Beyond the pale

It's days like these that really test the mettle. Sure, it's all very well with the build-up and the initial burst of enthusiasm. But when you're faced with the drinking equivalent of a tricky away tie on a rainy night in Stoke, that's when you really find out what you're made of. 

So welcome, testing Sunday. I stare you down. I drink in your face. Despite a terrible batch of lager back (that's a medical term) and a crushing sense of decline, brought on in no small part by the cold, hard facts of dwindling hit counts, I'm forging on regardless.

Now some would call that foolhardy. Irresponsible. Borderline alcoholic. And they'd be exactly the kind of person you'd want to annoy by belching beery breath right in the kisser. Pow! I know this isn't particularly healthy, but since when has December and anything remotely pleasurable been all that good for you? Sure, I could take milk thistle and pure spring water filtered through the rock of ages, but that's not going to sustain any kind of interest over 24 days, is it?

And besides, I've at least two people whose livers are living vicariously through my daily updates and I can not disappoint. And there's a Brucie Bonus today. Anyone eagle-eyed enough to spot what's playing on my record player in the picture above wins a half of Courage Directors down the local Wetherspoons.

If that's not reason to keep going, nothing is.

Beer: Sambrook's Pale Ale

Strength: Thankfully, just 4.2%

Colour: Worryingly lager coloured. Really looks like a pint of Fosters.

Smell: Like the sweetest spring blossom. Really pleasing and surprising given the circumstances. 

Tasting notes: There I was all set to slate this as a Badger Brewery knock-off, when all of a sudden that bitterness kicked in. To be fair, this knocks the socks off anything Badger can come up with. While the aroma is hugely floral, the taste is a different matter. It's got a buttery biscuit base that would have Gregg Wallace frothing in a Pavlovian frenzy and the (dare I say it?) lager-esque hops used work really well as a pale. Probably more of a summer drink in all honesty, but we can all use some sunshine in our lives in these dark days of winter, can't we? 

Gut reaction: Can't imagine it'll have any adverse effect, but a skin-full would probably leave you feeling your stomach had been scraped out with a scalpel.

Session factor: Easy. You could quite easily sink several without thinking about the possible consequences referred to above. 

Arbitrary score: Thirty-love.