Hours after the shooting at the Leopold Cafe, a cult city cafe and a favourite hangout of foreigners and locals alike, the place smelt of stale beer and bleaching powder.

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Some locals are lamenting the loss of its rough-as-guts decor and ambiance, while others are relieved that its bar-room brawls, sticky floors and ever-present aroma of stale beer are things of the past.

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In 18th-century London, instead of dumping old, sour beer, publicans would top off stale kegs with a fresh delivery.

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Russia has weak, beer-like kvass, made from stale rye bread (look for it peddled in soda bottles in Russian enclaves like Brooklyn's Brighton Beach).

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