German/Belgian Beer in UK Hunt

quoia

tomstickland wrote:

The saddest thing about the UK is people happily drinking "beer" that tastes like old bath water / fizzy coke. Think John Smiths Creamflow, Stella, Carling. It's a crying shame. Imagine if nothing but the best Pilsner lager was acceptable. Or decent ale. The world would be a better place. If it doesn't make you go "oooooohhhhhthaaaat's gooood" then it's not good enough.

I'm on my 3rd bottle of London Pride right now. It's passed the "ooooohhhh" test.

I totally agree.
When I go in a pub I'm always on the lookout for any hand-pumped brew that I've never tried before and always have 2 pints before I make a final judgement.
Often the 1st pint is needed to prepare the taste buds in order to fully appreciate its flavour etc.
Sometimes it doesn't get any better but frequently the subsequent pints are quite delicious even though the 1st was not particularly distinguished and quite run of the mill.

My number 1 nectar of all time, a brew I discovered about 10 years ago and have never found anything that's threatened its top spot, is an ale from the Woodforde brewery in Norfolk.

Woodforde's BALDRIC - ABV 5.2%

Don't be put off by the description on the plate on the pump handle should you come across this delicacy

Woodforde's Brewery refers to their beer Baldric as
"A strong evil brew with the pungent essence of old socks."

SHEER ABSOLUTE NECTAR

Only wish I could find a pub with a regular supply of this more local than past encounters I've had. Anywhere in Derbyshire would be a start.

speedyjoe

quoia wrote:

My number 1 nectar of all time, a brew I discovered about 10 years ago and have never found anything that's threatened its top spot, is an ale from the Woodforde brewery in Norfolk.

Woodefordes are excellent, I love Wherry Bitter, shame I never get to taste it now :-( don't do pubs any more :-( and the local supermarket has 500ml bottles at something like £2.30!!! Nelsons Revenge is something even more silly like £2.80!!

Just had a look and it's cheaper direct http://www.woodfordes.co.uk/shop.htm but with £8.50 delivery. Oh well I shouldn't drink anyway :-)

grex9101

cheers guys,

having had a look at your links etc, i think i'm quite lucky with Makro for my supplies; generally the stuff i get is sub £20 per case, and that's for the good imported stuff.

have any of you had any experiences with costco etc?

paulow

Aldi does a Belgian lager called St Etienne (I think) The can looks vaguely similar to a Stella can ?? It also tastes a lot nicer than the UK version of Stella. cheers!!

melancholly

Was about to recommend belgian belly - but tomt has that covered already!
they also do the most amazing belgian waffles (taste fantastic but bad for the waistline since the shop is just about close enough for me to walk there!)
i bought various beers as christmas presents and the customer service is great - tell them what you/anyone likes and they'll pick what's similar. and they also sell the glasses for most of the beers in the shop, which is really good for presents.

krafty_2

tomt wrote:

krafty,
I can highly recommend Belgian Belly in Chorlton, Greater Manchester. They are a retail shop, and do wholesale as well. They have a website here.
Their web prices are a bit higher than their in-store prices, but they're only a 5 min drive from the Stretford Junction of the M60. They deliver nationwide (I think) for £4.99.

They really know their stuff in there, and can help guide you from what you already like/hate. Great range, and catch them at the right time and you get to sample some too (They also do belgian chocs and have a sit-in cafe bit for sarnies etc.)

I did know of a wholesaler from around Stoke that did Belgian and other European beers only, but the minimum order was a few crates, with no mixed crates I don't think. If I can dig out the price guide I'll post some more info in this thread. I can't remember their name at all!

Hope this helps!

That sounds terrific..thx shall check it out soon!!!! :beer:

Catch_A_Fire

The best place I've found is in King's Lynn - Beers of Europe (beersofeurope.com). Fantastic range of worldwide beers available as singles as well as cases, also glassware and pre-mixed cases. Mail order of call in person.

Catch_A_Fire

tomstickland wrote:

I wish they had circle master.

Circle Master (Wychwood) is available in Asda and Morrisons (near me anyway) and Victoria Wines. Often available in 4 for £5 offers (and similar).

MyUserNamesTaken

paulow wrote:

Aldi does a Belgian lager called St Etienne (I think) The can looks vaguely similar to a Stella can ?? It also tastes a lot nicer than the UK version of Stella. cheers!!

-- This is the other half (German) posting --.

St Etienne comes directly from the Stella Artois brewery. Den Hoorn, Leuven/Louvain, Belgium. £2.69 for 4x500ml.

Aldi's "Wernesgrüner" is a German premium brand from Thuringia, quite expensive in Germany (for German standards, that is), and a far more genuine Pilsener than Beck's, which is a naff "designer beer" for the international markets. Aldi's Steinhauser, brewed by Binding in Frankfurt, is also quite good. £3.49 respectively £2.79 for 6x300ml

Has anybody ever come across "DAB"? (from Dortmund) I haven't seen it anywhere in the UK yet. Got to check out that place in Lynn at some point.

dbs

My local Tesco use to sell cans of DAB,can only assume other Tescos might stock it aswell.

Not seen any bottles of DAB anywhere.