Ale, Beer, Stout appreciation

I'll probably be heading out to the western isles of Scotland soon and have been tempting with the opportunity to go see the Oyster Brewery on the Isle of Seil.

Anyone had any?

last night i had an hour to kill at stpancras so i got a seat and an overpriced but very tasty sandwich at that poncey deli-cum-sandwich bar bit under the arrivals/departures board. was actually rather pleasant sitting there watching the world go by. helped in no small part by a cold bottle of this:

http://www.hopsandpips.com/Hop-Back-Brewery-Summer-Lightning

they have a pretty decent selection of bottled ales (some in the fridge too) there. so next time you miss a train at kings x or st pancras, don't despair.

^ This is lovely.

Had a bottle of this last night and fast becoming a favourite partly as its one of the few IPA's I can get my hands on (I live in Beijing) and its perfect for summer.Well worth a try if you see it fruity and floral like Badger's Champion Ale but not overly so.

anyone been to The Craft Beer Co yet?

http://www.thecraftbeerco.com/

I won a guided tour around the St Austell Brewery. Huzzah!

It's a bloody long way away though.

wow, missed this thread, managed to get the polo lot to the brew dog bar in edinburgh for the uk champs, they had some amazing beer, had a little bit of tactical nuclear penguin, which was interesting, and half a pint of some danish 1000 IBU ale which literally seemed to suck all the moisture from your face it was so bitter, kinda nice at the same time though, draught punk was lovely too

anyone been to The Craft Beer Co yet?

http://www.thecraftbeerco.com/

I went down there a few weeks ago on a Friday night, quite nice vibe with lots of people spilled out onto leather lane.

Had lots of different IPA's, including a double IPA from southern tier in NY which was lovely (but expensive).

GBBF starts today? anyone heading down?

It's damned busy but a good laugh, I'm going tomorrow afternoon

GBBF starts today? anyone heading down?

It's damned busy but a good laugh, I'm going tomorrow afternoon

oh bollocks, was kind of meaning to go this year but hadn't checked the dates, thought it'd be more into the autumn. Shame I'm away, really enjoyed it last time

Am I allowed to mention cider?
Currently drinking Dunkerton's Black Fox, it's rather nice on a warm evening, and I've just noticed it's 7% abv.

I'm drinking a bottle of Adnam's Broadside. I like Broadside, but haven't had it for a while. Has the recipe changed, does anyone know? I'm asking because this bottle tastes fucking amazing. The most delicious boozy plummy syrupy flavour.

If no change in the recipe, then it must be down to the espresso I drank immediately beforehand (which was a 50/50 blend of some monsooned malabar and guatamala finca san francisco tecuamburro I had from HasBean - so a very rich mix, with an aftertaste of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, toffee, and some generic nutiness).****

****Uppers + downers, FTW.

Dunham Massey Chocolate Cherry Mild. Lovely. (3 weeks since I picked it up!)

That sounds nice. Where'd you pick it up from?

Have any of you fine chaps taken up home brewing? I'm bottling my third batch of 'Spotted Donkey' tomorrow - a fine brew based on Amarillo hops. As pretentious as that sounds, it tastes pretty good. In 4 weeks, free to a good home for interested parties, in lieu of constructive criticism....

^^ carringtons up here in Manchester, they may mail order, or brewer may have London stockist...

^ not me, but a chap I know does and promises me some of his latest brown ale for jump starting his car last week, can't wait.

Thanks - I'm sober enough to bother googling today :D

^ hope you track some down

Alhambra Negra tonight. "Dark Special Beer with Mediterranean Flair".

Nice.

Have any of you fine chaps taken up home brewing? I'm bottling my third batch of 'Spotted Donkey' tomorrow - a fine brew based on Amarillo hops. As pretentious as that sounds, it tastes pretty good. In 4 weeks, free to a good home for interested parties, in lieu of constructive criticism....

Where are you? A bike ride from Camden Town?

I'm drinking this!

and it's fantastic!

Where are you? A bike ride from Camden Town?

Big bad Balham, so a couple of miles...

Liverpool Organic - Elderflower Ale. Different, but nice. They also do a Chocolate & Vanilla Stout which I look forward to trying...

Thornbridge Jaipur in the bottle.
it's a modern style beer with it's pale colour and citrus notes but deserving of it's numerous awards IMHO. picked up a bottle in my local waitrose along with a bottle of Kipling.
alas no 'Ashford' brown ale, quite fancy trying a beer named after my shite hometown.

I struggle with a lot of these 'nu-skool' IPAs. I get it, the whole 'here's what these fresh in-season hops taste like' thing, which is the modern direction of most of the olfactory trades, but I invariably find them unbalanced - raw, grassy and aggressively bitter. They seem designed to showcase the ingredients at the expense of a satisfying balance.

This summer I've been introduced by The Draught House to a whole new world of characterful european lagers. Turns out not all lager is bland piss or expensive Special Brew made by belgian monks. Who knew?

Thank christ the nights are drawing in and summer's on its way out. I'm missing a good pint of dinner.

give the Thornbridge a go, i don't want to drink grapefruit infused yellow piss all the time but a pint now and again is not a bad thing. i'm predominately a brown beer drinker but like to try other stuff.
in other beer news one of my regular haunts the old red cow on long lane has had a makeover and now has about 20 beers on tap.
the bad news it was £15.70 for a round of 3 pints. that really is taking the piss.

Jaipur is a good'n