British Ales in the US [Archive] - Realbeer.com Beer Community

BigEd

08-27-2007, 11:07 PM

Richard English

08-28-2007, 05:43 AM

Originally posted by hasher on hops
I have tried a few and I'm sorry that I don't remember the names, but not a one of the lesser known brands tasted good. Nor do I care for the mainstream brands i.e. Bass, New Castle. My tastes run towards pale ales and dark lagers or Oktoberfest beers.

Do Brit beers just not travel well or is there something I am missing. :confused:
Many (most?) good British beers travel perfectly - but Bass (once great but now very ordinary) and Newcastle brown don't start off as good beers. In the UK, as in the USA, you can be quite sure that it the beer is a mainstream product it will be, at best, just drinkable. If you have tried a lesser-known beer and found it sub-standard, then I suggest that the most likely reason is that it is just a poor beer. Not all the products of the lesser-known breweries are wonderful - but if you can't recall the names then I can't venture an opinion.

The best bottled beers (both US and UK) are those which are bottle-conditioned (neither Bass nor Newcastle Brown has that distinction) and, in addition to their having greater depth and complexity of flavour, bottle-conditioned beers also last much longer. A good BCA will last at least a year and many will last much longer. Indeed, most will improve with keeping.

Easily available BCAs include Fuller's 1845, Coniston Bluebird, Young's SLA and, if your taste is for a lighter beer, the incomparable Hopback Summer Lightning.

steveh

08-28-2007, 08:31 AM

Originally posted by hasher on hops
Do Brit beers just not travel well or is there something I am missing. :confused:

Tell us just which of the "lesser known brands" have you tried?

With your penchant for darker beers, I'd suggest Fuller's Porter, Young's Oatmeal Stout, or Sam Smith Oatmeal and Imperial Stouts.

AFA English Pales go, they are usually much more mellow in their hop rates than their American cousins, but no less enjoyable when you know what you're getting. I'll second Richard's call for Young's Special London Ale, a great example of an English ale - as close to a hand-pumped ale in a bottle that you can get.

Since you say you like Oktberfests, a Fullers ESB is well worth a sample -- sort of the English cousin to Oktoberfest; a little sweeter, a little more body.

S.

jesskidden

08-28-2007, 09:47 AM

UK ales are some of my favorites and I'd drink more of them save for the ever increasing price per bottle (and since many of them are sold in pints/1/2 litres, that's the main way they're marketed in the US). Granted, they tend not to be as hoppy as many of the US craft-brewed ales of the same style (to the point where many see them as diffenent sytles- UK IPA's vs. US IPA's, etc).

My all time favorite, I think, was Pride of Romsey from Hampshire which, sadly, I can't find anymore. When I first started buying it in the late 90's (?) it was going for $1.99 a bottle (Bluebird, another great UK ale, was $2.99 at the time) but it, like many others increased in price, it seemed, with each new shipment to the US- many are now in the $3.99-$4.99 range by me. Another of my favorites that disappeared is Gale's HSB in cans (NOT nitro cans, which I pass on for anything other than the occassional Young's Chocolate Stout). I know Gale's in a Fuller brand now, but don't see much of it on the shelves in the US anymore.

Still, there's the Fuller line (including their Vintage Ale- I've got several cases of various years in the cellar), the Young's line, Wells' Bombadiere is back on the shelves, etc.

They do tend to "sit" around but many have clear "Best by" dates (and I like to buy them with, at least, several months to go). In fact, I've got to say when it comes to buying "blind" (without knowledge of a beer or brand), that I'm quicker to buy any new UK ale (non-nitro or in brown glass) I find on the shelf than just about any other beer- US or import.

Richard English

08-28-2007, 09:58 AM

It shows how clever A-B are with their marketing. Here Dudweiser is positioned as a "premium" product.

I had a drink in my local Wetherspoons this lunchtime and they were selling guest ales (cask-conditioned) for £1.69 per Imperial Pint - that's about $3 per US pint. Dudweiser was £2.69 per Imperial Pint, which is around $5 per US pint.

Can you imagine paying anyone in the USA paying nearly twice as much for fizz Dudweiser as for cask beer?

newportstorm

08-28-2007, 10:00 AM

One problem I've encountered buying English Ales in the US is age. Many brands do carry best before dates but some still do not, or are cryptic. When in doubt, I'll opt for a brand that carries a date, unless I know the beer to be either bottle conditioned and able to age a bit, quite potent or bought from a retailer I know and trust.

Also, some brands, such as Fuller's (save for the 1845 & Vintage) are not bottle conditioned and are, in fact, pasteurized for the US market. While I'm not completely against drinking pasteurized beer, some imported brands date their beer 1 year out, meaning that Fuller's on the shelf dated for Sept. '07 is an 11 month old pasteurized brew. Drinkable? Most likely. As good as it was 9 months ago? Doubtful. Why pay for something just "drinkable"?

I do enjoy Fullers, Young's, Adnams and the occasional Hambleton Nightmare Porter, but an undated, non-bottle conditioned, low abv% English Ale? I usually pass.

newportstorm

08-28-2007, 10:04 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
Can you imagine paying anyone in the USA paying nearly twice as much for fizz Dudweiser as for cask beer?

Happens all the time here. Many pubs will have craft beers on special, yet mindless people still opt for the familiar tasteless beer they always order. Brewpubs sometimes stock bottles of American or import macro lagers for diehard loyalists. Even though the fresh, draft/cask beer, made in-house might be cheaper, many still opt for the familiar feel and look of their bottle of.....whatever.

I believe those people don't enjoy the taste of beer. They simply like to socialize and catch a buzz now and then. Nothing wrong with that, I guess.

Richard English

08-28-2007, 10:08 AM

I did see that in Mac's (Chicago) where they had both Goose Island and Two Brothers on cask - and there was a mindless palate-deprived individual drinking Dudweiser from the bottle - but I assumed that this was not a common thing. Now I see that the US ignorati are much the same as our home-brewed variety!

hertha fever

08-28-2007, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
It shows how clever A-B are with their marketing. Here Dudweiser is positioned as a "premium" product.

I had a drink in my local Wetherspoons this lunchtime and they were selling guest ales (cask-conditioned) for £1.69 per Imperial Pint - that's about $3 per US pint. Dudweiser was £2.69 per Imperial Pint, which is around $5 per US pint.

Can you imagine paying anyone in the USA paying nearly twice as much for fizz Dudweiser as for cask beer?

over here when you pick up a bottle of miller genuine draft, if you read the label you´ll see it is brewed and bottled in switzerland.

my question richard, is if the mgd available in england is the one from the states, or if you guys get the same one from switzerland that we do?

*edit*
i did buy one once, and it was just as bad as in the states. i´ll never buy it again.

Richard English

08-28-2007, 10:54 AM

I don't know the expression "mgd" but I can tell you that the Dudweiser we get is brewed at Mortlake, one the River Thames, quite near to where Young's used to be brewed. It's just as foul as the US rubbish.

hertha fever

08-28-2007, 11:01 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
I don't know the expression "mgd" but I can tell you that the Dudweiser we get is brewed at Mortlake, one the River Thames, quite near to where Young's used to be brewed. It's just as foul as the US rubbish.

mgd = miller genuine draft

if the budweiser available in england is brewed there, it´s safe to assume the miller products available won´t be the ones from the states. but i don´t know.

Richard English

08-28-2007, 11:07 AM

Much of the chemical fizz we get here is brewed locally; good beers are imported - Goose Island, Dogfish, REAL Budweiser, Lion (Sri Lanka) - all imported.

Mill Rat

08-28-2007, 12:47 PM

Originally posted by hertha fever
my question richard, is if the mgd available in england is the one from the states, or if you guys get the same one from switzerland that we do? I'll also chime in here. The appeal, such as it is, of the macro beers is the advertising. Oops, I meant product consistency. Freud strikes again.

Anyway, A-B, SABMiller, Molson-Coors, Diagio, and other large multi-country and multi-continent brewers want to present a consistent product all the time everywhere for each of the labels they market, no matter where it is actually brewed. Consistency will trump high quality every time in this equation. (There's the argument that product quality = adherence to standards, but let's skip that right now.) So an AmeriBud brewed in Switzerland will taste like one brewed in Mortlake, St. Louis, L.A., New Jersey, Sydney, or wherever. This is the same sort of model used by McDonald's of horseburger fame. Unfortunately, it is a business model that works stunningly well.

HarkJohnny

08-28-2007, 12:51 PM

hasher, head over to Jungle Jim's in Fairfield or Party Source in KY. they have a wide selection of beer including british varieties. Ask for some help from an employee in the beer section, or probably even better... from the guy with all of the random bottles in his cart who looks like he stocking up for a party, but who is really just stocking up for himself :D

MeridianFC

08-28-2007, 01:02 PM

For good or ill most of the (good to begin with) British ales you'll encounter in the US are nowhere near the quality you'd get in the UK. No big surprise I hear you say, but the gap between quality here and there is steeper than with several other countries brews. A large part of this comes down to what makes the British beers good in the first place: cask conditioning. Of it's nature it is not something that translates well to travel of any considerable distance. On occasion you can find true British cask beer that has been handled well in the US and if you do, brother sit yourself down and drink your fill.

Of the British ales that come over in bottle format, as above, look first for the bottle conditioned ones. There are some that are not that are good but not as many as the former.

I will agree with folks above regarding the Fullers ales, those are some of the most solid around and are usually handled better and move quicker. Check with B United and Shelton Brothers who both import quality British ales to this side of the Pond.

steveh

08-28-2007, 01:11 PM

Originally posted by HarkJohnny
...the guy with all of the random bottles in his cart who looks like he stocking up for a party, but who is really just stocking up for himself.

Who is really Hark. ;)

S.

Richard English

08-28-2007, 01:16 PM

Indeed. And when I was speaking of beer travelling well I was speaking of bottle-conditioned beer. Cask-conditioned beer is far more difficult to move around since by its nature it's an unstable product. The publican has to order his beer well in advance so that the brewery can supply it well in advance so that it can mature in the cellar and be ready to be served when needed. If he orders too late then the beer will be cloudy and not ready to serve; too late and it will have turned into vinegar.

I have drunk good British cask-conditioned beers in Kissimmee - but the pub there was run by an Englishman. Generally I have been disappointed with cask beer in the USA - both US and UK varieties.

On my two visits to Chicago I had beer at Clark Street that was too new and at Mac's on my last visit they had run out completely. To be fair it's a new science to US bar owners but it's a science that can be mastered. Tonight I shall be visiting The Garland, a small local pub in Redhill, where I will have a choice of 8 different cask-conditioned ales, all of which will be in perfect condition. And the Garland is a very small pub that probably won't get fifty customers in tonight. It's simply a question of knowing how to do the job.

Until the US barmen, publicans, call them what you will, have mastered the skills involved, you're better sticking to BCAs.

steveh

08-28-2007, 02:06 PM

Originally posted by Richard English
...all of which will be in perfect condition.

Can you be so sure of that? I've sampled one brand of a cask ale in London, crossed the street and sampled the same said brand and it has been completely different - to the point of being off.

8 casks are difficult to juggle, especially if, as you say, the customers are low and turnover slow.

S.

MeridianFC

08-28-2007, 02:26 PM

The beauty of cask is it is never exactly the same from place to place, day to day (some would say hour to hour). That said off is off and you should never encounter that. I can count the number of off pints of cask I've had in the UK on one hand (this doesn't count beers that are just bad or not to my taste). In the US that number is obviously higher though in general I've had very good luck with the cask beer here. I think for most places if they're going to go to the trouble of doing it, they're going to do it right.

Richard English

08-28-2007, 02:37 PM

Originally posted by steveh
Can you be so sure of that? I've sampled one brand of a cask ale in London, crossed the street and sampled the same said brand and it has been completely different - to the point of being off.

8 casks are difficult to juggle, especially if, as you say, the customers are low and turnover slow.

S.

Let me put it another way in all the years I have been drinking there I have never had a bad pint.

I know full well how difficult it is to keep several barrels of cask-conditioned beer which is one of the reasons why English pubs are like no other. The Landlord has a very special relationship with his beer and his cellar. Bill, the Landlord of the Garland, would no more let a bad pint cross his counter than he would fly to the moon on his motorbike!

This is why you will hear from beer drinkers in England phrases like, "...You want to try the such and such a pub - he serves a good pint there..." This is kind of comment is unknown in countries where cask-conditioned beer is not sold.

If you want to see me speaking about English beer and pubs, where I touch on this, there's a video of me at Speaker's Corner on my website - www.retraining-uk.com

And now I must get along to sample a few pints of Harvey's Dark Mild!

chazwicke

08-28-2007, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by MeridianFC
In the US that number is obviously higher though in general I've had very good luck with the cask beer here. I think for most places if they're going to go to the trouble of doing it, they're going to do it right.

I think it is getting better and better here. Most brewpubs will offer at least one beer on cask now and some are quite good. Some US brewers are getting it dead on and I'll give others kudos for trying. But the cask beers in the USA do seem to be improving in general terms. Another decade and I think many places will be getting it just right.

Back to the original posting though. American beer and English beer are normally fairly different animals. The Brit beer is usually more subtle and finessed. American brewers have left some of those styles to die whilst trying to make the big bold brews that garner so much publicity and attention especially with newby beer geeks. I love British beers and pine for the fresh cask conditioned brews that are the norm in most pubs.

De Hooter

08-28-2007, 05:42 PM

One of the problems I'm finding here in Phoenix, is that the cask conditioned ales tend to sell out within 24 hours of the local brewpubs "tapping the keg". Once we get enough supply to keep just ahead of the demand we can start training our bar staffs how to handle the cask conditioned ales.

OTOH, many bar staffs have no idea how to handle decent bottled brews.

hasher on hops

08-28-2007, 07:38 PM

Good information thanks to all.

It has been several years since I had tried them, which is why I don't remember the names. I saw another post which reminded me of the subject.

I was stationed in Scotland in the late 80s and that is where I developed a taste for good beer. The main beers I remeber drinking were Tenents Lager and Tartan Special. Thanks to a co-op job and the GI bill I was able to keep drinking quality beers through college.

I guess I'll just have to try them again. Fuller's ESB is famillar. Maybe I will start there.

Richard English

08-29-2007, 03:19 AM

Originally posted by hasher on hops

I was stationed in Scotland in the late 80s and that is where I developed a taste for good beer. The main beers I remeber drinking were Tenents Lager and Tartan Special.
Scotland went through a more severe period of beer deprivation than did England in the 1970s and 80s. Tenants lager and Youngers Tartan were both pretty dire chemical fizz beers (although by Dudweiser standards they were good). Fortunately CAMRA's influence started to improve things in the 1980s and 90s and now there are some fine Scottish brews. Indeed, Deuchars won the Champion Beer of Britain accolade a couple of years ago.

Just to update readers on the situation at The Garland last night, Bill had only 5 cask ales on, although he can have as many as 8 (that being the number of beer engines he has). I didn't try them all but speaking to others I gathered that all were fine.

The point about cask beer is that it does need careful handling and, even with the best handling in the world, it will deteriorate and eventually turn into vinegar. It is up to the Landlord to ensure that it is not served before it is ready (when it will be cloudy and yeasty) or after it has begun to turn (when it will be sour). The period of drinkability could be only a few days in the case of a weak beer and it part of the Landlord's skill to ensure that he has enough beer to satisfy demand and not so much that it gets wasted.

Even in England there are poorly run pubs where the Landlord is incompetent (or maybe just greedy) and the beer is served out of condition. There is only one answer if you are offered a sub-standard pint - send it back and demand a replacement.

It's good to learn from Chaswyke that US publicans are beginning to get the message about cask-conditioned beer; I am sure that things will continue to improve just as long as customers keep up the pressure.

Mill Rat

08-29-2007, 08:52 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
I am sure that things will continue to improve just as long as customers keep up the pressure. The best way to apply pressure is to buy cask-conditioned ale. As Richard noted, there is a very short window of time (relative to standard forced carb kegs) during which cask ale is good. If the publican doesn't sell a sufficient portion of the cask in that time to recoup the investment, the publican will cease to carry it. Friendly suggestions to places that don't serve cask ale yet are a good idea, as long as you're ready to provide that pub with your custom when the publican complies.

MeridianFC

08-29-2007, 12:12 PM

Originally posted by hasher on hops

I was stationed in Scotland in the late 80s and that is where I developed a taste for good beer. The main beers I remeber drinking were Tenents Lager and Tartan Special. Thanks to a co-op job and the GI bill I was able to keep drinking quality beers through college.

I am a huge fan of good Scottish ale. Unfortunately I agree with Richard that neither of the ones you mention are very good (to my taste). They are miles better than a lot that's available out there.

If you can acquire them I might recommend, from north of Hadrian's Wall and available in bottles Stateside:

Caledonian 80/-
Caledonian Wee Heavy
Caledonian Golden Promise Organic
Belhaven Scottish Ale (the import version of their 80/-)
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted*
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil (I prefer the regular to the reserve)*
Arran Blonde
Inveralmond Blackfriar
Inveralmond Lia Fail
Fraoch Heather Ale*
Alba Scots Pine Ale
Grozet Gooseberry Ale
Orkney Dark Island*
Orkney the Red MacGregor*
Orkney Skullsplitter*

Unfortunately none of these are bottle conditioned but they are very good examples of some of the styles. Occasionally you can find some on cask (the one's with an asterisk I've personally had in good condition in that format over here). If you go back to Scotland I could give you a very long list of excellent beers to try, many of which are unfortunately not available here at all.

HarkJohnny

08-29-2007, 02:13 PM

hasher, a couple places you can drink locally would be Nicholson's downtown which used to carry a cask (not sure if they still do) or Dilly Deli in mariemont.

Nicholsons carries Tenant's on tap and a couple other scottish and british brews. Dilly Deli carries the big name micro's (stone, great lakes) along with always having some kind of great belgian on tap.

if you are ever near Indianapolis be sure to check the Broad Ripple brewpub. The Redbird Mild is great and they also have two casks on hand at all time. the beertender is one intense dude when pouring from the hand pump.

steveh

08-29-2007, 02:36 PM

Originally posted by HarkJohnny
if you are ever near Indianapolis be sure to check the Broad Ripple brewpub.

Oooh...now yer talkin'! Broadripple always used to show at an annual, early summer brewfest I attended (and helped with) -- their owner (an Englishman, Richard) was always a generous gentleman and always had great beer.

I remember he would often have a hand pump to draw from, but I don't recall if he was serving CC beer.

S.

Richard English

08-29-2007, 02:46 PM

It is possible to use a handpump to dispense non-cask-conditioned beer, but some time ago it was agreed in England that it would be an offence under the Misrepresentation Act to do so without telling the customer. So handpumped beer here is always cask-conditioned unless there's a notice on the pump to tell your otherwise.

I suspect that the same laws don't apply in the USA.

hooky

08-29-2007, 03:04 PM

Broadripple Brew Pub serves a true cask conditioned ale. A month ago they had a pale that mixed some english and american hops that was fantastic.

The club house manager for our AAA Indians is a Brit. I sat at the bar one evening with him and he mentioned that when when he has visitors from England, they all rave about how good the beer is at BRB. He has also commented on the sad state of affairs for most real ale lovers in England. Apperantly we truly have a better beer scene over here. Anecdotal, but I thought it was interesting to hear that opinion.

John Hill is the owners name. I believe he's from Middlesborough (sic).

steveh

08-29-2007, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by Richard English
It is possible to use a handpump to dispense non-cask-conditioned beer

Understood, which is why I qualified that I couldn't remember back to 1994 or so!

Hooky, Richard and Stonch (http://stonch.blogspot.com/) would tell you not to write off the English good beer scene -- while many unknowing youth are finding delight in being rebelious against their peers' beer (real ale) and clammoring for dreck and swill, there are plenty who support CAMRA and the Real Ale thrives.

John Hill! Thanks for the reminder. Haven't seen him in a long while.

S.

chazwicke

08-29-2007, 03:44 PM

Originally posted by steveh
there are plenty who support CAMRA and the Real Ale thrives.

S.

I'm a proud Life Member.

Richard English

08-29-2007, 04:34 PM

Quote "...John Hill is the owners name. I believe he's from Middlesborough (sic)...."

The last time I was in Middlesborough I tried around a dozen pubs lunchtime before I found one (a Wetherspoons) that had any beer. On my way back to the station I tried another four pubs; only one had a beer engine and they had run out of beer. Probably the worst town I have ever visited for beer. No wonder Jonh Hill is disillusioned if Middlesborough is his experience of UK beer drinking!

In most English towns there will be enough pubs and a sufficient range of decent beer to suit any tastes.

steveh

08-29-2007, 09:12 PM

Originally posted by Richard English
No wonder Jonh Hill is disillusioned if Middlesborough is his experience of UK beer drinking!

Who said he was disillusioned? We said he's making great beer here in the U.S., and has been for nearly 20 years. We can't say what state his hometown was in when he left it.

S.

Richard English

08-30-2007, 03:26 AM

Originally posted by steveh
Who said he was disillusioned? We said he's making great beer here in the U.S., and has been for nearly 20 years. We can't say what state his hometown was in when he left it. S.

Well, he he is claimed to have said, "...He has also commented on the sad state of affairs for most real ale lovers in England. Apperantly we truly have a better beer scene over here...."

That looks like disillusionment to me.

And it's just not true. Except for a few instances of towns (such as Middlesborough and a few others I have had the misfortune to be stuck in) where the publicans have taken up chemical fizz and where the customers have not complained, the overall availability of good beer in the UK is better than that in the USA.

Of course, there are some UK pubs that are poorer for choice and availability than some US bars - but that's not usually the case. My own local has only two cask beers available and sells mainly chemical fizz so, compared with, say, the best that the finest bars in Chicago can offer it is poor. But most US bars will have a poorer choice than most UK pubs in my experience.

That's not to denigrate the wonderful strides that US brewing has made in the past 20 years and it might be that John Hill is simply reflecting on this progress and measuring it against his 20-year-old memories of Middlesborough.

Although the good beer scene in the UK is not growing as fast as is the US scene, it had never sunk to the disastrous levels that were reached by the USA in the 1970s. And even now, despite what John says, in no way is the beer scene in the USA generally better than the beer scene in the USA.

newportstorm

08-30-2007, 08:35 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
And even now, despite what John says, in no way is the beer scene in the USA generally better than the beer scene in the USA.

But is it better than the beer scene in the USA?

steveh

08-30-2007, 09:07 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
Well, he he is claimed to have said...That looks like disillusionment to me.

Wasn't John Hill, Broad Ripple owner/brewer, was a club house manager for a minor league baseball team Richard:

The club house manager for our AAA Indians is a Brit. I sat at the bar one evening with him and he mentioned that when when he has visitors from England, they all rave about how good the beer is at BRB. He has also commented on the sad state of affairs for most real ale lovers in England.

John Hill is making some great beer (or was) and I don't think he ever looks at life with much disillusion.

http://www.broadripplebrewpub.com/brbaboutus.html

S.

steveh

08-30-2007, 09:08 AM

Originally posted by newportstorm
But is it better than the beer scene in the USA?

Paging Dr. Freud, Dr. Freud!

;)

S.

Richard English

08-30-2007, 09:10 AM

Originally posted by newportstorm
But is it better than the beer scene in the USA? Whoops. Was that a Freudian slip or just bad typing?

Richard English

08-30-2007, 09:16 AM

Originally posted by steveh
Wasn't John Hill, Broad Ripple owner/brewer, was a club house manager for a minor league baseball team Richard:

John Hill is making some great beer (or was) and I don't think he ever looks at life with much disillusion.

http://www.broadripplebrewpub.com/brbaboutus.html

S.

My mistake. I had assumed that the owner and the commentator were one and the same person. But nevertheless the substance of my remarks still applies, regardless of the background of the players in the scenario.

wortchillergoal

08-30-2007, 10:00 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
in no way is the beer scene in the USA generally better than the beer scene in the USA.

It appears to me that newport was commenting on Richard's slip referenced above.

As far as cask ales here in the Syr area, we do have some luck. Middle Ages makes cask beer for The Blue Tusk and Clark's Ale House. Both places are just over a mile from the brewery. Clark's had cask all the time. the Tusk runs out. They take a cask on Fri and is gone by lunch Mon 99% of the time.

Clark's has one on full time. I am left to ponder if he is going through it all, tossing it, or serving beer out of condition?

I tend to go for cask at the Tusk. I know that the brewery owner and Tusk owners work hard to serve prime beer.

steveh

08-30-2007, 10:23 AM

Originally posted by wortchillergoal
It appears to me that newport was commenting on Richard's slip referenced above.

Yeah? What's your point, just rubbing it in? ;)

S.

(I only quoted his response as a further response, if that's to which you refer)

wortchillergoal

08-30-2007, 10:26 AM

Originally posted by steveh
Yeah? What's your point, just rubbing it in? ;)

S.

(I only quoted his response as a further response, if that's to which you refer)

I take things to literal at times, Trait of being a goalie. My main point was, we all need more cask conditioned beer.

hooky

08-30-2007, 10:59 AM

I have no idea if the beer scene is better here or not. I only have one man's anecdotal evidence that real ale is unfortunately losing ground to the macros, and we have an abundance of access to many more styles here.

I didn't mean to start a range war on the beer plains.

Richard English

08-30-2007, 11:04 AM

I fear that this comment is accurate. Real ale has been losing ground to the fizz manufacturers for years in the UK. But we are still well-blessed with good beers.

The difference is that the US beer scene is getting better and the UK beer scene is static or getting worse. But as things stand, the UK's beer situation has a long way to fall before it meets the US's improving beer situation.

steveh

08-30-2007, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by hooky
I didn't mean to start a range war on the beer plains.

No wars here, just stickin' up for John and Broadripple! I need to get down there sometime, I miss his beer.

S.

wortchillergoal

08-30-2007, 11:15 AM

Originally posted by Richard English
I fear that this comment is accurate. Real ale has been losing ground to the fizz manufactures for year in the UK. But we are still well-blessed with good beers.

The difference is that the US beer scene is getting better and the UK beer scene is static or getting worse. But as things stand, the UK's beer situation has a long way to fall before it meets the US's improving beer situation.

That may be true to point Richard. I think because of the size difference in our two countries, it is hard to compare. There are parts of the US that are rich in great beers. Sadly there are those parts, the bigger portion, where BMC and out door plumbing still rule. Though flush toilets aren't far off, BMC beers will stay king for awhile.

hooky

08-30-2007, 11:43 AM

Originally posted by steveh
No wars here, just stickin' up for John and Broadripple! I need to get down there sometime, I miss his beer.

S.

The range war comment was sort of tongue in cheek. I should have tossed a smiley in there.

When you do get down here, let me know. I'll happily buy the first round.

steveh

08-30-2007, 11:55 AM

Originally posted by hooky
I should have tossed a smiley in there.

No need -- I was just confirming that it's all just beer talk!

S.

Indytom

08-30-2007, 11:56 AM

After reading this thread, I feel really silly for not having stopped into BBP before now. I used to ride by there every afternoon on my bike on my way home from work. The food always smelled so good and the beer looked so good, but I figured if I stopped, I would never make it those last 5 or 10 miles.

Looks like I know where my wife and I will spend our next date-night.

Tom

hooky

08-30-2007, 12:31 PM

You won't regret the trip.

HarkJohnny

08-30-2007, 01:23 PM

wow, didn't know I'd start such a heated discussion with the tiny mention of one little name.

We were in town a few months back for the F1 race in Indy and I had done my research prior seeing that there were two BPs north of where we'd be (not wanting to head to the overcrowded downtown scene). We actually ate at Brugge (good crepes and fries) and the beer was OK. Their Saison made a better german hefe and the Sour ale was from Monk's (philly) and was good.

But after that we headed to BRB and was just blown away. Sat there all night talking to locals, world travelers (remember this was an F1 racing weekend... spaniards, columbians, etc) and just enjoying the hell out of the beer. One of the locals told us he bought a house near there just because of this brewpub! Funnier... his name was James Brown and he bought me a beer. hehe