Draught 2025 Chimay Bleue. Very smooth, good.

And relax

Next stop is the very crafty Le BerthoM. 20 draught beers but eithr IPAs or Duvel Moortgat offerings. I settled for a West Coast IPA from the Italian brewery Ducato. I can manage that style, just about.

Stayed in Bugatti for a second beer. I've drunk plenty of 3 Monts beers in the past but never their Saison. I'm impressed. The bar also has Dominicains Triple from 3F near Mons and Cuvée des Trolls, both also on draught. A good find.

Draught beer prices in Lille are very reasonable. Typicaly €4 to €4.50 for a 25cl. draught beer even for a 8.5% Triple.

I moved on to the nearby Bugatti because their beer board looked interesting. A clean and comfortable bar with many Bugatti photos and posters unsurprisingly. L'Angelus Blonde is very good.

A visit to La Mousse Touch'. More beers on tap from other breweries than previously, such as Saison Dupont and from Brussels Beer Project. Blonde Touch is a bit bland and over carbonated. Served in a BBP glass.

Final beer in Hôp[i] over the road from my hotel. Grosse Soif is an o.k. Triple, but I've been spoiled by my earlier beers.

Final beer in Hôp[i], across the rod from my hotel. Grosse Souf is a Belgian style Tripel. Very drinkable, but earlier beers were better.

Cuvée des Jonquilles from Au Baron. A top class beer. I've drunk some excellent beers today.

I've moved on to La Capsule. Franc Belge may be from a Belgian brewery, but De Ranke is only 15 miles from here.

Next up, La Copain Blonde from Brasserie des Copains. Very tasty despite the haziness 😀

I'm in the small but perfectly formed La Biche et le Renard. An atmospheric bar on Rue de Gand in the old town. A favourite of ours. Six beers on draught, all good. I'm already half way through the superb Ch'Ti Triple from Castelain.

I've arrived in Lille. All very quiet after the rioting over the weekend. First stop is Beer Square. Mongy Ambrée was decent, but the Vieux Lille Triple from Brasserie de Sources is excellent. Reviews consider it almost a Biere de Garde, which is no bad thing. I'm on my second.

I returned to the Wetherspoon pub on Friday evening. Drank a pint of Oolong ESB. It's brewed at Oakham by a Chinese brewer. Very impressive. I wished I'd tried it earlier in the evening. I would have drunk a few.

Took the train to Castleford. The Junction sounded o.k. Supposedly 6 beers from wooden barrels. There were 3, 1 of which was Stancil Secret Potion. A pale beer, which didn't really seem suitable for wood. Another on offer was an IPA. IPA from a wooden barrel?? Castleford makes Birkenhead look posh.

Working at York races, staying near Castleford. There's a Wetherspoon over the road. The Varvar Session Golden Ale was decent. A Ukrainian brewer using Hook Norton's kit.

Harvey's Armada Ale in Denbigh Castle, Liverpool. Excellent.

Drank my first Fuller's Vintage Ale 2026 last night. After pouring, I was surprised by the hop aroma with hops also present on the palate. Soon gave way to more typical maltiness, but without a strong flavour. Tasted a little thin. It didn’t stand out as one the best vintages, but time will tell.

Some very nice pints of Brampton Brewery Terminus in Glassworks, Chesterford, before Tranmere's worst performance of the season so far.

Well said.

Pilot@pilotbeer.co.uk · 3w ago

Yes diesel is expensive at £2 a litre but a milkshake IPA works out at about £18 a litre and tastes an awful lot worse.

My route home from Italy was via Strasbourg and Paris. In Strasbourg I visited Le Grinchaux, Le Garde Fou & Le Grande Tigre. Le Grincheux was to my liking with a variety of French and Belgian draught beers, mostly served in glasses from Brasserie Rulles. Couldn’t resist draught Rosé de Gambrinus 1/

Decided to stay in one night as storms were forecast. Didn’t materialise, but we'd stocked up on alcohol, cheese, charcuterie and nibbles. I'd always wanted to try Baladin Nöel, but the bottle is too heavy to transport home. So why not drink it in September in Italy. 1/2

A few of the recent beers I've drunk in Peschiera. Kom Op Miki is a Winter Saison/Triple brewed by Schigibier. Draught Baladin Nationale. One bar has a range of Baladin draught beers. Birra La Dama Red Bear is locally brewed.

Yesterday was first in Peschiera. A few suitable beers were taken. I also drank Ichnusa Non Filtrata on draught, which is very quaffable even if it is owned by one of the global baddies.

Frothingham Best Bitter from Great Newsome Brewery in Hull, served by hanpump. Hull is not in Italy.

Blak Eyes Stout is brewed by Birrificio Styles south of Ancona. Very good.

I'm now in Lambrate. Drinking Milanese Bitter from handpump.

I'm in Bierfabrik, Milan and I'm drinking Marble Manchester Bitter. They also have a beer from Buxton Brewery. I will endevour to drink Italian beer later.

Just the one beer in Platypus Brewing. Partly because I've been up since 4:30 a.m. and also because their beer menu consists of IPAs and weird things 🤨 This is L'Outrance IPA from Brasserie La Loupiote.