Visitors will be able to purchase over 50 types of  premium and craft brews, most not readily available in the local market; bottled, canned or draught, from Germany, Belgium, England, Scotland, Australia, Japan and the United States.

Some of d specials

There’ll also be drinking contests and beer games, which are sure to stir things up. Get ready to challenge yourself with a Guess The Beer contest and knock yourself out with n electronic bull ride. There’ll also be a Beer Pong Challenge, & limited edition Brewfest 2012 t-Shirts produced by Salty Customs.

Yellow fever

Some of the beers i managed to sample at the preview dinner at Brussels Beer Cafe include Hitachino, from what is a 100-year old sake brewery in Japan. It’s got a nose of light perfume. The ale is creamy in the mouth, with lil tickly bubbles. The finish is a very light bitterness that comes late.

Jepun mari

There’s also the Yona Yona, a Kilkenny-coloured American Pale Ale (Japan), with a in-your-face hoppines, while the Triple Karmeliet (Belgium) smells sweet, with malty flavours, and is creamy as well. I found the Chimay Peres Trappist similar – light, sweet and a lil malty.

Then there’s the Kwak, an 8.4% Belgian ass-kicker. If u like sumtin fruity, the Timmermans Strawberry is compulsory. Great flavours with a fizz.

Nice

There’ll be these beers n more at Brewfest. There’s a door charge tho – $68, which i think is high. U’ll get between one to two beers.

Action starts from 5.30pm daily Thu – Saturday (May 17-19), until 1am. Details checkout the FB page.

D party went down at The Pool, this new joint that features…. a pool.

Party on

It’s part of its current campaign, with Glenmorangie described as Unnecessarily Well-Made. It’s a single malt whisky from the Highlands area in Scotland, and is the number one single malt in that country.

It’s a special whisky as after being matured in bourbon oak barrels, some variants spend additional years is Sherry casks, imparting complex and unique flavours. It pioneered this extra-maturation process.

Eh?

The Pool party was very orange, titled Retro Funk. There was also a special mix of Glenmorangie with orange peel. (glenmorange’s taste profile includes citrusy notes) – the Zest Serve, a sculptural serving stand which creates an infusion of orange zest with the whisky.

I prefer it as it is.

Zesty

A couple of people including the MC got dunked into the pool! Dats why u have a pool-side party – u gotta have some swimming.

Turnout was good. Malaysia’s Glenmorangie Facebook page was also launched.

Drinkin n spinin. Fun

This was followed by another gig a few weeks later – the Soundform Fluid Bar Showcase, @ the North Atrium of Gardens. The specially-designed bar by architect and interior designer Philip Michael Wolfson  is supposed to represent the flow of sounds when Glenmorangie is poured into a glass.

It’s a striking design, with built-in speakers that really kick some bass.

Fluid Bar

Mixologist Ben Ng was in the mix, giving tasting sessions. It was strange but nice drinking in d middle of a mall, among shoppers.

Ben in action

The party soon moved upstairs to Vertigo, where a couple of guys in NASA suits were on decks, Manufactured Superstars.  They rocked d house, the crowd had a blast.

Slick

Glenmorangie is actually the best-awarded single malt in 2011′s International Wines and Spirits Competition (IWSC). Their whiskies have won a grand total of 18 ‘Gold Best in Class’ medals over the past five years at the IWSC.

The Golds went to Glenmorangie Original, Nectar D’Or, 18 Years Old, Quarter Century and Signet. Quite a wide range.

No wonder it’s a popular Scotch, and now with its rockin parties, pretty cool as well.

Up up and away...

Its newly-opened, so not fully decorated yet. It’s set-up is simple and casual.

Restaurant+bar

Food is British and fusion, and chef Scott is a local Eurasian boy, who’s got skills.

One of the favourites here is the Pork Ribs ($25.50 nett), which unlike most joints, here they oven-bake them.

Flashy

I think the significant factors about these ribs are the tenderness, and interesting flavours. Scott marinades d ribs in spices & ….. Coke! Then bakes it and adds an Oriental BBQ sauce.

The sauce is sweetish, with hints of spices while the meat… goddam its tender, skidding from the bone with a little effort. But dat dont mean u shd use cutlery.

Goes well with a Guinness.

Not dicks. Pigs in Blanket - large & juicy

Had to do the Pork Vindaloo ($25.50). It’s made with pork belly. Being a vindaloo, it gives a medium-low glow in the mouth on the spiciness scale, thanks to the loads of various spices and other condiments, including vinegar, making the gravy quite grainy and thick.

Piggy

Eaten with bread or rice, it’s gotta a sour-peppery tinge. Unusual and pretty good.

The Apple Lamb ($25.50) is another a curry-like dish, which is sweeter, and medium-spicy at d same time. Loaded with raisins, chunks of apple, and cashew nuts.

Sumtin different

The lamb is tender, the gravy flavoursome, and altho sweetish, does complement the meat. Could use more meat tho.

I had no space to shove dessert in. I should eat slower. But had one eye on an item called Braised Apple Compote, which contains apple braised in wine, with homemade basil & raisin ice-cream.

Everything at MacLaren’s is made from scratch, nothing out of bottles or cans, so food quality is pretty good.

Some of d items

Some of the best-sellers here are the Double Whammy (burger – double patty of your choice, bacon egg & cheese, $22), the Oxtail Soup and the pies (like Shepherd’s, Steak & Kidney, Beef Onion). The burgers are good value, beginning from $11.60, and 4 animals are available (pig/goat/chicken/cow).

Laid-back

Menu is pretty wide. There’re also sandwiches, Devil Curry and Fish ‘n Chips of course.

Tried a whisky for the first time – Glengrant. I gotta say, its very smooth and easy, with a decent bite just after d end, leaving a pleasant light burn in your mouth.

Yea. Only $232 nett a bottle here

Rick, the owner, is a Brit. So a projector screen is comin up for football n such.

Give d joint a shot.

D deals

And Beerbeer is four!

Bloody alcos.

So, we doing a joint party. Come on over (Thu) from 6pm at S’mores, Bangsar South.

Here’s the event page. C ya!

Unlike the last protest, we didnt have to go in a night earlier, as there was no city lockdown. Cops finally realized how futile and dumb dat is.

Trains were packed

Walked in from Central Market station via back streets. A bunch of Greenies were coming from the opposite direction

Dined on pork n beers for d long day

While we were eating in Chinatown, as we were early, there was a huge roar outside, along Jln Bandar.

To the right...

To the left

The Chinatown sector had started their march to the rendezvous. And they kept pouring. For about 15 minutes. Probably 15,000 or more  in this group i reckon.

We (a group of 7) walked out soon after, and made our way through some back roads, headed to Merdeka Square.

Full n ready

We went from Chinatown, to CM, to Tun Perak by Masjid Jamek

There was a huge crowd on Tun Perak. From the junction of Merdeka Square all the way to Puduraya and beyond, all 4 lanes were choked with people. Maybe 50,000 here. Further than the eye could see.

This turned out to be the biggest, and quite a hardcore group later.

Everyone just chilled, listened to speeches, chanted, and some sat. We found some space to chill on Jln Melayu, n put on some reggae tunes.

After about an hour, we stood up and our small group were discussing our next course of action, such as happy hours, when i felt a familiar taste in my eyes.

“I think it’s gas.” i said. Weird, cos there was no sign of trouble, and bored people were about to leave. In fact, some had left as we were told to do so about 10 minutes beforehand.

The music stopped.

I moved up to locate the source, as everybody was still chillin n there was no gas visible, nor were there any sounds. A few seconds later, the crowd rushed in our direction, coughing and crying. The gas had kicked in, and from where we weren’t sure.

Anyway, many were first timers n panicked, squeezing into Jln Melayu. It got messy. They were trying to get away, but it was too congested. They panicked even more. The gas really started to kick-in.

Then we heard there was no exit on Jln Melayu! Some climbed over the railing and jumped onto the riverbank. Which was risky.

Stretcher crew n medics from Civil Defence. There were many ambulances in action from Red Crescent speeding around. Good job guys

I rounded d crew n decided d safest option was to head against d crowd, towards d gas, back to Tun Perak. Just before we got there, several gas canisters landed in front of us. Dat was a surprise, coz we never saw any riot police / FRU.

We decided to dash thru them anyway, and got onto Tun Perak, rejoining the main group at Jamek . It was a relief.

Some so-called protestors disappeared and went home crying after the first taste of gas. Haha. Amateurs. But at least they showed.

Mask helped a little, but its d eyes that get hit

From then, it was non-stop gas. The FRU would fire, we would suffer / throw canisters back / wash-out the eyes, then regroup. Many times. The Tun Perak group still stretched all d way to Pudu, but where we hung was d frontline at Jamek.

Everyone helped each other by providing water, salt or antacid-water mix. They gassed us for an hour, but we were goin nowhere. Then they sent in d water gun. Bad news.

Good news? A guy who got drenched shouted “Air biasa!!”. We laughed at the ‘fire truck’ and moved forward again. They were outta chemicals.

We weren’t really doing anything when we were attacked, hence we had no reason to leave when ordered by the cops.

Anyway they probably broke the law by attacking places other than Merdeka Square.

Squeezed in one posed shot, with BBQ goin on @ the Jamek LRT

After countless canisters, they sent in a large arresting team, which came charging with cable-ties. We dispersed.

A few hardcore guys again regrouped at Jamek, battling till 6pm.

Back to Chinatown, and we spotted a guys selling ice cold beers. Grabbed a few. Soon, i spotted gas. A small group were being harassed by the FRU. We joined them.  Some tourists too. Showed the FRU countless ‘affectionate’ signs after they fired horizontally at us.

Satisfied, we finally got d train back.

There were quite  a few posers at d event, posing n taking pictures at every opportunity, like it was some sorta fuckin bloggers event or sumtin.

Home. And thirsty!

Anway, hit 42 East for drinks around 6pm. Got gassed so much my eyes were still tearing a little, 2 hours later. The other souvenir i got was a gas canister. Its quite retarded to fire one of those directly at people. Someone who found the shell said it was made in Israel. Great.

Trample all over us, why dont u

All in all, an exciting day.

Somehow had beers on three separate occasions that day.

Problem was, many SB (Special Branch) were disguised as protestors (as seen via many photographic evidence), and they were the main trouble-makers, trashing stuff, beating uniformed cops n shit.

D cop on d right sure looks like d protestor on d left

D Bangla cop sure looks like d protestor who's kickin a traffic cop. Real scumbags eh

Awww, cant take your own gas? The macho pig from the first picture is actually a little babyyy. Wail away boy

Checkit - there were even phone jammers to disable our communication. Where are we, Libya??

Crowd this year were younger and older. Also, in wheelchairs, one-legged, blind, makciks, grandpas, etc

The police also beat-up many Press photographers – who were clearly on the job. Dats as ridiculous as riot police beating regular cops coz they were there. They also deleted photos / stole Press cameras.

When the law enforcers regularly break d law, dont expect regular citizens to respect the law. The cops also removed their badge numbers!

If there was a little ‘rioting’, my guess its by the crazy cops, not the cool protestors.

Anyway, check dis shit:

Uniformed mob!

And this:

This video will definitely cross half a million views. Good.

I hope the next protest will be against the goddam pigs, who were excessive n uncivilized. I’ll be there.

At least, the gas cleared my hangover and dead brain cells.

Brain damage from CS gas: OK la, still coherent

Checked out Scotland's oldest pub, been around for 600 years, Sheep's Heid, Edinburgh

We were d first customers that morning. Had one of each ale

It even has a fully manual alley. As in fully manual

Streets of old Edinburgh

No comment

Our hotel's restaurant loo. Funk

Breakfast was always large. Hard to tell if the boys are hungover

But if u'd rather remain high, the option is there. No takers

Douglas havin a tombstone moment

Hit Loch Ness. Yup, it was bloody freezing!

I dunno whats all this mystery about the elusive Nessie. I found her in a flash. She gives banana boat rides too

Coz makers of fine Scotch whisky Glenmorangie is throwing an event to impress.

Guests will be treated to the showcase of the Soundform Fluid Bar, a sculptural pop-up bar designed by Philip Michael Wolfson specially for Glenmorangie.

The bar is already on display until May 1st, at the Garden’s North Atrium (MidValley), outside Robinson’s.

On Friday, there’ll be more than enough Glenmorangie for everybody to enjoy, on the house of course, and I can vouch that it’s a great whisky. As they say, it’s unnecessarily well-made.

So just answer these questions below by leaving a comment asap, and I’ll pick the most interesting one to win the deal – two tickets to the Fluid Bar showcase, followed by a rockin after-party at Vertigo. Easy.

(O yea, u gotta like the Glenmorangie FB page too. Link below.)

The video will enlighten you.

AND the winner also scores a bottle of the limited-edition Glenmorange Astar, worth a good amount of money.

Clincher

More info on the whisky and upcoming events at their FB page here.

1. Where exactly do the oak used in making Glenmorangie casks originate from, and how many times are the casks used to mature Glenmorangie whisky?

2. How tall are the stills used to distil Glenmorangie whisky?

3. What makes Glenmorangie such a distinguished, delicious and complex single malt whisky, and why do you love Glenmorangie?

Rode the Airbus A380 for d first time. Upstairs, coz we cruised biniz class! Awesome seats.

Now ur talkin!

Anyway, the 5 of us were primarily there to check out the Glenmorangie distilllery and chill at the Glenmorangie House for a few days.

There was Sam, Dax (The Hill), Douglas Lim (comedian) and Karen (Moet Hennessy Malaysia). Quite a bunch. We sure had a ball! Food was great, and drinks too of course.

Did d tourist thing, Edinburgh Castle. Unfortunately they were outta gunpowder

Come 'ere u goddam rabbit!

Swallowed local ales whenever i had d chance

It was bloody snowing when we landed at Islay! In d background is the smallest airport i seen in awhile

Sampling the fine stuff at Ardbeg's distillery, Islay

Puttin on my 'tasting face'

Dined at Jamie Oliver's in Glasgow

Then hit d streets for a spot to quench thirst

Squeezed in some clubbing. A beer was a buck sixty

D pad for one nite in Glasgow

Streets of Glasgow, with some sunlight, finally!

And as we pushed into the Highlands, snow. Same day as d previous pix

Made it to d Glenmorangie House. Yup, same day. Chilled n partied for three days here

Karen layaning a shot of... Glenmorangie's spring water

Gosh, this is gettin a lil long, coz a lot more to go. Will have to do a Part 2.

Meanwhile, there’ll be a kick-ass Glenmorangie party next Friday (April 20), and u can win tickets to d party as well as a bottle of the superb Glenmorangie Astar right here. Check back on Monday night for that.

Never did make it to Rude's gig. Next time brotha!

Yea baby, checkout dis bad boy.

Sizzla

I know quite a few guys who’re drooling right about now.

This is a mini-fridge made by Marshall, the world’s best amps. (The main man, Jim “Lord of Loud” Marshall, rocked the planet then checked-out last week.)

Available from October for US$299 a pop.

Hardly enough for a 5-piece band

I know at least one rockin roll band that will want this on stage.

Fuck ‘em. I want one.