If you can get it shipped dragons milk. From new holland brewery. Not an ale though. A definite must have. Not a typical American beverage. It is aged in Oak whiskey barrels.
I agree. Wow, I haven't had it in several years either (been experimenting with local brands) and I did not know Heineken bought it. Superficial of us, maybe, but I stopped buying Shock Top a couple years back when I found out it's a (American) Budweiser product. Bud is an insult to beer and I will not knowingly buy it. :dunno: Fabulous name.
I have an assortment of ales for tonight, More speckled Hen, Hobgoblin, Golden hen and a couple others. Nachos and pretzels too.
good choices! both Hobgoblin and Old Speckled Hen are lush. tip - beware Speckled Hen on tap if you see it out - It's gross. No idea why.
Preliminary thoughts, Hob was nice, but not as nice as Hen, just cracked open a bottle of Hen yes, I much prefer Hen.
Hobgoblin and Old Speckled Hen seconded. Fursty Ferret is another good one. One of my favourites is Old Tom, I love the ginger version but can't seem to find locally. https://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/store/old-tom/c-24/p-136
Here are a few North American and European brews that are some of my personal favorites. I am unsure of their availability for those who live in other parts of the world so I thought I'd cover a couple locations. My descriptions could be better and I never pay attention to the alcohol content so I have no idea of the %. Alaskan Smoked Porter - USA (West coast). This beer is brewed annually around the beginning of the winter and unlike the majority of beers this particular beer can be aged in the bottle (like wine). Smoky, dark and full-flavored. I first had it with (surprise, suprise) smoked salmon. Very complimentary, but don't feel you have to drink it with a fishy meal, it's excellent on it's own, too. Troegs Troegenator Double Bock - USA (East coast). I have a love-hate relationship with this dopplebock. While I enjoy the full-bodied, kind of nutty and comforting flavor, it's too sweet and overly carbonated so it brings 'beer bloat' to a whole, new level, yet, I can't help but go back for more so they've got to be doing something right! Drinking it warm is the way to go, cold not so much. Profanity Stout Williams Bros. - UK. Rich, hoppy, roasty, bitter. Delicious actually, I love the coffee & dark chocolate combo here. Saving the best for last. Westvleteren 12 - Belgium. Will admit, anything from Germany or Belgium has my vote and drinking along side of the countries natives just adds to the experience. Such jolly folk. This brew has floaties just to forewarn you. It's a deep and dark reddish brown, sweet but not overly bearing sweet, bitter yet creamy and mildly spicy.
I don't know if you can get these outside the US but if you ever have the chance these are some good ones from the Pacific Northwest. Black Butte Porter is outstanding. Deschutes Brewery. Bend, Oregon (everything from Deschutes Brewery is great). Mac & Jack's African Amber is very good. Redmond, Washington. We have a ton of excellent micro breweries in Washington and Oregon so one day when I win the lotto I'll take a couple months off and visit them all (hehe). So many beers, so little time.
Sam Adams (Boston MA) Summer Ale and Winter Ale are terrific. (The autumn seasonal beer is a lager, and I don't like it nearly as much.)
There's a pub down the road from me that has Shipyard American Pale Ale, brewed out of Portland, Maine, which is pretty nice. Were ales always brewed in the US but not popular, or is it a new thing?
ales are extremely popular in the states and have been for quite some time. only people with no taste drink the major commercial lagers like bud. it's a big thing to seek out local brews nowadays.
Sure, but I meant have there been breweries making ale for centuries? For instance, that Shipyard brewery has been going 20 years, which is very young for a UK brewery (though tons of microbreweries have opened up in the last few years here too).
Not around here. It was always the big name lighter beers like Bud, Miller, etc. until the 1990's and that's when all the micro breweries started popping up with their ales. Now ales are the big thing.
Do you guys get many American beers over there in the UK? What are the popular beers and Ales? The most popular where I live are definitely the local craft IPA's and stouts. There are still a number of people though that drink Coors light and Bud light. Then you have the holdouts that drink Budweiser, Miller, Olympia, PBR, and Rainier. Rainier beer was the big one here in WA up through the 1980's. Named after Mt. Rainier and made in Seattle. Every sports event, function and back yard barbecue always seemed to have truck loads of Rainier beer. The best way I can describe it is it tastes like you filled a glass with half Bud light and half Miller Genuine Draft. Sometime in the 1990's they moved production from Seattle down to California which upset a lot of people here so it fell of in popularity. Plus the running joke "Rainier Beer comes from here (points to crotch)" didn't help matters lol. Not sure if you guys over there are aware but Guinness is pretty well like here as well. On St. Patrick's day the stores and Bars sell loads of it. I always buy some and make black and tans.
no not centuries. i personally started noticing it in the mid to late 80's, the change in beer culture in the states. i think there were pockets beforehand. but some critical mass started being reached where people could reach out and get a decent american beer (ale or otherwise). sure, we could get guinness and german beers. and if one lived in colorado, the movement started much earlier i think.
It's not that common to see American ales, but they are slowly coming over here. I had a local by my last place that usually had an American red ale on tap. Bottles are more common, but you are seeing more casks these days. The vast majority of Ales here are British though.
