Bad Beer Tourist

I'm not a good beer tourist. I just don't have the determination. Having done a little research on breweries in Turin, I fully intended to walk to either the Birrificio Torino or Il Birrificio "La Piazza", despite a relatively late arrival in the city on Thursday night. However, the persistant rain put me right off. It was pretty miserable, so the arcaded walkways of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele looked very dry and attractive. The path of least resistance being laid out before me, I set off to find somewhere to have food, and possibly some interesting beer. Everything seemed closed until I spotted something I normally avoid when not in England. An English pub. The 1870 Huntsman Pub to be exact. Still, my stomach was complaining. The board outside advertised imported beers, but it was a strange mix, including Amstel, Caffery's, Guinness and McFarland Red, despite all the Tetley's signage inside. Oh well. The burgers were pretty good, the servers were nice, and the crowd was young and happy. Actually, I quite liked the McFarland Red too.

I meandered back to the hotel hoping to find another outlet, but this so-called 4-star hotel was pretty dismal and soulless, and the only beer available was Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

It was an early start the next day, and a long day as I didn't get home till after midnight. One tip: if travelling from Turin make sure you eat before going through to the departure area. Nice shops, but crap food selection.

Next time (I hope there's a next time in Turin) I'll try to get more than a couple of hours tourism time in.