Pre-Train Hustle & The Mysterious Hophead: Beer #4972 at Euston Station
From the Desk of JT, the Beer Logger (B-Logger)
Mission: One man, one train station, one mysteriously mislabeled beer. Having a blast, with beer!
Beer #: 4972
Location: Euston Station, London (the land of quick pints and questionable pasty decisions)
Beer: Hophead – Dark Star Brewing (Golden Ale… surprise!)
Vibe: Travel chaos meets airport-bar energy but with British charm
Mood: Pre-train pumped, slightly confused, and carbo-loaded
Key Takeaways
- JT logs Beer #4972, a Golden Ale from Dark Star Brewing, enjoyed at Euston Station before heading to Glasgow.
- The beer surprises with its IPA-like qualities despite being a Golden Ale, leading to a confused yet enjoyable experience.
- Euston Station offers a chaotic vibe, perfect for a travel warm-up with delicious pasties paired with the beer.
- JT rates Hophead a solid 3.5/5, appreciating its crisp and floral notes despite its identity confusion.
- The adventure continues beyond Beer #4972, hinting at more chaos in Glasgow ahead.
🍺 Stop 1: Euston Station Warm-Up — The Accidental Golden Ale
When you’re on your way to Glasgow and need a starter pint to ease yourself into the long journey, Euston Station delivers. Not with grace. Not with elegance. But with options — beer taps, pastry cases, people running in all directions, and a soundtrack of train delays.
I spotted Hophead from Dark Star Brewing and thought, Oh nice, a fresh IPA before we hop on the rails. Plot twist: Hophead is in fact a Golden Ale — but it’s the kind of Golden Ale that clearly went backpacking through the IPA Alps, found itself spiritually, and came home with a few hoppy tattoos.
What followed was a delicious-but-confused pint that made me question both its identity and my own.
🎉 JT’s Vibe Notes on Hophead
- Vibe Check: Golden Ale in IPA clothing — the cross-dressing of beer styles
- Drinkability Level: Dangerously easy, especially when waiting for Platform 9 ¾ to be announced
- Accent Jealousy Factor: Everyone shouting train times around me sounded distinctly more organized than this beer
- Crowd Energy: Mild chaos, but comforting — like being hugged and shoved simultaneously
- Surprise Factor: Realizing halfway through the pint that I had mis-genred my beer
⭐ Rating: 3.5/5
Not because it’s a bad beer — no no, Hophead is tasty. Crisp, floral, zippy. But it’s confused. Hop-forward Golden Ales are like British people in the sun: they try their best, but they’re not sure what’s happening.
Still, a fun pre-train beer, and a suitable warm-up to what would soon become… an absolutely bonkers day.
🥟 Fueling the Adventure: The Great Euston Pasty Tour
While waiting for Glasgow-bound locomotion, we ventured into the world of pasties.
Euston Station, as it turns out, is a pasty multiverse — each one with a slightly different attitude, filling strategy, and crumb density.
We tried several. Because science.
🛢️ Pasty Highlights (JT-Style)
- The Beefy One: Felt like a full meal disguised as a snack
- The Chicken One: A warm hug in pastry form
- The Odd Mystery One: Honestly no idea what was inside — but it fought back
- The “We Probably Shouldn’t Have” One: Every UK train station has one
We paired these pasties with Hophead, which, to its credit, managed to go with all of them. Like a confused-but-enthusiastic friend who says yes to every plan.
🌞 The Calm Before the Chaos
With bellies full of misfit Golden Ale and pastry roulette, we boarded the train feeling victorious.
Little did we know the universe had a chaotic sense of humor waiting for us further up the tracks. (Stay tuned — Beer #4973 and beyond will reveal the Glasgow madness.)
But as far as Beer #4972 goes? It was the perfect opening chapter.
A prelude pint. A warm-up act. A beer that said, “Sure, I don’t know what I am… but let’s have some fun.”
That’s the spirit of this whole journey.
Having a blast, with beer!
Related Links
Master Beer List – CLICK HERE
