Currently enjoying a Phillips IPA from Esquimalt, Canada. Might be the best I've tried. Any other IPA suggestions?

Cheers
Jim

You Yankees produce a lot of beer under the "India Pale Ale" banner and some of them are very nice indeed, even if they do taste a bit like bubble gum

English "Bitters" are basically the same, and I can recommend the Fullers ESB @ 5.9%. I know it's available in the US and its bloody good stuff.

I'm a Canadian in Canada but thanks

Please accept my apologies then. Same continent; different nation; different attitude.

no worries.

fullers esb is one of my favourites.
the IPA in NA has more of a grapefruit like bitterness. that sets it apart from the various esb that i have tried. have you tried fullers IPA?

I've tried Fullers "London Pride" - probably the same stuff. It's 4.7% ABV in the bottles and hints at the taste-capabilities of the ESB.

ESB to me has a slight honey taste but with a dryish bitter/slightly sour finish.

I'm trying to get off those high-strength beers these days for my health. I'm seeking to drink beers under 4.5% abv. As yet the only one that tastes good is Guinness.

Hahhaha! It does limit things doesn't it? Isn't London pride 4.x? Marstons Pedigree is nice out of the bottle too at 4.x

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Lawson:
Currently enjoying a Phillips IPA from Esquimalt, Canada. Might be the best I've tried. Any other IPA suggestions?

Cheers
Jim

This might be worth trying if available in your area:

Goose Island IPA

Montreal's best: St-Amboise Pale Ale

http://www.mcauslan.com/en/products/stapaleale.html

Totally orgasmic…beer!

There are some lovely beers around, but sadly no-one produces an Indian Pale Ale (IPA), marketing again.

Indian Pale Ale was a very strong (8-9%ABV or as high as the yeast would allow), undrinkably bitter (150-200 EBU bitterness) brew, that was sometimes diluted (with boiled water) at destination in India, at the time of the British Empire.

Hops have an antiseptic quality that prevented beer from 'turning' en-route. Typical bitterness of beers drunk these days is 35-45 EBUs (mg/litre of a hop extract).

There are some great beers from over the pond. I have worked with a dozen breweries over there (New york, Oregon, California, Washington and Colorado) who were interested in developing 'traditional' recipes. I was very impressed with the diversity of products, much more experimental than most if not all the brewers I liase with over here.

Steve, bubblegum flavours come from chemicals called Esters (pear drop & banana smells for eg) which are produced naturally, during fermentation. In the UK, we use open fermenters, these let volatiles, such as the ones you describe, escape. In NA, they primarily use closed fermentation systems, and lower fermenting temperatures, this prevents these escaping.

Jim, grapefruit flavours come from a hop called Cascade. I use it in one of my products for that very same character. Fresh and aromatic.

Sorry for the ramble. I'm very lucky to have a job I feel passionate about!

Regards

Guy

thanks or the infomative reply, Guy

cheers
Jim

Indeed. The bubblegum perception on my part was never meant to sound anti-American. Guy has vindicated this above assertion.

Deuchars IPA from the Caledonian Brewery is well worth a try. It's commonly available in Scotland but I'm not sure about elsewere.

I've tried the Fullers stuff mentioned at beer festivals in Scotland and it's also good.

quote:

Originally posted by GuyPerry:
Sorry for the ramble. I'm very lucky to have a job I feel passionate about!

Brewing director does sound a decent job to me!

Steve G,

I was lucky to spend some time at Heriot Watt, doing my post grad with the Institute of Brewing.

I also had the opportunity to learn about Scotch Production on the same course, but was more adept at its comsumption.

The production of scotch is almost identical to beer, produce an 8% beer with just malted barley and no hops, filter and distill. About 20% of the students were if fact distillers.

Harviestoun beers must be available in your area, they produce some truly diverse beers.

If you like hoppy beers, try Danish Dynamite from Stonehenge Brewery or various RCH Brewery products. (We don't bottle, yet)

I can hear you all snoring now!

Regards

Guy

Guy, you obviously live/work not far from here. Would you like to divulge which organisation you work for?

Steve try Firsty Ferret.

I have only had it from a bottle and its very clean and simple taste, and not to strong.

I had four bottles of Old Peculier once, never again.

Steve,
I worked for Sarah Hughes Brewery (Dark Ruby Mild?)in Sedgley for 9 years as their head brewer.

During that time I did consultancy work for small embryonic breweries trouble shooting and developing recipes.

As of October last year, I left Sarah Hughes as I'd set up a brewery with a Gent who owns a dozen pubs, why keep doing it for others?

'Black Country Ales' has a flagship pub in Birmingham City centre called the Wellington, on Bennetts Hill, that has done 1600 different beers since 29th Dec! The brewery is in Lower Gornal, behind the Old Bulls Head the Brewery tap, opposite the Fountain, another real ale mecca. We have insitu, three, 100year old wooden fermenters that I hope to re-commission, by re-lining, within the year. Should make an interesting feature.

Yep, you've all nodded off!

Regards

Guy

In my student daze (1987-1991) I used to frequent the Dudley campus of Wolverhampton University. The campus bar was run by a real ale buff and the beer there tended to be excellent. I had my first taste of Sarah Hughes Mild in there. Across the road was the British Oak - a mighty fine hostelry/micro brewery with about a dozen ales going on in there at any given time.

I've drunk in a couple of the pubs you mention I'm sure. One of my favourites from the deepest, darkest Black Country though was that Bathams stuff. They used to sell it at a pub by the railway line in Wolverhampton. I can't remember the name but it was really close to the site of the old Springfield brewery.

The best pint of Banks's bitter (i.e: I found it to be actually drinkable :O) was to be had at the Fountain in Wolverhampton just to the North of the Ring Road, near where it meets the Stafford Road. I suspect it's now been demolished and replaced with more student halls of residence.

Holts Entire was a bloody good pint too. Is that brewery still going?