Recommend me some nice Ale.

[Dillinger4]

I had this lovely welsh ale, but I cant remember for the life of me what its called.

 

[Herbsman.]

Fernande's rum for cover
Cain's raisin beer
Bateman's dark lord
Bateman's summer swallow
Anything Bateman's
Anything wychwood
Sam Smith's taddy porter, oatmeal stout

 

[chooch]

Theres a nice Arkells 'special' or summat, (has a purple label - was given some at christmas, cos an Arkell has inherited the brewery up the road and left control of the Swindon Arkells' to his son, I think)

I like Arkells a lot, but it's the second-best brewery in Swindon.

Sam Smith's taddy porter, oatmeal stout

ooh yeah. The Sam Smith's bottled beers are good. Good on draught too but hard to find (except as a keg beer) outside a small radius of Tadcaster.

 

[Funky_monks]

I had this lovely welsh ale, but I cant remember for the life of me what its called.

Wasn't 'Medra' (Brygady Ynys Mon) was it?

That was one of me favourites when I lived on Mon. Otherwise, its all Felinfoel (nice) or Brains (not nice).

 

[Herbsman.]

I don't really drink ale, but I too want to venture upon the path to enlightenment.

A friend told me there are a whole range of tastes involved, including caramel, chocolate,, honey etc. Now, I like my beer to taste of chocolate, so what sort of thing would I be looking at?

Look for a chocolate stout

Don't try Young's double chocolate stout though - that stuff is rank. It's like someone added a fuckload of cocoa powder to some stout.

 

[Funky_monks]

I like Arkells a lot, but it's the second-best brewery in Swindon.

Archers?

 

[bi0boy]

John Smiths

(they all taste the same to me)

 

[chooch]

Archers?

Aye. Fine beer.

 

[seeformiles]

Anything by the Badger brewery - especially the "Blandford Fly" - tastes of ginger. Quite like the Wychwood beer but can't stand the labels.....

 

[Mallard]

Most of our best stuff is brewed locally by micro breweries and that's what I tend to drink.

If you're going for nationally available bottled beers, Seeformiles is spot on with Badger stuff which seems always available in the evil Tesco. Any Burton Bridge beers are usually top notch in bottles as is Timmy Taylors landlord and the staple bottle conditioned fave White Shield (if you can get it). Black Sheep is everywhere and is better than it has been for ages.

If you can get anything form the Sheffield based 'Kelham Island' brewery or Harvest Pale from Castle Rock Nottingham, both are fantastic.

 

[Santino]

Fosters extra cold

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Your big difference is - bottle conditioned or not?

Good point. Always look for bottle-conditioned and when you pour it be careful to leave any sediment in the bottle.

 

[Spion]

Only the imported one! The other one is shit.

Sadly I have to take what I can get, being up north.

I am only 6 miles from the Timothy Taylor brewery tho And even in bottles their stuff - despite not being bottle conditioned - knocks spots off most other brews. I harbour the theory that bottled beer doesn't travel well. Too much stuff in bottles comes across with a slightly off, sort of toffee-y tinge to it for me. Honorable execptions are Fuller's 1647 (?) and Young's London Ale, both bottle cond and invariably marvellously flavourful and alive.

Black Sheep is my standard bottle standby if I can't get Landlord

A newcomer should really try lots of different types, especially the Belgians too

 

[Miss-Shelf]

what about local beers in north norfok

anyone?

 

[Stig]

a couple of suggestions for Mister Numbers

Go to the Doric Arch outside Euston station and get a pint of Darkstar Hophead, or Arizona Dry as a Desert.

Go to the Market porter in Borough and just ask the bar staff what's going well on the day.

 

[_pH_]

Look for a chocolate stout

Don't try Young's double chocolate stout though - that stuff is rank. It's like someone added a fuckload of cocoa powder to some stout.

Innit I was quite disappointed with that stuff

 

[_pH_]

what about local beers in north norfok

anyone?

Woodforde's

 

[_pH_]

Wouldn't call it ale as such, but I am very partial to this at the mo':

Brewed in Erdington apparently

 

[_pH_]

I don't really drink ale, but I too want to venture upon the path to enlightenment.

A friend told me there are a whole range of tastes involved, including caramel, chocolate,, honey etc. Now, I like my beer to taste of chocolate, so what sort of thing would I be looking at?

Well, if you had come to the brum drinkies on saturday you'd could have any one of a huge selection of weird and wonderful ales as there was a beer festival on

But no, you couldn't be BOTHERED to come.....

 

[felixthecat]

Well, if you had come to the brum drinkies on saturday you'd could have any one of hude selection of weird and wonderful ales as there was a beer festival on

But no, you couldn't be BOTHERED to come.....

Including that 11% one that was the cause of a few headaches...........

 

[hiccup]

I got a mixed case of Innes and Gunn oak aged beer at Christmas. It were fookin lush.

The 7.7% cask strength is quite a mouthful

http://www.innisandgunn.com/

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I bought that from the supermarket once. It was foul.

 

[_pH_]

Including that 11% one that was the cause of a few headaches...........

That wasn't ale!! That was siphoned out of the urinals!!

 

[Dillinger4]

Wasn't 'Medra' (Brygady Ynys Mon) was it?

That was one of me favourites when I lived on Mon. Otherwise, its all Felinfoel (nice) or Brains (not nice).

It may have been.

There were a series of them. I know one of them (the north wales one iirc) had a purple label.

Felinfoel is also lovely.

 

[Yetman]

Duvel

Leffe Blond can be quite nice too.

I dont like any drink if its not ice cold (except coffee and red wine) so ale's not really my thing.

 

[sam/phallocrat]

Jaipur from the Wentworth brewery is a *proper* IPA - straw coloured, strong (5.9%) and quite astonishingly bitter, and one of my favourite ales at the moment. I suspect you can only really buy it in S Yorks and Derbyshire though, but if you every catch sight of give it a whirl . . .

 

[chooch]

quite astonishingly bitter.

I always find those American-micro-style superbitter IPAs (if that's what it's like) a bit dull after a while - they're great for one pint, but then it all gets a bit mouthwashy.
Something freshly hoppy but with a bit of malt behind it is better for extended drinking, I reckon.

 

[Spion]

I always find those American-micro-style superbitter IPAs (if that's what it's like) a bit dull after a while - they're great for one pint, but then it all gets a bit mouthwashy.

I like Sierra Navada Pale ale in a bottle (which sort of blows my 'bottled beer doesn't travel' theory a bit)

 

[chooch]

I like Sierra Nevada Pale ale in a bottle

I've had that and liked it.

It's not a full-on IPA (it's more of a golden ale), but Deuchar's IPA gets the balance pretty much right for me- some acidic hops (probably a dash of Styrian Goldings) and a bit of a sweet back flavour. It ain't complex, but it's great for swilling.
Oh, and Archer's Golden is a similar style and is one of my very favourites.

 

[May Kasahara]

I like Sierra Navada Pale ale in a bottle (which sort of blows my 'bottled beer doesn't travel' theory a bit)

Mmm, that's tasty, but not as nice as Goose Island Honker's Ale.