Update:
33 people still in (sadly Gilly didn't eat anything and a Taxi was called
) and all to play for. America has been and gone and we are about to arrive in Belgium, a country that has supplied us with so many choices we are all spoilt! To date we have had plenty of early entries and that's great to see! Keep it up all.
I know I keep going on about reading rules / guidelines, but it's only to try and keep things fair.... hence this week I have decided to give the same leniency (God bless you Google) to anyone joining this week as the newbie's. What I will say again is this... please please can you all either (key word) include in background a picture of the OcUK forums 'OR' even written on a piece of whatever the simple few letters of OcUK. Ok that said and done I still want to give Hank_Marvin bonus points, no not for failing to comply with competition rules / guidelines (even though he did, rem. he only joined this week
) but purely for being awesome! Trust me people this pic is worth logging in for on Saturday evening regardless of everything
As for the rest of you, get those entries in or be left behind! Good luck all
Well the Belgium weekend is drawing to a close and what a super turnout! Twenty two people sent in their entries and only (yes only) four had the same type of beer, Duvel. Just goes to show the variety that Belgium has on offer, simply superb... even if not all the beers were
Next we head to the Czech Republic where once again we will be spoilt for choice, isnt life just hard on us sometimes. The other thing to come out of this weekend is that we have picked our D - F countries, Denmark, England and France so that's something to ponder over while you attempt to decide upon a Czech beer.
Oh some good news people. Thanks to some sterling effort from our very own Seabiscuit and the generosity of OcUK, who have very kindly made a donation in the form of some OcUK merchandising. So keep watching and most importantly keep playing to find out more as the weeks progress.
Once again thanks Seabiscuit and thanks to all at OcUK.
Ok so Czech Republic is where we all arrive, strive and hope it arrives
Once again another excellent turn out from everybody and special mention to those that didn't yet still found time to make the effort to report in, cheers people. Another super tight round and once again it showed what a big turnout can do by mixing the points up. So first group of three over (A-C) and all to play for as we are about to start into our second consisting of Denmark, England and France. I've decided to move random Zero pointers (Bar Stool Fallers) into the Taxi Home group as it reduces the time spent sending out reminder emails to people that haven't entered anything. Once in the Taxi Home group their email details will be removed as will they from the competition.
Well another week ends and another country beckons
Last week it was Denmark with once again a super tight scoring round and an early points shocker for one ... nuff said
Some amazing beers were to be had though quite a few of you didn't find the taste to be the same, but always good to know nothing goes to waste (no pun) ... eh macca with your Mr.Muscle sink unblocker
This week is England and it's shaping up to be a points belter! Some absolutely stunning looking beers and seriously you guys over there don't know just how lucky you all are. Once again this weekend is country voting, G - I and without even a single vote cast am very sure we all know what 'G' will be... Germany is where two of our small band of beer lovers will be heading shortly, not to gain the ultimate advantage but rather on honeymoon
Yes you read that correctly and incase you didn't know, Mrs_Seakitchen & Seabiscuit will be getting married tomorrow (Sunday 2nd Sept.) and I would ask you all this weekend to raise your glass of whatever and toast their happiness. Good luck!
Bonjour Mes Amis! Well no sooner have we all (apart from a few stragglers and the, oh err 'Honeymooners' ) arrived in France than we almost upon mass yell "I don't like it.." (must be said in a Little Britain Andy style). Yip, far from a great turn out in the beers entered or the flavours and tastes returned. Oh well least said about this the better as Germany follows. Once again this should be another super entry with so much selection to choose from and with any luck France will be but a distant memory....well until next season when we all vote differently when 'F' pops up
Cue the Dambusters theme and Good Luck all!
Achtung!
Oh did I grab your attention.... Yes it's Germany and once again just like England (oh now there's a combo if ever there was) it was a massive turnout with 21 entries and could have been 22 if it wasn't for regular player Kanifee being sidelined with a hernia, should add the real reason he has this is well, quite another story... Mr.Bedroom Olympics
Speaking of which we welcomed back the honeymooners though sadly even returning from Germany poor seabiscuit could only manage a point
This a point that 5 others shared as well, yes indeed 3 groups of 2 which meant no outright 'most popular' beer. All the others bagged a 3
Next is Holland (yes yes I know) and I'm sure we will see beer bursting the dikes with one kind or possibly another....
Well Holland came and went without much incident, bit flat really.... Ok not strictly true
once again it's amazing that something as obvious as Grolsch isnt entered. It's not that it hasn't crossed peoples minds it's just that 'oh it's way to popular so no' ..then again so is Heineken!
Fair play to new boy Russinating for taking 3 points with it
Another sneaky non alcho beer steals 3 points (manveruppd, all point and laugh
) and a couple of Tramp juice specials (cough cough yes I did again... but Mrs_Seabiscuit at 8.5%
) wake up with banging heads but 3 points too
Highlight again this week was country voting for JKL which is starting to bring us into the difficult countries, that said Ireland this coming week appears to be bothering quite a few. Funny enough this Thursday is Arthur's Day (Arthur Guinness) so don't forget to raise your pint and toast the great man
Ireland the emerald isle, green indeed just like a few faces around here after they tried the Guinness FES (Foreign Extra Stout)
It was the most popular selected choice but also the most unpopular when it came to taste. Once again something as easy and readily available as Guinness Draught would have pinched 3 points, oh yes points. One hot potato
dropped another point but I'm pretty sure Ahleckz will bounce back and speaking of back, Kanifee makes a welcome return with 3 points. Things are definitely starting to heat up and the next three weeks will see some serious points swapping, can the consistent few keep it up? Japan next and choices are limited, what's gonna be most popular and second most popular choice
Points are there but just who is gonna grab them, all this excitement and still not even half way through the competition! Roll on Saturday
Japan ... what can I say (ooh don't worry I know fine well what you lot are saying
). It has taken this amount of time before the dreaded no points kicked in and yes I along with aceface57, Belmit and Jokester all hit that not so sweet spot of third most popular choice... The entries were not as many but with the choice being limited it had a major impact on scores, and with 'self proclaimed winner' Ahleckz pulling out a wonder selection he leapfrogged into first place with a 3 pointer! Once again this week we stay in Asia and it's the turn of Korea (combined North & South though please don't tell them that!) to possibly again mix things up a bit. Korea is proving to be a nightmare for many so only time will tell... keeping in mind how difficult some of our voting choices have been, please remember we are also voting again this week
Well once again another tough week with an Asian country. Korea, yeah we all know the brands but finding them was bordeline impossible for many... I myself gave up all but hope and even it started fading as I sank into a pit of darkness and despair knowing so many would stand and point, laugh till beer bellies burst and take pleasure in once again seeing me with 어떤 점 없음 But just before my eyes shut tight to stem the tears a light began to flicker and the beating of wings was heard... surely not! But oh yes, before me an Angel! Yes an OcUK Angel in the form of ...... MisChief. I was picked up, dusted down, slapped and told to man the **** up, oh and presented with a bottle of Korean beer
Cheers Tina
Though well done the other 8 that managed an entry even if we all shared a single point, uh huh we all had 'Hite'
Well no rest bite as next week is Latvia and this too is proving to be a nightmare for some.
Surely Latvia could be an improvement over Korea... oh oh same number of entries... 9 people, though one individual a certain ots3go pulled out a master stroke with 'Cesu Premium' to be the only person to take 3 points, well done indeed! Everyone else that entered shared a single point with having two tied most popular choices, well done everyone that made the effort as it has tightened the leaderboard once again
So as the nights draw in and the temperature drops it's lovely to be heading to the home of chili and some Mexican beer this week. Should be a better turnout and good luck all!
...Oh and don't forget the clocks go back this weekend so you can nurse that hangover on Sunday morning..
Firstly apologies on the late update this week, well it's not like I'm Speedy Gonzales..... which brings me neatly into Mexico
After two previous weeks of hard to source beers it was great to once again have a selection to pick from, though as seen before it can mix the points up too. Three different beers Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo and Red Pig Mexican Ale all tied on the most popular beer resulting in 9 people all sharing 1 point each. So only PapaLazaru, Repta, silent and Strang3r managed to grab all 3 points, well played! Repta and Strang3r also showed once again in this competiton it's not always the fancy never heard of beers that take the points with Sol and Corona Extra! A final mention has to go out to Mike306 who regrettably entered a Mexican lookie likely type beer which sadly was actually German, better luck this week matey. Oh and thanks again Supergrass / squealer / teachers pet ... the names go on, though we won't mention his again as Ahleckz finds it embarrassing...
Well after all the controversy over Ahleckz and the above ^ ... it was back to usual form for him with not following the rest of the sheep
and another 3 pointer. He was not alone though as Jokester and maccapacca also grabbed themselves a three. Everyone else split into their own little herd of New Zealand one pointers. We then entered into the first of our non country type entries with 'O'. This was deemed to be any Beer beginning with... yes 'O'
but not the brewer name. Hurray everyone who entered managed to do this, well to be fair I didn't check anything but then no posts from Ahleckz so I guess I was right
(last time I promise). Sixteen entries and only four people shared the 1 pointers, PapaLazaru, ~Divine~Wind~, Mike306 and Repta everyone else grabbed a 3. Quick mention for newbie Sonea_Fifer who after signing up the previous week and immediately became a 'Bar Stool Faller'
redeemed himself with the full three points this week
Always great to see new faces regardless of how late in the competition.
So onto Portugal the land of the dead rooster.... well I guess this is how Jokester felt when he messed up on the scoring
Sadly along with ~Divine~Wind~ he suffered the dreaded Nil points for the 3rd most popular choice
Most of the rest of us managed to scrape a few points by fighting it out over one and two choices - Sagres or Sagres Bohemia (the latter being most popular). Only aceface57, Belmit and silent could manage three points each, well done lads! Even with Ahleckz stretching his lead slightly it's all still to play for as the top of the table is only seperated by a few points.... no pressure then
Roll on 'Q' week and lets all get Quoting!
Quote - 'To repeat or copy the words of (another), usually with acknowledgment of the source'.... or in this case beer
Have to say only 14 entries was rather disappointing in what can only be described as the easiest round, and it's clear to see we are now down to the hardcore element.... the people pushing Ahleckz for the title and the rest for the fun of the game. Sadly we have also lost Spuj1988 this week who has retired with his head held high on 14 points. Getting back to the results, everyone that entered walked away with the max 3 points so next to no movement in the leaderboard and with Russia this week it's possible somebody could pull a wonder stroke and take a giant leap forward.... only time will tell
Well Russia... oh how things can change. At one point on Friday evening we had nine different entries, I for one couldn't believe it! Then came Saturday evening and Ahleckz couldn't believe it either.... with one point, yes he was in the most popular beer group with 'Baltika 7'. The rest consisted of a couple with two pointers (2nd most popular) and the majority with three points, one in particular was maccapacca who bridged the gap with Ahleckz to go joint top, well done! Unlike outside things are really starting to heat up now and with this week being Scotland I'm expecting quite a few wonderful beers, speaking of expecting... so far in this competition we've had a wedding and come Saturday all being well we will have a birth (not related!). Yes PapaLazaru will soon become a first time proud father, so all the very best wishes to him and his wife!
Boney Scotland and the beer choices were stacked as high as the Highlands yet for some (myself and ~Divine~Wind~), it felt like the low road as they all got there before us with their three points. Yes it would take a brave heart to say I didn't feel like a certain William Wallace in the closing scenes of some film... but anyway well done everyone else who entered and grabbed the points! It really couldn't be any tighter at the top with only 3 points seperating the first five players, in fact only 5 points is the difference between first and seventh place at this late stage too! This coming week takes us back to the far east with Thailand so once again everything could swing on being in most popular or second most popular group, unless somebody pulls out a wonder stroke... One final thing of note, congrats again to PapaLazaru who is now the proud father to little baby Frederik
Best wishes from us all mate.
A return to the far East with Thailand, everyone expecting a one pointer beer... well everyone bar one man. Living up to his name he slipped in quietly with what only can be described as an outstanding effort to take the only three points of the round! Yes it's true he wasn't the first person to achieve this honour, that goes to ots3go in the Latvian round with Cesu Premium but it was simply down to the fact that everyone knew of his beer but just couldn't get their hands on it. Anyway, very well done Silent a super entry mate. Once again a final note two weeks running goes to PapaLazaru who has to have entered the best picture so far... awesome with lots of aaaaaaaaaw's
I would also like to quash any rumours that Ahleckz has contacted the child welfare...
Oh what a difference a week can make... from hero to zero. Poor old silent misunderstood the U.K. ruling (I'd just like to add out of 12 entries he was the only one) and therefore ended up with zilch points, unlucky mate
Though he wasn't alone on the nil points, yes indeed ~Divine~Wind~ was obviously too busy glued to chimney watch for Santa and forgot to send in his entry.. Everyone else banked three points with various other beers from Scotland (5 entries), England (4 entries albeit 1 wrong), Wales (1 entry) and Northern Ireland (2 entries). It was also great to see everyone embracing the Christmas Tree idea with various efforts being made... in some cases real trees and others... well, efforts were made
and talking of Christmas I shall take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas, have a great one!
V for Value, well supermarket own branded beers. Everyone managed three points with their entries, (not point related) Sainsbury's was most popular (4), Tesco (3), Co-Op (2), Asda (1), Morrisons (1) and Waitrose (1). Sadly for the second week running ~Divine~Wind~ failed to enter a beer, after the previous week on Santa watch he must have spent this week playing with the spoils... We now enter into the final straight W, X, Y and Z still neck and neck at the top with Ahleckz and maccapacca closely followed by the chasing pack just hoping for a slip up
Oh and just in case you've not heard it enough ... a Happy New Year to you all
Wales - the last country to be used in the competition and not to be confused with a large mammal or wails of woe... as someone was very close to doing. Yes indeed 'W' brought us some excitement again with movement at the top of the leaderboard, a certain Mr.Ahleckz forgot to click on that little paperclip thingy in his email client and thus entered no pic.... but as this is a competition of the people and all that we had a vote... points or no points. Result he received his single point along with Belmit, Mike306 and Repta who he shared the most popular beer choice of sorry had to pause to laugh, '
Brains' SA Gold. We also had a second pop. choice of 'Double Dragon' which Jokester and PapaLazaru shared the 2 points, everyone else bagged 3 points which meant maccapacca retained the lead but this time on his own. Ahleckz drops to 2nd-ish to join myself as Belmit dropped some points. At this moment going into the last three weeks we have 4 points between top and 5th! It's all to play for people and trust me this coming week (X - Numbers) is going to be another potential shocker!
X - marks the spot, well it was certainly a black spot for one person as they misinterpreted the rule for numbers week. Poor old maccapacca entered 'Lone Star' taking L...one to include a number in the name, yes technically speaking you could argue he did but after a vote it was deemed to be not in spirit for the round as the other 12 people entered actual numbers or written numbers on their own all of whom claimed 3 points. The X round had been discussed quite a bit in this thread and I guess it's one of the risks of entering early, that said macca walked away for the second time with a consolation point, yet this was enough for him to retain the lead albeit a shared lead as Ahleckz and myself now join him. With two weeks remaining we once again celebrate Christmas with 'Y' for Yuletide and 2 points the difference between top and 6th! Good luck all!
Y - Yuletide and a Christmas themed beer... Well thirteen people must have been good little boys as Santa left us with 3 points each. Only one naughty boy received nothing and it was no laughing matter for (so close to saying maccapacca there) Jokester as he forgot to send in his entry... unlucky mate! So no change at the top of the table with Z (Zoo for animals) to come this week and everything still to play for, 2 points is still the difference between being in the first place group (maccapacca, Ahleckz and myself) and the second place group (Belmit, pingwing and Strang3r). Continued good luck all!
....speaking of continued it looks likely we shall have a 'Drink Off' in an attempt to have a single stand alone (no staggering) winner. How is still to be decided....
Z - Zoo as in animal featured beer (beer name only)... poor old aceface57
Well great turn out for last orders and always nice to see a couple of familiar faces again
Everybody bar ace managed to grab 3 points which as predicted means we have...
The Drink Off...
1) Longest beer name NOT including brewer name or beer type ie. stout, IPA, ale, lager, porter etc etc.
2) Scrabble scoring will count on each and every letter.
1 point: E, A, I, O, N, R, T, L, S, U
2 points: D, G
3 points: B, C, M, P
4 points: F, H, V, W, Y
5 points: K
8 points: J, X
10 points: Q, Z
3) In the event of a tied score a number from 1 - 26 will be generated using random.org and the corresponding beer entry for that week will also be added to the overall scores, still using the Scrabble scoring method above. If still tied another number is generated and scoring repeated.
4) Picture must be entered with ' OcUK ' as before but also include ' The Drink Off '
5) ' The Drink Off ' will take place on Saturday 9th Febuary and entries must be emailed (usual comp. address) by 8pm same day.
Ahleckz, maccapacca and yours truly will battle it out for the honours of being the first winner. Yes the first winner, as without any doubt there will be another competition as you all are demanding more! Once again I'd like to thank everyone who has taken part as without you all this would never have happened!
Cheers folks *clink* been an absolute pleasure
