British people! What beer do you drink?

[Ian]

Seriously hacked off that I'm probably not going to get to any of the Glasgow Beer Week stuff (as it stands it looks like the only way it'll happen is if I go on my own.)

Counting House is having a "Tap Takeover" of Isle of Skye beers, the Bon Accord is doing similar with Tryst brewery and Hengler's Circus is having a week of Adnams vs. Williams Bros. :(

[Pertusaria]

There's a craft beer festival on in Ballsbridge (southern suburb of Dublin) from Friday to Sunday this weekend.

I don't think there are many Irish folks checking this thread, but in case anyone can make it over, sounds like it'll be fun. I'll be the short, long-haired nerd... um, that description fits far too many people who'll be there. If anyone's seriously going to be there on Saturday or Sunday, PM me.

http://www.irishcraftbeerfestival.com/

SKOL!

[Goateh]

So, can anyone recommend a decent site for buying bottles in the UK? Where possible I'd buy from the brewery but most simply don't have any kind of online shop and it's not practical for overseas. Ideally something that isn't a complete mess to browse, to make it a little easier to find new things to try. I've found one or two with reasonable stock but unless you know exactly what you want they're impossible to use.


If you're coming by Manchester I highly recommend visiting the Port Street Beer House. A few minutes walk from all the major public transport and plenty of variety both on tap and bottled. I'd like it if they did a little food too (another excuse to visit) but the focus on beer and more beer means they know their stuff.

And some recent highlights of stuff I've been drinking:
Most everything by the Black Isle Brewery. Favourites at the moment are their Blonde, Oatmeal Stout and Chilli Bock.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout is incredible. I'd love to find this on tap somewhere but I had to go order some bottles of it after trying it once. The barman described it as a dangerous drink and I'd agree - far too easy to drink for what it is.

Cromarty's Brewed Awakening is another good stout, this time with coffee. Most coffee stouts I've been pretty indifferent to but this one is well worth trying.

[Ian]

I Google'd Beers in a Box to confirm it wasn't there any more and found this:
http://www.realbeerbox.com/

Those beer boxes are a brilliant idea for parties and the like, especially as they're properly conditioned in the box. And £49 for 36 pints isn't bad at all. If I had the space I'd actually be tempted to get one of those for myself.

Another I've heard people recommend but not used myself is:
http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/

I've got a load of beers I tried over my week off noted on my phone, will report on those in a bit.

Has anybody tried Titanic Stout? My parents' local is apparently going to ditch the Guiness and sell Titanic to my dad's dismay but what I've read about it is very positive.

[Ian]

So, beers I tried over my week off:

Black Cat by Moorehouses - Very black beer. Not my cup of tea at all but there wasn't really much wrong with it.

Selling Out by Outstanding - A winner. Really, really enjoyed it and I was disappointed I didn't have the chance to sit and guzzle some more. Quite light and citrus-y.

Steaming Wagon by Brains - Alright and no more. Fairly bland.

Grouse Beater by Theakston - A bit sweet to my taste. I could probably nurse a couple but couldn't drink them quickly.

Original by Everards - At 5.2% it turned out to be a bad idea to drink as much of this as I did. Still, quite tasty.

The Usual by Brunswick - This was the other guest my mum and dad's local had on and not as strong as Original, so the one I SHOULD have been drinking if I was in there for a while. A little bit nutty but not so much as to put me off.

I also tried the Gold and Reserve IPA's that Greene King do in bottle form, neither of which was particularly memorable.

[christ87]

Leffe, but i do have some local ales in Cheshire!

[Ian]

I love Leffe. I'd seen it in shops but never tried it until a few years ago when I was a hotel in Dubai with a Belgian themed bar. I promptly wished I'd tried it sooner.

[Goateh]

Has anybody tried Titanic Stout? My parents' local is apparently going to ditch the Guiness and sell Titanic to my dad's dismay but what I've read about it is very positive.

I'm not a big fan of it, but there's nothing wrong with it either. It's just a little dull as stouts go; it's in the range of 'ideal to drink over a long night' of beers instead of being particularly outstanding, and I tend to do less of the all night drinking these days. I do prefer it to Guinness though.

Those beer boxes sure are tempting. Sadly, I've not tried any of the beers and the selection is pretty limited. Hopefully they can convince some other breweries to add to the range too.

[Pertusaria]

I had several nice things at the beer festival yesterday. Here's the list, in no particular order other than by brewery:

Hilden Brewing - had the Hilden Ale (very light and easy to drink, nice flavour though) and the Twisted Hop (a pale ale, much more zesty, something I would probably choose often if it were available)
Dungarvan - I had a taste of their special festival beer, which was lovely, but (typically) about 6%. My friend who insists he doesn't like their stuff had some of their Helvick Gold ale and was surprised by how good it was. I think he last tried them a couple of years ago.
O'Hara's - had some of a special version of their Leann Folainn stout which had been kept in old whiskey barrels. Tasted like someone had put a shot of whiskey into the beer - nice!
Franciscan Well - they had a special stout on called Mi Dazza, which they were advertising as "like stout used to be in the 50s and 60s". I don't know how true this is, but it was very tasty and smooth.
White Gypsy - I had their dunkel, which was perfectly drinkable, but my German boyfriend grumbled that it wasn't quite right. He said their Pils would have been very nice if it were the right temperature (yesterday was unusually warm). My other friend had their Belgian-style beer, which was very fruity but good (although he thought it was more English than Belgian).
Metalman - I had Moonbeam, an ale which had a nice flavour, but mine was very sedimented. I think they were having problems with their taps. Their standard beer is a pale ale which is sharp and tasty.
Whitewater Brewery - I had their ale and had a taste of their Copperhead (another ale), both of which were very tasty.
Eight Degrees - I had a taste of their Maerzen festival beer, which was nice but very sweet - I don't think I could have drunk much of it.
Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne - I really liked their porter. Their ale was very grass-flavoured (hoppy, I guess).

[BillButNotBen]

What beers does the average UK pub carry these days? When I left it was usually:
1664/Stella, Carlsberg/Carling, John Smiths, Strongbow.

Is everyone still drinking Magners with ice, or did that trend pass quickly?

[mickygor]

It's basically still that. Shovelware lagers served so cold you can't taste them, because they wouldn't sell if you could.

Magners has died a death, kind of. It's certainly not as popular these days - seems Kopparberg has taken it over, at least in the circles I drink in. I'm really not a fan of cider.

[Ian]

Had some more bottled ones from the shop over the weekend:

Jennings' Cocker Hoop - A golden ale and a rather guzzleable one at that.

Ringwood's Fortyniner - Not much to comment on but it was nice.

Bateman's Dark Lord - A porter, apparently? I wasn't overly keen but given it's the only one I've knowingly had and it was from a bottle I can hardly use that as real evidence of whether I like them or not.

Badger's Blandford Flyer - Very nice, I thought. I reckoned it stopped just short of being too sweet but a load of other comments on RateBeer have it as being sickly so I dunno.

Bateman's Victory Ale - Enjoyed this. On first taste I thought it was a bit sweet but it balances out nicely. That and the fact that it's 6% make it one to take your time with!

Joseph Holt's Maple Moon - Another one to drink more slowly, but in this case it's because - for me - the maple flavour only came through more strongly in the aftertaste.

Also: This place needs to go onto my "to try" list.

[Ian]

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/drin...229584.article

There's all the beers for the Sainsbury's British Beer Hunt which I think should have gone on sale on Wednesday, so if you're near a Sainsbury's/do your shopping there it should be worth a look. I think me and my brother-in-law are planning to buy them all (if possible) and then try them over a couple of sessions.

[Goateh]

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/drin...229584.article

There's all the beers for the Sainsbury's British Beer Hunt which I think should have gone on sale on Wednesday

Does every store stock all of those or just the ones that won in the store's region? I can't really tell from that or Sainsbury's site.

Two more excellent stouts recently in the shape of Magic Rock's Dark arts surreal stout and Thornbridge Brewery's Saint Petersburg. The latter is heavy going mind, definitely one to drink slowly and enjoy. It's not particularly strong for the type but it is filling. I seem to have been on a streak of dark beers recently. I had a few others but I can't for the life of me remember what they were. A clear bias, obviously.

Manchester starts its food and drink festival this weekend for the next couple of weeks. It can be crowded but there's normally a good range of beers on tap around the various sites. If you can bear the weather it's definitely worth checking out at some point if you're passing through. Plenty of good food on offer too, if you can find a space to enjoy it properly.

Edit:

Another good one - Marble Decadence. Most places sell it in large bottles which are definitely better for sharing. A little pricey but well worth trying.

[Bracket]

Had to kill a few hours in Newcastle, waiting for a train last week.

Decided to see what Brewdog was about. Tried 5am Saint which was beautiful, an Alice Porter which was enjoyable. Finished off with an Imperial Red wheat, which was very sweet and fruity, and to be honest I struggled with it. The staff were very nice, and I've got time for the punk aesthetic they've got going on. The fact that they sell bottles to take away made for a most pleasant train journey.

Jennings' Cocker Hoop - A golden ale and a rather guzzleable one at that.

I've just finished up as a science tech at a middle school, near the end of the term, we went on a 6th form trip to the Jennings brewery in cocker mouth. This involved free beer. Cocker hoop and Sneck lifter were both excellent. Not to keen on their Cumberland ale though.

Finally. Was in a bar, in Manchester recently, I witnessed this (the one on the left.)

[Ian]

Does every store stock all of those or just the ones that won in the store's region? I can't really tell from that or Sainsbury's site.

I had a count last Friday. My local Sainsburys had, I think, 18 of the 20. Whether the other two were sold out (doubt it), not stocked (possibly, though why just two?) or I didn't see them (possibly, my Sainsburys has shitloads of ales on with these ones included) I don't know but I'm still quite pleased with that.

I haven't had any of the Beer Hunt ones yet but I did buy some others I've not previously had:

Greene King's London Glory - As with the other Greene King bottles I tried recently (see upthread) it was a bit meh.

Joseph Holt's Sixex - Doesn't taste very strong when you first take a sip but there's a sharper, fruity aftertaste. Pleasant enough but 6% so it's one I'd need to be careful with.

[Ian]

So last weekend my brother in law and I had a small tasting session and tried the first ten of the fully twenty Beer Hunt bottles our Sainsbury's had in.

Wolf's Poppy Ale - One of those sort of floral ones. Pleasant enough but nothing special.

Sambrook's Pumphouse Pale Ale - A nice, refreshing citrus-y one.

Ridgeway's Bad Elf - Another sort of flowery one after the Poppy Ale though this one was much more bitter I think.

Nethergate's Lemon Head - After enjoying their Essex Border so much I could see me becoming a fan of Nethergate. Lemon Head is the oddest/most interesting beers I've had I'd say. Smells strongly of lemon as you'd expect and that's in the taste too but there's also a sort of dry, gingery aspect to it. And if you let it sit on your tongue it almost tastes like lemonade. I'd have it again.

Blue Monkey's 99 Red Baboons - A fruity one but the taste/aftertaste's strongest flavour is of malt.

Elgood's Indian Summer - A fairly run-of-the-mill sweet/hoppy blonde ale. Pleasant enough.

Ridgeway's Ivanhoe - Ridgeway did Bad King John which won the beer hunt last year and I found this one to be quite disappointing. I didn't really like Bad King John but I didn't think it was a bad beer, just not to my taste. Ivanhoe is all kinds of meh. The first hit is okay but it goes oddly flat and a bit bland.

Castle Rock's Screech Owl - This is one of the wankiest things I've ever said I expect, but Screech Owl is probably the nicest-smelling beer I've ever had. Very hoppy. The flavour's not quite so strong but then at 5.5% it's probably more one to enjoy slowly anyway.

Lees' Manchester Star Ale - Despite a distinct taste of chocolate and fruit it still somehow manages to be a little on the bland side. Not enough to ruin it but enough to stop it being a favourite. That said, it probably suffered a little for me having tried it directly after...

Bateman's Mocha - Astonishingly, given I had this marked down as one of the ones I probably wouldn't like, this is the absolute star of the ten I've tried. Very dark and the flavour and smell are all coffee and chocolate which aren't normally in the sorts of beers I enjoy but this is sensational. My favourite of the Beer Hunt ones I've tried up to this point. I'd need to have another to check it wasn't my slight drunkenness at that point deceiving me but I thought it one of my favourite bottle beers I've had.

So, if you're not planning to try all of them then I'd say definitely try Mocha (for being ace) and Lemon Head (for being a bit weird.)

[rider]

Adnams Southwold and Woodforde's Wherry are my two favourites, but probably highly related to just not having tried that many beers from the northern areas. [Haven't seen these two anywhere outside Norfolk-Suffolk lands.]

EDIT: I don't think it is really possible to say why though, mostly because it is such a personal experience (beer) that everyone will have their own opinions no matter what.

[Ian]

I thought I'd tried the Southwold but unless I've forgotten to put my thoughts on Ratebeer I have not so I'll need to get on that. Not that bottled will be as good as trying it in pint form. Really wish I'd got to the Adnams vs. Williams Bros thing one of the pubs in Glasgow had. :(

Anyway, I have now tried the remaining Beer Hunt beers.

Wold Top's Scarborough Fair IPA - The second best of the lot after the Mocha, for me. Quite hoppy and while the initial hit of it seems quite sweet it balances out. Very nice.

Beartown's Wojtek - Nice enough but could do with one of the flavours being a bit stronger. The taste is balanced to a fault.

Wadworth's Horizon - Meh.

Cotleigh's Snowy - Another one that's a bit bland. Not quite so much as Wojtek, the issue here is more than there is a taste it's just not strong enough.

Wye Valley's Dorothy Goodbody's Blissful Brown Ale - And another that verges of not tasting of much. There was something more distinctive about this one but I'm not good enough at picking out individual flavours to know what it was because this was another that could have done with being tastier. A bit watery too.

Brain's Willy Nilly - Nice enough but nothing of note to say about it.

Tradional Scottish Ales' Double Espresso Premio Caffé Birra - Unlike the Mocha, I didn't expect to like this one but was proven right. Probably because the taste is all-coffee. It might be quite good if you like that sort of thing.

Cairngorm's White Lady - One of those ones with an almost flowery smell to it and is some sort of odd sweet/spicy combo in the flavour. Nice enough, though.

Harviestoun's Wild Hop Gold - Is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the name. Predictable but good.

Williams' Bros' Prodigal Sun - Not the most exciting thing Williams Bros have ever done. A citrus, fruity beer that'd be rather nice on a hot sunny day, I imagine.

So overall for me of the 20 Beer Hunt beers Mocha, Screech Owl and Scarborough Fair IPA were the best three and the North of England region comfortably the best one.

[mt.Ivan]

It really does vary from location.

fosters, budweiser, desperados etc.