Nigeria & Australia breeze into last eight + England WC autopsy

What the Uruguayan linesman actually saw...

England's performance - what the lads thought

Following England's shapeless, listless WC2010 performance against the Germans, the COGH team decided to do a bit of unofficial market research - and asked those we had been watching the match with to write down their thoughts. For the record, our straw poll included members of the national press and other articulate souls, though we had consumed rather a lot of Hurlimann and Asahi to help drown our sorrows. 'F*ck the millionaires' and 'they're all a bunch of c*nts' were two of the early heartfelt sentiments, though the first actual suggestion was 'try a team consisting of Championship players - at least they might have some heart.'

One sage commented: 'There's ineptitude and inspiration - and there's a gulf between the two we cannot seem to cross.' Comments began to descend toward the less profound at this point - 'c*nt rags' and 'bag of shite'. Passing judgment on England's wide play, one pundit said he 'could have shat a better cross', and *** (comment about Stephen Gerrard removed for legal reasons).

If our impromptu research is anything to go by, the average England fan is seething... And it would seem it is the way the game is run and financed in this country that is at the heart of the problem. With any luck Capello will resign- but let's not hope he is the scapegoat in this deeply flawed situation. What's to be done? A maximum wage? An NFL-style draft? A limit on foreign imports? Remove agents' power and influence? Your thoughts would be welcome, and we'd suggest sending them to the FA and Premier League too...

Peter samples the Uruguayan entry... again

Match 53:
Nigeria 3
Monty-Video (O.G) 32, Ohdear 45+1, Oddbinnsa 60
Uruguay 0

Another storming victory for Nigerian Guinness and a final exit for Harvey's Blue Label, the beer chosen as a tribute to Brighton boss Gus Poyet. Like the Crossbow Cannibal the latter could put up no feasible defence against the African onslaught. Not a whooping on the scale of the group matches but more comprehensive nonetheless more comprehensive than Grange Hill. By this point Dan and Deaks are sporting rather natty sunglasses and their notes have disappeared to nowt, and Stu is growing increasingly fixated on the caps.

Cap of Good Hop

The New York Post takes a mature approach to USA exit

Bird's eye view of the COGH tasting table

Match 54:
Australia 2
Floater 12, 50
USA 1
Measley 74

Coopers Sparkling Ale retains its popularity while Sierra Nevada Glissade finally runs out of fans. 'The Aussies certainly know how to make great beer - when you can tear them away from the barbie and bush fires,' says Peter. Coopers is smooth and gives us no problem, whereas the States are bundled out, like in WC2010, after providing much entertainment but could not live with the Group D Winners.

Third round of matches - It's Le Crunch time...

Half-time for WC2010 and Cup of Good Hop

So we're halfway. Thirty-matches and 32 COGH taste-offs down, and we've seen a lot of drama and shocks in both competitions. Argentina and Holland may be churning out victories on the pitch, but its a different story in the pitcher. Nigeria may have suffered at the hands of their group opponents in South Africa, but their beer has managed to capture hearts, minds and tastebuds. It's now time to blow the whistle for the second half - let's hope there's as many thrills, but no spills - as we try to find the world's best beer. Let's kick off now and see how the group stage concludes...

Kim Jong-Il yesterday - not pleased... Apparently ordered the shark tank to be restocked

Funniest WC banner so far...

Match 33:
Mexico 1
Jalapeno 16

Uruguay 1

Monty-Video 43 (pen)

'This is the Andy Dawson of international beers cos it was a late replacement,' says Deaks of Corona, probably wishing we were sampling Pacifico. 'Unlike Dawson there's no substance here.'
Dan has had enough of it too. 'One I’d only turn to after I’d reached my beer capacity for the night.' Stu says sniffily, 'It's training beer - like a training bra,' and James rounds off the critique with 'Not quite right - Smells wrong if left alone for five minutes.' However, we the wheels were also coming off the Uruguayan bandwagon. We generally liked the bottle and label better than the inoffensive yet slightly thin taste of Harvey's Blue Label. Essentially two beers we've kinda want to see the back of.

World Cup snippets

Great story here about the 1966 World Cup... And another from the same source - Newsarse...

RIP Frank Sidebottom

Chris Sievey, Aka Frank Sidebottom died yesterday after a short battle with cancer. The COGH team would like to extend their gratitude for all the football related laughs he brought us during his lifetime. His final song, Three Shirts On My Line is here. There's plenty more out there to investigate.

Match 34:
France 4
Merci-Beaucoup 31, 88, Cissy 36 (pen), Kronenbourg 71

South Africa 1
Botha 62

The revolving door of fate no longer turns for the hosts. They were simply outclassed by the French, and the result was never in doubt after persistent early pressure lead to a clear then increasing lead. 'I couldn't imagine doing a session on these,' says Deaks, looking like he never wants to drink Durban Pale Ale ever again. Every judge continued to take to the French. 'I shall say these only once, this is delicious,' says Peter in an 'Allo 'Allo accent. And so it was sedimentary that the host without the most beer would depart the stage early.

Final Group A Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	France	3	3	0	0	11	4	+7	9
2	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
3	Mexico	3	1	1	1	4	5	-1	4
4	South Africa	2	0	0	2	2	8	-6	0

COGH Analysis: Mexico missed out on a place in the group of sixteen by a single goal and can count themselves incredibly unlucky. Uruguay are through instead - and join the Mighty France, who may have had a dreadful WC2010 but have shone like a glint in that gorgeous barmaid's eye in COGH. They will be feared by whoever finishes second in Group B. It looks incredibly likely that Uruguay will face Nigeria in the next round. South Africa have surrendered with barely a whimper - an exceedingly poor show for the host nation. So it's goodbye to Durban Pale Ale and Corona - and on reflection we have to say good riddance.

Match 35:
Nigeria 4
Yobbo 31, Ohdear, 34, 85, Amataxi 50

South Korea 1
Pak Choi 38

'Full of flavour but could cause misbehaviour.' We should approach Guinness with this genius ad strapline coined by Deaks. In terms of flavour and depth there's very little in COGH to rival it. South Korea's OB is simply no match, and three visitations of it to our tastebuds is quite enough. 'Would be quite sickly after a few,' says Stu, pulling a dissatisfied face. 'The bubbles fade very quickly,' observes James, and Dan responds in song '...and like my dreams, they fade and die.' With that OB's chances of further progression in COGH.

Match 36:
Greece 1
Taramasalata (pen) 42

Argentina 1
Labia 4

Dan considers Quilmes to be 'clean, crisp but lacking in depth. Ideal in Buenos Aires but not so desirable in BN1,' and Deaks more or less echoes these thoughts - 'nice label colours, watery - not much punch. Fresh but dull.' James is no more complimentary: 'It's more Notts County than Ruddles County, an afternoon of these would not hurt, but wouldn't inspire either.' Drinking Mythos is like sampling Quilmes' identical twin... 'drinkable, harmless, forgettable.' And with that we wave goodbye - without much regret - to the Greek entry.

Final Group B Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Nigeria	3	3	0	0	11	3	8	9
2	Argentina	3	1	1	1	3	5	-2	4
3	South Korea	3	1	1	1	4	8	-5	4
4	Greece	3	0	1	0	2	6	-4	1

COGH Analysis: In a remarkable reversal of fortune, the South Koreans have been turned over at the death by Argentina who squeak into the next round with a humble point. They owe the Nigerians a great debt, who put a fatal dent in OB's (Korea's) goal difference. Argentina v France would be a mouth-watering tie on the pitch, but will the beer equivalent match up?

Yet more Group A - let's see them again...

Well, well, well, it would seem that Switzerland's World Cup side have been inspired by the performance of their COGH compatriot. Spain have got a mountain to climb - surely more appropriate for the Swiss. Who would have thought our humble beer challenge would be like an amber-coloured crystal ball?

Meanwhile, the five of us have been studiously capturing our thoughts on Post-Its, in notebooks and all other kinds of media. Deaks has been doing a stirling job as the compiler of the former and sticking them on the COGH Wallchart.

Hang on - what are Sindy and Barbie doing?!

There may have been fewer goals in the first round of matches in the World Cup than ever before, but there has been plenty of action as far as COGH is concerned. And now it's time for each of our beers to do battle once more - and for us to boldly go where no beer drinkers have gone before...

Fifa's new World Cup ball considered too light

Match 17:

South Africa 0

Uruguay 2

Forlan-Over 48, Uren 74

Durban Pale Ale continues to annoy the lads - 'there's a load of crap in the bottom,' says a non-plussed Peter. James rules it out as a session beer, saying he'd not be drinking the host's beer again in a hurry. 'It's even got a disappointing cap,' adds Dan disparagingly. Harvey's Blue Label - chosen as a tribute to Brighton's Uruguayan manager Gus Poyet gets an infinitely better reception. 'This is what real beer tastes like,' opines Deaks, wishing it was 5% and not a wishy-washy three-and-a-half. Clearly an example of doing the easy things well, and grabbing three deserved points.

COGH prefers Uwe Seeler to Vuvuzelas

Match 18:

France 3

Ribaldry 7, 34, Cissy 25

Mexico 1

Dirty-Sanchez 40

Mexico made to look bog-standard by this artisan delight. 'I still think this is a girl's beer,' says Stu, looking bemused by its presence in his hand. 'Stick a bit of lime in it,' says Dan, but receives little response. La Choulette continues to impress, a complex whirlwind of a beer that smells and tastes as seductive as a night on the Left Bank with some up-for-it sort called Mimi. 'They love a strike and Sasha Distelle, but I know what I like and I like this...Allez, allez allez' Nuff said.

Corona - Someone did put some lime in it eventually

Group A Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	France	2	2	0	0	7	3	+4	6
2	Uruguay	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	3
3	Mexico	2	1	0	1	3	4	-1	3
4	South Africa	2	0	0	2	1	4	-3	0

COGH Analysis: Les Bleus are flying high and into the next round, probably as winners. The whole group depends on the Uruguay v Mexico tie, and the hosts look like they will be eliminated barring miracles, rather like their WC2010 equivalents.

Friday's Games (June 11th)

Here at COGH we intend to bring you match reports on the day, but we've been a little err... busy with beer at the weekend

Come on!!!

The World Cup of Good Hop - what it's all about...

Consequently, as we've been otherwise engaged, the first few reports will be a tad tardy. So - without further ado, let's meet the teams for Friday's games:-

Group A photo (l to r: Uruguay, S.Africa, Mexico, France)
Here they are again from a different camera angle...

South Africa

Durban Pale Ale, 5.7%
"It pours a hazy Caramac colour, with an immediate blast of marmalade orange on the nose, a toffee character and just a hint of spice. On the palate it is medium- to full-bodied, and an initial hit of sweetness is soon swept along by a tide of nicely chewy and tangy hops and a gentle fruitiness."
Beerpages.com

Mexico
Corona, 4.7%
(it was going to be Pacifico but James drank it on the train one night)
"Is there any better tasting beer than Corona? It means Crown in Spanish, and I have to think I agree with their assessment."
Walter Stevens, Reviewstream.com

France
La Choulette, 7.5%
"Russet-coloured French beer with a spicy and bitter orange aroma and a hint of chocolate. Bitter, peppery hops burst through on the tongue, balanced by rich grain and a Grand Marnier orange fruitiness." Beerpages.com

Uruguay

Harvey's Blue Label, 3.6%
"A full-bodied pale ale which should impart a delicate hop character behind the residual sweetness of the malt sugars."
Harvey's website

Match 1:
South Africa 1
Matthew Booze 32

Mexico 2
Bar-erra 68, Blanko 84

Dan is quick of the mark with a disparaging opinion of the host nation's effort - 'cloudy and bitter - possibly off', and a general consensus that it resembled stagnant piss. Conversely, Deaks thought Mexico was 'crisp and refreshing... need nachos... good hair of the dog material'. Stu was less enamoured, declaring Corona 'a girl's beer - pure and simple'. A lacklustre curtain opener - especially considering all the hype and excitement leading up to the tournament.

Cloudy or off? It's a tough call...

Match 2:
Uruguay 2
Loadeiro 7, Forlan-Over 78

France 4
Gallo 4, Squiffaci 45, 47, Ribaldry 90+3

A sparkling encounter which gave the lads something to cheer about. The French impressed from the start, with James being bowled over by the label if not the cap. Peter reckons he's be happy accompanying La Choulette dans la piscine - and admired the melony through taste and sweet notes flying over the palate. Uruguay put in a good account of themselves, with Dan imagining it would normally be poured by a barmaid with thin arms, but ultimately could not live with this Gallic talisman.

Arty shot: The Uruguayan attack(Front), with La Choulette resplendent in the background.

Well, that's about it from a memorable Day One of COGH. Stay tuned for the first Group B games very soon... It's ok, we won't broadcast any ads over the goals, unlike some channels we could mention.

Cup of Good Hop on the Beeb

Click on the link and go to 1h 34m 50secs in order to hear me and James talk about Cup of Good Hop on BBC Sussex and Surrey. It's about ten minutes long and I think we did pretty well. Listeners were treated to live beer tasting (Star, Ghana) which makes for great radio in itself ;).

We will extract the audio and put it up as stand-alone multimedia as soon as we can. Photos of our trip to the Beeb will also be online shortly. Will also scan in our appearance on page 22 of the Sussex Evening Argus yesterday.

Meanwhile, we're still looking for four beers:

Cameroon (Pelforth or any other old-school French Colonial beer would do), North Korea (Taedonggang - though we may have to replace with a bit of creative thinking), Slovakia (Golden Pheasant) and Uruguay (Patricia or Pilsen). With seven days to go, if anyone can help us please get in touch. We're looking to round up the beer hunting by next Wednesday (9th) so we can get on with the serious business of holding the COGH Beer World Cup.

I suppose its not as high pressured as Capello's preparations, but we've still got to keep our eye on the ball. This week we heard from the US distributors of Golden Pheasant, and were very helpful in sending us a picture of their beer - nice try, how about sending us the real thing. Here it is:-

So near and yet so far...

COGH injury shocker! Ferdinand and Drogba may be crocked and seemingly out of contention for the World Cup, but here at Cup of Good Hop we've been hit by an injury scare too. Yesterday I had five stitches put in a nasty gouge in my foot caused by a sandals-and-bike pedal related incident. At least I didn't get clattered by Heskey...

Will leave you with a recent BBC story about the first North Korean beer tv advert - give it a watch, it's nuts... and this article about the carbon footprint of a pint of beer was also very interesting.

best for now,

Peter

Random picture of me singing Mr Blue Sky after a few liveners...

The search widens...

Cup of Good Hop
World Cup beer blog
32 Nations – 32 Beers - Two blokes

http://cupofgoodhop.blogspot.com/

Press release 30/5/10. For Immediate release.

World Cup beer bloggers: ‘Help us find last five rare brews’

Two Sussex beer bloggers are in a race against time to find five brews from five World Cup countries in order to complete their collection, making it possible for them to host a Beer World Cup this summer.

The Cup of Good Hop - http://cupofgoodhop.blogspot.com – will pit the best beers from countries such as Brazil, Nigeria and Japan in a match-by-match basis in order to find the greatest combiner of hops, yeast, water and alcohol on the planet. The blog has achieved more than 1,000 hits since its inception a little over two weeks ago.

Brighton-based beer hunters Peter Styles and James Byford have so far sourced 27 of the 32 national tipples, but are stumped as to where to find brews from the following countries:-

Cameroon
Ghana
North Korea
Slovakia
Uruguay

Peter says of the challenge: ‘It’s been great fun collecting the beers so far but these last five have left us stumped. None of these countries export their beer to the UK and it would be a great shame if our challenge was to fail as a result. If anyone has a beer from any of these countries going spare, we’d be so grateful.’

Anyone who can help Peter and James with their noble quest should contact them on 07946 825926 or email pstymail@yahoo.com. Alternatively, they can just enjoy the blog and the World Cup as it unfolds from June 11^th.

ENDS

Cup of Good Hop, Peter Styles,
http://cupofgoodhop.blogspot.com/
email: pstymail@yahoo.com
mobile: 07946 825926