Beer

[Roy Hunter]

Sorry, I've posted this after I had consumed some bottles of this holy liquid and there were not more words to say about this last night.

I guessed that. Just a little jealous because I am still off alcohol (although, strangely, I am enjoying sobriety quite a lot).

[muunleit]

...

I guessed that. Just a little jealous because I am still off alcohol (although, strangely, I am enjoying sobriety quite a lot).

Be carefull not to become knurd.

[PKMKII]

That beer sounds nice. I had something similar a while ago. It was a Dunkel, I think, but I can't be sure. I just remember it being a guest bottle in my ex-local bar, and trying a few bottles. Man, that was nice. What's with that law, anyway? You'd think that 80 years would be enough to rid a country of those relics, but not at all. Politicians have some really weird ideas, sometimes. Ok, most of the time.

Well the weird qualification of what an ale and lager is, comes down to "idiots legislating that which they know nothing about." The differences in how wine and beer are treated, probably come down to the fact that these laws were written before there was such a thing as the Napa Valley. Pretty much all wine of any quality was coming from overseas, so there was seen as need to expedite the import process, and not much of a need to regulate domestic wineries. Beer, meanwhile, was largely ruled by the big regional and national brands, while craft/microbreweries didn't exist. So the law was tailored around their needs.

So everyone makes a big deal on the Internets about Founder's Canadian Breakfast Stout. Seeing as how I am not crazy enough to hunt down a bottle of it, I sampled the "plain" Breakfast Stout, a double chocolate coffee Oatmeal Stout. It tastes like an alcoholic version of a regional coffee soda they make around here, Manhattan Special. Has that thick, dark Stout flavor, and the coffee pops out at you, with the chocolate more of a subtle note on the end. Mouth feel is good, but could be a bit thicker. Oddly, it's listed as 60 IBUs, nearly as much as some IPAs, but there's not really much of that strong hoppiness. It blends into the bitterness coming off the coffee and chocolate.

[Roland Deschain]

Last Friday, I accidentally got on a train, transferred to a tube, transferred to another tube, got off in Turnham Green, and walked around the corner. Wondering what to do after this most unfortunate of accidents, I found myself outside a pub called [url=http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/the-tabard-review-25813.html]The Tabard[/i]. Thinking that it would be rude to stand on the pavement outside and not patronise said establishment, I did so. Later on, two friends turned up, completely unexpectedly you hear, and commenced to consume some beer with me. This consumption was only to say thank you to the landlord for allowing us to sit there, otherwise we would have remained tee-total. Honestly.

I must say that this is a lovely little pub. It has a theatre upstairs, independent from the pub, that shows more fringe/Shakespeare theatre than anything else. It's had a couple of its homebrew plays make it to the West End, and some big name comedians use it as a warm-up venue as well. Anyway, the pub has some lovely original arts and crafts tiles by William de Morgan all over the walls, whilst the fireplaces have surrounds of tiles created by Walter Crane – an early example of Art Nouveau. They have a weekly rotation of beers being served there, three of which I had the pleasure of accidentally sampling. Unfortunately, I can only remember two of them:-


RSX is a nice hoppy beer with a fruity twang. This was a nice medium brown colour that suited its taste. Not had this before, so it was a good find.


Asking for a Proper Job was quite amusing, even the second time. This is a golden ale that refreshes the mouth with its slight citrus flavour. It even won a silver medal in the British Beer Awards. This was another new one to me.

[daftbeaker]

Doom Bar - This is a Cornish bitter, found in Islington again (The Vineyard). It has a medium darkness and isn't cloudy like some bitters. It is a farily smooth drink with a nice aftertaste. The name is also cool, although only if you don't think of it as being named after a sand bar.

I might have missed this the first time around. Doom Bar is rather tasty and tends to be quite cheap for a 'specialist regional beer'. Back when I ran the pub (for a whole fortnight) it was both the cheapest and nicest bitter the wholesaler had. It tends to end up in a lot of Bristol pubs for some reason which I'm not complaining about

Anyway, I just got 8 cans of Boddingtons because it was on offer. I may have forgotten I'm not that keen on it It's not bad, it just doesn't taste of anything much. It looks like Guinness made an IPA but tastes of beige.

[DavidH]

Boddingtons looks like Guinness but tastes of bilge.

Fixed that for you, db.

[daftbeaker]

Boddingtons looks like Guinness but tastes of bilge.

Fixed that for you, db.

Hmm, I don't think so. It's not actually bad like Budweiser or Tesco Value Lager, it just doesn't taste of anything much.

[black bart]

No David was right...it is pure Bilge Water. All those beers are pumped out of the same giant vat in me shyppe.

[DavidH]

... which is replenished from the crapper. Round and round it goes.

[PKMKII]

Had Heartland Brewery's (Local chain of brewpubs in NYC) Old Red Nose Ale last night. Malty, with a nice, highly spiced flavor. Mildly hopped, with a viscous mouth feel.

[DavidH]

Well blow me! I had lunch in the Spread Eagle today and had a pint of a local bitter called Red Nose Reindeer. Had a reindeer face with a flashing red LED on the pump handle. Not a bad bitter - 4% ABV.

[daftbeaker]

Well blow me! I had lunch in the Spread Eagle today and had a pint of a local bitter called Red Nose Reindeer. Had a reindeer face with a flashing red LED on the pump handle. Not a bad bitter - 4% ABV.

My local Spoons had that in last week, it looked pleasant enough but the Ruddles was really good that day and a quid cheaper

[DavidH]

It's worth trying a pint. Not an all-time great, but very pleasant. But maybe if you saw it in Camberley it's not local to me after all.

[PKMKII]

(Partial) Victory in Texas ABC case.

As of result of yesterday’s ruling, beer in Texas may now be labeled as “beer” and ale may now be labeled as “ale”, regardless of alcohol content. Breweries and distributors are also no longer prohibited from independently telling consumers where their products may be purchased, or from communicating truthful and accurate information about their alcohol content. That means Jester King will now be able to add a “Where to Buy” section to our website, as will all other breweries selling beer in Texas.

“In a remarkable (though logically dubious) demonstration of circular reasoning” Judge Sparks writes in his ruling, “TABC attempts to defend the constitutional legitimacy of the Code through an appeal to the statutory authority of the Code itself.” Referring to the required use of the terms “beer”, “ale”, and “malt liquor”, he writes “TABC’s argument, combined with artful legislative drafting, could be used to justify any restrictions on commercial speech. For instance, Texas would likely face no (legal) obstacle if it wished to pass a law defining the word ‘milk’ to mean ‘a nocturnal flying mammal that eats insects and employs echolocation.’ Under TABC’s logic, Texas would then be authorized to prohibit use of the word ‘milk’ by producers of a certain liquid dairy product, but also to require Austin promoters to advertise the famous annual ‘Milk Festival’ on the Congress Avenue Bridge.’”

[PKMKII]

So due to a combination of a good sale on 12-packs, the need to spend enough to qualify for a discount from the supermarket, and Monkey gifts, I currently have what I am pretty sure is the most number of unique beers in my house at once:



From left to right:

Duvel, Belgian Golden Ale I've talked about before.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager. While they're now consider a regional, or small national, they were vital in the growth of the microbrew/craft movement in America during the 90's.

Brewdog Tokyo. From Scotland, an oak barrel-conditioned stout. 18% ABV!

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout. Curiously to see how this is, Dogfish tends to be a bit hoppy.

Thomas Hardy's Ale. This one will get aged for a good long time.

The Beast. A Grand Cru from Avery's in Boulder, Colorado.

Founder's Porter. From Detroit.