Beer?

[John the Monkey]

Bearskinful (Beartown, 4.2% abv)

Another from local brewer Beartown, and another bitter. This one needs to warm up a little, I think - drunk too cold, all you get is a sort of chemically bitterness - once it's come up a bit from cellar temperature though, there's a very pleasant biscuit and caramel about the taste, with the sort of balancing, herby bitter hop you'd expect from an English bitter. Ratebeer/Beer Advocate types seem to mark it down for not "pushing boundaries", but sometimes, all you want is a nice pint of bitter, and for me, this fits the bill. It also has Marmers appropriate cappage.

Mrs M says: "I am drinking Jack Daniels."

 

[Dan Morinary]

A case of Marston Strong Pale Ale could push you into posting on threads about religion.
Tastes nice though.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I had the misfortune to have to drink some halfs of traditional English bitter when I was back in the country over Christmas. Hand-pulled and all that CAMRA malarkey and dull as ditchwater - and looked like it too. Say what you like about the craft beer revolution, but at least it's made for interesting beer. And I can't see any point in drinking English 'real ale' when you've got that variety about on the one hand, and there's safe drinking water on the other.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I had the misfortune to have to drink some halfs of traditional English bitter when I was back in the country over Christmas. Hand-pulled and all that CAMRA malarkey and dull as ditchwater - and looked like it too. Say what you like about the craft beer revolution, but at least it's made for interesting beer. And I can't see any point in drinking English 'real ale' when you've got that variety about on the one hand, and there's safe drinking water on the other.

Well I'd disagree with you on drinking beer in British pubs, there's some great stuff out there, it's not all dull. Craft beer has been good but there's a lot of it that's just trying too hard if you know what I mean, a quality pint down the boozer is a wonderful thing.

 

[rich p]

I had the misfortune to have to drink some halfs of traditional English bitter when I was back in the country over Christmas. Hand-pulled and all that CAMRA malarkey and dull as ditchwater - and looked like it too. Say what you like about the craft beer revolution, but at least it's made for interesting beer. And I can't see any point in drinking English 'real ale' when you've got that variety about on the one hand, and there's safe drinking water on the other.

What a load of cobblers....

....IMHO

Although this doesn't bolster your case against real ale...

A glass of wine and maybe a whisky over the two or three days around. I'm moving towards cutting out alcohol entirely except for these festivals. There's almost nothing about it I enjoy now.

 

[nickyboy]

In any case the line between "craft beer" and "traditional English bitter" doesn't really exist. For sure there's the weird and wonderful stuff with oysters and the like which definitely falls into the "craft" category. Then at the other end of the spectrum there are poorly kept "real ales" that you'd have to pay me to drink

But in the middle there are loads of interesting beers that can't be defined as "craft" or "traditional English bitter". As an example a couple of weeks ago I had a pint of Marble Manchester Bitter. Now that tastes nothing like you might expect it to taste. It's fresh and zingy and, when well kept (as it was) it is the nearest thing you can get to the real Boddingtons taste...the one that disappeared when they moved the brewing away from Strangeways

So don't define your thinking about different beers by drawing a conclusion based on a tiny sample. By all means drink your oatmeal stout or whatever, but there's loads of really good "English bitters" out there

 

[MossCommuter]

I had the misfortune to have to drink some halfs of traditional English bitter when I was back in the country over Christmas. Hand-pulled and all that CAMRA malarkey and dull as ditchwater - and looked like it too. Say what you like about the craft beer revolution, but at least it's made for interesting beer. And I can't see any point in drinking English 'real ale' when you've got that variety about on the one hand, and there's safe drinking water on the other.

If you got beer that looked and tasted like ditchwater then you should have taken them back and if it was replaced by similar then you should have left.

 

[theclaud]

I had the misfortune to have to drink some halfs

I can see where you are going wrong there...

 

[nickyboy]

I can see where you are going wrong there...

Didn't have you down as a spelling Nazi TC

 

[Aperitif]

Mmmm twelve days, yumtus.

View attachment 155612

Excellent!

 

[Aperitif]

A bit of ketchap manis

Is that like chilblains DeePheat? Another rich photo, full of cyclopean chiaroscuro. 10/10

 

[User169]

I had the misfortune to have to drink some halfs of traditional English bitter when I was back in the country over Christmas. Hand-pulled and all that CAMRA malarkey and dull as ditchwater - and looked like it too. Say what you like about the craft beer revolution, but at least it's made for interesting beer. And I can't see any point in drinking English 'real ale' when you've got that variety about on the one hand, and there's safe drinking water on the other.

Good work from FM - comes in, throws a grenade and then buggers off!

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

How the absolute feck can I sill have so much beer in my house??!!
I have done seldom else for the past week than drink beer and yet there is hunners of it left.

Oh well.

 

[User169]

Orval. Probably my fave beer at the moment. This is a fresh one, still quite hoppy and not that bretty yet.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Orval. Probably my fave beer at the moment. This is a fresh one, still quite hoppy and not that bretty yet.

View attachment 155691

On a La Trappe mat, mental!