A pint of Magnet

[The Crab]

I have definately had Stones after the move but I think Tetley's only from electric, not hand pull. I found them both pretty bland. They were both amongst the mass-produced type of beer before anyway, but in those days there weren't all the mini-breweries to choose from. I like to try different beers and enjoy a wide variety of flavours, but always tend towards the darker, thicker, heavier beers, bitter rather than sweet, and tend to veer away from lagers and bubbly beers. I often try something I haven't had before, though of course there's a fair chance of getting a duffer, but I like the new experiences.
I don't like the way the big brewery conglomorates buy up, chew and spit out brewing company after brewing company. There's so much choice, I see no reason to support them.
My favourites are probably Black Sheep and Theakston's XB. Saltaire Blonde is a good summer beer, but a little on the light, bubbly side for me to have too many. I used to love the Samuel Smiths Stout (I think it was the stout) but haven't had that for many years, it may have changed. Tim Taylors is also pretty good, again fairly light, I prefer their Best.
Germany is a mixed bag and is by no means exempt from the curse of the big brewing corporation. Each region has it's own beer culture and I much prefer the south for its many small breweries and Hefeweizen, Hamburg has probably the worst beer culture in Germany Lots of cool bars though. They stick to their "Reinheitsgebot" nonsense though, which limits flavour (and actually they don't stick to the strict letter of the Reinheitsgebot anyway, so it's all pretty pointless). The Dutch and Belgian beers knock the Germans into touch.

I'm not a beer expert by any means, but Black Sheep is really nice.

 

[vorpal blade]

and if the German Authorities thought that any Tom, Dick or Hannes could set up a little brewery and produce an acceptably decent beer, they wouldn't have felt they need to for 'Reinheitsgeboten' in the first place would they?


ps I think I'm right in saying that Black Sheep was set up by a member of the Theakston family so it's not some newbie's home brew but based on old school knowledge of the brewer's art & the name reflects how he felt his family treated him.

 

[BushBlade]

Well Hamburg, I think the smaller breweries in England just aren't very good at it perhaps there is some fundamental in the brewing process that they cannot acheive with the plant that they can afford - in my view the latter-day 'craft' beer invasion is just a fad, the emperor's new clothes - a bit like tattoos have become 'trendy' for people who have no interest in style and are easily led, it wouldn't bother me apart from it has wiped the sort of beer I like to drink from the map of Sheffield.

I have visited Hamburg many times love it (how much better is a German city compared with an English one) and drunk there very often, to tell you the truth, I've never had much complaint about the beer there. I used to love French beer but they too have been over-thought hence I couldn't find any decent stuff there last time I went (alluded to above).

I must say, if the rules mean German beer is restricted in flavour then for me and my taste, I'm all in favour - the best wines of all three hues that I have drunk almost vanish in the mouth, they have subtle flavour and luckily for me, the world agrees (bar southern England and recently established small scale brewers up here) that beer should be similarly light on the palette.

Again, I question the quality of the product that now calls itself 'real' ale.

Is it the breweries or is it how they keep the beer. The point of mass producing beer was to ensure consistency and make it relatively easy to keep, so even the most fuckwitted of landlords could manage to serve a decent pint if they could be bothered to keep their pipes clean. 99 times out of 100, if you ordered a pint of Tetleys, you got a pint of beer that tasted like Tetleys. Same as the one you had yesterday. Nowt wrong with that, some people like to order things they're familiar with and know they're going to like.

If others like variety, fair enough, I just don't like the attitude that someone is in some way ignorant or lacking in taste buds if they'd rather have a 'standard' pint than some micro brewery product. Unfortunately part of the marketing is the idea that if you pay over the odds for a pint of 'Old Twatwatter' you're a 'discerning' drinker and somehow superior to those that just want a pint of lager, and the pretence that we drink it primarily for the taste and not because we like the effects of alcohol.

 

[Karaoke Blade]

Used to be able to get Magnet at the Dove and Rainbow in town, used to get it quite often.

Doesn't add much if anything to this thread but thought I'd share.

The last time I was in the Dove and Rainbow they only served Whitbreads ...Mind you, it was in 1979.

 

[Pedro Verde]

Again, I don't doubt that some people love the flat, warm southern beer that is now ubiquitous in Sheffield, the self-styled Home of 'Real' Ale, but it's preponderance has left a lot of us with no bitter to drink there anymore.

I have a local that started off with one real ale Black Sheep, due to popularity it now has 4 x different real ales on at present there is Holy Grail (a Black Sheep brewery ale) Bombardier (Wells Brewery) and Ghost Ship (Adnams Brewery) I can assure you none of it is flat or warm They have replaced Tetley handpulled with Ghost Ship the landlady cannot be more pleased with her decision
I dont know where you have purchased the flat warm southern beer but I would probably put the problem down to the establishment that sold it to you

 

[vorpal blade]

University Arms, Cremorne, Red Lion, Sheffield Tap, Rutland ..... the maxim used to be that if there were too many beers on tap, it was more likely to be stale because they didn't get through the barrels quickly enough.

Do you remember the taste of northern bitter, do you remember the creamyness before the current rash of small breweries nearly made it extinct in Sheffield Pedro? if said landlady is keeping the beer cool and sparkling enough then good for her and good for you - which pub is it?

And I have to say, I suppose it IS possible that Sheffield has always gone in for warmer, flatter beer than we did in Doncaster

 

[BushBlade]

I have a local that started off with one real ale Black Sheep, due to popularity it now has 4 x different real ales on at present there is Holy Grail (a Black Sheep brewery ale) Bombardier (Wells Brewery) and Ghost Ship (Adnams Brewery) I can assure you none of it is flat or warm They have replaced Tetley handpulled with Ghost Ship the landlady cannot be more pleased with her decision
I dont know where you have purchased the flat warm southern beer but I would probably put the problem down to the establishment that sold it to you

Adnams is brewed in Southwold, Suffolk and Bombadier in Kent (hop country). It must be a bit 'southern' surely? (Both my dad and my uncle liked a pint of Adnams back in the seventies when we were on holiday and they're used to northern beer so it must be OK though).

 

[Pedro Verde]

Do you remember the taste of northern bitter, do you remember the creamyness before the current rash of small breweries nearly made it extinct in Sheffield Pedro? if said landlady is keeping the beer cool and sparkling enough then good for her and good for you - which pub is it?

And I have to say, I suppose it IS possible that Sheffield has always gone in for warmer, flatter beer than we did in Doncaster

Yes I remember Northern bitter back in the day Ive always enjoyed Stones, Wards was very hit and miss I liked Whitbread at one point then it seemed to change so I stopped drinking it was never bothered about John Smiths. Tetleys was quite nice for a while always thought it tasted better in L666s though

My local is The Royal in Woodhouse the beer keeps well apart from Black Sheep it tends to go tangy / fruity near the end of the barrel when a fresh barrel is on its spot on

Adnams is brewed in Southwold, Suffolk and Bombadier in Kent (hop country). It must be a bit 'southern' surely? (Both my dad and my uncle liked a pint of Adnams back in the seventies when we were on holiday and they're used to northern beer so it must be OK though).

Yes both are southern beer and are most certainly not flat or warm

 

[Hamburg Blade]

and if the German Authorities thought that any Tom, Dick or Hannes could set up a little brewery and produce an acceptably decent beer, they wouldn't have felt they need to for 'Reinheitsgeboten' in the first place would they?


ps I think I'm right in saying that Black Sheep was set up by a member of the Theakston family so it's not some newbie's home brew but based on old school knowledge of the brewer's art & the name reflects how he felt his family treated him.

The Reinheitsgebot is a mediaeval thing which I think was to stop people adding dead rats and stuff to give their beer a bit of a tang, although the suspicion is it was to block the competition. It is no longer relevant - or law, the EU did away with it - and has turned into some kind of marketing, "Seal of Quality" type thing. I know of two pubs that I frequent occasionally that brew their own beer, so I don't think it really affects much compared to how it is in the UK.
Hamburg is a great night out, it has some of the best bars and night scene in all Germany, but it doesn't have much in the way of its own beer or beer perculiarities, like Cologne and Düsseldorf, with their Kölsch and Altbier, or Bavaria's Weizen, Berlin's Weisse, and so on. Also, when I moved here, the choice was very limited, each pub pretty much had just one beer on offer. That's a bit better now, but still it's usually a choice between a pils on tap or a weizen from one of 3 major brewers out of a bottle.
The craft beer craze has hit Germany however, so we shall see what happens. Not much, probably.

 

[vorpal blade]

the choice was very limited, each pub pretty much had just one beer on offer

Well for me, that's a good thing, helps ensure the beer is fresh.

I suppose you might compare Hamburg to Liverpool but it knocks it into a cocked hat, its the daytime that impressess me most there, do you know the new part of the Docklands near the opera house, its simply far better in quality and scope than anything I've seen over here and that includes London IMO. The other thing I wonder about is how much of Hamburg got blammed in the war, did they rebuild it fantastically well or did we miss?

btw Doncaster has its own little version of the Sheffield Tap on platform 1 these days and thankfully not Thornbridge; as for the beer, forget it, the Urquell Pilsener on tap is a dreadful thing compared with the (predictable) taste of the stuff they bottle.

 

[metalblade]

Stones, Tetleys, John Smiths since going national are all a shadow of what they were in the early 70's when i started drinking. Wards, Whitbreads, Barnsley bitter no longer available apart from something a similar colour now in bottles.
I'd rather drink my own piss than the crap called Stones, Tetleys and John Smiths that you can get in every pub you go in, no real taste to any of them nowadays.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

Well for me, that's a good thing, helps ensure the beer is fresh.

I suppose you might compare Hamburg to Liverpool but it knocks it into a cocked hat, its the daytime that impressess me most there, do you know the new part of the Docklands near the opera house, its simply far better in quality and scope than anything I've seen over here and that includes London IMO. The other thing I wonder about is how much of Hamburg got blammed in the war, did they rebuild it fantastically well or did we miss?

btw Doncaster has its own little version of the Sheffield Tap on platform 1 these days and thankfully not Thornbridge; as for the beer, forget it, the Urquell Pilsener on tap is a dreadful thing compared with the (predictable) taste of the stuff they bottle.

We blasted it to bits, but I think what happened with Hamburg is that, because it's a port, there was always the area to service visiting sailors, the Reeperbahn, which just grew in reputation. The city tried to wreck it during the World Cup - cleaning it up for visitors from around the world, which is the last thing they should have done. It's lost a little bit of its edge compared to before. I think one of the advantages Hamburg has is that it has different areas, so a night out on the Reeperbahn is a different place to shopping in the city centre, is different again to where the good restaurants are, or where the business centre is. I've been down to the area around the opera house a couple of times, but don't know it well since it's been finished. I live a little outside Hamburg now, which is good for the liver.
However, I miss the beer garden culture of the south.

 

[vorpal blade]

Ah, leberwurst a regional speciality - glad to hear it.

 

[Toronto Blade]

They would sell more Magnet if they had staff like Sitwell's and Bruce Wayne's avatars pulling the pints!

 

[vorpal blade]

or in some establishments, yours

 

[Ferenc Blade]

It annoys me know going out for beers..i like the old style bitter, but normally have to hunt for it in between the crappy grapefruit tasting shite they want £5 a pint for. Ought to be a rule that every pub should have bitter on handpull, Black sheep is fine, I like that

 

[The Crab]

The Reinheitsgebot is a mediaeval thing which I think was to stop people adding dead rats and stuff to give their beer a bit of a tang, although the suspicion is it was to block the competition. It is no longer relevant - or law, the EU did away with it - and has turned into some kind of marketing, "Seal of Quality" type thing. I know of two pubs that I frequent occasionally that brew their own beer, so I don't think it really affects much compared to how it is in the UK.
Hamburg is a great night out, it has some of the best bars and night scene in all Germany, but it doesn't have much in the way of its own beer or beer perculiarities, like Cologne and Düsseldorf, with their Kölsch and Altbier, or Bavaria's Weizen, Berlin's Weisse, and so on. Also, when I moved here, the choice was very limited, each pub pretty much had just one beer on offer. That's a bit better now, but still it's usually a choice between a pils on tap or a weizen from one of 3 major brewers out of a bottle.
The craft beer craze has hit Germany however, so we shall see what happens. Not much, probably.

You'll be delighted to know that here at The Happy Crab (a division of Crab Industries), we categorically do not add Rats to the beer*

*We put them in the "meat" Curries and have usually run out of Rats by the time we get to sorting the beer.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

You'll be delighted to know that here at The Happy Crab (a division of Crab Industries), we categorically do not add Rats to the beer*

*We put them in the "meat" Curries and have usually run out of Rats by the time we get to sorting the beer.

Just going off at a tangent, why do peope object to the idea of eating rats? Pigeons yes, rats no. Why?

 

[BushBlade]

Just going off at a tangent, why do peope object to the idea of eating rats? Pigeons yes, rats no. Why?

https://www.quora.com/Can-a-sewer-rat-be-eaten-if-cooked-properly

 

[Sean Thornton]

The last time I was in the Dove and Rainbow they only served Whitbreads ...Mind you, it was in 1979.

Blue Bell had it but you're right, D&R was a Whitbreads only house in those days. Think the top Three Tuns sold it as well.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Just going off at a tangent, why do peope object to the idea of eating rats? Pigeons yes, rats no. Why?

I think, generally, the Pigeons that are eaten tend not to be the ones whose diet is high in tab ends and pavement pizzas.

 

[Sean Thornton]

https://www.quora.com/Can-a-sewer-rat-be-eaten-if-cooked-properly

There you have it The Crab . Tell the Hygiene Standards bloke to go fuck himself.

 

[The Crab]

Just going off at a tangent, why do peope object to the idea of eating rats? Pigeons yes, rats no. Why?

In these Michelin Starred times. it's only a matter of time before the Rat has it's turn. Things that were once considered offal are now en vogue.

Maybe I'm a gobshite, but no matter how rich I got, I'd still want a decent pie.

 

[Sean Thornton]

In these Michelin Starred times. it's only a matter of time before the Rat has it's turn. Things that were once considered offal are now en vogue.

Maybe I'm a gobshite, but no matter how rich I got, I'd still want a decent pie.

I had a veal sweetbreads and roast veg pie - as a starter - in Lyon at the weekend. It was the best pie I've ever eaten.

I also had tripe and chitterlings sausage which was okay but the mustard sauce was a bit strong.

 

[The Crab]

I had a veal sweetbreads and roast veg pie - as a starter - in Lyon at the weekend. It was the best pie I've ever eaten.

I also had tripe and chitterlings sausage which was okay but the mustard sauce was a bit strong.

Sweetbreads, they're Testicles aren't they? Not for me mate.

Tripe, Chitterlings & Bag, my Grandad and Uncle used to like all that, not for me either I'm araid!

 

[vorpal blade]

ah yes, was the sausage the mischievously prettily named Andouillete? ...... try tripe a la mode de Caen* for a more palatable offally treat next time . If you are still feeling adventurous go for Langue de Bouef au sauce Picante ...... (Langue as in Language)

Lyon is a marvellous city, many happy hours - regarded as the best culinary 'offer' in France.

* still a difficult meal for those who were ever force fed tripe and onions as a kid mind - don't get me started on my Grandma's Cow-udder.

 

[Sean Thornton]

ah yes, was the sausage the mischievously prettily named Andouillete? ...... try tripe a la mode de Caen* for a more palatable offally treat next time .

Lyon is a marvellous city, many happy hours - regarded as the best culinary 'offer' in France.

* still a difficult meal for those who were ever force fed tripe and onions mind - don't get me started on my Grandma's Cow-udder.

It was indeed.

Everywhere we ate the food was excellent. (The pie was in a Michelin starred gaff) stayed in the Old Town in a 500 year old building. Definitely going back.

Had a good tripe dish in Sicily and had it as a kid anyway so not a bad experience.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Sweetbreads, they're Testicles aren't they? Not for me mate.

Tripe, Chitterlings & Bag, my Grandad and Uncle used to like all that, not for me either I'm araid!

No, Thymus or Pancreas glands. Delicious. You should try them. Very rich.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

I think, generally, the Pigeons that are eaten tend not to be the ones whose diet is high in tab ends and pavement pizzas.

Probably not, but when it's served to you all trussed up in a restaurant, you're taking it on trust that it isn't.

 

[BushBlade]

No, Thymus or Pancreas glands. Delicious. You should try them. Very rich.

That's the true definition but other glands including bollocks are often called 'sweetbreads' too. I'd still recommend them.