What would you replace John Courage with?

[mookow]

At the tavern I work at, we used to have John Courage on tap. However, Scottish and Newcastle have stopped exporting it, so we need something to replace it with. I was never a big fan of Courage, however it was something of a gateway beer for moving people beyond BMC.

Does anyone have a suggestion for something that has a little bit of color and the same character as Courage? Most of my beer drinking is either way hoppier, darker, or "funkier" than the region of the beer spectrum where John Courage resides, and so I'm not exactly overflowing with ideas on this one. The ideal would be to replace it with something similar in both flavor and price.

In other news, it looks like I've convinced my boss to get Bell's Two Hearted Ale on tap. This means whenever I'm on shift I can drink some for free.

[Wilson]

Trying to stick with something similar, my first thought is Newcastle, which you probably already have. What about Samuel Smith Pale Ale? Does that come in kegs?

[mookow]

Originally posted by Wilson
Trying to stick with something similar, my first thought is Newcasltle, which you probably already have. What about Samuel Smith Pale Ale? Does that come in kegs?

We already have Newcastle, and we have SSPA in the bottle. I would think kegs of SS would be rather more than what the Courage cost... and, IMO, SSPA isnt much to write home about for the price.

[chazwicke]

Coniston Bluebird

[newportstorm]

Fuller's London Pride - nice beer.

Ipswich Ale, if available that far west of MA.

Stepping out of style, but staying local....Great Lakes Burning River.

Cheers!

[MeridianFC]

The obvious choices would seem to be:

Fullers Pride or ESB
Youngs Ramrod (actually a bit heavier but in the ballpark)
Greene King IPA

The Bluebird Chaz mentions would be a much better choice but I think the price point would be significantly higher. Then again the beer is significantly better (though not a patch on the cask).

For however much I love British beer, I find most of the keg versions severely lacking.

[M.K. Jeeves]

How about something from the Wychwood brewery? Fiddlers elbow comes to mind .

[stronk]

I can hardly bear to say this, but here goes: Tetley's. That's about as close as it's possible to get to Courage. It is technically a sin to drink it though, so many of your customers will be going to hell.

[mookow]

Originally posted by stronk
I can hardly bear to say this, but here goes: Tetley's. That's about as close as it's possible to get to Courage. It is technically a sin to drink it though, so many of your customers will be going to hell.

Is drinking it any worse sin than, say, drinking Bud Light?

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
The Bluebird Chaz mentions would be a much better choice but I think the price point would be significantly higher. Then again the beer is significantly better (though not a patch on the cask).

For however much I love British beer, I find most of the keg versions severely lacking.



You are quite right my friend.

[Seymour]

Originally posted by stronk
I can hardly bear to say this, but here goes: Tetley's. That's about as close as it's possible to get to Courage. It is technically a sin to drink it though, so many of your customers will be going to hell.

Oh, that's fantastic! Brilliant! Wish I'd beaten you to it, Stronk:p .

On a serious note, if you're looking for a "breakout" beer, two others that I dislike but the masses might favor would be Boddington's or Murphy's Red. I know, I know, pretty bad, but folks looking to transition to the good stuff might get their feet wet with those.

[revans618]

Maybe Bass Ale? I know it's not that good but I've started alot of people off on that and now they are drinking beer from all different styles.

I had one friend who would only drink German lagers and he tried a Bass and found out that he liked ales. Now he's drinking Siberian Nights from Thirsty Dog and helping me homebrew porters.

[MeridianFC]

Originally posted by stronk
I can hardly bear to say this, but here goes: Tetley's.

You need to wash your mouth out with soap, say 100 hail marys, give half your money to the poor, and go to your room without supper.

And that's just for a start.

:D

[stronk]

I have already atoned for it. I posted a while back about my college bar I was trying to get converted to have some handpumps. Carlsberg-Tetley were the suppliers I had to battle with (think star wars, blue and red light-sabers; there were no survivors).