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'CPA', as I like to call it

I do like superstitions and routine, and one that I have firmly lodged in my mind is that my first beer in The Euston Tap simply has to be a Camden -Just because that’s the place my addled mind associates them with. It was I first tried them and so far, it’s worked. If I ever have anything else there, it won’t feel right.
Damn you, routine.
I’ve got to admit, I’m a massive fan of the guys down at Camden. Not only do they make good beer – they make my kind of beer. Clean, crispy Pales, perfect for sunny drinking or banishing the dust from the throat and ridding the fatigue of a hectic afternoon riding the tube. Now that they are well-established bottle-wise, it just means I can enjoy thier beers all year round.
Both Helles (4.6%abv) and Pale (4.5%) are simple beers, well executed. Take your time over them and there’s more subtlety than meets the eye; and both remain stupidly easy to drink. Pale pours a vibrant gold with a tight, ice-white head, those bubbles zooming up the glass and dying in the head with a reassuring fizz. Fresh Grapefruit on the nose; and the body is ever-so-slightly grainy. It finishes dry, and surprisingly bitter. It’s not too sweet, not too bitter – perfectly poised, and wonderful bottled. One of the best Pales about? In my opinion, yes, but you can probably guess from the paragraph above that I’ve got a real love affair with Camden Pale.
Highway to Helles

Helles is even paler, but sports the same brilliant white head. There’s a much more herbal, more noble-hop prescence on the nose, and the body is much softer and sweeter than the Pale. The finish is softly citric (a hint of Peach, maybe?) and moreish. Again, a wonderful, simple beer that I could drink way too fast if I put my mind to it.
In a perfect world, my go-to beer fridge is well stocked with Camden’s wares. Football, a couple of these and some good snackage. Heaven.
If you’re interested, another beery superstition I have is Old Peculier on Christmas Day – it has to be the last beer of the day, no mater how much I’ve imbibed beforehand. Do you have any Beer routines you’d like to share?



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