Happy weekend friends! 🍻 Been a bit quiet the past few weeks as there’s been lots going on, but I still managed to squeeze in a wee roadtrip to drink beer with my mate in Southampton, a nice mediaeval city with a great wee beer scene. A few places visited, so I’ll do a post for each.
Starting off with Belgium and Blues. B&B, as the name suggests, has a Belgian theme to it but also strongly supports the UK/US/Euro brewers. It’s a dark space below the street in a charming Tudor style building. It’s dark and cosy, with a nice ambience to it. Really laid back and chilled, a good place to leave the outside world behind. They also have a gin bar upstairs, didn’t spend much time there apart from on a busy night when it was the only place I could find a seat, but it also had a nice vibe to it.
But what about the beer though? I was lucky enough to visit when The Kernel had a tap takeover so caught what was left of it, namely the cherry sour, foeder beer with hallertau blanc and old favourite Imperial brown. I also shared a bottle of the excellent crab apple saison. Local heroes, and one of my consistently favourite UK breweries Vibrant Forest were well represented so I enjoyed some of their beers. And some other stuff too, but this isn’t Untappd so I won’t bore you with it all.
Although the big plates looked amazing, I was just in the mood for some small dishes to pick at with my beer, and they didn’t disappoint on that front. Bitterballen, a delicacy that I discovered many years ago in Amsterdam. They’re always good, but I seldom find them outside the Netherlands so when I see them on a menu I need to have them! Some Gouda with a mustard dip which made sure my sinuses were clear. And some smoked cauliflower wings, which came with a great sriracha dip, most tasty.
All in all a great spot, if I ever find myself in that part of the world again, I’ll be sure to visit.
Craft Beer Dad 