To become a proper Guinness drinker you will need to learn the phrase 'it's good, but it doesn't taste as good as it does in Ireland' whilst looking knowingly and wistfully into the distance
And Super Hans style, you need to shun the clover in the foam.
I have never liked Guinness. I was told on a stag do in Dublin that I would like it in Ireland because it tastes better. But it tasted just as bad to me there as it did here!
To become a proper Guinness drinker you will need to learn the phrase 'it's good, but it doesn't taste as good as it does in Ireland' whilst looking knowingly and wistfully into the distance
So true (and, of course, it's absolute bollocks...)
@SuedeAdidas there'll be so much choice you won't have to worry... Find a bar, get a menu (they will have them, it won't just be a few taps that you look at and choose) and then a) work your way through the styles and b) choose by alcohol content. If you're worried about over-doing it early doors, start with the 'blondes' and see where you go... It's a great place for a couple of days relaxed drinking...enjoy.
To become a proper Guinness drinker you will need to learn the phrase 'it's good, but it doesn't taste as good as it does in Ireland' whilst looking knowingly and wistfully into the distance
So true (and, of course, it's absolute bollocks...)
I think the difference in Ireland is they take about 10 mins to pour a pint. That's why I don't drink it... can't wait that long.
@PopIcon I went on the Sat evening and my overall impression was that I did not think it was as good as last year...how can it be CBR when Meantime (and to a certain extent Brewdog) are there?..and don't get me started on Fullers trying to take it all over...
That said, I did have some great beers...it's just that I am struggling to remember which ones were which...I should have been using Untappd... I started with a Canopy IPA which I loved, had a couple of grapefruit IPAs and um......not sure. I don't actually remember leaving....
I've not got any more beer events lined up now til Sept when I'll be at the Beavertown bash....
I've got tickets for this too, the line up looks good. Most of the brewries at the Beavertown gig were not at #CBR17. I've also got tickets for London Craft Beer festival, I think that is in September.
Craft beer fest is £42.50 for a 5 hr session. I know that includes all the beer you can drink but it sounds expensive. Is that just because I'm not used to paying upfront for my beer??
Ten pints worth.
I have to agree that craft beer is too expensive. Most of the guys appearing at the Beavertown gig charge a lot more than £4.20 a pint. No session ipa should ever be that much, but some beers take a lot longer to make.
Any beer related suggestions? Preferably stuff that won't kill me after 2 drinks.
Here are my personal recommendations. The ones with asterisks should be safe, those without may prove a bit strong.
Abbaye D'Aulne* Affligem* Boon Geuze Boon Mariage Parfait Kriek* Bornem Dubbel (but by my tastes not the triple) Bosteels Karmeliet Tripel Bush Ambree (just one will kill you) Chimay Red, Blue or White (personally prefer the blue) De Koninck Duchesse De Bourgogne (really sour - worth a try for the hell of it) Dupont Monks Stout* Gulden Draak Judas Kasteel Donker Kriek Mariage Parfait (tastes of cherries) La Trappe Bockbier Leffe Bruin* Maredsous 8 or 10 (personally prefer the 8) Orval* Pauwel Kwak (but you don't have to go to Belgium any 'Spoons will sell you it) Palm Special* (yes there really is a beer called that) Rochefort 6, 8 or 10 (personally prefer the 8) Tongerlo Bruin*
Noooooooo, skip anything Leffe. It's an Interbrew product (as are Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, etc ... ) and common available in supermarkets and lots of pubs/bars outside Belgium. Please try the local special ales. You'll be amazed. Look for something from "de struise brouwers" ....
Did my annual Big Shop in Germany today, and in the Globus hypermarket I came across a big beautiful wooden cabinet presentation of this brewery. Being a sucker for good marketing, I took a few bottles. Having got them home, I learn that they come from Rugen Island, way up north on Germany's Baltic coast. They are claiming that their IPA won a "World's Best" award in London in 2016. Chilling a couple of the smaller bottles now, and will report. Anyone come across them in the UK?
So I tried the Baltic Dubbel from Insel Braurerei last night. I liked it a lot (although you can see from the reviews there, that not everyone does). It has a more earthy style than Belgian dark beers I have tried, and is less sweet than Czech and other CE dark beers, which I don't drink at all. Went very well with some German mountain cheese, just as their blurb recommended. It is also a beer that demands to be drunk slowly, wheras with the strong Belgian beers I always seem to drink them too quickly and end up rat-arsed despite telling myself I would drink them slowly.
I think this could be a strong dark beer for those who are ale drinkers.
The Goose: Dreary Pubco boozer. Slow service. One till not working. Beer served with too much head. Only saving graces were that the beer tasted good and they had a nice picture of Gemma Arterton on the wall. 3/10
The Compass: Fabulous micropub. Friendly landlord and customers. Excellent selection and the best beer of the day - Plum Porter that really did taste of plums. Private room out the back that looked like your nan had tried to design a man-cave. 10/10
The Robert Pocock: Typical Wetherspoons - all forms of human life were in there. Excellent value food. The Abbey beer that they had on tap was fantastic. I think It's only meant to be drank in small measures; but if they're selling it in pints, I'm drinking it in pints. 7/10
The Grapes: Shepperd Neame pub which, as most of them do, suffers badly from only selling their own inferior product. With the beer choice limited to Spitfire or Whitley Bay it's not surprising we were the only ones in there. Only entertainment to be had in there was debating how much (or how little) the barmaid looked like Stacey Slater on a bad day. 2/10
TJ's: Looked a complete and utter shithole. Did not go in.
The Call Boy: Closed (luckily, by the looks of it).
The Crown and Thistle: Also closed (probably another stroke of luck)
Tavern Food & Wine: The beautiful tile work outside made this look as if this would once have been a wonderful old boozer. Disappointed to find that it was actually a convenience store. WTF?
Three Daws: Characterful pub on the sea wall. Good beer and interesting architecture - all nooks and crannies. Interesting history with Gunther Plüschow passing by. 8/10
Rum Puncheon: Looked like it had a lot of potential, but it certainly wasn't living up to it. Pretty much empty. Shockingly bad 'Bexley Beer'. 3/10
The World's End, Tilbury: Big old pub that was quite full to see some local band. They spent about an hour setting up, played one number, Dr Feelgood's Going Back Home (quite apt for us returning Essex boys) and then declared that they'd be back later. Strange. 7/10
Oohaah style scores: Chances of rushing back 0%, chances of coming back at sometime or another 40%, chances of never returning 60%.
Anyone been Stormbird in Camberwell? Excellent for craft beer.
Yes, me and my brother-in-law popped into Stormbird half a dozen times in January/February while the father-in-law was in KCH at Denmark Hill. Very nice boozer with a great choice of beer. I do like the Beavertown IPAs. Got two or three crates of them in my home bar now waiting to go in the fridge.
For those in Manchester tomorrow (or at any time), the Piccadilly Tap is an excellent pub, right next to the station, on the slip road up to the main entrance...enjoy!
Dammit! Why did I only see this after I'd been up to Manchester?!!!
The Goose: Dreary Pubco boozer. Slow service. One till not working. Beer served with too much head. Only saving graces were that the beer tasted good and they had a nice picture of Gemma Arterton on the wall. 3/10
The Compass: Fabulous micropub. Friendly landlord and customers. Excellent selection and the best beer of the day - Plum Porter that really did taste of plums. Private room out the back that looked like your nan had tried to design a man-cave. 10/10
The Robert Pocock: Typical Wetherspoons - all forms of human life were in there. Excellent value food. The Abbey beer that they had on tap was fantastic. I think It's only meant to be drank in small measures; but if they're selling it in pints, I'm drinking it in pints. 7/10
The Grapes: Shepperd Neame pub which, as most of them do, suffers badly from only selling their own inferior product. With the beer choice limited to Spitfire or Whitley Bay it's not surprising we were the only ones in there. Only entertainment to be had in there was debating how much (or how little) the barmaid looked like Stacey Slater on a bad day. 2/10
TJ's: Looked a complete and utter shithole. Did not go in.
The Call Boy: Closed (luckily, by the looks of it).
The Crown and Thistle: Also closed (probably another stroke of luck)
Tavern Food & Wine: The beautiful tile work outside made this look as if this would once have been a wonderful old boozer. Disappointed to find that it was actually a convenience store. WTF?
Three Daws: Characterful pub on the sea wall. Good beer and interesting architecture - all nooks and crannies. Interesting history with Gunther Plüschow passing by. 8/10
Rum Puncheon: Looked like it had a lot of potential, but it certainly wasn't living up to it. Pretty much empty. Shockingly bad 'Bexley Beer'. 3/10
The World's End, Tilbury: Big old pub that was quite full to see some local band. They spent about an hour setting up, played one number, Dr Feelgood's Going Back Home (quite apt for us returning Essex boys) and then declared that they'd be back later. Strange. 7/10
Oohaah style scores: Chances of rushing back 0%, chances of coming back at sometime or another 40%, chances of never returning 60%.
Great review of the watering holes in what is currently my home town. The Three Daws is my favorite, but I haven't been in the Compass - I will rectify that soon.
Comments
Any beer related suggestions? Preferably stuff that won't kill me after 2 drinks.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g188671-d1015471-Reviews-Staminee_De_Garre-Bruges_West_Flanders_Province.html
It was easier after dark as they had neon lights outside to help you to find one.
Lots of lace & chocolate shops though.
Abbaye D'Aulne*
Affligem*
Boon Geuze
Boon Mariage Parfait Kriek*
Bornem Dubbel (but by my tastes not the triple)
Bosteels Karmeliet Tripel
Bush Ambree (just one will kill you)
Chimay Red, Blue or White (personally prefer the blue)
De Koninck
Duchesse De Bourgogne (really sour - worth a try for the hell of it)
Dupont Monks Stout*
Gulden Draak
Judas
Kasteel Donker
Kriek Mariage Parfait (tastes of cherries)
La Trappe Bockbier
Leffe Bruin*
Maredsous 8 or 10 (personally prefer the 8)
Orval*
Pauwel Kwak (but you don't have to go to Belgium any 'Spoons will sell you it)
Palm Special* (yes there really is a beer called that)
Rochefort 6, 8 or 10 (personally prefer the 8)
Tongerlo Bruin*
Tried a few....but couldn't get on with the Tripels.....too strong for me.
My theee favourites were all sours..... Boon Oude Lambiek, Rodenbach Grand Cru and the local Bourgogne des Flandres.
Mrs SA liked Palm Royal and Steenbrugge Blonde.
I think this could be a strong dark beer for those who are ale drinkers.
The Compass: Fabulous micropub. Friendly landlord and customers. Excellent selection and the best beer of the day - Plum Porter that really did taste of plums. Private room out the back that looked like your nan had tried to design a man-cave. 10/10
The Robert Pocock: Typical Wetherspoons - all forms of human life were in there. Excellent value food. The Abbey beer that they had on tap was fantastic. I think It's only meant to be drank in small measures; but if they're selling it in pints, I'm drinking it in pints. 7/10
The Grapes: Shepperd Neame pub which, as most of them do, suffers badly from only selling their own inferior product. With the beer choice limited to Spitfire or Whitley Bay it's not surprising we were the only ones in there. Only entertainment to be had in there was debating how much (or how little) the barmaid looked like Stacey Slater on a bad day. 2/10
TJ's: Looked a complete and utter shithole. Did not go in.
The Call Boy: Closed (luckily, by the looks of it).
The Crown and Thistle: Also closed (probably another stroke of luck)
Tavern Food & Wine: The beautiful tile work outside made this look as if this would once have been a wonderful old boozer. Disappointed to find that it was actually a convenience store. WTF?
Three Daws: Characterful pub on the sea wall. Good beer and interesting architecture - all nooks and crannies. Interesting history with Gunther Plüschow passing by. 8/10
Rum Puncheon: Looked like it had a lot of potential, but it certainly wasn't living up to it. Pretty much empty. Shockingly bad 'Bexley Beer'. 3/10
The World's End, Tilbury: Big old pub that was quite full to see some local band. They spent about an hour setting up, played one number, Dr Feelgood's Going Back Home (quite apt for us returning Essex boys) and then declared that they'd be back later. Strange. 7/10
Oohaah style scores: Chances of rushing back 0%, chances of coming back at sometime or another 40%, chances of never returning 60%.