It’s Easter weekend and mother nature is teasing us with wall to wall sunshine. But, although the number of covid-19 infections still seems to be dropping, we still have to be sensible, responsible and remain at home as much as possible, as tough as that may be. Fill the fridge with beer and sit on the balcony (if you have one,) or perch by the window and watch the world go by. It’s what i’m going to do.

In other news i have brewed the first batch of my “OPA,” or Orp Pale Ale. You can read about my experiences (which were interesting and fun,) by scrolling to the bottom of the article. If you are good little Ronsters and the beer is drinkable/good and doesn’t make me go blind i may share a bottle or two with you. Have a great Easter weekend and…

Give my love to the city

How can love survive in the corona times? Evening dresses have been replaced with tracksuits and onesies, candlelight by the cold glow of the laptop and a sensual massage has been replaced with…er…nothing. That’s where «Be My Quarantine» comes in. Fill out the questionnaire and (hopefully) a match will be found followed by a date on zoom.

p.s. The website is in German so deepl.com will come in handy for filling out the questionnaire.

Missing your favourite bars? Yeah, i’m missing your favourite bar too. But that is no reason to not enjoy a drink from one of your favourite drinking holes. Cheers To Support are offering a great way of getting the taste of your favourite cocktails to you as well as allowing you to support local bars and producers.

p.s. Please support small producers, bars and clubs. They are having a tough time and it would be a major drag if, when all this is over, there is nowhere to go for a drink to celebrate.

I must admit, i never really paid attention to Vom Fass because the logo and branding reminded me of a shampoo bottle. But if you like the finer things in life that can be sold from a barrel (Vom Fass means from the barrel,) it is great. Grappa, olive oil, balsamic vinegar can all be purchased (plus a whole host of other stuff,) but you can buy in quantities that suit you. In addition bottles can be returned and re-filled and they will deliver (by bike,) if you order enough stuff. Good for the environment too. Yay.

Like Garfield (you don’t know Garfield?) i love lasagne. There is only one problem. Making it properly is a pain in the bum. Fortunately there is a solution which i have been using for the past few weeks. Grandma’s Foodtruck has adapted to the current circumstances and will deliver a freshly made (and delicious,) lasagne to your mail box for you to cook. Send them a mail and enjoy.

Those that have been paying attention know that i am a massive fan of Netflix original series’ Ozarks & Better Call Saul. (Can’t wait for the next instalment.) But Netflix also makes great documentaries and Tiger King is a real treat. The series follows the travails of self styled Tiger King, Joe Exotic and his…well… you have to watch it. Basically a batshit crazy tale of guns, polygamy, drugs, vengeance and big cats that has to be seen to be believed.

Last week i declared my intention to brew my own beer and in the past few days i began the process of creating my very own «OPA» Beer (Orp Pale Ale don’t cha' know.) Just in case any of you are interested here is my experience with brewing the everyday IPA from the Brooklyn Brewshop. It is worth pointing out that this process takes around four weeks so i’m going to talk you through day 1, brew day.