Beer And Beer Drinking
- Thread starter luka
- Start date
Slothrop
Tight but Polite
I think it's reasonable to run a bit of a backlash against Belgian beers because loads of people seem to drink them who want to be seen as beer connoisseurs but think they're a bit too modern and urban and cool to drink Real Ale. It's kind of like the way people on Dissensus reflexively slate IDM basically for not being jungle.
They are very good, though - the ongoing tussle for best beer selection in Cambridge seems to have opened a belgian beers front lately, with generally excellent results. On the whole they aren't better or worse, just different, although (and I think this was part of Tea's original complaint) I don't think they do session drinks that are as good or as varied as british ales...
They are very good, though - the ongoing tussle for best beer selection in Cambridge seems to have opened a belgian beers front lately, with generally excellent results. On the whole they aren't better or worse, just different, although (and I think this was part of Tea's original complaint) I don't think they do session drinks that are as good or as varied as british ales...
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
I was??? I'll have to look that up - I love Belgian beers!
Maybe I said something about how, generally being stronger, they're not usually 'quaffable' in the same way as a pint of good 4% bitter, and have to be sipped, more like wine. I still think they're (for the most part) fantastic, it's just that they have to be approached in a slightly different way from English beers and for this reason could never replace them, at least as far as I'm concerned. It's like the way France makes all these amazing cheeses, but I don't eat them to the exclusion of cheddar and stilton.
I don't think I've had the beer in that photo, I'll look out for it though.
Last edited:
Slothrop
Tight but Polite
Update:
Wonderful beer - well balanced, slightly sweet malty flavour with a proper tang of ethanol.
Is anyone enough of a geek to have followed the whole Camra vs 'craft beer' nonsense? I think it's partly Brewdog attention seeking again, but there's kind of an interesting undercurrent to it regarding whether Camra are specifically devoted to cask conditioned beer or whether they're generally campaigning for quality and diversity regardless of the means of distribution...
Luka - have you been drinking bottled American style IPAs or the more traditional English type things?
you
Well-known member
The Nags Head in Reading is a quality pub, they always have 12 real ales on tap and one is always a random stout, yum. Although I keep getting strange beers in bottles every now and again the draught stuff is so much better.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Bottled beer can be great but it depends very much on whether it's bottled conditioned. Pasteurised bottled beers, even from great breweries, always taste a somewhat lifeless IMO. I wish more breweries did bottles with live yeast in them. Hop Back Summer Lightning is a great live-yeast bottled beer. Hen's Tooth, a stronger version of Old Speckled Hen, used to be bottle-conditioned back in the day but that was before Moorland was taken over by GK, so I dunno if it's still the same.
Burton Bridge Imperial Pale Ale (or whatever it's called) is an absolute monster of a beer. It's nominally an IPA but much stronger than most, 7.5% I think, and so yeasty and lively you have to be careful pouring it even when chilled. I don't know if they use a Belgian yeast or what but somehow it seems to midway between a typical Burton pale ale and a Belgian golden ale like Duvel or Chimay blonde. One of my favourite beers I think, not seen very often outside specialist offies or beer fests though.
Burton Bridge Imperial Pale Ale (or whatever it's called) is an absolute monster of a beer. It's nominally an IPA but much stronger than most, 7.5% I think, and so yeasty and lively you have to be careful pouring it even when chilled. I don't know if they use a Belgian yeast or what but somehow it seems to midway between a typical Burton pale ale and a Belgian golden ale like Duvel or Chimay blonde. One of my favourite beers I think, not seen very often outside specialist offies or beer fests though.
Ulala
Awkward Woodward
If anyone can point me in the direction of any of these (especially in London) I would be delighted. None of my local offies stock much apart from cooking lager (i.e. Fosters/Carling/Stella) and cheap wine, and the limited range of ales they do have are refrigerated to the point of tastelessness. I'd rather buy it off a shelf than from a fridge, then I can chill it as necessary (i.e. for a an hour or two, and not for weeks), instead of waiting for it to warm up.
For those of you with a nearby Sainsbury's, they're doing a 'Great British Beer Hunt' which has a few interesting-looking things in it at 3 for £5. (Oddly, they don't seem to have any official website about it, the ninnies.) I have not bought any yet but may well do so this weekend. That said, I have had the Golden Seahawk before and can vouch for it.
you
Well-known member
I always think waitrose has a pretty good selection of ales and beers, way better than the other supermarkets anyway, I guess it could vary from branch to branch but worth a try. I've been to some off-licenses and felt disappointed and thought to myself 'should've gone to waitrose'....
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Yeah, Waitrose is awesome for beer, but you have to look in the right part of London - there sure as hell ain't no Waitrose in E3! Big ASDAs do a decent selection of bottles, both domestic and continental, and they're quite often on good offers. Sainsbury's 'own brand' fancy beers (brewed for them by Meantime in Greenwich, I think) are quite nice and not too pricey.
Royal Mile Whiskies at the bottom of Gower Street does a good selection of Scottish beers. Larger branches of Oddbins aren't too shabby, either. I've never actually been in an Aldi or a Lidl but being German they might have some decent pilsners, weissbiers etc.? Just a thought.
Royal Mile Whiskies at the bottom of Gower Street does a good selection of Scottish beers. Larger branches of Oddbins aren't too shabby, either. I've never actually been in an Aldi or a Lidl but being German they might have some decent pilsners, weissbiers etc.? Just a thought.
Slothrop
Tight but Polite
Utobeer on Borough Market is the really obvious one. I dunno where you live, but if you're ever in North, Highbury Vintners have some nice stuff, the offie opposite Jai Krishna on Stroud Green Road is really good, and I haven't been there but Kris Wines between Camden and Holloway seems to have a fairly ridiculous selection.
scottdisco
rip this joint please
Re Slothrop's help for Ulala, deffo co-sign on Utobeer and Kris Wines. Nelson Wines in Wimbledon worth a shout, and the Cask bar in Pimlico (those of us on the thread who are geeks will know this gaff) do off sales. Marks & Sparks' beers are OK i believe, certainly their 'Yorkshire bitter' got the thumbs up from my Bradford flatmate recently.
STN
sou'wester
I find Morrissons tends to have a good, if infrequently changing, selection of beer. Asda and Wrose good, as Mr Tea says.
Also, think you might be able to buy Kernel direct from the brewery in London Bridge.
There is a very good ale shop at the bottom of Richmond Bridge - quite far out so unlikely to be of use to you.
Also, think you might be able to buy Kernel direct from the brewery in London Bridge.
There is a very good ale shop at the bottom of Richmond Bridge - quite far out so unlikely to be of use to you.
