Theakston's Old Peculiar.
Because it's dark, rich and different! :drunken:
Whats the best real ale out there?
I'm just getting into it after years of lager.....
I like London Pride and Abbotts Ale
Theakston's Old Peculiar.
Because it's dark, rich and different! :drunken:
Adnams or a Larkins for me.
I'm quite partial to a pint of Doom Bar at the moment.
We did this a while ago, but the search function won't find the tread.
My favourite is probably Tribute, but I like Doom Bar, London Pride, Old Peculiar, Old Speckled Hen, Harvey's Sussex, Summer Lightning, Hog Back TEA to name a few.
As for the why - they all taste great.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
I am finding that some of the McMullen beers are very tasty. Enjoy a bottle of Hertford Castle at home.
Always have a soft spot for Ginger Tosser as well.....
Tim Taylor - Landlord.
z
Just bought some Bishops Finger!
Try Nethergate Umbel ale is has coriander in it, and Adams Ghost Ship in a bottle very nice! Mmm, I might have to and have 1 or 3!!!!
Nice.Originally Posted by hlovett
I'm surprised nobody has said 'Spitfire' yet.
+1Originally Posted by zelig
+ 2Originally Posted by aliasrichmond
Ever since capitalism dispensed with unparalleled charm and beauty of proper Stones.
I'd honestly suggest popping down to your local Wetherspoon's and trying whatever they've got.
I don't often drink there as it's full of idiots looking for a fight, but when I do there's normally 6-10 ales on, they're well looked after (unlike some pubs which appear nice, but the ale's normally turned to vinegar cos everyone drinks lager) oh yeah and it's CHEAP. :bounce:
had a lovely pint or two of leeds pale last night
For a sunny lunchtine, you can't beat a pint or two of Greene King IPA.
Hopback Summer Lightning is lovely as well.
Originally Posted by Seabadger
Doombar is a great cornish brew, a nice slightly acididc fruity tang, but a good session pint. Another oe you might like is St. Austell Tribute. A good round nutty scrumptious beer.
If your up in wales, try a Purple Moose, not a bad pint among any of their offerings.
Joseph Holt's Rough Mild
St Austell Tribute
Thwaite's Thoroughbred Gold
Skinner's Betty Stoggs
St Austell Trelawney
But why not try them all? Shouldn't take long, there's only 181 pages full of real ales in the 2012 GBG.
Can't find Doom Bar in these parts. I usually have the TT Landlord at my local, bit strong for lunchtimes. I am partial to a pale hoppy bitter and you will find that with Phoenix Arizona and Copper Dragon's Golden Pippin. Both are awesome drops of nectar.
I once drank enough of the Little Valley Brewery's organic bitter to kill a herd of elephants and awoke with no hangover, seems like a good recommendation.
Ringwood's Old Thumper if you can find it on draught or bottled in Waitrose, some Sainsbury's or Bookers if you have a card.
I'm loving the real ale small brewery revival in the UK at the moment. Some fantastic stuff's now more readily available.
Most recently I've been enjoying some old faithful's (London Pride, Speckled Hen, Black Sheep, various IPA's etc.) but trying to find different stuff as I travel around.
A trip to Cornwall helped me find St Austell Tribute and the delights of Skinners Heligan Honey & Betty Stogs.
The Yorkshire connection in my family means I'm regularly in Ilkley, the local Booth's supermarket there has the best collection of bottled beers I've ever seen. From there I've found the Copper Dragon brewery in Skipton http://www.copperdragon.uk.com who's Golden Pippin and Challenger IPA are personal favourites & the Saltaire Brewery http://www.saltairebrewery.co.uk/html/b ... beers.html whose Cascade Pale Ale is probably my favourite.
More locally to me, the Meantime Brewery http://www.meantimebrewing.com has an extensive range of all sorts of beers - something for every taste - my favourites of which are the London Pale Ale and their Helles Lager.
I do like Old Peculier in the winter, as it's dark and flavoursome, but a nice Old Hooky with a bit of zestiness in the summer goes down nicely too.
Old Thumper is a top winter beverage!
It has to be Barn stormer for me.
Is there a bad ale? :wink:
My favourite year in year out is Hobgoblin..... or Blue Anchor Spingo Special when I can get it and don't have anything to do for the next 48 hours :drunken:
At Uni was addicted to Caffrey's but not seen it in years :(
Tanglefoot. Is great in a tin too. Can't beat badger ales.
Also I'm partial to a Wychwood Hobgoblin.
Harvey's Sussex Best. By a country mile.
+3Originally Posted by raysablade
With Tribute close behind :)
The next one :)
ESB is my favourite real ale.
Deuchars, if we're allowing IPAs
I prefer chilled Belgian beers to be honest...
TT is always good, my advice is get along to a CAMRA beer festival asap they will have typically 50-60 casks so you can try all sorts.
go on the first night as the good stuff goes quickly.
drinking a chilled Duvel at the moment :)
Tanglefoot used to be lovely then they removed some of the hops and dropped the strength and its no where as good.
TEA, Summer lightening and Doom bar are all good shouts, and I prefer 49er to Old thumper, mind you Ringwoods porters not a bad pint.
I am in the unfortunate position that I cannot drink too much of the majority of real ales, so when I have a pint these days it is limited to one may be two at a time, so my top three are:
DBC (Dorset Brewing Companies) Silent Knight
Itchen Valley Pure Gold
and the Farriers Arms Brewery Harvest Plenty
I thought I liked most decent beer (Tim Taylor, Doom Bar, Spitfire etc) until I had a few days at Glasgow and spent loads of time in the Brew Dog bar. That raised the bar somewhat.
Most of their beers are excellent, but their Punk IPA is fantastic. Loads of flavour with tons of tasty (American?) hops. Many traditional British ales are fairly dull after that.
If you live in Scotland, London and a few other lucky cities then they're opening more bars this year and next, or else check out your local real ale shop.
I went of London Pride for a while now im into it again
Greene King St Edmunds - Great summer beer
Wheat beer for me. No I'm not German but their beers rock. Erdinger is probably a good start. All the smoothness of bitter but the sour taste of lager. Love it!
The best pint of beer is the one consumed after a heavy day working in the heat! :D
+1. Punk IPA and 5a.m. Saint are excellent (and available in Sainsbury's). From other brewers, St. Austell Proper Job and Hopback Summer Lightning are two of my favourites.I thought I liked most decent beer (Tim Taylor, Doom Bar, Spitfire etc) until I had a few days at Glasgow and spent loads of time in the Brew Dog bar. That raised the bar somewhat.
Castle Rock - Harvest Pale for me, eminently quaffable, and not too strong. Their Elsie Mo is also fantastic but a tad stronger. Both have won CAMERA awards too....
There is no best real ale. From the palest golden ale to the darkest stout there are hundreds of complex flavours in between, cloyingly sweet to wincingly bitter. Only your palate can decide what is best for you, and there's the pleasure, trying ales and finding out what you like. :drunken:
F.T.F.A.
Originally Posted by Snoopdong
Yes - when it comes from a keg.
The difference between cask and keg is astonishing and I'd rather drink lager than keg ale.
All of the above - I do have a particular liking for the Fuller's range, in particular London Pride and Honeydew.
If you get the chance, try some of the artisan American beers (not that mass market rubbish but the top stuff coming out of US microbreweries). In particular there is a great brew called Anchor Steam which is well worth making a detour to try - AFAIK the only place I have seen it is in a pub called the Castle just behind Chancery Lane in London. If you are around the area make a detour to try it out.
Ringwood brewery beers for me. Forty-niner and Old Thumper in particular.
regards,
Nick
Ringwood 49er. Which reminds me, I must order a polypin for Christmas :drunken:
Horrible, bland stuff - beer for people who don't like beer. You don't see as much of it as in the 90s, I think - someone mentioned Caffreys on the previous page which I think is no longer with us, Kilkenny the same (I think), so there's only John Smith's smooth left that I can think of.Originally Posted by a900ss
For me it has to be London Pride or Wadwotrh 6X (both with a handle,
a decent pint of bitter deserves one :wink: )
I think we should support local breweries wherever we can. Twickenham Ales are local to me, and one of my favourites is Naked Ladies. The seasonal beers are good too - Autumn Blaze is nice.... Here's a link for those of you who have never heard of them.
http://www.twickenham-fine-ales.co.uk/beers.html
Originally Posted by Seabadger
Many ales come in both keg and cask. I used to work for Greene King (IPA, speckled hen, abbot, ruddles to name few) and all the ales were available in keg or cask for the pubs that just couldn't sell a cask quick enough before it went off.
its not the beer but how its been kept. the best beer is stuff that has been kept well by people who know what they are doing and are passsionate enough about it to consistantly deliver. . that narrows the field down considerably. whether a particular beer is ones favourite or not is a seperate question and thats down to personal taste. i like alot of beers and we are spoilt for choice in norfolk but i would say i have a very soft spot for st. peters organic ale.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I also like St Peters Organic, much preferred to the local Duchy Organic
im lucky enough to live farily close to st. peters, lovely place. they do lunches there as well, been tempted to pop along next time im over that wayOriginally Posted by genesos
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Surprised by that as I haven't noticed any of the above on keg, although I suppose I've never really looked for them - plus most of the pubs I regularly go to aren't the sort of places that would have keg ales in the first place.Originally Posted by a900ss