Am intrigued, now, here in my den across the pond from you.
It seems to me, though, that the British Isles do beer, ale, and the like quite nicely. I discovered that I REALLY liked warm ale when I was a young thing visiting London in the 1970's. Go figure-before that, I would be the last person in the room to break into the kegs.
A cynic would say that American beer is served cold in order that one can't taste it. :-)
The winter beer festival is a CAMRA event; the Campaign for Real Ale. (You may know some or all of this - in that case, sorry). This refers specifically to the traditional way beer was made and kept, undergoing a secondary fermentation because live yeast remains in the beer after it is put in barrel.
I am pretty certain you're correct about the American beer & why it's served cold, although I must be a little patriotic here & point out that the water supply used for the Budweiser produced in the Newark, NJ brewery is really (surprise!) the best and makes the best Budweiser in the country.
A Budweiser in Florida just ain't the same, mate!
@ a Renaissance Faire in Sterling Forest, NY, I tried the 'mead' & found it lacked a little something.
Would much prefer to return to Great Britain & see if my memory is playing tricks on me or not.
@ home, when I can, I'll generally order a Bass & make the most of it.
I have a feeling that the warm ale and the mead are best had in the British Isles.
For someone who is not exactly a connoiseur, it's safe to disclose that I have been known to consume Beck's, Heinekken & the like, as well.
When I feel better, I'll just have to dance it all off.
Meads vary wildly; some are simply fortified wines with honey, but the better meads - like Gale's, or Moniack - are made by brewing honey. I used to get Moniack in in huge supply; it's very nice, but the hangovers are about as bad as they get save for port hangovers.
Cambridge is very lucky for beer, with three breweries; Milton in particular is run by enthusiasts, and their brewery tours are quite entertaining.
In New York state, there are several wineries that have been giving tours for years, and I heard that they're really enjoyable-particularly toward the end!
I used to be acquainted with one of the members of the Wente family-they market wine from their vinyards in Livermore, California, & their Blanc et Noir was really nice. I'm fairly certain that the California wineries, @ least some of them, have tours.
In several regions of the United States, particularly where there are populations of northern European stock, the Oktoberfest is an annual event. Because of the profit potential, it, along with craft fairs & the like, has survived by being co-opted by corporate interests.
This response has become lengthy-I'll spare a discourse on the pros & cons of corporate involvement. Except to say, generally, ya win some, ya lose some! Isn't that how Darwin could have summed it up? :)
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relevance, your honour!
Am intrigued, now, here in my den across the pond from you.
It seems to me, though, that the British Isles do beer, ale, and the like quite nicely. I discovered that I REALLY liked warm ale when I was a young thing visiting London in the 1970's. Go figure-before that, I would be the last person in the room to break into the kegs.
Re: relevance, your honour!
The winter beer festival is a CAMRA event; the Campaign for Real Ale. (You may know some or all of this - in that case, sorry). This refers specifically to the traditional way beer was made and kept, undergoing a secondary fermentation because live yeast remains in the beer after it is put in barrel.
Re: relevance, your honour!
I am pretty certain you're correct about the American beer & why it's served cold, although I must be a little patriotic here & point out that the water supply used for the Budweiser produced in the Newark, NJ brewery is really (surprise!) the best and makes the best Budweiser in the country.
A Budweiser in Florida just ain't the same, mate!
@ a Renaissance Faire in Sterling Forest, NY, I tried the 'mead' & found it lacked a little something.
Would much prefer to return to Great Britain & see if my memory is playing tricks on me or not.
@ home, when I can, I'll generally order a Bass & make the most of it.
I have a feeling that the warm ale and the mead are best had in the British Isles.
For someone who is not exactly a connoiseur, it's safe to disclose that I have been known to consume Beck's, Heinekken & the like, as well.
When I feel better, I'll just have to dance it all off.
Or something. :)
Re: relevance, your honour!
Cambridge is very lucky for beer, with three breweries; Milton in particular is run by enthusiasts, and their brewery tours are quite entertaining.
Re: relevance, your honour!
I used to be acquainted with one of the members of the Wente family-they market wine from their vinyards in Livermore, California, & their Blanc et Noir was really nice. I'm fairly certain that the California wineries, @ least some of them, have tours.
In several regions of the United States, particularly where there are populations of northern European stock, the Oktoberfest is an annual event. Because of the profit potential, it, along with craft fairs & the like, has survived by being co-opted by corporate interests.
This response has become lengthy-I'll spare a discourse on the pros & cons of corporate involvement. Except to say, generally, ya win some, ya lose some! Isn't that how Darwin could have summed it up? :)