OT: Nanny State strikes again

[David Lang]

I've been a fan of high strength lager for many years. I don't drink it in the town centre and shout at the pigeons.

Simply, I'd rather have one 500 ml can of 9% lager in the evening than two 500ml cans of 4.5%.

I prefer the taste & body and I don't consume as much liquid.

But apparently the health police have decided I'm not allowed to do that any more. Carlsberg and Tennants have both reduced their 9% lager to 8%

- a reduction of 11%. The price has, of course, remained the same. As no doubt has the Guvmint tax.

[Tim Watts]

Back to uk.d-i-y - what happened to brewing your own :)

Wine and beer making was really popular in the 70s and by the 90s, the beer kits were pretty good and low fuss.

[T i m]

I thought that was part of the fun (or it is for me, stinky, foot-rot and the others under the arches). Nothing like a taste of a pigeon roasted over a burning Nissan Micra after a few can't of tramp juice. ;-)

So did I, till the doctor said my ulcer didn't enjoy it as much as I did. ;-(

+1

I think my favourite (at the time) was Colt 45, but I also enjoy(ed) a can of Special Brew, Tennants Super, Breaker or more recently, Kestrel Super:

If I fancied something a bit lighter a bottle or two of Pils would often go down nicely (in fact one of the two times I've been drunk in my life was on a free stream of Pils that I only realised what affect it was having when I tried to get off the bar stool. I was also reminded that I didn't want to do such again whilst laying in bed and feeling the room spin round and in the morning when offered a 'Full English' breakfast.

Now I'm down to the '4 for a pound' 2% things from the supermarkets that just make a change from tea, coffee or squash. ;-(

Maybe I better get a few cases of Kestrel in and put them with my stash of 60W incandescent light bulbs. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I also went though the wine and beer brewing fad and at one time had 4 'RotoKegs' [1] filled with lager, bitter, mild (< those two were for my mates and Mrs) and red wine. From what I remember they were dangerous times.

[1] If that was what they were called? They had two metal plates that you bolted together with the pressure release valve that formed the seal of the top with the use of a rubber gasket?

[Chris Bartram]

My old man had something similar. A beersphere.

The seal was like this

but it seems they've changed now.

[T i m]

Yes, that's the one.

Seeing that makes me want to make some more beer. ;-)

I was thinking about the sphere and how the float worked. I'm thinking I fitted the output hose and float when I first filled it with ingredients?

Cheers, T i m

[spuorgelgoog]

A friend, who has a low tolerance to alcohol and doesn't usually drink, got rather giggly on Aldi rum truffles at Christmas.

Owain

[Jonno]

T i m scribbled

Surprising the number of piss artists in this group. The reason for the lunacy is explained.

[Tim+]

While perhaps not entirely impossible I suspect that had a lot more to do with the power of suggestion than alcohol content. ;-)

Tim

[Davey]

In the US in the '902, I had a couple of Beer Sacks, basically a brew mix to which you added water, and hung it up in a cupboard to ferment, and then drew off when you wanted a decent drink. I had one working in a hotel, I wonder what the maids thought! See:

Made in the UK (for now), sold in the US. How to export to the World.

[Graham.]

It's ridiculous that they are age restricted to purchase. 16 IIRC.

[David]

Sod that.

Where can I get some original Crunk Juice??

[spuorgelgoog]

It must have been autosuggestion then as I didn't tell him they were alhocolic.

Owain

[Tim+]

How did you disguise the rum flavour?

Tim

[Dave Plowman (News)]

So is alcohol free beer like Becks Blue in Tesco.

[T i m]

Now that's the sort of 'utility' I like to go for. ;-)

The thing is 'most' people either want to make more of a hobby out of the whole process (like many do with food) or they get suckered into thing by good marketing or sales persons.

And don't get me wrong, I can (have) been suckered into getting all the stuff, like more fishing gear than I'd ever need or enough brewing kit to start a small brewery / bottling plant. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[thebretcahill]

In the desert it's a good idea to water down everything. That way you don't wake up thirsty at 3 am.

On a related issue, is clamato popular in the UK?

It's a mix of beer [lager], tomato juice and clam juice. Maybe some salt, lime and hot stuff dipped on the rim.

I really should keep better track of local culture since I drink so much of it.

Bret Cahill

[harry]

Don't you know alcohol is tasteless?

[Tim+]

Don't you know that alcohol free beer tastes like shit?

Alcohol gives body or "roundness" to the flavour of beer & wine. Low alcohol versions taste thinner and more insipid.

Tim

[whisky-dave]

Only pure alcohol a bit like water.

[whisky-dave]

Yes but why... at least it;s not as bad as alcohol free wine.