Three Years in beer

Discussion in 'United Kingdom & Ireland' started by EmperorBevis, Aug 7, 2014.

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  1. EmperorBevis

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

    It's coming up to the three year mark when I joined this most prestigious site
    and started to bother you all and I am now opening and recording my 900th beer

    and what ale-tonian time we now live in with real ale continues to go from strength to strength
    and even craft has entered the mainstream (thanks mainly to a much maligned pub chain)>

    What has made me the happiest is the vast increase of not only specialist beer outlets
    but more importantly bottle conditioned beers making it much easy for someone who can't make it to the pub much to enjoy fine fayre.

    Also new micro breweries seem to be popping up all the time making it awesome for ticking.

    On the downside we see two once prominent members here posting less & less & lost one altogether to that great brewery tour in the sky.

    Anyone else have observations of the past couple of years?
     
    #1 EmperorBevis, Aug 7, 2014
  2. jazzyjeff13

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

    Three years in beer is a long time. Do you have prune fingers?
     
    #2 jazzyjeff13, Aug 7, 2014
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  3. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Scotland has gone craft crazy. So much so that its hard to keep up. And when you add England to the equation it makes for almost a full time job. Nice work when I can get it though.
     
    #3 Zimbo, Aug 10, 2014
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  4. EmperorBevis

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

    I forgot to put on my original post
    how two mid sized brewers who were firm favourites previously (Moorhouses & Bateman's)
    have underwhelmed me recently & need their laurels shaking
    not just poor bottles but some pretty dull cask offerings too :/
     
    #4 EmperorBevis, Aug 10, 2014
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  5. Aye

    Aye Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2011 England

    I still have a soft spot for Batemans despite them stealing my idea for a bourbon ( biscuit) flavoured beer as pisstake of bourbon ( whiskey ) beers. But I stick to the xb xxxb and Salem Porter.

    How would you describe that trademark Batemans flavour?
    Salty pear drops?
     
    #5 Aye, Aug 10, 2014
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  6. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Bevis, most 'old school' cask breweries bore me to tears these days.
     
    #6 Zimbo, Aug 10, 2014
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  7. jazzyjeff13

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

    I agree with this sentiment, and also love the vast range that now exists in my local specialist shops and pubs. However, it does make the chase neverending.....

    Tally ho!
     
    #7 jazzyjeff13, Aug 11, 2014
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  8. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,701) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    Generally speaking, what is the best trend in UK brewing that is most exciting? I love many of the old standards and need to be re-educated. How is Meantime doing these days? We get their usuals and I like them. It seems that folks everywhere are tossing up new stuff. Cheers.
     
    #8 rgordon, Aug 13, 2014
  9. Flibber

    Flibber Initiate (0) Jul 27, 2013 England

    Oh dear, those are my favourites!:grinning:
     
    #9 Flibber, Aug 16, 2014
  10. EmperorBevis

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

    I will say this in defence of Trad Cask brewers
    not many new wave micros can brew a good mild
    too many come out (as they are often brewed so) as watered down stouts
    & they still make decent enough bitters, Holt's for instance
    but it's when they make new brews especially for guest ales
    that the more established players expose their weaknesses
     
    #10 EmperorBevis, Aug 16, 2014
  11. marquis

    marquis Pooh-Bah (2,313) Nov 20, 2005 England
    Pooh-Bah

    And mine. I find more enjoyment from a well crafted mild or bitter (and of course by no means all mild and bitter is well crafted) than any of the new wave stuff.
    As for "craft" , isn't this exactly what brewers like Adnam's and Timothy Taylor's have been from the beginning? Certainly if these were new US breweries they would be firmly regarded as craft .
     
    #11 marquis, Sep 12, 2014
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  12. Hoppsbabo

    Hoppsbabo Pooh-Bah (2,053) Jan 29, 2012 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Seems the UK definition of 'craft' is not entirely consistent with that of the US. Here it denotes anything not made by macros OR traditional breweries.
     
    #12 Hoppsbabo, Sep 15, 2014
  13. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Grand Pooh-Bah (3,113) Jan 24, 2011 England
    Pooh-Bah

    I always craft to mean either a) in the style of modern US microbreweries, or b) people trying to market their stuff to sound like its in the style of modern US microbreweries
     
    #13 CwrwAmByth, Sep 15, 2014
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