While I wouldn’t recommend BA’s discussion forum in general due to the group think problem, I love the articles, the Alstrom Brothers reviews (and a few other users . . . most are garbage), the people it’s put me in contact with (the Brewmasters and marketing reps of like 15 or 20 of my favorite brands), the style breakdown, and the introduction of beer (beer 101). Far and away, the most impressive feature is Beerfly. Basically, it’s a user-created database of where you can go to buy and drink good beer.
If you’re interested in brewing your own beer, this is a good place to start. I know more than a couple people that have gone on to win local brewing competitions based mostly on knowledge they gleaned from this website (along with supplementation from BA’s homebrewing forum and their local homebrewing supplies shop). Basically, John Palmer has put his entire book online for free. Think www.aesopian.com for the beer world, except Aeso hasn’t written a book yet.
Also, it’s good for those just interested in learning more about the brewing process.
Basically, “real” or cask-conditioned ale is conditioned in the cask (though some brewers get lazy and put it in kegs). Think bottle-conditioned but in a tap system. The reasons that there are few places to get cask-conditioned ale (EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT AT BBC IN LOUISVILLE WWW.BBCBREW.COM) in the United States are that it doesn’t last like regularly kegged beer, and it doesn’t travel well at all. When you open a cask conditioned ale, you’ve got maybe 3 days before it’s nigh undrinkable. Two days is pushing it. The upshot is that it’s the smoothest, most delicious, most beautifully textured form of alcohol that you have ever consumed. So basically, only local brewpubs and regional breweries that have big devoted crowds can sell it. In the UK, that translates to everywhere. In the U.S., that translates to something like 400 locations.
As a bit of trivia, “nitro-tap” (think Guinness or your local equivalent) was invented as a way to simulate cask-conditioned ale. Too bad it sucks and should burn in hell.
Would now be a good time to point out that I have at least three Real Ale breweries in a 30 mile radius of me, including one that won a national title a couple of years ago?
Hey, I’m proud of England for not falling into the Budweiser trap. Brag away.
I’d complain about you only sending us your shit, but wytchwood, samuel smith (especially sam smith), jw lee’s, Harviestoun, Fuller’s, Youngs, and several other solid breweries send us decent stuff.
Hey I like Budweiser, when I’m drinking lager on the rare occasion. I even had some at the brewery last time I was over there.
Oh, by Budweiser I mean actual Czech Budvar, not that watery frozen fresh(?) (“We believe fresh beer tastes better!” Yeah well you’re on your own there chet! Fucking ‘Born on’ dates!) gnats piss some Americans claim is Budweiser. Can’t believe they tried to stop the Czech’s calling their product Budweiser, fucking ridiculous.
To keep the thread sort of on track as far as Europe goes, England is best for bitters and some Pale Ales (particularly the North where I am), France and the Flemish region can be good for Lager (Stella Artois, Heineiken, Kronenberg 1664 etc are all from this region) moving east, the Germans love their Lager and some lighter ale. Czech Republic, cradle of Lager brewing and the beginning of the dark ale trend that continues across eastern Europe. Ireland’s pretty much only known for its Stouts, Guinness and Murphy’s for example. Scotland and Northern England also produce some stunning Mead.
Then of course there’s Belgium. A country that takes its beer so seriously that there are religious orders devoted to it. I actually was planning having this just be a thread for people to post links on, with a separate general discussion thread about beer, but I really don’t care if people derail this one, and I highly doubt any of the mods are ever going to read the thread anyway.
Fuller’s and Youngs are OK, I tend to think the product of Wytchwood is a bit cheap and nasty tbh.
My recommendation is Landlord by Timothy Taylor, exquisite on cask, but available in bottles as well, though not as tasty I know.
Kelham Island’s Pale Rider is brewed down the road from me, and is the award winning ale I talked about. Bloody nice if you like your Pale Ale.
I don’t drink a lot of American, mainly because I drink Bitter rather than Lager, and I’ve yet to see an American Bitter. I think I know of Bud and Coors that make it over here. Neither of which I’ll request at a bar.
Iscariot’s tip of the day? Caffery’s. Fucking lovely stuff on tap. If you can find it in an actual cask on handpull, it’s the closest thing to a drink of the gods you’ll ever experience. It’s unlikely you’ll ever see one though, even over here I’ve only ever seen three, and I’ve drank the keg dry on all three occasions.
Fuller’s and Young’s are definitely nothing special, but they’re better than whatever we send you, I will bet money on that.
Surprisingly, America has an enormous craft brewing industry. You can find bitters, milds, dopplebocks, double IPAs, Imperial Russian Stouts, Barleywines, you name it, we’ve got it. It’s just that it’s kind of a popular thing to hate on American beer, so no one that comes over here ever seems to bother finding these regional breweries. Bud, Miller, and Coors all make versions of the beers you like, but they’re not worth drinking. Better to go with a regional interpretation.
We also get fairly good imports from Belgium and a lot of bigger German Beers (think dopplebocks, weizenbocks, eisbocks, etc), and there are some hefes that make it over here in pretty decent condition as well.
Myriad fag0t jokes notwithstanding, I drink shit beer for the explicit purpose of getting drunk about as often as I drink good beer, but I figured someone else would start a thread about that.
I have been to Belgium, and they do take their beer seriously; so seriously that when my dad ordered a Heineken the waiter sneered and said “we don’t serve Dutch beer.”
Leffe Brune, Leffe Blonde, and Hoegaarden are all very good, but I imagine that I was only hitting the tip of the iceberg. I shall return someday.
That’s all InBev stuff. Big money is on the table beer they serve at cafes across from Trappist monasteries. Their other stuff (quads, tripels, blah blah blah) might be a bit strong for you. Or maybe not.
Honestly, you can get a lot of good Belgians stateside. Especially in Chicago.
I would like to solicite some opinions on Japanese beers (since I am living here).
I can get some import beer occasionally but most of the Japanese brands are designed to drink smoothly while eating. For those purposes, the beers are fantastic. My favorites are the Sapporo variety including the Yebisu. Orion drinks very easy as well but it is not too popular outside of Okinawa.
For people that come to Japan, many local breweries have beer gardens where food and an incredible amount of beer can be had for little $$$$$. I recommend Otaru breweries the best. It is by far my favorite beer from Japan (that I have had) and it goes extremely well with food.
Garbanzo, I’m up for suggestions because I most often drink a few at home and I am open to suggestions to enhance my beer experience.
You already mentioned Yebisu . . . Ginga Kogen has a few lines of really good beers. Those were my two favorite brands when I was in Japan, but I didn’t have much guidance in the area at the time. Sapporo’s Yebisu line has a black beer that I liked a lot. Ginga Kogen has a surprisingly tasty Wit, as well as a good Dortmunder. The rest of their line seemed fairly good as well. They’ve got a Stout out now that has impressed a few people.
Oh. Sapporo’s got an Edelpils out now that is supposed to be impressive. Honestly, I’m kind of out of my league when it comes to Japanese beer. I’d just suggest trying local breweries out, finding what you like, and then seeing if it’s bottled.
