Category: *.BAK

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Horticulus Slimux

I model I was planning to paint for a few months, so I bought it as soon as it was back in stock.
It’s again a step up from the previous model in terms of complexity, 30 parts. But assemling it is slightly easier, because they added groves and indents on the parts you need to join.
Drybrushing it was still tiresome. I think it took me an hour just to do a layer of Dawnstone.
The amount of detail on this model is incredible. Someoen went wild. I had to create a list just to keep up with my plans for all the “characters”.

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Rince Cochon Blonde

I know I’ve been complaining about Belgian beers a lot lately. But this blonde beer is honestly very good. Feels stronger and sweeter than stated 8.5%, and doesn’t leave any heaviness behind. The closest I could think of is Delirium Tremens, and that’s a high praise from me. I wanted to stay that still, I don’t plan to buy this beer in the future, but actually, I’d buy their Triple

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Kurg Imperial Stout, Pohjala

An Estonian Imperial Stout I’ve brought from York. A wax seal is a seal of quality for me nowadays. I don’t remember yet once being disappointed by a wax sealed bottled.

This is an amazing barrel aged Imperial Stout, one of the best I’ve ever had. Like drinking a Guiness chocolate cake, with the smokiness, but also the sweetness. Funny, but I felt less drunk from its 13% ABV than from some 6% beers. Go figure.

I kind of grew to be dismissive of everything sold in the UK, and appreciating only what I bring from abroad, but this is an exception for sure.

 

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Garun, Borg Brugghus

Imperial stout from Iceland. Icelandic beers have won a few awards over the years, but that’s the only award winner I managed to find, and only by sheer luck.
Has the ABV, but surprisingly not the sweetness. First I tasted rye bread, almost kvas, then a bit of smoke, but not too much. Definitely pleasant,

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Bourbon County stout, Goose Island

Goose Island is something I remember from Boston as common piss beer, excuse me, I mean pale ale.
But during my last visit to California when I failed yet again to procur Russian River, I did get a bottle of this 14.7% goodness
It’s amazing. Although I don’t remember if I ever had an Imperial Stout or a barley wine that wasn’t.
Very dark, with no head whatsoever, smooth, and tastes like Madeira wine, and honey, and coffee.
I’d buy it again for sure, if I ever find it.

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Vault City Chocolate Strawberry Dutch Pancakes Sour

Vault City specializes in “dessert beers”, and this one is no different. It’s delicious, although it doesn’t even taste like a beer. It is not just opaque, but kind of lumpy, with no head whatsoever. Definitely sour. Not sure about “dutch pancakes” or “chocolate”, but it does taste like a strawberry punch alright.

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I Am Triple, Ebeltoft Gardbryggeri beer

A beer I brought from Denmark when I wasn’t sure if I’d find any better beer in Denmark.
It’s a good triple. Has a tall head initially, but it dissipated quite quickly. And the taste is smooth and honey-like. Head is light, but quite focused. Better than a lot of Belgian triples I’ve had this year, but not something I’d go looking for in Denmark again.

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Stale coffee

I’ve heard about coffee getting stale over time. And here I am, returning after 10 days of vacation, and deciding to make a couple of flat whites from the beans I had left in the hopper.
First two shots ran at 3 bar. That’s for a coffee that usually runs at 7-9 bars. Only after purging the coffee, putting the beans from the bag and pulling another shot or two the pressure recovered.
Needless to say, I didn’t feel the need to taste the result of 3-bar coffee.

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Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2

Lochlea is a distillery that likes to experiment with their cask strength batches. Apparently, Batch 3 is a peated one.
This is Batch 2, which, without me knowing, is sherried. How lucky.
At first sip I was skeptical. But over time, it actually grew on me, and now I consider this whiskey to be good value for money. Oloroso and PX casks at 60% ABV are really brought to life.

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Springbank 15

As I was visiting Newcastle, we ended up in a gastropub that had Springbank 10 and 15 on the menu. Of course I had to try one of them out, and since the difference between 10 and 15 was just 5GBP, I went for 15 years old. Paid 17GBP for the priviledge.
It’s a nice whiskey, I can’t deny it. It is smooth, a bit sweet, a bit smokey, and leaves a nice warmth in the throat. It just doesn’t worth 200GBP for a bottle. For contrast, Benromach 21 costs 136GBP.

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Brew York Ghost Dimension

Instead of experimenting with Belgian beers, which mostly failed, I now decided to experiment with British and American beers.
This one is a solid Imperial Stout, at 13% ABV, almost black and without any head. The distinction is the extra warmth from chillies and the smoky aftertaste. Still sweet, though.
“Ghost” is in reference to “ghost chillies” used in the process. Those chillies grow in Bhutia, North India. “Bhut” in the local language means “ghost”, so the name caugth up.

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Bosch Professional Drills

I’ve been using Bosch green drills for at least 7 years. But after the PSB 1800 combidrill started raising smoke on me, I decided it was time for upgrade.
I wanted to try Bosch Professional GSR FC first, but it wasn’t shipping, so I gave GSB a try, as it was available the next day.
First thing is that the battery system is amazing. After the bulky batteries on PSB, this is tiny battery feels seamless. Although I know the more serious combidrills still have the bulkier battery.
And it’s amazing that GSR is even shorter (both in height and length) than the GSB. Such a tiny and cool device.
Now there’s also GSR HX (yes, the namings are very confusing and not helpful at all), which should be even smaller. But I it is just a screwdriver, not a combidrill.

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Samichlaus beer

I’m going back to the classics. And what a classic Samichlaus is. It has no gas, all the flavour and energy. What allows it to get to 14% ABV is the double fermentation.
Also, turns out it is brewed only once a year, so I was actually lucky to see it so often.

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Pangbourne to Goring

We take train from Paddington to Reading, and from there to Pangbourne. There’s some family event going there, weather permitting.

We make a short detour to take a look at a pretty little church.
Then we walk along cow pastures.

Stumble upon what other group of middle aged hikers suggests to be a female stag beetle crossing the road.

Kites are flying so low they look huge. Maybe they are huge.

We watch some young cows race down a hill to an unknown but rather desirable target. They can be fast when they want to.

Then by abandoned factory we need to make a small detour around a herd of cows blocking the path, and a longer detour, because part of the path is closed.

Now I remember that Goring is the village with a cafe in the arcade. There are a couple of cafes that look decent, but we decide to travel back to Canary Wharf and have a brunch at a newly opened Brother Marcus.

The experience is better than on Borough Market. Although they still don’t get their poached eggs right.

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Glenfarclas 105 and Glenfarclas 15

Two tasters I bought on impulse in York.

Let’s start with Glenfarclas 105. Cask strength sherried whiskies are my favorites. So I was rather looking forward to try it out. But it is one of the worst whiskeys I’ve ever had, especially if we take the cost into account. I imagine that’s what all whiskeys taste like to someone who hates whiskeys. Just like drinking wood polish. Yes, it has taste, but far for pleasant.


How about Glenfarclas 15, though? Surely it must be smoother at 46% ABV and aged for longer? It does have a nicer warmth to it, sure. But it still tastes like wood polish, just a bit more dilluted.

I don’t think this has anything to do with being a 5cl taster either, as taster of Bunnahabhain 12 was fantastic, and so was Glen Scotia 15.
I know Glenfarclas has its own fans. But I’m surely won’t be one of them.

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Zwijntje beer

For a 8% beer, it is quite flavourful, and doesn’t leave you with a heavy feeling. But yet again, it’s not distinct enough to justify buying it again.

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Painting Krittok Foulblade

Another jump in difficulty, now with 19 tiny pieces to assemble. If with Deathmaster I still could do without putty, Krittok made me order a bottle, as those pieces of cloak weren’t fitting as well as I wanted them to. Later I noticed that it happens even on the official art.


Putty did wonders, though, filling even the nastiest cracks. And after two layers of base paint and some work with dry brush, I think you really need to know what to look for.

In terms of actual painting, I missed the mark a little.
For the eyes, I should have thinned the Baal Red more. I did better job in the past.

I also tried to do with less shading. Still some Nuln Oil on the skin, I don’t see a way around that yet, and on metallics. But all contrast painted areas are left mostly unshaded for brighter colours.

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Glen Scotia 15

The lifecycle of a whiskey: I buy a few 5cl tasters that sound interesting to me. Out of them, I usually pick something I like and buy a bottle. Alongside that bottle, I buy a couple more tasters I haven’t tried yet. The cycle repeats.
Alongside Tamdhu 15 I got myself a taster of Glen Scotia 15, which honestly one of the most generic whiskey names I could have imagined.
For a American Oak (aka bourbon) whiskey, it is surprisingly sweet, to the point I would have believed it’s sherry, if not for the spiciness. It has amazing amount of warmth in the throat for 46% ABV as well. The subtitle says “Rich and smooth”. Not the smoothest for sure, but very rich indeed. At this point in my life, I would probably stick with sherried whiskies, but a great find nevertheless.

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AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

I remember cachier in California laughing at me, asking if I bought a single can, albeit 500ml, for a price of six-pack by mistake. But I couple of months later I must say it was worth every of the 15$ I spent on it. This is the best beer I had since unobtainable Schorschbrau Schorschbock I brought from Switzerland.
It has almost no “head”. The smell is quite dominant, like a cold espresso. And the taste is sweet, and so smooth. And it leaves you with the warmth both in the throat and belly like the best of whiskies, and with the tranquility like the best of weed. Certainly something to bring from California next time.

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Hopus beer

 

Brasserie Lefebvre are the ones making Barbar, the “honey beer” and Blanche de Bruxelles, the “pissing boy beer”. This one is rather new, from 2023, and promises to feature 5 different types of hops.
The head is tall, two or three fingers, much taller that I prefer. For me the less gas, the better. And the color is much lighter that I’d expect, almost lemony and quite opaque. All in all, it looks more like a hazy tripple IPA than a Belgian beer. And considering the fact that IPAs are always heavy on hops, maybe it makes sense.
I know that I was mostly disappointed by Belgian beers in the past couple of months. And in terms of hops, I didn’t feel much difference. Not too bitter, but also not too complex. But in terms of taste, it is excellent. If you’d tell me it was 10% ABV, I’d believe it. It is rich, and it is smooth, and it provides nice sleepiness for at least a couple of hours. A nice surprise.