 and the UK with 12.5.

    The second article was about Cypriots producing more junk than anyone else in Europe.

    CYPRUS has again topped the list in Europe as generators of the most household waste with 760kg per person on average.

    In the EU27, 502 kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2010, while 486 kg of municipal waste was treated per person. This municipal waste was treated in different ways3: 38 per cent was landfilled, 22 per cent incinerated, 25 per cent recycled and 15 per cent composted.

    The amount of municipal waste generated varies significantly across member states. Cyprus, with 760 kg per person, had the highest amount of waste generated in 2010, followed by Luxembourg, Denmark and Ireland with values between 600kg and 700 kg per person, and the Netherlands, Malta, Austria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Portugal with values between 500kg and 600kg.

    Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary and Bulgaria had values between 400kg and 500kg, while values of below 400kg per person were recorded in Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and Latvia.

    There!  I think there is enough data to support the theory of solving the environmental crisis with alcohol consumption.  Now all I need is a government grant to do some extensive drinking research.

  8. 78 pints of Guiness

    By Leonid Mamchenkov

    This blog (in Greek) shares a receipt from some Irish pub, where people had quite a party.  The total amount is in Norwegian krone (NOK), which translates to about 2,555 EUR.  But it’s not the total amount that is interesting here.  Rather the list of drinks.  In particular – 78 pints of Guiness.

    What does that remind me of?  The 99 bottles of beer song.

  10. The origin of toasts

    By Leonid Mamchenkov

    Yesterday I heard the story of toasting origins.  It sounded interesting, but somewhat unrealistic.  It turned out to be true:

    The practice of toasting originated in Ancient Greece, at a time when fear of poisoning was a significant concern. To put guests at ease, the host would pour the guests’ wine from a common decanter, take the first drink to demonstrate its safety, then raise his cup to the guests and invite them to drink in good health.