What beer are we drinking this week ?

BaZmO*

Seaneh wrote: »

I really like it to be honest.

I really liked it too.

MonstaMash

Meantime India Pale Ale...a traditional English IPA, less character in comparison to APA's, though still above average & at 7.5% ABV, definately a sipper.

ciaran76

Seaneh wrote: »

I really like it to be honest.

I had family over from England and he loved it. Said it would be his go to beer here but had to tell him it ain't in all pubs.

Herb Powell

Didn't feel like this warranted it's own thread, but I'm going to be in London with a few days to play around with soon-any English ales that ye'd particularly recommend? I know London isn't really ale country, and I don't usually look for anything specific when I'm there, I just try whatever weird-looking brew they happen to have in the pubs.

Seaneh

Just go to one of the fullers bars to be honest, they will have plenty of fullers beers to try and maybe some special editions as well.

Hard beat Pride, ESB, London Porter and a few more in cask and the prices are usually decent.


That said, I'm sure there are a few cask houses with silly amounts of casks on offer that are well worth visiting.

the beer revolu

Herb Powell wrote: »

Didn't feel like this warranted it's own thread, but I'm going to be in London with a few days to play around with soon-any English ales that ye'd particularly recommend? I know London isn't really ale country, and I don't usually look for anything specific when I'm there, I just try whatever weird-looking brew they happen to have in the pubs.

I really like some of Young's offerings and Timothy Taylor Landlord is fantastic if you can find it as a guest beer.

BeerNut

Herb Powell wrote: »

any English ales that ye'd particularly recommend?

Kernel beers are well worth having, if you can get them. Not many places do them on draught but they're becoming increasingly available bottled. The likes of the Euston Tap, The Rake at Borough Market or the Craft Beer Co pubs in Clerkenwell and Islington are great for exploring what's currently going on in British beer.

ciaran76

Herb Powell wrote: »

Didn't feel like this warranted it's own thread, but I'm going to be in London with a few days to play around with soon-any English ales that ye'd particularly recommend? I know London isn't really ale country, and I don't usually look for anything specific when I'm there, I just try whatever weird-looking brew they happen to have in the pubs.

Depends where you are in London too.

My 3 places I go to are The White Horse in Parsons Green(great choice of beers) , The Defectors Weld in Shepherds Bush (great for real ale usually have 5 ales on tap) and The Swan in Hammersmith (great for Thornbridge beers usually)
This is usually down to me going to football matches and these pubs have great ranges of beer and close to a football ground I may be attending.

BaZmO*

Had a bottle of Anderson Valley Poleeko Pale Ale last night. Not a lot going on initially but it improved as it warmed up slightly. Tame enough for an American Pale Ale (could've done with a few more hops) but you'd easily sink a few of them.

stuchyg

If your near the o2 in London, the pilot inn is a cracking little fullers pub, the full range on cask

Insect Overlord

I have a bottle of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout to get rid of before I take a few weeks of a drinking-break.

Would anyone care to recommend food to have it with? I know different drinks work particularly well with certain meats, cheeses, etc.

Seaneh

Insect Overlord wrote: »

I have a bottle of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout to get rid of before I take a few weeks of a drinking-break.

Would anyone care to recommend food to have it with? I know different drinks work particularly well with certain meats, cheeses, etc.

I'd pair it with a desert or if I was going to go for a main course I'd use it with game like Venison with a berry based sauce.

the beer revolu

Seaneh wrote: »

I'd pair it with a desert or if I was going to go for a main course I'd use it with game like Venison with a berry based sauce.

It would stand up well to a rich beef stew too.

Grayditch

Trying the white/beige Chimay for the first time tonight. Pretty good, but the red is still the best one for me.

Seaneh

the beer revolu wrote: »

It would stand up well to a rich beef stew too.

Actually yeah, something like Boeuf Bourguignon would be ideal.

Basically, you need BIG flavours or the beer will completely overpower the dish.

Seaneh

Anyway, was in Tesco for the first time in godknowshowlong today and picked up 3 buttles of Fullers London Porter for €7.

Can't wait to crack them open later.

Have plans to stock up on O'Hara's Pale Ale and Clothworth Dobbin in Dunnes before their special offer ends on the 17th for a party the weekend after too

Grayditch

I have a London Porter put aside, but tonight I'm well impressed with Jupiler, Belgian blonde. Fruity and a bit smokey. I'd get this again.

Herb Powell

Thanks for the tips lads, I'll definitely keep those in mind!

Grayditch wrote: »

Trying the white/beige Chimay for the first time tonight. Pretty good, but the red is still the best one for me.

Really? I'd put the blue down as my favourite, with the white in second. They're all gorgeous though.

Grayditch

Herb Powell wrote: »

Really? I'd put the blue down as my favourite, with the white in second. They're all gorgeous though.

A lot of people I know rank Blue the best, but I dunno, there's something about red I love more, but yeah, they are all great beers.

Seaneh

Seaneh wrote: »

Have plans to stock up on O'Hara's Pale Ale and Clothworth Dobbin in Dunnes before their special offer ends on the 17th for a party the weekend after too

The offers over next Tuesday unfortunately. Hopefully it will be on again soon enough. They are finally starting to get it into their heads in head office that craft beers are good for sales.

Seaneh

Deleted User wrote: »

The offers over next Tuesday unfortunately. Hopefully it will be on again soon enough. They are finally starting to get it into their heads in head office that craft beers are good for sales.

Booooooooooooooooooooooo

Seaneh

Seaneh wrote: »

Booooooooooooooooooooooo

Oops I am mistaken, Monday is the last day of the offer

Seaneh

EVEN WORSE!

cloudatlas

Tried Punk IPA as I heard it lauded to the skies and I actually prefer Dead Pony IPA which is a bit heavier. IPA's Widmer brothers is my new favourite.

Grayditch

I think Dead Pony Club is a bit lighter than Punk.

cloudatlas

Grayditch wrote: »

I think Dead Pony Club is a bit lighter than Punk.

I meant the taste not ABV Dead Pony is darker and has a fuller taste.

Grayditch

Nah, I mean that too, I find it smoother and lighter, from what I remember of the few I had. Both are nice, though. Had a few DPC's when we had the good weather.

adamski8

cloudatlas wrote: »

I meant the taste not ABV Dead Pony is darker and has a fuller taste.

Yeah i disagree too. Dpc tastes like a lighter version of punk, still nice though

drumswan

cloudatlas wrote: »

I meant the taste not ABV Dead Pony is darker and has a fuller taste.

DPC is lighter in body, colour and flavour.

If Im going to have a couple Id go for the DPC every time, Punk becomes cloying after one or two.

A_Fitz

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

some for the bankholiday weekend...



and

May I ask what the Fake Lager is like??

the beer revolu

I thought the Hoptimum was a pretty run of the mill Imperial IPA.
Very nice but no better than many others.
If it came out a few years ago it would have had more impact me thinks.

Speak Now

A_Fitz wrote: »

May I ask what the Fake Lager is like??

Had it on draft in a brewdog bar and it's nothing special, I find it hard to go back to lagers though after being introduced to pale ales. There's one lager I still buy though, Ceilidh

Ravelleman

the beer revolu wrote: »

I thought the Hoptimum was a pretty run of the mill Imperial IPA.
Very nice but no better than many others.
If it came out a few years ago it would have had more impact me thinks.

I find this to be the case with a lot of brews.

the beer revolu

Ravelleman wrote: »

I find this to be the case with a lot of brews.

Oh we tire so quickly!
What next?
Fermented hop juice aged in oak malt extract barrels that have been to Jamaica.

@ Brewdog: Can I have a job?

drumswan

the beer revolu wrote: »

I thought the Hoptimum was a pretty run of the mill Imperial IPA.
Very nice but no better than many others.
If it came out a few years ago it would have had more impact me thinks.

It came out in 2009 afaik

BaZmO*

the beer revolu wrote: »

I thought the Hoptimum was a pretty run of the mill Imperial IPA.
Very nice but no better than many others.
If it came out a few years ago it would have had more impact me thinks.

Ravelleman wrote: »

I find this to be the case with a lot of brews.

It's funny how your tastes change. I bought a bottle of Odell's St. Lupulin for old times sake last week. I had it for the first time in the Porterhouse a few years ago when it was their beer of the week. Loved it so much, even at the high abv (or at least it seemed really high at the time!).
I was slightly let down by it this time though, it just seemed to lack the punch that I remembered it having. Probably due to the fact that I regularly drink much hoppier and stronger beers now and the St. Lupulin just seemed a little tame in comparison.

Still think the Hoptimum is amazing though!

drumswan wrote: »

It came out in 2009 afaik

I thought it was just last year?


I was in Superquinn yesterday and was quite impressed at how much their Craft Beer range has improved. They had all the usual, Sierra Nevada, Brewdog, Trouble, etc., but they've also added the likes of Flying Dog, Widmer Bros., Redhook, and a few others. And with their 6 for 5 offer, they're at decent prices.

drumswan

There was talk of Superquinn picking up Oakham a while ago, anyone see any in there?

BaZmO*

drumswan wrote: »

There was talk of Superquinn picking up Oakham a while ago, anyone see any in there?

Really? That'd be great if they did. They make fantastic beers.

Ravelleman

BaZmO* wrote: »

Still think the Hoptimum is amazing though!

I wonder if they still have it in Devenneys. I suppose I should give it a go!

baron von something

just back from a trip to prague.i'm so beer'd out that i never wana look at another pint until at least tomorrow.drank a lot more dark beer than i normally would and as usual the pilsner urquell and the staropramen were faultless.such a difference from how it tastes over here they really don't travel well

Seaneh

BaZmO* wrote: »

It's funny how your tastes change. I bought a bottle of Odell's St. Lupulin for old times sake last week. I had it for the first time in the Porterhouse a few years ago when it was their beer of the week. Loved it so much, even at the high abv (or at least it seemed really high at the time!).
I was slightly let down by it this time though, it just seemed to lack the punch that I remembered it having. Probably due to the fact that I regularly drink much hoppier and stronger beers now and the St. Lupulin just seemed a little tame in comparison.

In fairness the St. Lupulin is designed to be all about the nose. The hops it uses and how it uses them are there to give it that insanely gorgeous smell, I've often heard it described as "like walking into an orchard" and I'd say it's not far off that aroma wise.
It is still plenty hoppy for an APA but I think that since we've all been so caught up in drinking "super hoppy" beers for the last few years we are becoming desensitised to the more subtle hop varieties.

I tasted the hoptimum the other day and it's nice, but I'd almost call it unbalanced. For the hopforwardness of it, it really needs more malt to back it up, it feels almost watery to me, I find it's just like a supercharged torpedo and to be honest I'd have the same complaints about torpedo too.


When a beer is THAT big and with that many hops I'd much prefer it have a big malty backbone to make it more interesting rather than just letting the hops go mental and making something hoppy for hoppyness sake.

When I think Imperial IPA's I'm far more likely to get excited by the likes of Hardcore or Anderson Valley DIPA than I am by Hoptimum.

That said, it's still a lovely beer, just, not brilliant or anything.

BaZmO*

Seaneh wrote: »

In fairness the St. Lupulin is designed to be all about the nose. The hops it uses and how it uses them are there to give it that insanely gorgeous smell, I've often heard it described as "like walking into an orchard" and I'd say it's not far off that aroma wise.

Ah I don’t think you can say that a beer is designed to be all about the nose. Beers are designed to be drunk to taste nice, the nose good or bad is a by-product of this. I’ve mentioned it before on here, but my sister once described it as “Smelling like a garden where the parents had no children and concentrated on the garden instead."

Seaneh wrote: »

It is still plenty hoppy for an APA but I think that since we've all been so caught up in drinking "super hoppy" beers for the last few years we are becoming desensitised to the more subtle hop varieties.

I agree with that and it was kinda the point that I was making. When I first tried St. Lupulin it was the hoppiest beer I’d had at the time (I was quite the novice) and it was pretty up there strength wise too, so my memory of it was of it being a lot more punchier than it actually is.

Seaneh wrote: »

I tasted the hoptimum the other day and it's nice, but I'd almost call it unbalanced. For the hopforwardness of it, it really needs more malt to back it up, it feels almost watery to me, I find it's just like a supercharged torpedo and to be honest I'd have the same complaints about torpedo too.


When a beer is THAT big and with that many hops I'd much prefer it have a big malty backbone to make it more interesting rather than just letting the hops go mental and making something hoppy for hoppyness sake.

When I think Imperial IPA's I'm far more likely to get excited by the likes of Hardcore or Anderson Valley DIPA than I am by Hoptimum.

That said, it's still a lovely beer, just, not brilliant or anything.

I thought the hops were too full on with the first taste but they sat back after a while once my palate got used to them. I’d also say it pretty well balanced imo. There’s a lovely ripe fleshy fruit sweetness too it. I love SN beers so maybe for me it just ticks all the boxes but on a more full on scaled version of their other beers.

Ravelleman

They don't have any Hoptimum in Devenneys nor will they be getting it, should anyone be planning to try there.

Seaneh

BaZmO* wrote: »

I agree with that and it was kinda the point that I was making. When I first tried St. Lupulin it was the hoppiest beer I’d had at the time (I was quite the novice) and it was pretty up there strength wise too, so my memory of it was of it being a lot more punchier than it actually is.

The first time I drank Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I had only been dipping my toe in the world of "craft beer" for a few months and had only tried the usual German and Belgian stuff, was drinking lagers still and the odd heffe or trappist beer.

I remember thinking "jaysus, that's bitter, urgh".

Now if I drink a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I think "hmmm, very light, easy to drink, nomnomnom".


A friend tried my O'Hara's pale in Maguire's the other week and his reaction was hilarious (he was drinking fischers in fariness, he's not a craft beer drinker) and I was thinking to myself, jaysus, imagine his face if i'd been drinking an Odell IPA or something!

matrim

Ravelleman wrote: »

They don't have any Hoptimum in Devenneys nor will they be getting it, should anyone be planning to try there.

They had loads in drinkstore the other day

drumswan

Loads in Redmonds too.

Agree about the Hoptimum lacking a bit of malt character. The best IPAs Ive had are the Firestone Walker stuff, massively malty as well as hoppy to balance everything out. I like my IPA sweet too.

Seaneh

drumswan wrote: »

Loads in Redmonds too.

Agree about the Hoptimum lacking a bit of malt character. The best IPAs Ive had are the Firestone Walker stuff, massively malty as well as hoppy to balance everything out. I like my IPA sweet too.

Ha yeah, me too.

My favourite IPA's are stuff like Inversion or Odell or Anderson Vally Hopotten, stuff with a big malt backbone for a nice toffeeish sweetness to cut through the hops a bit.

Scortho

BeerNut wrote: »

Mont Salève makes some great beers, especially their paler ones. But I'd say the shop staff are the ones to ask -- apparently they know their stuff in there. Happy hunting!

Didn't even get to go to it in the end. At the same time the pub across from me had the rochfort range as well as some chimay blue and red, so I was well served:)
Rochfort 10 is a new favourite of mine.
In other news Paris is seriously lacking in craft beer pubs. Like Dublin 5 or 10 years ago.
If I spoke French I'd know where I'd be opening one!

Scortho

Seaneh wrote: »

The first time I drank Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I had only been dipping my toe in the world of "craft beer" for a few months and had only tried the usual German and Belgian stuff, was drinking lagers still and the odd heffe or trappist beer.

I remember thinking "jaysus, that's bitter, urgh".

Now if I drink a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I think "hmmm, very light, easy to drink, nomnomnom".


A friend tried my O'Hara's pale in Maguire's the other week and his reaction was hilarious (he was drinking fischers in fariness, he's not a craft beer drinker) and I was thinking to myself, jaysus, imagine his face if i'd been drinking an Odell IPA or something!

My first ipa was punk. I wouldn't touch one for another two months.
I still prefer stout and heffe though.

Grayditch

London Porter is nice. I was expecting a very inoffensive smooth porter, and in a way it is, but it's got some great flavours going on. I'd get it again.