NationStates Jolt Archive

So I'm looking for an Ale. I'm not a really heavy drinker, I have a glass of beer from time to time. However, I wouldn't mind trying some Ale. Does anyone know of any good light and smooth Ale?

I recommend skull splitter http://www.legendslimited.com/skull.html
Or anything from legends. get your liquor store to order it for you, the good ones normally will.
Basically the best of ale before german purity law ruined everything. Alba pine ale is good too.

Organically produced Hard Cider is better.
Who drinks ale? Drunken Englishmen. And what do they do after drinking it? Write controversial novels about working class life in the 1950's. Is that the sort of culture you want to be associating yourself with? No.

Moose Drool Brown Ale (http://www.bigskybrew.com/index.aspx/Our_Beers/Moose_Drool).

Yes, I am completely serious. It's a good ale.

Organically produced Hard Cider is better.
Who drinks ale? Drunken Englishmen. And what do they do after drinking it? Write controversial novels about working class life in the 1950's. Is that the sort of culture you want to be associating yourself with? No.

Cider EWWW say hello to acidic vomit in the morning. Way too sweet to drink 18 pints of that.

Drink hard liquor ya pansy.

Moose Drool Brown Ale (http://www.bigskybrew.com/index.aspx/Our_Beers/Moose_Drool).

Yes, I am completely serious. It's a good ale.

its American therefor moose piss would be more accurate.

I personally love IPAs and double IPAs, but these will take some getting used to (very hoppy). Try Dogfishhead's 60 minute to start, maybe 90 minute.

Cream ales are sort of the American lager of the ale family...it's pretty light.

Chimay Bleue is one of my favorite beers of all time (Grande Reserve).


Just remember...light color does not mean light flavor or body. Don't fear the dark ale.

its American therefor moose piss would be more accurate.

Do we really need to have the "Not all American beer is bad" lecture again? Really?

Organically produced Hard Cider is better.
Who drinks ale? Drunken Englishmen. And what do they do after drinking it? Write controversial novels about working class life in the 1950's. Is that the sort of culture you want to be associating yourself with? No.

Motherfucking sigged.

Cider EWWW say hello to acidic vomit in the morning. Way too sweet to drink 18 pints of that.
If I wanted to be drunk, I'd have brandy, vodka or rum. Beers, ciders, wines and such are for drinking in small amounts with a meal. Getting really wasted on them can easily lead to drinking a whole day's worth of calories in a handful of hours.

What? You don't want to experiment? ;)

Best thing to do is to find a pub that specializes in several types. Talk to the tender as they generally want you to have a good time. If you like it, you buy more! ;)

Do experiement. You said ales and it could turn out you like stouts....


Skullsplitter is good.
Others at the top of my head:
Naughty Goose
Dr. Decibels Brown Ale
Derby Street Nut Brown Ale
Bear Peak Brown

If I wanted to be drunk, I'd have brandy, vodka or rum. Beers, ciders, wines and such are for drinking in small amounts with a meal. Getting really wasted on them can easily lead to drinking a whole day's worth of calories in a handful of hours.

What are some good ciders?

If I wanted to be drunk, I'd have brandy, vodka or rum. Beers, ciders, wines and such are for drinking in small amounts with a meal. Getting really wasted on them can easily lead to drinking a whole day's worth of calories in a handful of hours.

the 18 pints are chasers. got to have 18 shots with that.

I go through beer...oh pardon ale phases. I'm in one right now. Coming home, getting all my various chores done, and then sitting down to some phone sex and a crisp honey brown lager...well it just doesn't get better than that. Although in-person sex and a crisp honey brown lager might triumph.

Point being, I don't actually drink with the intention of getting wasted anymore...I just really enjoy my liquor, whatever it is at the moment, and getting drunk is a nice side-effect of enjoying a delicious beverage.

Do we really need to have the "Not all American beer is bad" lecture again? Really?

Well it's not like we've broken our redundancy bone here on NSG. I'm sure just a little more redundancy, repetition and restatement would be welcome.

I'm heartily disappointed in the downturn our microbreweries in Edmonton have taken.

What are some good ciders?
You can't go wrong with J.K. Scrumpy or Woodchuck Amber Draft.

Tetley's is quite good that's a nice English Brown.

Or you could try Blouman's Own, I have a good batch sitting in my bar just give me your details and I will send it over.

If I wanted to be drunk, I'd have brandy, vodka or rum. Beers, ciders, wines and such are for drinking in small amounts with a meal. Getting really wasted on them can easily lead to drinking a whole day's worth of calories in a handful of hours.

Bud Light has 110 calories. A shot of Vodka has 64...add in any mixer or chaser, and you're pretty well breaking even. Rum and diet coke is at 133 calories.

And for reference, 15 beers has the same ammount of alcohol as 10 shots. You may save a bit by drinking faster, but then you aren't even drinking to get drunk...you're just drinking to pass out.

If you don't want the calories, don't bother drinking.
Well it's not like we've broken our redundancy bone here on NSG. I'm sure just a little more redundancy, repetition and restatement would be welcome.

I'm heartily disappointed in the downturn our microbreweries in Edmonton have taken.

Tru dat.

It's seemed that the New England area brewers have stepped up a bit...Boston has started hosting several huge beer festivals (with the ultimate goal being to top the Colorado one), and our breweries continue to expand.



As for the lecture...

Not all "American beers" are American Lagers or American Light Lagers (Budweiser, Coors, Bud Light, Keystone). There are literally dozens upon dozens of breweries throughout the US, with major centers in New England, Colorado, California, and the Pacific Northwest. The breadth and variety of beers produced is nothing short of staggering, and yes, I can find a beer produced in the USA in any style that can rival the top of European beers. Many of ours even top the European counterparts.

To say that everything coming from every US brewery is not just ignorant, but stops you from trying many amazing beers. I understand that many of our craft and microbreweries do not distribute to Europe, with some not even making it coast to coast over here. However, that does not change the fact that we do have some amazing, innovative, and delicious beers.

Bud Light has 110 calories. A shot of Vodka has 64...add in any mixer or chaser, and you're pretty well breaking even. Rum and diet coke is at 133 calories.
Regular vodka versus light beer, not really a fair comparison, and after a couple opening cocktails, mixers are irrelevant.
A Brandy and tonic water has only about 70 calories.
If you don't want the calories, don't bother drinking.
Moderation never killed anyone. Except for triage, that kills people, but indirectly.

Regular vodka versus light beer, not really a fair comparison, and after a couple opening cocktails, mixers are irrelevant.
A Brandy and tonic water has only about 70 calories.

Moderation never killed anyone. Except for triage, that kills people, but indirectly.
Budweiser is only 145, light vodka has 58 (never EVER drink light vodka...stuff has twice the bad taste and half the fun)

Granted, I never do straight shots except for the occasional tequilla shot
(about 100 calories, for comparison).

Moderation never killed anyone, but it rarely gets you good and plastered either.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I couldn't care less about calories, particularly when I'm drinking. I hit the gym enough and have a high enough metabolism that it would take full blown alcoholism before I put on weight from drinking alone

ETA: 12 oz of tonic water alone has 124 calories...plus 56 from the brandy...thats 180, not 70

It's very regional, and you probably can't get it outside of the Great Lakes area, but anything from from the Great Lakes Brewing Company, truly an excellent label, which more than matches anything I had in Europe.

If you don't have an unreasonable prejudice against Coors, they make a Belgian Pale Wheat Ale called Blue Moon. It has a nice citrusy undertone.

Strongbow. Pretty good cider from the U.K.

Not quite pale ale = Magic Hat #9. They also make a lot of other different ales, but I believe magic hat is the only one making its rounds in the country.

So I'm looking for an Ale. I'm not a really heavy drinker, I have a glass of beer from time to time. However, I wouldn't mind trying some Ale. Does anyone know of any good light and smooth Ale?

Pyramid Apricot is good.

I usually don't drink "light" ales, though, preferring stouts and porters.

What is ale? As opposed to lager or stout? I always wanted to know the difference, in terms of taste, appearance, alcohol content etc?

I figure that there are enough connoisseurs for me to get a definitive answer here.

Not a beer drinker myself, but I have heard very good stuff about the York Brewery beers (ok, also they're local). Centurians Ghost in particular. I heard Black Sheep is also good.

What are some good ciders?

Strongbow. Pretty good cider from the U.K.


Hissss, Strongbow. Personally I have a sweet tooth so I like Peer Ciders like St Heliers or Koppenberg (or however it's spelt). In terms of more traditional cider, Old Rosie is certainly nice, and not sweet. Bulmers is nice for a more mass produced cider.

What is ale? As opposed to lager or stout? I always wanted to know the difference, in terms of taste, appearance, alcohol content etc?

I figure that there are enough connoisseurs for me to get a definitive answer here.

Stouts are a kind of Ale, a very dark kind. Basically, Ale is top fermenting and lager is bottom fermenting. Wikipedia actually explains it pretty well. Ales are usually thought of as a bit heavier than lagers, but this is not always the case.

Tom Woods is a good Ale , Batemans can be quite good dpending on the flow of the river when it was brewed, want some thing light should try an IPA and its always good to have pint of Bombardier of two

Stouts are a kind of Ale, a very dark kind. Basically, Ale is top fermenting and lager is bottom fermenting. Wikipedia actually explains it pretty well. Ales are usually thought of as a bit heavier than lagers, but this is not always the case.


thanks.

Try out some local breweries. Microbrews pwn.

Strongbow. Pretty good cider from the U.K.
*shudders*

The only people who drink Strongbow are spotty teenagers in parks. Seriously. It's vile.

Still, on the beer front, I can't tell you much about American beer, but I am told on reliable authority that Sam Adams Brewery churns out some good shizzle. Apart from that, try and find out if there are any microbreweries or craft breweries in your area. (The area where I am is particulary good in this regard!)

Eh, Strongbow is a rarity around here. There's only one bar that I know of that serves it on tap, and that's 40 miles from here lol.

*shudders*

The only people who drink Strongbow are spotty teenagers in parks. Seriously. It's vile.


I drink it a lot, it's not that bad, but I mainly only drink it because it's reasonably cheap at pubs and it goes down well.

If you don't want to jump through hoops to find some of these obscure labels, try Sam Adams. It's okay and a lot more readily available. They're making an Octoberfest brew that's got a lot of malt taste in it. They also make a pretty good lager and pale ale, too. They do add lots of hops... but that's a good thing.

I also like Red Hook ESB. It used to only be available in the northwest, but I've seen it in the Atlanta grocery stores.

I drink it a lot, it's not that bad, but I mainly only drink it because it's reasonably cheap at pubs and it goes down well.
I find Strongbow really hard to drink, which is odd, considering I used to drink it all the time, especially the two litre bottles, which were always entertaining at birthday parties. If I need something cheap and easy going, I tend to go for Tetley's. Each to his own, I suppose.

I find Strongbow really hard to drink, which is odd, considering I used to drink it all the time, especially the two litre bottles, which were always entertaining at birthday parties. If I need something cheap and easy going, I tend to go for Tetley's. Each to his own, I suppose.

But Tetley's is the one you're more likely to find spotty teenagers in the park drinking.

I find Strongbow really hard to drink, which is odd, considering I used to drink it all the time, especially the two litre bottles, which were always entertaining at birthday parties. If I need something cheap and easy going, I tend to go for Tetley's. Each to his own, I suppose.

There's good beer that comes in bottles that big? Wow, the biggest bottle I've seen a beer that was actually good in was a 24 oz.

For pale ales, a lot of people I know like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It's not my favorite, but that's a reflection of my tastes, not its quality.