The Real Ale Thread

mike_l

octatonic said:

I drink wine, as I'm posh.

Beer is for awesomes people, like Mike_l

 

Another editing for accurancy..

IanSavage

AlbionLass said:

Doom Bar is reasonable. Has several times been the saviour of a night out when I've had to go to pubs where it's been the only thing on apart from lager and cider. 

I always go back to Castle Rock - Harvest Pale, Brunswick - Triple Hop and Thornbridge - Jaipur, especially the Jaipur oh yes 

Yeah, more than drinkable. I'm spoiled by living in a very bohemian bit of Birmingham though, more proper beer than I can shake a stick at...

AlbionLass

IanSavage said:

AlbionLass said:

Doom Bar is reasonable. Has several times been the saviour of a night out when I've had to go to pubs where it's been the only thing on apart from lager and cider. 

I always go back to Castle Rock - Harvest Pale, Brunswick - Triple Hop and Thornbridge - Jaipur, especially the Jaipur oh yes 

Yeah, more than drinkable. I'm spoiled by living in a very bohemian bit of Birmingham though, more proper beer than I can shake a stick at...

Derby is like that, all the best real ale pubs are within yelling distance of each other too, great beer, lovely buildings, great staff, excellent music often too.

Col_Decker

I'll also tip my hat to Reverend James from the Wales.

ESBlonde

I like many of the former Nethergate Breweries products (now Growler Brewery) in Saffron Waldon

I also have a taste for Lincolnshires own Batemans bottled ales.

I am local enough to enjoy Adnams ales in plentiful supply and my current favourite tipple (if kept right using clean pipes and not chilled) is Woodfords Wherry.

I am of course open to try anything once. I bought some bottles of ale at a farmers market last spring from a dad whose under age son was the brewer. I have to say it was quite refreshing although I doubt I could drink enough of it to get tipsy. Good to see youngsters with a passion for proper brewing, the future is bright.

Van_Hayden

Batemans was the last hope for real ale when I was growing up in Lincolnshire! Haven't had one for some time...

Van_Hayden

Did someone mention Jaipur?

Nitefly

ESBlonde said:

I am local enough to enjoy Adnams ales in plentiful supply and my current favourite tipple (if kept right using clean pipes and not chilled) is Woodfords Wherry.

Ooh Woodfordes - had a pint of Once Bittern last night, was very tasty.  Not a beer you find very often up here in darkest Wigan!

Bidley

Woodfordes! Good call, Nelson's Revenge is great.

Phil_aka_Pip

Best session beer - Brakspear's Ordinary, followed closely by Tolly English Ale

Best winter bottle conditioned chewy beer - Fuller's 1845

Best silly grin beer - Norman's Conquest (no idea what they put in it but one bottle has you grinning inanely all evening) *

Highly recommended bottled ale - Burma Star Ale (BSA) by The Hogs Back brewery in Surrey *

* both discovered in the booze dept in Surrey/Berkshire Sainsbury's several years ago

strumjoughlamps

If you are ever near any of these try a pint of Gladiator, very nice. http://dowbridgebrewery.co.uk/pubs.html

joneve

bertie said:

I have three small breweries within a 5 minute drive from whereaboots I reside.  They make some nice ales, (Cotswold Spring, GWB and Wickwar Brewing Co.)  however I dont like em in their '3 or 5 pint carry out thingys - tend to be just a little too flat for my tastes (just like bottled ales are a tad over sparkling........but thats easy enough to counter)

There are loads of great breweries 'round there yere parts tho

I'm not a fan of Cotswold Spring or GWB beers at all, but I had a few pints of Wickwar Bankers Draft a few weeks ago and it were lovely.

Hooky is probably my favourite tipple, but my local has been stocking Dartmoor beers recently - Legend and Jail Ale. Both are lovely, but the Jail Ale specifically is probably one of my new favourite drinks.

Anything owned by Marstons is utter shite as far as I'm concerned; Ringwood, Hobgoblin, Pedigree. No matter how much I try and like them, they're all terrible.

Doom Bar used to be good, but is now terrible.

Bert, if you're ever up Cheltenham way, I'd recommend a stop off in "Favourite Beers". Really decent shop which stocks loads of ales from different breweries.

imalone

joneve said:

Anything owned by Marstons is utter shite as far as I'm concerned; Ringwood, Hobgoblin, Pedigree. No matter how much I try and like them, they're all terrible.

Doom Bar used to be good, but is now terrible.

A friend of mine grew up near the ringwood brewery when it was 'local' so it's dear to his heart, but it's always left me with a bizarre sore throat. I did discover a marstons pepper beer a month or so ago which sainsbury's were pushing, that was actually pretty good.
Milton brewery Sparta. Their '1st generation' classic range can be a bit unpolished, but the later stuff is good. I don't know if moonshine brewery are still going.
Hilden bewery in Belfast, you can sometimes get it elsewhere. Most are good, barney's brew was not.

OilCityPickups

My beer of choice through my teens and upwards was Gales HSB ... but they were bought out by Fullers and trashed.
I'm sitting here doing bottled beer as I type: Shepherd and Neame Spitfire bitter. Not a bad for a session tipple.

Phil_aka_Pip

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Shepherd and Neame Spitfire bitter. Not a bad for a session tipple.

I'd have thought that one was a bit heavy for a session beer but hey, if you can stand up afterwards, who am I to argue?

GuitarMonkey

Maybe we should have a Derby Beerfest/Gearfest?

hywelg

To the OP, do you not get Blue Monkey over there? They're based up by Ikea so I would have thought they have a decent presence in Derby. Blue Monkey are the brewery in and around the east mids at the moment. Castle Rock went off the boil when they moved to bigger premises. The Harvest Pale is awful now compared to what it was, I wont drink it. Elsie Mo used to be fabulous, crap now. They have lost it.

Unfortunately some of the newer micros aren't breaking any pots, Magpie is, for the most part, brewed from canal water, or so it tastes like, and Navigation Brewery is very second rate all traditional bitters with not much hop, and far too many brews that are too similar. Thankfully we get new micros cropping up monthly it seems.

I am afraid Camra, whilst having a huge success in Nottingham, (the recent beer festival had 1100 different beers) is not helping improve standards of real ale. They all know that there is good real ale and poor real ale but won't openly criticise any one brewery or beer, so long as it is indeed real ale. This has been my big gripe with Camra over the year and the reason i never wanted to join. We used to have a large local brewery, Hardy's and Hansons, and Camra fought tooth and nail to keep it open, when all along most locals despised their beer, insipid watery piss. I was glad it closed though unfortunately Greene King them put their beers on sale instead, just as bad. Still no criticism from Camra yet we have local breweries producing vastly superior beers.

Just to create a discussion, best beer in the land?

Citra by Oakham. (In fact anything by Oakham will do for me followed closely by Jaipur, Sliver King, Absolution, Pale Rider, 99 Red Baboons)

Col_Decker

These days I think I prefer a dark mild over a bitter. Does this mean I'm an old lady?

Van_Hayden

Best beer....

Jaipur is up there but I really like Coniston ales. Especially the Bluebird, bags of flavour and not too strong of the XB for more kick. They don't do a bad one.

VimFuego

best beer is tricky, but the best pint I ever had was a Hook Norton in a pub in Oxfordshire (little village called Filkins mrs F had dragged me to, something to do with her family history). The beer was fantastic, absolutely perfect.

That said, I do recall drinking a very nice pint or 5 of Black Sheep in that pub up the Langdale valley (can't think what it's called now, the big modernish one.