The Straits Times Singapore Online

LONDON – THE strongest and most expensive beer ever created sold out within hours Friday, a Scottish brewery said, as they courted controversy by packaging the bottles inside the bodies of stuffed animals.

BrewDog, the self-described maverick brewery, presented the beer – which contains a record 55 per cent alcohol – inside the bodies of dead squirrels and stoats.

Animal rights activists rushed to condemn the stunt. ‘It’s pointless and it’s very negative to use dead animals when we should be celebrating live animals,’ Advocates for Animals policy director Libby Anderson told BBC Scotland. ‘This seems to be a perverse idea.’

BrewDog said the limited edition Belgian ale – made with juniper berries and dubbed ‘The End of History’ – was also the costliest beer ever sold. The squirrel bottles cost 700 pounds (S$1,370) each and the seven stoat bottles went for 500 pounds a pop. All sold out within four hours of going on sale, BrewDog managing director James Watt told AFP.

Watt said the controversial drink was the last in a line of experimental brews, explaining: ‘For the final installment in the strong beer series, we wanted to create something epic, something monumental.’ He said there were no plans to come up with a beer to beat this record, insisting: ‘We’re quite happy at 55 per cent.’

As for the taste, Watt described ‘The End of History’ as a ‘complex’ beer with a multitude of flavours including honey, mint and cinnamon. He recommended sipping the drink ‘much like you would a malt whiskey’, served up in a spirit glass rather than a pint glass.

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The Malaysian Insider

TOKYO, July 8 — It’s an attraction that would seem more at home in the middle of Munich or Frankfurt than the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto, but the new Geisha Beer Garden is likely to be a hit for both geisha and tourists during the hot Japanese summer.

The garden, which is open from July until September, is shattering the traditional image of the geisha, with the robed hostesses serving ice-cold beers in steins instead of green tea in petite cups.

Set in the surroundings of the Kamishichiken Kaburenjo Theatre, the beer garden contains the long tables normally found in German beer halls and will also serve traditional snacks.

Maiko and geisha from the Kagai hanamachi, the oldest geisha district in northwest Kyoto, will be on hand to serve customers and perform dances on the specially-erected stage every night.

Beers cost 950 yen (RM34) and a starter pack, available for 1,800 yen, includes a mug of beer and two snacks.

Beer gardens have been a surprisingly successful export for Germany and can now be found around the world from New York to Melbourne, London to Beijing.

Reports suggest that next week, the much anticipated Bier International will open its doors in Harlem, New York.

Owners say that their new garden will be Harlem’s first beer garden since Prohibition, serving ten different types of beer on tap.

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Haha… saw this on ThinkGeek.com. Not too sure we need a beer bottle opener on a t-shirt, but for sure this will be something to show off during big event like beerfest. Cost US$19.99, which don’t come in cheap if you convert to Riggit. Either way, it sure a show off T-Shirt and a geek magnet thing. Cheers!

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I was invited by Kelvin to visit this place. This is my first time to The Sphere in Bangasr South where S’Mores situated. I got problem pronouncing the name as I like to called it S-Mor-Res, but the actual fact the name is pronounce as s-More-S (something sound like small). So Kelvin told me that I can pronounce it according to what I like, he just trying to be nice… haha

S’more is short form for “Some more” and indeed this place do have a lot to offer. And S’mores is American and not like what I thought – Spanish or Italians. How wrong can I be?… haha

The outside is a big spacious place, where you can feel the breeze and relax on the sofa while sipping in your beer. They even have water fountain as deco in the centre piece to make the place calm.

When it comes to football night like the recent world cup, this place is pack with people. As EPL is just around the corner, this place is for sure a good place to come and shout support for your team, if you feel stress you can always go to the water fountain to calm yourself.

I thought I will like the outside breeze until I came inside. The texture of the wall and the picture frame make this place really cosy. With soft warm lights and simple setting, I fall straight for the inside.

A lot of promotion are written on the blackboard, so you can easily choose the best deal of the day. The setting is yet again simple and nice. The warm lights does create the whole mood.

I went on a Thursday night where the bands are playing. Actually this band does make a great different to the interior as well, as they were interacting with the crowds and singing beautiful jazz style melody of old school and new songs.

Even at 12am the crowd is still sitting and listen to the band and enjoying it. Although you can’t choose the song and ask them to sing, but their playlist is nice enough to make you stay on. They even sing chinese and tamil to make the crowd go crazy.

As for beer, this place have a few selection. Weissbier will be my preferred choice at this place. Not because is the most expensive, because this place offer a lot of good bar snacks that pair nicely with it.

The S’mores fried chicken is one of the best pairing. Is so tasty that within minutes is gone. Honestly I didn’t even put any chili or ketchup to go with the fried chicken, it was awesome. Hope it taste the same the next time I visit.

This place do offer dining, drinking and chilling experience all depends on where you sit. They have a dining place to cater for their afternoon crowd, as this place open in the shopping complex, so they open daily from 12pm-3am. I’m sure I can have some more of all this fun. To S’more, thank you for inviting me over and Cheers to a nice place!

Address
The Sphere – Bangsar South
Unit G2, Jalan Kerinchi
59200 Kuala Lumpur

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