BEERS #2 - Beyond the Pale

[Abnormal Palm]

This is lovely. Got it from Sainsbury's. Lots and lots of banana but a lovely tang to it, as well. Bread and butter. Really delicious, moreish. Very fucking nice.

[Jerzy Bondov]

Love that shit. Delicious.

Shoulders I think you are probably right about the DDH DIPA. Didn't really get the tropical taste from it. Not averse to trying another but I won't go out of my way for it.

Got a bottle of Heverlee from Tesco. Nice lager. I see it is made by Tennents. Lovely.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Probably one of my first posts on the first Beer thread was about Weihenstephaner hefeweissbier. One that deserves to be called a classic.

In January I visited their brewery in Freising. Can strongly recommend it if you're visiting Munich as it's close to the airport, though the general standard of the beer on tap and in bottles is so good there was not dramatic increase in quality or anything (the main noticable difference was that the weizenbock Vitus was better).

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

11 of the 60 kellerbiers left :(

Aim for it was to last 3-4 weeks which I will have done by this pay day but still sad about box getting emptier and emptier.

[Abnormal Palm]

Today, I'm actually out of beers. I have a massive quandary.

Do I go to Sainsbury's and buy their remaining Weihenstephaner hefeweissbiers - given that there were only a couple left yesterday - or do they I go to the bottle shop and gamble on there being some more Schneider Weisse in?

That's pretty much all I want to drink in this weather and I want a lot of them 🍻

[Norton Canes]

Both..?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Kaiser Heinrich Urstoff was least impressive of the 10 when I got through the first round, but it's been growing on me ever since.

Sure it's a pleasant drinkable lager to start with but towards the end of the glass you pick up a moreishness as its residual flavour (which is like a liquid equivalent of perfectly golden toasty fresh bread) lingers in your mouth. This is the kind of brewing where people have put thought into how to build beer with a flavour profile where you want another, then another. This is the opposite to how craft brewing has come to work where everything humanly possible is devoted to first impressions and small portions. Culturally people are moving towards having a different beer each time. Enjoyable to explore (and for me preferable with strong beer) but this is the sort of beer I could knock back several of in the right setting enjoy just as much and not give a single fuck whether I missed out on some other beer they offered. This ought to be the benchmark of the sort of lager we are offered in pubs. Everyone would develop a different opinion of the stuff.

[Abnormal Palm]

I think that's a really interesting post. Typically, historically, if I go to the pub, I'm 'on' whatever for the night, maybe with the odd switch if my mate recommends something or if my choice is a bit off. In recent years, I've felt inclined to try something different every pint. Marshmallow stout, rhubarb crumble IPA, fanny batter porter. And I do like that, to be honest. I enjoy the variety and the chat, I enjoy sharing sips and discussing it like a bunch of big gays. I enjoy my mate spitting beer in my face and hardwanking in the bogs. Licking pale ale off each other's gooch and writing tasting notes. Shitting a full cack into a pint of mild.

[king_tubby]

Right lads, thanks to this thread I just cycled up to Beer Ritz and looked confusedly at the Belgian section and now have a Tripel Karmeliet in the fridge. 8.2%, apparently.

Have I chosen wisely? Got a nice tin of Arbor to take the taste away if I don't like it.

[Abnormal Palm]

I'm sure that'll be a cracker. Might take you a little to get past the alcohol volume at first but take your time and see how it opens up.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Right lads, thanks to this thread I just cycled up to Beer Ritz and looked confusedly at the Belgian section and now have a Tripel Karmeliet in the fridge. 8.2%, apparently.

Have I chosen wisely? Got a nice tin of Arbor to take the taste away if I don't like it.

Tripel Karmeliet is a very nice beer.

I didn't realise Beer Ritz was open?

[king_tubby]

Tripel Karmeliet is a very nice beer.

I didn't realise Beer Ritz was open?

Yeah, they re-opened last Thursday. Stock was noticeably limited, especially local brewers which is understandable as they're nearly all doing their own distribution now.

OK, I'm going in. Very lively on the pour, but that could be from the biking. I'm drinking it from my partner's Duchess de Bourgogne glass, for, er, authenticity.

Right, very different to what I normally drink, and very different to the supermarket Belgian stuff I've had like Leffe.

I'm sure that'll be a cracker. Might take you a little to get past the alcohol volume at first but take your time and see how it opens up.

Doesn't taste 8.2%. There's no 'hint of Special Brew' like you get with some of the very strong craft stuff.

[king_tubby]

This is not a beer for swigging, is it? I guess I'm probably about half way in to it, it's like a double full English breakfast or something, plenty behind it which I didn't really appreciate at the beginning.

[sardines]

Tripel Karmeliet is my summer beer. As mentioned, dangerously drinkable.
There is a shit bar here with a lovely terrace which serves it on tap.  Start at 4pm in the sun, bed by 8. Lovely stuff.

I once saw an Irish bar in Brussels serve it in pints as the monthly special to the usual stag crowd. Shame I didn't hang around to see how that one ended.

[Abnormal Palm]

King_tubby

I generally find that a lot of beer gets more bland and watery the more you drink but a good dubbel, tripel or quad actually gets better over half an hour or even double that.

[DocDaneeka]

Currently having a winter Leffe which I got in a Beerhawk delivery with other random stuff, pretty nice but kinda just tastes like a Leffe to me.

In the same box I had a Hertog Jan Grand Prestige which was lovely but you could taste the alcohol at 10%.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The Hertog Jan is a Barleywine- I remember the booziness too. Took me nearly an hour to finish. An hour to get through 300ml.

[Blue Jam]

Decided to check out BeerHawk, thanks lads. Ordered me some of the black stuff:



Brew York Tonkoko
Tiny Rebel Stay Puft
Anchor Porter
BrewDog Zombie Cake
Wild Beer Millionaire
Thornbridge Cocoa Wonderland
Magic Rock Dark Arts
Siren Broken Dream
Stewart Cauld Reekie
Wiper and True Milkshake
Fourpure Oatmeal Stout
Saltaire No. 5

Tonkoko is bloody lovely if I recall. Bit o'tonka plus vanilla, coconut and chocolate. Should be overkill but isn't.

[Ferris]

The anchor porter is very nice, roasty and that. Anchor have stopped exporting to Ontario for some mad reason - I will blame the conservative provincial government.

[Abnormal Palm]

Tonkoko is awesome. I tried to get it from my usual guy but it's flown off the shelf as soon as he's got it in.

That Magic Rock Dark Arts is equally good, really nutty and chocolatey. Very nice stuff. I had one last night, blimmin lovely.

I've had the Tiny Rebel, as well. Tastes as you'd expect from the description, which I can't fault!

I'm currently sipping on a Westmalle Dubbel, I'd say it's one of the great beers of my life having now enjoyed a good dozen or so. Everything from Christmas spices to biscuity bite and some sherry fruit, and yet still very drinkable and refreshing. Outstanding.

[Blue Jam]

Anchor is indeed very nice. I've tried most of these before but I liked 'em so that's why I got' em.

[Abnormal Palm]

Sorry if that read as telling you something you didn't already know, BJ. I'll keep an eye out for the Anchor, can't remember what else I've had by them but something very nice.

[Blue Jam]

No worries Bosto, I was actually replying to Ferris when you hit reply first, and tasting notes are always welcome.

Thanks for the matcha green tea recommendations btw, not sure I thanked you before!

[Ferris]

Anchor is indeed very nice. I've tried most of these before but I liked 'em so that's why I got' em.

They have a really solid core range.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I'm currently sipping on a Westmalle Dubbel, I'd say it's one of the great beers of my life having now enjoyed a good dozen or so.

Charting the development from your warm to luke warm first impression a few weeks back, that's interesting to read. I' m not surprised either. There's a landing strip that Westmalle Dubbel hits in your mouth and just keeps hitting bob on throughout the course of the drink. One of those beers that can be enjoyed in 15 minutes or across an hour.

[Abnormal Palm]

Yeah, definitely seemed a bit light/insubstantial when I first tried it but that was on the back of really falling for the Rochefort 10, Barnardo 1, Chimay Blue and Straffe Hendrik Quad. By the time I got a couple more and had it alongside some Wit/Weisse etc, it really started to click. Depending on mood and how quickly I drink it - as you say - I get such a range of flavours from it. Seriously good stuff.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Just finished the last Hutten Zoigl and Hetzelsdorfer Bier.

I've never been good at dealing with endings and goodbyes. There's a scene from Metropolitan (1990) where all the self-absorbed nouveau riche socialites meet up towards the finale of the film in their favourite niche of their favourite bar, knowing that their time together is about to end for good. The way the scene is shot is amazing. There are a couple (though it focuses on one character) who are genuinely struck by it. For them the high point of it all was the experience and the camaraderie. They can't deal with it - and they are left for dust. Almost immediately they become sadcases and loners. For the others, it was just a phase of their life, they shrug it off like it was nothing.

Beautiful to have known you beers.

[Viero_Berlotti]

French beer.

Are there any really good French beers I'm missing out on? Most French beer I've had is either at best bang average or at worst undrinkable.

It's mad really considering they neighbour the joint world masters of good beer, Belgium and Germany.

Why is French beer so poor/average? And why do they seem to think adding orange flavouring to beer is a great thing to do?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

There are some traditional saison/farmhouse ale producers near the Belgian border that are apparently good. It's not my favourite style usually so can't think of them off the top of my head. Brasserie du pay Flamand is one.

La Goudale is available in Morrisons. It is a Biere de Garde, one of the few styles the French call their own. A bit like a Triple/Strong Blonde. Local blonde ales and ambrees are worth exploring, especially across Brittany and Normandy.

When Saveur Biere did UK shipping I got in a load of French beers in 750ml form. They were a step down from Belgian ale to be perfectly honest, but still pleasant.

Why is French beer so poor/average?

Outside of the Northern regions and Alsace/Lorraine it has more in common with Italy, Spain, Greece. Wine is dominant culturally and new brewing has been strangled by corporate might. The audience for anything outside of lager is niche, or at least was until recently, a further disincentive for new brewers up until the craft movement started, where suddenly there was a lot of money coming around and some bandwagon jumpers getting involved.

If you are looking for beer bars in France they commonly lean heavily on Belgian beer and Belgian pubs, rather like the Dutch do.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Popped down to Beer Ritz. They are down on stock but looks like some German beers had just arrived.

Forgot how expensive it is in there now. Some downright piss takers as well, £4.70 for a Delerium. Some mind-boggling - £4.15 and £2.70 for Westmalle Tripel and Budvar. On sale for £2.50 and £1.54 respectively at Morrisons.

All the same, I picked up 2 Saison Duponts, 2 Bruges Zot and 2 Tynt Meadow