No joke, it took me eighteen months to realise that the above was a pun. But luckily it is also one of the better bars in Fitzroy (being a safe distance from the vapid hellhole that is Brunswick Street) and so those eighteen months spent shelling peanuts, playing Connect 4, pondering, chuckling and supping cider were not entirely wasted, despite my slow-wittedness.
I hadn't been there since I returned from London, and the soul-destroying weather of late had been triggering cravings for the warm embrace of its real ales and cushy couches. So when J and I were brainstorming for a place for S's birthday drinks, the promise of delicious beer plus its spacious seating arrangments and good heating was sufficient justification to direct everyone to the Lambsgo.
I couldn't decide if I was in the mood for a gutsy ale or a dry cider (and they have a wide choice of both), so M said he would choose a drink for me. The eternal peacemaker, he returned with . . . apple-flavoured beer from the Guest Tap.
I was openminded as the English Campaign for Real Ale festival that I attended in London gave me an appreciation for flavoured beers (raisin stout, anyone?), despite my original scepticism based on my Passion Pop-tinged teenage years.
This particular beer didn't really have the tartness that I wanted from the cider or the complexity of a skilfully brewed ale and was a bit sweet for my tastes. That said, it was refreshing and a much appreciated gesture - thanks M.
Lambsgo Barrr, 135 Greeves Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065.
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