Mikkeller's I Wish IPA, which they tout as the world's first gluten-free beer, was quite good with an almost pine-like aroma along with the usual hints of citrus.
Mikkeller's American Dream (Gluten-Free version) was a lager, and I've expressed how I feel about gluten-free lagers, but this one did break the mould ever so slightly; an abundance of fruity aftertastes without being cloaked in citrus and just a hint of carbonation. Very dry though. Mikkeller also make a regular version of their American Dream so it's imperative for a Coeliac to ensure they are getting the right bottle.
To Øl's Hop Love Pils was quite enjoyable and I discovered this one by fluke when a friend had ordered it and it was only upon reading the label and googling it that it proved to also be gluten-free. I did only have a small taste (not sure what controls are like for brewing as they reportedly use other breweries' equipment). One of the cloudiest pilseners I've ever seen, a very delicate fruity aroma, peach perhaps, with sharp grassy undertones. Rather lovely though and evidently indistinguishable from a regular pils.
Cerveteca Lisboa was a top visit and the owners were very pleasant, keeping our interest peaked until closing time. Saúde!
Cerveteca Lisboa
Praça das Flores 63
1200-192 Lisboa, Portugal
You go to Lisbon thinking you’re rather partial to seafood. You go to Cervejaria Ramiro and you leave Lisbon realizing how a meal with 3 basic ingredients can turn your partiality into utter adulation.
Cervejaria Ramiro has been around since the 1950s. They don’t take bookings, and we were lucky enough to turn up early afternoon when there was little to no queue. You’re seated, served refreshingly cold drinks (bless Portugal and their 375mL single serving bottles of wine) and invited to choose from their crustacean menu. Our waiter was pleasantly helpful, reaffirming our instincts on what to order, but needed guidance on how much to order.
Garlic shrimp and steamed clams to start, then a 1kg crab, giant tiger prawns, and red shrimp. Crab came complete with a small board and mallet, which makes for a great hands-on experience, if also a slightly messy and noisy meal.
There are no vegetable or side dishes on offer really, just bread - no for me - but what made this lunch one of the most relaxed dining escapades as a Coeliac was the fact that it was obvious the crustaceans were just cooked with steam, garlic, butter, and love. I had no concerns about cross-contamination and I suppose unless you’re a vegetarian or lactose intolerant (the butter), this is one of the purest culinary experiences you can embark on, even just a few hours after a night out along the Bairro Alto and all that sangria.
Cervejaria Ramiro
Av. Almirante Reis, nº1 H
1150-007 Lisboa
 |
| Wold Top's Against the Grain |
Ran 26.2 miles for charity, raising funds for Coeliac UK. Ran those 26.2 miles as a personal challenge and resolution for 2015. Ran 26.2 miles in under 5 hours.
The Brighton Marathon was a brilliant experience. Stayed at The Neo, a boutique B&B in Brighton, suavely neo-Baroque, with an excellent DVD collection, and offering up both a comfy B and a scrumptious B, going the extra mile to get in some gluten free bread for me. Just around the corner from the Brighton Centre for the Marathon Exhibition, which featured a wealth of products and knowledge. Finally got around to trying the Beet It shots, havibg drank Beet It juice to start my day nearly every morning for the last year.
The run itself on the Sunday was very well organised, offering up an intoxicatingly fun atmosphere at the start and keeping me perfectly hydrated along the course, under crisp, sunny skies. Maybe a bit too sunny, but on behalf of the rest of Southern England, I wasn't complaining.
The course had a couple of segments that did double back on themselves, which was a bit tedious but always much easier when running the backtrack. After looping Preston Park and running through town, you're taken along a brilliant stretch out east along the shorefront towards Rottingdean and back. It helps that I am so naturally drawn to the sea so found the sights and sounds immensely soothing. We were rather lucky with the weather as Monday saw Brighton blanketed in a dense fog. I think I passed along the northern side of the Finish line as Duncan Maiyo won and there I was, half way through. We ran through some residential areas, always great to see the locals making thousands of strangers feel beyond welcome on their doorsteps. The last stage of the Marathon is looping through the industrial area out west along Basin Road, a somewhat grim place for people to hit their walls. But thanks to a second Lucozade Elite Running Gel, was able to soldier on without stopping (save to wave to a fellow Coeliac UK runner). The last 2 miles saw some amazing and much welcome support along the promenade and back up along King's Road to the Finish.
Ran 26.2 miles, loved it, and am already contemplating when I might do it again.
Tuesday night is gluten-free night at Brockley's Rock down in SE4. I'd been through Brockley once before, to see an endearing production of The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre a couple of years ago and I'd vowed to return. I took another jaunt down the Overground for some fish n chips this time around.
The eat-in area was quiet upon our arrival but staff were at the ready and definitely hold allergen awareness in high regard. All the stops are pulled to ensure little to no cross contamination in the kitchen, including special batters, as well as separate fryers and heating windows. The gluten-free batter on the plaice I had was well flavoured and welcomingly crisp, though next time I will definitely opt for a more fleshy fish as plaice is admittedly rather flat. They doublechecked ingredients of the salad dressing on hand that night, which was not gluten free, but even the plain side salad itself was a very generous helping to accompany what is otherwise your typical guilty pleasure of a night out, without the effects of coeliac kryptonite.
Offering a BYOB option with a minimal corkage fee, Brockley's Rock is still a takeaway joint at heart and by the time we were leaving there was quite the crowd waiting for their box of goodness. Glad to have it practically around the corner but would happily venture from far any Tuesday.
This was the first weekend I took off from training in a long while, it being my birthday, ultimate Pi day, and all. 3.1415; to all those trying to round up for next year, how dare you round Pi! For mathematical shame! I hosted (what I hope was) an inaugural Pi(e) Night wherein guests came round to eat pie and drink whisky and wine. A homemade pie wasn't required for entry, let alone for it to be gluten-free, but my friends are undeniably amazing and most of them did hit both nails on the head. Anyone who didn't, brought booze, which made for a wonderully indulgent Saturday night and I will likely have a dry month from now until April 12th.
I made the executive decision to forego another 3 hour run and spend 10 hours in the kitchen instead.
Behold, a glimpse of the night's offerings. Pork pies, both large and small, vegetarian curry pot pie, a cheeky pizza pie, sweet potato pie, a Mississippi mud pie, a raw, vegan, blueberry pie, and mini lemon meringue pies. All gluten-free! There was also an apple pie and cheesy puff pastries that were only eye candy for me but smelled divine. May I re-iterate how outstandingly wonderful and supportive the people in my life are?
Recipes to follow!
That next 20 mile run I mentioned in my previous post? It happened. So many weekends in a row of intense mileage and surpassing previous distance records, but I think I hit a bit of a mental block this time around. Not a physical wall per se but I know my bluntness around mile 17 when I uttered something along the lines of never wanting to run again was just a sign of dehydration; I know why fluids are imperative. I know my body, I believe it can go all the way, and I know my mind, too stubborn to quit. Wate, a running gel, and more water, and away went the haze of disillusionment and I powered on for another 3 miles.
Speaking of running gels, at the recommendation of a colleague, I've tried Lucozade Elite Running Gels, which have sat well so far. I suppose the way maltodextrin is processed is not dissimilar to distilled alcohols, so they are coeliac friendly as far as I can gather and, more importantly, feel. My initial intent was to run au naturel, with just water and maybe a 9 Bar (seeded bars of goodness, my go-to snack of choice) but as I increase mileage and approach the dreaded wall, I see the physiological benefits of the running gels so I might pack two in my back pocket on the big day.
Using the grill and convection microwave, I managed to get the lot done 3 hours later, to a respectable standard, and they went down well. We'll see how the next 20 mile training run goes tomorrow and whether I can stay on my feet long enough afterwards to bake something coffee flavoured. Still fundraising for Coeliac UK, and I've even raised my target, click here to donate!
My weekday runs took a bit of a hit when life threw a curveball and we had to move at short notice. A 5 minute jaunt up-stream in the same postcode, we have a new flat and training is back on schedule. Am rather enjoying running part way home from work some evenings; admittedly only 5K but it saves me going all the way home only to go right back out, which was fine last summer, but less enticing in the dreary and damp London winter.
Weekend runs have been ace. My pace over long distances is getting slower and even over short diatances, I am nowhere near my personal bests of last summer, perhaps due to the extra layers in "winter" and the backpack in the evenings. But in terms of endurance, I feel great. Coming home from a long weekend run to the smell of a fresh gluten-free loaf of bread is truly encouraging. Half of it is inevitably inhaled within 10 minutes of emerging from the shower.
All for a great cause! Support and donations for Coeliac UK welcomed and my thanks shall be expressed in the form of doughnuts!
Another day, another colossal batch of mini gluten-free doughnuts. These ones, Super Bowl themed - a clear sway towards the Seahawks was evident amongst those in attendance that night; no one was touching the red/white/blue ones.
Moving flats this month so I've been resisting the urge to buy more baking paraphernalia beforehand; I think it's time to upgrade to full size doughnuts. Having excess buttermilk, I opted to make some buttermilk cornmeal and sage muffins (which really came out more like scones), which were intended for a friend's inaugural chilli party but they suited Super Bowl Sunday just as well. My journey to aforementioned chilli party was already precarious enough with a lemon meringue pie in hand. I calculated that I travel an average of 15 miles on public transportation with each of these pies, be it London, Berlin, Montreal; it's a wonder they survive - if but a little weepy upon arrival.
My morning runs have morphed into evening runs. So instead of waking up in the dark to run 3 miles, I get home from work in the dark to run 5 miles. I actually rather enjoyed starting my day with a brief jaunt around the marina; by 8:30 am last Friday, I was ready to start my workday having already run 3 miles and found a new place to live (leaky ceiling, long story) but I cannot justify waking up even earlier to permit for the increased mileage.
My long weekend runs are still slated for a morning start but I almost always faff about for ages to the point that I am terribly annoyed when I get to Tower Bridge and it is chock-a-block with people and their selfie-sticks mid afternoon. One might think I am nuts for crossing at Tower Bridge but I really do love the loop down to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and back home - with added loops around Southwark Park. My only other crossing option is Rotherhithe Tunnel, which is a carbon-monoxide deathtrap.
There has not been much on the gluten-free baking front, save for the fact that I started adding plain yoghurt to my bread mix as a substitute for about a third of the required water and the texture is remarkably better; the whey protein must truly help.
Home to Montreal for a gluten-free Christmas.
Health food and dietary foods in particular are shocklingly expensive in North America, be it for lactose/dairy intolerance, veganism or coeliacs. I wouldn't mind paying a premium for the alternative flours, baked goods and gluten-free tourtiere if it strictly came down to the attributed manufacturing cost (ensuring there is no cross-contamination in the production and packaging process for example) but it does seem as though there is a mark-up to take advantage of North Americans lurking in the free from aisle for a fad diet.
 |
| Glutenberg's IPA, Red Ale, APA and Double Belgian |
I only had two hands so I picked up a case of Glutenberg IPA and La Messagere Rousse (and had to forego the milk).
The IPA I had with dinner was not great. It was almost unbearably carbonated, sharp, and dry with very little flavour. To be fair, I have yet to try a gluten-free pale ale or even lager that I didn't struggle to finish and perhaps going for the strong ale for my first beer since a so-so citrus-infused gluten-free lager in Amsterdam was ambitious. I'm still keen to try Glutenberg's other flavours, some of which are award winning (which I didn't notice in my rush of euphoria at the grocery store).
La Messagère's Rousse red ale, was woody and flavoursome with hints of caramelization and spice, yet still robust, which worked well on its own and with a feast. I am quite pleased to be spoiled for choice by two respectable microbrasseries whenever I will visit home. Get brewing to keep up, Europe.
 |
| La Messagère's Rousse, Millet and Blonde |
