World's Best Beer and Worst Beer

[culduthel]

If I cant get Keiths, I will usually opt for Stella or Molson Canadian (I dont touch Labatts). When shopping at the Beer Store or LCBO (Beer Store just sells beer, LCBO is like an off license - they dont sell alcohol in supermarkets over here),

Scotty,

I lived in Toronto for three years ( Bathurst/St Clair). LCBOs - what a memory. Whoever designed the LCBO system must have been a Wee Free. They all seemed to be located in the most awkward places to get to. Usually across a major highway and three blocks away from the supermarket that you shopped in. It was always a major inconvenience to get booze in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada and still is when I go back and visit. Great country but crap booze distribution. Met a wine grower here in New Zealand who had to front up in person in Canada to the one guy who buys all the wine for LCBO. What a job, what power. Hope he has a good taste in wine.

By the way with regard to Labbatts Beer. In the mid Nineties I was Skiing at Whistler and this guy gets onto the Ski lift with me and starts talking - Inverness accent! Had been in Canada 20 years and was now Operations Director for Labbatts. We discovered he went to the High school with my older sister and used to come to our house for parties. He grew up in a house opposite Culcabock Golf Course. His parents were still there at the time. His old man used to run a shop in Eastgate- an Ironmongers or something like that.

[Dmacca]

Boddingtons awful, Old Speckled Hen ah now were talking...Starapomen pick of the lager types for me.

[caley100]

Strapomen> is that the white beer? Had a hellofabucket of white beer in the Heathmount a while ago, stuff called Hoegaarden, didnt realise the price ( bought within rounds ) and what a feckin hangover.... never again.

[Scotty]

By the way with regard to Labbatts Beer. In the mid Nineties I was Skiing at Whistler and this guy gets onto the Ski lift with me and starts talking - Inverness accent! Had been in Canada 20 years and was now Operations Director for Labbatts. We discovered he went to the High school with my older sister and used to come to our house for parties. He grew up in a house opposite Culcabock Golf Course. His parents were still there at the time. His old man used to run a shop in Eastgate- an Ironmongers or something like that.

still wont make me drink it !!! LOL - agree with the comments about distribution though, although its a bit better now with the LCBO stores sometimes being attached to the very end of the newer malls.

Strapomen> is that the white beer? Had a hellofabucket of white beer in the Heathmount a while ago, stuff called Hoegaarden, didnt realise the price ( bought within rounds ) and what a feckin hangover.... never again.

Hoegarden - yes, what stuff, sometimes have a few glasses of that here too

[+Gringo]

Old Speckled Hen ah now were talking...

Not so long back I would have agreed with you on that but Old Speckled Hen has now been 'vandalised' by the Greene King emporium. It took over the Moorlands brewery, which brewed OSH, and reduced its ABV from 5.2% (or thereabouts) the a measley 4.5% This was in an effort to sell more of it, apparently.

[RiG]

Staropramen I think you mean Richard. had it in Snafu one night. Lethal stuff. Nice but strong.

[Charles Bannerman]

Strapomen> is that the white beer? Had a hellofabucket of white beer in the Heathmount a while ago, stuff called Hoegaarden, didnt realise the price ( bought within rounds ) and what a feckin hangover.... never again.

C100... Hoegaarden at Heathmount prices?! Ouch! What was worse... the pain in the head the day after or the pain in the wallet on the night!?

It's pretty powerful stuff wherever you buy it... and pretty expensive wherever you buy it to the extent that the once I purchased it in another Inverness hostelry I felt morally entitled to depart with the rather nice glass under my jacket.

I don't particularly like it and prefer more orthodox continental lagers... Heineken, Stella, Staropramen, Moretti, Nastro Azzurro rtc.

The occasional Real Ale in the Castle Tavern can be quite nice too and I quite liked the Guinness and other indigenous labels I tried in Ireland this summer.

But howcome the Scots just can't brew lager? Tennents is dreadful and McEwans is worse. Kestrel is unimaginable!

I've never tried Tecsos "Kilmarnock" brand lager... the Value label with the blue and white veretical stripes. It seems to sell for something like 23p a can. I wouldn't dare try it, nor at 2% ABV would I bother!

Most criminal cheapie - 7.5% cider which I found retailing at 68p a 500ml can in Morrisons. A disaster for kids.

Most civilised cheapie - Westie's Vladivar vodka which he sells at 87p a nip in the Social Club! Unbeatable?

Edited October 9, 2008 by Charles Bannerman

[The Mantis]

Did Tennents not used to be decent stuff away back? Now apparently it's a global brand and just as rotten as Bud and Miller and all the rest.

I used to do a bit of home brewing and I remember that soft Scottish water was ideal for lager just as Burton water makes good bitter with all its gypsum content. In fact if you're making bitter to an English recipe up here, you have to add gypsum and other stuff to the water, which affects the ph and so on, which in turn allows the enzymes to do their stuff.

[Charles Bannerman]

Did Tennents not used to be decent stuff away back?

I actually think you're right. Years ago Tennents was my standard tipple and it was stuff like Skol that you had to watch (was Skol along with the massive queues at the bar not the down side of the Hayloft?). On the other hand there wasn't so much choice in these days and I remember when the Glenmhor got Heineken around 1971 the reaction was... WOW!!

But yes, I do agree that Tennents was definitely better in days gone by than the anaemic rubbish it has lately become.

[strathyjags]

worst has to be guiness or stella,best is newcastle brown,miller or red stripe

[Drochit Blue]

Best: I'd go a long way for some Timothy Taylors Landlord ale

Worst: anything in a can

[Yngwie]

Best: I'd go a long way for some Timothy Taylors Landlord ale

Haven't had that one for over 10 years, but it was a excellent, the best traditional english beer I've ever had.

[ymip]

I remember Marston Pedigree, Theakstons Old Peculier and Martson Owd Roger from my university days .... feckin rocket fuel one and all in terms of getting you drunk and hungover.

I also worked in a bar in London for about a year where the IPA was regarded as one of the best in the capital, the bar owner was an old lady who was very particular about her beers and her husband was head trainer for Bass Charrington in the east end (at Silvertown in the docklands - now gone I believe). He prepared and tapped all the barrels each weekend and made sure all the lines were perfect. It really was a pure pint and people came from miles around to sample it. Its a shame to note that most of the brands from Bass are now owned by Coors which also owns Molson here in Canada and that ales for export are brewed by Anheuser Busch.

In Canada, my beer of choice is Alexander Keiths, a Nova Scotian lager that is as close to a decent Scottish lager that I have tasted. Some bars do have Tennents but it tastes foul. Not sure if its the Tennents itself, or the fact that it is a lookalike beer which is "brewed under license". If I cant get Keiths, I will usually opt for Stella or Molson Canadian (I dont touch Labatts). When shopping at the Beer Store or LCBO (Beer Store just sells beer, LCBO is like an off license - they dont sell alcohol in supermarkets over here), I usually grab some Keiths but have also been known to indulge in Innis & Gunn, Caledonian 80/-, Tuborg, Stella, Creemore, Amsterdam Blonde, Sleemans or such like. Canada has a pretty vibrant "micro" and "craft" brewery community so there are loads of decent ones to try in amongst the mass produced stuff.

The absolute worst "beer" I have tried is "Scotch Ale" a malted drink that I had one sip of and poured down the sink. It is foul, foul, foul.

Good shout on the Keith's Scotty. I've been over in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland a couple of times this year with my work and can vouch for Keith's - shame about the Staggy logo mind. Newfy beers didn't really impress me (nor St. John's for that matter) but like you say plenty of micro brewery fare available in Canuck-land. I was drinking some IPA type stuff from Quebec last time I was in Halifax which was decent but can't remember the name of the brewery. Will have to re-trace my steps next time I'm over and report back.

I'm quite partial to Kronenburg / 1664 and associated Alsacien brews after my time over the channel but the antichirst of French beers are Adelscott (lager infused with whisky) and Desperados (lager infused with Tequilla) which are both pretty prevalent in Parisian boozers and supermarkets. Vile!

Peroni, Staropramen and Budvar not unpleasant.

[Drochit Blue]

Best: I'd go a long way for some Timothy Taylors Landlord ale

Haven't had that one for over 10 years, but it was a excellent, the best traditional english beer I've ever had.

as far as I know they sell 500ml bottles of it in Tescos!

[Charles Bannerman]

The sons of the Prophet are brave men and bold

and quite unaccustomed to fear,

But the bravest by far in the ranks of the shah,

Was Abdul Abulbul Amir.

Does hat quote on Drochiit Blue's posts (it probably has a technical name like "avatar") (EDIT...I've just discovered it's called a "signature") remind anybody else of the 1960s George Chisholm adverts for McEwans?

The introductory little rhyme ended "...Abdul Abulbul Abeer" and then went on to..

"McEwans is the best buy, the best buy the best buy.

McEwans is the best buy - the best buy in beer."

Edited October 14, 2008 by Charles Bannerman

[Guest liams7]

I'm from bristol so we get pretty wicked beers down here.

Some of the bath ales are amazing.

We have some wicked ciders down here as well. Check out thatchers for some real stuff. 13.5% vol only legal in half pints

If you want to try out a good beer see if you can get a bath ale called GEM

[RednBlackComeback]

Check out thatchers for some real stuff.

'Thatchers'? I don't think I could swallow that beer!!

[Apollo]

Bud is the best by far.

Worst is Mcewans export.