Do you like the taste of Lager?

joescrivens said:
I'm a real ale drinker so I typically avoid lager. But I will not say that lagers are generically bad, it's just most of them that are.

Generally lager is a poor substitute for water, that's what the trapist monks of belgium would say. But there are a select number of lagers that do actually have flavor to them. I'm talking mainly about czech lagers here:

Budvar and Staropramen mainly. Any lager that has to be drunk cold in order to palate it is a sign of a bad lager. Serving drinks ice cold removes a lot of their flavor and thats why lagers are generally served so cold. When they are cool or room temperature they taste bad.

Real ale is where it is at, drank warm, cool or cold it still has a lot of flavor that tastes good, not all ales of course. Everyone has different tastes.

In general when I go to a pub and see people drinking Carling, Fosters, Kronenberg or even Stella it makes me want to be sick into my mouth. When there is so much decent drink on offer why they would limit themselves to these poor attempts at a beer I do not know. And again, I'm not just saying they should drink real ale, we all have our likes and dislikes, but if you are going to choose a lager, at least choose a good one.
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Now that is a pretty informative post :thumbs: you have goy my mouth watering now. I have now got a raging thirst for a real hoppy flavoured pint :)
 
Certainly waaaay more than one case of beer snobbery on this thread :lol:
 
TriggerHappy said:
:lol: I'll be honest and say that when I drink it's to get drunk. If it's just the case of enjoying a glass of something with a meal then there's a lot of things I'd pick before alcohol, which of course also has the added benefit of being healthier :)
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I have never been a drinker as I have always preferred fruit juices, I would only ever drink at Xmas or other event but never as a past time. I have only started drinking regular this past year. When I say regular I mean once or twice a week, never every night.

When me and the missus watch Coronation street or Emmerdale I always comment, by saying how can they always be in the pub? It always amazes me how the staff at the clothing factory ( in corrie) always dash over to the pub at the drop of a hat. Apart from anything how could they afford to be in the pub all the time?

At the moment my mates find it funny I have just discovered booze at my ripe old age :lol:
 
jonbeeza said:
Now that is a pretty informative post :thumbs: you have goy my mouth watering now. I have now got a raging thirst for a real hoppy flavoured pint :)
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if a hoppy pint is what you are after then look no further than Jaipur from the thornbridge brewery. its sacrilicious
 
joescrivens said:
if a hoppy pint is what you are after then look no further than Jaipur from the thornbridge brewery. its sacrilicious
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Adding to my notes cheers :thumbs:

There was a real ale pub that was advertised a little while back, me and the missus wanted to go and try the real ales out. The place was over someplace in Lancashire, can't recall where :thinking:. But they had a real ale tasting day on, we were ready to drive over and test the ales out. But obviously drink driving is a big no no :nono: , we could not find any suitable transport, so it never happened, I was really looking forward to that as well :|
 
I am reading all these posts with a cup of strong Coffee I have not got any Beers in, mind you it is still a little early!
 
I'm another real ale drinker these days. I'm sure 10 years ago I was able to drink all sorts, but now I can't drink lager. I find them quite tasteless and far too gassy. I much prefer real ales, or darker beers, even a extra cold Guiness would be up my street.

A good one recently tried is Innes and Gunn.
 
TriggerHappy said:
:lol: I'll be honest and say that when I drink it's to get drunk. If it's just the case of enjoying a glass of something with a meal then there's a lot of things I'd pick before alcohol, which of course also has the added benefit of being healthier :)
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If anyone is honest about it that's why we drink, if not properly drunk then certainly for the buzz. Booze of any sort doesn't taste 'nice' although some alcohol is more palatable than others, we drink for the effect not the flavour.

As for the taste, as jonbeeza said, any alcohol that has to be chilled before you drink it will be at the lower end of the palatable scale and why else are there so many mixers and concoctions available if not to disguise the real taste?

I prefer red wine over white, I prefer beer over lager and I find apple cider refreshing but my palate has changed since my youth when I was known to drink some bloody awful crap (lager and black or lager and lime anyone? or neat zambouka?) that I wouldn't touch with a bargepole these days.

If I want to drink lager, it's always German, their purity laws make sure it's not chock full of additives etc. which give me a headache.
 
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this made me giggle a minute or 20 a go

donkeyw.jpg
 
Hugh, I'll be 100% honest and say that I would far rather alcohol didn't make me drunk! On the rare occasions I do drink, I do so for the taste, with the effect being a rather unpleasant side effect (IMO). I would far rather enjoy more drink than end up paying what is now a significant amount of money for (sometimes but not recently!) a pile of pavement pizza, bedspins and feeling like **** the next day (if not longer!). Almost all my drinking these days is done on holiday, where a glass of Ouzo is usually cheaper than a glass of Coke or fruit juice and the wine (although it doesn't travel) is to my taste as well. I would be far happier if the Ouzo and plonk had no effect on me, especially the day after!
 
Nod said:
Hugh, I'll be 100% honest and say that I would far rather alcohol didn't make me drunk! On the rare occasions I do drink, I do so for the taste, with the effect being a rather unpleasant side effect (IMO). I would far rather enjoy more drink than end up paying what is now a significant amount of money for (sometimes but not recently!) a pile of pavement pizza, bedspins and feeling like **** the next day (if not longer!). Almost all my drinking these days is done on holiday, where a glass of Ouzo is usually cheaper than a glass of Coke or fruit juice and the wine (although it doesn't travel) is to my taste as well. I would be far happier if the Ouzo and plonk had no effect on me, especially the day after!
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Agreed. Never understood the need to get drunk.
 
Being drunk is only the end result of drinking too much but the buzz you get from booze early on is what most people are looking for when they drink. I remember having exactly this argument with a friend years ago and me taking the same point of view as you Scott and Nod, Until I actually thought about it and tried to think of a drink that I enjoyed the taste of for it's own sake but couldn't find one.

Alcohol free lager is a case in point, if you've ever tried it I expect you found the same as I did, a slightly horrible taste with something important definately missing.
 
Steep said:
If anyone is honest about it that's why we drink, if not properly drunk then certainly for the buzz. Booze of any sort doesn't taste 'nice' although some alcohol is more palatable than others, we drink for the effect not the flavour.
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couldn't disagree more with this statement.

I don't drink real ale for the buz or to get drunk. I drink it for the flavour. If the alcoholic drinks you are drinking don't taste "nice" then you are drinking the wrong things. The ale I drink tastes delicious
 
Steep said:
Alcohol free lager is a case in point, if you've ever tried it I expect you found the same as I did, a slightly horrible taste with something important definately missing.
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but thats because alcohol free lager tastes bad. If you gave me alcohol free real ale, but that tasted the same i'd choose it over the alcoholic version. the thing is you can't get the taste without the alchohol - thats what gives it the good taste.
 
I wish they made alcohol free Vodka. I am not allowed to drink vodka. :(
 
crofter said:
I haven't been drunk for about 15 years (did all my boozing when I was young) but I have the odd pint or two of proper ale now and again purely for the taste, lager is for **** artists.
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Once again though....not at all a hugely sweeping statement :lol:
 
Oh I agree joe alcohol free stuff tastes awful well the ones I've tried have but it's the getting drunk part I've never understood. When I drink I know when the alcohol is starting to take affect and that's when I back off and slow down but a lot of people just keep going and going until it makes the sick and unwell for a day or two.

That's the bit I'm a bit lost on. Why would someone actively pay to make themselves not only look stupid act stupid but make themselves unwell? I'm not on about A little tipsy I'm talking drunk.
 
pepi1967 said:
Oh I agree joe alcohol free stuff tastes awful well the ones I've tried have but it's the getting drunk part I've never understood. When I drink I know when the alcohol is starting to take affect and that's when I back off and slow down but a lot of people just keep going and going until it makes the sick and unwell for a day or two.

That's the bit I'm a bit lost on. Why would someone actively pay to make themselves not only look stupid act stupid but make themselves unwell? I'm not on about A little tipsy I'm talking drunk.
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nobody enjoys the feeling unwell part, but for many its worth going through for the fun they have whilst drunk.

Everyone is a different drunk. Some people have lots of fun when they feel drunk, others don't
 
There are some really good points being posted here, both about what we drink and why we drink. The last time I was really drunk was when I was seventeen, and this was at a works do. I remember it was lager and was horrible, I was pretty well gone. I vowed never to drink again, and I did not bother with drink again after that, well apart from the odd shandy and a small glass in an Italian with a meal.

Now I am in my fifties I have started on the pop, I suppose it started off catching up with old mates again. Plus just recently being on holiday, we went all inclusive, the booze was flowing freely and most of the time it was poor quality crap. The lager was bloody awful, the only thing decent was to drink was either the Vodka or the Baileys. I got well tipsy a few times :)
 
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I don't drink (my father is an alcoholic wuckfit and there is some evidence that the propensity to addiction is genetic so why take the risk) , but in my younger days , i'd generally avoid lager - although i did drink a fair bit of snakebite at uni
 
joescrivens said:
have you tasted premium lagers though? but still prefer carling and fosters?
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Yes I have had premiums and if I'm feeling particularly well off financially will drink them.

The cheap stuff tastes fine to me, maybe I'm just not that fussy.
 
new2me said:
this made me giggle a minute or 20 a go

donkeyw.jpg
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I was going to try this when ( Pete ) big soft moose replied, now that would have been a good one. While yours was for adults, mine would have been for the kids ;)
 
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No - Never drank a pint in my life - Would love to be able to enjoy it but beer (and wine and cider) tastes rank to me :(
 
I've always been a big drinker. Sometimes it's got me in to trouble (big trouble), but mostly I've had a great time while under the influence and have some great (but blurry) memories of nights out and parties etc. I've never been one for the odd pint or two though. I nearly always drink to excess, and then go through a day or two hiding in bed, crying.

I go through phases of different drinks but the ones that stay with me are Guinness, and Bacardi and Coke......in fact the only drinks that I wouldn't be able to drink at all are Gin, and red wine.

To answer the OP, I enjoy most kinds of lager. Not so keen on the super strength stuff, but I'll happily give my liver a kicking with most brands of lager.
 
I like lager, except its the lager that many continental Europeans would just call, beer.

There are for example, many excellent Belgian and Dutch beers/lagers that are a world away (possibly a solar system) from some of the stuff served in British pubs, but big business rules and admittedly many would not be happy paying the premium for a higher quality drink.

Fortunately we have, IMO, many very good breweries, eg Shepherd Neame (isn't 1698 one of the best British beers?), Adnams, Charles Wells, Robinsons.

We also make some excellent cider but unfortunately, as with beer, it is the companies who can afford to promote their brand who do well. I was taken in by the advertising and tried Magners - what awful rubbish, try Aspalls Premier Cru instead, or go to Normandy.

Dave

However, it is all down to personal taste.
 
Tringa said:
I like lager, except its the lager that many continental Europeans would just call, beer.

There are for example, many excellent Belgian and Dutch beers/lagers that are a world away (possibly a solar system) from some of the stuff served in British pubs, but big business rules and admittedly many would not be happy paying the premium for a higher quality drink.

Fortunately we have, IMO, many very good breweries, eg Shepherd Neame (isn't 1698 one of the best British beers?), Adnams, Charles Wells, Robinsons.
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I was with you right up until this point. Robinsons make great squash but their ale is best avoided at all costs :)
 
joescrivens said:
Shepherd Neame, the oldest brewer in the UK.

You really like them ice cold? I like mine cellar cool, but I wouldn't drink it too cold, you can't taste it.
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I do like them cold...maybe not ice cold...in the fridge cold. :)

But I have been known to bring them home and then put them in the freezer for 20 minutes to cool them off. :)

I like them cellar cool if I visit my dad's...because they're HIS beers! ha ha!
 
Steep said:
If anyone is honest about it that's why we drink, if not properly drunk then certainly for the buzz. Booze of any sort doesn't taste 'nice' although some alcohol is more palatable than others, we drink for the effect not the flavour.
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Isn't this the first sign of an alcoholic....drinking purely for the buzz/after effects, and not for the flavour? I never drink an alcoholic drink purely because it is alcohol.........that's just a bad path to take.

As joescrivens wrote earlier, if you're not drinking for the flavour, then you're drinking the wrong things.

As for drinking lager...............I can't take to the yellow fizzy lager, be it craft or macro, but give me a Schwartz, Bock, Doppelbock or Dunkel, or even a Baltic Porter brewed with lager yeast and I'm happy. Lager doesn't have to be transparent & golden!! One of the better lagers out there is Sam Adams Boston, or Harviestoun Schiehallion, which has just made it's way to Alberta.
 
I like all my drinks ice cold. I can see the point about reducing the taste but they're infinitely most refreshing and enjoyable, to me at least, that way.

I always find it interesting listening to people's preferences for things like food and drink. I suppose music and many other things are the same.

Red wine for example is something I cannot abide but my dad has a couple of glasses a night and loves it. I love a whiskey but so many of my friends basically puke at the thought of drinking it.
 
I remember my first experience of Beer was when I was about ten, me and my brother would sneak downstairs when everyone was in bed. We would drink the last dregs from all the bottles left on the table, bottles left by my big sister and her feller. I can even remember the taste all these years later, it was deffo Beer and not lager and the taste was lovely :lol:

Just thinking did anyone drink Lager in the early 1970s :thinking:
 
I'll have a nice chilled My Protein unflavoured protein drink or Chocolate mint Hurricane Evo please.
I used to drink lager up until early twenties. Haven't drunk alcohol in about 25 years, have no use for it.
 
Slimbert said:
No.
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quite the first sign of an alcoholic is not being able to have good time unless you are lashed and/or depending on the booze for other reasons.

lots of people get totally trashed on a regular basis without being addicted
 
Kroney 1664, cusquena, Fischer, asahi and Sapporo are what I drink terms of larger-type beers. Love the taste...
 
I like a lot of the badger beers - fursty ferret, golden champion, tangle foot are probably my favourites. Though I have just cracked open a bottle of England's Own and its very nice indeed.

I like a hobgoblin and enjoy all the wychwood beers too.

As far as lager goes, I don't mind cobra or kingfisher and both of those do go down very nicely with a curry.

If I'm in a weatherspoons or somewhere that tends to only cater for mainstream tastes I can tolerate a generic lager like bud, carling or fosters but it does taste pretty bland.

Love crabbies too.

If any of you guys want to try something a bit different which isn't too heavy, get a couple of bottles of badger, its lovely.
 
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