"United Kingdom" news and stories

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country... and occasionally beyond.

"We don't see many Yanks around here," says a bartender as he pours a couple pints.

True, Sheffield, England is not a tourist epicenter in the United Kingdom. Due east from Liverpool and about 160 miles north of London, the former steel hub is better known for its working-class roots and recent economic redevelopment than for attracting much worldwide attention.

However, the city has spawned a number of prominent music acts over the years, including Def Leppard, the Arctic Monkeys and synth-poppers the Human League. The 1997 international hit film The Fully Monty was even set in Sheffield.

The Rising Sun is a friendly brewery pub (not to be confused with a "brewpub") on the west side of town. They are directly associated with Sheffield's Abbeydale Brewery, meaning they always have five of their unique ales on the handpumps (as opposed to a "brewpub" which brews its own beer on the premises). In addition, the Rising Sun features a rotating selection of seven other real ales from guest microbreweries around the country.

In England, cask-conditioned beer is known as real ale and has a rich history, as the tradition of the English pub predates fancy, modern refrigeration. Ales were far more commonly (and easily) brewed and kept cool by storing kegs in the pub's cellar. Handpumps (or beer engines) brought the liquid to the pint using natural human power instead of any forced carbonation. Some stodgy types, in fact, only refer to real ales as "beer" -- pretty much anything else is a "lager."

Sure, Monty Python has had plenty of fun at Spam's expense (and made plenty of money in the process, I might add), but there's still a fair share of Brits who like being creative with their meat. (No giggling!)

Case in point, word has just come across the wire that "following the resounding success" of last year's inaugural event, Spam UK will once again be holding their Spam® Cook of the Year competition!

Spam chefs are encouraged to upload their unique Spam recipes and pictures to www.spam-uk.com. From there, seven regional winners will have the opportunity to showcase their canned meat concoctions at the "star studded final in London in June 2009." [Their emphasis, not mine. Personally, I wouldn't have the audacity.] The grand prize? An all-expenses-paid trip to the 2010 SPAM JAM® Festival!

Now, I know what you're thinking, but muffle those arrogant guffaws... The 2010 festival location: Waikiki, Hawaii. Not too shabby, huh? (Plus £500 spending money, which in American dollars, depending on the economy, is worth approximately somewhere between $1000 and absolutely nothing.)

Unfortunately, Spam® UK Cook of the Year is only open to residents of the United Kingdom -- though I'm sure die-hard, international Spam chefs will consider achieving British citizenship just an "added kink to the application process." But before you go hunting down a green card, fun can still be found for us Americans on Spam.com including details on the Great American SPAM Championship. Dry British wit not included.

More details on SPAM UK Cook of the Year here.

[Photo Credit: spam-uk.com]

A couple in Cornwall, England, who have been keeping chickens for more than 25 years, thought they had seen everything that the agricultural life could dish out. But then one of their 30,000 hens laid an egg that is four times the size of the eggs they normally see on the farm.

They say that it is a perfectly shaped egg, with a smooth shell and even finish. They can't determine which chicken laid this honker of an egg, but inspections have uncovered nothing and all the hens appear to be in good health. They plan on blowing the contents out of the egg and displaying the shell at their stand at the Royal Cornwall Show.

[via BBC]

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One of the first major studies on the birthday industry has been done in England. It showed that over £1.6 billion pounds, or approximately $2.8 billion dollars, are spent annually on birthday celebrations. The average Briton spends about £47.77 pounds on their own special day and around £30.69 on birthday presents for others. The managing director of the financial firm which conducted the study suggested that the amount spent reflects the advance planning that events like birthdays receive, because people now plan months in advance for something that was once simply marked with a cake.

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A mouse was found in a UK ready-made meal. To be more specific, only the head of the rodent was actually in the meal and the rest of the body was presumably lost during processing. After purchasing the microwaveable curry at an Asada market in England, the pregnant Tricia Rankin only ate two bites before she spotted the head. She told reporters that she threw up all night as a result of the incident. The company, which is owned by Wal-Mart, has issued an apology to the woman and assured her that they would issue "an appropriate amount of compensation" after the product has been tested. I wonder if she will receive more "compensation" if they find other bits of the mouse in the meal. As far as value per piece, I strongly feel that the head of the mouse is the most traumatic bit to encounter, followed by the tail.

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