Blog by Michael McGrorty Until a few weeks ago, Un-Human Cannonball was just another one of those beers that quite a lot of people I follow on Twitter were raving about and that I probably wouldn’t have much of a chance of trying. Or so I thought. One day I was casually scrolling through my feed when I saw a retweet from a beer shop in Edinburgh saying they had ten bottles at £12 each and they had to be reserved. I thought nothing of it until a day later when for some reason I forgot I was Scottish and decided to spend £12 on one beer. This seemed crazy and alien to me. I tweeted the shop asking if they still had a bottle, they did and so I reserved it. A week or so later I jumped on a train to Edinburgh alone and spent a couple of hours wandering around the city, first to pick up my Un-Human Cannonball and then to The Beer Hive (fantastic shop, by the way) to get a few more beers. After that I wandered back towards the train station and stopped in at Jake’s Place for a couple. I quickly downed a third of Oak Barrel Stout by Old Dominion and a third of Hop Mountain by the same brewer as I had a train to catch. Both were great. I thought my Un-Human Cannonball experience, short of trying it, was over but how wrong I was… I decided to tweet my friends over at the Beer O’Clock Show to see if they had any plans to review the beer. Unfortunately they hadn’t been able to secure any bottles. Upon hearing this I started tweeting various Edinburgh beer shops and by some marvellous stroke of luck a specialty wine and beer shop still had three bottles. I reserved all three: one for Mark, one for Steve, and one for my arch-rival #No1Fan @stath79 A week later and it was time to go through to Edinburgh for the beers. It was a Friday night and I opted for the 1906 train. And due to the time, I set off on my journey with about 30% left on my phone battery – the only thing standing between me and being a helpless lost imbecile in the big city. While on the train I enjoyed a can of Modus Hoperandi, from Ska Brewing Company. It was amazing. It was like a big, bitter, resiny slap in the face and I loved every last sip of it. If you like American style IPAs then try this, you will not be disappointed. Upon arriving in the capital, I got out my phone and checked bus routes. There were a few I could take to Leith so I waited at the bus stop patiently until one finally arrived. I hopped on, trusty £10 note in hand, expecting no trouble at all only to be told that the driver didn’t do change and that the exact £1.50 fare was required. Feeling a bit pissed off that my money was no good, I sauntered away to a nearby McDonalds and got a coffee. Which I only drank half of for fear of being kicked off a second bus, this time for having food! Finally another bus arrived and I hopped on, dropping my money in and taking a seat. Ah, bliss – should be plain sailing from here provided I can get off at the right stop. Wrong! I managed to get off at the correct stop, and according to my rapidly dwindling phone I was just round the corner from where I needed to be. Fuck yeah! Or so I thought. I turned the corner into the street I needed only to be confronted with that most disheartening sight: a huge wire fence gate with a big padlock securing it shut. Noooooo! Was I too late? I saw a sign which had 9-6 written on it in big letters. That’s strange, I thought, the guy on the phone definitely said 10pm. I got out my phone again, now with so little battery I’m actually putting it in flight mode when I’m not using it, and checked the shop’s website. Yes, that’s right: I went to the wrong place. Only I could be such an idiot and go to the shop’s wholesale warehouse when I actually needed their retail shop. That’ll teach me for not reading the website properly. Damn it! Cursing myself aside, it was now approaching 9 and with the shop due to shut at 10 I started walking. Fast. I didn’t want to add another tenner on to the cost of the beers for the guys, and I couldn’t really afford to absorb the cost myself due to a holiday this month. I was going to make it to that shop, damn it. Half an hour later I was at the shop purchasing three bottles of Un-Human Cannonball and a bottle of Thornbridge’s Kill Your Darlings for myself (a beer which I had been waiting to try it again since December!) And with that, I shouldered my now considerable bag and headed back towards the train station and Jake’s Place for a few well earned beers. Another Oak Barrel Stout as well as a Copperhead Ale and a Rams Head IPA by Fordham Brewing. Now a little bit drunk I made my way into the train station and to Burger King for a little post-beer snack for the train home, which nearly made me miss my train but thankfully they were able to make my burger just in time. An hour and a half later and I was tucked up in bed, Un-Human Cannonballs tucked away safely waiting for their trip south, despite the big city and my phone’s efforts to thwart me. Look out for the season finale featuring said Un-Human Cannonballs that will be out at Beer O’clock on Friday 26th of July! Follow Michael on Twitter @h_doody #StillThinking
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