It's all a load of Cannonballs in here! This is the virtual Arsenal pub where you can chat about anything except football. Be warned though, like any pub, the content may not always be suitable for everyone.
i must admit that one thing let me down a little bit in london was the fact that 80% of the time i looked at people drinking beer in pubs, they were having lagers. ah, c'mon, i've always been in love with english ales and stouts, why the fuck do people only drink that fucking horrible australian lager? i thought this was the country of quality ales! i can understand that a light pilsner is a better choice in the extreme heat in the summer (even though i still prefer weissbier in that occasions, and weissbier is an ale not a lager) but why do people prefer them when it's -6ºC outside?
was i unlucky or people really don't drink ale anymore?
Personally i drink lager and to be honest im the anti-Roly in the fact i'll drink anything, i drink to get drunk not for the taste so even if meths was on tap id have a pint Strangely after a trip to Ireland a few years back i now like guinness too
mrgnu1958 wrote:ive heard that Guiness puts lead in ya pencil..Is this true?
It also puts a great big black log in your toilet the next morning.
A mate of mine once told me how he brought a mate of his over from London for a weekend on the beer at home. Now this fella had never drank Guinness so they went out on the Friday night and had a session on Guinness. The following morning the Londoner got up (hungover) and went to the jacks. He came out 15 minutes later with a concerned look on his face so my mate asked him if he was allright. At this point the Londoner informed him that he thought he had internal bleeding and wondered if he should go the hospital. When asked why he thought this he said that if was the colour of his stool! Turns out, that as I mentioned before, the guy never drank Guinness and therefore never had (what we call) a (black) Guinness shite.
QuartzGooner wrote:England used to be an ale/bitter country but things changed (so I am told) in the late 60's, and certainly by 1980 lager was well established.
You can get a good pint in London, you just have to know where to look, but sometimes it is a pint from a brewery outside the city.
Fullers are a good local brewery, their Chiswick Bitter is good, and their Discovery is a nice summer ale too.
well, forgive my ignorance but i must disagree with sid that you can't have good pints in london, and i also don't think that you have to look that far, quartz. i've been to many pubs with great tasting ales while i was there.
fullers is really good imo. their IPA is my favourite. the ESB is very good as well, had a few of them on tap.
mrgnu1958 wrote:ive heard that Guiness puts lead in ya pencil..Is this true?
It also puts a great big black log in your toilet the next morning.
A mate of mine once told me how he brought a mate of his over from London for a weekend on the beer at home. Now this fella had never drank Guinness so they went out on the Friday night and had a session on Guinness. The following morning the Londoner got up (hungover) and went to the jacks. He came out 15 minutes later with a concerned look on his face so my mate asked him if he was allright. At this point the Londoner informed him that he thought he had internal bleeding and wondered if he should go the hospital. When asked why he thought this he said that if was the colour of his stool! Turns out, that as I mentioned before, the guy never drank Guinness and therefore never had (what we call) a (black) Guinness shite.
True story
A Guinness shite...ahhh...you can't beat it.
You can get a decent pint in London, but it's not so easy. And especially in reference to sid above, the difficulty is increased in our area of North London, where everything is geared towards the lager lout (Flash) crowd , but again you can find some decent places.
London is difficult for good ale and stouts - although Samuel Smiths pubs do resonable bitter and stouts for a great price and dare I say it, Wetherspoons pubs also always to some good bitters - although they are part of the reason for diminishing pub choices - so if you can stand the stale smell of chav, and the "death's waiting room" atmosphere, then go for it
More about local knowledge than anything I would reckon, to take an example the Spencer Arms in Putney is the only place with good Adnams bitters/ales, real ales etc, whereas it's mainly piss water everywhere else. Would love to go over to Ireland and try real Guinness.
Real ales sales took a dive in the UK because ale takes a bit of looking after. Sadly, too many pubs sold poor quality stuff. And many still do so to this day.
Lager, on the other hand, is easy to look after. And therefor is normally of a reliable standard.
I would rather drink real ale than lager. But will only drink it where I know the pub has a decent cellar.
Favouite bitter...Old Speckled Hen, brewed by Morelands in Oxfordshire. Named after the nickname of an old MG sports car produced at a nearby factory many years ago.
Favourite stout...(stouts were born in London, btw)..Beamish, brewed in the peoples republic of Cork. Murpheys is also produced in Cork. And is allegedly the favourite tipple of Reb.
olgitgooner wrote:Real ales sales took a dive in the UK because ale takes a bit of looking after. Sadly, too many pubs sold poor quality stuff. And many still do so to this day.
Lager, on the other hand, is easy to look after. And therefor is normally of a reliable standard.
I would rather drink real ale than lager. But will only drink it where I know the pub has a decent cellar.
Favouite bitter...Old Speckled Hen, brewed by Morelands in Oxfordshire. Named after the nickname of an old MG sports car produced at a nearby factory many years ago.
Favourite stout...(stouts were born in London, btw)..Beamish, brewed in the peoples republic of Cork. Murpheys is also produced in Cork. And is allegedly the favourite tipple of Reb.
you sir, know what a real ale taste like
i fecking love old speckled hen, and i'm lucky enough that a bar in my hometown sells it!
olgitgooner wrote:Real ales sales took a dive in the UK because ale takes a bit of looking after. Sadly, too many pubs sold poor quality stuff. And many still do so to this day.
Lager, on the other hand, is easy to look after. And therefor is normally of a reliable standard.
I would rather drink real ale than lager. But will only drink it where I know the pub has a decent cellar.
Favouite bitter...Old Speckled Hen, brewed by Morelands in Oxfordshire. Named after the nickname of an old MG sports car produced at a nearby factory many years ago.
Favourite stout...(stouts were born in London, btw)..Beamish, brewed in the peoples republic of Cork. Murpheys is also produced in Cork. And is allegedly the favourite tipple of Reb.
you sir, know what a real ale taste like
i fecking love old speckled hen, and i'm lucky enough that a bar in my hometown sells it!
(for 7 pounds a pint)
Sainsbury's do some nice bottles of beer - Tribute Ale and Hooky Gold.
Also, Marks and Spencer's Irish Stout is not to be sniffed at - although Murphy's and Beamish are v good.
i can understand that a light pilsner is a better choice in the extreme heat in the summer (even though i still prefer weissbier in that occasions, and weissbier is an ale not a lager) but why do people prefer them when it's -6ºC outside? 
