Desert island beers II

Still thinking about Alan McLeod’s contest when I should be working, which also means without a beer in hand to influence my thinking.

So the today’s one word thought: Hops. (Yesterday’s was “saison” – these don’t have to be exclusive).

But I also did a quick search to see what Michael Jackson might have written about this. I knew he did a list on the World Beer Hunter CD-ROM, but you can’t Google that. Anyway, I came across this in a 1993 column in wich he laments Guinness marketing decisions.

I would want a Bavarian wheat beer to quench my thirst on a hot day, a Bohemian lager to accompany the fish I would catch on my desert island, a British ale to go with the wild animals I would barbecue and a barley wine to intoxicate me when I longed for escape.

But one glass of the Dublin stout and I would be transported from my desert island to a pub where the glistening black of the beer reflected the brass barrails, the polished mirrors and mahogany … Two glasses and I would begin to enjoy my own company, three, and I would find myself as entertaining as Joyce, Wilde or O’Casey.

Seems like a fair standard to set for our desert island beers.

And if you can find a beer that will help me write a few paragraphs of similar quality please let me know.