IF your knowledge of north coast geography is a bit spare, it will always be improved by a glance at local news bulletins during particularly extreme weather.
I once strolled along the 'Prom' in Portstewart during my student days, but rarely experienced anything like the waves which battered it earlier this week thanks to the cumulative efforts of Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin.
Of course, the landscape of the north coast has been shaped by the Atlantic waves and wind over the years and you can also learn a lot about that part of the world by trying the local beer.
Lacada combine good beer with education with the naming of many of their beers. Even when the style brewed is from far flung place, they'll find away to bring it back to the locale.
That's certainly the case with their Screw Steamer beer, a can of which I cracked open at the weekend.
Screw Steamer is a California Common, a kind of steam beer which has its origins in the Gold Rush era in the western US halfway through the 19th century.
The name of Lacada's take on the style comes from the steam packet ferries that ran from Portrush to Scotland.
The beer itself is a malt-forward 5 per cent ale which is amber in colour.It has sweet, toasty and caramel flavours with subtle hints of dark fruit,with a slightly woody finish.It has a light enough mouthfeel considering the malt profile and sweet flavours and a dry and crisp finish.
The Slab is a 4.6 per cent pale ale with an apt name consider this week's weather. According to Lacada, The Slab is the name of 'a seldom seen breaking mutant wave near Portrush'. There may have been a few sightings of it this week, but the only one I saw came out of my fridge and poured a light amber colour in the glass.
There are hoppy, piney aromas, with a hint of tropical fruit which follows through into the flavours.The bitterness isn't overly pronounced and this beer is a good bit more manageable than the wave it takes its name from.
