Need advice on a creamy, smooth beer!

Discussion in 'United Kingdom & Ireland' started by Bdellovibrio, Feb 1, 2014.

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  1. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    Hello beer gurus!
    I recently moved to England and I fell in love with the beer they serve in pubs here. I don't go out much though, so I'd love an alternative I could drink at home.

    The smoother, creamier and thicker the better. Not a big fan of the bitter/alcohol tastes and carbonation. I did some research and found out that what makes pub beers so good is the nitrogen. Is it possible to buy nitro beers?

    Would be nice if the beer was available in York :grinning:

    Any advice would be much appreciated!
     
    #1 Bdellovibrio, Feb 1, 2014
  2. dcs1548

    dcs1548 Initiate (0) Nov 6, 2011 Virginia

    Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout is a great place to start.
     
    #2 dcs1548, Feb 1, 2014
  3. ohyeah1

    ohyeah1 Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 California

    Yes, nitro beers are available. I suggest you pick up a bottle of Oak Aged Yeti and let it cellar for about a year. Creamy goodness.
     
    #3 ohyeah1, Feb 1, 2014
  4. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    I'm not sure I have the self control to leave a bottle untouched for a year :grinning: But thanks, I'll look into them. I do like ales too, doesn't have to be sweet. I just dislike the taste of alcohol and heavy carbonation that most bottled beers I've tried have.
     
    #4 Bdellovibrio, Feb 1, 2014
  5. rhythm

    rhythm Initiate (0) Mar 20, 2009 Texas

    try Boddington's in a can w/the nitro widget
     
    #5 rhythm, Feb 1, 2014
  6. jazzyjeff13

    jazzyjeff13 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,865) Nov 6, 2010 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Howdy

    Boddington's was my first thought as well :slight_smile: However, there are various beers that are canned with nitrogen, including Guinness, John Smith's, Tetley's etc.....

    I'm sorry to say that the use of nitrogen in a beer is not a sign of quality, but rather an attempt to make up for the lack of it. The texture you describe is usually what one might expect from cask beer, however it is rather difficult to replicate the experience in a bottle or can. My advice would be to go to the pub more - York has plenty of them!

    Alternatively, try bottled ales until you find one you like....
     
    #6 jazzyjeff13, Feb 1, 2014
    Tut, reprob8 and Bitterbill like this.
  7. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    Thanks! I figured that and I do go to the pub whenever I can, but sometimes it's just nice to enjoy a pint at home. I've tried a lot of the well rated bottled beers (found on this site) but I just can't get past the carbonation... I hate all sorts of fizzy drinks, that's why I thought I didn't like beer until I tried draft.
     
    #7 Bdellovibrio, Feb 1, 2014
  8. deeblo

    deeblo Crusader (413) Dec 17, 2011 Antarctica
    Trader

    Many pubs In the UK will sell beer for takeaway. You might be able to find a pub near you with some good casks that you could fill a jug of and take home to drink later.
     
    #8 deeblo, Feb 1, 2014
  9. Darwin553

    Darwin553 Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2009 Australia

    The first thing that came to mind with your description of the beer you are after being smooth and creamy was Kilkenny.
     
    #9 Darwin553, Feb 2, 2014
  10. Donie

    Donie Initiate (0) Jun 1, 2013 Ireland

    +1
     
    #10 Donie, Feb 2, 2014
  11. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I tried Tetley's smooth flow and I'm pretty happy with it for the moment. Almost too creamy, to be honest. But no carbonation, so that's a win in my book. I can't find Kilkenny anywhere though, and I'd really like to try it.
     
    #11 Bdellovibrio, Feb 2, 2014
  12. EmperorBevis

    EmperorBevis Grand High Pooh-Bah (9,338) Sep 25, 2011 England
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm sorry

    I've bit my tongue so long that it hurts too much

    But there is a ruddy great elephant in the room
    will try not to waffle or go into too much detail

    right, smooth beer was created to try and make keg and can beer more like traditional ale
    to be less fizzy
    and keg was created to avoid the problems with cask
    mainly to limited shelf life and the skill and knowledge needed to store and dispense it.

    You need to put your cask on a stand at the right angle
    tap and spile (tapping still terrifies me in case the tap misses and beer shoots out)
    then leave to stand.

    Now the artificial elements of smooth beer
    make me liken it to a brioche made with margarine instead of butter and vinegar and baking soda instead of eggs & yeast and instead of sugar use Aspartame (which may have never passed food safety tests)

    Would you pick an artificial option over natural when lovemaking?

    Real ale is slightly spritely, not at all fizzy, it's the carbonation produced from the yeast fermenting
    you don't see bread dough popping like cola.

    Okay there is always a risk when drinking cask
    but seeing as cellarmanship has suffered because of plug in keg etc
    cellar work also includes cleaning and maintaining beer lines
    so you can still end up with cloudy off smooth beer

    So give cask a try.
     
    #12 EmperorBevis, Feb 2, 2014
  13. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    I know, I brewed beer myself a couple of times (microbiologist here)! Homemade beer is slightly prickly, but most of the stuff you buy in bottles/cans has coca cola levels of carbonation. And that's added after the fermentation process. I'm a student and I live in a student flat, so I doubt I can set up a cask in here... I much prefer pub beer but I'm looking for alternatives I could drink at home.

    That being said, I do like some of the bottled beers, such as Kipling and Landlord...
     
    #13 Bdellovibrio, Feb 2, 2014
  14. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    Actually, my original question may have been wrong. I'm looking for natural ale-y goodness. Cloudy, slightly fizzy, yeasty and hoppy. Anything with very low carbonation. (Creamy ales still welcome, but you already gave lots of great advice!)
     
    #14 Bdellovibrio, Feb 2, 2014
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  15. EmperorBevis

    EmperorBevis Grand High Pooh-Bah (9,338) Sep 25, 2011 England
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    There is your big problem
    having that experience at home
    quite often Bottle conditioning gives the taste and complexity of an ale a huge boost
    but sometimes also the amount of fizz
     
    #15 EmperorBevis, Feb 2, 2014
  16. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Pour bottled beer into large glass and knock the carbonation out with a spoon - ie stir it


    If you want a creamy head, get a syringe, draw some beer into it then inject it fast back into the beer. This does actually work, although perhaps do it in privacy in case your friends think you are mental.
     
    #16 Hanglow, Feb 3, 2014
    jazzyjeff13 likes this.
  17. Bdellovibrio

    Bdellovibrio Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2014 England

    Huh, never considered that! Sounds funky, but I'll give it a shot.
     
    #17 Bdellovibrio, Feb 3, 2014
  18. EmperorBevis

    EmperorBevis Grand High Pooh-Bah (9,338) Sep 25, 2011 England
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    would an oral syringe work with that head trick?
     
    #18 EmperorBevis, Feb 3, 2014
  19. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Don't see why not, I think that's what I used actually


    Been ages since I did it, used it to get some head on low carbonated homebrew I did
     
    #19 Hanglow, Feb 3, 2014
  20. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    #20 Hanglow, Feb 3, 2014
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