This page was last on 07 October 2007 14:39:08.

WHY DO I LIKE IT?

Whilst it would be nice to assume that you like, or are interested in, real ale for the same reasons as myself it probably would not be true!  I like real ale because of the variation in the flavours achieved by brewers.  This simply is not possible with lager - the main variation is how quickly it will get you drunk, and the same is true of the smoothflow (nitrokeg) bitters - although they are not very bitter by the time you have boiled them and inserted carbon dioxide and nitrogen!  Don't get me wrong, I am not an acolyte that will only drink real ale (I drink more than my fair share of lager and cider) but real ale is still my favourite because of the pleasure I get from a well kept and well served pint.  It is, quite simply, a different experience.

WHAT DO I LIKE?

Before I start, let me present a short piece on acquiring a taste for real ale and my dislikes - these are often easier to describe!  I don't like stouts!  Brews along the lines of Guinness, and Murphy's don't pass my lips because I don't like the taste.  There are a number of normal bitters I don't like either, but the more you drink, the more you can select the beers you like.  A trip to a real ale festival such as the Cotswold Beer Festival near Winchcombe will provide you with at least fifty real ales to try - suddenly, having half a pint of each beer you want to try seems like a good idea!  This festival is normally sold out before the event so keep an eye out in the press and local real ale pubs for details of how to book.  Of course, a good real ale pub will keep a supply of well kept beer for you to try, and pubs chains such as Wetherspoons run mini beer festivals at least twice a year and require no pre booking, but you don't get the same variation of ales from just one visit.  Individual pubs also run similar, if smaller, events.

My personal tastes run from the very light to more 'normal' beers.  My favourite beers are listed below, but I would not put any one of these above the rest - they are all different and all good.

Old Spot

Brewed by Chas at the Uley Brewery in Uley near Stroud.  A strong bitter at 5% ABV with quite a dark colour.  Although the beer has a strong taste, the aftertaste is excellent.  Unfortunately, this beer is rarely found on the Forest side of the River Severn!

Celestial Steam Gale

Another 5% ABV beer, but lighter in colour and taste than Old Spot.  Still with a bitter taste but without the stronger, and as I think about it 'darker', flavours.  Another excellent beer from Freeminer is Strip and At It which is again a light, Summer beer although weaker at 4% ABV.  Freeminer beers are all named after old local mines and the Freeminer name reflects the traditional Forest custom that locally born people who had worked for a year and a day in a pit could stake a claim to a 'gale' or mine with remarkable freedom from payment, national regulation and land purchase.  The Brewery is based in the Forest, and moved from Sling to Cinderford at the end of 2000.  Please visit their website by clicking on this link.

Gold Standard

A 5% beer similar in colour to Celestial Steam Gale, but completely different in taste!  Brewed originally in 1998 when First Gold hops were first produced, it is a bitter beer but the overall sensation is wonderful!  Other beers to look out for are Speculation and the Co-op Bumble Bee.

East Street Cream 

Brewed by RCH near Weston Super Mare, the brewery originally started behind the Royal Clarence Hotel in Burnham on Sea.  A normal bitter colour this simply has an excellent taste with none of the poor aftertaste sometimes associated with a 5% ABV beer.  Another good beer from this brewery is Pitchfork which is more widely available in the area.

Summer Lightning 

Quite simply the best Summer beer around.  5% ABV again, this straw coloured beer will get you drunk quite happily whilst having a light taste and being all too easy - even dangerously easy - to drink. Now available in bottles in most large supermarkets.

Bright

A 'weaker' beer than the rest at 4.3% ABV but, again, a light coloured bitter with a taste that I can only describe as excellent.

Bitter and Twisted

I first tried this 3.8% beer in 2002, and was very impressed.  In August 2003 it won Champion Beer of Britain in the Great British Beer Festival, and for once I fully agree with the judges.  Superbly drinkable and of a strength that you can have a few.

If you want full descriptions of these bitters, then I can only suggest either trying them yourself, or obtaining a copy of the Good Beer Guide, published by CAMRA. 

SO WHO AM I?

I am forty-something (well, definitely "something") and I have lived in the Forest for twenty years.  I have always preferred real ale simply for the variation in tastes that are available.  These pages contain my personal views on beer and pubs and as such I am sure you won't agree with everything - as indeed you shouldn't!  I organised the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) group within the Forest of Dean for some years before leaving in February 2000 and one upside of this is that after countless newsletters and meetings I can now give my own opinions and not be governed by the Campaigns views.  More importantly, I can now visit the pubs I want, when I want to, which as ever is not enough.