Wednesday 18 November 2009

Matt's 18th

I haven't posted for a while as I've been busy and somewhat pre-occupied with other things of late. I haven't really been drinking that much beer or even been to the pub recently. Last night was different though. It was Matt's 18th birthday yesterday so I took him out for a pint. We strolled down the road to the Vauxhall, a large Chef & Brewer outlet that sometimes has an interesting beer on.

We were in luck last night, as the pub had Adnams Broadside on tap at £2.90 a pint; quite a bargain for Tonbridge. Matt let the side down rather by choosing first Strongbow and then Fosters. Still, it was his birthday and these were his first legal pints. He was a bit disappointed that the bar-staff didn't ask for ID (he had his passport with him, just in case).

We had a good chat, and my three pints of Broadside were most enjoyable. We have drunk beer together before, most noticeably in Germany, where the legal age for beer drinking is 16, but it still feels strange that he is now legally old enough to walk into a pub in this country and buy himself a beer! As for the Strongbow and Fosters, he'll no doubt come round to drinking the proper stuff in due course; otherwise I might just have to dis-own him!

ps. This post originally featured a photo of Matt enjoying a beer (legally) in Munich. However, like many of his age group he is not over-keen on having his photo taken, let alone it being posted online! To save him further embarrassment I have decided to remove it.

2 comments:

Curmudgeon said...

I went out drinking (in moderation) with my dad from about the age of 17 - but I always made him pay until I was 18. It's a pity that kind of gentle transition into the world of pubs and beer isn't possible nowadays.

Paul Bailey said...

My father's never been much of a beer dsrinker, or a pub-goer for that matter, but like most of my contempoaries I started visitng, and drinking in pubs round about the age of 17. Hopefully I've introduced Matt to the idea of sensible, moderate drinking, primarily on trips to Germany, but also at home.