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BEERS

Started by xXx SuTtOnPuBcRaWl xXx, August 21, 2008, 08:19:58 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Shoulders?-Stomach!

I think La Trappe and Steenbrugge Blanche are really top notch, spicier and a tad hoppier than the every day creamy gentle ones like Blanche de Namur.

Wittekerke was damn good too.

As far as easy drinkers go, the aptly named Gulpener is a mild and drinkable wit, Ramée Blanche also.

Calistan

Cheers, bought the bocks. Haven't had many bocks in my lifetime so looking forward to this.

New Jack

My fav pub in Chester changes its lineup weekly and I spend hours here 'trying' the highest percentage drinks. Bit disappointed there's no 8% cider this week!


Ferris

Beers under 4% are a uniquely British thing, and they are fantastic. You can sit about in the pub all day with them. Very jealous. I had a craving for a pint of mild a year or so ago that was only resolved when I got my brewing stuff out and made 2 gallons. Took 8 weeks.

You only miss these things when they are gone.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

QuoteBeers under 4%

Czech 10° lager which you can get in virtually every Czech pub is rarely much more than 4% so I wouldn't say the culture or skills was unique to England.

Although Belgian beer is known for being strong, tafelbier used to be standard, routinely clocking in at 2% or even less.

It's certainly tougher getting a light beer to taste complex and rich and on that score I definitely agree British is best.

Ferris

You can get yer one-off grisettes and table beers and Berliner weisses, but going into a pub and having a choice of 3 or 4 lovely weak ales (in one of those old grandad glasses with the handles) is uniquely British. I've never come across it anywhere else, and it's very good.

You can stick around and play dominoes all afternoon by the fire, drink 6 pints and still walk home ok.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

#2166
Quote3 or 4 lovely weak ales (in one of those old grandad glasses with the handles) is uniquely British.

For ales, yes, but going from strength, these days on tap in Czech pubs there will usually be:

1 x svetly vycepni pivo, 10°, usually 3.5-4.3%
1 x 11° svetly lezak, usually 4-4.6%
1 x 12° lezak, 4.5-5.2%
1 x Polotmavy and or 1 x cerne pivo

The biggest selling that spring to mind are Pilsner Urquell (4.4%), Kozel 11 (4.0%), Gambrinus 10 (4.3%), Branik (4%), Radegast (4.1%), Krusovice (4.2%), Staropramen (over there it's the 11° which is 4.7%), Breznak (4.1%), Bernard (3.8%)

There are unfiltered versions of the above, kvasnicovy yeasty ones, and very occasionally 9° lagers (I found one called Cyklopivo in Beroun's brewery for about 50p a half litre)

All light, and also, though it must sound like I'm chipping away here, they are very usually served in a glass mug with a handle too.

Having perused my Untappd due to a crisis of confidence in this matter it informs me I have tried 168 Czech beers and 115 were 5% or less.



New Jack

Thank fuck you can get Staropramen on the reg in dusty old England. Pilsner Urqeuell also mainly easy to find. The Czech Republic was my best drinking destination ever, and I've been to Germany and Austria

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on November 25, 2018, 04:14:45 PM
Beers under 4% are a uniquely British thing, and they are fantastic. You can sit about in the pub all day with them. Very jealous. I had a craving for a pint of mild a year or so ago that was only resolved when I got my brewing stuff out and made 2 gallons. Took 8 weeks.

You only miss these things when they are gone.

I come to this pub as they usually have beers OVER 4% but also under a fiver

A quid a percent = fair fucks. My usual tipple is good old 6% Pheonix Wobbly Bob! Not sure where it ranks for you connoisseurs but it is very agreeable, if malty af

Shoulders?-Stomach!

QuoteThank fuck you can get Staropramen on the reg in dusty old England

Thank Carlsberg, macro distribution + brewing under license which they have started doing to the detriment of the quality of the beer. In Croatia Staropramen tasted absolutely shit to be frank, which given the domestic beers are terrible, was a bad surprise for me.

Budvar, Bernard, Staropramen and Pilsner Urquell are all reasonably easy to locate in cities which is obviously good. Shame they aren't £1-£1.50 a pint like in Czechia.

Ferris

Next time I'm in the Czech Republic with my dominoes set, I'll have a look. That said, only one of those you mentioned is under 4%, so I suggest my point still stands re: 3 or 4 choices of sub 4% on the regular.

It's weird they use Plato on the continent - have they not got up to ABV like everyone else?

hummingofevil

Quote from: New Jack on November 25, 2018, 04:10:40 PM
My fav pub in Chester changes its lineup weekly and I spend hours here 'trying' the highest percentage drinks. Bit disappointed there's no 8% cider this week!



I'm sat in the bath in my house in Wrexham trying to justify why it's too late and too dark to get bus to Chester for a pint (it actually is now). Love the brewery tap.

New Jack

+1 recognising the alehouse from merely the admittedly distinctive drinks board.

Kept me in good stead, the Brewery Tap. Even enjoy how wheelchairies find it impossible to get in. Plus after plus!

hummingofevil

Quote from: New Jack on November 25, 2018, 06:06:05 PM
+1 recognising the alehouse from merely the admittedly distinctive drinks board.

Kept me in good stead, the Brewery Tap. Even enjoy how wheelchairies find it impossible to get in. Plus after plus!

All the wheelchairs are round the corner fighting for space with the kid's buggies in The Albion. :)

New Jack

Quote from: hummingofevil on November 25, 2018, 06:08:18 PM
All the wheelchairs are round the corner fighting for space with the kid's buggies in The Albion. :)

Ah, the Albion, never been in, the name alone made me reckon I'd have to go in as some sort of punter Al Murray 'pretend English patriot' gimmick, as I waltz in reeking of weed n speed

I recommend the LA. Tranny DJs, old men supping pints of bitter, mirrors, the lot!

DrGreggles

Quote from: New Jack on November 25, 2018, 04:10:40 PM
My fav pub in Chester changes its lineup weekly and I spend hours here 'trying' the highest percentage drinks. Bit disappointed there's no 8% cider this week!



Which pub?
I'm up that way soon.

hummingofevil

Quote from: New Jack on November 25, 2018, 06:11:37 PM


Ah, the Albion, never been in, the name alone made me reckon I'd have to go in as some sort of punter Al Murray 'pretend English patriot' gimmick, as I waltz in reeking of weed n speed

I recommend the LA. Tranny DJs, old men supping pints of bitter, mirrors, the lot!

Oh you really should go. It's amazing inside with all the old pictures and tin posters. The landlord seems pretty true to his famous board of "NO!s" that greets you at the door (and I suspect a few others that you couldn't write down these days) but its also for show too. Quite afternoon pint in there is a must visit.

Edit: For clarity this is about The Albion.

Just looked it up and it actually says "NO poofs or tarts drinks" on photo of his board on Tripadvisor so actually fuck that.

hummingofevil

Quote from: DrGreggles on November 25, 2018, 06:37:47 PM
Which pub?
I'm up that way soon.

It's called The Brewery Tap. Big old room (and as it's Chester they mean old). On Lower Bridge St. just up from river. It's quite the place.

New Jack

Quote from: hummingofevil on November 25, 2018, 06:38:32 PM
Oh you really should go. It's amazing inside with all the old pictures and tin posters. The landlord seems pretty true to his famous board of "NO!s" that greets you at the door (and I suspect a few others that you couldn't write down these days) but its also for show too. Quite afternoon pint in there is a must visit.

Edit: For clarity this is about The Albion.

Just looked it up and it actually says "NO poofs or tarts drinks" on photo of his board on Tripadvisor so actually fuck that.

It actually sounds close to my slanderous fantasies about it being a racist little Englander pub!

Might pop in next time I wear pink and my masculinity has vanished due to MDMA. I'D BE A RIOT!

--
.Picked up some Żywiec on the way home. In the cans at least, the ring pull turns blue when it's cold enough. Boss!

hummingofevil

Walked past there today. Was closed but no sign of the offending blackboard.

Calistan

The bocks came today. I'd be tingling with excitement only I drank too much Guinness last night and feel a bit fragile.

TrenterPercenter

On the Czech beer front some pubs in the UK are doing this Tankoe pivo (Tank Beer), which is in unpasteurised and driven to pubs in special tanks.

It's pretty damn moreish if you get chance http://www.budweiserbudvar.co.uk/tankove-pivo

I need some beer suggestions for xmas, i want some milk stout but can never seem to find any decent stuff.


Shoulders?-Stomach!

Yeah I might have mentioned upthread but Box has tank Budvar in Leeds - £5.30 a pint though!

Meanwhile tank Pilsner Urquell has been around a few years now, ours is available at Headrow House and it's the best beer in the city.

DrGreggles

There are a few places in Cambridge that sell Pilsner Urquell now.
I don't drink lager very often but, when I do, I'll have some of that.

finnquark

Quote from: DrGreggles on November 29, 2018, 08:16:50 AM
There are a few places in Cambridge that sell Pilsner Urquell now.
I don't drink lager very often but, when I do, I'll have some of that.

Which places have it?

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: DrGreggles on November 29, 2018, 08:16:50 AM
There are a few places in Cambridge that sell Pilsner Urquell now.
I don't drink lager very often but, when I do, I'll have some of that.

From tanks? (You'll usually see the tanks near the bar area as they like to show off/its good for the beer to have less distance to travel down the lines)

The difference is that tank Pilsner Urquell isn't unpasteurised so hasn't been boiled and cooled, wherein it loses some of its flavour. It has a short shelf-life so Plzensky Prazdroj will only license tank beer to premises that a) do it properly and b) have enough business to ensure they are getting through their beer before it goes off. In Headrow House they have a blackboard charting how long it's been since the tank was opened -  I've never seen it be longer than 5 days. Ideally you want to drink tank beer within a week.

My guess is the premises you mention do PU on tap in the standard keg version, which can be very nice still if fresh and well-poured. Due to its characteristics it doesn't take much to ruin and so can be quite disappointing, and people who can't see what the fuss is about generally haven't had it in the pristine condition you get in Plzen or the core tank pubs in Prague. I was delighted when tankové pivo arrived in Leeds as I know the brewery have set conditions. The staff don't pour the beer right, sadly, but nevertheless it still tastes fantastic.

DrGreggles

Quote from: finnquark on November 29, 2018, 08:18:58 AM
Which places have it?

Off the top of my head, The Grain Store has it.
4 tanks now take up a big chunk of the ground floor.

The others will come to me when I wake up a bit.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Nice!

I am in Spain this week and getting sick of Mahou so the thought of a proper Czech lager is too tempting.

In Madrid there is a big show about the pouring of the beer. It does make a difference to the texture but the beer tastes of very little so all that's achieved is a fresher, smoother tapped lager vs. a bottle. Perhaps more enjoyable in the summer. Also caña pourings are 0.2l so going "wow only €1.50" is a little nonsensical.

I am having fun though, honest. Getting big plates of tapas with the beers certainly restores the wow factor.

Cuellar

I went to Madrid in the height of summer once, baking hot at midnight type stuff, and the little ice cold beers for cheap were heaven. I mean, you'd just neck it like water, but still.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Just been to Romania and in Cluj SABMiller have virtually the whole place sewn up.

Weirdly there are beers like Meantime Pale Ale, Grolsch and so on available widely but the overall standard is pretty mediocre. There were two purportedly Romanian beers that were actually brewed in Germany The local one Ursus is tolerable in Unfiltered form but a bit gassy. Their awful Premium is available everywhere.

Weihenstephaner and Paulaner were common and in decent condition which was a real relief.

Local brewpub Klausenburger has a restaurant with a nice sky terrace, their ales are variable but the red and the dark were enjoyable.

Average beer price was 7 lei, so £1.40, but for 400ml, so about £1.75 a pint.

Cluj is a uni city and quite rich by Romanian standards so outside of Bucharest I expect it was on the pricey side.

Weirdest of all was the complete absence of old man pubs. No simple bars, no-one over 45 out drinking. The culture is all themed cafe bars, some nice ones but conspicuous absence of the middle aged, even at La Tevi which was a rock bar, where you can usually find some grizzlers lurking about.

Table service too...zzzzzz

hummingofevil

Union Rooms in Newcastle now doing tank Staropramen. Is it worth a visit just for that? (The pub i mean.  I live here).