what is the best beer you have ever tasted?

[St00]

Odell IPA is hands down my favourite beer. There's just something about it highly hopped, mildly astringent, but the malt shines through. The lower ABV version of it (3 Barrel Pale Ale) is also great.
I'd love to try it on draught, but they fell out with their UK distributors - Disc. According to rumor.

As soon as I can afford a Blichmann hoprocket I'll be attempting a clone. I almost hope I don't nail it, it could be dangerous....

 

[pms67]

A warm pint of Carling followed by an even warmer pint of Tennents at the horse racing, what’s not to like?

 

[Jon75]

Such a difficult question, however I can state the best two I have had this year were from the Gloucester beer festival. Tiley's/Moor collaboration CF185 Mystic and Wye Valley Aethelfaed.

Honourable mention to Ukiel West Coast IPA.

 

[Wezzle]

Depends, rented a pedal bike in Lanzarote once which ended up being a lot longer & more uphill than I had liked. Getting back to the hotel for a cold half-pint plastic cup of "Tropical" ~ words can't describe the emotions.

On the other hand - Oakham Citra
Was what got me back into brewing beer, dusting off my old equipment and experimenting with hops & IPAs, I don't yet intend to brew a clone.

Is it really the beer that's good? Or the memory/emotion associated with it?
:small

 

[simon12]

Just on my 5th beer from 3 legs brewery and they have all been amazing there English IPA on cask is my favourite and there pale 2 on cask is very good the 3 kegs I have had are modern IPA, session IPA and centennial pale are the 3 best keg beers I have had this year.

 

[eyuptm]

I HOPE I haven't had it yet!! So much of the perception of a beer, food, tune or whatever, depends on the situation, people you're with, mood at the time, etcetera etcetera... I regularly swap MP3 versions of "My Top Ten Songs of All Time", with a good, if remote, friend of mine- they regularly run to 80 or 100 tunes... This is my current fave, but just look at the setting!!! Local, hopped Pilsener, served bottle conditioned from a local brewer in Argos, Greece. Not a remarkable beer in England or Belgium or America, but quite unique right here, right now, on the Argolic Gulf....

 

[Ransman]

Used to be Bath Ales Wild Hare on draught, until they moved the brewery and changed the recipe. Not a shadow of what it once was unfortunately.

 

[pms67]

Depends, rented a pedal bike in Lanzarote once which ended up being a lot longer & more uphill than I had liked. Getting back to the hotel for a cold half-pint plastic cup of "Tropical" ~ words can't describe the emotions.

On the other hand - Oakham Citra
Was what got me back into brewing beer, dusting off my old equipment and experimenting with hops & IPAs, I don't yet intend to brew a clone.

Is it really the beer that's good? Or the memory/emotion associated with it?
:small

Very very true
One of my best ever pints was a cold pint of Stella in Majorca whilst swmbo lowered our already small bank balance at a must have market, I now hate Stella but I could have sat there for the rest of my quite happily

 

[micklupulo]

Very very true
One of my best ever pints was a cold pint of Stella in Majorca whilst swmbo lowered our already small bank balance at a must have market, I now hate Stella but I could have sat there for the rest of my quite

happily

Years ago one of my best pints or more likely 50cl was San Miguel in Menorca just the right temperature and obviously out of pristine pipes but would not dream of having it in Britain where I think Oakham Citra takes some beating in summer.

 

[DJDave]

two spring to mind - first a Sam Smiths Bitter served from the wood at a pub in Whitby around about 1980 ish. We were staying in Goathland way before Heartbeat ruined it. & yes we did have several pints in the Goathland Hotel (Aidensfield Arms).

Second was in early 1990's in Nottingham, really hoppy aroma unfortunately I can't recall the pub or the beer, it was very good though. Definitely Nottingham in the vicinity of the Uni, at least that where I woke up.

 

[MonkeyMick]

In Canada, around 2003 I had an imported bottle of a Scottish beer that was infused with Heather.

Having been in Canada for over a year at that point, it tasted of 'home' and was easily the best beer I've ever tasted. I only ever found it in the liquor store twice, and can't for the life of me remember what it was called despite searching for it ever since.

That, or a pint of draught Newcastle Brown in a pub in Edmonton called The Sherlock Holmes.

 

[Brew_DD2]

In Canada, around 2003 I had an imported bottle of a Scottish beer that was infused with Heather.

Having been in Canada for over a year at that point, it tasted of 'home' and was easily the best beer I've ever tasted. I only ever found it in the liquor store twice, and can't for the life of me remember what it was called despite searching for it ever since.

That, or a pint of draught Newcastle Brown in a pub in Edmonton called The Sherlock Holmes.

Williams Brothers Fraoch?

 

[MonkeyMick]

Williams Brothers Fraoch?

No. I was excited when I found Fraoch, but it wasnt that one. It's driven me demented on a number of occasions searching Google...

 

[Brew_DD2]

No. I was excited when I found Fraoch, but it wasnt that one. It's driven me demented on a number of occasions searching Google...

That's a bit of a nightmare. Fraoch is very tasty. Williams Bros were a big gateway brewery for me back in the day. They did a lovely Tayberry-infused beer called Róisin.

 

[MonkeyMick]

I so like Fraoch, but the beer I had was on another level, and the best way I can describe it is that it tastes of the Highlands, as strange as that seems.

As opposed to a Brecon beer I had recently that tasted of sideways rain, gun oil and shi**ing in plastic bags.

 

[Sadfield]

No. I was excited when I found Fraoch, but it wasnt that one. It's driven me demented on a number of occasions searching Google...

Could it still have been a Williams Bros beer though? They do a lot of heather or spruce beers, I recall they did one with Stillwater brewing called Stravaigin. Black Isle Brewery might be another one to look at.

 

[MonkeyMick]

Definatly not Black Isle Brewery - done their tour a couple of times and had some of their expensive limited editions.
I'll have a look at Stravaigin!

 

[Brew_DD2]

Could it still have been a Williams Bros beer though? They do a lot of heather or spruce beers, I recall they did one with Stillwater brewing called Stravaigin. Black Isle Brewery might be another one to look at.

I love their Gooseberry Pale, Grozet. Don't really see many of their beers these days. Midnight Sun in Tesco, but that's about it.

 

[JonBrew]

I love their Gooseberry Pale, Grozet. Don't really see many of their beers these days. Midnight Sun in Tesco, but that's about it.

Williams Bros were one of the 'gateway' brewers for me. The used to do a beer, it think it was called Harvest, which drank like nectar. Caesar Augustus is great, as is Joker IPA and Profanity Stout. March of the Penguins is lovely too. Alba is delicious too albeit perhaps an acquired taste for some. They're criminally underrated in my opinion.

@MonkeyMick - I agree with @Sadfield that the beer you had back in 2003 would most likely have been an early version of Froach or another heather beer by Williams Bros. You should drop them and email and ask.

 

[woody1959]

The "best" beer I have ever had is called "Limon Clara"

To understand that first we have to define "Best" and for me that's when I am in the Canary Islands sweltering in 30c heat and desperate for a really cold pint, that's when the "best" beer happens

"Limon Clara" is a shandy, 50% San Miguel and 50% Fanta Lemon, those 2 make the best one but you change either or both for different brands.

Why a shandy? well knock back a couple of pints of 4% ABV beer in 30c heat and get back to me.