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

Fraoch Heather Ale, brewed to a millenia old recipe and fine from tap or bottle. What the Magic Potion from Asterix is based on. Some further recommendations of a Scottish nature can be found at http://www.h2g2.com/A180046 (plug, plug). As to others, I really rather enjoy Budvar and almost anything from Flanders.

Best bottled beer: Theakston's Old Peculier. I quite enjoy it on draught, but the bottled variety is a bit less sweet and more malty, and so it doesn't have the same habit of sitting heavily in your stomach asking politely to be let out, please.

Sorry Dave, but I'm putting Old Speckled Hen as my second favourite .

i would have to say that my favoret is Guniness! this stuff is for REAL men, it is so thick you can eat it woth a SPOON! a close second would have to be Harps...and my Fav. amarican been is labbates (i know it is really canadian, but what do you want form me?).

a word of caution about buying guniness. do not buy the bottled kind. if you get it in the can, it comes out a lot better, and tastes infinetly fresher *<:0)

Is there really such a thing as a Best Beer, I know that there is best beer - a tag to distinguish between brewers offerings.
As for a best beer, I find it depends on the circunstances.
Sitting outside on a warm sunny day, I probably won't be drinking something like Old Peculiar or similar beers (very, very good as they are). I'd want something light and refreshing, say a bottle of Kozel lager.
If sat by a real fire on a winters evening, the bottle of Kozel wouldn't be the one for me at that point.

I do agree that Hens Tooth is a very good beer to drink.

Got a point there ol' chum...

Christmas Eve - f**king freezing outside, it's about 8pm and you're in the pub with your mates all toasty like and you're gonna have a drink...that's when Guinness comes into it's own...mmmmm...can't wait for christmas...

Hot Sunny Day - when I say hot, I mean Ireland hot, not USA hot. About 30 degrees Celcius max!! Ice cold brew, sitting in a biergarten, more on the way. Bottled or on tap, all the same as long as the temp is right and it's a lager.

Out on the Piss - it's sometime during the day and you're in the bar with your mates for one reason and one reason only...to get slaughtered, utterly gee-eyed. So you go for whatever is the cheapest of course. Even if it's Fosters. Which it is in my uni bar. And it's gotta be a lager or something else that will come out of the tap double-quick (ie - no Guinness or Caffery's or any other stuff that needs time to "settle") and won't cluster-f**k your stomach if you mix in a couple of shorts with it (ie - again, not Guinness, too heavy usually without practice).

More of my 2 cents anyway...

.

I always find it a good policy to go to real ale pubs and ask for a pint of the beer with the silliest name. In the past month I've enjoyed Jennings' Cross Buttock (which thankfully didn't have any strange side effects) and the very aptly named Who Put The Lights Out?

Hmmm...real ale pubs?? I don't know them...

Don't think that we have many of them here in Ireland...

Sounds great though...

Nightfever,

Great name! You know how to do it!
Anyway, re Real Ale Pubs: follow this link: http://www.camra.org.uk/
and all will be revealed.

A connoisseur of beer I'm not, but when I do pound back a few coolies my favourite is 'Red Stripe' from Jamaica. Of course any Lager will do in a pinch.

I was just about to post one of mine the Chimay blue - you beat me to it.

Belgian beers are - "totally awesome" as they say in high-society. Lambic ferments are divine, besides the good old trappist beers.

I have been a home brewer for a while (temporary halt in production due to increased family work-load!) - I made my own trappist style beer for a while at one point starting a fermentation going with the Chimay yeast, and using Belgian malt - I invented (I believe) a "solera" to allow me to circulate aging beer in the casks to improve the flavour - It was awesome.

In Quebec, Canada Unibroue makes some interesting styles of beer that would interest someone who likes Belgian styles, and others like Weizen. See http://www.unibroue.com/ - it is an interesting site - I have no other interest except I like the beer.

Of course you can't drink this 9% stuff like the ESB or whatever.

My common, everyday beer is German Pils, or (the original) Czech Pilsner (ie fro Pilsen). Travelling to Germany, I have got used to having a couple of pilsners at the end of a long day - it is refreshing. Having a few Chimays would be a little different. In England I love the ESBs, and other smaller brewers (Usher's once had a good pint I rememeber drinking in Oxfordshire once - I could tell it was nicely dry hopped) - It's usually worth sampling a few when you don't get to have them everyday - so it's hard to pick favourites.

Ah yes the good old belgians.
Chimay is excellent, as are the Trappist and Abbey ales, though my own favorites are the Lambics and Geuze beers of Brussels.

The silly names of real ales are of course a good idea, why just call your beer XXX, when you could for example have a Wobbly Bob.

Phil

I'm an occaisional homebrewer, and one of the best bits is making up names for your beer. While I was working as an administrator, I brewed a brew called 'Administrative Error', but the best name I've used is 'Fraudulent Alewife'.

The Fraudulent Alewife was a common character in medieval church paintings. A caricature of one of the types of people who hadn't a chance of getting into Heaven, she was a barmaid who wore provocative clothes, painted her face, and generally used her feminine wiles to distract her customers from the fact that her ale was overpriced and watered down.

I want to own a pub just so that I can call it 'The Fraudulent Alewife'.

Just as long as the beer isn't watered down and overpriced

I thought I'd be way too late to mention this one, but to my surprise, no one else has yet!

Newcastle Brown Ale is my favourite, closely followed by Theakstons Old Peculiar. Oh...I pine for my student days...

Not many people in the world know this, but the best beer in the world is in fact made in a little known boutique brewery in Nelson, New Zealand. Home of Mac's.

The bottle itself is short, stubby and glass in nature, with rather an earthenware look-and-feel.

It has rather an easy-to-remove tear-off metal lid, that has the handy function of also having a ring on one end. This enables you to wear these rings on your fingers to remind you how many you've had. A finer system there has never been!

There are several types of ale that this brewery makes.

Ginger Ale - Non alcoholic and very zippy. The taste makes you think that the glass is real earthenware.

Mac's Light - Lite beer. Why we have these I'll never understand, but everyone seems to have them, so that's a good enough reason as any to have it themselves.

Mac's Ale - The standard Mac's ale is replendant in its charismatic red labelled bottle. Full and cheerful.

Mac's Gold - The premium Mac's ale is very clean and crisp and has a lovely golden colour to it.

Black Mac's - The dark Mac's ale is a thick and earthy brew, with a rich taste and most importantly no solid matter. One of the best if you want to pull on and ale, sit back and just taste it. Of course, you won't be able to taste much after a few.

Mac's Extra - The ultra strong Mac's ale at around 8-9%. Sold in a four pack, instead of the traditional six. After a four pack of these, you'll have figured out why.

Oktober Mac's - The Mac's ale that was so popular after an Octoberfest celebration, they added it to their regular selection. A rather strong, biting taste best served very cold.

There is a popular rumour going circulating that once you have taken part in the Mac's Brewery tour, they send you a complimentary six pack of their assorted beer come Christmas. What a fine idea that is!

I don't agree!!

If you're going to tell me that some American beer is better, I'm just going to start smiling and nodding now.

My flatmate spent some time in America, and now he prefers Budweizer. Ruined I tell you.

Nope!! american beers are in my humble opinion "weak"...

I'm in favour of local brewerys with good hops and fuggles....

London Pride.
I'm just off to have some.

Erm, aren't fuggles a hop variety?