Is this the place to discuss beer?

[handyman]

And, Jim, what form does your cacao addiction take? I hope you're not indulging that rather soapy stuff sold in the High Street, which bears as much resemblance to real chocolate as I do to a Martian.

Contact me off air for some real hard stuff.

As for real beer or ale, the only way to do it is brew it yourself, considerably cheaper than anything bought and you know whats in it. And no, it does not have to taste disgusting. I have a large amount of 'friends' who regularly visit to imbibe or take the other 'waters' I brew - country wine.

Interesting to see you reside in Sarthe, comme vous etez en France, Old'Un. Je conne la Ville tres bien!
H

[CitroJim]

And, Jim, what form does your cacao addiction take?

I shamefully confess to having rather a liking for Wispa bars

But in my wilder moments I really do enjoy a bit of the real dark hard stuff too

I'm told it's not good and really if I'm determined to avoid all stimulants I should really eat white chocolate...

That I guess is a bit like drinking alcohol free beer...

And there we are... Back on topic!

[old'uns]

If only i did reside in Sarthe!
unfortunately at moment only maison secondaire, one day....
small village, non commercial, approx 5 miles from Le Lude, on Le Loir river (not the well known one) although it does flood..nearly had to lift the Lidl dumpy box off the floor to stop the cardboard getting wet!

thumbs up for Affligem as well, forgot that one

[qprdude]

Used to brew my own 40 years ago, when the alternatives were Watneys (party 7) and Ind Coope Double Diamond. Used to always have a 15 gallon barrel on the go, but it was so hard to stop dipping in for a taste. Placed nicely in the cupboard under the stairs, you could smell the yeast throughout the house. I'm very tempted to start again as there is a local "organic" shop that does a huge veriety of home brew and wine. My sister has a place in Bossee, in France, and keeps us well stocked in good quality wines.
Does anyone remember an Aussie brew called Tooths KB lager?

[CitroJim]

Watneys, Ind Coope and Double Diamond - oh the memories.. Gosh wasn't that some rough old tat. Never as bad as good old Charlie Wells in the mid '70s I'm sure dishwater tasted better...

And I guess the foul beers mentioned above was why home brewing enjoyed a period of popularity. Seems to have gone right out of fashion these days or has it just been banned?

Or are beers generally of better quality these days?

I reckon I've not had a beer in about 20 years so you might say I’m a tad out of touch.

[dnsey]

There's still some pretty awful stuff around (John Smith's anyone?), but also a huge selection of very high quality, mainly locally-brewed beers with loads of character. Something to suit everyone, unless, indeed, you're alcohol intolerant

[qprdude]

I think, with lager beer in particular, it is harderto taste much difference between the big brands. You would know the difference between Tesco ,4 tins for 30 bob, and a premium lager? but Becks/Miller tastes the same, as does Tuborg and Grolsh and probably many others. Far be it for me to suggest that many are from the same brewery but with different bottles and labels, but it wouldn't surprise me. Nearly all the real beers I have seen it my duty to sample, have had fairly distinctive qualities.
Could it be possible that a lot of beers are popular just because they purport to be local, although they are still pretty vile.

[mendedit]

Used to brew my own 40 years ago, when the alternatives were Watneys (party 7) and Ind Coope Double Diamond. Used to always have a 15 gallon barrel on the go, but it was so hard to stop dipping in for a taste. Placed nicely in the cupboard under the stairs, you could smell the yeast throughout the house. I'm very tempted to start again as there is a local "organic" shop that does a huge veriety of home brew and wine. My sister has a place in Bossee, in France, and keeps us well stocked in good quality wines.
Does anyone remember an Aussie brew called Tooths KB lager?

If you're talking about home brew kit's and all that then Tesco have started selling them, seem a bit pricey to me.

[handyman]

Jim, if you want white "chocolate" SWMBO does have some callets, so she could be persuaded to make up a bar or two for you. White "chocolate" has about 2-5% cocoa butter, about 35% milk solids and a bulk filler like lesithyn, a bi-product of soya. I'll not say anything more about this.

We have been developing a special chocolate for diabetics and hypo-allergenic sufferers using natural sweeteners. Fancy being a guinea-pig? You wont have to dress up in a furry costume or be hunted by South Americans. Do you know how many guinea pigs are consumed annually?

As for foul tasting beers, Abbott Ale used to be akin to drinking boiled grass, but that was when Camra campaigned that all real beer tasted disgusting.

As for Tuborg, Carlsberg, Coors, Miller, P*ss, etc, as they are all made by the same conglomerates, they are all similar tasting dishwater. I would say that they have about as much affinity to the brewing industry as Goldman Sachs has to honest brokering. I have a relative who does a lot of worldwide marketing for these companies and he'd never ever drink the stuff.

Beer brewing kits are all very well but there are enough good brew shops that will sell you the ingredients to do it yourself.

I do like some of the stuff small breweries produce, especially if I am in the mood and the taste is good. My all time favourite used to be Dark Star, when it was made by the Pitfield St Brewery in Hoxton. A really excellent tipple, as I bought it by the case load. It is now available on draught, made by the Dark Star Brewery , but you'd have to come here to God's Own County to sample it!

Handyman

[CitroJim]

Does anyone remember an Aussie brew called Tooths KB lager?

You're not thinking of Tooheys are you? They do a wide variety of bitters.

Toohey's Blue was a beer I could drink and used to consume a few tins of it when I was in Aus. It was quite low in alcohol and much could be consumed with no ill effects. That in fact was possibly the last beer I drank on a regular basis...

I used to avoid VB and MB like the plague. Gosh could that give you a head

[CitroJim]

We have been developing a special chocolate for diabetics and hypo-allergenic sufferers using natural sweeteners. Fancy being a guinea-pig? You wont have to dress up in a furry costume or be hunted by South Americans.

Yes please HM I'll do anything for chocolate and if that means dressing up as a furry animal and running away from South Americans then so be it

Quite strong views on various beers I see...

[handyman]

Now Jim, if you really want to go the whole hog, fancy a chocolate beer? I did a brew last year, only a small barrel, and unfortunately it all got drunk!

H

[handyman]

Sorry chaps, got to go now to knock up a lamb curry for SWMBO. Might be back later though.

H

[CitroJim]

Now Jim, if you really want to go the whole hog, fancy a chocolate beer?

That sounds rather lovely Served from a chocolate teapot by any chance?

Sorry chaps, got to go now to knock up a lamb curry for SWMBO. Might be back later though.

That sounds rather lovely too!

[myglaren]

Belgian Chocolate, Aussie style.