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It's been a quiet week really, punctuated by two drinking sessions. The first was our usual Thursday trip to Monterey, which threatened to be something of a damp squib until Fiasco started enquiring about it at around 5:30pm. This resulted in a decent attendance of eight, which is quite high for the darker months, and we all sat in the main bar area around the table with all of the comfortable seats. Note and CoVahr were there, Lin turned up for the second time, while Planke was in attendance too, albeit briefly. It was a really nice gathering and we regularly swapped places so we could all talk to each other. We were also quite sensible with the drinking, having only four beers and then disappearing just before midnight. Consequently, Friday was not a difficult day at work, at least from a hangover perspective.
The second was Brewdog's Collabfest, which took place over the weekend. I had tried to get a number of the Fureigners to come out for it and Note and CoVahr had initially expressed interest, but in the end, it was predictably just Wolfie, myself and Fiasco. Fiasco really enjoyed the concept though, telling me it had expanded his beer tasting horizons, while Wolfie and I did get to try all 16 beers they had on offer (they originally had 18 but two of them had run out). The vast majority of beers were from Europe, with only three coming from the UK (Basingstoke, Tower Hill and Camden). This meant we had nowhere near the variety that the UK bars would have had, making me think that maybe next year we go back to Britain for it. It was good though to be able to sample all of the beers at Collabfest again - it has grown so much in recent years that since 2017 we haven't been able to try every single one. Furthermore, Wolfie and I sharing thirds halved the drink consumption, which made us able to show Fiasco to the Mikkeller bar shortly afterwards. As is often the way with Collabfests, most beers were average and some were quite awful, but there were a few that shone through. Meanwhile, it was in Mikkeller where we had our best beer - we had been waxing lyrical about Northern Monk and their Square Pizza beer was on in the bar. This is a tomato, pepper, basil and salt gose as part of their Canteen Series and it was an exceptional and unique flavour (as was one of the Collabfest beers, a strawberry brown ale). After a few in Mikkeller, Fiasco went home and we went back to Spandau, calling in at the Spandauer Bierbrunnen which we've noticed is open until 6am most days. This was actually quite a nice bar and the barman asked us whether we wanted the head of our beer in 'English style or German style' which was a nice touch. We'll definitely be back, not least for their breakfasts, as they are regularly advertised and look good.
It has been a very big week at work, as a close colleague has resigned, meaning things are going to be shaken up. One of the managers has requested I move to their team, which would at least alleviate some of the negativity I am feeling about the place as the relationship with my current boss is poor. It may just be a stave of execution as I find a new job myself, but at least it would make the next few months at work more bearable. Certainly, things cannot keep going how they are. My self-worth is incredibly low and on Tuesday I am off to the doctor's for mental health therapy. With my colleague leaving and Wolfie's new job, I have become acutely aware how my career has suffered in the last few years and I need to get it back on track. Moving to this new team will likely help as at least there are prospects, but I still don't think the wages will be where I need them to be. There could be a few more long shots on the job front this week, but we shall see. I'm just hoping I'll be bestowed with some luck, professionally at least, in the near future.
The second was Brewdog's Collabfest, which took place over the weekend. I had tried to get a number of the Fureigners to come out for it and Note and CoVahr had initially expressed interest, but in the end, it was predictably just Wolfie, myself and Fiasco. Fiasco really enjoyed the concept though, telling me it had expanded his beer tasting horizons, while Wolfie and I did get to try all 16 beers they had on offer (they originally had 18 but two of them had run out). The vast majority of beers were from Europe, with only three coming from the UK (Basingstoke, Tower Hill and Camden). This meant we had nowhere near the variety that the UK bars would have had, making me think that maybe next year we go back to Britain for it. It was good though to be able to sample all of the beers at Collabfest again - it has grown so much in recent years that since 2017 we haven't been able to try every single one. Furthermore, Wolfie and I sharing thirds halved the drink consumption, which made us able to show Fiasco to the Mikkeller bar shortly afterwards. As is often the way with Collabfests, most beers were average and some were quite awful, but there were a few that shone through. Meanwhile, it was in Mikkeller where we had our best beer - we had been waxing lyrical about Northern Monk and their Square Pizza beer was on in the bar. This is a tomato, pepper, basil and salt gose as part of their Canteen Series and it was an exceptional and unique flavour (as was one of the Collabfest beers, a strawberry brown ale). After a few in Mikkeller, Fiasco went home and we went back to Spandau, calling in at the Spandauer Bierbrunnen which we've noticed is open until 6am most days. This was actually quite a nice bar and the barman asked us whether we wanted the head of our beer in 'English style or German style' which was a nice touch. We'll definitely be back, not least for their breakfasts, as they are regularly advertised and look good.
It has been a very big week at work, as a close colleague has resigned, meaning things are going to be shaken up. One of the managers has requested I move to their team, which would at least alleviate some of the negativity I am feeling about the place as the relationship with my current boss is poor. It may just be a stave of execution as I find a new job myself, but at least it would make the next few months at work more bearable. Certainly, things cannot keep going how they are. My self-worth is incredibly low and on Tuesday I am off to the doctor's for mental health therapy. With my colleague leaving and Wolfie's new job, I have become acutely aware how my career has suffered in the last few years and I need to get it back on track. Moving to this new team will likely help as at least there are prospects, but I still don't think the wages will be where I need them to be. There could be a few more long shots on the job front this week, but we shall see. I'm just hoping I'll be bestowed with some luck, professionally at least, in the near future.
