which beer is the best in the world?

Ballantine ale was where I got my liking for "hoppy and bitter" tatsing beers

A major street in our area is Coors Boulevard, just known as Coors. I don't like the street either.. fine to drive but scary to cross as a pedestrian. I even remember being somewhat frightened while jogging across it, to get there before the light changed and the lions roared.

I've been drinking Fosters - I don't just love it but it's affordable.

I find it fascinating as I read up on Carling's history (now owned by Coors/Molson/Miller et al) and all those take-overs. It reads like the who's-who in the history of corporate takeovers.

me2

We used to sing "Hey Mable, get off the table, that dollar's there for beer!" at the top of our lungs.

Young whippersnapper! When we sang it the price was a quarter.

That was at O'Leary's Bar:
Edited for this thread.

I never realised Carling Black Label was so international. In the 80s comedians Stephen Frost and Mark Arden headed an advertising campaign, until they made the mistake of saying on a chat show that they thought it was awful, (it is) and lost the contract. The adverts were good though, this is the most memorable, based on the Dambusters.

Thank you Oss for your honesty. Indeed Foster's isn't the very greatest but here are a few scores from Greater Southwest Beer-Tasting Society

Fosters lager, Ga, Tx 3.1/2.7; 4.4/4.4; 3.2/2.3; 3.3/3.4; 1.8/1.6 [AH]

Somewhat average on a scale where 3.0 = acceptable; 5.0 = excellent, and 10.0 virtually unattainable

I really like Coors. The street, I mean. Because when I get to Coors in Albuquerque it means I can stop driving since the motel I stay at is right there off the 40.

Much like water.

Tico, well put indeed

Coors Light (Beer), Co 1.4/2.1; 1.6/0.9 [AH]/ 7.0 [LH]

Incidentally anyone interested in reports by the Greater Soutrhwest Beer-Tasting Society might contact me at [email protected]

I tried a new beer last night, and because of its strange name, I decided to make some investigations.
Along the way, I found quite an entertaining beer blog (down to earth, with no frills) and encountered, once again, that wonderful dry Midlands humour.
Firstly, the name of the beer and a piccie......

Bhacker Ackhams, from the Two Towers brewery (the same two towers that were said to have inspired Tolkien, who was born (I think)...and raised (certainly) in Birmingham.




A sweetish Stout, along the lines of a Murphys. Very smooth, and at cool room temperature, which was how it was served, it is definitely a beer for a cold winter's eve.

Now the name......

The following tale takes us to Birmingham, England's second largest City.

Located halfway between London and 'The North', the area is known as the Midlands. They have a very dry sense of humour there, and are known for their deadpan delivery, which, until you get to know this, confuses the hell out of anyone visiting the place or passing through.

In Birmingham, there was a well known Department Store called Rackham's.
Preserved in the local sayings of Birmingham is the tale of a red-light spot at the back of this Rackham's store, now House of Fraser, before the area was pedestrianised.

'She'll be round the back o'Rackhams' might be said of someone accused of being promiscuous. 'I'll end up round the back o'Rackhams' might be heard if a woman jokingly felt she would be forced into prostitution to pay all the bills.

And here's the interesting beer connection....

A Birmingham brewery even named a real ale Bhacker Ackhams after the infamous location.

How wonderful is that!

Here's the blog I stumbled upon during my search.......
Pies and fries

Ps...Birmingham is also commonly referred to as 'Brum' in the UK. It crops up in the blog, so I thought I'd save any confusion.

Here's to ya, Lordy.

A mighty fine story.

Woy thank 'ee, koind sir!

It's a beautiful spring morning here, and, seeing as my battery power is indicating low on the old tablet doo dah, I am going to take the hound out into squirrel territory for an hour, just to stretch his legs.
He never catches any (not like my old Guinea used to) but at least it gives him something to chase, which is what every greyhound needs now and then.

Now......where's me charger?

Tonight I reached into the depths of my little fridge in my bedroom (the one that holds my beers), and I discovered a bottle that had been sitting there for almost 3 years now: Old Ruffian Barley Wine - Great Divide Brewing Company. This particular bottle was bottled on November 8, 2010.

Did you know you could age beer? With all of the very hoppy IPA's out there, you definitely want to drink them while they are fresh. But strong, dark, and maltier beers can be "cellared". So imperial stouts and barley wines can be aged. That wasn't really my intent with this particular bottle when I bought it almost 3 years ago (June 2011), but I knew it could be, and then I sorta forgot about it.

So tonight I pulled it out, and was a little scared about what I might find. Well ... it's a pretty good little brew. I'm not a big barley wine fan, but this is tasty. It's strong stuff (10.2% ABV), has more hoppiness than I thought it would, and is not very sweet. So American barley wines tend to have more hops than their English counterparts. The hops balance out the malt very well, IMO. This is perhaps the best barley wine I can recall drinking. If you like barley wine, and want to throw $8 at a bottle of brew, this is pretty good stuff.

3 years! You are a man of divine patience, sir!
I shall search for your brand at my local Total Wine and More store.

3 hours would be about par for me.

Great post

Once in my youth when I bought a regular old bottle of regular old beer at a regular old liquor store I noted a diff with the regular label. A little research showed it to be 4 years old