My trip to France has been a tale of woe so far, beyond picking up some Pibarnon 2001 for a knock-down price. Dinner was, perhaps, even more depressing than what approximated for lunch.

We had a recommendation to go to a microbrewery in Lille called Les 3 Brasseurs. Going to a microbrewery is usually an interesting experience, and one can generally expect beer of passable quality. It was piss-quality at Les 3 Brasseurs.

We tried all of their beers. The Blonde, Blanche and Brune all tasted pretty similar, which was bad enough. Worse was they tasted disgusting. They had a strange flavour of that shameful concoction known as 'mixed herbs', and mixed herbs that had been left lying around for too long. There was no life, freshness or style. They were simply dirty with a freaking awful flavour. The only differentiation between them, beyond the colour, was that the Brune had a vague hint of bitterness. The Ambree beer was not so utterly vile, instead it was totally bland and characterless. I'd rather be offended than bored and this was piss boring. I hated all the beers with a passion and found the drinking experience there to be completely depressing.

It did not cheer me up that the food was also total crap, the dried-out tarte-flambees were notably awful. The final nail in the coffin of this dire dive was that the service was hopeless from our complete twat of a waiter. He might have been less mortifyingly awful if he was less drunk.

I cannot recommend highly enough that you avoid Les 3 Brasseurs if you should find yourself in Lille; I bet the Buffalo Grill opposite is less of a misery-inducing dump.

The coffee machine has been a real hit. I have decided I like the three strongest Nespresso blends best, but I cannot decide between them. The Ristretto and Roma blends include some Robusta beans, but this does not diminish the quality of the coffee they produce. The second strongest, Arpeggio, is Robusta-free, and is also a damned-fine cup of espresso. I can heartily recommend the Nespresso system, and my machine in particular, they make really good coffee in a style which suits the idle.

I was given my christmas present today, it is a Krups XN5005 Nespresso Cube coffee machine:

We chose idleness over complexity when it came to the coffee machine; this uses Nespresso capsules rather than having to fart around with a grinder and all of the associated crap. This does mean one is limited as to where one can get coffee from, and what sorts one can get, but I have to say I am all for convenience if the quality is good.

And the coffee? I've tried two flavours so far and they have both been very good. Excellent crema and real depth of flavour. I was impressed.

I love espresso, so many thanks to my wonderful partner Daniel for this thoughtful christmas gift. It will be much used.

Onlly using the ingredients I have to hand.

Two measures fresh apple juice
One and a half measures of apple vodka
Half a meaure of absinthe

Liquidise with ice to make a lovely appley-aniseed slush.

My last Estonian beer, drank half an hour before getting a taxi to the airport. I won't miss them.

A. Le Coq Special 1807 Jubilee Edition, 5.2%
Smells like standard lager, nothing thrilling here. Apart from the fact that it is slightly sweet and a bit chemical, this could be any standard European lager. It is like Grolsch with added sugar. This doesn't make it particularly nice. No, I will not miss Estonian beer.

I've been in Estonia for the past couple of days. I've tried one local brewery, Saku, and I have to say the beer is foul. It seems to be a pretty generic lager, but it has a nasty chemical taste which is really off-putting. This is especially true of the Saku Dark. It is 6.7% and additional alcohol really carries the most unpleasant flavours very well. I found two glasses of the stuff to be quite nauseating.

I am off to Finland for the weekend where I know there is a decent pub that serves real ale. It'll be nice to have a good drink that doesn't make me want to hurl. Sadly it is then back to Tallinn for two days. I must find a better bar....

Dukes hotel bar used to be one of my favourite places. It was certainly the site of one of my favourite things to say, namely: "Two Tanqueray martinis, please". It was a cosy, homely environment in which to consume vast quantities of alcohol and still feel at ease with yourself. It used to feel like a gentlemans' club, or drinking in someone's rather baroque front room; a great experience which I used to revel in. The number of random people I've started talking to in Dukes is testament to its powers of conviviality.

However, the filthy bastards have re-modeled the bar. It is now a vile shade of light blue, the inner sanctum has had a window knocked through into the lesser drinking area and all of this makes it different enough to be distracting. Even the chairs have been changed, they are smaller and less comfortable. I admit, the martinis are still just as heroic, even though they now add more vermouth from a mister rather than a token few drops from a dropper bottle. The drinking experience is not the same, though. The whole place is lighter, more sanitised and not as conducive to heavy drinking and socialising as the old bar. It feels a lot more anonymous and has lost the charm it used to have.

I have to add, I am also disappointed that the anti-smoking laws have come into power in the UK, so I cannot get incredibly newscasted and order a big Cuban to suck on.

I often used to feel like dropping by Dukes to have my mind altered by a big glass of gin, but since the re-decoration I just don't feel the same about it anymore. I am sure I will return, but it will not be as often or for as long.

I just love it. The Meantime Brewey hit the spot once again.

India Pale Ale 7.5%, Meantime Brewery
A delightful, golden hue. Smells richly hopped, full of flowers and sweet richness. The alcohol does not stand out in the slightest. Delicious! Really bitter, full of complex flavours, and a great, long finish to it. It has a really pleasing savoury character to it. This is top stuff. I bet it'd age as well as any beer of this style; but ageing beer is pointless, especially when it is so utterly lovely as this is now. This is seriously good stuff for those who like their beers, indeed their lives, to have character.