Flavored Beer

[adamchur]

I like beer to taste like beer, especially when it's hand drawn "Real Ale", however, draught "Lager" hits the spot in summer
I can tolerate canned and bottled beers - if they taste like "Bitter", "Stout", "Porter" or "Lager"

I know the Trappist Monks in Belgium had a tendency to make black cherry and raspberry beers, but they're so strong that one or two is sufficient
Not my idea of fun though

On the rare occasions I ever wanted flavoured beer, I used to add some.....

Lemonade/Sprite/7UP - Shandy
Lemon Fanta - Spanish shandy
Lime cordial - Lager & Lime
Blackcurrant cordial - Lager & Black

I've never been in the habit of mixing ..................
Lager with Cyder - Snakebite
Lager, Cyder & Blackcurrant cordial - Skakebite & Black/Diesel/Purple Nasty
Lager, Cyder, Blackcurrant Cordial & Pernod - Black Witch/Red Witch


Just for fun
For the record being illegal to serve snakebite in bars in Great Britain, and more than likely Northern Ireland too is an urban legend -
There is no law against it during permitted licensing hours -
PROVIDED - the mixed drink is served in a Government stamped glass and is exactly either a Half Pint or a Pint and the person buying it is over 18 and is not or doesn't appear to be drunk, and is not a known drunkard or being abusive - and is not a Police Officer on duty - or buying on behalf of anybody who is underage, drunk, a drunkard, abusive or an on duty Police Officer
Basically the same laws apply to snakebite as to draught beer or draught cyder

Bars only started refusing to sell snakebite because it is associated with students trying to power drink, drunkards, alcoholics and people with dogs on pieces of string (travellers)
Also, anybody walking in and seeing other people drinking snakebite can be put off because it looks like cloudy beer
Managers and owners starting instructing their staff not to sell snakebite
Staff told customers that they weren't allowed to sell snakebite
Customers told other customers that they weren't allowed to buy snakebite
Staff started saying that serving snakebite was against the law
And so the rumours spread like wildfire - Even Bill Clinton wasn't served with a pint of snakebite when visiting England

 

[FattyOwls]

I have a working theory that we actually don't beer.

We either water beer down so much that it resembles... WATER, or add juice and sweeteners to it.

Four basic ingredients - Water, yeast, barley, hops.

 

[Sousy]

It seems that we're going through a number of trends in the craft beer market - a lot of them seem to start when one brewery finds a way to produce something that catches on as something different, then is buried by every other craft brewer trying to replicate that success just to create an overcrowded market. I can think of a few:

* The "American IPA", of which every brewer has to have that peel-your-eyes-back style of hoppy ale.
* The various fruity / sweet / flavored beers - of which my local grocery carries nearly every variety.
* It seems were now seeing an uptick of production of various "sours".

I certainly like the variety from years ago, but the 'trends' are crowding out the space for some of the traditional style ales / imports. I was just getting into Wychwood's "Hobgoblin Ale", and now I can't even find it locally...

Aside: I have a few local craft brewers that are creating some really outstanding beers. What I found interesting: one of the smaller startups (which actually did have some better operating capital as the brewery / restaurant is owned by the son of a successful local restauranteur) didn't have a great local foothold at first because they were focusing on creating Eastern German / Eastern European style lagers, wheats, etc. The locals for some reason shied away from them for a bit because 'craft' beer to them was the hoppy IPA, not a smooth lager. Fortunately, people are catching on that a "lager" is not always "Budweiser".

 

[ShaverGN]

Perhaps it's me, but what has happened to beer?

We recently visited the UK and were introduced to the "Campaign for Real Ale". They believe that a real ale is a beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide. No flavoring of any kind.

 

[ackvil]

We recently visited the UK and were introduced to the "Campaign for Real Ale". They believe that a real ale is a beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide. No flavoring of any kind. View attachment 825546 View attachment 825547 View attachment 825548

 

[Slash McCoy]

The fact of the matter is, some of us grew up with Bud, Dixie, Black Label, Schlitz, Shiner, Falstaff, Pabst, and other American blue collar brews, and are NOT NOT NOT going to start drinking a bunch of yuppie hipster fancy pants liberal yankee eurotrash crap. Period. When I don't see even one good honest plain old working man's beer on tap, I know they don't want my money, and I and my kind are not welcome inside. Sure, have a few hoppy koolaid brews and artisanal flavors for the kiddie drinkers. But don't forget about us regular guys who don't go for all that faddish crap. What's the difference, right? Just charge more and call it craft beer.

My new favorite is an oldie that went off the market some years back and has been resurrected just recently, Dixie. I'm not going to try to write a hyperbole filled artsy fartsy review. I'll just say it tastes good. And their lite beer is pretty good, too.

I have drank a few lambics and sure they are delicious but they are not for a real beer drinker to slurp away at through a long New Orleans summer afternoon. Same with a lot of the good stouts, bitters, ales, and what have you from across the pond. They just don't lend themselves to serial drinking. Go ahead, have a sixpack of Guinness while you are barbecuing. You won't be able to enjoy much of the good food you are cooking. This is America, and some of us demand, NEED, regular old American beer. Real beer. Made in a giant factory to keep costs per bottle down to an insignificant level. We don't have time for little upstart "oh, I am so artistic a brewmeister, I just KNOW I am!" micro brews.

BEER. Just BEER. Not maple syrup or cane sugar or strawberries or honeysuckle dandylion or chocolate or watermelon concoctions. Good old rye, barley, wheat, hops, and yeast. That's all you need. Hipsters, please go around the back door and don't spoil things for the True Americans. Thank you.

 

[bobmsp]

I'm glad you've found your beer, @Slash McCoy. And I'm glad I've found mine. But respectfully (and especially on a day like today), I suggest that people wanting to drink a beer that's different than yours doesn't make them either more or less American.

 

[August West]

Some of them I like, most I don't. Pretty much the same regarding teas and coffee. Not having the option of unflavored seems foolish on behalf of the merchant. I am more of a whiskey drinker and I never thought I would like JD Honey, but it is terrific and I recently purchased a bottle for the winter.

 

[calhoun1]

I personally completely dislike American Pilsners. Sure you can drink a six pack and not get drunk. But why would I want to shotgun beer that, in my opinion has no taste. A lot of these craft brews are ridiculous, I agree, but I personally beer with a good amount of flavor and body. Even an Oktoberfest qualifies in this realm. And occasionally, I do want a flavored beer. And when I go somewhere, I enjoy seeing local craft brews on tap to help the small business owners with their product and trying to get some market share.

 

[d4klutz]

Hipster.....ism [emoji15]


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Millennials

^These^ I used to brew and drink my own beer. Love good microbrews, but the flavored stuff started to get out of hand when I quit brewing. My fav was a Molasses Oatmeal Cream Stout I developed. Strong, dark, and hefty. It was breakfast in a bottle. Yum! Don't drink anymore, but thats a story for another day.

 

[ackvil]

There are a number of craft beers that I do like. Fortunately, we have some good, local beers here in AZ. My complaint was when I went to a wine and beer bar in our local grocery store, that there was not one unflavored beer. There are about ten beers on tap on that visit I could get beer in the following flavors: chocolate (2). grapefruit (2), orange, pineapple, peach, raspberry, tangerine, and strawberry.

I returned today and much to my pleasant surprise found that my complaint was addressed. I could choose from four unflavored beers.

 

[rockviper]

My BDay treats last year (the cake was Guinness as well!)

But anyways, this is a thread about beer and, as we all know, Guinness is not beer, it's stout.

and

 

[Hoka Hey]

My BDay treats last year (the cake was Guinness as well!)

But anyways, this is a thread about beer and, as we all know, Guinness is not beer, it's stout.
View attachment 825831 and View attachment 825832

It's cool, and rainy here. Great weather for a Genius, I mean a Guinness!