Real Ale

[Brendan]

Chicken's nice but I prefer beer.

Chicken in beer I'm not so keen on.

[louisiana]

In the winter, Young's Winter Warmer. Only available in very selected pubs, mostly in south London. And only in winter.

For bottled, Young's Double Chocolate.

For a general run-around beer that's widely available, London Pride.

For a cheap beer you can take home in quantity (polypins and larger) for a right royal piss-up, visit Rebellion Brewery in Marlow and stock up. Even better, join their club and get free access to their regular all-night free beer event for four people. Plus a discount on all beer. You can een stand around 'sampling' the different beers all day any day. Rebellion is owned by its workers, who are a lovely bunch of lads and very much into their beer.

[louisiana]

BTW, Rebellion polypins are a great way to take real ale to festivals :)

A polypin box fits nicely only a the bottom of a trolley, under your tent stuff.

(Not many festies do real ale, and you don't want to be drinking that lager piss all weekend.)

[BigPhil]

Everards brewery "Equinox" from monday ? 2.30 per pint b4 5pm , 2.50 after 5pm

at "The Prince Albert"

next beer on will be "tribute"

come on down the hill and sample.

jugs avaliable for those who prefer tradional drinking vessels

cheers

phil

[Magpie]

Brendan - "Real" Ale should be cask conditioned and "live" ie un-pasturised so the yeast is still living.

Any other non-lager Beers like John Smiths, Tetleys, Boddingtons etc is keg beer - ie pasturised beer.

[Jah Lush]

Magpie Wrote:

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> Brendan - "Real" Ale should be cask conditioned

> and "live" ie un-pasturised so the yeast is still

> living.

>

> Any other non-lager Beers like John Smiths,

> Tetleys, Boddingtons etc is keg beer - ie

> pasturised beer.

I'm glad you've cleared that up. Keg beer = piss.

[Magpie]

Bit of a random question- but does anyone have any experience of brewing beer? I have done it a couple of times using kits, but never from first principles, but have toyed for a while with the idea of starting an East Dulwich Micro Brewery. Anyone fancy joining a collective to start brewing our own beer - we could have a first meeting in Hoopers to plan - and then start selling it through local pubs/shops?

Have I just got over excited by all this chat on beer . . . . .

[Jah Lush]

You brew it. I'll drink it.

[bigbadwolf]

"Bit of a random question- but does anyone have any experience of brewing beer?"

My dad and his friends used to brew beer with variable success. I don't have clue how it's done but they had a lot more success with Cider. Brewing beer at home can be an incredibly tiresome experience if you've got a household of energetic kids who're curious as to what all the pipes and pots are in the basement.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Sounds good. Can you brew beer from wild hops? There are quite a few in the surrounding areas and that would make it even more local.

[mockney piers]

Funnily enough I was thinking about giving it a go recently. My mum grows hops up in bedfordshire (she makes sleep pillows out of them) and it set me thinking.

Last time I gave it a go I was in the sixth form. We bought a lager kit and a bitter kit. The bitter turned out as this foul stenched unpotable cloudy foamy slop.

The lager was a crisp blonde fizzy foul stenched unpotable brew. I guess that counts as varying success.

Let me know what would be involved.

[Brendan]

I have a friend visiting this weekend who has been making his own for a few years now. After 2 years of questionable quality he has now come up with a good, consitant brew.

I'll pick his brains about this this weekend.

[bigbadwolf]

You can all thank me (and my dad) for this when the final product is finished.

In his email he say's that before you even buy any equipment, which in his opinion isn't a touch on the gear available 10-15 years ago, you should extensively read up on the what type of ale/cider you're attempting.

The information you're going to need can be found in "The Camra Guide To Home Brewing". For a paper back this is quite expensive at ?40 but according to my old man it's worth it's weight in gold and would make a great gift to an interested/enthusiastic son. It's got everything you need to know. He's stopped brewing his own because, and you should beware of this, my mum has now forbidden it due to the stench it can give off.

He also says that from speaking to friends who make their own Cider then it's best to stick to the medieval recipe's.

Take this advice as you will, but I've never done it before so it's second-hand info.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I have two beer and one stout recipes from an early 20C. book my pa gave me if you're interested. Domestic rather than industrial quantities.

[Jah Lush]

I remember a friend of mine made home brew back in the late 70s. He'd put six times the amount of sugar in and after two or three pints of this incredibly strong undrinkable piss you'd be rendered unconscious. I missed half of the 1978 World Cup final because that. Bar steward!

[*Bob*]

What sane person would want to brew their own beer? The alcohol/liquid ratio makes no sense whatsoever.

The last person I met who 'brewed his own' looked like he hasn't had a wash for four months there appeared to be something very much like a frog nesting in his beard. And his house stank like a carpet after a teenage party.

There were a few attempts at winemaking in the *Bob* senior household, but it all came to an end after my brother (aged ten or eleven) secretly helped himself to the Blackberry and Damson on bonfire night and nearly fell into the fire.

[bigbadwolf]

That's nothing *Bob*! You should've seen the look on BBW seniors face after he asked us what we were all whispering about.

"What are you lot up to?"

"Nothing. We just thought we'd help out with your experiment in the cellar."

"How?"

"We took the rubber tube out of the steel drum and plugged it into a different hole."

"How long have they been like that?!!"

"About 2 days."

"Lin!! You and the boys get down the garden NOW!!!!!!"

[Jah Lush]

*Bob* Wrote:

> There were a few attempts at winemaking in the

> *Bob* senior household, but it all came to an end

> after my brother (aged ten or eleven) secretly

> helped himself to the Blackberry and Damson on

> bonfire night and nearly fell into the fire.

Oh that is so The Good Life *Bob*. Does Margo live nextdoor?

[Magpie]

I know the stereotypes of real ales fans - but this is time to break down the barriers and turn real ale trendy. Its local, its organic, its sustainable, plus we could have some really cool bottles and serve over ice or something - soon everyone will be quaffing real ale and commenting on hoppyness and which beer goes well with butternut squash. Whose with me?????

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Serve over ice!!!??? You've lost me now.

[Magpie]

Well perhaps not over ice . . . . . . but something equally modern and down with the kids

[*Bob*]

Jah Lush Wrote:

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> Oh that is so The Good Life *Bob*. Does Margo live

> nextdoor?

This was some time ago.

In fact, a policeman and his wife lived next door - until she ran off with an Inspector, so my Mum told me.

[*Bob*]

Magpie Wrote:

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> this is time to break down the barriers and turn

> real ale trendy.. Whose with me?????

It doesn't need to be trendy.. it just needs to consistently taste nice.

Give me nice proper beer over tasteless lager anyday. Unfortunately (*south/north beer bore alert*) 'beer' in London is simply an embarrassment. Where else would you have to go to a SPECIAL PUB that you know about just to get something vaguely palatable, as opposed to walking into any pub you see and be presented with some delicious local brew as a matter of course?

That said, at least it doesn't rain every other day and you can understand what people are saying.

[bigbadwolf]

I thought that in order to sell Ale these day's you had to brand it with a name that contains innuendo as well as it's bumpkin background i.e:

Somerset Strumpet.

Wobbly Wench.

Thumpin' Susan.

Screamin' Alice.

Wet as ever.

Damp n Dewy.

Drippin' loike a focked fridge.

[Brendan]

Magpie Wrote:

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> I know the stereotypes of real ales fans - but

> this is time to break down the barriers and turn

> real ale trendy.

Bollocks to that. I?m not shaving, or wearing hair gel no matter how good the beer is.