The Ale Thread.

[Turbo]

im sorry I can't remember for the life of me what its called, I think it has a star on the label

Could be Sapporo.



That reminds me, Gurkha beer is surprisingly good. Might even be better than Cobra as an accompaniment to curry.

Looks about right. Cobra I think is fantastic. Complements a curry beyond well.

Has anyone tried Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout? At a very appealing 14.5%.
I saw it on the menu at the bar I was at, but it was between £15 and £20 for a single bottle, so I decided against it.

I am pretty against strong beers. I think the taste becomes a bit ropey beyond 7%. Only exception is Spiż beer from Poland. Spiż is a restaurant/brewery chain in the south of Poland which makes its beer on site and its weakest is 12% (strongest 17%). The 15% dark beer is fantastic, and the only con that I can put to it is that its as easy to drink as something that is 5%, so you can imagine how cunted I was when I tried to drink a fourth pint.

[AnnihiSlateR]

I've always preferred them strong myself. That said I've never had stronger than 8.5% (Old Tom), but I find that typically they have more taste about them.

[MetalBeast]

I've learned about the dangers of over-strong beers this year. Gotta be VERY careful with anything over 10%, especially if it's dangerously drinkable like Brewdog's Tokyo, Baz's Bonce Blower or Brooklyn Double Chocolate Stout.

Spirit-strength beers like Sink The Bismarck and Tactical Nuclear Penguin are ridiculous.

[Turbo]

I think Brewdog is, as the Scots would call, pish.



Punk IPA is the worst beer I have ever had.

[MetalBeast]

I think Brewdog is, as the Scots would call, pish.



Punk IPA is the worst beer I have ever had.

I wouldn't say they were a bad brewery, but they're certainly not one of my favourites.

Punk IPA is reasonable for a strong IPA, but Oakham Ales and Blue Monkey do that sort of thing much better.

Brewdog's arrogant marketing really gets on my nerves. They were slagging off LocAle the other day and I was thinking of all the local breweries that I like better than them: Castle Rock, Black Iris, Magpie and Blue Monkey and that's just off the top of my head.

[Turbo]

Blue Monkey that one in Notts that does BG Sips that tastes like (surprisingly) tea?



Now that is what ale is about right there.

[Noodle]

PG Sips is actually the only pale ale I am able to consistently enjoy.

[Turbo]

I had a pint of it in the Sal once.



I love it.

[AnnihiSlateR]

PG Sips is actually the only pale ale I am able to consistently enjoy.

I take it from that your into the darker stuff. Can't say I blame you.
The only Pale I think I would consciously choose would be Hawkshead's US PA. To me it tastes how how breweries smell. Like proper stuff.

[Pagan Knight]

PG Sips is actually the only pale ale I am able to consistently enjoy.

I take it from that your into the darker stuff. Can't say I blame you.

Old Slug Porter ( RCH Brewery ) : Lovely

[Noodle]

PG Sips is actually the only pale ale I am able to consistently enjoy.

I take it from that your into the darker stuff. Can't say I blame you.
The only Pale I think I would consciously choose would be Hawkshead's US PA. To me it tastes how how breweries smell. Like proper stuff.

Aye, the darker the better. Castle Rock's Harvest Pale is nice from the bottle when I'm in the mood, but I've only enjoyed it on draught once. Generally speaking, I like my beers dark and/or sweet. I've only had one or two undrinkable porters and I've enjoyed every stout I've tried. I'm also quite a fan of Badger.

[Purple n Batty]

Chose the Batemans Spring Breeze: Demeter Goddess of Spring & Fertility and the harvest ale tonight as it was Lammas (the first harvest on 1st August) but neither Noodle or I were impressed with the taste. Didn't want to waste any though so I drank it all.

The Young's Double Chocolate stout however, was much better for the taste buds and went down a lot easier.

I did however, take the photographing of the bottles a bit too seriously and had to take several shots until I was happy.

[MetalBeast]

Blue Monkey's new Black Howler, which they describe as a "Black IPA" (isn't that a contradiction in terms?) is SUPERB. Pity it's one of their "Endangered Species" limited runs. I wish they'd hurry up and do another batch of Big Blue - that was one of the best beers I've ever had and I reckon they should enter it into this years competitions.

Castle Rock's current "Wildlife Beer" called Wild Angelica is very nice too. Quite floral and very quaffable.

[drummerduba]

Cromarty Brewery's Happy Chappy Pale Ale...about 2 crates were consumed over the weekend (gotta love riders!) and it was absolutely delicious! Perhaps my favourite ale now!

[malicious_bloke]

Can't beat a nice drop of Jail Ale. For best results you need to go to the Plume of Feathers on dartmoor and have a pint or 6 there. I wouldn't really recommend the bottled stuff either, has to be draught.

Also Spingo's extra special. Wickedly potent drop, that.

And if yer feeling really brave, you could try a session on Full Bore.