Super Strength Lager

[Baryonyx]

Does anyone here regularly consume this stuff? I note we have a few conoissuers of fine ales, lagers and beer on the board but would anyone touch a super strength can?

In the interests of research, I tried a few brands a few years ago, stemming from a curiosity founded by seeing that the Co-Op sold a high strength at 8.5%abv. The can proclaimed it was well suited to drinking alongside meat and cheese IIRC, though that seemed to me like trying to coat an iron fist in a velvet glove. I bought a 4 pack (back when it was cheap, IIRC it was about £5 for four cans!) and tried it, and it didn't seem too bad. Quite flavoursome, slightly rough finish and quite potent.

My next experiment was Carlsberg Special Brew. The can looked awful, so I should have seen what was coming; a fking dire drink with no redeeming qualities.

At that point I gave up on the experiment, though I continued it yesterday after seeing some cans of Tennent's Super Strength at Tesco. A colleague of mine bangs on about the normal Tennent's lager all the time, saying as I can't find that in this country I thought I would try the super strength variety. Well, it was certainly quite potent, not as vile as special brew. I can't say I'll complain about finishing off the next three cans but I wouldn't buy it again, the price of these strong lagers has rocketed. £7 for 4 cans! Must be to save the livers of winos round the country!


There must be other super strength lagers I've missed. I've never tried the Oranjeboom one. Do Kestrel do a super strength lager? There are also some small cans of 'Barley Wine' at Tesco that look quite vile, though I must say my enthusiasm for sampling these drinks has faded somewhat so I'll just have to speculate about them.

Also, has this stuff ever been served in pubs?

[OllieC]

I believe you used to get special brew in pubs in small bottles I'm sure i can remember one of the local working men's clubs selling it, and perhaps the gold label stuff as well.

If you want strong drinks that are palatable I think you are much better off with ciders.

Westons 8.5% cider is much nicer than any lager at that strength, although Chimay blue, a dark belgian beer, is flipping lovely and thats over 9%

[dundarach]

I enjoy the brew dog 9% or whatever ale from sainsburys lovely

[jas xjr]

Kestrel used to make a super strength lager a few years ago. It was slightly cheaper than tennents and carlsberg .

I had a really busy off licence and to be honest the only people that tended to buy the strong stuff were pi$$heads . Barley wine is a lot stronger and was bought by older people .

Whilst lager is pretty much all I drink . I am not able to drink anything stronger than stella

[anonymous-user]

Duvel Belgian Ale Beer 330ml - Lager Origin Specific - Contains 8.5% alcohol

The only one over 5% I drink.

[Engineer1]

There is mcewans champion beer which is 7.3% and nice enough.

[Blackpuddin]

Gold Label Barley Wine was the preferred tipple of the older Little Lady sat next to her man in the working mens' clubs when I was a lad. You had to sip it, it was never a quaffing drink. Plus it did indeed come in very small bottles.

[Apache]

OllieC said:

I believe you used to get special brew in pubs in small bottles I'm sure i can remember one of the local working men's clubs selling it, and perhaps the gold label stuff as well.

If you want strong drinks that are palatable I think you are much better off with ciders.

Westons 8.5% cider is much nicer than any lager at that strength, although Chimay blue, a dark belgian beer, is flipping lovely and thats over 9%

There's a boozer in Utrecht, used to be a church, which has floor to ceiling of all the European beers you could shake a stick at. A pal and I tried a few, well several, all about 275ml and all over 6% and they were all bloody lovely....it was amausing to watch ol matey boy bouncing off the walls on the way back to the hotel

[Terminator X]

Blackpuddin said:

Gold Label Barley Wine was the preferred tipple of the older Little Lady sat next to her man in the working mens' clubs when I was a lad. You had to sip it, it was never a quaffing drink. Plus it did indeed come in very small bottles.

Mate of mine at Uni (late 80's) used to drink it as a pint ie 2 bottles together. Vicious (sp?) stuff! I've tried Special Brew in the past ... was like drinking treacle

TX.

[Roger645]

In the rugby club special brew and 1080 cider snakebites were always a challenge!

[BrabusMog]

OllieC said:

I believe you used to get special brew in pubs in small bottles I'm sure i can remember one of the local working men's clubs selling it, and perhaps the gold label stuff as well.

If you want strong drinks that are palatable I think you are much better off with ciders.

Westons 8.5% cider is much nicer than any lager at that strength, although Chimay blue, a dark belgian beer, is flipping lovely and thats over 9%

My old local in Hornchurch sold special brew in short bottles, we used to neck a few before going onto a club. Can't remember for sure but I think I used to liken them to treacle!

[Blackpuddin]

Roger645 said:

In the rugby club special brew and 1080 cider snakebites were always a challenge!

That sounds like death in a bottle

[dudleybloke]

i tried a german lager at a beer festival over ten years ago which was super duper strong without the treacle effect.
it was over 17% strength but tasted a bit like holsten pills.
cant remember what it was called though as it was a big piss up, im pretty sure it had the words baden bock in the name.

[Mobile Chicane]

Blackpuddin said:

Roger645 said:

In the rugby club special brew and 1080 cider snakebites were always a challenge!

That sounds like death in a bottle

The speciality of my local dog-on-a-rope/student pub was a 'cocktail' (in a pint glass) consisting of a bottle of Special Brew and a bottle of White Lightning, with a double Pernod and black in it.

Aaah, those were the days

Of course, it's long since been gentrified. Brighton is like Islington, but with a beach nowadays.

[jas xjr]

Just remembered one from a few years ago . EKU 28 , it used to be the strongest beer in the world . Sold quite well but never tried it

[anonymous-user]

I enjoy some of the Belgian strong ales (Duvel, etc) and Barley Wines, which are generally 8% or over, but Special Brew and Tennants Super are just tramp juice.

[DoctorX]

Has anyone tried these super- strength Brewdog beers? Are they drinkable?

http://www.brewdog.com/product/tactical-nuclear-pe...

Think they had a 40% abv beer at one point.

[Shaolin]

Carlsberg Special Brew was invented for Winston Churchill in 1950

http://www.carlsberggroup.com/brands/Pages/Carlsbe...

Odd how things change in the way it is now seen.

I quite like the odd can or bottle but never buy it as you only ever seem to be able to get a pack of 4 and I's feel like a tramp buying it, quite like barley wine too.

[BertB]

dundarach said:

I enjoy the brew dog 9% or whatever ale from sainsburys lovely

That would be Hardcore IPA, also sold in Tesco in a different bottle "American Double IPA" (had it on draught in Edinburgh last weekend, very nice)

Just brought a bottle of their Tokyo beer which is 18.2% going to be saving that for a special occasion.

If you haven't tried Punk IPA you should, my favourite beer at the moment.

[carreauchompeur]

Punk IPA is lovely. An acquired taste maybe.