The Finest Ale

[MattyH]

Just enjoyed a lovely pint of Adams Ghost Ship.

 

[Burbs]

I've ended up being in possession of 2 bottles of Birra Moretti (alcohol free), so thought I'd give it a go...

And I actually quite enjoyed it! No idea whether it tastes anything like the alcoholic version but even being able to easily drink a whole (small) bottle was a success for me.

Sometimes it's just worth opening up your options and trying new things.

 

[Jb85]

I've ended up being in possession of 2 bottles of Birra Moretti (alcohol free), so thought I'd give it a go...

And I actually quite enjoyed it! No idea whether it tastes anything like the alcoholic version but even being able to easily drink a whole (small) bottle was a success for me.

Sometimes it's just worth opening up your options and trying new things.

Birra Moretti is nice for a lager. All the Italian larger tend to be quote good actually

 

[pluk]

The big thing with the continental beers is finding the authentic ones. If it's 'brewed under licence' in the UK it won't be a patch on the real thing. You really need imported.

 

[Rob]

As someone who doesn't like the taste of beer, nor enjoys drinking it, but wants to like beer due to how convenient a drink it is, does anyone here have any recommendations, tips or tricks for getting into it? I've tasted a few but it all seems the same to my under-developed palate.

I used to exclusively drink sweet fruity cider, for my sins, but have more recently got into the less sweet apple/pear and craft cider, white and (even more recently) red wine, gins (*raises a flat palm from chest to chin*), rums, whiskies, all sorts of cocktails and spirits in general. This is of course absolutely no issue when visiting pretty much anywhere in the UK, but have found it to be slightly alienating when visiting foreign countries and beer happens to be the only thing on the drinks menu in bars for instance.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Brewdog Mr President....

 

[Burbs]

Brewdog Mr President....

 

[jon81uk]

Maybe start with shandy made with the least beery lager (carling?), and work your way towards a top...

Yeah shandy (or radler) can often be a good thing when on holiday too, quote refreshing in hot weather.

But the issue if you are thinking about holiday drinking is that options tend to be more limited, when I'm in Gran Canaria 90% of places only serve their local beer Tropical which is just a standard lager, quite refreshing for hot weather. Might find some different options in bottles in the more British and Irish bars though.
I've tended to stick with beer or wine with dinner and then vodka/sprite or rum/diet coke when out in the evening.

 

[JAperson]

I'm new to the acholic beverage scene only just turning 18, however I am partial to a larger and lime, may help solve @Burbs problem here as it's considerably more refreshing and a lot less harsh of a taste, takes away some of the edge of the beer. Very nice.

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

As someone who doesn't like the taste of beer, nor enjoys drinking it, but wants to like beer due to how convenient a drink it is, does anyone here have any recommendations, tips or tricks for getting into it? I've tasted a few but it all seems the same to my under-developed palate.

I used to exclusively drink sweet fruity cider, for my sins, but have more recently got into the less sweet apple/pear and craft cider, white and (even more recently) red wine, gins (*raises a flat palm from chest to chin*), rums, whiskies, all sorts of cocktails and spirits in general. This is of course absolutely no issue when visiting pretty much anywhere in the UK, but have found it to be slightly alienating when visiting foreign countries and beer happens to be the only thing on the drinks menu in bars for instance.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

If you find that you don’t like beer then you know what, it’s no big deal at all. There’s no need to try and make yourself like it or “get” it if the taste of it isn’t your thing.

I remember when I was 18 and I tried a Guinness for the very first time, I took a sip and thought it was horrid and probably only drank about a third of a pint before giving up and leaving it on the bar. Yet about 4 years later I decided to give it another try and came to absolutely love it. And that’s the thing, if you find that you don’t like lager than try something else, it’s absolutely fine to not like it. There are some other options that you might prefer the taste of, such as a wheat beer (Hoegaarden, Erdinger Weissbier) or Belgian fruit beers (Fruli) and cherry Kriek (Boon). But honestly don’t sweat it too much if beer just isn’t your thing. There are plenty of other drinks out there, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, that you can enjoy instead.

 

[John]

I don't drink so have little add other than this relevant xkcd:

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/beer.png

EDIT - I was hoping that'd display the image but I can't fix it

 

[Burbs]

I don't drink so have little add other than this relevant xkcd:

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/beer.png

EDIT - I was hoping that'd display the image but I can't fix it

I'd be lying if I said this thought doesn't go through my head regularly.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

I like a lot of guest ales. But if I have to pick my top 3 it be
1) Tribute
2) Rev. James
3) Timmy landlord or Boltmaker

 

[Cheese]

It's a wonder that any of us got to like beer. I don't think anyone starts off liking the taste from their first try, and I don't believe anyone that claims so.

In my case, I too used to be really into cider, particularly the fruity stuff, and came unstuck out in Europe. Trying Erdinger at EP and finding it more palatable than other beers I'd tried up to that point led to me giving it a go again over here, and from there I progressed to lager and eventually some ales. These days I barely ever have cider - ironically at EP I'd now be able to get cider at O'Mackays!

Wheat beers (both weissbier and witbier styles) are still my favourites, but in the not unlikely absence of that at a UK pub I'd likely choose a traditional style lighter coloured ale (golden/pale) next, or lager if there's no ale to suit my preference.

IPAs, very hoppy pale ales, sours and darker ales like stouts aren't my bag. I can't claim much experience with them admittedly, but sampling them previously hasn't encouraged me to try more with any regularity. Craft beer of course mostly consists of these styles - each to their own, but this coupled with the fact that my local breweries seem to be on a relentless quest to brew the most challenging to drink concoctions possible perplexes me a bit. Sometimes you just want an unexceptional but uncomplicated beer, especially for time spent with friends or loved ones enjoying beer but discussing things other than it.

At the other end of the craft beer scale, surely the bigger players are now what they started out as an alternative to? I know there are quite a few fans here but the popularity of Brewdog in particular mystifies me. Their mainstay seems to be making similar styles to the folks down at your local industrial estate, but their anti-establishment branding falls a bit flat when they're an international business now with some questionable-sounding ethics and a boss who's seemingly a right prat.

 

[rob666]

I draw the line at orange pale ale...horrible mismatch of bitter and sweet...tastes like badly fermented orange squash.
I'm not the only one, they have been selling it off cheap in the local co op.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

18 years ago I was a lager drinker but some of my friends were bitter drinkers. Ale was sold but they had only 1 or maybe 2 pumps per pub and none in music bars or clubs.
We had a lads weekend away at Butlin’s Bognor (over 18’s weekend) and I was the only lager drinker there and they were moaning my drink was double there’s so I tried half a pint of bitter and I loved it.
I’m more of a Amber/Dark ale and I try to stick to them on a night out but there is a few Pale ales I like if I’m only having 1 or 2 with a meal.

 

[pluk]

my local breweries seem to be on a relentless quest to brew the most challenging to drink concoctions possible perplexes me a bit.

Who is your local brewery?

I live round the corner to Crouch Vale Brewery, who's Brewers Gold won champion beer of Britain a few times some years back. I have the opposite problem, in that I wish they'd try to be a bit more adventurous. The beer is fantastic, but when they knock out the 20th variation on a golden sessional golden ale this year it's hard to get too excited about it.

Their tap room is on my dog walking route, which hasn't proven a good thing for my diet.

 

[Rowe]

IPAs, very hoppy pale ales, sours and darker ales like stouts aren't my bag. I can't claim much experience with them admittedly, but sampling them previously hasn't encouraged me to try more with any regularity. Craft beer of course mostly consists of these styles - each to their own, but this coupled with the fact that my local breweries seem to be on a relentless quest to brew the most challenging to drink concoctions possible perplexes me a bit.

Meanwhile, me: *purposely drags you to Phantom Brewing just so I can sample two sour slushies, and successfully convinces a manager to stock sour beers from said brewery and Double Barrelled in our bar*

I'm very much someone who grew to appreciate beers, amongst other alcoholic beverages, thanks to our meets and socials and love to bimble around a theme park with one in my hand. Decent lagers, weissbiers and witbiers, pale ales, fruit beers like Kriek Boon (available on tap at a favourite haunt of Cheese and I's) and craft sours are my preferences. I do also love a shandy and I do wish I had travelled via Eurostar to Efteling on my most recent trip so I could bring home a few bottles of Hotel De Bottle Goudbruin. But I'm not one for IPAs, bitters or dark ales nor can I stand Guinness.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

It's a wonder that any of us got to like beer. I don't think anyone starts off liking the taste from their first try, and I don't believe anyone that claims so.

Weirdly, I actually did. My dad was a real ale drinker when I was in my teens and would sometimes buy me a cheeky half-pint back when bar staff didn't used to ask too many questions! But it was always ale, never lager, and always on tap rather than bottled. I didn't tend to go for the stronger ones back then - something like a light golden ale or a mild porter was usually my preference. When I got my coeliac diagnosis, the worst part of it all was having to give up beer, far more so than giving up bread or cakes even.

I only really started drinking cider when I came to Bristol uni - and that was the sort of stuff that was designed to get you totally blattered as quickly as possible. A lot of ciders are waaaay too sweet for me - I usually steer well clear of the trendy flavoured ciders like Rekorderlig and Brothers. Having said that Stella Raspberry Cidre is perfectly acceptable and trumps Magners Dark Fruit by a long way.

 

[jon81uk]

Magners Dark Fruit

Dark fruit ciders are basically pre-made cider and black, it’s trying to make a student drink look posh

 

[venny]

Gotta say I’ve never thought of anyone drinking Dark Fruits as posh.