The Beer Thread

[chokeout]

Whatever happened to the beer tent Dangerously was organising? I need closure on exactly how much of a fuck up it was!

[Slapnut]

Brewdog is very hit and miss for me. I really like Punk IPA, Dead Pony and 5am Saint (basically, the ones they sell in Tesco), but some of their "specialty" brews like Jackhammer are absolutely disgusting and I can't possibly imagine how anybody can enjoy them.

 

Mind you, it's quite fun sitting and watching some of the heavily bearded and twirly moustached chaps who frequent the place sit and pretend to enjoy their poison water while pulling a funny face after each sip and taking over an hour to finish a third.

[chokeout]

Jackhammer tastes like Special Brew. You basically admitting to being a tramp if you like the taste of it.

[JNLister]

I like Gem a lot in bottles and when it's well kept, but it seems to be one pubs can screw up badly if they don't store/maintain it properly, at which point it's pretty poor.

[Gus Mears]

You in the South-West Lister? I'd tend to agree on the pub thing, but they seem to generally serve it well in places in Bath (unsurprisingly) which makes the fact they are dicking about with their two Bath Ales pubs even more irritating.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Gus Mears

[seanz25]

I know it's mentioned a page or so back but I'm still relatively new to the drinking world. Huge fan of Sam Adams over here on tap and similarly Brooklyn larger on bottles, although both not really sold much round here. Can anyone recommend anything else that shares a similar taste that I may find more widespread in pubs?

[Kaz Hayashi]

Just popped in to the Hawkshead Brewery in Stavely. I'm bound to have had a tipple at a beer fest in the past but decided to try the cask version of 5 hop... what a wonderful pint that is.

[chokeout]

I know it's mentioned a page or so back but I'm still relatively new to the drinking world. Huge fan of Sam Adams over here on tap and similarly Brooklyn larger on bottles, although both not really sold much round here. Can anyone recommend anything else that shares a similar taste that I may find more widespread in pubs?

 

Luckily there's a few decent American style lagers that are becoming more common now, but if you like them you'll probably like American style IPAs.

Sierra Nevada and Blue Moon will probably be easiest to find, most decent pubs offer at least one in bottles. Goose Island is becoming more readily available as well and has a few varieties. Supermarkets should stock all 3 if you want to give them a try.

[Kaz Hayashi]

Also, if you get the chance, try Neck Oil and Gamma Ray by beavertown (UK/London based brewery), probs mentioned earlier in the thread but if I take someone out for a drink who isn't used to more craft based pints, I tend to get either of these in, bloody glorious.

Not sure about the rest of the UK, but there's at least 5 pubs in Newcastle that have either or both in on tap.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Kaz Hayashi

[patiirc]

After a year of inactivity, I feel the need to spew large quantities of venom in the beer thread. Sorry.

 

Bath Gem is one my favourite local beers. Quality brew, readily available in the local area. Something to be proud of from the town I was born in, along with the culture and rugby team. I was getting on with my day, failing to do any real work because it's a bank holiday when I find, to my unadulterated horror, that Bath Ales has been taken over St. Austell Brewery.

 

St Austell Brewery are the goobers responsible for producing Tribute, the worst beer of all time. It's a beer that deliberately tastes like non-washed out taps at a pub, a beer that has all the heaviness of ale with none of the flavour, a beer that is as fizzy as Carling despite portraying itself as an ale. This utter bilgewater infests every cricket ground within a 50 mile radius of where I live and despite drinking too much, I am abstaining like Ann Widdicombe at the International Conference of Male Gigolo's if Tribute is the only thing available. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NEVER DRINK THIS. 

 

They also produce other beers that are terrible. I feel embarrassed that people might actually think people in the South West like this rancid turd. They don't. Anyway, St.Austell have already decided to fuck around with the two Bath Ales pubs in Bath and, because I am a sad act, I emailed them to see if they were going to shit around with Gem and I got a response so riddled with equivocation, that I imagine Alistair Campbell was responsible for it.

 

I give it a month until the gibbering hordes of mentalists responsible for Tribute break down the walls to Bath Ales and complete their manifest destiny of making all ale taste like foamy brown bathwater. I am very sad. It was the only decent beer left made locally. Now I am left with the riveting tastes of Ringwood Ales (shit), Green Man (shite), Box Steam Brewery (shMEDICOREit) and Sharps (DoomBar is shitarific nowadays, but I get a lob-on for Wolf Rock).

 

So anyway, in closing. Fuck you St. Austell Brewery, I hope all of your Directors get done for crimes against beer and get nobbed in prison.

 

RIP Gem, a fine friend to my liver.

 That's crap. Used to get Ghost Hare, up here in a restaurant when available and the other Hare Brews have a nice taste. 

 

Newquay Steam Beer is sadly missed. I blame the parents squarely for this! http://boakandbailey.com/2013/11/newquay-steam-cornwalls-own-beer/

[JNLister]

You in the South-West Lister? I'd tend to agree on the pub thing, but they seem to generally serve it well in places in Bath (unsurprisingly) which makes the fact they are dicking about with their two Bath Ales pubs even more irritating.

 

Yep, I'm in Bristol. TBF, I really can't complain about the quality of beer as a whole round here -- it's pretty much a craft mecca. That said, my absolute favourite brewery is Tiny Rebel in Newport (with a bar in Cardiff as well) which does a Marshmallow Porter that's insanely good.

Edited August 26, 2016 by JNLister

[Kaz Hayashi]

Blacksheep have been trying to get in on the craft market recently, but unfortunately, it's not a great effort.

It's an issue that some middle of the road brewers have though, they are a standard ale brewer that you tend to find on the outskirts of a village or in 'spoons.

They are late to the game and it shows. Artwork resembling a neck beard goes hand in hand with the lack of creativity in their brewing.

It sticks of "quick, we need to get in to that market", rather than them actually having a love for craft.

I can honestly see it standing side by side with black sheep ale in the discount section of Tesco and Aldi in the next year.

[SiMania]

St Austell may do Tribute, but they do Proper Job which is pretty good.

 

Brewdog are a love em or hate em brewery these days, you can't really fault them for what they've done to further the "craft" beer scene in the UK over the past ten years however much you dislike their take on advertising and promotion.

 

If you can't live without Dangerously420's beer musings then join the UK Craft Beer Forum group on Facebook, he's a regular on there and no different to what he was like on here.

[seanz25]

 

I know it's mentioned a page or so back but I'm still relatively new to the drinking world. Huge fan of Sam Adams over here on tap and similarly Brooklyn larger on bottles, although both not really sold much round here. Can anyone recommend anything else that shares a similar taste that I may find more widespread in pubs?

 

Luckily there's a few decent American style lagers that are becoming more common now, but if you like them you'll probably like American style IPAs.

Sierra Nevada and Blue Moon will probably be easiest to find, most decent pubs offer at least one in bottles. Goose Island is becoming more readily available as well and has a few varieties. Supermarkets should stock all 3 if you want to give them a try.

Also, if you get the chance, try Neck Oil and Gamma Ray by beavertown (UK/London based brewery), probs mentioned earlier in the thread but if I take someone out for a drink who isn't used to more craft based pints, I tend to get either of these in, bloody glorious.

Not sure about the rest of the UK, but there's at least 5 pubs in Newcastle that have either or both in on tap.

Cheers for these fellas, presuming Kaz was also responding to my question. I've tried Blue Moon (they serve it with a slice of orange, which seems gimmicky, with limited effect to the beer) but enjoyed it from the tap, found it significantly different to Sam Adam's, but in a good way, Sam always comes across as being the nearest thing to an ale, without it being an ale, (sounds silly I know) Blue Moon tasted like a spin on the usual lager we get over here. We've just had a coast-to-coast restaurant open near us down here in Southampton, foods shite but it's all American based as is the bar, so Sam Adams, Blue Moon both on tap as with Budweiser. Budweiser from the tap tastes a million miles better to me than out the bottle, not sure if that's just me but tastes like your drinking a decent beer rather than piss water.

 

Need to keep an eye out for Nevada, haven't heard of before. Just started drinking IPAs find them really enjoyable and don't leave me with a shitty aftertaste of soap I seem to get with more darker ales, so I'll keep an eye out for American based ones.

Edited August 26, 2016 by seanz25

[Kaz Hayashi]

IPAs were my first proper delve in to anything other than lager or general ale. I personally find that a fair chunk of UK based standard 3-4% ales taste like flavoured water. They can call themselves 'pale' and what not, but once you have had a quality flavoursome pale ale, there's a massive difference. I've noticed the same with IPAs too and don't get me started on Golden Ale. I don't know how, but if you have ever had a generic Hobgoblin, I find it OK, but still a bit average, however, their golden ale is luscious.

The UK is very quick to point the finger (or was) at the likes of the US and shout 'shite beer', the fact is, the UK has such a diverse range of brewers, some wonderful some should really shake their heads.

The US has been smashing it internationally for the last 5 years, I love it when pubs up here do theme nights. For example, a strange concept was the anniversary of Nevermind by Nirvana, it Kurt's Birthday, it something like that, anyway, the head of steam in Durham celebrated this by having a weekend of Seattle based guest ales in, must have been 10 or 12 taps on... FUCK ME.

I personally like thick and hoppy beer, my dad would call it carbonated treacle, I'd call his ale diluted water, each to their own.

 

Quite an erotic post there, sorry, but yeah, I'm in the pub.

 

Edit - should have said eratic, but I'll leave as is.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Kaz Hayashi