h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

And the UK is one of a few places where you can get both beers side by side on a shelf in a pub.
I know which I'd go for (NOT the american)

Absolutely.

I find the American version curiously insipid, as though someone had drunk Orange Squash and decided to create a 'lager' version.

Nice article. Personally I'm not too keen on Lager, I much prefer Guiness.
I know this is completely irrelivant, but down here in newton abbot they are having a Real Ale festival yet again!
I'm looking forward to that!

It's not irelevant that you've got a real-ale festival. See if they have an international selection - most do. You'll be able to get some examples of good lagers there (as well as some mind blowing good ales as well)

once again I demonstrate my ignorance and stupidity, I didn't even stop to think there might be lagers there (Doh!)

No worries, most people just head straight to the large collection of barrels and don't notice that they have walked passed bottled beers, ciders/perrys and maybe some foreign beers.

It's all good fun and drinking some of the other stuff can be a refreshing change!

The best thing to do is cut out the middle man by giving me your money and I will pee in a bottle for you.

Or just pour your lager straight down the tiolet.

Now, I'm gonna have to stand in defence of lager.
Don't get me wrong, I'm an ale drinker by habit and by trade, but a good lager is still good.
The main problem lager has, especially over here in the UK is that there are so few good ones and so many awful ones. After all, how much taste is there in a pint of Carlsberg? Dreadful, insipid stuff. Carling Black Label? Might as well just drink a shandy of it, no difference to the full version. But a decent lager? That is a decnt drink. Pilsner Urquell and Buweiser Budvar are the two that spring to mind as being semi-regularly available in the UK. (I'm, sorry, I don't know about the rest of hte world) These two are well worth trying if you can find them on draught anywhere. I'm not too keen on paying £2.00 for a half pint bottle in one pub when I can pay £2.20 in another for a pint, in a glass no less But these lagers are examples of how a lager can and should taste. A decent, properly brewed lager has as much flavour and body as a decent properly brewed pint of real ale. Budweiser Budavar & Pilsner Urquell are as far removed from Carling Black Label as Oakham's Old Tosspot is from Watney's Red Barrel If you see a decent lager on sale, I'd suggest at least trying it.

Pastey

I agree the american
version is a ripoff.

For a change try the
'cloudy' Hoegarden
thats stangley different.

Ok Hoegarden isn't techincally a lager but it certainly is different.

Another good lager that is quite common these days in the UK is Kozel, which can be got in large (.5L) bottles from most Wetherspoon pubs.

I haven't tried Kozel, yet

Hoegaarden is strictly a wheat beer, but that takes us into a whole new ball game. It's actually kept under pressure to stop it from seperating in the keg, which is weird, because it's still a 'live' beer like real ale, which can't be kept in a keg. Really messes up arguments from die hard Camra fanatics that one

Pastey

well I'm off to sample some of these fine beverages right now, have a good weekend,
C ya





Krunchy

I'd still rather drink Carlsberg or Black Label or Hofmeister than the Anheuser-Busch version of Budweiser. Brings a whole new meaning to the word 'insipid', that does.

I still have to fight an uphill battle trying to convince bitter drinkers that I know that Pilsner Urquell is good stuff. They won't even try it.

Have a good weekend yourself

I may be of to the pub myself in a little while


Pastey

As well as the deliciously yummy Pilsner Urquell and Budvar (incidentally the original brew - no matter what Bud may say), why not sample Usher's White Ale: a drink to die for (almost).

Ahh, but that is an ale though isn't it? I'm not sure as I've not tried that one, yet

There are a few good cask lagers around, Iceni do a good one, so dis Roosters one year. Harvieston do a semiunpronoucable one that I'm bound to mis-spell, Schehallion

Pastey

A real Pilsner lager cannot be found in the US, although most major brands make a claim in that direction. Aside from Bud's claim to originate in the Czech Republic, they've long since forgotten their roots. I believe it is one of the Miller brands that calls itself "a true Pilsner," but the only truth is that it takes someone with no taste to swill it down, not to mention a huge bladder, as the body rejects it rather quickly.

Try not to judge US lagers by the crap we sell overseas, though. Microbrewers have brought the delicate art back to life, and the quality is reflected in popular brands like Samuel Adams' Boston Lager, and regional ones like Red Hook and Henry Weinhard's. Basically, you can go to any good pub in any part of the country, and have a quality beer you'd never tried before.

Incidentally, the Aussies are as guilty as we are of exporting their swill. Can anyone stand Foster's? But they do have some kickass stuff they keep close to home.

Everybody's guilty of exporting "swill" and keeping the good stuff back home. I guess it's just what you have as a local reference to compare against.

Sam Adams... Yum.

Actually the UK is the only place you can get both side by side with the Budweiser/budvar name. It was part of the last legal settlement.

For those on this side of the pond, the REAL Budweiser (ceske budejovice budvar) is avaliable here under the name "Czechvar".