Jeff Stein

Brentwood

After the horrible experience in Tesco's yesterday, went to the other local convenience store at lunchtime. I was the only customer when I arrived, but another six came in while I was there despite the sign on the door saying only two at a time. Not one of them was wearing a mask. Looking forward to this lovable part of south Essex being a second wave hotspot soon

Just been in a Tesco's Express near where I live. No one on the door. Seem to have given up on one way system. No social distancing. Not one member of staff wearing a mask. Well over half of the customers I saw weren't wearing masks. Left furious.

There is a Sam Smiths pub near to the Senedd that has a wall with photographs and memorabilia of Billy Boston. Can't remember its name off hand, but it was rather nice (if you can tolerate Sam Smiths)

I am glad I did get up. That was much better than anticipated

It's a struggle to be motivated to get up for this one

On my couple of trips to New Zealand I drank a few times in a brewpub uptowards Eden Park in Auckland which was pretty good. It had a British pub vibe but I can't remember the name. I liked Macs Brewery in Wellington too. Really nice building on the harbour. Wellington also has the plus point of a Welsh pub in a converted public convenience. However the Kiwi brand beers were pretty awful. Drank Tui at a Warriors game and it was just as bad as I had been warned. It is eight years since I have been there so I guess they could have a craft beer scene now. It is something like 15 years since I visited Australia and I know they have such a scene now but they didn't back then. I remember visiting a brewpub in The Rocks in Sydney but didn't think enough of it to go a second time. I did like the dark version of Tooheys (old?) so I generally went for that. Something called Cascade was passable too. I have drunk Coopers of Adelaide on occasion here in the UK and that is certainly interesting. A unique style. Anyway neither match up to Belgium or Germany.

Far less structured and no wrestling in the tackle. And none the worse for it

I'm trying to remember Hemeling Lager

My favourite weizen is Schneider Weisse. It is a bit darker than the norm for this type and the brewery only brews this type of beer. Have been to the brewery and drank in its tap which was great. Can be found over here and worth trying as it is generally considered a world classic. Another weizen only brewery is Maisels of Bayreuth. Remember that as very good too but not sure I have ever seen it in the UK

A pedant writes: Erdinger is a Weizen and therefore top fermenting. Not a lager I'm afraid. The alcohol full version is very good too.

I thought it was an interesting and thought provoking article. Maybe I am a bit of a Luddite, but I did not know a lot of that stuff.

I went to this game and it is probably my favourite match that I have seen live. Incredibly tough game. Never seen it on TV so looking forward to it

I went for Belgium as it produces a high percentage of the greatest beers in the world. However, probably the best beer I have ever drunk was in the brewery tap in Pilsen where Pilsner Urquell is produced. That was 27 years ago and I still don't think I have drunk a better beer since. Unfortunately in the meantime they have been bought up by Castle Breweries of South Africa who moved away from wooden vats and cut the lagering time so I suspect it is not what it was

Schwarzbier originated in Saxony. The best known variety is Kostritzer, which I am pretty sure can be found in the UK. I was always partial to Rauchbier (smoked beer) from Bamberg. Just two breweries left brewing it: Schlenkra and Spezial. The latter can only be bought at the brewery which dates back to the middle ages. Schlenkra can be found in the UK. It smells incredibly smoky and it's like drinking liquid bacon or kippers.

The hardest choice. I went for England just because of the uniqueness of real ale, but, having lived in Bavaria, I have a real love for German beer. It is much more varied than a lot of people believe and was, at least when I lived there 25 years ago, an integral part of their culture to a degree not found here.

The craft beer wave originated in the United States and they have undoubtedly produced the most innovative beer in the last couple of decades. Much of it, however, I do not find to my taste and their main brands remain ghastly. I used to quite like a dark lager Dos Equis from Mexico but it has been quite some time since I last saw it. I recall reading that Brazil is in terms of quantity one of the top producers of beer in the world but could not name a single brand

Britain's Robert Lambert leading the European speedway championship after first round at Torun last night

The best beer I have drunk in Asia has been in the Philippines. They have some excellent microbreweries. Palawan from Puerto Princesa is my favourite

Sean Tyla of amongst others pub rock combo Ducks Deluxe

Sounds like there could be quite a turnover of players for the Titans at the end of the season and Holbrook may then have a team more to his taste. He could certainly do with getting rid of flakes like Roberts and show ponies like Cartwright

Terrific match

10-6 to Wests at half time. Cracking stuff so far

What can you say about the Broncos? Up against a club which is a shambles off the field without their best player and who lose one of their halves in the first few minutes and who give away a possible match winning try that only they can concede and yet Brisbane still lose

As usual depends which Warriors team turns up, but if there is any team that the Broncos would want to face at the moment it is probably them.