Be Excellent To Each Other

A Belgian beer just isn't right in the wrong glass! I've had bars in Bruges being desperately apologetic about it and asking if I'd prefer something else.

I say that drinking a warm-ish Leffe Blonde out of a Brugse Zot glass.

This is making me wish I liked beer. It would give me something else to be elitist about besides Apple.

You. Don't. Like. Beer?

All of it? There's so bloody many!

Well, all the ones I've ever tried. I don't have much of a palette for bitter tasting things in general.

Looking through yesterday's receipts.

"Piddle in the Hole" is still pleasant & cheap.
Black Sheep's "Riggwelter" has a manky coffee aftertaste.
Wells "Banana Bread Beer" is essentially an alchopop.
Budweiser is still tasteless & shit.
Williams Brothers "Fraoch" heather ale is braw.
Belhaven's "St Andrews Ale" is bland & disappointing.
JW Lees "Moonraker" turned out to be no bad & it's 7.5 MPH!!!

Try a Banana Beer like Wullie mentioned above, Innes & Gunn Oak Aged beer is pretty sweet too (toffee tasting almost).

Then there are things like Silly Saison that are very frooty. http://www.silly-beer.com/p_saison_en.htm

I will cure you.

What did you expect?

Belgium is a great resource for the beer-averse; they've so many different styles and sub-styles, generally sweet and/or fruity without dominant hops or malts, not too heavy or fizzy, there's something for everyone.

BEEX BRUGES BARNSTORMER!

I feel like I don't know you anymore.

I expected it to be crap, but that & Carling were the only draught beers they had at the shitty pub we went to in Largs (AND the only rum they had was bloody Bacardi). I thought I should mention it because I like moaning about shit things It's only a quid for the wee bottles in Aldi the now (& they've had stock for a wee while now so I presume that shower that frequent HUKD haven't got wind of it & cleared them out).

Try the tripel karmeliet as mentioned above. I feed that one to "non beer drinkers" all the time.
Shame I missed you when you were near my town, guarantee I could find a beer you would like.

De Koninck Anood is on draught at the bar in town and seems to really hit most people's spot, "weak" by Belgian standards (6% compared to Karmeliet's 8.4%), less-fizzy, sweet, light and mild in flavour. It's not too my tastes particularly but as a non-beer-lover's beer it's a cracker.

I'm almost tempted to suggest I come down to South Wales early (or stay late) next weekend and give you an introduction to a few, Doc. Though it's probably too late for beermerchants, who have a rigid 5 day turnaround.

You'd have my axe spare bed.

Why didn't this discussion happen a few days ago?! beermerchants realy won't get beer to me in time for Friday (it's a 5 *working* day operation) and now I think about it I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to give my dad a lift back on Sunday. That and my mum and step-dad are staying at mine from Sunday too. Maybe if I stress the "beer hater who I think I can convert IF ONLY YOU SEND IT QUICKLY" angle.

Incidentally Asda didn't have any of these beers so I bought cider instead. Sorry, beer people.

Asda only ever have Duvel and Leffe in my experience. Which isn't to denigrate either, Duvet is ace and Uncle Jeff is my permanent go-to, but they're way off the pace.

kim is coming to your rescue here Doc, beersofeurope do next working day for 50p more than beermerchants - the beers are slightly more costly per bottle I think but it's a worthwhile exercise.

Mostly, I think, because it means high-res photos of me falling over the day before my nephew's christening. And of you making "Ew, what?!" faces.

When would you be here? Friday night?

Yeah. I've got a non-cancellable room booked in Barry for Saturday.

Fuck it's hard picking beers for someone whose taste is "non-beer". I'm looking through going "Cor, that's ace butprobablynot, COR that's ace butprobablynot"

Then again, at a £7.50 flat rate, I should spend about a ton and be done with it.

This is only a semi-serious proposition at this stage; I mostly just like looking at Belgian beers drooling.

Well, anytime you want to upgrade it to serious, let me know. I've nothing on. I'll make a good curry too.
Edit -- I'll give you some cash towards the beers too!

£4 for 6 bottles is OK by me. It's not actually that bad,I quite like rice beer, so I judge it against them.

Serious it is! Are you sure? I've got 16 bottles (to share) lined up here.

Obviously, if I've got it completely wrong I'll happily bring excess home.

Yes, I'm sure. I'll send you a PM.

damn i want to go out with you guys. and get a curry. or a chip buttie. or both. or all. many foods consumed.

We only do kebabs after beer - for that authentic English feel

The good Doctor is either going to be converted or hate me forever:

• Affligem Blond
• Affligem Tripel
• Brugse Zot
• De Koninck Blonde
• Delirium Tremens
• Triple Karmeliet (x4)
• Trappistes Rochefort 6
• Brugse Zot
• Corsendonk Agnus
• Floreffe Blonde
• Kasteel Blonde 7
• Kasteel Triple
• Kerkom Adelardus Dubbel (I've not had this one)
• Malheur 8
• Rodenbach Grand Cru
• Villers Triple
• Steenbrugge Blond
• La Chouffe
• St. Bernardus 6

And 4 glasses of varying styles to try them in. There's got to be something in there for someone who doesn't like beer. That or I'm going to turn up at my nephew's christening extremely hung over.

There was more I wanted, but a lot of it (and the glasses I wanted) are out of stock so it can wait for another day and a mixed order with people at work.

i think i love you.

My sister lives in Barry, you know. That's where the christening is.

Also my kidneys and liver hurt reading that list back while I sup on more Leffe.

Oh! What's occurrin? (teehee)
I have fun when we visit Barry. Enjoy the christening and tip back a few in honour of me. Pics are appreciated.

No beer on the day for me! I'm driving back up north afterwards; she keeps doing these things on Sundays. Friday night at the Doc's, Saturday in Barry trying not to get stabbed, Sunday on the motorway trying to beat my record home. Good times.

I meant have a few with Doc, not at the church for the christening. haha

Oh well then, tipping shall be done, whether he enjoys it or not.

I'd have recommended Früh, for some reason I can't get enough of that shit since I went to Germany.

I wonder how much it costs here?

[edit]20 @ £1.80 each.
Hmm.
HMMMM.

The lovely Mrs Squirt purchased me a CAMRA membership t'other day, so I'm preparing to get super money-off offers on all kinds of real ales. And grow a beard, obviously.

Also, older brother Squirt has been given planning permission to convert an old workshop in his garden into a fully fledged brewery, and mass production is starting soon. I'm currently in the process of banging out a web page for him. Huzzah for beer!

I tried a couple of new beers on Friday while shooting folk in the face with Nickachu & Curio. Holt's "Maplemoon" was the best of them, I can see me buying a few of them next time I'm in Morrison's

Congratulations, this is all wonderful.

Asda and/or Sainsburys often have Frueh*, Grim...

Also fruit beers are cheating in this challenge. I do wish I'd plumped for a geuze and a couple of ambers now though.

* No, I can't copy and paste one umlaut.

I've been ordering from Beers of Europe for several years and I've had little cause for complaint. Any new delivery man can't help but say something in regard to delivering beer - telling him that it is my birthday every time usually stops that.

Beermerchants deliver in boxes that say Beermerchants on the side.

Last time, I ordered 4 boxes. Delivered to work. More embarassing than you'd think.

Beers of Europe have a huge graphic of a crown, barley and BEERS OF EUROPE on the box(es). Getting them delivered to your work place is surely the way to make friends (and lose beer) ?

I'll have to have a look around. Cheers, Bikory.

They do?

Awesome.

They do.

Huzzah! And congratulations on your new nanobrewery.
I'm also a homebrewer, we could start a thread just for that.

I still have like a 5 gallon beer brewing kit sitting in the corner of the room. Complete with grolsch style bottles. Should I try making it?

If you have the time, patience, and good knack for sterilising things, why not? It'll be like a grown-up chemistry set.

Go for it. It's not hard. Beer is fun!

I ahve made 2 batches of home brew, will be starting a 3rd on friday.

Get a good beer to make though...

Hm. I ordered 22 beers, and have 21. And two of them are Brugse Zot when I ordered 1. And I think there are other mistakes as well, though I haven't done a detailed inventory yet.

Edit: Hang on, the invoice has a line for the Steenbrugge Blond I ordered, but no units, and the charge differs from the initial email. But why I've got 2 Brugse Zots, 1 listed on the invoice, and still only 21 of the 22 bottles I ordered, is a mistake somewhere. Plus I'm pretty sure I saw a Steenbrugge bottle in the box... DETAILED STOCKTAKING REQUISITIONED.

Also Kerkom Adelardus Dubbel might be smoked. Oops.

Heh, whoops. I added two separate bottles of Bruges Zot. That's what I get for ordering drunk.