Greetings from London

Arrived in London May 1st (my birthday, by the way) to fabulous weather. We spent the day walking and landed in a few pubs to drink a few pints of local cask conditioned ales. Of special note was Hole Hearted and Timothy Taylor's Landlord. Leigh, my daughter, suggested we visit the Queen's Arms, her local, for dinner and of course a few more pints. London Pride, Duvel, and Aventinus were the libations of the evening. Friday, we awoke to another spectacular day and made our way to the Tate Modern, which was overwhelming. So we needed another pint. Fortunately, we had a private tour at Fuller's in Chiswick with their Head Brewer, John Keeling, who greeted us with English civility. After an in-depth tour, John realized we needed another pint. We presented John with some presents: a Portsmouth Brewery hat, t-shirts, and a bottle of 2006 Kate the Great. He returned the favor by opening the bar to us and gave us a bottle of 2003 Vintage Ale. I'll let you know how it tasted after dinner tonight. We're meeting with Dann Paquette, another New England brewing legend, and his wife and friend. Richard, Dann's friend toured us to Borough's Market and Southwark Cathedral, both of which were incredible. We went to the Market Porter pub and The George. Both of which were purveyors of fine ales and the George was around in Chaucer's time, so of course, we had a couple pints. Are you guys getting a theme here? We've loved England and are sad to be leaving in another day and a half. We'll fill you in on the rest of the details when we get home.

Cheers,
Tod