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Cobbetts Bottle Shop
Every trip back to Dorking has heralded happier times, from frost-covered lanes in winter to the daffodils early in the spring blooming in drifts in the park…to long summer days that won’t end (of course, not until summer itself does, abruptly, after its month-long stay). The high street now forms the picture in my mind…
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My Top 5 US Craft Beers, 2018
Happy New Year! Now that we’ve all celebrated with espumante on the beach, slept it off, and woken up to coffee & 2019… I’d like to run through my top 5 favorite US beers of 2018 before we launch into Tryanuary! First off, in calendar order, Damien, Child of Darkness Surly Brewing: Dry-hopped black ale;…
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My Top 5 Portuguese Craft Beers, 2018
Before launching into Tryanuary 2019, here are five of my favorite Portuguese craft beers from 2018: First up: the very local SIN Mag8 Setais NEIPA from Sintra. 6,3% abv; Meyer lemon peel nose; Tropical fruits on the palate; Creamy & hazy with a lightly bitter end. Second on my top five beers from Portugal in…
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Méribel, Après-Ski
From the top I could ski into three different valleys, an immense swath of France’s Alpine glory at my feet. If there was enough snow at Méribel to make a piste to the bottom, it would be one magical journey lasting a good 30 minutes. Eh, ce ne fait rien. That season, 2016-2017, was absolute…
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Holy Night In Dorking
For a slow-motion car crash of reasons, I ended up solo on a Christmas Eve in the market town of Surrey called Dorking. Like many English place names, this one grows on you, and has certainly since grown on me after a night that could have been one of my loneliest—but, because of the kindness…
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The Edge Of The World
The only real joy to be found in an overly popular tourist attraction lies in squeezing something unexpected from the experience. I’d been several times to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, in Portugal, with visiting friends and family, and lines of Spanish-plated tour busses carrying Chinese tourists groups. More Mandarin than…
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London Pride
When I ordered the London Pride, I wasn’t trying to be anything. I just wanted a new beer in the midst of London on a cold afternoon, where the sun set too fast for my 40-degree-latitude self, and it was almost Christmas Eve. And, like a good beer, it kept my dreams alive. My favorite…
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Buffalo Gold
If you count by semesters, I graduated from college early. If you count by the calendar date, I was five months late. In terms of craft beer in Boulder, Colorado, however, I graduated right on time. I ordered a pony keg of Buffalo Gold from the Boulder Beer Company for our graduation party along with…
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The Spaniard’s Chocolate
The Spanish can be intense. You know it when you walk into a restaurant in Spain: If the noise level isn’t over 90 decibels, look at your watch. It’s not 10 pm yet. In the south, in Andalucia, they’ve built their towns on defensible hills, fortified against attack, with steep climbs to achieve them. A…
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Ode To Adamastor
Lisbon’s both a reminder to me of so many cities in Europe, but also like no other place I’ve known. It’s the first Paris of my memories, the Budapest of my dreams. Some liken it to Rome, for its supposed seven hills. Way, way more hills than that in Lisbon. And all paved with calçadas…