The Ale Thread.

[SleepingStar]

Fair enough....from what i've had so far I would highly recommend Honey Fayre - to quote them;

"A deliciously refreshing golden ale made with Welsh Honey.
It is dry in flavour with the sweetnessof the honey emerging in the aroma leading to a pleasing bitter finish"

Actually has a subtle aftertaste of honey that is very pleasing to the palate...

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

The plan of taking pictures of bottles and taps on my phone is working out fine it seems. Last week's adventures brought me into contact with a few nice ones. Summerskills Bunker Hill was a pretty good bitter; sweetness up front but mostly very hoppy. My mate was sticking to that one all night but I needed something a bit more refreshing so went to the always reliable Hilden ale and Salopian Oracle which was almost as good.

Found some of the bottles from that confusing drunk night a few months back in an off license that helped clear up some of the mystery. Hoppelhammer is from Whitewater and is still one of my new favourites. Very fruity and well hopped- like an Irish take on a very heavily-hopped North American ale. McGrath's pale is decent but not a patch on the same brewery's stout (Clanconnel.) Still no joy on finding out about their being a second brewery in Craigavon or if i'm just imagining it, but I did come across some other Irish stuff from 8* brewery in Mitchelstown in Dublin. On the bottle it says the 2 guys who founded the company were Aussies, which makes sense as their Howlin Gale pale tastes a fair bit like Coopers. Their porter and Irish red are decidedly average on the other hand, though then again I think that might be down to all their stuff being conditioned in 330ml bottles instead of 500ml ones.

Speaking of Dublin I did get to try a few things when I was down there just after Christmas. Messrs Maguire brewpub only had their lager and weissbier on when i went in so I opted for Galway Hooker instead. Aside from the fact very few beers would ever be worth €5.50 I really don't see the fuss over this stuff. Maybe it was just because 5 years ago when they wanted to put an Irish beer in top 100/1000 lists and stuff they just went for the easiest one to find. So many better beers being made in this country now, even pale ales which we're not known for. The Porterhouse is definitely the better of Dublin's 2 brewpubs for selection and prices but I only got time to try one pint of Hop Head, which was definitely a bit too heavy on the dry hopping for my tastes, but definitely great if that's your sort of thing.

[MetalBeast]

I discovered the joys of Milk Stout the other night. I usually like to mix things up and try as many different beers as I can, but I had 3 of them (Allgates that time) such was my liking. I didn't even know Milk Stout was a thing until then, but it's left a good enough impression to make me want to try more. I think it's my love of all things sweet really.

Milk Stout rules. Think I first had it at Long Eaton Beer Festival a couple of years back.

One milk stout I tried recently that I particularly enjoyed was Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout, which I had at Brewdog. It wasn't a typical milk stout and had a bit of a soy sauce flavour to it, but I really liked it. Must try drinking it when eating sushi at some point.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

By pure chance I happened to look through the window of the pub just across from the bus station in Dublin which has renamed itself The Brew Dock and lo and behold they now have nearly a dozen craft beers on tap. I'm going to go back and tackle some of the bottles in their fridge when i'm down there again in a few weeks but last night before and after the wrasslin' I did get to try a few new beers to me from their range.

Galway Bay is a pretty new Irish brewery that had 4 beers on there, though I only tried 3. Their pale is pretty decent- it could do with being more complex but I like it better than the overrated Galway Hooker anyway. Stormy Porter I would describe as "civilized"- dark, chocolatey and coffee-y but not overpoweringly so. Their red ale is utterly rank though- sharp, pissy, bitter with no sweetness at all or depth of taste. It just hits you right up front and only dissipates when you gag from the taste of it.

Trouble Brewing's Golden Or Ale was a perfect refreshment pint, but I ended up having to use it to chase their Dark Arts Porter with. It was spot on for what Porter should be, but it was an absolute headkicker in terms of strength of taste that I wasn't prepared for. Fans of strong dark beers look out for that one. For something a bit less local I also tried Sierra Nevada's Torpedo which is essentially a much more heavily hopped version of their pale ale. Tasty, but one i'd have to be in the mood for in the future.

[HaydenAus30]

recently got my hands on the Nogne O/Bridge rd collaboration. Aurora Borealis.

if somehow you can find this beer. DRINK IT.

the Nogne O brewery in Norway batched up a Belgian Quad and aged it in whiskey barrels.
where as the Bridge Rd brewery located in Australia, made a similar Belgian Quad but aged it in wine barrels. the two breweries then shipped them to one another. basically swapping beers.

at 14.9% it is a heavy beer but no where as much as you would think. full of flavour.
mainly roasted malts, slight coffee hits aswell with an almost fruity 'wine' like feel.
it finishes with an amazing smokey aroma. a truly fantastic beer!!

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

I discovered the joys of Milk Stout the other night. I usually like to mix things up and try as many different beers as I can, but I had 3 of them (Allgates that time) such was my liking. I didn't even know Milk Stout was a thing until then, but it's left a good enough impression to make me want to try more. I think it's my love of all things sweet really.

Milk Stout rules. Think I first had it at Long Eaton Beer Festival a couple of years back.

One milk stout I tried recently that I particularly enjoyed was Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout, which I had at Brewdog. It wasn't a typical milk stout and had a bit of a soy sauce flavour to it, but I really liked it. Must try drinking it when eating sushi at some point.

I had my first milk stout (Le Brewery Odo from somewhere in France) and it was alright, but i don't quite get what's supposed to be so different about it from other stouts. Is it supposed to be sweeter or something?

I also picked up some Italian bitter called Belfast Blues simply because of the name and the picture of Van Morrison on the front. It was alright, but not overly special.

[metalhead1996]

bombadier tastes orate

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

I should've posted that thing from the ale meetup thread in here instead probably, but bump this anyway because it's getting close to being culled

[MetallerMathius]

Had a bottle of Batemans "Dark Lord" from Aldi today. It was bloody good! Really quite rich and full flavoured. Bitter but with an underlying sweetness.

I also really like the Cotleigh Breweries offerings. All their brews are named after birds and my particular favourites are Barn Owl and Albatross.

I live near Lewes so I've drunk a serious amount of Harveys! The Old Ale and Sussex Best are a good drop if you ever see them.

[x-tempus]

so Iron Maiden have a themed beer .... http://www.ironmaidenbeer.com/

[MetalBeast]

so Iron Maiden have a themed beer .... http://www.ironmaidenbeer.com/

Nice to see Maiden have gone for a beer from their home nation, unlike Kiss and AC/DC who have both opted for a German lager.

Being from New York, Kiss should have gone with Brooklyn Brewery.

AC/DC should have gone with Coopers or Little Creatures.

[AnnihiSlateR]

Hmm, Robinsons are within the local spoons ordering range, I might have to have a word with my mate who works there.

[MetalBeast]

Had some really good beers at the weekend.

We went to the Lion cos they had Irish real ales on over St. Patrick's Weekend. Was very impressed with Molly's Chocolate Stout from College Green Brewery and Scullions' Irish Ale from Hilden Brewing Co.

The plan was originally to go to the Vic (who also had Irish Ales on), but we ended up at Brewdog instead. Had some awesome beers there too: Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout by Flying Dog (just about as coffee-ish as beer gets) and Hel & Verdoemenis 666 (Hell and Damnation 666) by Brouwerij De Molen.

[MetalBeast]

I had some US Craft Beers last week for American Craft Beer Week. I was particularly impressed with 400lbs Monkey by Left Hand Brewery.

[AnnihiSlateR]

I've literally had 2 pints in the last 3 or 4 weeks since starting dieting. I'd kill for a stout or porter about now.