All Hail The Ale.

[PedroSteckecilo]

Well I've recently converted from Lager to 'proper' beer, and I was looking for some recommendations.
I've tried 'Doom Bar' and it was tasty.
I don't care if it makes me an old man (I've already got a flat cap so sod it).

Ah, I love English Ale, drank a bunch when I was in London back in '08 and loved it... very sad that it isn't available on draught in North America at all... oh well what can you do (The answer is taking another vacation in England... working on that)

On a further note... Betty Stogs Cornish Ale from Skinners Brewery is my favorite English Style Ale but generally I drink Local Canadian Ales which are probably classified as Lagers by you Brits.

Innis and Gunn is one of my favourites, Its aged in Oak casks in a similar manner to whisky.
Although its hard to source in Australia and when I do find it its rather expensive, but if your in the UK you should have easier access to it and I highly recommended it.

http://www.innisandgunn.com/the-range/core-range/original/

http://www.innisandgunn.com/the-range/core-range/rum-finish/

The Rum Finish version is aged in old rum casks, so some of the rum left in the wood is absorbed into the beer and its heavenly *Drools*

Innis and Gunn is really tasty but be wary! Because it uses clear bottles a LOT of it goes skunky REALLY fast, I've picked up many a bottle that has gone off and had to be returned.

That said man, they do a Canada Day Special and it is so damn good, looking forward to getting some again soon (Canada Day is July 1).

 

[Guffe]

Well I don't drink beer, I do other alcoholic drinks instead.
But I've been to England a couple of times and the one I actually enjoy drinking is IPA (Indian Pale Ale)

 

[Private Custard]

If I'm drinking overseas brews, generally a decent Trappist ale does the trick, particularly Chimay. Drank a lot of it at the weekend. Went to my local at 8pm and walked home at 6am in bright sunshine, after drinking all night!

It's 9% though, and kicks pretty hard. Eat a decent meal before a session!

It's got to be Chimay Brun though... not that 'orrible Blond rubbish!

When I ordered them the first time in Bruges I ordered the Brun and he ordered the Blond. I then HAD to quote In Bruges with 'One gay beer for my gay friend, one normal beer for me because I am normal.'

I tend to drink the 'bleue'. The local pub always seems to have a huge stockpile of it....and I'm only too happy to relieve them of it!

 

[piinyouri]

Thought this might have been an Alestorm thread. : c

I only drink very occasionally so I probably don't have many good suggestions. (I'm buzzed and giggling after roughly three wine coolers, so yeah >.>)

Have some Alestorm anyway. : D

Spoiler

 

[Offworlder_v1legacy]

I'm pretty sure they ship to the UK, so if you can get your hands on it try McLaren Vale Ale, it's probably my favourite brew. I recommend the IPA they make, which has passionfruit and I think stone-fruit. The original flavour also has fruits in it.

All up it's a bitter drink that has an interesting, fruity after taste.

FYI, stay away from the Dry, it tastes like a regular beer.

 

[Silly Hats]

I'm pretty sure they ship to the UK, so if you can get your hands on it try McLaren Vale Ale, it's probably my favourite brew. I recommend the IPA they make, which has passionfruit and I think stone-fruit. The original flavour also has fruits in it.

All up it's a bitter drink that has an interesting, fruity after taste.

FYI, stay away from the Dry, it tastes like a regular beer.

Sorry, I think that Vale absolutely pales in comparison to other Craft Beers in Australia/New Zealand. It's a good gateway beer, but Little Creatures Pale Ale is the best beer that bridges the Macro -> Micro gap.

Anything Mountain Goat is consistently good especially the recent single Batches, Fancy Pants Golden Ale and Before the Dark Black IPA. 4Pines makes a really good Stout as well as a Pale Ale.

Holgate, Kooinda, Bridgeroad and Moobrew are less common but are really good Aussie Craft Beers. 8Wired and Epic from NZ makes great beers.

 

[bfgmetalhead]

Newcastle brown ale. Its fucking fantastic stuff

Negative. It's horrible Tyne water.


As for the OP - If you're looking for British then Timothy Taylor has quite a nice range, The Landlord is my staple beverage at my local.

I've spent my life disparaging American beers, however several years ago I came into contact with the Sierra Nevada range, and they do some rather nice Pales - The Torpedo is hoppy goodness in a glass.

Mostly though, an Ale isn't just about how it's brewed, the pub has to know how to handle it - Abbots is quite nice, but anyone who's ever had it from a Weatherspoons knows that the half-trained half-stoned 18 year old unshaved monkeys they employ know nothing about actually running a pub.

I would know, because when I was a half-stoned 18 year old unshaved monkey I worked in a proper pub, my mate worked in a spoons, and they never got taught anything about cellarsmanship (like the fact that cellarsmanship is a word... I just googled it to check).

You sir, have an excellent taste in ale.

OP- I am a Hobgoblin fan mostly however like my fellow gentleman here I do admire the qualities of abbot ale also.

 

[Panorama]

Innis and Gunn is one of my favourites, Its aged in Oak casks in a similar manner to whisky.
Although its hard to source in Australia and when I do find it its rather expensive, but if your in the UK you should have easier access to it and I highly recommended it.

http://www.innisandgunn.com/the-range/core-range/original/

http://www.innisandgunn.com/the-range/core-range/rum-finish/

The Rum Finish version is aged in old rum casks, so some of the rum left in the wood is absorbed into the beer and its heavenly *Drools*

I forgot about this stuff, and how awesome it is. Well i know what im going picking up for this weekend. I cannot thank you enough for reminding me!

 

[Bat Vader]

I have never had ale before. I tried mead once but I didn't really care for it. I just dislike the taste of alcohol itself. I have tried mixing it with Coke and Pepsi before and tried those Mike's Hard Lemonade/juice drinks but I can still taste the alcohol in them.

 

[Zantos]

I do not drink alcohol.

I recommend cranberry juice instead :3

Was that a Departed reference good sir? Well done.

Spoiler: Ray Winstone

If not then I must respectfully disagree. Not on a "Fruit juices are for wusses" platform, but on the fact that cranberry juice is the only drink I know that makes you thirstier. What the hell is that about?!?

OT: Ah, good man. I'm just trying to think of what we enjoyed across the bar at the beer festival the other day. The Clock from Eden Brewery is a fantastic drink, probably the best we had all day. Barnsley Bitter by Acorn Brewery is fantastic, though watch out for the cough. Copper Dragon is a long standing favourite of mine, though I can't remember for the life of me who brews it. You can't really go amiss with anything Leeds Brewery put out either, including a rather delicious lager. Remember old chap, there's nothing wrong with lager, it's only that tasteless mass produced swill calling itself lager that you've got to worry about.

 

[MercurySteam]

James Squire Golden Ale is supposed to be one of the best pale ales. I'll have to pick up a six next week.

 

[Silly Hats]

James Squire Golden Ale is supposed to be one of the best pale ales. I'll have to pick up a six next week.

Noooooooo!!

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Newcastle brown ale. Its fucking fantastic stuff

Beat me to it. I love a Newcastle together with some proper pub food.

 

[BlackMageBob]

Well I've recently converted from Lager to 'proper' beer, and I was looking for some recommendations.
I've tried 'Doom Bar' and it was tasty.
I don't care if it makes me an old man (I've already got a flat cap so sod it).


EDIT - Just to clarify, I'm British so local ales would be better.

Also, general booze discussion.

WELCOME ENLIGHTENED ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You've finally broken the shackles of that modern over-carbonated BS (Beer) and stepped into the world of versatile alcoholic beverages your ancestors used to chug down. I'll spare you the history lesson.

Try "Victory" .. "The dark lord" .. "Hobgoblin" ... also don't know if you're into Bitters? but if you are then give "Ghost ship" a chance.

Welcome to the real world of "beer" my friend (**Spoiler** Although i like it ... i'm a little more partial to my sweet mistress Mary )

Why did you have to mention Hobgoblin? You evil, evil bastard. I now know that I need to drive roughly 200 miles next weekend to get ahold of a few bottles.

 

[Cowabungaa]

My favourite ale would be this one:

Really rich, robust black ale. Not sure what else to say about it except that it's bloody fantastic and bloody hard to find here.

EDIT: order from here http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/

Buy a box of randomly chosen ales and enjoy. You may well stumble upon something you'll stay with for life

[HEADING=1]Hallelujah![/HEADING]​

Now I can finally order that ale!

EDIT:

Wait a second...they don't ship outside of the UK...NOOOO!

 

[MercurySteam]

James Squire Golden Ale is supposed to be one of the best pale ales. I'll have to pick up a six next week.

Noooooooo!!

There are too many good Australian beers to drink, I'm losing count.

 

[Ickorus]

Badger Ales are pretty good, of those I'm most partial to Fursty Ferret and Tangle Foot.

I personally choose at random what ales I have, there are so many that it would be a shame to limit yourself to only a couple. (Even if those couple are really nice)

 

[Vandenberg1]

Dark Lager Heinikin is amazing... Like Arrogant BASTARD HERE IN CALIFORNIA..Dark, dark beer, but sweeter

 

[Ophiuchus]

Since you said you're in Essex, it might be worth checking out some of the many great ale pubs in London. The Market Porter (right next to Borough Market) and The Harp (Covent Garden) are CAMRA award-winners for very good reason - they have a varied and ever-changing range of real ales and ciders. There's hundreds of other good pubs to choose from but they're two of my favourites. They get very busy but they're usually pretty good for giving tasters if you don't know what you want.

As for what I like: Meantime Brewing Company do some excellent beers - I particularly like their London Pale Ale, IPA and London Stout; last I checked you can get their stuff in Sainsburys, but they have a couple of really nice (but quite expensive) pubs in Greenwich that are worth checking out if you're ever in the area. Timothy Taylor Brewery have some good stuff - their Landlord is widely available and always a winner. If I can find St Edmunds from Greene King, that's always good for a pint. Someone already mentioned the Badger range, Golden Champion is my favourite of that lot.

 

[Tiger King]

Well I've recently converted from Lager to 'proper' beer, and I was looking for some recommendations.
I've tried 'Doom Bar' and it was tasty.
I don't care if it makes me an old man (I've already got a flat cap so sod it).


EDIT - Just to clarify, I'm British so local ales would be better.

Also, general booze discussion.

I was made for this thread (see username)

Doom bar is pretty nice, I last had some on a trip to Brighton. I also tried an ale called "dark star" which was quite good.

I do quite like grolsch at the moment though.