Today's try out trio started off with a Hop Stuff Brewery's Freudian Strip - a Viennese-style lager according to the barman - that came up clean and as dark as a bitter. Surprisingly strong flavour, enjoyable, but my glass was hyperevaporative so I quickly moved on to a Siren Suspended in Space.
A big mango and, dare I say it, ananas front with a gentle grapefruit aftertaste. One of those ''you forget it's beer'' beers. And pretty soon it's a no longer here beer. Pricey but.
I wandered off to Villages' tap room in search of the fourth of their modest selection, an Oboe porter. Not as well done as their other, lighter shaded beers, but a grower. A man with a foot brace limped up and sat next to me. He had the same beer as me. So, sociable as ever, I engaged him in conversation. I learned that he'd injured himself morris dancing (Bromley chapter and afraid of dancing in Deptford because the Blackheath morris chapter won't offer protection) and that he was from CAMRA, meeting up for a visit to the Dog and Bell*. All he learned from me was that I talk to strangers. I decided I might postpone my D&B visit till tomorrow.
Is it gender imbalance day today? At Hopstuff's taproom, the loudest table had 6 men and one woman. At Villages' tap room, the loudest table had 9 American women and one man. Then a whole hockey team turned up with only one woman. The last lot weren't noisy, though.
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* Oh, I also learned that Villages is Deptford's first new brewery since 1905
. I've enjoyed many a pint of Butcombe in West Dorset (The Tiger, Bridport) and Devon.
