British people! What beer do you drink?

[Ian]

http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/media/l...eer-hunt-2012/

Mocha, my favourite, won. :)

That's good. My local Sainsbury's usually has Bad King John (last year's winner) in so hopefully they'll be stocking up on Mocha as well.

[LeMonde]

If you're ever in East Sussex, you can't go far wrong with Harveys.

[Adam]

I don't drink beer but if I did, then I could drink beer for free if I wanted to. If that was the case then I'd be drinking Harbin Beer. They have a factory nearby that gives away bottles of beer for free every weekend for either promotional reasons or they've simply stuck the label on wrong. My Russian friend gets a whole crate every Sunday for free. China is different.

[laneford]

So I was in Brighton for a weekend, and managed to spend a large portion of it here: http://www.darkstarpubs.co.uk/eveningstar/

Where I drank a huge amount of great beer from Magic Rock (keg/craft type expimental and high ABV brews mostly) and Dark Star (bit more traditional cask stuff).

All was pretty good, but the Dark Star Green Hopped IPA and Espresso Stout, and Magic Rock Cannonball, Clown Juice were particular highlights.

[Ian]

Oh my, that pub looks just splendid.

[laneford]

Just got this 'beer hunting' type app (free) for my phone. Looks quite an interesting way of keeping track of new discoveries.
www.untappd.com

[Kannaaashi]

do they have pale pilsen?

[thekev506]

If I'm at home I like Cains bitter - I'm not a bitter drinker typically but the stuff is brilliant.

On the subject of pubs if you're ever in Liverpool you should check out the Philharmonic pub, the whole place is absolutely stunning and well worth a visit.

[Tams80]

If anyone's in the area, or fancies a beer road trip, Hawkshead Brewery is a good place to go. Oddly, it;s not in Hawkshead, but rather Staveley.

[Ian]

Some nice beers wot I've tried recently:

Summer Wine's Cohort: When the back of the bottle neglected to improve tasting notes and some waffle about trying it for yourself and craft brewing I feared it was going to go the way of Arrogant Bastard. A lot of bluster on the label for an average beer. So I was pleased when this turned out to be quite splendid. Describes itself as a "Double Black Belgian Rye PA." Reminded me a bit of the Manchester Star Ale, very dark and a chocolate/fruit sort of flavour. Very nice.

Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale: These caught my eye in The Cave (I've no idea if any other Glasgow-based people frequent this thread, if they do then The Cave has a load of new stuff in) becasuse of the nice labels. I went for the Winter Warmer and it was pretty much what you'd expect from the name. A fruity, malty sort of affair. It was most enjoyable. I'll definitely be trying some more of theirs when I go back to The Cave next.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout: I seem to be learning to like these darker beers quite quickly. It's not that long since I was expecting to hate Mocha in the Sainsbury's Beer Hunt and now here I am enjoying chocolatey stout.

[Ian]

http://www.yorktap.com/

This place looks superb. I'm actually considering a diversion on my train journey home at Christmas just to pop in seeing as it's right next to the station.

EDIT: Blimey, check out their beer board:
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...88520458_n.jpg

[laneford]

Cor!

I like the look of that place. I've tried both those Magic Rock beers on that board, they are ​stupendous.

[Ian]

Went to arrange my Christmas trip home around an hour in there but the tickets at suitable times were extortionate. :( Another time.

[Ian]

Woop! Mocha is now in Sainsburys. As is Manchester Star Ale, but in less stories. Fortunately mine had both so that was Saturday night sorted.

[Icarium82]

Not fussy will often drink generic lager such as Tennents or Carlsberg. When I want to treat my self I like a nice bottle of Warstiener or something similarly Bavarian.

[corbain]

If you're ever in East Sussex, you can't go far wrong with Harveys.

I visited the brewery last week, and it was a great tour .Apparently there's a 2 year waiting list to get on the tour involving writing a letter (not email) to get an invite (I was lucky enough that a friend had done all the legwork). It was therefore rather disappointing when we turned up to find that many people had simply turned up speculatively on the night!

Anyway, the beer was good, although not really to my taste. I found their seasonal ale Bonfire Boy frankly quite horrible.

I did however like their Old Ale (delicious) and the Best Bitter did the job nicely as well. The dry hopped Armada Ale was IMHO just ok. at least when compared with the dry hopped monsters that the craft brewing scene churns out.

[Jorvikan]

http://www.yorktap.com/

This place looks superb. I'm actually considering a diversion on my train journey home at Christmas just to pop in seeing as it's right next to the station.

EDIT: Blimey, check out their beer board:
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...88520458_n.jpg

I grew up in York, and whenever I go visit back home these days on the train I pop in here.

It's fantastic.

[TheXand]

Strongbow. Beer is for plebs and tastes like rank piss.

[drawlien]

Strongbow. Beer is for plebs and tastes like rank piss.

And Strongbow doesn't...? In my local pubs the best ciders you can get are Aspalls or Stowford Press, but even they are only half decent.

[Ian]

Proper cider can be nice. If a bit dangerous. Anyway, let's not encourage an obvious troll attempt, eh?

Aldi have a load of Scottish ales in for a "festival" at the moment. I've still got a couple of stouts to try but there are some decent ones by breweries I'd never heard of before like Barney's Beer.