The Beer Thread

[Monti Christo]

We get hot summers and cold winters, so my drinking tastes vary over the course of the year. I enjoy London Porter in the colder seasons, and Stella Artois in warmer weather. On a scortching hot day, I have been known to have an ice cold Corona with lime. In my local pub I tend to go for Guinness (although I find it too bitter if it isn't draft) or a hard cider, although that's not technically beer.

[Sir Nikolas Vendigroth]

Here, I have a bottle of Fuller's ESB, which obviously stands for extra-super beer. It's got all sorts of awards and things, and it's easy to see why.

It's not too heavily hopped, whicvh I like, and there's an overall citrus note to it. It actually smells almost like marmalade. In fact, there's a sort of marmaladey finish to it. Very nice stuff.

Next time you're in Tesco, do yourself a favour and get a bottle.

[Mrs. Sullivan]

For some reason, every time I check this thread I have to look at the little bar graph and see how Stout is doing - Go, Stout, go!  You're only a few points behind!

[electroginge]

I've been a cheeky moderator, and added  (Hard) Cider to the list, as that's where my vote goes, apologies to Sir Nikolas Vendigroth, he's a good sport, and shouldn't mind!

Currently, as in right this minute, I'm happily imbibing some Henney's Frome Valley Herefordshire cider, in the almost cloyingly sweet 'apple sweet' variety, though the medium and dry varieties are equally palatable.

Frome valley! The only cider I will drink. Freely available from Asda in recycled glass bottles. I should get a bottle or two, perhaps later (Asda is 24 hours you know, and right next to the student acommodation!). It is a very very nice cider. Like I said, the only one I prefer to drink, that I have found so far.

 Have you tried any of Mr Weston's lovely appley beverages? The Old Rosie in particular is rather good. I'm a lucky little Plum living in Herefordshire; there's a plethora of stunning cidery happinesses round that don't often appear in the supermarkets. I'll have a peruse for the website of a shop I know in Worcester that sells a jolly good range for any of you cider connoisseurs that are interested. It's well worth it!

I LOVE Old Rosie! Tastes great, you don't need to drink loads to feel tipsy   and it's reasonabled priced! I really want a box of it for christmas  

[Kor Greenfield]

Why is there no mead on this poll! I, for one, demand mead. It is my favorite.

[Sir Nikolas Vendigroth]

Why is there no mead on this poll! I, for one, demand mead. It is my favorite.

._.

Fiiine....

[Lord Sicone]

I voted Stout and just bottled a batch of it yesterday actually.
Also I can see a reason for Mead not being on the list. Mead is not beer but honey wine. No offense against it heck I'm making a gallon of it right now. If you want some lemme know ill pour it in an envelope and send it lol.

[GarethG]

In my youth I started drinking Newcastle Brown Ale in college due to the beer in the student union bar tasting like p**s. So I carried on drinking it after I left college, the local pub even kept 3 or 4 bottles in the bar cooler just for me!... Until the night i decided to drink 6 bottles, then 'offered out' an ex-British army P.T instructor! Luckily he was, well, if not a friend then at least an acquaintance, so that was alright
Suffice it to say, I decided to stick to safe drinks, like Southern Comfort and Coke.

Got rather sick on cheap cider once, never drank cider again. (Well, except once I visited a local farm which also had an apple orchard, and made their own scrumpy, and offered me and my brother a flagon. I took a mouthful and promptly spat it out again, my brother was like, 'let me have it, you don't know good stuff when you drink it, bl**dy lightweight, e.t.c e.t.c', took a mouthful, spat it out... we took the flagon home anyway, where our mother soon requisitioned it and gave every indication of enjoyment saying 'I haven't had scrumpy like that since I was your ages'!)

Anyhoo, I mostly drink San Miguel shandy, SoCo, Carolans, or dark rum & Coke.

I pass the Wye Valley Brewery every time I visit my eldest brother in Bromyard.

Anyone on here heard of the Bullmastiff Brewery, in Cardiff?

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Hmm, mead, I haven't had that in a long time.  Usually it's a bit too sticky/sweet for me, but I did run across a "sparkling dry mead" once that I liked.

     Vienna

[teucer]

Mead's amazingly variable.

People hear it's made from honey and expect it to be sweet, so most of the commercial meaderies make it sweet (often too sweet) - but of course wine is made from grape juice, which is sweet, and wine is often dry. Most amateur mazers (myself included) make most of their mead off-dry, rather than really sweet or truly dry, but I've tasted some extraordinary examples from the entire spectrum (except when it gets to the sticky extreme; that's nasty every single time).

[SteamDream]

gentlemen I purpose you all do as I do and follow that age old proverb. "Beer is queer, but liqueur is quicker". Wiskey, Rum, Vodka I'm not picky, but I like a drink that bites, warms, and reminds you that you are still alive.

(I Allways go for the good stuff, EX, Jack Single barrel or gentlemen Jack not the cheap stuff.)

[von Corax]

At the risk of sounding like a traffic warden, I direct your attention to the What's Your Poison? thread for discussion of those beverages which are not beer.

[Kor Greenfield]

Blast! Already voted and can't change to mead! 

[Flynn MacCallister]

It is an affront to my sensibilities that mead -- mead! -- be included in a poll about beer. Mead is not a beer! Shall we include bordeaux and savignon blanc? I demand that this "mead" be removed, immediately!!!



(Yes, I said immeadiately. I cannot beer seeing it there, so hop to it!)

[Sir Nikolas Vendigroth]

It is an affront to my sensibilities that mead -- mead! -- be included in a poll about beer. Mead is not a beer! Shall we include bordeaux and savignon blanc? I demand that this "mead" be removed, immediately!!!



(Yes, I said immeadiately. I cannot beer seeing it there, so hop to it!)

Fiiine ._.

[Mercury Wells]

Anyone on here heard of the Bullmastiff Brewery, in Cardiff?

Nope, not until now. Are they any good?

[GarethG]

From what I can remember (it WAS 10 years ago I last drank their beers) the medium strength beer, (called Gold Brew when I drank it, I think they changed the name now, 3.8% ABV,) was nice, their strong beer (called Son Of A Bitch or SOB, 6.5% ABV) was...strong. I never had the courage to try their barley wine, called Mogadog, it is 10% ABV but only available now and again.

[Dr von Zarkov]

I'm frustrated that I can vote for only one type. Otherwise, I would have opted for "all of the above."

The past 40 years have seen great advances in the quality and variety of brews available in the United States. Although most imbibers prefer the rotgut and swill containing rice and corn (maize), there is a surprising number of brands which not only conform to the Reinheitsgebot but excel in flavour and composition. Microbreweries abound in cities and college towns. It's not at all unusual to find Tadcaster or similar, American brews in small, mom-and-pop convenience stores in the backcountry.

India pale ales and hops-laden beers are coming to the fore, thanks be to Gambrinus.

[Matt_Splicer]

have tried a few good american ales now, with stones being top of the list.

(THey even came over to the UK and brewed a beer specially for a festival using a uk brewery)

Also have a look at Japan, as there is a bit of an Ale reneisance going on there!

[Dr von Zarkov]

In the November 24th issue of The New Yorker magazine, Burkhard Bilger writes about extreme beers. This article is recommended as an overview of recent trends in American brewing.

[lilibat]

A local brewery here in Marin makes a triple IPA called Hopscicle. It is heaven for those who like hopy brews.

[Monti Christo]

Just finished my first perry (pear cider). I enjoyed it. I found it didn't have a hint of the "apple cider vinegar" taste you can get with some ciders. The flavour was pretty understated, though, almost more like a sweet sparkling wine.

[von Corax]

...I never had the courage to try their barley wine, called Mogadog, it is 10% ABV but only available now and again.

I've had a couple of beers in that neighbourhood; my notes tell me Rochefort 8 is 9.2%, and Duboisson's Bush and Bush de Noël are both 12%. All were very tasty, with no trace of any harsh "alcoholic" flavours, and the Bushes in particular were quite warming in the throat. (An "alcoholic" taste is not from ethanol but from fusel alcohols, and indicate that the beer is too immature to be drunk.)

Don't be afraid of barleywines; just remember that these are sippin' beers, not quaffing beers; they're meant to be served in small glasses, lightly chilled, and savoured slowly and thoughtfully.

[Flynn MacCallister]

What is a good hot-weather beer that I am likely to find with ease in the US?

(Don't say Heineken.)

[von Corax]

Pilsner Urquell? Good in hot weather, but it hates direct sunlight. (That's probably where it got the nickname "PU.")

Stella Artois is also drinkable, but not particularly remarkable, possibly from having been bought by the Interbrew conglomerate.

You might also try a wit like Hoegaarden or Blanche de Chambly, although the former has also lost some character since being acquired by Interbrew.