How did I miss this thread? For me there's nothing like a really well-kept pint of Harvey's best bitter. Was brought up on the stuff, and it's a fantastic pint but not an easy beer to keep (it is provided to pubs "green" by the brewery, I believe). Accordingly, a really well-kept pint of it is hard to find and if it isn't in perfect condition it's legendarily awful, which can add an element of Russian roulette to one's drinking. Like all decent, right-minded folk I'm partial to a malt, too: anything Speyside or Highland, with a sploosh of water. In fact, I might sneak a quick one in while I read through the thread at my leisure... Cheers! Pat.
Watching the Tour de France go thorough Burgundy region made me think about what happened to French wine during WWII. Found this four part article: Champagne during WW2: From vines to victory - Decanter I wonder if there was any thought of replanting the vineyards with wheat or other grains.
I love my beers, especially those from Belgium and craft breweries around the world, as well as fine whiskey. There are some excellent spots in Bangkok that have an outstanding selection of beer from around the world, would love something similar to be opened in my hometown of Adelaide. My all-time favourite UK beer: Theakstons Old Peculier My favourite whiskey: Edradour
Theakstons Old Peculier.....now there's a good beer! I was shown around the Brewery in Masham by Paul Theakston himself back in the 1970s; that was before the family sold out to Scottish and Newcastle (?!), before the family row that ended up with Sarah(?) Theakston running the Brewery, Paul going off to start the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham (good name for the Brewery: think about it....family row...Black Sheep! And also now producing some excellent beers: clouds...silver linings and all that... ) and finally the family buying it back again. And still Old Peculier survived. Brilliant. Not been to Masham in years.... wonder if the White Horse still sell it on draught?.....or was it the White Bear?......long time ago. Happy days.
Ahhh yes, I remember that story being told to me when I was assisting a photographer 17 years ago. We had dinner in a pub in Masham, and I commented on Old Peculier as a favourite. The client bought me a Black Sheep, for comparison purposes naturally. Sadly none of their brews are available in Australia - took forever to get OP, so maybe in another 20 years I might get lucky.
I had a Balvenie last night after dinner with a friend, sadly not the Caribbean Cask, but was a very nice drop.
Might I ask you folks which, if any, you would consider good amongst this list of ales from the UK that I do have available here? St Peter's, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot, Lancaster Bombadier, Hobgoblin, Fuller's (various), Iron Maiden, Innis & Gunn (various)
St Peters: nice shaped bottle (!) but the beers are quite variable....so give them all a try and see which one works for you. As far as the rest are concerned, (I've never tried Innis and Gunn) they are all reasonable beers but I would focus on anything from Fullers - all are good to my taste and their 2016 Vintage Ale is by far the best beer I've ever tasted.
Best bet would be to try them and see which is best. St Peter's - not tried, but you've peaked my interest and I've added it to my "to-drink" list. Abbot - ditto Iron Maiden, Innis & Gunn (various) - ditto Old Speckled Hen - isn't one I'd drink again in a hurry, it was ok, but not amazing. Lancaster Bombadier - tried this and rather enjoyed it. Hobgoblin - preferably their darker brew, but I'm happy to drink the others. Fuller's (various) - I'm not a big fan of some of the Fuller's brews, but some I find quite good.
It seems that some of the 2016 may have been sold here but with the limited amount made it's not currently available. What I can get easily are London Pride (which I had once and remember liking), London Porter, and the Extra Special Bitter. Anyway you have definitely made me interested and I will have to try to check every so often to see if some has become available.
Chris Their (Fullers) 2016 Vintage Ale is currently showing as Sold Out on their website. They will no doubt release some more when they launch the 2017 vintage but it will likely be at a somewhat - to put it mildly - higher price. Although I've yet to try it (it's not sold in my local area) I understand the Fullers Golden Pride is very close to their Vintage Ales with some people saying it's actually, in essence, the filtered/bottle pasteurised version of their (bottle conditioned) Vintage Ale. I hope that helps.....cheers!
As the Battle of Britain weekend has just gone, thought I would have one or two of these. Some rather amusing ads for it about too!!! No offence to anyone.