The Wine and Beer Thread =)

[Sheilawisz]

After talking with Aidan a little about our affection for wine, beer and how we love everything about them, I decided to start a new thread for anyone who enjoys these drinks for what they are: The complex flavours, the colours, the wonderful smells and many other things that are so unique about these beverages.

We could talk as well about wine and beer homemaking, or maybe about our favourite varieties of Grape for wines, fav wine regions, the interesting beers that few people know, what style of glasses we like best... please, the thread is not to discuss whether alcohol is good or bad for you, just to share our interest in Wine, Beer and other beverages for what they are =)

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Tip for mead: be very careful what honey you use. The wrong kind makes it disgustingly bitter I hear. I'm not certain but I think Orange Blossom and ones like that are bad.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Aidan, I have always wanted to try Mead!! The problem is, where to buy it... have you made Mead yourself? What do you need to start fermenting some honey? XD!!

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Aidan, I have always wanted to try Mead!! The problem is, where to buy it... have you made Mead yourself? What do you need to start fermenting some honey? XD!!

I haven't tried it, but I'll get back to you on that one.

 

[grahamguitarman]

I'm completely ignorant when it comes to wine, I like the odd glass on a summers day but know sod all about it.

But I do like a nice beer if its got plenty of flavour. I usually drink Newcastle Brown Ale as its easily available (even in the south of England where the beers are mostly terrible lol). Other favourites are Hobgoblin, Old speckled Hen, Barnsley bitter and Erdinger.

Basically I generally like either a good German wheat beer, or a really nutty dark brown ale, and occasionally a strong belgian abbey brew such as Leffe.

I'm not much for going to pubs to be honest, But when I do there are quite a few pubs round here that serve some good real ales.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

I'm completely ignorant when it comes to wine, I like the odd glass on a summers day but know sod all about it.

But I do like a nice beer if its got plenty of flavour. I usually drink Newcastle Brown Ale as its easily available (even in the south of England where the beers are mostly terrible lol). Other favourites are Hobgoblin, Old speckled Hen, Barnsley bitter and Erdinger.

Basically I generally like either a good German wheat beer, or a really nutty dark brown ale, and occasionally a strong belgian abbey brew such as Leffe.

I'm not much for going to pubs to be honest, But when I do there are quite a few pubs round here that serve some good real ales.

I'm not much of a pub crawler either, but I share your appreciation for Old Speckled Hen and Hobgoblin, the latter feeling very appropriate for a fantasy writer.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Cider drinkers anyone? Of course one of those drinks you have to be careful with as quality can be quite the sliding scale. We were in Spain a while ago, really good ciders over there. Really good pubs actually, pretty cosy places, where a really cheerful guy would come over and start talking to you in Spanish. They pour cider over there from about a foot above the glass. If you're ever in the north of that country I recommend it.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Hmm... I'm not much of a drinker.. but my dad has been a home brewer for over ten years... and though the smell of fermented hops has probably ruined beer for me forever... I have had a few tastes over the years. Also, loads of my friends make wine and mead, so I usually taste-test that as well..... that being said, I only know whether I like something or don't, because I guess I'm not refined enough to tell exactly what it is I like or don't.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Graham, the only Belgian Ale that I have tried was Duvel but I really want to try Leffe too. I will look for the beers that you mentioned at my city's specialized shops, I am trying to know more about beer and learn to appreciate it better =)

@Aidan: Thanks for mentioning Spain, I am feeling a little nostalgia know but I'll be fine... Asturias is the land of Cider in Northern Spain (the rest of the country is Wine Land, not cider really) and I do buy some Asturian cider sometimes that is available here at high prices, even though I also buy more common cider from the local production here- I really love cider too!!

Anihow, the fermented hops must smell really bad!! If I ever get into beer home brewing I would try to do it without the hops (after all, hops were not included in beer recipes in the past) and I also want to try wheat and rye beers =)

 

[Steerpike]

I just had some Old Speckled Hen. It was quite good. I also like Bass Ale, and MacEwans.

The best widely-distributed American beer (i.e. non-micro brew) is probably Samuel Adams. Good stuff.

I like Duvel, and also Stella Artois, as far as the Belgians go.

 

[grahamguitarman]

yeah Duvel is nice too, downed a few of those in my time

 

[Sheilawisz]

Something that I find particularly fascinating about wine, is to take a look at all of its colours and details by the light of a candle at night... with some complex red wines this is fantastic, and for some reason when I do this I seem to be capable to appreciate better the smell and the flavours of the same wine =)

I just sit there and spend a long time swirling my glass, staring at the liquid and inhaling all the magic, then I make many strange noises when I sip it and then I smell it again...

I use Luminarc glasses: I have four Bordeaux style, four Bourgogne glasses and five special Kwarx that have a very curious design that I love, all of them are huge since they are 57cl! What style of glasses do you have??

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

I'm not going to let this thread fall to far back.

In a while the village is going to be doing a small get-together to celebrate the jubilee, and there's going to be a few drinks going around, probably Pimms.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Thank you, Aidan!! I love that kind of traditional celebrations in villages and towns, especially when large amounts of cheap wine are involved in the street celebrations and stuff =)

What Jubilee is this that you are talking about??

Last night I opened a good Chilean wine to share with my dad and celebrate his birthday =)

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Thank you, Aidan!! I love that kind of traditional celebrations in villages and towns, especially when large amounts of cheap wine are involved in the street celebrations and stuff =)

What Jubilee is this that you are talking about??

Last night I opened a good Chilean wine to share with my dad and celebrate his birthday =)

I'm back now. The Queen's diamond jubilee, and yes there was Pimms. That's me feeling philosophical for the evening now, drinks seem to do that to me.

 

[Sheilawisz]

That Pimms stuff sounds interesting, but sadly I have never seen those in any shop here... normally I do not like mixed beverages or cocktails of any kind, but I could give Pimms a try!!

By the way, I was very curious about Vodka for months- so, a few weeks ago I went to the Liverpool shop (a chain of cute department stores here, similar to Spain's El Corte Inglés) and I bought a bottle of that Wyborowa thing just to give it a try and get rid of that freaking curiosity once and for all.

I had read that Wyborowa is a decent, high-quality 100% Rye Vodka and it's not over-prized so I chose it... and this is what happened:

1- Tried it neat: Awful, like trying to drink some noxious substance at a pesticides factory, terrible.

2- Tried it with Cranberry juice to a strength of 10%: More difficult to drink than a soft wine, bad smell, bad medicine-like taste, nothing enjoyable at all.

3- Tried it with Apple juice to a strength of 8%: I ruined a pretty good apple juice by transforming it into something similar to the cranberry/vodka thing... just so bad!!

Sorry if there are vodka fans around, but now I have an almost full bottle of Wyborowa and I have no idea what to do with it...

I am a Wine girl forever =)