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

Sorry mate but down here is Australia the weather gets pretty hot so a pint of beer would get all warm and crap by the time you got to the bottom of the glass, that's why we don't drink from pints, unless of course if you happen to be at one of a trillion "genuine Irish" pubs that seem to have opened up throughout the land.

>>a pint of beer would get all warm and crap by the time you got to the bottom of the glass<<

Wouldn't you be ashamed to admit that you cannot finish a pint of beer in anyhting resembling what I would call an appropriate timeframe?

Y.

You should never rush a beer. I knew a guy who could drink a pint of Guinness in 30 seconds, without swallow. He just opened his throat and poured it down. What a waste!

Talking about not rushing beers - Yelbakk will confirm that a "Pils" in Germany must officially take 7 minutes to pull.

I confirm that there is this belief among some people. Not that I have actually ever seen it done. I am thinking that it is just an excuse tired bar keepers made up not to start pulling right away.

Hi, TC, by the way. How are you doing these days? Just the other day I found a Christmas card you sent me - about three years ago or so. Must have been lost in my own rupert. Thanks, anyhow

Y.

Hi (excuse us, please, other posters) - where are you now, by the way? Maybe we'll get to have a beer together (in Berlin?) some time.

sez B'Elana-Minister of Abbr:
thanks, so that's what we call 'Kölsch' - people who don't live in the Cologne region aren't sure if Kölsch deserves to be classified as beer at all..

in fact you only have to go as far as düsseldorf to get real (alt)beer

as for curtis sutherland's post, he gives only one of two possible etymologies: lager does mean what he says in german, but there is also a low german meaning of "low" or "bottom". lager is beer that ferments at the bottom, not at the top. it is also fermented at lower temperatures over a longer period of time, so both explanations are plausible.

and now for the real answer to the question:

in dutch:
'n pils alstublieft.

in french:
un demi s'il vous plait.

these will both get you a half... not quite actually: .25l.

if you want a pint in france you must order "un veritable" (a "real" half litre). in some regions this is called a "raisonnable". "un formidable" will get you a full litre, but you must be wearing sandals with black socks up to the knees to be served this.

if you want a pint in holland, well, you just can't have it. lager is meant to be drunk cold and sparkling, and a pint would go flat and lukewarm before you're finished. in fact the dutch often order "een kleintje", which is only about .20l.

Well, in German, "Lager" means eiher camp as in summer camp, or storage area or something along those lines ("auf Lager" = in store), or bearing as in those bearing devices that make sure that wheels run freely and smoothly ("Kugellager" = ball bearing).

Never heard of the "Lager" = low/bottom before.

So...
(1) Lager - beer that reminds you of summer camps (if it's good) or prison camps (if it's bad)

(2) Lager - beer that has been stored for a while (probably nobody bought it)

(3) Lager - beer with residues of fermentation at the bottom

(4) Lager - beer that makes you roll along as smoothly as if you were supported by some kind of bearing device



Y.

Brilliant...

Here in the States (well, at least the state of Texas) you order by brand. Most typical bars in Texas will have one or two domestic beers on tap (cheaper by the glass) and several longneck bottles of mostly domestic swill (budwieser, miller being the overall top brands). There is also a few beers brewed in Texas that are regularly available... Shiner Bock being the most prevalent. Oddly the bar will charge "import" beer prices for the states most common locally brewed beer.

Shiner brand's lager was once the cheapest beer in Texas but has since the 80's become popular with college crowds and yuppies and has changed its name to "blonde"... how pretentios... they also raised the price accordingly.

St. Arnolds amber is a pretty tasty beer (ale) that can be found in bottle or on tap at many bars in Texas. It's brewed in Houston. Also will be "premium" price tho.

There are plenty of pubs in the more urban areas (cities and college towns) where one can find plenty of tasty imported beers, lagers, bitters, pilsners, stouts and even heffeweisens [sp?]. One thing you will not be able to get now though is my favourite type of beer. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commision decided that in Texas, the designation of beers has nothing to do with brewing processes but solely with alcohol content by volume. Therefore my favourite Scottish ales, Younger's Special Tartan and McEwan's Export (IPA) were too low to be labeled as Ales (so was Belhaven, but Belhaven made a stronger batch to qualify as an ale in TX).


But, to simply things, if you just ask for a 'beer' you'll probably get that p-water budweiser or miller lite.

Thats about right, but for us ParrotHeads in Florida we have very innatentive bartenders, most of the time it requires yelling and/or throwing peanuts.

After the bartender is coerced to pay attention, you can order the brand of your choice, of course praying that they have it.

Or, you can simply buy your brand from the store and get smashed at home.

By the way - a "Bock" beer or "Stark" beer in Germany is usually only available during Lent and is a delicious, darker, stronger version, originally brewed by monks during the time leading up to Easter as they were supposed to be fasting. So they put a bit more "beef" into their drink.

Nowadays most breweries have their own strong beers at the appropriate time of year, all with very imaginative names.

Bock = male animal, such as goat, rabbit (buck)
Stark = strong

Shiner Bock is based on those beers but is brewed year long... It's not as good as it used to be before it became popular and more massively produced.

'tis ever thus.

The finest beer here in Portugal is called Super Bock and is produced in the town of Lagos in the Algarve. Don't know if there is any connection with the German "bock" but it's a bit of a coincidence if not! They also now produce a dark version which is more like an ale and a green (lemon) version which is for tourist shandy boys!

>> Never heard of the "Lager" = low/bottom before. <<

Me neither. Lager beer, that is beer derived from the original Pilsner, is brewed from the bottom and secondary fermentation is done at a lower temperature, near freezing in some cases, for a longer period. Hence the storing in mountain caves and the requirment to serve lager chilled.

English Beer or Ale is brewed from the top down and all fermentation takes place at around 20C which is about room temprature. This, and the type of yeast used, is the fundamental difference between Lager and English beer or Ale.

In all cases the water used to make the brew will have a profound effect on the taste of the final product.


Donald

the english word "low" comes from an old norse "lagr" which also gives the dutch "laag", the danish "lavt" the swedish "låg" (that unrecognized character is an A with a circle over it).

btw "low" german does not mean inferior; it refers to altitude, as northern germany is lower than the south.