Ale

[LeverEnd]

Had a great porter in the Victoria and Albert, 'Black Rat' from the Rat Brewery in Huddersfield. Best dark beer I've had for a long time.

Search out Dark Drake by Dancing Duck, best 'Stout' I've had since a Guinness in Cork.

I'll look out for it, cheers. Don't know if I'll see much of it up here though. May have to wait for Derby away.

[malcd1]

Spent the evening at Dunscar Beer Festival last night. Would have preferred more dark beers and stouts but there are a number of good blonde's and IPA's.

I'll miss tonight but I will be back for the £1 per pint afternoon session on Sunday.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Oh shit... breaking news is SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev merger to go ahead. More and faster pap to be pumped out then, just as craft and real ale breweries are starting to make an inroad.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Oh shit... breaking news is SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev merger to go ahead. More and faster pap to be pumped out then, just as craft and real ale breweries are starting to make an inroad.

And on the back of that, just had a pint of Meantime, and what a disapoontment! Was expecting something good like the 1st time I tried any: Have been informed it was taken over a yr ago by SABMiller... it shows.

[KeyserSoze]

Oh shit... breaking news is SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev merger to go ahead. More and faster pap to be pumped out then, just as craft and real ale breweries are starting to make an inroad.

Craft breweries are getting snapped up by the big boys a lot now though. Meantime went to SAB in May, and ABInBev have bought some too.

http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/bus ... nsactions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyway it's still a way off - i don't think any offer has been accepted yet? Either way it will have to go through the regulators, and given that the combined firm would have 70% of the US market i'd be pretty surprised if it went through.

[KeyserSoze]

Oh shit... breaking news is SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev merger to go ahead. More and faster pap to be pumped out then, just as craft and real ale breweries are starting to make an inroad.

And on the back of that, just had a pint of Meantime, and what a disapoontment! Was expecting something good like the 1st time I tried any: Have been informed it was taken over a yr ago by SABMiller... it shows.

It was only four months ago - barely time to set the IT desk up! It says on my system it hasn't completed but given they were expected to do so in June i'd be surprised if it's still waiting to go through.

[Bruce Rioja]

Indeed. Molson Coors are brewing Blue Moon over here now. Who's got it in the US, Kinty?

[KeyserSoze]

MillerCoors do it here it seems, which is a JV between SABMiller and Molson Coors. Though a look through the wiki page it looks like it's been owned by Coors for well over a decade.

They seem to be under the umbrella of tenth and blake, the craft beer div of MillerCoors. Check it out http://www.tenthandblake.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Oh shit... breaking news is SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev merger to go ahead. More and faster pap to be pumped out then, just as craft and real ale breweries are starting to make an inroad.

And on the back of that, just had a pint of Meantime, and what a disapoontment! Was expecting something good like the 1st time I tried any: Have been informed it was taken over a yr ago by SABMiller... it shows.

It was only four months ago - barely time to set the IT desk up! It says on my system it hasn't completed but given they were expected to do so in June i'd be surprised if it's still waiting to go through.

I might have been a tad harsh on Meantime, we eventually concluded it was a completely different ale from Meantime we supped last time and the barman confirmed that what they'd got on last night was the first time they'd had it in.

[KeyserSoze]

Fair play!

to be honest the big players have to go that way, craft ale is harming a lot of the bigger players, so either they have to join up and protect margins or buy the little fish.

[Il Pirate]

Just fermenting some 'American oaked rum ale' for winter/xmas brew. A dark porter type ale, should come out at around 6.3%, I'll let you know how it turns out. Also just brewed a 'New world saison'. Belgian yeast with two types of New Zealand hops, should turn out around 6.5%. Not a pale ale, but not a bitter either, somewhere in between.
I've been doing the home brew for around 12 months now and have had some excellent results with other beers. Anyone else do it?

[Prufrock]

How much do you get out of one?

[LeverEnd]

Just fermenting some 'American oaked rum ale' for winter/xmas brew. A dark porter type ale, should come out at around 6.3%, I'll let you know how it turns out. Also just brewed a 'New world saison'. Belgian yeast with two types of New Zealand hops, should turn out around 6.5%. Not a pale ale, but not a bitter either, somewhere in between.
I've been doing the home brew for around 12 months now and have had some excellent results with other beers. Anyone else do it?

I've done a few, first one was dreadful but came in handy as a forfeit for beer-pong and other drinking games at a party I had. Last one was reasonable, I'm about to do a cider. No creativity mind, just a kit. Do you do it from scratch?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

There are three blokes at work who all home brew. They are very good. I get the benefit because they are always competing against each other and obviously need a judge. I provide that service and in return sample some top quality home brew.
They are so good they've contemplated going commercial.
Wirksworth Brewery's plant and kit was up for sale recently and they nearly took the plunge.
5k's a lot of money though, even though a two barrel concern can set you back 10k easily.

[Il Pirate]

Just fermenting some 'American oaked rum ale' for winter/xmas brew. A dark porter type ale, should come out at around 6.3%, I'll let you know how it turns out. Also just brewed a 'New world saison'. Belgian yeast with two types of New Zealand hops, should turn out around 6.5%. Not a pale ale, but not a bitter either, somewhere in between.
I've been doing the home brew for around 12 months now and have had some excellent results with other beers. Anyone else do it?

I've done a few, first one was dreadful but came in handy as a forfeit for beer-pong and other drinking games at a party I had. Last one was reasonable, I'm about to do a cider. No creativity mind, just a kit. Do you do it from scratch?

I use 36 or 40 pint kits from Brew uk. I've made Munton's gold 'smugglers special', and St Peter's 'ruby red' & St Peter's 'golden ale', all with great results. I just make sure everything is sterilized and clean, and follow the instructions. I leave in the barrel a couple of weeks longer than the minimum recommended time. The only problem I've had was a cheap barrel slightly split on the seam, due to the co2 build up. It was above the beer line, so no major leak, but air had entered and the beer was ruined.
I enjoy the process and it works out at roughly 49p a pint! The above beers are from the 'American beers' selection, so new brews for me & they have a slightly longer fermentation process.

[Il Pirate]

There are three blokes at work who all home brew. They are very good. I get the benefit because they are always competing against each other and obviously need a judge. I provide that service and in return sample some top quality home brew.
They are so good they've contemplated going commercial.
Wirksworth Brewery's plant and kit was up for sale recently and they nearly took the plunge.
5k's a lot of money though, even though a two barrel concern can set you back 10k easily.

I fancy doing the 'grain' brewing, but would need a large garage or much bigger utility room. As you say, it can be expensive, but some starter grain kits are available for around £300. I'd like to do it for the experience first, as it's one of those hobbies which can quickly get out of hand, as your mates experience proves!

[Worthy4England]

Indeed. Molson Coors are brewing Blue Moon over here now. Who's got it in the US, Kinty?

They had it on at the hotel I was in last night. And Doom Bar.

I'd just had a month off the pop.

Oh dear.

[Montreal Wanderer]

Indeed. Molson Coors are brewing Blue Moon over here now. Who's got it in the US, Kinty?

They had it on at the hotel I was in last night. And Doom Bar.

I'd just had a month off the pop.

Oh dear.

Apparently coming to Canada soon under the name Belgian Moon. Molson is (was) a Montreal brewery and I have never really liked any of their products (except of course the Montreal Canadiens).

[Bruce Rioja]

Indeed. Molson Coors are brewing Blue Moon over here now. Who's got it in the US, Kinty?

They had it on at the hotel I was in last night. And Doom Bar.

I'd just had a month off the pop.

Oh dear.

I just had a month off the pop, then four nights in Peurto Banus came round all of a sudden. Now I'm having another month off the pop!

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ fxcken binge drinkers