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

[alonsoisared]

Does the Erdinger glass with Klopp on come with them cans are is that something separate? Just thinking it's not much of a momento if you just drink all the cans but seeing Jurgen's face every time I have a beer is something I could get on board with.

edit. Scrap that, obviously not, they're selling for 50 quid on ebay!

[Welshred]

Brewdog IPA - the first IPA I have drank. I appreciate the different smell, texture and flavour but I don't think it's for me. I don't know if this is a particularly renowned IPA or if I should try others (Punk IPA I have seen recommended)

I'm a big Brewdog fan and think Punk IPA is good but Hazy Jane is by far their best offering.

Also recommend Tiny Rebel's Clwb Tropicana as well - great beer!

[Red_Mist]

I'm a big Brewdog fan and think Punk IPA is good but Hazy Jane is by far their best offering.

Also recommend Tiny Rebel's Clwb Tropicana as well - great beer!

I had a can of Hazy Jane at the weekend and was underwhelmed to be honest. It was okay, but even at 8 for £9 in Tescos I’ll be swerving it. Just seemed thin and lifeless.

Been drinking a lot of RedWillow recently and it’s consistently excellent. They seem to nail every style, saisons, stouts, pales...all really good.

[The Gulleysucker]

Exmoor Ales online discount has another week to run.

https://www.exmoorales.co.uk/product/exmoor-gold-5-16-bottles/

...One more week for our Summer Celebration offer – 10% off all webshop purchases through August. Use the code Summer10 at checkout to receive the discount

[duvva 💅]

Does anyone have recommendations for decent low alcohol beers? I just tried Ghost Ship 0.5 which gets good reviews but I'm not keen on the added bitterness. The lagers I've tried have all been so-so or just terrible. 

Brewdogs alcohol free beers were game changers for me.... and I'm not a fan of Brewdog at all. The only alcohol free beers that acutally taste decent and don't have that weird taste all others I have tried have.

Nanny State and Punk AF are very good. Haven't actually tasted Hazy AF or Wake Up Call yet.

I really like the Ghost Ship 0.5%, that was the beer I missed most when I stopped drinking, and I think they’ve done a really good job of replicating the real thing.
Agree with the Nanny State & Punk AF recommendations too, but didn’t realise they had other alcohol free options so will look out for them.

For those looking into craft ales etc I really used to enjoy Beavertown Neck Oil. Beavertown have a whole range of different ones though (sorry if mentioned before, haven’t read back very far, only just noticed there was a thread on this)

[bradders1011]

Exmoor Ales online discount has another week to run.

https://www.exmoorales.co.uk/product/exmoor-gold-5-16-bottles/

...One more week for our Summer Celebration offer – 10% off all webshop purchases through August. Use the code Summer10 at checkout to receive the discount

Love an Exmoor Gold, remember having one at 4am in Gatwick Wetherspoons. Hard to find up north sadly.

[bradders1011]

Come out for the the last night (for a few weeks hopefully) of Beatnikz Republic in Manchester as they don't do food, doing our bit with the last of the keg and a few cans.

It's currently 9.40pm, feels like someone should start playing Nearer My God To Thee about now.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

Brewdogs alcohol free beers were game changers for me.... and I'm not a fan of Brewdog at all. The only alcohol free beers that acutally taste decent and don't have that weird taste all others I have tried have.

Nanny State and Punk AF are very good. Haven't actually tasted Hazy AF or Wake Up Call yet.

I'd go along with this.
Had September off so did a bit of research on a few Heineken and Moretti tastes the same, I think they make one brew and stick it into different bottles. Has a funny aftertaste and smells like a damp dishcloth. FreeDam from Estrella was the best of the 3 I treied, but not by much. Nanny State is way better. I ended up bunging some lime in the others just to get rid of them.

[Jwils21]

I really like the Ghost Ship 0.5%, that was the beer I missed most when I stopped drinking, and I think they’ve done a really good job of replicating the real thing.
Agree with the Nanny State & Punk AF recommendations too, but didn’t realise they had other alcohol free options so will look out for them.

For those looking into craft ales etc I really used to enjoy Beavertown Neck Oil. Beavertown have a whole range of different ones though (sorry if mentioned before, haven’t read back very far, only just noticed there was a thread on this)

Ghost Ship 0.5 is by far the best low alcohol beer I've tried.

[Drinks Sangria]

Has anyone tried a Salopian Brewery Ale before? They do one called Lemon Dream and another called Neck Oil that are both lovely. Both north of a fiver in my local though which is slightly painful.

A personal favourite of mine is a Plum Porter by Titanic Brewery of Stoke-On-Trent, I ordered a fair few gift cases of these during lockdown when I heard they were struggling as a business. Lovely sharp, fruity first sip then goes deeper and heavier as you expect a stout or porter to do, lovely background vanilla flavour to it. Beautiful.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

Has anyone tried a Salopian Brewery Ale before? They do one called Lemon Dream and another called Neck Oil that are both lovely. Both north of a fiver in my local though which is slightly painful.

A personal favourite of mine is a Plum Porter by Titanic Brewery of Stoke-On-Trent, I ordered a fair few gift cases of these during lockdown when I heard they were struggling as a business. Lovely sharp, fruity first sip then goes deeper and heavier as you expect a stout or porter to do, lovely background vanilla flavour to it. Beautiful.

Salopian is lovely, a pub near us had Lemon dream on in the summer, but everything they do is quality.

Mrs A is a big fan of the Plum Porter and it was always an excuse to pop into the Dispensary when we were up. They had a plum porter reserve last christmas too.

[Drinks Sangria]

Salopian is lovely, a pub near us had Lemon dream on in the summer, but everything they do is quality.

Mrs A is a big fan of the Plum Porter and it was always an excuse to pop into the Dispensary when we were up. They had a plum porter reserve last christmas too.

The reserve was amazing - My local keeps beers superbly well, you can't get a pint like it within 30 miles. They had the Reserve on at the end of last year, it's like the normal one but even more moreish, the vanilla and plum flavours both cranked up without being too much.

Salopian in none-Covid times does a brewery tour for £12.95 that includes a pint of your choice, multiple tasters and a hog roast bap - I've ordered a bunch of tickets for some like-minded individuals in my family when things blow over and it reopens. It's about 50 miles south/southwest from us but should be a good day out.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

^ worth knowing.

Just checked and got excited when I saw it was on Station Rd by a railway line. No station though 
We're about 45 away, you could still train it to Shrewsbury and taxi it from there. Some nice pubs in Shrewsbury too.

[stara]

No idea if this is homage to our Normal One or not. Anyhoo, taste is not bad. Not bad at all.

[macca007]

Very much into lagers and Pales at the moment (well it is summer I suppose!)

I am loving Augustiner Helles, definitely my favourite lager at the moment, although anoyingly I haven't seen it under £3 a bottle anywhere.

On the pales side of things, for a 3.8% Pale I think Verdant's - People, Money, Space, Time - is remarkably full flavoured

For a stronger pale, I am really liking DEYA's Steady Rolling Man, probably the best "core range" pale I have tried from one of the craft brewers

Instead of the augustiner helles upgrade to the edelstoff. Easy one of the best beers around. A bit stronger and better taste for me.

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

I'm having on New Years Eve...

https://www.beertourism.com/blogs/belgian-beer/deus-brut-des-flandres

[stara]

"In 2020, in the Alpes-Maritimes alone, there are 21 (up from 10 in 2015) and across France as a whole, there are now more than 2000 independent craft brewers (up from 793 in 2015).
https://loumessugo.com/craft-beer-on-the-french-riviera/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=craft-beer-on-the-french-riviera"

If I have to guess, with that number of breweries, french are now the official beer enthusiasts of Europe. Who would have guessed.

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

If I have to guess, with that number of breweries, french are now the official beer enthusiasts of Europe. Who would have guessed.

In Denmark we're up from 16 (!!) in 1998 to 232 active breweries in 2020.

[Jono69]

I'm not very adventurous ( Slightly more than the geezer in Morrisons yesterday who had Skol in his trolley !)

Majority of the time stick to Peroni , Sol , Budweiser or San Miguel .  Do Like Red Stripe in a bottle but not always easy to get hold off.

Love Moretti but only on tap as the bottled always seems fairly tasteless

[kaesarsosei]

I'm not very adventurous ( Slightly more than the geezer in Morrisons yesterday who had Skol in his trolley !)

Majority of the time stick to Peroni , Sol , Budweiser or San Miguel .  Do Like Red Stripe in a bottle but not always easy to get hold off.

Love Moretti but only on tap as the bottled always seems fairly tasteless

Look for rounder/fatter bottles of Moretti Tuscana or Siciliana - much superior to the usual stuff.

[stara]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/iDR82qG5uzs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/iDR82qG5uzs</a>

Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery: “Boom ..."

[red_Mark1980]

Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery: “Boom ..."

Thanks for that, really enjoyed it.

He's fantastic- comes across as knowledgeable without being a dick.  I always seem to find people who do brewery tours are either just there for the cheque or are the kind of beer snob who'd turn their nose up at someone for saying "I just like a clean lager".

Explains why I've never liked a Witbier as I can't stand coriander.

Also mad he didn't call it cilantro

[Drinks Sangria]

Agreed, great watch and the guy clearly knows his stuff - really interesting to watch for someone like me who loves that side of Beer but knows very little about it.

It's very easy - as with wine - to come across as pretentious and full of shite. He is informative without being patronising or pretentious in the slightest.

[stara]

Explains why I've never liked a Witbier as I can't stand coriander.

 

My go-to hot summer day beer is witbier or Hefeweizen. Come back to comment witbier if you ever get a chance to taste Allagash White (I believe, it's the B in Garrett "If we would not have more beers to taste, I would finish this glass" Oliver,'s witbier test). 

[Red Beret]

Just started drinking Zia.  It's a stout, but has this incredible rich, iced chocolate mocha flavour.  Only problem is it's 9.2, so I'm completely wasted after less than two cans.

[red_Mark1980]

Just started drinking Zia.  It's a stout, but has this incredible rich, iced chocolate mocha flavour.  Only problem is it's 9.2, so I'm completely wasted after less than two cans.

I'm slowly discovering the beers that are over 7% that actually taste great.

Dangerous territory

[Red Beret]

I'm slowly discovering the beers that are over 7% that actually taste great.

Dangerous territory

It's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

I could piledrive my way through four pint cans of Fosters (don't hate me, I do actually like that piss) and still want more.  Or I can have a two or three cans of some seriously tasty but mega strong ale and be done.

From a calorie standpoint it makes sense, and honestly I can drink a whole bottle of wine at 14%.

[Drinks Sangria]

Just started drinking Zia.  It's a stout, but has this incredible rich, iced chocolate mocha flavour.  Only problem is it's 9.2, so I'm completely wasted after less than two cans.

Where can you get this mate? Stouts and Porters are right up my alley.

It's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

I could piledrive my way through four pint cans of Fosters (don't hate me, I do actually like that piss) and still want more.  Or I can have a two or three cans of some seriously tasty but mega strong ale and be done.

From a calorie standpoint it makes sense, and honestly I can drink a whole bottle of wine at 14%.

I'm the same, I can smash a bottle of wine no problem or several lagers, but put a couple of pints of powerful porter or stout and I'll enjoy it more and be done after two pints, maybe three at a push. It just seems to satisfy any craving for a beverage that I have, much better than alternative choices.

I don't drink much really, I'll go three or four weeks without a drink and then buy a case and have a couple every other night or a few at the weekend. During lockdown anyway. Typically I don't drink in the week, then every other Friday have a fair few in the pub with some mates.

[red_Mark1980]

You can occasionally get Zia in Tesco believe it or not (not sure if that's  where red berry picked it up from).

I can kill a bottle of wine too. 😂

[Drinks Sangria]

You can occasionally get Zia in Tesco believe it or not (not sure if that's  where red berry picked it up from).

I can kill a bottle of wine too. 😂

Cheers, will take a look when we do the big shop this weekend. I can see why we both do so much running now Mark!  Just looked on the website, that Tiramisu Pastry Stout looks amazing!

As I've gotten older I've progressed into finding Stouts and Porters far more to my liking than IPAs or lagers. Don't get me wrong, still love a good lager, especially on holiday when it's hot, but you just can't beat a really rich, deep porter for me.

It's my birthday soon and I know my Ma's got me a case of Plum Porter Grand Reserve from Titanic Brewery - an absolute favourite of mine and a stunning ale.

[red_Mark1980]

They've got them in my Tesco. Grabbed one yesterday for the game today .

[Drinks Sangria]

Obviously not hated by my team at work, my birthday is coming up and they've sent me a box of yet unknown goodies from Titanic Brewery. They will be gladly cracked open this weekend! Hoping the cappuccino stout is in there, a favourite of mine.

They've got them in my Tesco. Grabbed one yesterday for the game today .

Didn't have any at mine unfortunately mate, will keep an eye out though. You should try the above cappuccino stout if you ever get the chance, cracking stuff. Bit pricey Titanic ale but always hits the spot.

https://www.titanicbrewery.co.uk/shop/cappuccino-stout/

Could spend some serious money on there, which is why I try not to venture on too often! £22 for a case of 12 for the main stock isn't bad, but all the reserve stuff is £35 for 12, and we're talking 330ml bottles.

[liversaint]

Some excellent stuff on Beer52.com.

[Red_Mist]

Some excellent stuff on Beer52.com.

I’m going to sound annoying here, but beer52 are a bit shite. Yes there’s some half decent beers on the list but the stuff you get in their subscriptions is not worth the money imho and you can do a lot better going to independent beer shops or breweries direct. Sorry liversaint, don’t mean to be a nob about it and if you’ve had good beers off them fair play to you.

[bradders1011]

A few of us get B52 boxes, they do a pretty good job and we can all compare the beers we've got, never anything too challenging and stuff you'd not really get in this country, for instance recently they did a Polish box and a Melbourne box.

I can't wait to get back to nipping into a can shop on a Friday lunchtime for a browse though.

[liversaint]

I’m going to sound annoying here, but beer52 are a bit shite. Yes there’s some half decent beers on the list but the stuff you get in their subscriptions is not worth the money imho and you can do a lot better going to independent beer shops or breweries direct. Sorry liversaint, don’t mean to be a nob about it and if you’ve had good beers off them fair play to you.

Agree with you in some respects, particularly with the independents, don’t think you’re being a nob at all. I’ve had some good ipa and pale ales, less good with the stouts and darker beers. If you’ve any recommendations, pass them on 😎

[Red_Mist]

Agree with you in some respects, particularly with the independents, don’t think you’re being a nob at all. I’ve had some good ipa and pale ales, less good with the stouts and darker beers. If you’ve any recommendations, pass them on 😎

I was going to say it depends where you live, but during lockdown I’ve had deliveries from all over the place. If you spend enough, delivery is free so it doesn’t really matter where the shop is. Had some great beers from Brew by Numbers in London, they were doing lockdown specials 24-can mixed cases, just over a couple of quid a can and free delivery, worth keeping an eye out for. RedWillow in Macclesfield are great too. And Deya in Cheltenham (but they are a bit eye-watering on the prices...the beers are pretty special though). Vocation in Hebden Bridge are decent value. As for independents, the last two deliveries I had were from Heaton Hops (Stockport I think) and Hoptimism in Loughborough. They had loads of Pollys from North Wales at discounted prices due to BBE dates nearly past. The beers were fine though. The choices are endless!

[Drinks Sangria]

I was going to say it depends where you live, but during lockdown I’ve had deliveries from all over the place. If you spend enough, delivery is free so it doesn’t really matter where the shop is. Had some great beers from Brew by Numbers in London, they were doing lockdown specials 24-can mixed cases, just over a couple of quid a can and free delivery, worth keeping an eye out for. RedWillow in Macclesfield are great too. And Deya in Cheltenham (but they are a bit eye-watering on the prices...the beers are pretty special though). Vocation in Hebden Bridge are decent value. As for independents, the last two deliveries I had were from Heaton Hops (Stockport I think) and Hoptimism in Loughborough. They had loads of Pollys from North Wales at discounted prices due to BBE dates nearly past. The beers were fine though. The choices are endless!

Some great shouts mate - RedWillow a favourite of mine too. Macclesfield is a shoot down the M56 for me and if I'm having to go to Knutsford for work (a couple of times a year) I often pop into Macclesfield to visit.

In my town, there's some alright bars but it's mainly all overpriced cocktails etc, not great for ale drinkers or anyone wanting something a bit different beer-wise. There was a good independent that opened up a few locations with a lot of stuff in stock you couldn't get anywhere in this country, but he ended up selling the name as a franchise and packing it in, which was a massive shame. I think Macclesfield still has one of his bars (in name alone).

I have a couple of cans of Canadian Breakfast Stout on the way from Brew By Numbers, a touch pricey but can't wait.

[bradders1011]

It's a shame RedWillow don't seem to do bottles of Tilting Ale for WCML trains any more, always made the journey to Lime Street go faster.

[red_Mark1980]

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