"A Pint of Bitter, Please."

[Narkalui]

I have to be in a specific mood to drink real ale, but when I'm in that mood I like Hobgoblin, Old Peculiar, Bishop's Finger or Broadside

 

[BAYLOR]

I have to be in a specific mood to drink real ale, but when I'm in that mood I like Hobgoblin, Old Peculiar, Bishop's Finger or Broadside

That label for Hobgoblin would be enough to scare me off that brand.

 

[Vince W]

That label for Hobgoblin would be enough to scare me off that brand.

Don't let it. It's quite nice.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I used to drink lager, and couldn't stand real ale. But taste buds change and now most lagers taste like alcoholic fizzy pop (but not as nice tasting as pop) whilst real ale has not just a taste but a real flavour to it.

Don't let it. It's quite nice.

Yes Hobgblin is very nice; I do like a nice real ale.

 

[Danny McG]

In the mid 1970s a bunch of us apprentices were taken for a tour of a brewery.
There was a little terrier had free run of the place, with cat flaps in every doorway, this was explained by the old gaffer showing us around as a rat control measure due to piles of grain everywhere.
Up in the roof walkways they led us around the big tanks and there was old broken skylights.

If you looked very close into the big tanks there were drowned pigeons that had been overcome by the fumes floating under the froth.

Off putting!

 

[BAYLOR]

In the mid 1970s a bunch of us apprentices were taken for a tour of a brewery.
There was a little terrier had free run of the place, with cat flaps in every doorway, this was explained by the old gaffer showing us around as a rat control measure due to piles of grain everywhere.
Up in the roof walkways they led us around the big tanks and there was old broken skylights.

If you looked very close into the big tanks there were drowned pigeons that had been overcome by the fumes floating under the froth.

Off putting!

Dead Pigeon Ale It seems to me that the brewery missed a major marketing opportunity right there.

 

[Matteo]

So...what's a blend of Guinness Export, Timmermans Oude (lambic) Kriek and Guinness West Indies Porter like?

It pours very similar to a bottle of Guinness (so not as thick/creamy as on tap). Perhaps a little more fizz to it which I put down to the lambic element.

Looks like a regular Guinness export - black with no red tinge to the liquid or head.

The cherry smell comes through clearly, but it's more subtle than a regular kriek.

The taste is definitely cherry but it's less acidic/sour than a normal lambic. The Guinness taste is there but suppressed by the taste of kriek.

I was hoping for more stout and less kriek but it wasn't a bad drink by any stretch. I'd give it a 3/5.

 

[Grimward]

Sacrilege!

At least this wasn't attempted with Mackeson's (can't imagine the cherry tang surviving THAT bath), which isn't easy to get over here in the US. Glad it didn't entirely disappoint you though, Matteo.

 

[Dave]

Sacrilege!

At least this wasn't attempted with Mackeson's (can't imagine the cherry tang surviving THAT bath), which isn't easy to get over here in the US. Glad it didn't entirely disappoint you though, Matteo.

Actually, I was reading that drinking a half of light hoppy draught IPA mixed together with a bottle of a much stronger darker beer, or a lambic beer, is an actual "thing"! And there are notes published about what mixes best.

It isn't for me, I'd rather drink the two beers separately, but whatever floats your boat!

 

[KiraAnn]

That early discussion about sheep contributions reminds me of what we here in Texas used to call Coors - Rocky Mountain Trout Piss.

I don’t drink much alcohol - plays hell with my blood sugar level. When I drink beer, it’s usually Shiner Bock.

 

[Matteo]

Actually, I was reading that drinking a half of light hoppy draught IPA mixed together with a bottle of a much stronger darker beer, or a lambic beer, is an actual "thing"! And there are notes published about what mixes best.

It isn't for me, I'd rather drink the two beers separately, but whatever floats your boat!

I would have left it on the shelf - after all; stout and lambic??!! But a few years ago I decided that I was not taking full advantage of the plethora of beers that exist in this country and so started to make a concerted effort to try as many as possible. And so, instead of just buying the usual trappiest beers that the local supermarkets sell (though in recent years both Delhaize and Carrefour have made an effort to expand their range) I sought out less well-known beers.

Every few months I pop to the local beer warehouse and buy a bottle of each that I haven't tried before. This means I drink some "unusual" beers, a few bloody awful beers, and a lot of good beers - but often means I drink some that are sublime.

The Guinness/Timmermans was not bad but I won't be bothering again - there are better beers out there.

 

[The Big Peat]

Actually, I was reading that drinking a half of light hoppy draught IPA mixed together with a bottle of a much stronger darker beer, or a lambic beer, is an actual "thing"! And there are notes published about what mixes best.

It isn't for me, I'd rather drink the two beers separately, but whatever floats your boat!

People also mix two different IPAs together - seems weird, but no different to making your own blending whisky really. Or beer in this case.

 

[Rodders]

I've only ever been a lager drinker and never developed a taste for anything else. (good job too, as i drink far too much.)

Holgate breweries in Australia made a Millennium Falcon beer, which I'm dying to get into my collection. Difficult to track down, though.

 

[BigBadBob141]

REF: Danny McG.
Maybe the pigeons added to the flavor, you never know, there are maybe breweries where the odd worker goes missing now and then, hmmmm sounds like a plot to a horror story!!!

Sounds like my uncle Bill, he fell into a vat of beer and drowned, he took hours to as he had to get out now and then to go to the loo!

 

[BigBadBob141]

I can remember my brother telling me a story that someone had told him, there was some very strong chemical, maybe a solvent, with a very heady smell, some of the workers at the plant where it was made would stand on the catwalk now and then over a large tank of the stuff breathing in the fumes which were addictive and would make them dopey, I think one day one of them fell in, it did not end well!

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

I'm wondering if it was called "Top Deck" because that was where the bad/cool kids sat and caused trouble on the bus.

And where you could smoke!
Anyone remember the Top Deck radio ads, "Let's get some Top Deck, baby let's dance, let's get some Top Deck and drink to romance"?
Yuck

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

And where you could smoke!
Anyone remember the Top Deck radio ads, "Let's get some Top Deck, baby let's dance, let's get some Top Deck and drink to romance"?
Yuck

"Lager shandy for you, cider shandy for me, or if you would rather, there's limeade and lager, and kisses of sweet harmoneeee! Let's get some Top Deck, etc"
Funny how I can't remember what I did yesterday but remember this banal jingle from my teens

 

[BigBadBob141]

With all this covid 19 carry on I've practically turned into a recluse/hermit.
Going out with a mask and gloves on I look like something out of one of the Fallout games.
Going out only once a fortnight or more to shop for food, haven't had a brew in ages, at least well before Christmas '20.
When things ease up I really must get back on the brew.
P.S. For anyone worried about my alcohol intake I rarely drink more then a can a day!

 

[Venusian Broon]

P.S. For anyone worried about my alcohol intake I rarely drink more then a can a day!

Me too. I'm a one can a day man as well.

Parking it with the truck is always a bit tricky though...

 

[hitmouse]

I went to my local last week for the first time in 5 months or so. Had to book a table, but nonetheless it was an emotional experience. I had a couple of pints of Mumbles Red Dragon, which was like nectar, over a couple of hours of genial conversation. It is reassuring to know that civilisation has survived the last year.