Old Aberlady Inn – In the mood
Plus a video on forcing the alcohol out of beer.
The Firth of Forth really shows off in the sun. There’s something about the way the light sparkles off every ripple and lays an infinite bed of glinting dits and dahs. If you’re in the right mood, it can really can make it quite magical.
I was certainly in the mood this weekend as I walked a short section of the Fife Coastal Path. I stopped in the quaint village of Lower Largo for an ice cream, and a few miles down the track, in Elie for a pint. At some point – as a result of the weather, the view, the sand dunes, the cheery “hellos” from passersby, the exercise, the ice cream and the lager – I even allowed myself to drift into the belief that this might be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It was a good day.
As I set up my tent for the night, I could just about distinguish the outline of North Berwick Law and Arthur’s Seat across the water. It reminded me of the camp I did a year ago on the opposite coast. That day, I stopped at The Old Aberlady Inn, a frustrating identikit pub in a picturesque East Lothian village. My opinion of the pub was, however, transformed over the course of a cold pint of forgettable pale ale. You can read about it below, and scroll down for some local pub news.
The Old Aberlady Inn – What a difference a pint makes
The East Lothian village of Aberlady is a beauty. A quaint, picture-perfect high street turns off to the stunning beach and nature reserve, stretching as far as the eye can see. Get to it on a sunny day, as I did this weekend, and you won’t want to leave.
The chaser – New Pilot bar
You may have seen the finishing touches being put on a new bar on Hanover Street. It’s called Vessel, and is run by Leith brewery Pilot (the people who do the Peach Melba Sour).
Its Instagram page says it’s coming soon – I’ve been told they are working as hard as they can to get it open this week. Watch this space.
I was on TV last weekend looking into alcohol-free beer for the BBC show Tech Now. I spent a day down at Wiper and True brewery in Bristol going through the tech they use to make low-alcohol versions of their bestsellers.
They have splashed out on a reverse osmosis machine, which is usually only used by the big brewers. Put very simply, the machine forces the alcohol out of normal beer by putting it through a very fancy filter at high pressure. It’s a two-day process, which they argue results in a better-tasting beer than competing methods, such as fermenting at very low alcohol levels.