deefstes wrote:
X-rated Bob wrote:
Depends what you mean by "lager". If you mean a dry, golden coloured, bottom-brewed beer then anything labelled "Pilsenser" is a candidate (all Pilseners are lagers, strictly speaking not all lagers are Pilseners but the two terms are getting interblurred these days).
Yes, I realise that. Beer naming can be pretty confusing but in the simplest terms it is actually quite easy; There are only TWO types of beer, lager and ale. But I know that I use them incorrectly at times, sort of a necessary confusion to avoid confusion. ?
While all Weiss, Porters, Stouts, Bitters, Lambics etc. are ales in the basic sense of the word,
Some would argue that the Lambics are a separate category, distinct from ales, because the brewer does not add yeast to the barrel.
It can get confusing, and I'm not sure that everything marketed as "ale" in this country really is.
This time next month I'll be in the other country for which I am qualified to play cricket ? There they have the admirable CAMRA movement - CAMpaign for Real Ale. "Real Ale" must be an ale (IE top fermented), may not be pasteurised, must be all malt (no maize, rice, oats etc), may not have any gas introduced into the cask at any time, must be in casks (I can't tell you the distinction between a cask and a barrel, but there is one). The restriction on gas means the beer must be hand drawn or gravity fed. The Real Ale scene there is booming and in danger of becoming fashionable.
There are some very quaint pubs still to be found there (though not many in London). A couple of years ago we were in the beautiful Shropshire town of Ludlow and the Church Inn was recommended. A lovely pub (the local CAMRA hang out) with great ales, no juke boxes, no one-arm bandits, no lager, great English pub food (I had an excellent pork pie supper), TV - for those who HAVE to watch the thing - in a little room at the back and not in the main room, and an interesting rule: Disturb another patron's dog and you will be asked to leave.
The Ludlow area has, for reasons nobody can quite fathom, a large number of Michelin starred restaurants. I'd promised Mrs X-rated a top notch supper, and duly took her to the excellent Feathers in Ludlow. We ordered our meals then I was offered the wine list. And it WAS a
wine list. Mrs X-rated ordered a glass of something posh, I asked if there was any chance I could get a pint of bitter. They never blinked an eye. "We don't keep that ourselves, Sir, but I can get the pub up the road to send down a pint of the local best." I thanked him and said that would do very nicely. It arrived very promptly and was excellent in every way.
Just up the road from Ludlow was another pub which doubles as the local HQ of the Monster Raving Loony Party. It was election time. One whole exterior wall of that pub was covered with a huge banner reading "Vote Loony! You know it makes sense."
