Happy Hour

Happy hour takes place every Friday in the department starting at 5:30 after the Geophysical Sciences Friday seminar. It provides an informal setting to allow graduates, senior undergraduates and faculty members to mix and chat with those members of the department who they don't necessarily see in the normal working day.

Happy Hour was previously run by Ali Gemmell and Ben Kilner but their tenure came to an end at the end of Michaelmas 2003, after which I took over with Ben Fox. From the beginning of Hilary 2004, we introduced imported beers from all over the world as we take our regulars on a whistle-stop tour of the planet's more far-flung breweries. Each week we now provide one beer from our guest cellar and I'll bring you details of each one in due time.

This week's beer of the World:

Cristal, Cuba, 330ml, 4.9% abv.

This week happy hour moves right around the globe for it's "beer of the World" offering. We decided to move away from Japan, and there's not a lot further you can move than Cuba. Cuba is happily communist and seems to cope remarkably well despite living so close to the USA while suffering a trade embargo imposed by the Americans in 1961 following the disastrous "Bay of Pigs" invasion that followed the nationalisation of US corporate assets in Cuba in 1960. The embargo has spectacularly failed to oust Fidel Castro as the septagarian is still firmly in control. Indeed, despite a lack of many basic imports, resulting in 1950s cadillacs still being the car of choice, Cubans enjoy one of the best health services in the world and seemingly have little to complain about.

Why has Cuba's communism suceeded where so many others have failed? Maybe its the warm, laid-back atmosphere of the Caribean, maybe the fact that Cuba was under Spanish control until 1898 and its people are happy for any degree of autonomy, maybe its the huge cigars or maybe, just maybe, its because of Cuba's finest beer. Cristal is a little gem (arf, arf), amongst our supply of "beers of the World". Clear, crisp and delightfully tasty, it slides down exceptionally easily making it a very, very drinkable beer.

A university education is all about broadening your horizons and I think here at Happy Hour we do our own little bit to help out. I can categorically say you won't find this anywhere near here and for any of our visiting American bretheren, this is certainly an opportunity you won't get back home. Be sure you don't miss out.

Served from 5:30 on Friday of 3rd week (Friday 29th October).

Other weeks "Beers of the World"

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