Formative Years (beer)

[Ghillie]

No offence taken, I am indeed originally from Forres.
Pub in question was the Mosset Tavern with the Beastie being in the camra guide.

I am so, so sorry

Yep, if you had told me you were from Forres, those two pubs would have been the only one's in question that would have served an Ale on tap.

Have you been long out the town? The Beastie is now Brewery owned, but does have decent-ish craft beer in the lounge. The Mosset has improved on it's craft beer front and regularly has local brewery ales on.

 

[Robbo851]

Oh Dear - Fosters - a lot of fosters from when I could get into pubs at 16 - then after a St paddys Day I started drinking Guinness regularly with more lagers , Stella, San Miguel, Becks. Then started drinking more Ales, being from Suffolk most Pubs are Green King or Adnams owned. I started trying all the Adnams I could - then started going to beer festivals and bulking at the "weird" styles of beer- now I love all the "weird" beers. Gone from £1.80 pints of fosters and 24 cans for £10 to £5-£8 pint cans of Verdant of North Brew (when the balance allows) and trying as many craft beers as possible . 546 unique beers last year untapped tells me.

Plus home brew of course.

 

[terrym]

University in Sheffield was mainly John Smiths (cask) and magnet their premium offering despite local giant of the time Stones and to a lesser extent Wards who had a lot of the pubs.?

Mostly Tennants whilst I was there (long since gone). 'Real' Tetleys. Occasionally Stones, but too bitter for me like sucking on a lemon. Never drank in the Union bar, it was that 'orrible keg stuff which was slowly taking over.

 

[Drunkula]

My mum used to bring me cans of Colt 45 back home from the pub when I was about 7 and that was a thing for a while, then my friend's parents used to love that I liked cider when I was about 11 and they were pissheads and when they had parties they'd give me glasses of cider and laugh as I necked it and asked for more.

Then it's a bit of a blur until I drunk loads of McEwans export because it was the cheapest thing and I quite liked it. Then it was Spitfire because that was the cheapest. Most of the pub bits were a blur because we'd either drink 3 litres of Stonehouse while watching Casualty or do a 10 can challenge before going out. I don't think I actually tasted any beer until years later, I just drank it.

 

[matt76]

As a kid we were occasionally allowed lager shandy made with Heineken or Kestrel...
A lot of Kronenburg and Stella through teenage years and uni, and I think mainly Heineken Export in the SU bar...
At some point in my twenties I broadened my horizons to Guinness...
I don't think it was until work took me to Germany and I discovered Erdinger Weizen & Dunkels that I started drinking anything remotely interesting...
Then I reckon about 10 years ago I tried some Badger beers and that got me trying a wider variety of all beer types

 

[prog99]

Have you been long out the town? The Beastie is now Brewery owned, but does have decent-ish craft beer in the lounge. The Mosset has improved on it's craft beer front and regularly has local brewery ales on.

Dad still lives there so I try and get up a few times a year. I was quite impressed with the mosset last time and had to try all the beers I'd not seen before for research purposes.

 

[uDicko]

Started with an attempt to finish one can of tenants super sat on the sofa watching lethal weapon. Didn't finish it and progressively slid down the sofa while my dad was chuckling at me. That stuff was battery acid! Yuk!

Not long after that (maybe 14) went to a house party on a dodgy estate near where I used to live and someone got me 2 litres of some disgusting cider. You know the cheap fizzy white lightening stuff. Downed it, got very drunk, got sent home and regretted every morsel that came back up.

Calmed down a bit on the alcohol (never went back to cider) until I was 18 and spent the time in the pub drinking Stella and alike.

Went to uni drank cheap lagers, whatever was the cheapest.

Went to a friend's house party again and tried some of his homebrew from a corny keg and the whole set up. Loved it. Couldn't get enough. Even better knowing he made it!

From about 2008 to date I've been drinking as much variety as I can get my hands on. Pubs, supermarkets then moved onto bottle shops local to me when my wallet was able to handle the added expense.

2013 when my first child came in the scene I need a hobby that kept me happy while not going out. Thats when this hobby really took off.

 

[HarryFlatters]

I am indeed originally from Forres.

I ended up in Sportsters one night.

Never. Again.

 

[MickDundee]

2013 when my first child came in the scene I need a hobby that kept me happy while not going out. Thats when this hobby really took off.

Similar story here, only it was when my Mrs was pregnant with our second. I cracked open my first ever bottle of Wherry on the night my son was born.

 

[Alex.mc]

I went to pubs with adult frineds in the early 80's and could probably have got away with a pint, but I didn't really drink. When I could, I drank lager, as my friends drank in very average pubs with dull beers, and we weren't far from Watneys, so Red barrel wasn't too far away!
As a result, I took to drinking Holstein Pils in bottles. It was predictably "okay", and I could guarantee it was okay anywhere we went.
Later I went through a period of drinking Sol, Kronenbourg, Stella, the usual array.
Then one day.... I had an early Gamma Ray! Beavertown were at a Raw wine event at Truman Brewery that my wife had tickets for. And that was my gateway to beer!

 

[Gunge]

...forgot to add I did have a stint with HB when I was around 15. Me and a mate knocked up loads of Boots and John Bull kits in his mams airing cupboard...all bottled in glass 2 litre fizzy pop bottles. We got proper pissed on it too! To be fair it wasn't half bad either!

Excellent! Me and the lads got this diabetic (by accident) John Bull kit and put about 5lbs sugar in; that too fermented in an airing cupboard at about 35°C. The only things I remember about the consequences was having this terrible brawl amongst ourselves on the way to our local, tipping the bandit over and getting banned, and being rescued from the hospital roof.

 

[Clint]

I can remember spewing up Chinese takeaway and blocking my mates sink...such happy times!

 

[Ghillie]

Strongbow cider (I know) then moved on to Tennents.

In all honesty, if I'm out for the night I'll quite happily hammer the Tennents. Sessioning pales is quite difficult/dangerous when everyone else is drinking low ABV lager.

 

[Ghillie]

Dad still lives there so I try and get up a few times a year. I was quite impressed with the mosset last time and had to try all the beers I'd not seen before for research purposes.

Give me a shout next time your up and we could do a wee swap/get a pint obviously.

 

[RichK]

I was 18 in 1982 (yeah, right). Beer in Birmingham was awful. Fortunately, I was a student in Leeds where it was rather better. It was mostly Tetley's but proper Tetley's (Leeds brewery) was very drinkable.

 

[MickDundee]

I was 18 in 1982 (yeah, right). Beer in Birmingham was awful. Fortunately, I was a student in Leeds where it was rather better. It was mostly Tetley's but proper Tetley's (Leeds brewery) was very drinkable.

There seems to be a theme of beers that were nice in the 70s/80s becoming horrendous in the 90s/00s. Tetleys, John Smiths, Boddingtons.

 

[stephen1546]

Remember Skol?, back in the middle 80s drank that to begin with because it was cheap, but really bad. Even at 16 i knew it had to be dumped. Usual suspects after that Becks, Bud, Tennents. Tried to be all grown up when entering first boozers, "pint of heavy please" like the dads drank. Oops, yuck. I remember lager n lime being popular with younger drinkers.

 

[MickDundee]

Remember Skol?, back in the middle 80s drank that to begin with because it was cheap, but really bad. Even at 16 i knew it had to be dumped. Usual suspects after that Becks, Bud, Tennents. Tried to be all grown up when entering first boozers, "pint of heavy please" like the dads drank. Oops, yuck. I remember lager n lime being popular with younger drinkers.

I always looked a lot older than I was and I had a bit of a business going when I was 15. I would take money from people to buy them drink on the proviso that I could keep the change, then buy them Skol.

 

[prog99]

Remember Skol?, back in the middle 80s drank that to begin with because it was cheap, but really bad. Even at 16 i knew it had to be dumped. Usual suspects after that Becks, Bud, Tennents. Tried to be all grown up when entering first boozers, "pint of heavy please" like the dads drank. Oops, yuck. I remember lager n lime being popular with younger drinkers.

I think lager tops was popular in my day. For some reason I never tried it but some concoction resembling a pint of lager with a shot of drambuie (with glass) dropped into it sticks in my mind.

 

[stephen1546]

Ha!. Good thinking!!