What do you prefer – lager- or ale-style beers – and what are your top five favorite beers?
I’ve compiled my own top-5 list of beers (both lagers and ales) which really puts a tear in my eye and lump in my throat whenever I see them on tap stateside, or elsewhere for that matter.
Lagers:
Erdinger Hefe Weizen
Warsteiner
DAB (Dortmunder Actien Brauerei)
Becks
Heineken
Ales:
Boddingtons
Caffreys
Old Speckled Hen
Tetley’s
Young’s
Personally, I prefer bottom-fermented German lagers, as opposed to top-fermented British ales. There’s nothing like a cold pilsner or hefe-weizen in the middle of hot summer, but that’s just me.
I read an interesting article on BBC regarding the declining popularity of beer in the developed world over the past several years. Of interest, the article stated:
If you are a non-beer type, what are your top five favorite alcoholic drinks?
The definition of ales and bitters is never clear in my mind, but here goes. I’m not generally a lager drinker; Guinness is normally my preferred pint.
Lagers
Budvar
Pilsner Urquell
Asahi
Hoegaarden
Bitters & ales
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Moorhouse Black Cat
Old Speckled Hen
Fuller’s London Pride
Both my favorite type of beer – bocks – and my least favorite type of beer – mass-marketed pilsners – are lagers. Go figure. But I am also a big fan of barley wines, stouts, porters, and weizens from the ale side of the house.
I’m not a big lager fan, although Sierra Nevada Summerfest is very nice, and so was just about everything I tried in the Czech Republic.
As far as ales go, my standard going-out drink is Sierra Nevada Pale, but I also like Old Peculier (when I can afford it), Anchor Liberty Ale (ditto), North Coast Red Seal, and … well, anything on special at the local co-op, usually. (I have a bad habit of buying new beers as an experiment, really liking them, and then forgetting what they were called.)
I homebrew. I primarily stick to ales due to temprature issues. I make clones of sierra nevada, newcastle, bass and similar.
I found a good deal on a commercial stainless steel refer on wheels that I might pick up and start going lagers. I have a sapporo clone sitting in the closet ready for a go.
mmmm…beer. How can anyone make atop-5 list, it’s just too small. Lagers and Ales both go down equally well, and I could only tell you my favorite depending on my mood at the time I’m drinking.
Many of my favorites have already been listed (Pilsner Urquell, Guinness, Becks, Heinecken). Add to those Spaten Oktoberfest, Grolsch (and ya gotta love the lever-top bottle), Newcastle Brown Ale, Duvel, and a host of HefeWeizen.
I think I need to print out this thread and head either to my favorite tavern or to the beer distributor!
Schneider Weisse original (gold label), the king of the hefe weisen.
Grolsch, the old standby.
Weihenstephaner (sp?), another awesome hefe weisen.
Shiner bock, my favorite of the cheap(er) beers.
Other than beer:
Strongbow cider, the best thing I found in England (to drink that is).
Stongbow is to cider what Bud Lite is to German lager!
For lagers I stick to Budvar, Pilsner Urquell, and similar.
I’m spoiled for choice at my local pub with Fuller’s London Pride, Young’s Bitter, Ringwood 49er, Hogsback TEA (Traditional English Ale), and Badger’s Tanglefoot always on. Plus there are 5 other guest beers that change regularly. This time of year I usually go for something dark, but during summer you can’t beat a Hop Back Summer Lightning.
I mostly like ales, but I won’t turn away from a lager (as long as it isn’t macroswill).
Top beer choices?
New Glarus Belgian Red, a blend of brown ale (I think) and cherry wine–it’s a liquid pie!
Omegang’s Hennepin–Belgian style at a bargain price.
Town Hall (Mpls brewpub) Scotch Ale–a good session beer.
Sierra Nevada Porter–yum!
Sam Adam’s Triple Bock–actually a barley wine, I think.
Leinienkugel’s Bock and Big Butt (dopplebock)–none of yer amber bocks here!
And of course, Budweiser and Lo-Carb Miller. They’re great for watering plants…
When I lived in Germany, it was nearly impossible to buy a bad beer. I used to really like Budvar on tap, but don’t care for the bottled stuff. Urquell had a sweet taste I didn’t care for, but there was another Czech beer I liked that had a long unpronouncable name that I can’t remember.
We have some good local micros and my fave would be Alaskan Summer Ale, followed by Alaskan Pale Ale.
What about Anchor Steam, which is an ale brewed at lager temperatures and conditioning (or do I have that backwards)? It also in IMHO is one of the best beers in the world.
as a homebrewer, I find that ale yeast is much more forgiving in turning out a decent brew.
I used to work in a brew pub and fell in love with Watney’s. It seems impossible to get a hold of it anymore in the US. Anyone know why? We used to put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a pint of Watney’s… heavenly.
OK, I’m not a fan of beer (except as a cookin ingredient), and I’ve tried dozens of different kinds. I like the smell, but can’t stand the taste. Sometimes it would make certain situations less complicated if I did like it, but oh well.
So what’s the difference between an ale and a lager, particularly in terms of preparation technique? Or does this involve a Venn diagram?
Lately, my favourite beer is La Maudite from Unibroue (Québec). We use it in a stew recepie we recently discovered, and I drink the rest, and I’ve come to really like it. There’s a nice complexity to the flavour.
Other than that, I’ll take what I can get, I’m not too picky. I am more of a wine drinker anyways.
