Beer

dchwhite

Oh, and for ready-made beers, have you been to beersofeurope.co.uk? If you ever go up to Hunny, it's just off the Lynn road (A10) - they claim to be the biggest beer shop in Britain, and it's the most interesting barn I've ever visited.

ThePrettyDamned

This thread is the best

ThePrettyDamned

Okay, beers that are supposed to be great that I don't like:

Leffe (seriously, I have no idea how people drink this, I always think it tastes of flowers!)

Hoegaaden - same again.

The Munich beers I had were nearly all from the big 3 brewers, and were damn delicious. I actually couldn't believe how tasty a lager could be. I had a dark one that was 7.2 percent and served by the litre.

And got pissed very very quickly.

I'll see if I can find out what this croatian beer was. It was *awesome*. I could drink it like water.

But easier...

jonnyburgo

Lancaster Bomber is a fine ale, as is Sadlers Mud City stout. In fact their are loads of quality English beers, lager is just fizzy piss really.

Home and Bargains cheapy shop has a nice selection. Aldi does a few nice and cheap too. Sainsburys near us is always a bit pricey.

WezV

DiscoStu said:

Doom Bar is a great failsafe! Lovely pint and far more readily available than it was. Even up here in the north of Scotland!

Since we brought Sharps, Doombar is now the number one cask ale in the UK.     They are still run by the same people in the same place, but we invested heavily in the brewery to increase their production, and they get the advantage of the bigger brewers sales force, distribution network and technical services.   We have just done the same thing with Franciscan Well in Cork so expect to see them appearing in bars and supermarkets near you soon.

Doombar was a stroke of genius.   Its not just a nice beer, its an easy beer.   Its quite a clear beer in the cask, so will settle out and be ready to serve a lot quicker than most ales (24 hours, less with a cask widge.  most take 2-3 days).  It fits better in smaller cellars, there is a lot less faff to get a good pint.   This makes it great for places that have not sold cask beers before.  Obviously its a good introductory ale for the drinkers too.  Doombar has got more handpulls into more pubs, most take two so they can have Doombar as a regular and a second for guest ales.   The whole craft scene then benefits from the evil corporate giants investment in a small brewery

WezV

jonnyburgo said:

lager is just fizzy piss really.

I agree most is, try Sharps Cornish Pilsner if you can

But Carling still pays my wages - so obviously its awesome and you should all drink it

paulk

I live in The Netherlands and tend to stick with Belgian tripels. Duvel is my bevvy of choice, though at 8.5% things can get out of hand quickly.

ThePrettyDamned

WezV;399966" said:

jonnyburgo said:

lager is just fizzy piss really.












I agree most is, try Sharps Cornish Pilsner if you can

It makes me laugh when my mates argue over which tastes better, peroni or corona.

Because they're the pricey ones in the nice bottle, right? They're both pretty naff to me.

I will keep an eye out for Sharps.

chillidoggy

Shepherd Neame's "Spitfire" if you can get it on draught. is quite delectable. Not nearly so good in a bottle, though.

Fuller's "London Pride" is a favourite,  and I'm also partial to Newcastle Brown in the bottle, but if I go into a pub, I will try anything on the hand pump that I haven't tried before.

WezV

Peroni and Corona are quite different lagers.   Peroni is pretty much a cheap shitty beer in Italy that gets sold as a premium lager everywhere else.  But i do quite like it myself and they are very picky about where they will install it which is great for ensuring a consistent product

Corona is brewed to taste wrong, you have to add lime to get it tasting good. It sells itself though, very little advertising needed.  But the brewery do a couple of very good lagers.  Modelo especial is a very clear and pure lager, negra modelo is a dark vienna style lager.  I love both of these.   we currently have distribution rights for the modelo brands but will be loosing it soon which means i will no longer get them in the staff shop

Tone71

I might dry hop my next brew with a carrier bag full of hops, would that make it a craft beer?

Sambostar

I love real beer, but if I so much as smell it, it starts coming out of both ends just a few hours later.

Peroni gives you a splitting headache.  I have to stick to Kronenburg, American Budweiser, Sam Adams and Black Horse Rice Whiskey.  I don't know what they do to that shit, but it doesn't disagree with me.  It fact the additives act like alka seltzer for me.

Bottled Spitfire I get on with too.  And I agree it is one of the best, although many say those Kent Breweries are complete shite.  Think I'm allergic to cheap casks or reused oak wine barrels.

mudslide73

I love most stuff from all over the world. I'll even drink Carling now it's colder from the tap.

I love Munich beers, Czech pilsners, Belgian stuff, Portuguese Bocks... and I love a great bitter, ipa, porter, stout.

I'm lucky where I live that we have the best of Burton as well as the local stuff (Titanic, Slaters etc.). I like a bit of Pedigree too (sorry @wezv !).

Iamnobody

WezV;399964" said:

DiscoStu said:

Doom Bar is a great failsafe! Lovely pint and far more readily available than it was. Even up here in the north of Scotland!












Since we brought Sharps, Doombar is now the number one cask ale in the UK.     They are still run by the same people in the same place, but we invested heavily in the brewery to increase their production, and they get the advantage of the bigger brewers sales force, distribution network and technical services.   We have just done the same thing with Franciscan Well in Cork so expect to see them appearing in bars and supermarkets near you soon.

Doombar was a stroke of genius.   Its not just a nice beer, its an easy beer.   Its quite a clear beer in the cask, so will settle out and be ready to serve a lot quicker than most ales (24 hours, less with a cask widge.  most take 2-3 days).  It fits better in smaller cellars, there is a lot less faff to get a good pint.   This makes it great for places that have not sold cask beers before.  Obviously its a good introductory ale for the drinkers too.  Doombar has got more handpulls into more pubs, most take two so they can have Doombar as a regular and a second for guest ales.   The whole craft scene then benefits from the evil corporate giants investment in a small brewery

This is encouraging @wezv

At our club the guest ales tend to be golden hoppy types which don't really suit me.

As a result I tend to stick to the creamflow or Guinness.

We will have Doombar shortly and so I'll give it a chance.

I have never drank lager. Can't stand it.

thisisguitar

@ThePrettyDamned - You have had Hoegaarden served correctly right? Frozen glass makes quite a difference.. the colder it is the better, much like Coke.

Tesco had a mad offer of £2.00 for 4 bottles a few years ago, I bought six cases of it :-)

Iamnobody

dchwhite;399930" said:

[quote="DiscoStu;399924"]



For homebrew, Woodforde's Wherry kit is a good start. My starting point and although not as good as going malt extract it is leaps and bounds better than the kits me and my dad made back in the 80s/90s

Agreed. My Dad really got into it at one time & was getting the grain as a starting point. I found the Woodforde's kits to be a good balance between something that tasted fine, and space/time considerations etc. The wherry kit has 20% off at Wilkos in their homebrew sale atm too.

[/quote]

Tell me more lads. I note the kit is only £20 - what else would I need to get going and what sort of space - a small corner in the garage is all I have available.

Iamnobody

Iamnobody;400268" said:

[quote="dchwhite;399930"][quote="DiscoStu;399924"]



For homebrew, Woodforde's Wherry kit is a good start. My starting point and although not as good as going malt extract it is leaps and bounds better than the kits me and my dad made back in the 80s/90s

Agreed. My Dad really got into it at one time & was getting the grain as a starting point. I found the Woodforde's kits to be a good balance between something that tasted fine, and space/time considerations etc. The wherry kit has 20% off at Wilkos in their homebrew sale atm too.

[/quote]

Tell me more lads. I note the kit is only £20 - what else would I need to get going and what sort of space - a small corner in the garage is all I have available.

[/quote]

EDIT: found this link

http://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/guides/beer-making/beginners-guide-to-beer-making/

WezV

mudslide73 said:

I'm lucky where I live that we have the best of Burton as well as the local stuff (Titanic, Slaters etc.). I like a bit of Pedigree too (sorry @wezv !).

It used to be my favourite pint.   In the right pub in Burton it was an amazing drink, but it never traveled well and could be truly awful elsewhere.     Now it just seems quite generic everywhere.   I will still have a pedi occasionally.

Marstons may be a competitor, but they are still part of the History of Burton and my grandad worked for them in the maltings.  Coors sold off the Bass brand to inbev which leaves Marstons as the only major brewer left making proper ales in Burton.   Coors do still do the Worthington shield range of proper cask beers, but that is relatively small scale.   There is Burton bridge and Tower Brewery both within a few minutes walk

ThePrettyDamned

thisisguitar;400263" said:

@ThePrettyDamned - You have had Hoegaarden served correctly right? Frozen glass makes quite a difference.. the colder it is the better, much like Coke.

Tesco had a mad offer of £2.00 for 4 bottles a few years ago, I bought six cases of it :-)

Never in a frozen glass, but very cold, yes.

Maybe I'll give it another shot, my taste might not have developed for it by then - I was still drinking piss mostly

mudslide73

WezV;400311" said:

mudslide73 said:





I'm lucky where I live that we have the best of Burton as well as the local stuff (Titanic, Slaters etc.). I like a bit of Pedigree too (sorry @wezv !).





It used to be my favourite pint.   In the right pub in Burton it was an amazing drink, but it never traveled well and could be truly awful elsewhere.     Now it just seems quite generic everywhere.   I will still have a pedi occasionally.

Marstons may be a competitor, but they are still part of the History of Burton and my grandad worked for them in the maltings.  Coors sold off the Bass brand to inbev which leaves Marstons as the only major brewer left making proper ales in Burton.   Coors do still do the Worthington shield range of proper cask beers, but that is relatively small scale.   There is Burton bridge and Tower Brewery both within a few minutes walk

I've sunk a few Peds in the Albion so I know what you mean. My mate kept the Drum in Lichfield for a while and that was the best pint of Ped I'd had outside of de13. Very fond of Burton Ale too.

There's a strong tradition of Milds over in Walsall/Wolves which I'm partial to (Highgate, Banks's). Love Batham's in the Black Country too. mmmm.