Cass Red 6.9

Koreans like a drink. In fact I would go as far as to say that they really enjoy a drink. Very often on my way home from work i 'll see groups of business men staggering along the road on their way home. Women too enjoy a tipple and they too can be seen in their gaggles strolling down the road on their way to another bar, these women are known in Korea as 'Ajumma' and they are a certain type of woman. They are usually of a certain age and have paid their dues, raised the kids and took care of the family and now they are going to have their fun, they aren't disimilar from the multitude of hen parties you see in every city in the UK every weekend.
Drinking in Korea seems to be as widespread as it is in the Britain, there are bars everywhere and every restaurant serves alcohol, one alcohol in particular is ever popular, Soju. Called Korean vodka by some, this potent liquor is a mainstay in korean restaurants and is consumed in quantites that would make the average rugby playing, hard drinking man wince. It is made, predictably from rice and the alcohol content usually averages around 20 per cent but it is also available at a coma inducing 45 per cent. Korean restaurants vary in their posh-ness from the roadside tent setup to the lavish restaurants you get in every city but one thing is ever present, Soju. Beer (Mekju) is also popular as are things called yakju's ( another kind of spirit). They all have one thing in common, they are consumed like they are going out of fashion.

It's important now to explain that there is very little alcohol induced violence in Korea, relative to the UK and although I base this comparision on my own experience I'm convinced it's accurate. In contrast to this lack of violence on the street there have been many reports of a high amount of cases of spousal abuse, this I'm not sure about.

The reason for this little jaunt into the world of Korean drinking habits is that I am currently 'testing' the current offering rrom the Cass beer people, Cass Red. At 6.9 per cent it's a potent little number and after one bottle I'm feeling 'happy'. I've no doubt that a few more of these and this writing would spiral into a collection of letters with no coherence at all and I woul dhave to spednt eh best part of sunday in bed with, what I'm sure will come to be known as a Cass headache.

I will keep you posted if this new brew has any effect on the number of violent, drink related crimes I witness, but dont hold your breath.