British people! What beer do you drink?

[Keep]

From Peroni I guess you could forge a voyage towards the good lands of Italy, and see if you like Moretti.

Good suggestion. Alternative route from there: Moretti's a dry beer. So after trying that, maybe try an Asahi - a Japanese beer - or a Pilsner of some kind (odds are it'll be dry too) (Oi like dry beers, see).

The idea is, though, ground yourself in one particular area. Once you've got a sense of what a few Light & Refreshing or dry beers are like, try something totally different, dark or hoppy or sweet or...whatever. It'll help you get a good sense of the basic flavours + the differences between 'em.

[Rakysh]

Awesome, thanks guys. I'll see if I can track any of those down and report back.

[Ian]

So Arrogant Bastard Ale wasn't at all the punch-in-the-back-of-the-throat I was expecting. Not nearly as heavy as I thought it would be.

And I've been fully enjoying trying some more of the Williams Bros ones.

[westyfield]

So, summer's finally here. Anyone got any good summery beers to recommend? I'm usually a dark ale/stout person, which doesn't seem right to drink when it's 30 Celsius outside.

[mickygor]

I had a pint of blonde ale this afternoon, westyfield. Went down a treat in current weather.

[cjlr]

I wish I were British. Then I could participate in this thread.

But screw it! I'm a citizen of a commonwealth realm. Close enough!

My last beer buying expedition saw me returning with not one, but two elephant-related beers. One fairly common one, I gather - Kenyan Tusker. Not a strong flavour, but a very nice clear tropical lager. Did wonders for the lentil curry I had going with it.
The other was Dead Elephant Ale, the St Thomas, ON microbrew in honour of Jumbo the Elephant. They call it an IPA, but it's not quite hopped like one. Tasty, though, and a bit of sweetness to it.

Last week's vacation in Cuba gave me a chance to try two of the big name beers there. Cristal is all right, but if it's cold and you're on the beach, what else matters? Bucanero was surprisingly hoppy - not big time, obviously, but like a better Dos Equis or something along those lines. Either is nice for the afternoon, when you need a break from Cuba Libres and it's not late enough in the afternoon for stronger cocktails.

Errr... As for British things, I had a Samuel Smith multipack recently. If you like oatmeal stouts, that is one good outmeal stout.

[westyfield]

I had a pint of blonde ale this afternoon, westyfield. Went down a treat in current weather.

Cool, thanks. I know Bath Ales do a few pale/blonde ales, so I'll try to get my hands on some of them when I head home.

But screw it! I'm a citizen of a commonwealth realm. Close enough!
[snip]
the St Thomas, ON microbrew

I'm guessing you're from Canada, then? If so (or if there are any other Canadians reading), can you recommend some good Canadian beers? We're going on holiday to British Columbia next month, and I've heard good things about the beers there. Went a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the Howe Sound Brewery's output, but we're not going to Squamish this time, so alternatives must be sought.

[Ian]

So, summer's finally here. Anyone got any good summery beers to recommend? I'm usually a dark ale/stout person, which doesn't seem right to drink when it's 30 Celsius outside.

As mickygor said, blonde ales are a good way to go. I've heard good things about the Bath ones. Dunno if you get them in supermarkets that far south but of the Brewdog ones 'Trashy Blonde' would be good for this too.

A lot of the European ones, while not necessarily what we'd call ale, are good for this too with Leffe being the obvious example that you'd probably be able to buy.

Fucking love a bit of Leffe Blonde.

[cjlr]

I'm guessing you're from Canada, then?

Guilty as charged.

If so (or if there are any other Canadians reading), can you recommend some good Canadian beers? We're going on holiday to British Columbia next month, and I've heard good things about the beers there. Went a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the Howe Sound Brewery's output, but we're not going to Squamish this time, so alternatives must be sought.

I am from Ontario, so I couldn't say in too much detail what to expect out there. Fun fact, Vancouver is farther from me than you are from... Moscow, just about.
There's a few west coast breweries that have filtered this far east. Granville Island, Lighthouse, Tree, Nelson. Decent breweries all. If you make it to the BC liquor store, though, look for some Quebec beer - I've yet to go wrong with any of the regional Quebecois breweries. I don't know what you'd find out there from Ontario (my own area of expertise, obviously) but if they've got any Flying Monkeys on hand you are in for a treat. Also there are a number of good American northwest beers, probably very easy to find out there. Rogue from Oregon make some nice ones. As to the style... west coast is pretty much synonymous with very well hopped, in BC as in Washington and Oregon. After all, that is where the hops are actually grown. Basically just ales out there, too.

Just stay away from the nationwide swill like Molson or Labatt's - but you know that already. Sleeman's is quite all right for a mainstream brand. Rickard's is often the most drinkable thing on draught of the "standard" choices. Should morbid curiosity get the better of you, try some of the biggest American breweries. Boy, if you thought the big, bland European beers were bland, they're still nothing on Coors.

Lastly I've heard there's a good selection of east asian beers out there, if you look in the right places. Not exactly local, but something hard to find anywhere else. It is very hard to pass up the chance to try a new and different beer. I've heard you can even find Orion.

[Rakysh]

So, on your advice I spent yesterday evening with a nice group of friends and a pair of bottles of Budvar. They were very pleasant (the bottles, not the friends [or rather both but I'm talking about the bottles in this situation]), and actually slipped down a bit too easily; I was a little bit tipsy by the end of the evening. Excellent shout, gentlemen.

[westyfield]

Cheers for the recommendations guys, I'll keep an eye out.

[Ian]

Another couple of good Williams Brothers ones last night. First off 'Ceilidh' which is a lager they do and was rather good, and '7 Giraffes' an ale but a fizzy-ish one and was also quite refreshing I found. Becoming quite the fan of Williams Brothers.

[Surgeon]

So, on your advice I spent yesterday evening with a nice group of friends and a pair of bottles of Budvar. They were very pleasant (the bottles, not the friends [or rather both but I'm talking about the bottles in this situation]), and actually slipped down a bit too easily; I was a little bit tipsy by the end of the evening. Excellent shout, gentlemen.

No worries Rakysh, glad you liked the Budvar.

You could therefore try the Pilsener style lagers / pale lagers path and see if anything else floats your boat.

Here are some of my favourites of that sort of style...

Pilsener Urquell
Staropramen
Oranjeboom
Lindeboom
Vedett (Extra Blonde)
Warsteiner
Erdinger Crystal
Paulaner Crystal
Kasteel Cru

[Ian]

Has a pint of 'Wildcat' in the Wetherspoons at Glasgow airport last night. Do Not Recommend.

[Kamikaze-X]

If you can find it, Moretti Gran Riserva, which the Morrisons near me has started stocking, is a lovely, malty, complex beer that is a bit lager-y.

I love it. its bloody strong too.

[Leopig]

Holsten Pils - About half the calories of most other lagers and still cheap compared to the likes of Stella (which btw has been lowered in strength to 4.7 from 5%)

[magnus1969]

Becks, always Becks.

[Rakysh]

Becks to me tastes a very salty beer. Has anyone else found this?

[corbain]

I'm guessing you're from Canada, then? If so (or if there are any other Canadians reading), can you recommend some good Canadian beers? We're going on holiday to British Columbia next month, and I've heard good things about the beers there. Went a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the Howe Sound Brewery's output, but we're not going to Squamish this time, so alternatives must be sought.

I visited BC a couple of years ago and enjoyed some fantastic beers, very much in the Craft Beer style (eg, Cold, carbonated, hoppy)

Most towns in BC seemed to have one or more brewpubs, some better than others. I got the feeling that some of the brewpubs just brewed from pre-made kits rather than brewing from first principles - mainly because they would have a huge range of beers being made in a very small brewing area.

Ones to look out for (although i suspect i might be too late here) are Granville Island Brewery (Vancouver), Steamworks (Vancouver), Yaletown (Vancouver- Great Brewpub), Spinnakers (Victoria), Vancouver Island Brewery (Victoria)

And if you get up to Torfino on Vancouver Island there's a great microbrewery there. Torfino is a fantastic place to visit, my favourite spot of our 3 weeks driving around BC

[corbain]

Has a pint of 'Wildcat' in the Wetherspoons at Glasgow airport last night. Do Not Recommend.

Wetherspoons is never the best place to try new beers, as they often buy up old stock which is past it's best by date at knock down prices. Hence why they are so cheap.