The plan
It was simple enough – take two interesting beers to the beach, taste them, compare them, BrewRank the beers and video it. Oh yeah, we also needed to pick a winner.

The setting
We had post card perfect day and beach side location. Brighton beach (in Sussex, UK) on a sunny, clear and very warm day (temperature was around 25C/78F)… If it weren’t for the pier and the shingles (should really call them rocks) on the beach we could have even been in the actual South Pacific. It was a Monday or maybe a Tuesday. The beach was pretty empty. Although there was a guy paddling his surf board and a few tasty bikinis around, but that’s not important. What matters is the beer.

We had chosen well. It was the Epic Pale Ale vs. the Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale. This seemed to a fitting pairing. Two unique beers. One brewed in New Zealand with lots of hops (Cascade? – I am sure we could find out on the excellent Epic website but we’re lazy) and the other brewed in the UK using Kiwi Hops and by a Kiwi-Italian brewing duo… Crazy. Had to be good.

Tasting Notes (abridged)
Ummm, need to re-watch the original video… [UPDATE to follow]

The Video (Beastie Boys mix): Filmed on Brighton beach in Sussex. This is the 1st in a possible series of beer taste-offs planned. Two great craft beers with lots of hops and unique tast – one from the UK and one from New Zealand but with crossed paths in the global world of craft beer. Backing track is Beastie Boys / Now Get Busy from the Wired CD (Creative Commons license). Enjoy!




The Winner
Epic won by just a tad. More bold. Epic scored 16 and Kipling scored 15.5 (out of 20). Both BeerVikings agreed on scoring and the winner (this time).

Verdict on the Flip Mino?
Well, the Flip is easy to use. Not sure about the camera work and the sound. Need to skill up on doing videos and editing software. Fun. Easy. This is just the beginning of Beer Viking TV.

I will come back later to add more details but wanted to capture initial thoughts:

If this is the plan these guys have for pubs, sign me up as a licensee.

Great to see six casks on pull, all local from Sussex

• Dark Star Hophead
• Dark Star American Pale Ale
• 1648 Winter Warrent
• 1648 Signature
• Harveys Old
• Haveys Best

How many pub loo’s do you know with marble and fittings from Crapper. Actually how many pub loo’s do you know where you want to take a crap.

This isn’t a boozer, a bit sanitised but I know my wife would come here ( a good thing) – now if only they get some country one’s with awesome children’s playgrounds.

The beer is served in tankards – Cool!

The beer is actually a bit warm.  And by that, don’t worry. I might be from Canada but appreciate my beer at cellar temperature but I reckon we’re pushing 15C here.

The interior is a bit odd.  On one hand big brass look, with lots of wood (nothing wrong there) but why the wallpaper that has faux bricks peeking through.

The barkeep couldn’t tell me where 1648 was from.

Surprisingly small collection of bottles (ok, maybe I’ve been spoiled by the White Horse, Rake and Evening Star) but I would have expected some more.

What, a fake fire.

Forthright and free with letting one try samples.

Very yummy food.

End result on first glance. Would visit again and look forward to the development of the concept but there’s a lot of room for improvement. Still, love the tankards and local focus.