Silly Commuter Beers/Ales (and other Beverages).

veronese68

Blimey, I've been wanting to respond to this since Friday lunchtime and haven't had a chance until now. I must say London Pride is the beer I drink the most of, and I do like it. There is a lovely Fullers pub near me and the Pride is usually excellent. A couple of times this year it has been a bit lack lustre, a change of barrel sorts it out immediately. I think the turnover in there is so low that as it gets to the end of the barrel it's passed it's best. I think when the landlord retires the pub will be no more, a real shame.
O ther than that I do like a bit of variety, troube being I rarely remember what I've been drinking. The Sussex Arms in Twickenham serves a great, and constantly changing, selection of beers. They will also let you sample before you make a decision. I've had many a good night in there. The old landlord and his lady are now running a pub in Surbiton I believe, must search it out.
As Agent57 says above American beer was laughable for a long time, but they have really come on in recent years and there are some fine beers coming from over there. Although I usually stick to more local fare.
I was bought a great book last Christmas, 1001 Beers to Try Before You Die. Now there's something to aim for.
I'm looking forward to tomorrows first installment of the beer advent calendar.

Agent57

jimmypippa wrote:

I want to like Robinson's, but found that all I have tried seem to taste the same and somehow insipid.

To be honest, I haven't tried many of their beers. But my previous employer did their Web sites, including the Trooper site. So we got a bunch of free samples. Trooper is OK, but I preferred the Dizzy Blonde. I've got some bottles of Unicorn and Build a Rocket Boys to try.

My tate buds may be biased due to locality, but I like the Lancaster beers that I've tried. Haven't had a go with Black yet, but Red, Amber and Blonde all go down well.

Can't seem to find any local pubs that serve mild these days though, which is odd as I thought the North West remained one of the pockets of resistance in the battle between mild and its complete ousting by bitter. None of the local Thwaites pubs seem to have Nutty Black, for example.

itboffin

A few years back i started reading this whilst touring some of my now local pubs

If you like stats beer & history I recommend this book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beer-Britannia- ... 0750927488

warreng

Not been to the pub this weekend (not that Epsom is particularly loaded with decent pubs) so I've had to settle for Westmalle Dubbel and Darkstar Espresso

To whoever mentioned the Sussex in Twickenham, I'm jealous. I'd love a decent pub within walking distance

itboffin

Now darkstar that's a gem especially the hophead, I can sometimes be found in the Harp Covent Garden suping on a pint or twelve, nom nom nom

jzed

itboffin wrote:

Now darkstar that's a gem especially the hophead, I can sometimes be found in the Harp Covent Garden suping on a pint or twelve, nom nom nom

Currently sampling Cerveza Tropical, planning my 100k meander through the volcanoes tomorrow. Did I mention it was 25 degrees here Boffin.

itboffin

JZed wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Now darkstar that's a gem especially the hophead, I can sometimes be found in the Harp Covent Garden suping on a pint or twelve, nom nom nom

Currently sampling Cerveza Tropical, planning my 100k meander through the volcanoes tomorrow. Did I mention it was 25 degrees here Boffin.

Surprising warm for Essex this time of the year than, but still at least you have a girls drink to refresh you

warreng

The Harp is 2 mins from my office so between that and the Lamb and Flag I've got good reason to arrange off-site "meetings"

rubertoe

Hmmmm - Still cant beat Lowlander.

I like Belgium beer and they sell alot.

Back on it on Friday, 3 pints of Hobgoblin and a bottle of Doombar in a pewter jug....

jimmypippa

A local one for me:

ketsbaia

Mmmmm, Jaipur. Currently supping a Sambrook's Barley Wine. They gave it me as a Christmas present at the London Beer Market at Spitalfields yesterday. Bloody good.

BelgianBeerGeek

My local is a Fuller's pub (all of 30 seconds walk away) so mainly London Pride. I had an ESB yesterday which was rather nice. And on Saturday I found some 1845 bottles lurking in a cupboard, so I drank them after Achel Bruin. I'm not a massive fan of Fuller's ales, but the 1845 is the pick of the bunch IMO.

Apart from supping Belgian ale, I'm mainly drinking homebrew these days. I'm rather pleased with a Hopback Summer Lightning clone that's very quaffable.

rubertoe

BBG,

Where are you sourcing your Belgian Beers from? Not to many in the supermarkets (although Waitrose Belgian Blonde is rather good VFM)

cyclingprop

Did the meantime tour the other weekend, thoroughly enjoyed. This time of year really liking a porter or a red, so agree on Yakima. Also really like their chocolate porter.

Gallywomack

I'm increasingly interested in lager - not Stella etc, but what might be termed 'real' lager. I'm especially interested in finding examples of 'real' lager on tap, but it seems to be rare as hen's teeth. In fact, the only things I've found have been Schiehallion on tap in the big Wetherspoons on Gracechurch St (which unsurprisingly wasn't that nice), Pilsner Urquell in a few Nicholson's places (which has been a mixed bag), and the couple of Meantime offerings in their Greenwich pub, which again have been a bit hit and miss (I find Meantime annoyingly inconsistent, but maybe it's just me).

The best lager I've ever tasted in England was Munich Hofbrauhaus stuff, which the Eel Pie in Twickenham had on tap when I was there once for something Rugby-related. 6%, nice bit of maltiness to balance the usual bitter lager finish.

Anyhoo, anyone into good lager? Any tips on where to find good examples on tap around town?

Ben6899

Gallywomack wrote:

I'm increasingly interested in lager - not Stella etc, but what might be termed 'real' lager. I'm especially interested in finding examples of 'real' lager on tap, but it seems to be rare as hen's teeth. In fact, the only things I've found have been Schiehallion on tap in the big Wetherspoons on Gracechurch St (which unsurprisingly wasn't that nice), Pilsner Urquell in a few Nicholson's places (which has been a mixed bag), and the couple of Meantime offerings in their Greenwich pub, which again have been a bit hit and miss (I find Meantime annoyingly inconsistent, but maybe it's just me).

The best lager I've ever tasted in England was Munich Hofbrauhaus stuff, which the Eel Pie in Twickenham had on tap when I was there once for something Rugby-related. 6%, nice bit of maltiness to balance the usual bitter lager finish.

Anyhoo, anyone into good lager? Any tips on where to find good examples on tap around town?

My local sells a nice pint of Koenig Pils.

Clever Pun

Pigs Ear beer festival is this week... worth visiting if you like your beers

Also a little app call Untappd is excellent for finding out more but it will tell you how many beers you've had which is a little worrying

rubertoe

Clever Pun wrote:

Pigs Ear beer festival is this week... worth visiting if you like your beers

Also a little app call Untappd is excellent for finding out more but it will tell you how many beers you've had which is a little worrying

Mrs Toe will do the same thing.

ketsbaia

Gallywomack wrote:

I'm increasingly interested in lager - not Stella etc, but what might be termed 'real' lager. I'm especially interested in finding examples of 'real' lager on tap, but it seems to be rare as hen's teeth. In fact, the only things I've found have been Schiehallion on tap in the big Wetherspoons on Gracechurch St (which unsurprisingly wasn't that nice), Pilsner Urquell in a few Nicholson's places (which has been a mixed bag), and the couple of Meantime offerings in their Greenwich pub, which again have been a bit hit and miss (I find Meantime annoyingly inconsistent, but maybe it's just me).

The best lager I've ever tasted in England was Munich Hofbrauhaus stuff, which the Eel Pie in Twickenham had on tap when I was there once for something Rugby-related. 6%, nice bit of maltiness to balance the usual bitter lager finish.

Anyhoo, anyone into good lager? Any tips on where to find good examples on tap around town?

Get involved in some of the Bernard Unfiltered at the Euston Tap. An awesome lager.

jzed

itboffin wrote:

Surprising warm for Essex this time of the year than, but still at least you have a girls drink to refresh you

Only 21 degrees for todays 100k, now refueling with Cruzcampo.

BelgianBeerGeek

rubertoe wrote:

BBG,

Where are you sourcing your Belgian Beers from? Not to many in the supermarkets (although Waitrose Belgian Blonde is rather good VFM)

Belgium. I go across whenever necessary and fill the car to the gunwales. And get some wine in France for Mrs BBGeek. Even with the drive there and back it still works out quite cheap. I used to go about twice a year but those trips are becoming more frequent. The stuff doesn't last like it did...

BelgianBeerGeek

Gallywomack wrote:

I'm increasingly interested in lager - not Stella etc, but what might be termed 'real' lager. I'm especially interested in finding examples of 'real' lager on tap, but it seems to be rare as hen's teeth. In fact, the only things I've found have been Schiehallion on tap in the big Wetherspoons on Gracechurch St (which unsurprisingly wasn't that nice), Pilsner Urquell in a few Nicholson's places (which has been a mixed bag), and the couple of Meantime offerings in their Greenwich pub, which again have been a bit hit and miss (I find Meantime annoyingly inconsistent, but maybe it's just me).

The best lager I've ever tasted in England was Munich Hofbrauhaus stuff, which the Eel Pie in Twickenham had on tap when I was there once for something Rugby-related. 6%, nice bit of maltiness to balance the usual bitter lager finish.

Anyhoo, anyone into good lager? Any tips on where to find good examples on tap around town?

Can't really help with London. A local pub to me does Kaltenberg Helles on draught. Really nice beer - well worth trying if you come across some.

rubertoe

Cheers BBG, I shall be packing up the family and heading across the water.

Good belgian beer is just to pricey in the UK and hard to find - Triple Karmilet is my favourite and at £3 (330ml) a pop it can get expensive. But I can certainly justify large bottles of Duval.

ketsbaia

A mate of mine brought me a bottle of Cantillon Grand Cru from his local off-licence in Liege. Considerably cheaper over there, I'm told.

Over here, your best bet for Belgian beers is Utobeer, Kris Wines or the Lowlander. Doesn't come cheap, mind.

Clever Pun

rubertoe wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Pigs Ear beer festival is this week... worth visiting if you like your beers

Also a little app call Untappd is excellent for finding out more but it will tell you how many beers you've had which is a little worrying

Mrs Toe will do the same thing.

ha.. yeah

It will also recommend beers given what you've just had... and you get badges for drinking more... I've got too many badges

Clever Pun

rubertoe wrote:

Cheers BBG, I shall be packing up the family and heading across the water.

Good belgian beer is just to pricey in the UK and hard to find - Triple Karmilet is my favourite and at £3 (330ml) a pop it can get expensive. But I can certainly justify large bottles of Duval.

There's an amazing beer shop in G(h)ent
http://www.dehopduvel.be/engels/index.html

Got a little excitable when we went there

Also if you're lucky enough to get an appointment you can go via St Sixtus

Gallywomack

Get involved in some of the Bernard Unfiltered at the Euston Tap. An awesome lager.

That sounds like a live tip - now, how to steer one of my rare nights out in the direction of the Euston tap..?

Re Belgian beer, just do a day trip to Calais, drive to Adinkerke and go to the Delhaise supermarket there. Lots of good stuff available for a fraction of the price we pay here, and you can possibly finance the trip by buying in lots of ciggies for the smokers in your life from the many tobacco shops that cater for cross-border fag-buyers.

veronese68

Clever Pun wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Pigs Ear beer festival is this week... worth visiting if you like your beers

Also a little app call Untappd is excellent for finding out more but it will tell you how many beers you've had which is a little worrying

Mrs Toe will do the same thing.

ha.. yeah

It will also recommend beers given what you've just had... and you get badges for drinking more... I've got too many badges

Presumably the reasoning is that drunks are like kids and aspire to more badges. Works for me, makes mental note to install said app.

Clever Pun

ketsbaia wrote:

A mate of mine brought me a bottle of Cantillon Grand Cru from his local off-licence in Liege. Considerably cheaper over there, I'm told.

Over here, your best bet for Belgian beers is Utobeer, Kris Wines or the Lowlander. Doesn't come cheap, mind.

The Dovetail is excellent for Beglian Beers... one by farringdon and another in cov garden I think

ketsbaia

There's one in Hackney too, called The Dove. Think the Cov Gdn Belgian place is the Lowlander.