Best Beers Of The World?, As above. Options

[dissident]

So many to choose from...

Hobgoblin
Harpoon LPA
White Horse
Farmers Delight
Ghostship
Double Chocolate Stout
Beamish
Fiddlers Elbow
Spitfire
Grenadier
Bishops Tipple
Bishops Finger
Dark

Better stop, sounding like an alky, again...

[Beryl the Peril]

i was in a cider mood last night, tiny venue limited choice, and they only sold small bottles of 'thorne at a over 2 quid a bottle (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) so i spend a fortune keeping cool. And then i spotted that they had bottles of london pride and spitfire cheaper (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) but i didn't want dark beer anyway (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) so sod the expense (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

alberr has said he doesn't fancy the cervesa i'd put in the fridge for him .. so i drank it before he changes his mind (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

he got himself some newcie brown instead.

[itsmeBarbara]

One question, Why do most American's think that Bud is a beer.

that was a Brit who loves Bud, and a yank who was horrified.

[Maria]

Excuse me, but no one is "making" the world drink Budweiser. They just do. The same as most Britons drink crap like Stella.

Rogue is a fine beer, but it's not half as good as Redhook, Bridgeport, Pyramid, Hood River, Deschutes, McMennamins, Steelhead, Widmer, etc, all extremely widely available in the Pacific Northwest of the US.

Why do Brits persist in making beer in those huse bottles (or even worse, cans *shudder*) that go all flat and warm before you've finished them? Or if, god forbid, you don't want a huge beer?

Why can't they make a beer that doesn't taste better than "almost right"? Had a conversation with the guy at the Hip Hop at Borough market about these things a few months back and he agreed with me, having experienced in depth both markets.

Even worse, why won't the Brits import decent American beer? Kudos to Rogue for working out a deal!

Btw, "American's" isn't plural. It's possessive. It would be a good idea to learn the difference.

This post has been edited by Maria: Jun 24 2005, 04:44 PM

[JeffAgain]

Well, tho I like beer I am not going to say anything here, but thank you all for your recommendations.

[Beryl the Peril]

Why do Brits persist in making beer in those huse bottles (or even worse, cans *shudder*)

just as well they don't or it would cost twice as bloddy much (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) see above about the tiny bottles of blackthorne!

[Maria]

I have to say, beer in the US costs a lot less, too.
I can't believe how much it costs here for even the horrible stuff.

Anyway, it's a false economy to buy a huge bottle and then only drink half of it.

[keri]

aren't the bottles pint bottles? and the brits i know don't take and hour and half to finish a can of beer thus blowing the warm and flat theory.

think red star will come back?

This post has been edited by keri: Jun 26 2005, 09:10 AM

[Maria]

British beer is served already warm and flat, so they don't know the difference.

[Graham]

When I was last in the states, I quite enjoyed Brooklyn Ale - hard to drink a lot though, as it's got a seriously heavy flavour. I don't ever remember finding beer any cheeper in the States in any of the places I've been to. I certainly don't ever remember paying less than four dollars for a beer in a pub - don't remember even buying beer from a bodega, but I don't think that would be any cheeper than the £1.50odd for a beer in a UK offy.

I think they key with beers, is that whatever's closest will probably be best. The local beer is probably best for the climate, and I don't think that many beers travel that well.

When I used to live in North Essex, I'd always drink Adnams because it would only have to sneek across the county border, but I've never been as impressed by it back in London. I tend to go for London Pride, which I think's a truly great beer (neither flat nor warm!).

On the other hand, when I was in Spain, I wouldn't have even considered going into one of the many english or irish bars and ordering a british or Irish beer - it just doesn't work in that climate. Over there I was partial to a bit of Maoh (I think that's how you spell it) and San Miguel's pretty nice when it's very very hot. Also, we all had to drink Alhambra beer because the local brewery supported a lot of local jobs, but there was a good reason why no one ever drank it outside of Granada.

This post has been edited by Graham: Jun 26 2005, 10:40 AM

[DoubleJ]

I think they key with beers, is that whatever's closest will probably be best.  The local beer is probably best for the climate, and I don't think that many beers travel that well.

Yes, I think you have a point there Graham. I used to live in Hammersmith, where my local, the Dove, was just a few doors down from the Fuller's brewery in Chiswick. I never used to drink anything else while I was there - divine.

Conversely, there's a lovely old pub further down the river in Mortlake, I forget its name, but it literally backs right onto the huge montstrosity of a Budweiser factory they have down there. I always thought the fact that this pub also had one of the best and most extensive range of microbrewery ales in that part of town was a wonderful way of cocking a snook.

This post has been edited by DoubleJ: Jun 26 2005, 11:27 AM

[Lillian Bellamy]

I have a real mental block about this: the elderflowery beer I consistently refer to as "Golden Promise" is not Golden Promise at all. It's Golden Champion. I don't know why I can't keep it in my head - it will go again in a minute. Golden Promise is made by someone else altogether and is fine, but not spectacular. Golden Champion is nectar.

Maria, I'm sure I would like American beer very much, if they didn't serve it so bloody cold you can't even taste it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) In the Carolinas, we were ordering two beers a round so the second one had time to reach a temperature where you could taste what was in it. And as for those frozen mugs... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[Maria]

Depends on the kind of beer. IPA, for example, is best served cold. Even the british ones say that on the bottle! And I think the opposite for many british beers--this would be so much better if it was cold!

Stouts, for example, are more like red wine, and it makes sense to serve them at a slightly warmer temperature. I don't like stout, personally, as I think they usually taste of coffee, which I also don't like, but that's not the point.

But on a hot day why on earth would I want to drink room temperature IPA?
I know no ne believes me about the Pacific Northwest beer being better, etc. Neither did Martyn, until he experienced it. I believed I would find some great beers in England--the home of beer--at first. It's just that after valliant effort I've come to the sad conclusion that it just isn't anywhere as good as what I'm used to.

[Leontien]

Why is it that American and English beers are totally unknown in the european mainland?
Are we snobs or is our (belgian/german/tjech) beer just superiour so we don't need your brew?

It annoys me that I know my beers but really have no idea what you people are discussing....

[Beryl the Peril]

Anyway, it's a false economy to buy a huge bottle and then only drink half of it.

i have never drunk a half pint in my life (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) unless i have had several already and fallen over (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) I did insist on taking my half drunk bottle of cobra home on the tube after the pints for peace demo (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)


i can't see the point of those cute little stoppers for preserving half drunk bottles of wine either although my tip of the week (for which i should get 50 quid) is to stick a wadge of kitchen paper in the neck of the bottle.. it works fine.

I would like American beer very much, if they didn't serve it so bloody cold you can't even taste it!

so the americans are to blame for beer being bloddy frozen nowadays!

good beer should be pumped up from a cold cellar not a fuckin fridge (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

golden champion (IMG:http://www.badgerbrewery.com/images/beers/gcph1.jpg) is the one that was on offer at tescos but alberr wasn't keen. A bit flowery for me but i had to drink it to be sure (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

ice cold IPA is nice in the garden on a sunny day but most english beer is drunk in temperatures where you wouldn't think of buying an ice cream (unless you were pregnant (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )


i was in greenwich last week and thought i'd go local and was misled into thinking 'old bob' was a london beer. I was told later it was the guest beer but it was scrummy ( and thick as porridge ) so if i ever get to where it comes from i will be sure to test the local beer theory to see if it tastes even better.

we are in gales ales country here

This post has been edited by Beryl the Peril: Jun 27 2005, 09:07 AM

[Graham]

At my local community festival yesterday I sampled the delights of a beer called Prince Albert. It was pretty good - a dark bitter with a nutty taste.

Tasted like it should be very strong, but wasn't too strong at 4%.

This post has been edited by Graham: Jun 27 2005, 10:34 AM

[Graham]

Found it - it says it's a seasonal beer brewed June and July. Well worth a go if you find some.

(IMG:http://www.wychwood.co.uk/new_images/pumpclip_prince_albert1.gif)

[meg]

Icecold beer with cherry or peach flavour is very nice on hot days. You can´t buy it here, though, but we bought a stock of it on our last trip to Belgium. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[DoubleJ]

Another great Wychwood ale is this one:



Quite similar to Prince Albert, but a little stronger and darker.

I LOVE Wychwood...

This post has been edited by DoubleJ: Jun 27 2005, 12:06 PM

[Lillian Bellamy]

Leontien, I suspect you don't know American or English beer because you're next door to Belgium! The phrase "coals to Newcastle" springs to mind. Though funnily enough when we researched a piece on the world's best pub crawl a couple of years ago - in Brugge - the woman who took us round the Half Moon Brewery had spent her honeymoon in Britain, on a beer tour! She was passionate about her beer, and was rhapsodising over Black Sheep, from Yorkshire.

I love a Belgian beer, me. Geuze, lambic...yumzer.

Maria - there's cold, and there's cold. i don't think there's any beer in Britain that benefits from being served at the American temperatures we experienced. In summer I favour a slightly colder beer, yes - but I also favour one lighter in character, like a wheat beer. Had a lovely one in the Lakes last weekend, but can't remember what it was called. Think it was Coniston Brewery. Anyway, the temperature that the beer was served at in America - at least where we were - deadened any interesting flavours that might have been present.Which was a shame.

I don't think real ales should be what we call in our house "beer festival warm" - where loads of barrels are sitting outdoors. It should be cellar cool, as Beryl says. The regulation of that temperature is part of the art of being a good cellerman. However, with the new(ish) fashion for providing more real ales, I think a lot of pubs are finding they have to provide more storage space for beer - the current barrel, the one that's resting etc. It takes up a lot of space. Also, some beers are more prone to go off quickly if they're not drunk quickly enough - I think this is what's behind the notion that some beers don't travel well. Old Peculier is a good example. And if you're not keeping beer very well or it's kept too long, punters can taste it.

As a result, some beer nowadays is being kept in refrigerated cellar conditions, several degrees lower than "cellar cool". The beer will keep for longer, and the coldness disguises some of the ropiness of not very good beer. It's a worrying trend: It's not good for the beer, for the customer or for the cellarman's art. I hate it when I get a pint that's too cold. I take it as a sign of badly-kept beer.

[keri]

my favorite beer experience was in bruges. walked in and they handed us a binder with a list of 300 to choose from... and i thought choosing a breakfast cereal was a challenge.

[Leontien]

Hey, i know belgian beers are great. And Bruges, or Brugge in Dutch, is a very pretty city. But we've had some very nice beers in the UK as well, and it's a pity they're not available here I think... although the warm beer is not for me....

[itsmeBarbara]

I can't drink beer unless it's cold. Maybe not frozen cold but I can't abide the taste of warmish beer, unless I'm going to cook with it.

But then most of the beers you guys are talking about would give me a migrane anyway (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Weenie American/Canadian lagers for me (but not Bud! eccchhhhh!)

[Beryl the Peril]

are we confusing lager and beer ??

lager should be cold (although still at a temperature you can taste!).

where is this warm beer that the english are supposed to drink ??
not in a well kept cellar, although i take jc's point about festival beer.. but then festival warm beer is nicer than festival warm lager. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

i'll drink cider any temperature but cold is nice when it's hot. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

This post has been edited by Beryl the Peril: Jun 27 2005, 03:20 PM

[Leontien]

are we confusing lager and beer ??

Are we confusing ale with beer?

I think we're all clear about lagers.
But the belgian beers (double & triples, usually more than 6 percent alcohol upto as high as 11...) are also drunk cold (5-7 celcius). And not pumped up, but pressured out of the vat.

The english ales are drunk at a higher temp I think.... and usually are 5 percent or less.
Does real ale come in bottles btw? I don't know....