Mixed Day Thursday

OK, some good and some bad today.

I tried to go to the Tate Modern, but got so lost that I ended up abandoning it and going home.  Dinner was served so fast that the entire meal could have been functionally over in less than 45 minutes.  Rained again today, so 7 days in a row of rain.  I don't think I've ever, and certainly not in my nearly 30 years in LA, ever had a stretch where it rained for 7 days in a row.

Got that out of the way...  Now the better view of the day. 

Food at dinner tasted great.  A Spanish tapas restaurant.  We got advice from the German couple sitting next to us who advised that you have to give explicit directions to wait staff in Britain, and that while it might leave you feeling like you're being high maintenance, they actually appreciate it.  In other words, Germans telling us to order the Brits around.  Draw your own conclusions...

Afterwards, took a short bus ride over to Craft Beer Co.  I'd gotten recommendations to go there from a number of people, and there was an article that said it was the 4th best beer bar in the world.  Very good choice of beers.  18 (I think) on cask, which is an extremely high number.  Very few bars in the US even have cask beers.  Since that makes it part of the unique experience of England, I focused on ordering cask beers.  Maxine humored me by officially considering one or two "hers" so that I could order more choices.  First up was a hoppy, low alcohol beer from Magic Rock Brewing in Huddersfield, England.  Flavorful, but hops were not overwhelming (as I prefer).  Their Original Pale ale, with a 3.9% ABV.  At the same time, "Maxine" also had a Barista Espresso Stout from  Summer Wine Brewery in Yorkshire.  Also relatively low alcohol at 4.8%.  Great beer.  Like drinking coffee beer.  Not an uncommon style, but very well done.

For "our" second round (just for the record, I'm ordering half pints here...), I had Dark Horse Brewing's 4 Elf Winter.  We thought it was great.  It's a style that gets unbalanced a lot of the time, but NOT with this beer.  Very flavorful mix of spices.  6.5% ABV and surprisingly (for a bar in London especially), brewed in Michigan.  Maxine had West Country ALe's Breakfast Stout (she made very good choiced today!).  7.4% ABV, with both coffee and cocoa beans in the mix.  Craft Beer Co. was pretty crowded and noisy the entire time we were there, but given the options once you walk in the door, we might go back before the trip is over...