The Beer You Are Drinking Right Now

[JMN2]

An early afternoon roborative, restorative, a craft'ish bottle of Goose Island IPA. Pleasantly bitter and dry, been in my supermarket selection since the early 00's (Safeway in Reigate and its excellent early beer selection, a trailblazer in its selection of bottled beers).

[UncleIan]

Last pint I had was a pint of Hogs Back HBB. It was a decent pint. And that is my review.

[redsturgeon]

As mentioned in my precious post my last beer was the very pleasant Oude Beersal Geuze. I will probably crack open a Rochefort 10 or two during the rugby tonight. I want Wales to beat Ireland but have bet on Ireland to win.


John

[AleisterCrowley]

My first beer since last Friday will be whatever looks the best in the all-new revamped Three Guineas at Reading station tonight (quite a good basement bar there now) if I can be bothered to travel
It's a Fuller's pub, so not expecting excitement. I think the one I normally go for is "Gale's" ie Fuller's 'Seafarer'

[JMN2]

My first beer since last Friday will be whatever looks the best in the all-new revamped Three Guineas at Reading station tonight (quite a good basement bar there now) if I can be bothered to travel
It's a Fuller's pub, so not expecting excitement. I think the one I normally go for is "Gale's" ie Fuller's 'Seafarer'

I visited that Reading station Fullers pub in the mid 90's, then again early 00's on my way from the beer festival, by then it was more of a food place, I was in Reading last August and it was closed then. But I did like the old Hobgoblin place, and Nag's Head of course. I still have nostalgic memories of Reading when it was known as, and was, a "[expletive deleted] hole". The piss alley was still there, I believe I did see human excrement on my way to that fancy new beer shop.

Edit. just as you know "manure" was not my choice as a word.

[AleisterCrowley]

The piss alley was still there, I believe I did see human excrement on my way to that fancy new beer shop.

The only fancy new beer shop I can think of is the Grumpy Goat up the Harris Arcade (which was spotlessly clean on my last visit)
There is still a Smelly Alley with a wet fish shop....

I got sidetracked with work so will stay in Slough or walk down to Eton&Windsor tonight (oh joy, £4.20 pints) See if Liz is out with the corgis. In the 'spoons, full regalia, bottle of milk stout.


For the record, first beer on the go now - from Kansas City, MO - Boulevard 'Single Wide IPA'

[JMN2]

Sure, not the same alley but was on my route.

[AleisterCrowley]

Reading does seem to have a lot of begging/rough sleepers (more than Slough) - most are polite though, it's the weekend drunks one has to watch out for.
The Hobgoblin is still there and the same - now called The Alehouse - I was there last Friday.

[GrandOiseau]

Had a bottle of Sadlers Mud City Stout (ABV 6.6%) this evening. Best beer I've had in a while. I got it from Lidl who mostly sell sh!t these days and I bought a couple of bottles of Box Steam beers from there recently which ended up going down the sink. I think I've only ever thrown a couple of beers down the sink before that in 35 years of drinking beer. But anyway this Mud City stout was tremendous. Bottle says it was brewed with raw cocoa, vanilla pods, flaked oats, wheat and a blend of dark malts - which is a hell of a recipe to get right. But fair play to them, they've cracked in my book. If I found it on draught I would be all over it like a rash. But I'd probably have to go to Stourbridge to be sure of that, which it has to be said is highly unlikely.

[redsturgeon]

I actually had a couple of bottles of bottle conditioned Marston's Pedigree while watching the Welsh game. I was in Waitrose when I saw it and since it used to be my go to session beer some 35 years ago I thought I would try some in the spirit of nostalgia. It was excellent, well balanced and refreshing, the perfect accompaniment to a breathtaking game of rugby. Now all England need to do is to beat the Scots today and they win the championship, although that then sets up all sorts of record breaking possibilities for next week...

John

[JMN2]

Tonight I've been drinking from the Morrison's range, 4 for £6, can't go wrong. Adnams Ghost Ship, Purity Mad Goose. 4 + 4 bottles, the magic and best choice of beers at Morrisons, Some plonkers go for clear glass bottles and swill like Atlantic and Doom Bar - I stand there and give them the evil eye and spit in their beer baskets. The horror. The horror.

[AleisterCrowley]

Adnams Ghost Ship
Sometimes I like it, sometimes I think "Hmm, smells of cat piss"

[UncleIan]

Adnams Ghost Ship
Sometimes I like it, sometimes I think "Hmm, smells of cat piss"

Ha ha, nice. I remember clearly one at a beer festival that really smelt of vomit. Tasted good though, so I just pinched my nose and got on with it, after passing the glass round my mates and going "sniff this!".

Talking of ships, I had a pint of Seafarer, Fullers, it was...beer. Nowt special, but drinkable.

Tonight I'm off to a brewery tour, it's been open at least 20 years, and isn't far away, but somehow I've managed to contrive not to organise a piss up in a brewery, this shall be put right tonight.

[redsturgeon]

Adnams Ghost Ship
Sometimes I like it, sometimes I think "Hmm, smells of cat piss"

Rather like a good Sauvignon Blanc.

John

[JMN2]

Cat piss in Ghost Ship is the Citra hops.

[AleisterCrowley]

It's more noticeable than in Oakham Citra, for example.
And if Sauvignon Blanc smells cat pissy, surely Nelson Sauvin hops would be the culprit ?!

[UncleEbenezer]

Tonight I've been drinking from the Morrison's range, 4 for £6, can't go wrong. Adnams Ghost Ship, Purity Mad Goose. 4 + 4 bottles, the magic and best choice of beers at Morrisons, Some plonkers go for clear glass bottles and swill like Atlantic and Doom Bar - I stand there and give them the evil eye and spit in their beer baskets. The horror. The horror.

If you have an Asda within shopping distance, they have four for a fiver and an excellent range (ghost ship was a semi-regular pick of mine until I encountered ethical reasons not to touch Adnams). I take a trip up there whenever the beer shelf in my kitchen is looking empty.

I've also experienced a nasty gotcha buying beer at Morrisons (when it was notionally four for a fiver there too): https://bahumbug.wordpress.com/2008/12/ ... ng-a-fuss/

Checking my till receipt, there was no reduction for the offer. Checking more carefully, one of the bottles was shown as £1.59, invalidating the whole thing. So I’ve overpaid by a trivial £1.06. But more critically, there goes my offer, and my whole incentive to buy participating brands. Bah, Humbug.

Being something of an obstreperous fool (and seeing no queue there), I marched up to customer services and complained. The lady accompanied me to the beer shelf with my receipt, and we verified that the beer in question was indeed marked at £1.49. As was everything else on the same shelf for some way around, including one of the other bottles I’d picked up. The lady spent some time determining that the labelling was indeed wrong, and agreed to refund me the difference. But no sign of relabelling it so as not to catch out other shoppers: she removed the wrong label, leaving it surrounded by other £1.49 labels.

[JMN2]

Unfortunately my closest Asda is quite far away, in Burgh Heath, and does have a poor beer selection. They used to have adnams Explorer, now they just have swill like McEwans, Badger, etc. Waitrose has a good selection but is a bit pricey but the 2 for £7 Angus minced beef is a good deal which nicely off-sets the higher beer price . Nearest Tesco is far away in Leatherhead. Sainsburys is rubbish, I am not a big fan of Fullers.

What is this Adnams ethical reason, may I ask? Do they use dolphin bladders to fine their beers?

[Hallucigenia]

Ha ha, nice. I remember clearly one at a beer festival that really smelt of vomit. Tasted good though, so I just pinched my nose and got on with it, after passing the glass round my mates and going "sniff this!".

Talking of ships, I had a pint of Seafarer, Fullers, it was...beer. Nowt special, but drinkable.

Tonight I'm off to a brewery tour, it's been open at least 20 years, and isn't far away, but somehow I've managed to contrive not to organise a piss up in a brewery, this shall be put right tonight.

That sounds like butyric acid - the usual tasting note is "baby vomit" (how detailed do you need to go?) - produced by a variety of spoilage bacteria like Megasphaera. The sensory threshold for tasting it is a lot lower than smelling it, so it often happens that you can smell it but not taste it.

The beer I've been drinking today? Almost a full set of Red Willow - worse things to have to do. Best known for their hoppy stuff, but Heartless, their stout, was the one that really caught the tastebuds this time - just beautifully balanced.

[tjh290633]

Talking of ships, I had a pint of Seafarer, Fullers, it was...beer. Nowt special, but drinkable.

Are you sure it was Fullers? Gales of Horndean do a Seafarers, which I find quite pleasant.

Ah! https://www.fullers.co.uk/beer/explore- ... /seafarers tells me that Fullers own Gales. That explains it.

TJH