The Real Ale thread
Discussion
Beers:
Purple Moose Brewery: www.purplemoose.co.uk
All good brews an Dark Side Of The Moose is especially nice
Dark Side Of The Moose Awards:
Gold in 'Strong Mild & Old Ales' category, CAMRA Champion Beer of Wales Competition 2006
'Beer of the Festival', CAMRA Leeds Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Strong Mild & Old Ales' category, CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival 2007
Overall Gold (Beer of the Festival), CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Best Beer Name' category, CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Best Bitters' category, CAMRA Falmouth Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Old Ales & Strong Mild' category, CAMRA Champion Winter Beer of Britain Competition 2008
Brains: www.sabrain.com
Very nice, and seems to be the most 'available' of the Brains beers.
I also seem to remember Brains did a brew called 'Alms Park' a few years ago but from their website it appears it is no longer produced.
M&B
If I can find it, a pint of M&B Mild always goes down well too - but seems increasingly rare these days. Can't seem to find out who brews it these days - a quick Google hasn't turned up much.
St Austell: wwwstaustellbrewery.co.uk
Probably the ale I drink most, mainly because it's freely available down here in it's homeland
It has been known locally as 'High Speed Death'.....
Skinners: www.skinnersbrewery.com
Skinners do some very good beers, this is currently my favorite
Cider:
Cornish Cyder Farm: www.thecornishcyderfarm.co.uk
Great stuff, but MUST be served well chilled. Not overly strong (6%), but after 5-6 pints it really does 'bite' - personal experience has shown this repeatedly
Purple Moose Brewery: www.purplemoose.co.uk
All good brews an Dark Side Of The Moose is especially nice
Dark Side Of The Moose Awards:
Gold in 'Strong Mild & Old Ales' category, CAMRA Champion Beer of Wales Competition 2006
'Beer of the Festival', CAMRA Leeds Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Strong Mild & Old Ales' category, CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival 2007
Overall Gold (Beer of the Festival), CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Best Beer Name' category, CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Best Bitters' category, CAMRA Falmouth Beer Festival 2007
Gold in 'Old Ales & Strong Mild' category, CAMRA Champion Winter Beer of Britain Competition 2008
Brains: www.sabrain.com
Very nice, and seems to be the most 'available' of the Brains beers.
I also seem to remember Brains did a brew called 'Alms Park' a few years ago but from their website it appears it is no longer produced.
M&B
If I can find it, a pint of M&B Mild always goes down well too - but seems increasingly rare these days. Can't seem to find out who brews it these days - a quick Google hasn't turned up much.
St Austell: wwwstaustellbrewery.co.uk
Probably the ale I drink most, mainly because it's freely available down here in it's homeland
It has been known locally as 'High Speed Death'.....Skinners: www.skinnersbrewery.com
Skinners do some very good beers, this is currently my favorite
Cider:
Cornish Cyder Farm: www.thecornishcyderfarm.co.uk
Great stuff, but MUST be served well chilled. Not overly strong (6%), but after 5-6 pints it really does 'bite' - personal experience has shown this repeatedly
GTO Scott said:
Great stuff, but MUST be served well chilled. Not overly strong (6%), but after 5-6 pints it really does 'bite' - personal experience has shown this repeatedly
Matt172 said:
DBSV8 said:
Matt172 said:
had these ones last night
even better going up to the bar and asking the barmaid for a gobble 
asking for a drop of Phoenix's Wobbly Bob after you've had a few is quite the scenario too!nice selection ales you consumed there Matt, Gt Oakley are nice beers and Bunters Highwayman is jolly nice when well kept too IMO
great to see more REAL Ale being enjoyed here!
GTO Scott said:
Brains: www.sabrain.com
Very nice, and seems to be the most 'available' of the Brains beers.
I also seem to remember Brains did a brew called 'Alms Park' a few years ago but from their website it appears it is no longer produced.
very nice stuff that, Bread Of Heaven is a good'un too IMOVery nice, and seems to be the most 'available' of the Brains beers.
I also seem to remember Brains did a brew called 'Alms Park' a few years ago but from their website it appears it is no longer produced.
a very nice uncomplicated, reddish coloured, fruity aroma'd session beer
Edited by Forthright MC on Wednesday 2nd April 22:37
Apparently Oz and James (Big Wine Adventure) are doing a tour of the UK this year and taking in not just wine but good beer and cider. I think it will be really interesting to see where they visit etc. and judging by some of the ales shown on this thread they'll have a pretty difficult choice to include the some of the best. I havent read through all this post so please forgive if I have repeated what's already been posted..
i sampled a couple of nice porters today, both served directly from the cask too!
first was a top drop of White Horse brewery's Black Horse Porter (@ Hunts district CAMRA pub of the year (multiple times winning!) The Chequers in Little Gransden) a lovely smooth tasting beer with great hints of liquorice and coffee on the palette which finishes quite dry with a pleasant aftertaste, a really nice easy going porter and it was superbly kept too
i also sampled a pint of one of the pubs own beers (they now have their own just recently opened brewery on site), Son Of Sid Brewery's, Brewers b
h which was wonderful too!
i then went back to the same pub (Lord John Russell, St Neots) that held the beer festival i reported on a few pages back and had some more of their superbly kept Salem Porter, yum! it was so good in fact i bought some back for later!,
their Batemans Spring Godess and Riverside Dixons Old Diabolical were in truly fine fettle too
first was a top drop of White Horse brewery's Black Horse Porter (@ Hunts district CAMRA pub of the year (multiple times winning!) The Chequers in Little Gransden) a lovely smooth tasting beer with great hints of liquorice and coffee on the palette which finishes quite dry with a pleasant aftertaste, a really nice easy going porter and it was superbly kept too
i also sampled a pint of one of the pubs own beers (they now have their own just recently opened brewery on site), Son Of Sid Brewery's, Brewers b
h which was wonderful too!i then went back to the same pub (Lord John Russell, St Neots) that held the beer festival i reported on a few pages back and had some more of their superbly kept Salem Porter, yum! it was so good in fact i bought some back for later!,
their Batemans Spring Godess and Riverside Dixons Old Diabolical were in truly fine fettle too
Edited by Forthright MC on Sunday 6th April 00:44
Now that's how to have beer at home - real ale take-out fresh from the pub or brewery (or even if any are still left jug and bottle shops - beer fresh from a barrel)
Not of this replica fizz stuff or out and out keg beer
Don't restrict yourself to the one brew also look around for four pint plastic jugs available in the best pubs
Not of this replica fizz stuff or out and out keg beer
Don't restrict yourself to the one brew also look around for four pint plastic jugs available in the best pubs
i visited Southwold recently and got to see the home of some truly, mighty fine Ales,
the brewery wasn't open when i visited unfortunately, but directly over the road is the brewery tap,
inside was a nice bank of handpumps on the bar dispensing all the Adnams regulars plus the mighty tasty Mayday seasonal (very light in colour with quite a dry hop character that follows through to a bittersweet finish, hides its 5% ABV well too! ) as expected the beers were in perfect condition (just literally a walk over the road to bring the casks back and forth!) i also had a pint of Explorer which was lovely too
now summer is well on the way more pubs will probably put on beer festivals, i attended another at The Wheatsheaf Eaton Socon on Friday and will be along again tomorrow (for owners of the "Bible" check page 59 for the entry)
heres the selection,
this was the pubs first beer fest and as expected there were a few mishaps (1 or 2 not quite bright beers and the odd lively one, altho' possibly (i hope) given the few days it may be in peak condition now)but overall its a great effort and i'll be going back to sample the other beers i didn't try
may even take my jug along again as the Adnams Regatta (another corker from them!) Brains Rev James and the Butcombe Blonde were all very nice
the brewery wasn't open when i visited unfortunately, but directly over the road is the brewery tap,
inside was a nice bank of handpumps on the bar dispensing all the Adnams regulars plus the mighty tasty Mayday seasonal (very light in colour with quite a dry hop character that follows through to a bittersweet finish, hides its 5% ABV well too!
) as expected the beers were in perfect condition (just literally a walk over the road to bring the casks back and forth!) i also had a pint of Explorer which was lovely toonow summer is well on the way more pubs will probably put on beer festivals, i attended another at The Wheatsheaf Eaton Socon on Friday and will be along again tomorrow (for owners of the "Bible" check page 59 for the entry)
heres the selection,
this was the pubs first beer fest and as expected there were a few mishaps (1 or 2 not quite bright beers and the odd lively one, altho' possibly (i hope) given the few days it may be in peak condition now)but overall its a great effort and i'll be going back to sample the other beers i didn't try
may even take my jug along again as the Adnams Regatta (another corker from them!) Brains Rev James and the Butcombe Blonde were all very nice
LaSarthe+Back said:
Regatta 
I used to serve it in the Peyps in Huntingdon! Lovely stuff.
it is i whole heartedly agree! I used to serve it in the Peyps in Huntingdon! Lovely stuff.(you must be local then? the Pepys is featured in the Hunts CAMRA pub guide, must visit at some point!)
on friday when i tried it at the Beer Fest it was good and tonight (yeap, i said i'd be back!) it was wonderful, so drinkable with a very crisp and clean hop character, i did a Real Ale takeout again, but because the assistant landlady thought i was an impressionable fellow i got 4 pints of Cask fresh beer for 1!
result or what eh?!
hic! (in a good way!)SB - Nigel said:
Matt172 said:
. . . Jennings sneck lifter . . .
serious next time i see it on Cask i will be trying Sneck too
speaking of Thwaites, i had a half of Champion Mild tonight (its Mild month BTW for those who weren't aware) very nice, bit more depth to taste/aroma wouldn't go amiss tho' IMO
Edited by Forthright MC on Monday 26th May 21:45
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