“Hey! Keen for Free-Beer-Friday at Beerhouse this week?” We have often dropped this line in our ‘Three Musketeers‘ WhatsApp group. For the past three years, meeting at Beerhouse at 4 pm on a Friday has become sort of a weekly gathering.
Beerhouse is sort of a central hub in Long Street. The canary-yellow building jumps out at any passerby. I have been frequenting this joint since 2014 along with two friends: Werner and Dean.
For a very long time, Free Beer Friday was Beerhouse’s best-kept secret. At 4 pm on a Friday, they cracked open a new keg of beer and handed out for free – if you had the password.
Werner was the one to introduce Dean and myself to this weekly tradition. He dragged us with one lazy afternoon to enjoy a bottle of some foreign Belgian brew in the lazy autumn sun on the balcony.
Always a hearty welcome in the interior. And a Dean.
A happy gathering of friends, post GISHWES 2014.
Getting the free beer involved an interesting ritual. The password for the day would be released (on Facebook. Shh!) at around 3 pm and you would need to cite it upon arrival at the bar. It was sort of like a secret handshake or a sneaky wink to the bartender. Except that the joke was on you.
The person who concocted the password has a great sense of humour. I have had to recite lines from Lion King, mimic the call or a horny albatross (I dare you) and sing the Simpson’s “Spider Pig” at the top of my lungs.
Once you have completed your performance and taken a deep bow to a laughing audience, you are handed a bottle from whichever brewery they decided to serve that day. I have never been disappointed. Beerhouse boasts 99 bottles of beer – but the quantity does not affect the quality.
And let the drinking begin – cheers!
And then you begin your afternoon in the sun. The trick is to pull in early and secure a space on the deck facing Sgt. Pepper. I heard an iconic battle occurred once between these two rivals. What started as friendly jesting between each one’s respective die-hard fans, soon turned into a flash-off between the two houses. I’m sorry to say I missed that.
Post-beer shenanigans at Beerhouse, Long Street.
I moustache you a question (these moustaches belong to Slade, left, and Werner, right).
If you are lucky, there are often two or even three free beers in the mix for you. It depends on the turnout, but the free ale will keep flowing until it is all gone! No wonder this turned into our favourite tradition. There is no excuse not to drink or join in. I would advise sharing a flammkuchen to remain in the staff’s good books.
