What's The Best Beer You've Had?

[OnionTerror]

Cans shouldn't be better - it is the light that degrades beer and cans protect better than bottles. I think this one may be a placebo thing.

Although cans can add a metallicy taste..

[Frank Hovis]

Cans shouldn't be better - it is the light that degrades beer and cans protect better than bottles. I think this one may be a placebo thing.

You always need to pasteurise beer before it goes into cans, this has a bad affect and there are only a limited number of canned beers that I really enjoy as a result.

Thst is usually the main difference between canned and bottled, I have never had a tinnie that tasted better than the same in a bottle, as I have never had a bottle that tasted better than draught beer. Though sometimes they all taste equivalent. Fosters is shite however I drink it.

[thombleached]

You always need to pasteurise beer before it goes into cans, this has a bad affect and there are only a limited number of canned beers that I really enjoy as a result.

Thst is usually the main difference between canned and bottled, I have never had a tinnie that tasted better than the same in a bottle, as I have never had a bottle that tasted better than draught beer. Though sometimes they all taste equivalent. Fosters is shite however I drink it.

Both canned and bottled needs to be pasturised before it goes into it's recepticle of choice, at least that's how we do it and (I'd hope) that others brewers do to

[Frank Hovis]

Both canned and bottled needs to be pasturised before it goes into it's recepticle of choice, at least that's how we do it and (I'd hope) that others brewers do to

Go on... which are you then.

I know for certain some don't. There are live beers and when I asked on a brewery tour why they didn't do cans they said it was specifically beacuse they would need to pasteurise it.

Why do you hope that other brewers do? It's a natural live product so I don't want it heat-treated to kill all the organisms in it; the alcohol keeps it fairly sterile and it's obvious when it's off.

[thombleached]

Go on... which are you then.

I know for certain some don't. There are live beers and when I asked on a brewery tour why they didn't do cans they said it was specifically beacuse they would need to pasteurise it.

Why do you hope that other brewers do? It's a natural live product so I don't want it heat-treated to kill all the organisms in it; the alcohol keeps it fairly sterile and it's obvious when it's off.

Because to transfer from steel vessels to a bottling line has a level of risk atatched to it with contamination, and considering there's no active yeast in the beer your drinking from bottles or cans its of little benefit to not pasturising if that makes sense.

With cask beer it doesn't matter because it's still fermenting, essentially killing off any bacteria itself. When your removing the yeast to then bottle/can, the present alcohol in the solution isn't of a great enough quantify to ensure that any contaminents don't get in your beer.

The only way I could see it working is a bottled line being directly fed by the trunking vessesls, but even then it would need to be steralised daily and it would probably be cheaper just to factor in a pasturising machine into the equation on the line.

[Frank Hovis]

Because to transfer from steel vessels to a bottling line has a level of risk atatched to it with contamination, and considering there's no active yeast in the beer your drinking from bottles or cans its of little benefit to not pasturising if that makes sense.

With cask beer it doesn't matter because it's still fermenting, essentially killing off any bacteria itself. When your removing the yeast to then bottle/can, the present alcohol in the solution isn't of a great enough quantify to ensure that any contaminents don't get in your beer.

The only way I could see it working is a bottled line being directly fed by the trunking vessesls, but even then it would need to be steralised daily and it would probably be cheaper just to factor in a pasturising machine into the equation on the line.

Those technicalities make sense for non bottle-conditioned but there is live beer, this Living Beer website sells a lot of it. Funnily enough the first one, Hog's Back, is the one I asked the question at:

http://www.livingbeer.com/beers-az.aspx

It was a fairly small operation so the cost of the machine may have been significant and the machine may have been unnecessary if they had people with free time to do the sterilising.

[thombleached]

Those technicalities make sense for non bottle-conditioned but there is live beer, this Living Beer website sells a lot of it. Funnily enough the first one, Hog's Back, is the one I asked the question at:

http://www.livingbeer.com/beers-az.aspx

It was a fairly small operation so the cost of the machine may have been significant and the machine may have been unnecessary if they had people with free time to do the sterilising.

Holy moly that's a strong beer. TBH I've only experience of mass production, so does live beer act in the same way as cask beer?

[Johnny Cash]

If im in Britain, Summer Lightning from the Hopback brewery in Somerset. A lovely pale ale which you don't often see except as guest beers but the Giants Rest pub at Wilmington Sussex always has it on draught.

In Germany then its any hefe weissbier, Augustiner, Warsteiner, etc.

On my travels through Europe, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese beer are always worth drinking for their refreshing characteristics and slightly foamy appearance.

If in the far east, it has to be Tiger or Singha beer.

If in Australia drink Little Creatures Pale Ale from the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle WA (available pretty much throughout Oz these days)

Places to have your nights of abstinence where the beer is overpriced piss - All of Scandinavia, America, UK (fizzy mass produced lager and bitter), Holland.

[Frank Hovis]

Holy moly that's a strong beer. TBH I've only experience of mass production, so does live beer act in the same way as cask beer?

Yes, small slow secodnary fermentation. When homebrew had just been legalised (?1950s, before my time anyway) the standard way of getting decent brewers yeast was to buy something like Worthington White Label, let it stand for a few days. Pour out and drink most of it then make a culture of the bottom 1/4 inch.

Maybe people still do that today, I know there are plenty of homebrewers on here.

[Frank Hovis]

If im in Britain, Summer Lightning from the Hopback brewery in Somerset. A lovely pale ale which you don't often see except as guest beers but the Giants Rest pub at Wilmington Sussex always has it on draught.

In Germany then its any hefe weissbier, Augustiner, Warsteiner, etc.

On my travels through Europe, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese beer are always worth drinking for their refreshing characteristics and slightly foamy appearance.

If in the far east, it has to be Tiger or Singha beer.

If in Australia drink Little Creatures Pale Ale from the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle WA (available pretty much throughout Oz these days)

Places to have your nights of abstinence where the beer is overpriced piss - All of Scandinavia, America, UK (fizzy mass produced lager and bitter), Holland.

Gasp!

Whilst I agree with you about Weissbeer you have missed that the US has more breweries than Germany. It produces loads of really good beers (and I mean beers, not lagers) but they never seem to get exported to here. The only downside is that I have yet to find a US pub that does hand-pulled cask-conditioned beer, it's all under nitrogen pressure which is nowhere near as good.

Maybe they have these in Boston but I usually go South.

[blobloblob]

Timothy Taylor Landlord or Hartleys XB for me.

Boycott Boddingtons. Look what they did to the brewery.

[Quagmire]

Epic Armageddon IPA.

[acer]

That's quite surprising, the hard water here in Burton makes it very difficult to distribute it so it retains it's flavour. Although we're launching minicask pedigree in a couple of weeks - real ale (properly) at home finally

I used to like pedigree, and drank a hell of a lot of it in the 80s - this was in Derby, so it hadn't travelled that far. Since then, I've never had a pint of it as good as it seemed then. Did they change the recipe or something?

ps. That minicask thing looks a good idea..looking forward to that.

[tiremola]

Gasp!

Whilst I agree with you about Weissbeer you have missed that the US has more breweries than Germany. It produces loads of really good beers (and I mean beers, not lagers) but they never seem to get exported to here. The only downside is that I have yet to find a US pub that does hand-pulled cask-conditioned beer, it's all under nitrogen pressure which is nowhere near as good.

Maybe they have these in Boston but I usually go South.

In Britain Too many to compare – I try

In Sussex Dark Star

In Scotland Deuchars

In Prague Staropramen

In Turkey Draught Efes

In Japan Asahi

In America Steam beer

In Germany – see Britain

`And malt does more than Milton can

To justify God’s ways to man.

Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink

For fellows whom it hurts to think:

Look into the pewter pot

To see the world as the world’s not….’

A. E. Housman

[Frank Hovis]

In Britain Too many to compare – I try

In Sussex Dark Star

In Scotland Deuchars

In Prague Staropramen

In Turkey Draught Efes

In Japan Asahi

In America Steam beer

In Germany – see Britain

`And malt does more than Milton can

To justify God’s ways to man.

Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink

For fellows whom it hurts to think:

Look into the pewter pot

To see the world as the world’s not….’

A. E. Housman

My sig on another forum!

I don't think Housman was a fan of the stuff.

[tiremola]

My sig on another forum!

I don't think Housman was a fan of the stuff.

I think he both loved and hated it. Here's what he said about the composition of his poetry in his lecture `The Name and Nature of Poetry': -

`Having drunk a pint of beer at luncheon — beer is a sedative to the brain, and my afternoons are the least intellectual portion of my life — I would go out for a walk of two or three hours. As I went along, thinking of nothing in particular, only looking at things around me and following the progress of the seasons, there would flow into my mind, with sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes a line or two of verse, sometimes a whole stanza at once, accompanied, not preceded, by a vague notion of the poem which they were destined to form part of. Then there would usually be a lull of an hour or so, then perhaps the spring would bubble up again. I say bubble up, because, so far as I could make out, the source of the suggestions thus proffered to the brain was an abyss which I have already had occasion to mention, the pit of the stomach. When I got home I wrote them down, leaving gaps, and hoping that further inspiration might be forthcoming another day....'

[porca misèria]

Hmm, a lot of good beers been mentioned here, along with some bad jokes. Here in the southwest I should mention our local Dartmoor brewery (Jail ale, and a new one whose name escapes me but which was excellent when I tried it recently), as well as Otter, Betty Stoggs, Wooden Hand brews, and a couple that others have already mentioned (St Austell brewery, Doom Bar). But some of the imports are great, too!

But what matters most isn't the beer, it's the publican. Most beers can be a decent tipple in the hands (or pumps) of a good landlord, and conversely any beer tastes pretty poor if not well-kept. And there's a matter of time and place: beer tastes its absolute best after hard (but not shattering) physical effort, and with a good meal.

[Frank Hovis]

I think he both loved and hated it. Here's what he said about the composition of his poetry in his lecture `The Name and Nature of Poetry': -

`Having drunk a pint of beer at luncheon — beer is a sedative to the brain, and my afternoons are the least intellectual portion of my life — I would go out for a walk of two or three hours. As I went along, thinking of nothing in particular, only looking at things around me and following the progress of the seasons, there would flow into my mind, with sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes a line or two of verse, sometimes a whole stanza at once, accompanied, not preceded, by a vague notion of the poem which they were destined to form part of. Then there would usually be a lull of an hour or so, then perhaps the spring would bubble up again. I say bubble up, because, so far as I could make out, the source of the suggestions thus proffered to the brain was an abyss which I have already had occasion to mention, the pit of the stomach. When I got home I wrote them down, leaving gaps, and hoping that further inspiration might be forthcoming another day....'

I do like these long walks the Victorians took, Housman was regarded as a bookish academic yet he daily went for three hour walks. I do those at well, but at weekends and think of them as quite a distance. Victorians would regard a 20 miler as a mere stroll. Impressive people.

[Frank Hovis]

Hmm, a lot of good beers been mentioned here, along with some bad jokes. Here in the southwest I should mention our local Dartmoor brewery (Jail ale, and a new one whose name escapes me but which was excellent when I tried it recently), as well as Otter, Betty Stoggs, Wooden Hand brews, and a couple that others have already mentioned (St Austell brewery, Doom Bar). But some of the imports are great, too!

But what matters most isn't the beer, it's the publican. Most beers can be a decent tipple in the hands (or pumps) of a good landlord, and conversely any beer tastes pretty poor if not well-kept. And there's a matter of time and place: beer tastes its absolute best after hard (but not shattering) physical effort, and with a good meal.

Large amounts of Betty Stoggs, Tribute and HSD on Friday. They're all far better than the unlamented Duchy Ales (Tinners Ale and Duchy Bitter were particular lowlights) but I don't think they're fantastic. If London Pride was on I would have that every time.

[profitofdoom]

I thought the swan had crawled up its own backside the last few years and catered mostly for chino wearing holiday homers?

I don't get back as often as I would like. I miss it.

You are right regarding the clientel,but the point was about beer quality.The restaurant at The Swan has nosedived.Being local we only go there out of season.The value gets revised downwards from May-Sept.I used to think it was rubbish about beer not travelling well but Adnams seems to fit this category.30 miles down the road and it's poor.

[swissy_fit]

I went to an American beer festival a few weeks back at the North Bar in Leeds. Great stuff, if a bit expensive. There I did get the opportunity to a sample a pint of Hercules Double IPA. An absolute amazing beer, very hoppy and at 10% to be enjoyed slowly. I went back in their earlier and was amazed ot see it still on despite the festival having ended, it was still just as good. I have a new respect for American beer. Never let anyone put it down as close to piss any more.

Thornbridge always create a good brew and their Jaipur IPA, always on tap in the Grove Inn Huddersfield and the Rutland Chesterfield is probably the best example of an IPA brewed in this country. At 5.9% it also packs a punch, but is true to the style and packs all the right floral hoppy flavours. One to travel for.

The other one that stays in the memory is Badger's Golden Glory, at 4% just a mellow brew, I had this one in Aberystwyth and have never seen it on tap since. The bottled stuff is still quite tasty but nowhere near the quality. It is also a light ale with a floral, peachy kick to it that is unusual for a British beer. I get the feeling more beers will be heading down the route of adding floral tones, and have seen Elderberry and Raspberry recently.

Other memorable ones are Robinson's Chocolate Tom, Chimay Red/Blue, and Brooklyn Chocolate Stout.

Any other good beers out there?

Beer is like any other drink, the best one you've ever tasted depends on the circumstances.

For me, a pint of Black Sheep in the climbers/walkers pub in Langdale, I forget its name, has been unforgettable on a few occasions after a long walk or a hard day climbing. The same beer on another occasion seems much more ordinary.

[swissy_fit]

I do like these long walks the Victorians took, Housman was regarded as a bookish academic yet he daily went for three hour walks. I do those at well, but at weekends and think of them as quite a distance. Victorians would regard a 20 miler as a mere stroll. Impressive people.

Muscular Christianity. It's a powerful combination even now, leaving aside all moral debate.

[LaceUp]

If you are ever in Sussex try Harvey's Best. It's the best!

[winkie]

When in Spain and it's hot you can't beat a cold cruzcampo....there are many nice beers, nice in their own way, am quite partial to a room temperature London pride if given half the chance.

[Warwick Yellow]

I went to an American beer festival a few weeks back at the North Bar in Leeds. Great stuff, if a bit expensive. There I did get the opportunity to a sample a pint of Hercules Double IPA. An absolute amazing beer, very hoppy and at 10% to be enjoyed slowly. I went back in their earlier and was amazed ot see it still on despite the festival having ended, it was still just as good. I have a new respect for American beer. Never let anyone put it down as close to piss any more.

Thornbridge always create a good brew and their Jaipur IPA, always on tap in the Grove Inn Huddersfield and the Rutland Chesterfield is probably the best example of an IPA brewed in this country. At 5.9% it also packs a punch, but is true to the style and packs all the right floral hoppy flavours. One to travel for.

The other one that stays in the memory is Badger's Golden Glory, at 4% just a mellow brew, I had this one in Aberystwyth and have never seen it on tap since. The bottled stuff is still quite tasty but nowhere near the quality. It is also a light ale with a floral, peachy kick to it that is unusual for a British beer. I get the feeling more beers will be heading down the route of adding floral tones, and have seen Elderberry and Raspberry recently.

Other memorable ones are Robinson's Chocolate Tom, Chimay Red/Blue, and Brooklyn Chocolate Stout.

Any other good beers out there?

Badger is lovely stuff...........personally I prefer 'Champion' to 'Golden Glory' although I have seldon had a bad pint of any of theirs. 'Pickled Partridge' at Christmas is excellent.

A lot to be said for the Cornish beers such as Tribute as well; an excellent pint.

If you get the chance try any of the Purity or Slaugterhouse ales from around here in Warwickshire; very good.

My personal favourite would be Hobson's from Shropshire; an excellent range from mild to strong bitters but all good.