Top 5 Dark Beers

[exile]

If you've not already done so then you might like to sample the delicious offerings of Wentworth brewery:
http://www.wentworthbrewery.co.uk/

I particularly like their 3.5% Needles Eye, not only for the good quality taste but also for the history behind it and the fact it celebrates a local landmark (a stone monument shaped like a needle with a road passing through the 'eye'. Built, local legend has it, because one of the Earl Fitzwilliams took up a wager that said he couldn't drive his carriage through the eye of a needle...so he built one out of stone to prove the other man wrong!)

Great story, A. And at 3.5%, you can hoist a few of those and not feel as though someone had worked you over with a club the next day, which is the main problem with these big double IPA style beers. A great-tasting, low gravity beer gives you the best of both worlds, eh?

Wentworth Brewery supply both pubs in the village of Wentworth in South Yorkshire, which is a fascinating place.

The village has had close ties with the Wentworth Estate of the Wentworth-Fitzwilliam family, who became Marquises of Rockingham and supplied Britain with several early Prime Ministers.

It's one of the few remaining villages in England where almost all of the village is owned by the Wentworth Estate (although I think it is now the Estate Trust) and it has only been in recent years where privately owned properties were allowed.

I'm very fond of places like that—Lavenham is another such, almost perfectly preserved Tudor village—similar story to the Cotswolds: rolling in dough in the 13th century from the wool trade, and when the bottom dropped out of that in the 14th century, they were too poor to rebuild... so they had to wait 500 years until, during the Romantic movement, they were rediscovered by wealthy seekers after the 'picturesque' and started coining it again... the wheel coming full circle, so to speak. I've noticed that the pubs in such villages often serve particularly nice ale—and some of those pubs are themselves National Trust properties.

Unlike other villages in South Yorkshire where there have been cookie-cutter generic housing estates springing up at a rate of knots these last couple of decades, Wentworth is almost entirely without development (unless you count the hideous monstrosity known as the Garden Centre) and IMO is the much better for it.

Anyway, that's by the by and is getting seriously off-topic.

Back to the beer:

http://www.wellingtonsheffield.com/ - best pub in Sheffield for real ale but closely followed by:

http://www.risingsunsheffield.co.uk, which is the only pub owned by

http://www.abbeydalebrewery.co.uk/

Great information, for me and anyone planning to travel to the UK who appreciates the British styles of beer—much appreciated!

There's also a variety of real ale brewed by http://www.sheffieldbrewery.com/ but I've only ever tried one pint of their wares. Because the majority of Sheffield & South Yorks was affected by tremendous flooding in the summer of 2007, it meant that The Sheffield Brewery was out of action for a while, along with many of the pubs it supplied. They've started brewing again but I've not visited any of the places that sell their ales since they did so. Hmm, that could be a 'task' for me next week....

Yes, by all means... it's an extra demand on your probably already too-busy schedule, but business before pleasure, eh? :lol:

Sorry for the 'essay', hope there's some useful info for you there. If you need any more then just ask; as you can probably gather I'm a real ale connoisseur!

No, in all seriousness, this is very helpful information to know. And yes, I'll be more than happy to consult you and my other MT friends in the UK, which for me is to beer what Paris is to fashion and New York is to finance. Thanks, and next round is mine .... :cheers:

 

[Kempojujutsu]

Since I started doing homebrewing, I prefer my own porters and stout beers. They are just as good as some of the big boys. The nice thing is I can make about 5 gallons of the good stuff for about $30.00

I have also made some good wheat, red ales, German oktoberfest style beers.

 

[Cryozombie]

Actually, anything from Spaten is great.

Indeed.

FWIW, I have been drinking a lot of Effes Dark latley. I wouldnt call it the BEST dark, or even in the top five (its a bit sweet for a Dark beer) but I have been enjoying it.

Also, my Guiness drinking fans... I have been told by numerous Guiness drinkers that my Homebrew Stout puts it to shame.

 

[Cryozombie]

Since I started doing homebrewing, I prefer my own porters and stout beers. They are just as good as some of the big boys. The nice thing is I can make about 5 gallons of the good stuff for about $30.00

I have also made some good wheat, red ales, German oktoberfest style beers.

Do you Extract or Mash Brew?

 

[CoryKS]

3) Mackeson Stout - warm

I came in here to say this. Wonderful beer.

 

[exile]

I love beer! This is a bad thread for me as I am getting strong cravings to go down the pub!

My top beers are

1) Guinness (especially in Ireland as it tastes so much better there!)
2) Gem (Bath Brewery)
3) Hobgoblin (Wychwood brewery)
4) Tanglefoot (Badger Ales)
5) Adnams Broadside
6) Barnstormer (Bath Brewery)
7) Woodforde's Wherry (Being born in Norfolk I used to drink a lot of this!)
8) Bellringer (Abbey Ales)
9) Hen's Tooth (Greene King)
10) Redhead (Tipples Brewery)

Mmmmmmmm beeer!

... and onto the list for my late summer/autumn UK trip they go! :asian:

Actually, the Adnam's Broadside is always on my list, or any beer from Adnams. Fortunately, Sole Bay won't be too far from where I'll be fetching up when I'm over there in August though the end of the year, most likely, or very nearly. I had some at a pub near where we were staying in London this past summer that was so good that I woke up the next morning literally thinking about it... of course, when I went there in the afternoon for another pint, they were out!

It has to be said that you can't really know how good some of these are unless you drink them from handpump dispense somewhere not too far from the brewery. Real ales are reasonably robust, because fermentation is going on virtually till the server pulls you that pint; on the other hand, without gas pressure and added preservatives—which immediately disqualify a beer for the Real Ale accolade—they can deteriorate fast if the guv'nor isn't paying close attention, and if too much time goes in the transport to the pub. And that can happen easily if you're going a few hundred miles, let alone putting the stuff in bottles, trucking them to the warehouse, and flying 'em over to another warehouse till the distributor gets round to sending them out to the store. By the time that happens, in many cases the game won't be worth the candle.

 

[Kempojujutsu]

Do you Extract or Mash Brew?

I consider myself a beginner. Have doing this for about 2 years now. I mainly do extract for now. Have been doing a lot of experiementing. Adding spices, fruits to the beer kits I bought. I use Brewers Best Beer Kits. It has every thing in it to brew your own beer. Takes out a lot of the guessing. One of these days I am going to Mash my brew.

 

[Cryozombie]

I consider myself a beginner. Have doing this for about 2 years now. I mainly do extract for now. Have been doing a lot of experiementing. Adding spices, fruits to the beer kits I bought. I use Brewers Best Beer Kits. It has every thing in it to brew your own beer. Takes out a lot of the guessing. One of these days I am going to Mash my brew.

This has been an invaluable resource for me... in case you had not seen it...

The Cat's Meow 3

HUNDREDS of recipes for various types of Beers. There is even a Printable format, I printed the whole thing and ring bound it so I have a recipe guide in the kitchen.

But those BB kits make good beer too. I use them as well. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

[Kempojujutsu]

Here are a few more places to visit.

www.Brewboard.com It's a discussion board

www.Howtobrew.com It's a blog by John Palmer

www.Leisure-time.com They have the cheapest prices on the Best Brewer Kits on the internet. I have not order form them in a while though.