Philistine alert

[dad_of_jon]

Did you make it down to Ubrew btw? What did you think?

I did indeed :-) tucked away in the last arch of the old jamaca ind est. units.

never seen such a huge pack of hops in my life. A hay bale sized foiled pack of hops.

couldn't find it at first despite asking 2 people on estate about it. I could smell the malt in the air and thus followed my nose.

Picked up a chunk of dme (3kg) and a selection of grains for �£18 - nice job!

very helpful people there and whilst I was upstairs acquiring grains etc, my other half started chatting to a female brewer who put in a good word for the profession and almost convinced my other half to start brewing herself. She used to make wine herself hence her very tolerant attitude to my interest, plus she likes most of what I brew.

with regards to the thread starter, A dead pony club or meantine ipa are a gentle introduction from the wave of lagers to real ale enlightenment.

 

[pms67]

Dead Pony Club is almost ruled out in my house, it's a hop bomb :electric:

 

[rodabod]

Dead Pony Club is almost ruled out in my house, it's a hop bomb :electric:

I like that beer a lot, but it stinks of onions/B.O/cat wee.

 

[jceg316]

I moved from lager to ales via abbot ale and best bitters, but I find that stuff kinda dull IMHO. I really like lager, but traditional Munich sort of lager, not generic fizzy chemicals like Stella etc. I think a good place to start would be to look for interesting and flavourful lagers like this. E.g. there are a lot of oktoberfests this time of year which are great.

Camden brewery makes mostly lagers but they are good. Their Pils is a great cross over of an APA and pilsner, and their pale ale is a good "entry level" beer for someone who wants to branch out. IHL is my fave of theirs but might be a bit in your face to someone who isn't used to highly hopped beers.

Someone mentioned Belgian ales which I would agree with. Duvel and vedet are good starts and readily available, plus I also think Sierra Nevada as someone else said is a good entry to pale ales.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Dead Pony Club is almost ruled out in my house, it's a hop bomb :electric:

I can't say I get that much hoppyness from it. - hardcore IPA or jackhammer yes!

as for belgian ale the affligem blond on offer in sainsburys at £3.50 for 3 x 330 bottles is not to shabby.