View Full Version : Real Ales or the gassy stuff
What does everyone think of the quality of beer in Caithness? It seems to be dominated by McEwans and Tennants, both of which are just ok but not very tasty or strong.
I have just been to a CAMRA real ale festival doon sooth and I was particularly impressed with the standard of real ales.
I know Orkney has one or two breweries that do real ale but I have not heard of any in Caithness. I don't even know where it is sold in Caithness.
Are we stuck in a rutt and should we be trying other things?
I love real ales, but i dunno what it is about them.....they give me serious gut rot, been on a bit of a Cider binge for the last few years and at the moment Magners is the kiddie for me.....luverly stuff
And you can buy most of the Orkney brewed beers in Bin Ends......and i would heartily reccomend 'Skullsplitter'.....it does exactly what it say on the tin :p
As far as i'm aware, The Comm and Top Joes are the only two places in Thurso that have Real Ales available. The Comm have theirs going through a cooler for some reason(its supposed to be served at room temp). They only sell one type of ale. Top Joes usually has two or three available. i don't drink the stuff, but i'm told its good.
In Wick Wetherspoons and Mackays Hotel have them. i don't have a clue how good they are. Wetherspoons got a mention in the good beer guuide this year, so they must be good.
exothermic
17-Sep-05, 16:44
Try Mackays the Grocer in Thurso (opposite Top Joes) - apart from a superb whisky range they do a very impressive range of real ales from all over the UK. They sometimes do some very good buy 4 for 3 offers. It may not be drinking out, but at least your taste buds will thank you! :D
I think the beers in uk in general are poor quality to other countrys i was in amsterdam this year and the lager was loads better that the crap u get here as well as coffee here isnt as good as the foriegn brands
I think the beers in uk in general are poor quality to other countrys i was in amsterdam this year and the lager was loads better that the crap u get here as well as coffee here isnt as good as the foriegn brands
You sure the Beer and Coffee didnt seem better due to those.....em!!...special cakes you bought in Amsterdam? :D
Whereas Im not one to deny anyone their wee tipple theres something immoral about the mentality behind this thread. :(
Ive heard the same romantic prattle coming from cannabis smokers when they discuss the pros and cons of different types of hashish. Imm not judging either camp but I am pointing out an automatic acceptance of a drug which will kill 5 people in Scotland today not to mention the hundreds maybe thousands affected by its fall out.
I for one am sickened by the glorification of alcoholic culture and alcoholic drinks aimed specifically at a vulnerable age group of people whose need to escape from the normal ravages of life puts them in deadly danger against a drug society is as comfortable with as scotch broth.
OK maybe real ale seekers are in a league of their own but just like moderate religious people their glorification of the product gives the extremists free reign to guzzle and die in comparitave safety.
Almost every shop and every filling station is into alcohol dealing these days. People get angry when you challenge alcohols automatic acceptance as the drug of choice for society and dare to suggest that alcohol needs competition in the mind bending business.
In my experience alcohol drinkers in fact are the worst when it comes to condemning others who may choose an illegal drug. I find that particulary galling.
Watch this space!
I heard a joke once that was as true as it was funny.
Two elderly ladies were talking on the street. One asked the other how her husband was keeping knowing he had "health problems" for many years. Och he eventually died last April she said. Too much drink! Poor mannie she said. did he no go to Alcoholics Anonymous the lady asked. Och no the widow said, he wisna that bad!
Thats the mentality im talking about.
Well Gizmo its funny that you should say that i did wonder why there was a lot of helecopters landing outside my hotel room lol.But Honestly i do think we are being deprived of a lot of quality beers to what u see in other countrys its probably due to transport costs getting it across here which is shame.
I for one am sickened by the glorification of alcoholic culture.
Of course in any Christian society there is a glorification of alcohol consumption. This stems from old Jesus himself from his water into wine miracle to to all that boozing at holy communion. Yes he is truly to blame for it all.
weeboyagee
18-Sep-05, 12:25
I'm in Inverness at the moment and the selection of beers here is far superior to the North - and well - Edinburgh - starting at the Grass Market and working my way round the square before going up onto the Royal Mile - the choice is endless! I remember Bannermans (do you remember that place Golach) underneath the bridges - what a pint of real cask conditioned stuff you could get in there - ABV of about 5% - 6% but tasted like nectar! Creamy, thick and bordered on a black stout without the heaviness - I can taste it right now!
Rheghead - I'll take you a wee tour o' the capital at some point and you will love the tastes that I could introduce you to - everything from a light ale to a heavy stout.
Meanwhile back in the wee county o' Caithness, the beer is as limited as the vision......
We only get what the public want and what the landlords are prepared to offer. The Smiddy in Thurmster when it first opened offered Belhaven Best Bitter, Aitkens, Caffreys, Guiness, 70/-, 80/- and 2 Lagers. But if the punters don't buy enough of the stuff,.....business rules and the respective pump is removed. Before you know it you have the same selection of restricted beers as the general publics restricted taste! Go south and what do you get - a larger population, bigger demand and broader taste.
Ponder the thought - do the younger generation drink to appreciate the tastes of various beers and lagers (I am talking about the greater majority of them BTW...), or do they drink to purely be sociable and get the ultimate inevitability if they consume too much? Convince them to drink a wider variety of beers and lagers and you will see the re-introduction of the more quality beers and lagers in the pubs and clubs - BUT - remember also they will not be as cheap - another Caithness requirement - ref. Petrol :confused
Now, can we start talking about a real drink - Malt Whisky!......off for my Glenlivet, followed by Bruachladdich (only Islay Malt I like!), Balvenie and then the rest in no particular order with the exception of all the Islay malts last - peat bits stick in my teeth! :D
I'm in Inverness at the moment and the selection of beers here is far superior to the North - and well - Edinburgh - starting at the Grass Market and working my way round the square before going up onto the Royal Mile - the choice is endless! I remember Bannermans (do you remember that place Golach) underneath the bridges - what a pint of real cask conditioned stuff you could get in there - ABV of about 5% - 6% but tasted like nectar! Creamy, thick and bordered on a black stout without the heaviness - I can taste it right now!
Rheghead - I'll take you a wee tour o' the capital at some point and you will love the tastes that I could introduce you to - everything from a light ale to a heavy stout.
Meanwhile back in the wee county o' Caithness, the beer is as limited as the vision......
We only get what the public want and what the landlords are prepared to offer. The Smiddy in Thurmster when it first opened offered Belhaven Best Bitter, Aitkens, Caffreys, Guiness, 70/-, 80/- and 2 Lagers. But if the punters don't buy enough of the stuff,.....business rules and the respective pump is removed. Before you know it you have the same selection of restricted beers as the general publics restricted taste! Go south and what do you get - a larger population, bigger demand and broader taste.
Ponder the thought - do the younger generation drink to appreciate the tastes of various beers and lagers (I am talking about the greater majority of them BTW...), or do they drink to purely be sociable and get the ultimate inevitability if they consume too much? Convince them to drink a wider variety of beers and lagers and you will see the re-introduction of the more quality beers and lagers in the pubs and clubs - BUT - remember also they will not be as cheap - another Caithness requirement - ref. Petrol :confused
Now, can we start talking about a real drink - Malt Whisky!......off for my Glenlivet, followed by Bruachladdich (only Islay Malt I like!), Balvenie and then the rest in no particular order with the exception of all the Islay malts last - peat bits stick in my teeth! :D
Im sure if Jesus and his mates were into the delights of wine, they would probably have sampled the wares of other drugs freely available at the time. Hemp is as old as man! Just because its not in the bible doesnt mean its not gospel. :eek:
If glorification and alcohol were never in a sentance before weeboyagee got up this morning thay are now. ;) Seriously though, how much longer will it be before the politicians take the issue of drugs on board? Politicians avoid it like the plague preferring to point out how illegal it is and leaving it to the courts to fix a problem of their own making. Theres is a perception that drugs are bad but alcohol is ok(ish). Thats what worries me.
Ideally oxygen would be the preferred drug for people but I reckon we are a few million years away from evolving that far.
Stroll on Gleeber.... you havn't half gone off on a tangent. What began as an interesting thread discussing where we real ale drinkers can imbibe of a few glasses, has suddenly become a sounding board.
Relax, switch off your PC mindset, grow a beard, try on an aran sweater, and join us of an evening.
cullbucket
18-Sep-05, 21:50
Enough of the beer facism
I dont like 'real ale' - I'm not scared of the taste, I can drink it, but I prefer lager -that is just my preference. I dont enjoy the flat warm real ale taste, just like I dont like tea but drink coffee.
From the sales figures around the UK, Europe, in fact the world, it seems that this taste preference is the most common.
The bars that are selling the real ales are serious about their beers and you will find that the lagers in these pubs are usually up to standard. Not so sure about the Comm tho - but the crack makes up for the crap beer.
Now Rheghead, as for the first comment, I'm not sure how you can put McEwens and Tennents in the same category, dont think Ive ever had a good pint of McEwens in my life and I never bought a can in an off license but Tenents is one of the kings of beer if looked after properly....
Stroll on Gleeber.... you havn't half gone off on a tangent. What began as an interesting thread discussing where we real ale drinkers can imbibe of a few glasses, has suddenly become a sounding board.
Relax, switch off your PC mindset, grow a beard, try on an aran sweater, and join us of an evening.
I dunno which is more frightening. A night out with a bunch of real ale boffins or being spotted in an Arran sweater. :eek:
Enough of the beer facism
The bars that are selling the real ales are serious about their beers and you will find that the lagers in these pubs are usually up to standard. Not so sure about the Comm tho - but the crack makes up for the crap beer.
Now Rheghead, as for the first comment, I'm not sure how you can put McEwens and Tennents in the same category, dont think Ive ever had a good pint of McEwens in my life and I never bought a can in an off license but Tenents is one of the kings of beer if looked after properly....
Someone apparently told Dougie that his beer was too cold, this was coming from someone who doesn't have a clue about running a bar. the beer has since gotten warmer, and, as you can imagine, a lot worse. the amount of people i've heard complaining about it is quite high. i used to hear the odd complaint, more so now.
funny thing is, the beer thats supposed to be warm is cold. strange pub.
As for the McEwans/Tennants comment, i know loads of people who would disagree with that. but its all down to personal preferance really. i think both Tennants and McEwans are horrible. Miller is also pretty awful, Fosters is bearable, Stella sends most people mad, Kronenbourg is horrible.... i was always a Bud man. but like i said, personal taste is what it boils down to.
Stroll on Gleeber.... you havn't half gone off on a tangent. What began as an interesting thread discussing where we real ale drinkers can imbibe of a few glasses, has suddenly become a sounding board.
Relax, switch off your PC mindset, grow a beard, try on an aran sweater, and join us of an evening.
I dunno which is more frightening. A night out with a bunch of real ale boffins or being spotted in an Arran sweater. :eek:
How about a real ale drinker in an Arran sweater :confused
skol skol skol skol.... :lol:
George Brims
19-Sep-05, 22:56
Many times a particular beer will be loads better in one pub than another. That was the big problem with the idea the breweries had that they could get rid of all the local ales and just feed us all the same carbonated stuff from the same kegs everywhere. The beer would not be tamed in that way, and beer in a (usually old) pub with a good cellarman who looked after things right was not the same as some (usually new and plastic) pub where the beer was looked after the same as the piped sodas. I remember having a pint of McEwans in Sandy Bells and thinking I had been given some more expensive fancy brew in its stead.
Now I agree with gleeber that alcohol can be a dangerous thing if it starts to dominate your life, and the lager lout "culture" is a sad element of modern life, but I think this thread really started as a discussion of a more sedate style of drinking. Not that you can't be an alcoholic just because you drink better stuff!
Weeboyagee - away with you - Lagavuillin Rules!
weeboyagee
20-Sep-05, 10:24
Weeboyagee - away with you - Lagavuillin Rules!
Haha George, I know I'm in a minority about the taste of the Islay malts and that it is easy to enjoy Glenlivet - it is a Speyside malt and all Speyside malts don't necessarily challenge the pallet like some of the Islay malts IMHO (nah - that goes for all of the Islay malts!)
I remember when I was walking the West Highland Way the statement of a bar lady in the inn at the top of Loch Lomond - we were camping just north of Inverarnan. She said that all malts were the same and us refined malt samplers are just snobs that don't know what we are talking about. For those of you who know the difference, she put the challenge down - and she couldn't have picked three more distinctive malts - Oban, Jura and Glenlivet. We sniffed the aroma and by the scent only we knew which was the Glenlivet - drank the other two first before we told her which one of the three was the Glenlivet - and only paid for the one dram! Fairly warms the cockles after a hard days trek!
I agree with you George, I thought Rheggers had started the thread as a genuine question of taste in Beers. When I am at home, there's no place like the Smiddy, but when I am away I will look for a place that will provide a good tasting pint unless limited in choice - and by saying that I am not looking to glorify alcoholism - merely trying to point out that there can be refinement in taste of different beers - and Bannermans was a classic example of one of the old town ale-houses in Edinburgh.
You can still smell the "bacon" on the George IV Bridge in Edinburgh from time to time. :D
A beer from a newly opened cask can give off quite a sweet aroma. I tend to find that the European Beers and Lagers are all quite pungent in aroma - they miss something.
Also, when dining, a really good evenings entertainment and meal has extra special character if it is complimented by the right style of accompaniment - everything from pre-dinner drinks, to wine accompaniment and then the relaxing after dinner dram.
Lager Beer? Didn't answer the question first time round so will now - I prefer Stella - it doesn't have the bite that other lagers have when they go down. Anyone relate to that? George?
I am surprised no one has mentioned guinness - I enjoy a smooth pint now and again if you can find a pub that serves a quality one. But being a lager man at heart, I must confess Stella is as good as any and better than most - if you like a strong amber looking foreign beer - Leffe goes down well and catches up with you pretty quickly too...
Tennents lager - a good alternative to sports day at Uni... aha - halcyon days, Wednesday afternoons, crate of Tennents, bottle of Gordons, knock at the door - sesh on!
Tennents lost it when they took the dolly birds off the tin.
Theakstons Old Peculiar
Yum Yum yum
Does anyone agree or disagree that the temperature of a drink affects the taste?
This applies to any drink. Take a glass of ice cold milk and you can hardly taste it. Same goes for coke or any fizzy drink, the colder it is the less you can taste it. I think it has something to do with the blood vessel constricting on contact with extreme cold. Less blood in the surface of the tongue, the less taste is experienced.
Now take a glass of lager when cold then it will taste refreshing and cold but it is fairly vile when warm.
A glass of real ale is still palatable at room temperature because it is quality beer rather than relying on temperature.
A glass of real ale is still palatable at room temperature because it is quality beer rather than relying on temperature.
It also depends on the ambient temperature. I remember being in Australia, where I used to frequent an Irish bar, the landlord was invited to a new "traditional" English pub to sample thier home produced beer from one of those micro-brewery things - I was invited along with a few other regulars of the Irish pub (The Henry Gratten Tavern in Canberra by the way). Anyway the stuff we were presented with was totally unpalatable, because it was so hot we wanted something to quench our thirst!
I also remember being presented with a pint of Old Speckled Hen from the place they make it in Oxfordshire, which I took one mouthful of and asked them for a cold beer - warm summer evenings just aint made for warm beer!
On the temperature thing, I read somewhere that when its hot, a hot cup of tea is as refreshing and thirst quenching as a cold drink - not sure why - maybe a boffin can enlighten us...
This I do know though - you won't catch me saying I am nipping out for a couple of cups of tea....
lassieinfife
20-Sep-05, 20:36
On the temperature thing, I read somewhere that when its hot, a hot cup of tea is as refreshing and thirst quenching as a cold drink - not sure why - maybe a boffin can enlighten us...
This I do know though - you won't catch me saying I am nipping out for a couple of cups of tea....
Cant understand how anyone can drink beer/ale ............. foul stuff :p
Whitewater
20-Sep-05, 22:54
No 'lassieinfife' it just a matter of taste, but some beers are much better then others. One of my favourites is the 60/- Mcewans, but it depends where you get it from, the Seaforth club in Wick serves a good pint of it as did the old bar in the Station hotel in Thurso. Others I like are Bodington, Bellhaven and Calders, but I don't care for Tennents beer although their lagger is OK. Some of the real ales are very good but some taste terrible. The secret of good beer is a cellar at the correct temperature and the beer lines cleaned regularly. :D
lassieinfife
20-Sep-05, 22:59
No 'lassieinfife' it just a matter of taste, but some beers are much better then others. One of my favourites is the 60/- Mcewans, but it depends where you get it from, the Seaforth club in Wick serves a good pint of it as did the old bar in the Station hotel in Thurso. Others I like are Bodington, Bellhaven and Calders, but I don't care for Tennents beer although their lagger is OK. Some of the real ales are very good but some taste terrible. The secret of good beer is a cellar at the correct temperature and the beer lines cleaned regularly. :D
Know all about storage and correct temp of beers and all the work involved with clean beer lines ........ worked as a barmaid for 6 yrs................ stuff is still yuck but can appreciate that every man to his own :p
I have to agree. I did hijack the thread but it wasnt deliberate. Rhegheads question prompted me to respond in the way i did. My reaction to beer and quality is as valid as the rest o yeez so Im not apoligising.
Anyway when I first read the heading I thought it said Real Ale or the Grassy stuff. He did ask if we were stuck in a rut and whether we should be trying other things. :eek:
Enough of the beer facism
Now Rheghead, as for the first comment, I'm not sure how you can put McEwens and Tennents in the same category, dont think Ive ever had a good pint of McEwens in my life and I never bought a can in an off license but Tenents is one of the kings of beer if looked after properly....
Tennents king of beers, your having a laugh, Think you should try some of the other lagers out there!!
Budweiser is the self proclaimed King of Beers, its Czech namesake and infinitely better brew Budvar has been known as the Beer of Kings since the 16th century or there about.
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