scottdisco

rip this joint please
esp. when NZ and Aus and Canada and the USA all produce so many fine beers... :eek:

though not as good as Britain, obviously!

;)
 

carlos

manos de piedra
i work right above an "english pub" - i mostly drink Bass there. only when the office is paying though- $6 a glass

mostly i drink the local "indie" beer : Shiner. i like it (especially with food) but i'm no beer expert

but i think i drink vodka much more more than beer- which surely isn't a good thing (?)
 

turtles

in the sea
Yeah I gotta say I essentially never drink English beers, I'm really not even clear on what a bitter is, and I do drink quite a lot of beer. You never see english beers on tap here, though you do see guiness and kilkenny occaisionally. Selection wise, you can get bass, boddingtons and...i dunno, maybe one or two others occaisionally, i can't think of their names, but it's pretty slim. Pitty me if you wish, but I have found no lack of other beers to drink.

Also on the stella "fear" i have never heard here of any bad reputation for people getting really smashed/terribly hung over on stella, nor differences between the sexes with stella. it's really interesting just how differently it's seen here and in europe. i think at least some of these effects must be socially created due to the beer's reputation (rather than a specific property of the beer). though how the beer ever got that reputation in the first place...

But yeah, maybe it has to do with the fact that we have a wiiiiide selection of crap beers here to choose from. canadian, blue, kokanee (our local big shite-beer) are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crap. there's stuff like lucky lager (which comes in 8 packs), pacific pilsner, alberta genuine draft and wildcat strong (aka, "kitty"), which are just dirt-cheap and taste pretty much the same warm or cold (which is to say, terrible) and are really only there for getting smashed. Does the UK have the equivalent of such beers? What do the desperate teenagers drink? Has anyone ever seen FUBAR? They drink nothing but Pilsner, which is actually the name of the beer, not just the type of beer. We have lots of beers like that.

Also do you guys get any of the malt-liquor 40's like Old English and Colt 45? Also terrible, but more fun to drink.
 

Backjob

Well-known member
luka said:
i've never found a good place to drink post-11pm in london. if you know anywhere, share your knowledge.

(if its full of posers i'm not going, we're thinking low-key, good selction of spirits, proper brandy and proper rum, reasonable prices, be good if it was fairly dark with nice music not played too loud, no pricks, pretty girls... who knows anywhere like that?)

My mate roger's place. Pitfield street. Little bar called liquid. Lovely bloke. Does the odd lock-in.
 

scottdisco

rip this joint please
Abbot Abbot oh i love Abbot (http://www.abbotale.co.uk/home.htm)
ahem excuse me

hey Carlos i like the look of some of the grub you do down there at the Black Labrador :)

>mostly i drink the local "indie" beer : Shiner. i like it (especially with food) but i'm no beer expert

me too but i've never even heard of Shiner! what's that like? strong stuff? refreshing?

six bucks a glass for Bass is criminal though - round my way it's maybe the equivalent of perhaps two bucks eighty a pint (which is still too much imo but as i said earlier, i've yet to really get into it and for that fault i fully hold my hands up).
considering it doesn't seem to travel well that's quite a cheeky price ;)

anyone who drinks a lot of voddy must surely be considered a noble-spirited, large-hearted soul deserving of applause from society. i haven't really touched vodka for years but i used to have this ritual - just on a Friday night, hardly ever any other time of the week - where i'd line up several single neat shots at the bar (nothing fancy, just Absolut or Smirnoff), and down 'em ceremonially one after the other.
i could have done a few doubles or whatever in place for the same volume of booze, but it was just a ritual i used to do (for quite a long time, but when you're 18 or 19 you drink everything in sight i guess).

then i'd just spend most of the rest of the night on beer, TBH. it was just something i did to warm up for the suds, i guess.
i used to enjoy it :)

bipedaldave:
>Pitty me if you wish, but I have found no lack of other beers to drink.
oh god no i totally hear you.
my pretentious waffle is a bit overbearing innit... ;)

it is a shame you get, like, Boddies and Bass because Boddies used to be awful, with its revamp i mentioned earlier it's a lot better (though still hardly brilliant or anything) but besides that all the boddies i've had in the USA have been bad, and, well...

...good British ale truly is heavenly, it really is.
on the bitter tip if you're bothered two quick links of interest are
http://www.camra.org.uk/SHWebClass.ASP?WCI=ShowDoc&DocID=2243

and

http://www.thebestlinks.com/Bitter___28__beer__29__.html

the Stella perspective over there is interesting.
Stella hangovers aren't particularly different or bad or anything (i agree w' your society argument) but there is something in there, it's true, everyone i know who's a drinker maintains that.
there just is .
i can't explain it, but there is definitely something up with it.

i guess maybe a slight difference between American and British (and American and many other nations for that matter, but since i'm British i'll restrict my observations) - and i realise you're in Canada but i ain't ever even been there so i'm having to assume it's kinda similar in Canada as to the USA (apologies if not!) - boozing is that, whenever i've had Stella in the USA (and i've only drunk in the South, the Midwest, and Bay Area, so hardly many places) it's generally come in a sort of brandy glass (proper Stella design on the side still) but not the proper pint pot, i don't even know if you get the full pint (you sometimes get a little less than a pint with a lot of American beers, they have things like the insistence on beer menus of different ounce measurements, they'll specify if it's an "imperial pint" etc, weird glass measures for beer etc from my POV)!
this factor combined with the fact that on a night out in the UK you just chuck a shit-load of beer down your neck (fast to begin with, often) for hours on end means that, frankly, the volume of beer taken in is just so much more. i've been out to bars boozing with American kids and the beer is weaker, there's less of it, it seems to be drunk more slowly, i dunno.

i guess i'm painting a picture of the UK as a society of violent piss-heads, which is a shame... :eek:
i gather Canadian drinking culture, overall, in bars, can be more blue-collar and keeping it real than in the USA, so probably my observations above are irrelevant.
but i dunno.

young kids in the UK typically start on the likes of Diamond White (a strong cider), you get huge bottles of shitty ciders and lagers from the off-license which are all strong (when you're about to enter your teens or so - i think that's typically the age at which you start serious boozing on street corners in the UK, of course some kids a lot earlier, some later - it's a rite of passage to approach older folks to purchase the shit for you; i'm sure it's the same in every country i'm just saying), you'll try faffing about with DIY snakebite combos etc [lager and cider and blackcurrant if you don't know what that is - otherwise caricatured in the UK as a Goth/student drink but i gather it's quite widely drank in the USA or at least my girl and her best friend both appreciate cider anyway...]

i'm afraid the FUBAR reference is over my head!
but yeah basically the names and prices are different but i guess every country has its Wildcat Strong read Diamond White read whatevs.

>Also do you guys get any of the malt-liquor 40's like Old English and Colt 45?
nope, but i know what these are (vaguely!).
i'd like to try some, just for a laugh actually certainly.

there's an awful lot of swill you can get in Britain but it sounds like - per head anyway - Canada can more than hold its own in the crap beer stakes :confused:

hey later on i am definitely going to post something about Canadian beers, wanna get your views (i've some opinions to share, and some questions to ask), so please check back on the thread in a day or so if you can.
thanks :D

sufi:
>mmm kokanee

is that an appreciative mmm or an ironic mmm?
;)
p.s.
my wise American girl informs me i should have responded to the double-fisting query with a smile and a 'hell yeah!'
pity the wet behind the ears English lad eh guys... :eek:
 

Backjob

Well-known member
sufi said:
a lot of african & asian lager imho seems to have a lot of ethanol or something,


In the case of Singha (which is utter shite imho) and definitely the viet brands like Halida and 333 it's cos they put rice in it to save money. The fermented rice taste is what makes it so mingin. As anyone whose ever been unfortunate enough to drink rice vodka will know.

Good Asian beer = San Miguel and above all else, Tsingtao.

And yeah, 9th feb. Only wrote that cos my chinese is pretty much limited to that phrase and to stuff like "Ka Ni Na Bu Chao Chee Bye" which might have given the wrong impression...
 

scottdisco

rip this joint please
Backjob:
>Good Asian beer = San Miguel and above all else, Tsingtao.

i think i prefer that San Miguel to the Spanish one, i must say.

i love Tsingtao. it really does remind me of Kwak, i think.

do you like Hue Backjob?

i'd be interested to have Yanjing but Tsingtao's the only Chinese beer i've ever had.
 

turtles

in the sea
i kinda feel bad for bringing this up, cuz this jokes been done to death round my parts, but perhaps not on the other side of the pond(s).

Q: What does American beer and having sex in a canoe have in common?
A: They're both fucking close to water!

One of the many "proud to be a canadian" things sprouted by hicks hereabouts is that canadian beer is consistently a lot stronger than american beer. A canadian beer less than 5% is very rare, whereas I think it's a lot more common accross the border. Coors Light: tastes bad and doesn't get you drunk. bad combo.

Scottdisco: thanks for the links, I did read them (yes, i was bored:)). Something you really never hear about over here, or perhaps i just don't travel in classy enough beer drinking circles...anyway, started to make me really really thirsty. In fact this whole thread keeps making me really want a beer. My apologies to any recovering alcoholics out there reading this thread.

and yeah, ask away about canadian beers, i'll see what i can do.
 

Backjob

Well-known member
scottdisco said:
Backjob:
do you like Hue Backjob?.

I didn't get to visit there cos my stoopid ass chose to go to Hoi An instead which was a dump. Or are you referring to a beer? In which case, no.
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
scottdisco said:
matt, what's that bourbon bar type place in town please, in Leeds? a mate told me about it, i've never been, American bar style, sez it's good.

i think, ahem, its called bourbon's! haven't been- its on the edge of The Calls, which is the cnutishly 'trendy' drinking part of leeds, so i avoid like the plague. i haven't been drinking in leeds for months, but there are a number of 'traditional' alehouses (no music, good beer) and a couple of bars that do good mojitos to keep me happy.


scottdisco said:
i have GOT to get me to Hi-Lo's.
.

there's nowhere quite like it!
 

Pearsall

Prodigal Son
Scottdisco, have you ever had Brooklyn Lager? I quite enjoy it, but then I don't know how far afield from NYC it gets sold.

I also like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (although it gives me shocking, trembling hangovers).
 

red_shift

Member
mmm, beer

<lurk_mode_off> aha, a topic i know stuff about.

british ales: something i only got into once i left glasgow and moved to oxford. night's out in glesga were all about the music, man, but now they're more about the drinking and conversation, which is both good and bad. anyway, since i've left scotland, i've stumbled on a few scottish alse that are well worth looking out for: fairly commonly available is deuchars (pronounce it 'djookers') ipa. a lovely pint from the caledonian brewery, whose 80 shilling ale is apparently pretty good too. a less well known brewery is harviestoun's. Their scheihallion (sp?) is a lovely cask conditioned lager, similar to a european weissbier. Another of theirs, which couldn't be more different, is Old Engine Oil. You probably couldn't drink to much of this--it's dark, sticky, and viscous, almost stout-like. But here's the kicker--it's matured for six months in single malt whisky casks. Delicious. And quite strong too, at 6.8%. (Aside: anyone up for a malt whisky thread? Just finished a bottle of lovely, lovely Talisker.)

Canadian beer: in 1994 I spent the summer in Toronto, and largely drank something called labbat's wildcat. As i recall, the main attraction of this was that you could get a case of 24 for $12, and it was 6%. Don't remember what it tasted like, which is probably for the best. But I do remember lots of ads for canadian bud and rolling rock pointing out that they were 5%, unlike their US counterparts.

the hi-lo: i've lived in oxford for 7 years and still haven't got round to going there. shocking eh? will go soon. (any former/current oxford dwellers remember the kari king, just down the road from it? sadly missed late night drinking joint, where the usp was the utter contempt of the staff for the punters.)

great forum, this. even k-punk-less.
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
red_shiftthe hi-lo said:
:(any former/current oxford dwellers remember the kari king, just down the road from it? sadly missed late night drinking joint, where the usp was the utter contempt of the staff for the punters.)

kari king was around after i left oxford, but visited a couple of times. i preferred simon's fish and chips further up the cowley road which used to (maybe still does) sell beer well into the night, with the refrain 'you no drink and drive!'
 

carlos

manos de piedra
scottdisco said:
hey Carlos i like the look of some of the grub you do down there at the Black Labrador :)

hey scott- well i don't work at the pub (we just office in the same building) but the food is pretty good though also a bit overpriced

me too but i've never even heard of Shiner! what's that like? strong stuff? refreshing?

Shiner beer is brewed in shiner, texas (sort of halfway between houston and austin) at the spoetzl brewery- lots of german/czech people immigrated to texas in the 1800s- i've seen shiner in san francisco and seattle but i don't know if it's available everywhere.

shiner bock is what i drink- smooth, amber colored, with a slightly bitter taste. definitely very refreshing in those hot, hot texas days- great by the pitcher!
 

scottdisco

rip this joint please
bipedaldave (hello, i will definitely be posting something about Canadian beers sooner or later, just not quite got round to it yet, thanks for your patience):
>Q: What does American beer and having sex in a canoe have in common?
>A: They're both fucking close to water!

i like it!

also, given that there are around 1,500 breweries in the USA but, alas, only about 3% of American beer product is made by the micros, the joke is also mostly true, i guess ;)

it's certainly the case that American versions of the same beer are often made weaker than the versions they sell in Europe (this ranges from one end of the spectrum where it doesn't really matter such as in the case of the French beer Belzebuth Pur Malt, which is 13 in the USA and 15 in Europe, to the other end where i guess it would make a difference, e.g., is it really true that Budweiser elsewhere is a couple of percentage points stronger than the Bud their people make for their domestic market? i've heard that so many times but unlike say the case of the Pur Malt i don't know if it's true or just an urban myth. i'd be very grateful to anyone who can drop some knowledge on my ass in this instance).
though the USA does produce some very strong beers, there's an IPA or a stout or something that's about 21% (Dogfish? Doghead? something like that), and Sam Adams produce a limited-edition (and expensive!) beer that is about 24.5.

>Something you really never hear about over here, or perhaps i just don't travel in classy enough beer drinking circles

i think it's just you can't get it hardly anywhere. 'tis a shame.

Backjob on Hue:
>I didn't get to visit there cos my stoopid ass chose to go to Hoi An instead which was a dump. Or are you referring to a beer? In which case, >no.

either will do ;)

Hue is the only Vietnamese beer i'd ever heard of. are there no recommendations to make, or are they a bit minging?

i was watching Ian Wright (not the ex-Arsenal poacher) on Lonely Planet last night on thee grainy telly and he was taking the waters at a general market near the banks of the Mekong somewhere in Laos. this place looked like it could compete for the title of WORLD'S BEST.
lot of different stuff.
sorry off-topic but i like the Rambler's food/drink forum suggestion (Luka could post about cheese) :D

awh cheers for some Leeds lowdown mattb.
my source for bourbon's is certainly not the cnutishly trendy type but i think he mentioned something similar to that himself once, so i guess one would have to tread carefully. something about students he said (though he'd just stopped being one himself he had worked in a tapas bar in Seville for six months after leaving Leeds so we'll let him off...).

i am quite fond of a fairly small pub down a side-street that is fairly CAMRA-ish in its fixtures and fittings style. very central Leeds. couldn't think how to describe it, except i know it's near a Starbucks. i think it's away from the station end of things.
the next time i'm in Leeds i'll go.
i do like some of the trad' arr' alehouses of Leeds; in Hull there are about four really beautiful old mannish pubs in the small but perfectly formed 'old' part of the town centre.

as for cocktails i guess my current favourite is a nice mai tai - i heard about a white cosmo the other day. a lot of the better cocktail places in Manchester tend towards the pricier end of the spectrum but sometimes that's what is called for (if you're not in the partying mood, i wouldn't begrudge you not wishing to set out for cheap shooters/mixed at a Baa Bar, say).

you couldn't recommend a good Leeds bar could you? all i've ever really been to in Leeds is clubs, caffs, and boozers.
cheers.

Pearsall, i have had Brooklyn Lager now and again yeah :)
i like it! it's pretty easy to come by in the UK, i think (FYI, in bottles round my way you're looking at the equivalent of about four bucks twenty for it, which i admit is not cheap, but hey we don't tip the barstaff...).

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is also very very nice. in the Chicago area the only craft products you're assured of seeing in all supermarkets are from the Sierra Nevada stable and that local company, Goose Island.
in general these days i'm of the opinion pretty much any IPA put before you by an American brewery that knows its onions is going to be delicious, they love a bit of it over here.

you may be interested to see the link below, one of my local breweries did this beer as a sort of tribute to Brooklyn Lager (and American beer more generally actually).
i've never had it but it's supposed to be excellent (and it uses "American hops").
http://www.wordforwine.co.uk/jwlees/beer_detail.asp?Code=SA5BB&Beer_Type=Seasonal 2005

have to SECOND red_shift on Deuchars IPA.
an award-winning beer [ http://www.caledonian-brewery.co.uk/awards/deuchars.htm ], for my money it and Greene King IPA are the best beers of their kind in the world.
also Harviestoun's is a wicked brewery. i've not had Schiehallion but i am going to soon oh yes :D
Old Engine Oil sounds fabulous :)
i've never had the 80 shilling ale mentioned myself, but i know it has a very very good rep.

i'm up for a malt whisky thread.
i know the Rambler likes his.

let's start now. what does anyone like?
my personal prefs?
generally, Isle of Jura, Oban, Laphroaig.

since i'm in the USA, i should state my bourbon knowledge is non-existent.
i know enough to know i like Maker's Mark just fine...

...oh and i am sorry, to everyone, for how long my posts go on, but i'm loving all these posts and this thread.
thanks.
 

scottdisco

rip this joint please
carlos:
>shiner bock is what i drink- smooth, amber colored, with a slightly bitter taste. definitely very refreshing in those hot, hot texas days- great >by the pitcher!

your description is mouth-watering.

thanks for that man.
looking at the website now (the Winter Ale and Summer Stock both look good too).

you get a lot of bock in the USA, it seems.

i'm not complaining...
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
scottdisco said:
you couldn't recommend a good Leeds bar could you?

ones that i can think of off-hand (there are so many bars- loads of which are downstairs and semi hidden- that i can't remember. however they all seem busy all the time. i'll ask my girlfriend as she's a bit of an expert)

mojo (http://www.geocities.com/leedsguide/mojo.html) probably does the best cocktails, but gets insanely busy and the music policy is generic indie/rolling stones. good mix of people. supposedly its chris moyles favourite bar. that is a very bad thing.

there used to be a bar next door called isis which i really liked, but i think it closed down

north bar, aka the 'corridor of cnuts' (http://www.geocities.com/leedsguide/northbar.html)

elbow rooms is a pool hall/bar/club that is far quieter than the above (you may get a seat)- utah saints run nights there, thankfully refraining from playing their own recordings.

arts cafe bar is on the calls, so i avoid on a weekend, but is really nice on a sunday/weekday evening. good food too.


if you like 'proper' pubs otley (8 miles out of leeds) is the best- loads of pubs, some very weird, all selling good beer, lots of folk/ live music. otley folk festival is ace- wonder around getting pissed and listening (for free) to awesome trad. accapellas and violin jams. much better than it sounds.
 
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