BS: Lager

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 04:14 AM

Stout and Cider was a poor man's black velvet- Guinness and Champgne being the original. Snake bite was cider and bitter back in my day but more likely, bringing me back to the thread, cider and lager nowadays. Either way, many pubs refused to sell it because a) it was cloudy and made their beer look bad and b) it did your head in :-) My mate had his own version. Carlsberg special and White Lightening. Not sure what to call it apart from madness.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 04:15 AM

How was the Budvar, Steve?

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 06:38 AM

I haven't had it yet, Dave. At 32°C and with an Aperol spritz down the hatch and with most of the bottle of Prosecco still to go, a pint of Bud on top would have had me palatic. Tonight could be a repeat as it's already 31° at half-eleven and shooting up... So I'll try the Bud tomorrow as Monday's a non-drinking day. ;-)

I know this is a lager thread but, as I've just mentioned it, I must say that an Aperol spritz is the most ridiculously bloody tasty thing on the planet...

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 06:58 AM

on the Aperol site it says add a dash of soda. Is it really needed?

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 07:12 AM

It's 3:2:1 Prosecco: Aperol: soda water with a slice of orange and ice. Dunno, Dave, I just follow orders, and a bottle of soda water is by far the cheapest ingredient! I suppose it would work without. I keep all three things in the fridge.

We have these "ice cubes" in the freezer that are made of thick plastic with some sort of gel inside. They are infinitely reusable and they don't dilute the booze, a plus point in m'humble, and very useful if you forgot to put your white wine in the fridge in time...

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 09:03 AM

Does the type of prosecco matter? Ie spumante or frizzante? I'm going to try it out with our visitors next week.

On another aside, Mrs G has a liking for Pims. We got some Aldi own brand (Austins) last week and she likes that better.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 09:17 AM

I wouldn't buy frizzante. It's nearly always inferior, and it's not fizzy enough. The bog-standard Morrisons Sorso at £6.49 is our default if nothing else is on offer.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 11:35 AM

I should have gone for a Aperol spritz. I was cutting a slice of lime for my G&T and cut my finger. Ah well, I'll have to have another to take my mind off it...

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 11:43 AM

I shall recycle the same lime to avoid further injury :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 11:48 AM

Straying a little off topic, in the summer if I'm drinking wine I like some of the lighter German white wines like gewürztraminer, or with some of the other varieties I look for the Kabinett designation, less sweet than the Reislings.

Over the years I shopped around one local liquor store for various types of German beers and I don't remember now which ones I used to bring home (I drove past that liquor store with the good beer section in the years before I retired, but when that town voted to allow wine and liquor sales this store situated at the town border closed.) They have such beautifully designed label art.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 12:02 PM

Beer art hum... Logger labels
spicy beer

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 12:09 PM

I just went a bit dizzy and wondered if it was shock. Then realised I haven't eaten since nine and have been wandering round an art show. 2 fig rolls seem to have solved it :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 12:10 PM

Greasydick beer 1951

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 12:15 PM

It's funny how lack of solid food affects the absorbsion of alcohol. How do alcohol dependents go on?

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 12:25 PM

Its a matter of youth Dave. An eighty year old liver can take two days to detoxify. Careful drinkers do build a tolerence but lose detoxification until they have an 'incident' in late life.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 01:38 PM

”Stout and Cider was a poor man's black velvet- Guinness and Champgne being the original. Snake bite was cider and bitter back in my day”

Yeah, you’re right Dave, same here. Put my error down to the confusion caused by having too much blood in my alcohol-stream! ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: peteglasgow
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 03:47 PM

it's raining in lancaster!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: peteglasgow
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 03:56 PM

i'd never heard of aperol spritz before but apparently it's a pre-dinner cocktail. it's one of my loose rules in life not to drink before noon and not before i've had something to eat (relaxable rule at festivals and before getting on the partick thistle supporters bus) - so a problem. staropramen - now there's a conundrum - i find a cold, large bottle a real treat and love the way the beer goes down my gullet on a hot day, with the reassurance that there is loads left. But i get no such enjoyment from a small bottle. it's probably true - pour moi anyway - that small bouteilles de lagers are only enjoyable as a constant wee pal when on holiday in france avec brie/camembert et les baguettes chaud.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 05:13 PM

Have tapas or some other small snack with your pre-dinner cocktail. Problem solved!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 07:27 PM

Well a coupla things here. First, the word "cocktail" give me the eebiejeebies. I'm fine with "aperitif." That can be a sherry, a glass of dry white or cava or Prosecco, or one of those with something to perk it up a bit. Champagne simply isn't worth your hard-earned dough. Prosecco with ice and a dash of limoncello is a thing of beauty, as is the aforementioned Aperol spritz, for example. Second, the tapas idea is very sound. As a matter of fact, last night, in the heat, we had my home-made salmorejo with the Aperol spritz. It's a classic tapa, originating from Andalucía, that knocks gazpacho into a cocked hat. I can't remember whether I've ever posted my recipe before, but I've spent years perfecting it, and my folks and friends all rave about it (on hot summer nights...). It's so simple to make and you can make it at least a couple of days in advance. All your friends will love you. I'll post it afresh on that recipes thread...

Sadly, Monday is a non-drinking day, so I suppose I'll have to try that Budvar that Dave recommended...

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 08:09 PM

Salmorejo recipe posted!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Lurcherman
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 11:54 PM

Not being a lager drinker…Spingo for me :), I have found cold Beavertown GammaRay to be bleddy Ansum, and you can sometimes find it on draft

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 08:52 AM

It was neither shock nor lack of food last night. Got to about 6 and I had to go to bed with flu like symptoms. It's not the plague - Checked that this morning. I suspect and abundance of heat and scottish wine the day before :-D Bit muzzy and achy now but otherwise fine

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: gillymor
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 10:21 AM

Donuel mentioned Greasy Dick and it reminded of visiting my late father-in-law in the hospital and asking if I could bring him anything. He replied "a cold Greasy Dick" and I knew what he was talking about because my own father had played ball in Missouri in the 40's and had told me that Greasy Dick was the most popular beer in the area by far, eclipsing Budweiser. Well I told him, the father-in-law, I was sure GD was out of business so he asked for a Bud. He found it disappointing so on the next visit I brought him a Sam Adams lager and he said that's what beer used to taste like.
Last evening I had a few Kirin Ichibans, another one of those inoffensive and bland lagers that have become so common, at a cook out and they were pretty good after a hot afternoon.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 06:48 PM

Anyone remember when Campari and soda was a thing? May have just been the colour but I recall it being very like mouthwash!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 07:06 PM

Charmion will know why I post a brand you can't get 'over there'.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/455/1654/

Though I usually drink beer with more 'flavor', that is one lager that stands alone.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 07:25 PM

As it's a non-drinking day, I was forced to try my one test bottle of the Budvar, Dave. I was super-impressed and I will be buying more!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 07:28 PM

> aperitif

I so firmly thought that that was French for "dentures" that I thought "aperatif" was the correct spelling.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 07:31 PM

Creemore Springs is as good as ever, Bill. If I’m ever down your way again, I’ll bring you some.

Dave, the Campari-soda is still a thing wherever two or three Italians are gathered together, and the secret of a good one is a squeeze of lemon. (I don’t usually bother with the soda, but ice is a must.)

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 07:33 PM

Nah, Filk. You're thinking of the American term for false teeth by the thousand, Massachusetts...

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 08:49 AM

Meanwhile, slightly closer to the thread title .... Mississippi: shortage of cocktails.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 05:41 PM

Well, whar a turnip...

I feel fully recovered from whatever ailed (maybe aled for this thread?) me. Poor Mrs G were proper poorly yesterday and she tested positive for the plague this morning! Much better now I'm glad to say. Just like a cold she says.

Anywho - there was me blaming the whisky for my ills on Sunday when all along it was that fighting off that nasty little tea-total Colin 19. I shall carry on drinking it forever!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 05:56 PM

Mrs Steve and I both came down with it on the same day, a few days after we'd had the WI choir in a stuffy, crowded room at our Memory Café. One of our helpers also caught it at the same time. Mine was a nasty cough and a runny nose but without any feeling of illness. Mrs Steve also had the cough but was pretty poorly for several days. We both found that it takes a few weeks to fade away completely, and we were both still testing positive for nearly two weeks. Anecdotes, anecdotes!

As Tuesday is another non-drinking day, I've had to continue my research into Staropramen ;-) It's growing on me...

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 17 Aug 22 - 02:41 AM

Most lagers are served chilled to death so no-one can tell it's totally flavourless, but that's what young people like these days.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Aug 22 - 02:42 AM

A couple of nice ones in our local Home Bargains but in 330ml cans rather than bottles. Warsteiner from Germany and Leffe (both blonde and brown) from Belgium. At £4.49 for 6 cans it is well worth getting a few in.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: michaelr
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 02:52 AM

American "craft" beer took a wrong turn 20 years ago with the invention of the IPA (although supposedly based on the English tradition), and a whole generation of American beer consumers has been brought up on the fiction "the more hops, the better". This is deplorable.

To German me, lager means pilsner. That is what beer should be. Beer can only be refreshing if there is balance between malt and hops, so it goes down smoothly without puckering of the mouth or prolonged aftertaste.

The Czechs are brilliant at this - the real Budvar is great - and are followed closely by the Germans, Danes, and Dutch. Giraf was mentioned above - IIRC that was Tuborg's strong beer (I don't know who Albani are) - but I agree that 10% is too strong to guzzle on a hot day.

FANFARE: My vote for Best Beer in the World _ and they will tell you so themselves - is Carlsberg's equivalent, Elephant. At 7.2% it won't knock your dick in the dirt, but it's beautifully balanced and never too wimpy. Perfection in a bottle. In the cooler months I drink it at room temperature.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 04:50 AM

Pilsner was so named because it was brewed in Pilsen, in what was once Bohemia. The story is it was the first beer brewed to be clear and bright to show off the Bohemian crystal glass in which it was served. I dunno how true that is but it is what I was told and sounds reasonable!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 10:50 AM

"Best beer in the world" is a concept similar to "Best music" or "best pie".

I really like many types, depending on weather, food, time of day.. and my mood.

Belgian brews...Trappist ales, Rodenbach,,etc. IPAs, Double Bocks,
When I moved from Kansas to the East coast in 1977, I discovered there were beers with flavor!... and in a small brewery in California the seeds of today's craft brewing were being sown.
I had a bottle of New Albion Porter from that long-gone brewery right after trying a German Doppelbock... and a thousand beers later, I can't even remember most of them. I saved cans & bottles until downsizing made me toss 'most' of them.

I live where I can get stuff from https://www.dogfish.com, as well as dozens of other types.... and Charmion & Edmund showed me that lager can be great.

On we go!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 11:25 AM

Many years ago, I came to the reluctant conclusion that beer is not a taste I'm willing to pay to acquire. As far as I'm concerned, the best beer in the world is the one that's still in the bottle.

Let there be flames.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 02:32 PM

Argentine Malbec for me every time!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Rain Dog
Date: 25 Aug 22 - 04:10 AM

"Let there be flames."

Ah, you are a sambuca drinker then? Each to their own. No point in drinking something that you do not like.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 25 Aug 22 - 06:05 AM

> a sambuca drinker

An interesting drink, but no: my usual is wine, preferably a Chilean red. If I'm after the Hard Stuff, it'd be a single malt, or failing that Glenblotto (after the first dram, who caresch where it wasch dishctilled?) .... I'm aware it started off life as beer, but it's beer that's died and gone to heaven.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: BobL
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 03:22 AM

No point in drinking something that you do not like

except out of politeness, or (for whatever reason) in order to acquire a taste for it.
For example I dislike Pernod but after the first three it's not too bad.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 05:18 AM

I tend to avoid most sweet concoctions except for gin and tonics (which must have more gin and less tonic for me) and Aperol spritzes, which cannot be beaten for utter deliciosity, though I can take the odd port or Madeira at Christmas). However, as long as the quality's good (e.g. no lousy beer or cheap bulk wine) I'll drink anything, out of sheer politeness.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 08:35 AM

I find that my drink preference depends strongly on the company I’m in.

When I’m alone, which is most often the case since my husband died, I like French and Italian herb-infused drinks like vermouth, Aperol, Campari and Pernod. One is quite enough (thank God). When it’s hot, I’ll have a beer — usually the IPA from the local Black Swan Brewery — on the porch in the late afternoon. If I cook a lamb chop, I’ll crack a bottle of Niagara red and have one — count ‘em, one — glass and stop up the rest with a vacuum cork.

A fiddle-playing friend occasionally rides over on her bike, giving me a good reason to open a bottle of riesling. Fortunately, she always texts me to ask if I’m up for company, which gives me time to fetch the wine out of the cellar and put it in the fridge. Dinner parties have pretty well died out since the pandemic, so the boozy evenings over port and cheese don’t happen any more.

I like whisky — in fact, I like it a lot — but I don’t drink it on my Tod. Cocktails, ditto — the very idea of a solitary Old Fashioned makes me want to cry.

As for lager — returning to the original subject of this thread — that’s what I drink in the beer tent when a beer tent appears in my vicinity.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Donuel
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 08:36 AM

I recall many tales about dogs and beer. I bet they are aiming to please and be polite.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 11:58 AM

You may be right about dogs, Don, but I would not rule out actual inclination.

Years ago, I had a cat who adored yeasty flavours. She could not be left alone with a fresh loaf of bread, and she would climb your arm at breakfast to seize the toast from your hand. She also drank beer — the only cat I’ve ever encountered who would tolerate the taste of alcohol.

Dogs are far more omnivorous than cats.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 27 Aug 22 - 07:38 AM

Which cat was that, Charmion?

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Aug 22 - 01:49 PM

Black Maria.

Subject: RE: BS: Lager
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Aug 22 - 06:12 AM

A couple of weeks ago I bought a 12-pack of Staropramen 330ml bottles. Hidden inside the cardboard box was a code. I emailed the code to the company, and I am now the proud owner of a freebie Staropramen pint tankard. Excellent!