Hey I’ll second the nomination of Weyerbacher’s beers to the list. I’m just finishing my second of their assortment cases. The Hops Infusion is great, but I think my favorite of theirs is the Old Heathen Stout.
For those of us in the UK, check out http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/ A great selection of beers from around the world delivered to your door!
damnit kferr! Now its only a matter of time before i max out my credit card…
I’m an ale drinker, all the way. My faves:
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
Belhaven Scottish Ale
Old Peculier
Uncle Woody’s Bourbon Stout*
*Ok, I’m cheating on this last one. It’s my favorite homebrew recipe. Take a good Irish stout recipe, and let it condition with toasted oak chips that have been soaked in Maker’s Mark for at least a month.
kferr, that is not fair that they will not ship to the US! That list of Belgians that they have for sale is simply fantastic, and some that I’ve been lusting over, that I simply cannot find: St.Feuillien, Karmeliet, Oud Beersel (a discontinued traditional lambic…get your hands on it if you can!) …simply fantastic!
Top-fermented they may be but the white label Hoegaarden I drink tastes like a lager to me, it is served ice cold for god’s sake!
I don’t frankly care how they make it, if it looks like a dog, walks like a dog and bites me I’ll call it a dog even if someone tells me its a cat is disguise!
I generally prefer ales over lagers–ales have a “fuller” taste to them that I like. However, I will admit that there’s something very special about a cold pilsner on a hot summer day…
Ales–almost any bitter or stout will make me happy, but I tend to choose among the following:
- Guinness
- Young’s
- Courage Director’s
- McEwan’s Scotch Ale
- Newcastle Brown Ale
Lagers–usually on the darker side:
- Amberbock
- Modelo Negro
- Heineken Dark
- Spaten
- Warsteiner
One of the things I really miss about the UK is the universal availability of bitters on tap–and the proper pouring of Guinness. The only ales I commonly find on tap in American bars (or around Florida, anyway) are Guinness and Newcastle. Unfortunately, many bartenders (particularly the ones at the college joints around this town) will ruin Guinness by pouring it like they would other beers, in one quick draft–so unless I know the place (or until I’ve watched the bartender pull a pint of Guinness for another customer), I usually stick to Newcastle.
When visiting the UK, I endevour to try the local traditional ales, but I can’t recall any of the names. Are the English ales listed above of the real ale variety, or are they part of the mass marketed brews? (I recognize some like Old Peculiar, Youngs, Boddis…)
mmmm…love the creamy goodness of a hand-pulled ale…
I ordered an Irish ale at a restaurant bar here in Toronto, and I watched the clueless bartender try to pour it like a lager and just gave up and said “It’s not working today, all I am getting is foam.” He wasn’t letting it settle.