London vegan news, reviews & events
I am sitting on a cosy train, being whisked past mist covered rolling hills as I leave Scotland behind me and return to London.
I have many happy Glasgow memories in my head jostling for blog space, but I have decided to let a delicious Scottish beer take the limelight today.
To many people, I imagine this post is going to sound like a moaning vegan going too far but this topic has been playing on my mind for a while.
Why do people refer to a vegan restaurant as 100% vegan when it stocks and sells non-vegan alcohol?
Manchester is hurtling towards being the most fun destination in the UK for vegans.
They have a super awesome vegan grocery store, an amazing vegan diner and even the non-vegan establishments are serving award-worthy vegan meals. Manchester is a vegan hot spot.
A scorching hot vegan landscape such as this requires lots of vegan beer to cool you down and Beermoth is exactly the place to get the job done.
During my recent trip to Manchester, I found myself staggering around the city centre after a few too many vegan beers in need of late night snacks. Thankfully a 24 hour shop had something to fill the void.
The late night/early morning convenience store on Piccadilly Gardens carried the Forest Foods range of products, a range with a surprising number of vegan options. I can’t say the items I picked up were incredible or even above average but they certainly sent my tummy to bed with more than just a few litres of beer in it.
Check out the photo I took of my goods below. Not the best photo, but a drunk FGV stumbling around a Travelodge at 1am will never do much better.
Here is some wonderful news for the vegans and beer lovers of Leeds.
Wharf Chambers Co-operative Club has announced the return of its beer festival, showcasing some of the best in Yorkshire breweries. A hit in last year’s heatwave, the event is going ahead on 19-20th September at the club on Wharf Street, Leeds offering a selection of 25 beers across the spectrum.
Among those returning are last year’s favourite, the award winning Golden Salamander from Bradford, along with new offerings from the likes of other favourites Brass Castle, Marble and Two Roses. The festival is also including beers from in and around York, such as the Great Yorkshire, Rudgate and Harrograte Breweries as well as the York Brewery itself, with a few from further afield such as Wold Top from outside Scarborough. In addition to casks there will also be a selection of keg beers from Golden Owl, Northern Monk and Brass Castle.
There will be over twenty casks and several kegs in the selection with cider lovers also being catered for. All beer and food will be suitable for vegans so everyone can get stuck in.
To make sure all attendees are having the best time possible, local DJs will be spinning tunes throughout the event and into the night. I am upset that I won’t be able to make it to Leeds for this event but thrilled to see such wonderful vegan happenings in the Northern city that holds a special place in my heart (once you have lived in Armley, you never really leave Leeds).
Entry to the Wharf Chambers Beer Festival will be £4, which includes a free half pint and souvenir glass.
Get over to the Facebook event page now to RSVP and invite friends.
What are you getting up to this weekend?
I have put together a few ideas to save you from having to stagger around the Internet in search of fun. If you’ve got any other top tips for the weekend, please post them in the comments below.
Here it is then. FGV’s top vegan and vegan-friendly things to do in London on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th September, 2014.
There is so much good news to cram into this blog post, I can barely sit still due to my excitement levels.
I’m just going to have to give it to you in bite size chunks in order for you to be able to take it all in.
Here goes:
We are all slowly recovering from the shock news that Rekorderlig cider is not, and has probably never been, vegan. The silver lining is the recovery process just got a whole lot rosier thanks to älska cider.
On a recent drinking session in Camden, I was intrigued by the colourful bottles and tempting flavours of älska cider. A quick virtual trip to Barnivore informed me the brand is vegan, so I wasted no time and dove head first into a bottle.
The company makes three flavours; Lemon & Ginger, Strawberry & Lime and Nordic Berries. The Strawberry & Lime was incredibly difficult to put down and I can see it making a few more appearances on my dance card before the end of summer.
But apart from bars in Camden, where can you find this delicious drink?
I was totally blown away by the fabulous people who came along to my pop up vegan event in Clerkenwell last night.
Everyone was super friendly and chatty. That could have possibly had something to do with the mass amounts of Asparagasm beer being guzzled in between tasty bowls of savoury food served by Hummus Bros.
Have you shopped for wine in Oddbins lately? It’s time to start!
I strolled into my local Oddbins store a few days ago looking for vegan wine without really knowing if the high street chain would be accommodating.
After browsing the overwhelming selection for a minute or two, I was approached by the store server who wanted to know if they could help me. It is at that exact moment where I had to decide if I would say the ‘v’ word. You know how it is sometimes, right? I’m not embarrassed and I’m often outspoken about wanting plant-based options, but sometimes you are just not up for the hassle.
But I went for it and I’m super glad I did.
