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I know I'm not the only bloke fond of a drop or beer now and again here on Dakka, so I propose a kind of social club type thing, where we can discuss our latest discoveries, and sozzled adventures.

To kick off, I have recently discovered Harvey's 'Knots Of May' which is described as light and mild. Not my normal tipple, as I prefer a heavier, stronger brew most of them time, but this one is very much an exception to it. Very light on the tongue, and a mere 3%, which means I can quaff quite a few pints without feeling too the worse for wear. Hold on, will see if I can find it's badge for you.

=http://www.freewebs.com/knotsofmay/knots-of-may-mild.html Even better, here's a link to a description. Very very nice, and well worth a try if you can find it.

P.S. My local boozer has just won a CAMRA award for excellence. How good is that??

That is good, embarrasingly im a fully paid up member of camra and knock back a good twenty pints a week. My favourite real ale is called Taglag and is brewed in Cumbria, ill get you a link when i get home cos my phone is no good for browsing. Its bloody lovely stuff, i first discovered it by chance on holiday there last year.

I have recently been enjoying Hydes's - it's a smashing drop of bitter, and a snip at £2.50 a pint. At least, in wanky Manchester hipster bars that counts as a snip...

I've also been rediscovering my love of bottled mayhem:

Cheap White Cider.

Seriously. It's cheap and it get's you shirt-off hammered.


What's not to like?

I don't drink that much beer nowadays but when I do I prefer Stout or Porter. Unfortunatly there never seems to be much of a selection of real ale porters or stouts in a pub, have either of you come across anything decent?

A proper Porter tends to be limited to the latter Winter Months, around Christmas time. Certainly my local only stocks local ones brewed seasonaly (though they often have Hobgoblin in as a matter of course, seeing as it's a tad lovely that)

Stouts. Beyond Guinness, not really that common round my way. Best thing to do is to grab yourself a CAMRA guide (CAMRA, for those unknowing, are The Campaign For Real Ale, and take their Beer seriously serious) and see which Pubs in your local area they reccomend. Generally to be reccomended, it's not your usual run of the mill poser pubs, and as such stock varied ranges of Beers, often from local Mirco Breweries. Certainly The Royal Oak have embraced the LocALE campaign whole heartedly, meaning most of my beveragges are very lovely indeed, and from no more than 30ish miles away, which is also good for the environment (and my Beer farts do need balancing out!)

If you like stout, I can recommend O'Hara's and Wrasslers XXXX as very good stouts. You can get Wrassler's in London, I know that.

tp_1983 wrote:I don't drink that much beer nowadays but when I do I prefer Stout or Porter. Unfortunatly there never seems to be much of a selection of real ale porters or stouts in a pub, have either of you come across anything decent?

In the London area, look for Young's Oatmeal. It's often on tap at Young's own pubs and is not unknown in non-tied pubs as a guest ale.

Regarding bottled beers, recently I have been drinking patriotic military products such as Thwaite's Lancaster Bomber, Shepherd-Neame's Spitfire (the Bottle of Britain), Adnam's Broadside, and Young's Bombardier. These are also available on tap in their local areas.

As the weather turns hotter I like to sample the lighter, lager-style summer beers such as Hop Back's Summer Lightning, Fullers' Summer Ale or Honey Dew, or perhaps a nice IPA style brew such as Greene King's IPA.

Stouts and porters generally are a winter drink, in the summer I tend to verge more towards gin and tonics, though a good IPA has been known to sway me. I don't drink at trendy pubs, even the Guinness in those places is disgusting due to being left in the pipes for too long.
The aforemention Spitfire is a favourite of mine, along with it's stabl mate Bishop's Finger. I've tried Bobadier but found it mediocre.
I'm not in London and have not seen most of those suggested, we have several small brewaries near me (in Shropshire) but most of them seem to concentrate on thier bitters, which while Ok in moderation is not really my thing.

When on the few occasions I do have a tipple, it's always real ale; however I am more or less tee total these days.

It's a shame CAMRA can't shed itself of the beard / personality deficient buffs stereotype that it gets labelled with. Real ale is a good thing.

I prefer the really hoppy real ales; Phoenix, boggart, hopback etc produce good stuff all year round (Phoenix makes the best IPA). Brewdog makes good stuff during the spring and summer but tends to put too much oomph into it's winter beers.

If a pub has some decent cider on tap, i'd much rather drink that than beer as it is a)more refreshing, b)cheaper, and c)stronger

Sadly most pubs just have strongbow on tap and bottles of Magners-sugar-water in the fridge. Finding a decent pint of Westons or Thatchers is nigh impossible :(

You ale knowledge makes me feel like an inexperienced drinker :(

I like beers like Palm, jupiler, Alfa, Grimbergen and such..

I'm actually attempting to make my own beer right now.

I drink abit, nothing too hard though. I gave up feeling like crap in the morning.

And the mention of Brewdog reminds me, I tried the world's strongest Beer the other week, 'Sink The Bismarck'.

My word it is vile. Even as a novelty, keep away! It's like someone has set some beer flavoured syrup on fire and chucked it down your throat. Yuck!

Miller light or micholob ultra is probably my favorite!!!









































I KID!!!!!!

AHAHAHA how many of you almost threw your monitor through a window!!!

Anyone living in the US i dont have a ton of knowledge of what you guys call "real beer" but i do enjoy a Guiness! Hefeweizen(spelling) has really grown on me also, tho i doubt thats considered a real bear by you brits standards.!!!

Indeed. Hefeweizen, whatever it is, certainly isn't a Bear. Those are big, furry and live in woods them. Beer is wet, liquidy and lives in my belly.

Guinness is likewise mass produced nonsense. Though it will of course do in a pinch when the alternative is a pissy Lager.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:And the mention of Brewdog reminds me, I tried the world's strongest Beer the other week, 'Sink The Bismarck'.

My word it is vile. Even as a novelty, keep away! It's like someone has set some beer flavoured syrup on fire and chucked it down your throat. Yuck!

Haha, I heard about that beer. It didn't seem like it would taste very good, and it looks like I was correct.

Like i said i live in the US and we dont have the beer knowledge of the brits!!!

ohhh forgot about Shiner Boch, that is delicious, little Brewery in Texas that probably isnt well know outside of the state.

Bah. I'm not much into beer or ale. Not a big fan of Guiness. If I drink beer it's Sam Adams or Heineken or Grainbelt (Mn brewed cheap beer).

If I want to get drunk/buzzed I'll drink Yukon Jack or do tequila shots.

Most beers I've had with more than 5% alcohol taste like swamp water or leave such a bad after taste (Fosters) that I want to drink 3 gallons of milk after to wash down the taste.

Original Guiness is all right. The stuff on tap in pubs is a bit of a gimmick, though not as bad as Guinnes Extra Cold.

If anyone has the chance to go to Liverpool, I strongly recommend you visit the Doctor Duncan's pub near the Marriott hotel. It has an excellent range of the local Cain's brewery beers plus several guest ales. It is also an excellent building to drink in.

It is very sad that Cain's went bust during 2008 the year of Liverpool City of Culture. Somehow they are struggling along.

I stick to my local produced beers, And since its far betwen fellow Norwegians here I will list them
* Ringnes
* E. C Dahls

Both are great for queuing my thirst when the beer urge grabs me

I've been brewing my own since the beginning of the year, using some kits from http://northernbrewer.com. I recommend that anyone who enjoys a good beer try this at some time, it's a bit of fun, and you learn a lot about what makes the different beers taste how they do.

I like Guinness, Bass Ale and Harp's the most. Sam Adams and a few of the Shipyard beers are good too.

I'm not as picky about my beers as I am about whiskey though.

I'm a fan of Sapporo for something light or Hefeweizens for liquid bread.

Its all about the 211 Steel Reserve for me. While I can appreciate Lager for flavor, I have passed the point of no return and it just won't give me a buzz at all. My thug [see forum posting rules] street past got me into this stuff, it's like .9%, like 2 beers or 3 light beers in one. If it is to have an effect on my ludicrously high tolence it has to be STRONG. Taskes like gak though. I'm just not picky any more I guess. I used to love my liquid bootleather guiness, but nowadays its all about being economical with what others who just don't understand consider to be my "problem".

No whiskey, very little wine, just a steady slow drip of beer from the moment I wake up, that way I won't get myself in trouble but also spare myself the shakes.

I guess it's called "functional alcoholic".

I've had my moments, and gone too far, and wound up waking up in very unfamiliar places just kind of confused. Ever have to wake up and try to remember who you have to appologize to for making a scene?

I have never posted on this forum without a beer in front of me. I have NEVER taken the stage in several years without a good buzz. People say I'm so confident when I perform, but really... its just beer courage. I have stagefright so bad I used to puke before going on. Since I discovered the joy of beer I haven't had any apprehensiveness at all. I guess that's my excuse: I get so nervous I play like gak or don't sing with confidence unless I'm drinking. Since I frequently do that sort of thing, I guess it means I should keep drinking, right? Nice crutch.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:Indeed. Hefeweizen, whatever it is, certainly isn't a Bear.

Well, it certainly isnt a bear, but beer it is lol
Can also be combined with some banana juice for the adventurous people out there ....

I drink Guiness Genuine Draft, its a creamy beer, and I love it.

filbert wrote:When on the few occasions I do have a tipple, it's always real ale; however I am more or less tee total these days.

It's a shame CAMRA can't shed itself of the beard / personality deficient buffs stereotype that it gets labelled with. Real ale is a good thing.

Mate, you dont read Viz?

Here is a treat for you.. look at the name of the pub they go to!

http://bp3.blogger.com/_l3hE1L9RPR4/RttXh9jTn2I/AAAAAAAABRY/jlNeDm_H7Vc/s1600-h/Realaletwats1.JPG

The thing about Guinness is it is very tricky to get right. It doesn't keep and doesn't travel. The further away from Dublin you are drinking a pint the worse it is. Unless it is Export Strength which is something stupid like 9%.
Don't get me started on Guinness Extra cold. Why anyone would want to start with a decent beer and then chill it to the point that it looses all flavour is beyond me. A good beer should be served at cellar temperature, ie a degree or two below room temperature.
I don't really drink to get drunk anymore so the strength doesn't really bother me, except for how it impacts on the flavour.

And for tonight, having spent all day at work, with no Aircon, which has got the point of outside actually being cooler, I think I might try some proper Somerset Perry to chills my bones down some. It's pretty potent, so perhaps I shall make it last.

you people should watch "beer wars"

it opened my mind to what the heck goes on...

ALSO

you should try a "green lantern"

Its Scotch and Lime Juice in a shot