Topic: Drink Better Beer - Belgian, German, Craft, Ales, Lagers all your hoppy goodness in one place

[Drinks Sangria]

I'm pretty lucky in that my friend runs a bar/bottle shop in the market.

Shame I still can't sit in, but popping in and having a brief (socially distanced masked) chat with him about the beers he's got in is a highlight

Where's this mate if you don't mind me asking? The farmer's one on Lark Lane?

My Canadian Breakfast came this morning, just in time to have a couple tonight. Looking forward to it.

A mate dropped me off a case as a thank you for some work I did for him - mainly lagers and pilsners. Nice little collection of some stuff I've never tried - Some Swinckel's Superieur and Maisel and Friends. One of the ones in there I have had is the Day of the Dead Stone Buenaveza lager, not a fan of that one.

Anyone else got any stout or porter recommendations?

[red_Mark1980]

Where's this mate if you don't mind me asking? The farmer's one on Lark Lane?

My Canadian Breakfast came this morning, just in time to have a couple tonight. Looking forward to it.

A mate dropped me off a case as a thank you for some work I did for him - mainly lagers and pilsners. Nice little collection of some stuff I've never tried - Some Swinckel's Superieur and Maisel and Friends. One of the ones in there I have had is the Day of the Dead Stone Buenaveza lager, not a fan of that one.

Anyone else got any stout or porter recommendations?

I'm in Chester unfortunately fella,  had a chocolate praline stout from Northern Monk from him and it was absolutely unbelievable.

[CaseRed]

Anyone got a home beer pump? My wife got me a Phillips Perfect Draft for my birthday in November and I think its great!

Kegs are 6 litres so 10 pints or so and a good selection of German and Belgian Lagers, More typical Belgian beers and IPA.

Does work out slightly more expensive than bottles etc but i like it!

[Drinks Sangria]

I'm in Chester unfortunately fella,  had a chocolate praline stout from Northern Monk from him and it was absolutely unbelievable.

Small world mate, I live in Chester (well, within 20 minutes drive) - just always refer to Liverpool as town given my history with the place (from Cheshire originally but lived in Liverpool for several years).

That Praline Stout sounds amazing, would definitely bob in when they're open for a try of one of those.

[red_Mark1980]

Small world mate, I live in Chester (well, within 20 minutes drive) - just always refer to Liverpool as town given my history with the place (from Cheshire originally but lived in Liverpool for several years).

That Praline Stout sounds amazing, would definitely bob in when they're open for a try of one of those.

My mate (with his wife) runs "That Beer Place" in Chester market. Give them a go if you're ever in Chester. They are open 12-5 every day for take outs

[Drinks Sangria]

My mate (with his wife) runs "That Beer Place" in Chester market. Give them a go if you're ever in Chester. They are open 12-5 every day for take outs

Ahh, never been but might pop in tomorrow and have a nose. Me and the Missus like a pint or two at The Cellar on City Road near The Old Harkers and the Teppanyaki (also recommend).

[red_Mark1980]

Ahh, never been but might pop in tomorrow and have a nose. Me and the Missus like a pint or two at The Cellar on City Road near The Old Harkers and the Teppanyaki (also recommend).

Turn left if you enter where the butcher's are and it's a few shops down.

The Cellar was a favourite of mine for games prior to Covid (in fact it may be the last pub I was in).

[Drinks Sangria]

Turn left if you enter where the butcher's are and it's a few shops down.

The Cellar was a favourite of mine for games prior to Covid (in fact it may be the last pub I was in).

Good little place isn't it - staff are lovely and there's never any mither or the behaviour you often get in the pubs closer to the city centre at the likes of The Square Bottle.

I met up with a mate for a walk over the weekend - he's from more East Cheshire way and he brought me a few bottles of 'Creme Bearlee' from the Beartown Brewery, which is nice stuff. I'd be tempted to try the Imperial, it's version of a reserve, but given it's £45 for 12 330mls, I don't think it's justifiable.

I know you'd pay that in a pub but for bottled beer you're drinking at home, it has to be extra special for me to spend that kind of money.

[red_Mark1980]

Good little place isn't it - staff are lovely and there's never any mither or the behaviour you often get in the pubs closer to the city centre at the likes of The Square Bottle.

I met up with a mate for a walk over the weekend - he's from more East Cheshire way and he brought me a few bottles of 'Creme Bearlee' from the Beartown Brewery, which is nice stuff. I'd be tempted to try the Imperial, it's version of a reserve, but given it's £45 for 12 330mls, I don't think it's justifiable.

I know you'd pay that in a pub but for bottled beer you're drinking at home, it has to be extra special for me to spend that kind of money.

Yeah, I think the owner is a Bluenose though so one of them..

Dale has some of the beartown stuff in at times.

I've got a dentist appointment and was going to pop in to have a chat on my way home and will check

[Red_Mist]

Good little place isn't it - staff are lovely and there's never any mither or the behaviour you often get in the pubs closer to the city centre at the likes of The Square Bottle.

I met up with a mate for a walk over the weekend - he's from more East Cheshire way and he brought me a few bottles of 'Creme Bearlee' from the Beartown Brewery, which is nice stuff. I'd be tempted to try the Imperial, it's version of a reserve, but given it's £45 for 12 330mls, I don't think it's justifiable.

I know you'd pay that in a pub but for bottled beer you're drinking at home, it has to be extra special for me to spend that kind of money.

Tried Creme Bearlee once and it’s a bit sweet for me. Prefer my stouts to be on the smokey / coffee end of the scale. But it’s pretty decent. I went to the Beartown tap house last time I was over there. Great little boozer. Your mate’s spoiled for choice. Beartown are good but The Cheshire Brewhouse is even better. The brewer there really knows his stuff.

[Drinks Sangria]

Tried Creme Bearlee once and it’s a bit sweet for me. Prefer my stouts to be on the smokey / coffee end of the scale. But it’s pretty decent. I went to the Beartown tap house last time I was over there. Great little boozer. Your mate’s spoiled for choice. Beartown are good but The Cheshire Brewhouse is even better. The brewer there really knows his stuff.

Never been there mate - next time I'm in that vague area and everything's opened up I will have to try it.

It's an odd one the Creme Bearlee - I've had about 4 bottles over the last few days - and the flavour and quality seems a bit inconsistent, which is odd. I know it's a small-scale 'artisanal' brewery in many ways, so not every bottle will be the same (which is great really) but I expect the quality to be broadly good across each try. I had a bottle that similar to you RedMist, was that bit too sweet. I also had one that had virtually no flavour and none of the vanilla flavour you'd expect - but also two bottles that were absolutely spot on.

You should try Canadian Breakfast Stout, that's got some nice coffee flavours to it. Alternatively, a stronger one is the Hitachino Nest Espresso, that's decent stuff but is also 7% and strong-flavoured, I wouldn't have more than a couple!

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

Anyone got a home beer pump? My wife got me a Phillips Perfect Draft for my birthday in November and I think its great!

Kegs are 6 litres so 10 pints or so and a good selection of German and Belgian Lagers, More typical Belgian beers and IPA.

Does work out slightly more expensive than bottles etc but i like it!

Was just going to ask about this, chatting to a mate yesterday who got one and was raving about it.

Id looked at Beerwulf(SP) but they were always out of stock. Would you recommend the Phillips?

[Red_Mist]

You should try Canadian Breakfast Stout, that's got some nice coffee flavours to it. Alternatively, a stronger one is the Hitachino Nest Espresso, that's decent stuff but is also 7% and strong-flavoured, I wouldn't have more than a couple!

Nice one DS, will give them a go. Love a pitch black stout with a good coffee hit. Keep meaning to try that Zia one recommended further up this page, but haven’t been in a Tesco for a while.

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

For all you stout lovers, here are some of the recent ones I've tried and found to be really good:

https://untappd.com/b/cervisiam-krampus-2-the-ho-ho-ho-ing/3460808

https://untappd.com/b/to-ol-jule-malt-2020/4075584

https://untappd.com/b/amager-bryghus-double-black-mash-2020/3768012

I'm Danish and they're available here of course, but I know both Amager Bryghus and To Øl are exporting their beers so with a bit of detective work they should be available in the UK. Cerevisiam is a Norwegian Brewery. They export as well so it might be available in the UK as well.

Enjoy!! 

Cheers.

[Red_Mist]

For all you stout lovers, here are some of the recent ones I've tried and found to be really good:

https://untappd.com/b/cervisiam-krampus-2-the-ho-ho-ho-ing/3460808

https://untappd.com/b/to-ol-jule-malt-2020/4075584

https://untappd.com/b/amager-bryghus-double-black-mash-2020/3768012

I'm Danish and they're available here of course, but I know both Amager Bryghus and To Øl are exporting their beers so with a bit of detective work they should be available in the UK. Cerevisiam is a Norwegian Brewery. They export as well so it might be available in the UK as well.

Enjoy!! 

Cheers.

I love these mad Scandi stouts. You look at the ABV and think it’s going to be too much, but they’re usually absolutely delicious. You just order a third or half and treat it like enjoying a quality glass of wine!  Amundsen and Lervig spring to mind, had those loads, often see them on tap over here when the bars are open (if you know where to look). But thanks for the other recommendations 👍

[red_Mark1980]

Yeah be careful ordering from overseas currently.

Fella I know got stung with a £63 customs charge on ale

[Drinks Sangria]

Good stuff Bennekov! Appreciate the suggestions.

I work closely with a Norwegian gent from Bergen, I just mentioned the Cervisiam to him and he didn't have a clue - more of a wine and lager man. Definitely like the look of some of those though.

Going to Cervisiam's site, they've got some lovely sounding stuff that's right up my street - particularly interested in trying the Banana Waffle and Chocolate Salty Balls Stouts - 12% though! No wonder Red Mist is advocating only having a third! Disappointingly I can't find any UK-based stockists or even the Cervisiam themselves have an online shop, it seems to suggest you need to place a bulk order via email. For someone who just wants to have a try of several different ones, I think that might be prohibitively expensive to import here. Might be wrong though.

Would love to do a craft ale crawl of stuff like the above, just seems like this would be hard to do outside of London in the UK.

[Oh Campione]

Good stuff Bennekov! Appreciate the suggestions.

I work closely with a Norwegian gent from Bergen, I just mentioned the Cervisiam to him and he didn't have a clue - more of a wine and lager man. Definitely like the look of some of those though.

Going to Cervisiam's site, they've got some lovely sounding stuff that's right up my street - particularly interested in trying the Banana Waffle and Chocolate Salty Balls Stouts - 12% though! No wonder Red Mist is advocating only having a third! Disappointingly I can't find any UK-based stockists or even the Cervisiam themselves have an online shop, it seems to suggest you need to place a bulk order via email. For someone who just wants to have a try of several different ones, I think that might be prohibitively expensive to import here. Might be wrong though.

Would love to do a craft ale crawl of stuff like the above, just seems like this would be hard to do outside of London in the UK.

Best place is Manchester in my opinion, just behind Piccadilly you have Track, Alphabet and Cloudwater breweries all based - the Cloudwater tap is the first place I'm heading once all this is over, £3.50 for all beers which is great seeing as you can pay £6+ a can

Once you have done the breweries you can return via the Northern Quarter for a few more great places

[Red-Soldier]

For all you stout lovers, I can recommend this:

March of the Penguins

Smooth Creamy Stout

This creamy dark stout, deep chocolate in colour has a nose of roast malts, coffee, liquorice & orange peel. The aromas carry on into the flavour with a smooth mouthfeel, rich malty start, fresh hoppy middle & a delicious lingering sweet orange after taste. Sure to get you marching again on those cold winter evenings.

https://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/beer/march-of-the-penguins

[Drinks Sangria]

For all you stout lovers, I can recommend this:

March of the Penguins

Smooth Creamy Stout

This creamy dark stout, deep chocolate in colour has a nose of roast malts, coffee, liquorice & orange peel. The aromas carry on into the flavour with a smooth mouthfeel, rich malty start, fresh hoppy middle & a delicious lingering sweet orange after taste. Sure to get you marching again on those cold winter evenings.

https://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/beer/march-of-the-penguins

Thanks for the recommendation, will try that out.

Best place is Manchester in my opinion, just behind Piccadilly you have Track, Alphabet and Cloudwater breweries all based - the Cloudwater tap is the first place I'm heading once all this is over, £3.50 for all beers which is great seeing as you can pay £6+ a can

Once you have done the breweries you can return via the Northern Quarter for a few more great places

Used to be in Manchester and the NQ all the time a few years back when I did my Masters there, but was younger and didn't take much notice of this sort of place. We tend to go to Liverpool rather than Manchester when we go into a city, as it's closer for us, but would definitely make the extra effort based on what you've said. Cheers for the tip - £3.50 a pint isn't bad at all, started to accept paying nearly a fiver a pint in most places where I live.

[red_Mark1980]

Port Street Beer house would be my go to place in Manchester.

When I did live there I found the city centre a little underwhelming. Style over substance

[bradders1011]

PSBH is great (still have £8 on a £20 bar tab I bought on their app to help them out last March...) as are the taprooms near Piccadilly mentioned. Beer Nouveau, in an arch near Track and ABC, are good and are opening a 'terrace' opposite for when we're allowed in beer gardens.

Anyone been in the newly-refurbished Crown and Kettle in Manchester? Use to love that, not been in since they were taken over last year.

I live in Manchester city centre so do (did) a lot of boozing here and in Liverpool.

[red_Mark1980]

Yeah, I think the owner is a Bluenose though so one of them..

Dale has some of the beartown stuff in at times.

I've got a dentist appointment and was going to pop in to have a chat on my way home and will check

No dice on the reserva beartown

[Yorkykopite]

You can't beat a great pint of bitter can you? Even out of a bottle sometimes. And there's a Timmy Taylor's Boltmaker in front of me right now. It was Camra's champion ale a couple of years back. Easy to love because it's perfect.

[So… Howard Philips]

Small world mate, I live in Chester (well, within 20 minutes drive) - just always refer to Liverpool as town given my history with the place (from Cheshire originally but lived in Liverpool for several years).

That Praline Stout sounds amazing, would definitely bob in when they're open for a try of one of those.

Have you and Redmark tried the beer selection at Chester Beer and Wine in Handbridge? They have a great selection and Dave, the beer guy is very knowledgable, but sadly a Blue but one of the more gentlemanly of that breed.

For Xmas my grandson bought me a selection of pale ales from Artichoke on the canal by Harkers (they've opened a small retail outlet during the closure of the bar/restaurant) - Roma Sojourn, Cloudwater Brew and First Chop Hop with a bottle of Tatton Blond for good measure.

[Pheeny]

You can't beat a great pint of bitter can you? Even out of a bottle sometimes. And there's a Timmy Taylor's Boltmaker in front of me right now. It was Camra's champion ale a couple of years back. Easy to love because it's perfect.

I've lived in Belgium since 1992, great beers that I love, but one thing I do miss is a great pint of Bitter. One of the best I've ever had was Border Bitter, brewed in Wrexham back in the day, sadly the Brewery no longer exists, had a few good ones on my trips to Liverpool,helps a lot when you have Jon Hall pointing you to the good ones...

[Drinks Sangria]

Have you and Redmark tried the beer selection at Chester Beer and Wine in Handbridge? They have a great selection and Dave, the beer guy is very knowledgable, but sadly a Blue but one of the more gentlemanly of that breed.

For Xmas my grandson bought me a selection of pale ales from Artichoke on the canal by Harkers (they've opened a small retail outlet during the closure of the bar/restaurant) - Roma Sojourn, Cloudwater Brew and First Chop Hop with a bottle of Tatton Blond for good measure.

I haven’t mate but thank you for the recommendation, absolutely one to try when we can do so.

Yorky - Boltmaker is always a winner. Have you tried Salopian’s Darwin’s Origins? Lovely stuff.

Had a bottle of Peach Melbear tonight out of the Beartown stuff my mate got me. Smelt gorgeous, nice light peach flavour but also quite bitter for a golden ale. The Bluebeary is nicer in my opinion, only had a sip of that though as the Missus bee-lined for it.

[bradders1011]

Spent a good evening in a Thirsk pub last summer alternating between Boltmaker and Double Maxim.

[red_Mark1980]

I've not been to Beer and Wine. I follow them on twitter and don't often get out towards Handbridge. I mean I don't often get out anywhere currently obviously 

[Yorkykopite]

I've lived in Belgium since 1992, great beers that I love, but one thing I do miss is a great pint of Bitter. One of the best I've ever had was Border Bitter, brewed in Wrexham back in the day, sadly the Brewery no longer exists, had a few good ones on my trips to Liverpool,helps a lot when you have Jon Hall pointing you to the good ones...

I'm not going to shed too many tears Pheeny since Belgium...etc. Border Bitter, I don't know but I was in a bar in Bruges fairly recently and they had Taylor's Landlord on!

[Yorkykopite]

I haven’t mate but thank you for the recommendation, absolutely one to try when we can do so.

Yorky - Boltmaker is always a winner. Have you tried Salopian’s Darwin’s Origins? Lovely stuff.

Thanks, it's now on my list!

[vladis voice]

Do any of you lot brew your own? I've been making small batch all grain stuff for a couple of years now (just on a stovetop, and into a demijohn, nothing too complex or costly) and its hugely enjoyable to drink something you made from scratch.

I'm conscious that, much like everyone thinks their baby/pet/album collection is the most perfect thing ever, there is a tendency to overrate 'your own stuff' but have got to the point of making a decent Belgian ale/imperial stout nowadays. Maybe the wrong thread but I was wondering if any of my fellow rank beer lovers were also dabbling?

[Drinks Sangria]

Do any of you lot brew your own? I've been making small batch all grain stuff for a couple of years now (just on a stovetop, and into a demijohn, nothing too complex or costly) and its hugely enjoyable to drink something you made from scratch.

I'm conscious that, much like everyone thinks their baby/pet/album collection is the most perfect thing ever, there is a tendency to overrate 'your own stuff' but have got to the point of making a decent Belgian ale/imperial stout nowadays. Maybe the wrong thread but I was wondering if any of my fellow rank beer lovers were also dabbling?

I haven't personally (wouldn't know where to start), but my missus' Dad does, and he's churned out a few nice Porters (mainly vanilla-based flavours) and some wince-inducingly sour ciders. He puts a bit of brewing sugar in each bottle and uses one of those pressure vats (not sure the proper name) to allow it to brew, all in a darkened garage. The porters and the oatmeal stout he made were pretty nice actually, not something I'd turn my nose up at paying £4 for a pint of in the pub.

[Nobby Reserve]

I've developed a real liking for Sapporo

Hate how lagers have become so hoppy these days (either way too acrid or way too citrussy), and this is deliciously soft and smooth, with that hint of sweetness.

[paulrazor]

200 fathoms is incredible

thanks

[Drinks Sangria]

200 fathoms is incredible

thanks

Where do you get this mate? Looks like the kind of thing I love, only place I could find with stock that will do UK delivery, it's £12 for a 500ml bottle! Bit steep that.

I've developed a real liking for Sapporo

Hate how lagers have become so hoppy these days (either way too acrid or way too citrussy), and this is deliciously soft and smooth, with that hint of sweetness.

Agreed, do like a bit of hoppiness now and then but it seems to be the predominant flavour in lagers at the moment, an overwhelming hoppiness that subjugates all other flavours. Like you, I'm over everything being citrus too. A trend that's gone too far, despite me liking the odd citrussy lager.

[stara]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/PdwYjFnFoJU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/PdwYjFnFoJU</a>

 

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

I love these mad Scandi stouts. You look at the ABV and think it’s going to be too much, but they’re usually absolutely delicious. You just order a third or half and treat it like enjoying a quality glass of wine!  Amundsen and Lervig spring to mind, had those loads, often see them on tap over here when the bars are open (if you know where to look). But thanks for the other recommendations 👍

Amundsen and Lervig are awesome breweries! Estonian brewery Pohjala make GREAT stouts as do Swedish brewery Omnipollo.

Good stuff Bennekov! Appreciate the suggestions.

I work closely with a Norwegian gent from Bergen, I just mentioned the Cervisiam to him and he didn't have a clue - more of a wine and lager man. Definitely like the look of some of those though.

Going to Cervisiam's site, they've got some lovely sounding stuff that's right up my street - particularly interested in trying the Banana Waffle and Chocolate Salty Balls Stouts - 12% though! No wonder Red Mist is advocating only having a third! Disappointingly I can't find any UK-based stockists or even the Cervisiam themselves have an online shop, it seems to suggest you need to place a bulk order via email. For someone who just wants to have a try of several different ones, I think that might be prohibitively expensive to import here. Might be wrong though.

Would love to do a craft ale crawl of stuff like the above, just seems like this would be hard to do outside of London in the UK.

Copenhagen has some pretty awesome beer bars where your thirst for crazy Scandi beer can be quenched in full! Warpigs in Copenhagen is owned by Mikkeller and Three Floyds from Chigaco. They make the most crazy good home smoked pork and brew their own beer in the restaurant. I cannot recommend this place enough.

[Drinks Sangria]

Amundsen and Lervig are awesome breweries! Estonian brewery Pohjala make GREAT stouts as do Swedish brewery Omnipollo.

Copenhagen has some pretty awesome beer bars where your thirst for crazy Scandi beer can be quenched in full! Warpigs in Copenhagen is owned by Mikkeller and Three Floyds from Chigaco. They make the most crazy good home smoked pork and brew their own beer in the restaurant. I cannot recommend this place enough.

Annoyed at myself for not seeking out more variety when we were in Tallinn and Helsinki February last year - kind of just had a few basic local lagers and didn't go out of our way to find anything more adventurous.

In comparison, in Budapest we visited a bar called the Beer Wall that was fantastic, you loaded up money onto a card, then slotted the card into the pumps and poured your own - with so many different ales to try, all varieties and catering to most tastes. There was this mad stout they brewed on the premises that was 12%. Heady stuff.

[Pheeny]

Hapkin tonight, in the Duvel type beers, although not as good as the original still a nice brew...