Favourite Pint? Bitter, Ale, Lager or Shandy?

So I tried and loved Cider with black currant syrup (even though I was told that these are not very ladylike   )

Heavens not!  Sweet cider with black currant syrup is a real macho man beverage!  It's almost as strong as a Chablis and casis kir! 

Speaking of mixed drinks, outside of hotel bars like the Ritz or Brown's (which is practically perfect in every way), can anyone recommend a really good place for Sidecars or Manhattans?  (I'd like to go out and have one in memory of Bobby Short, who died yesterday).

(Nice New York Times Tribute to Bobby Short):
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/arts/music/21cnd-short.html

     ~ Mark

I'm actually a vodka girl, but while visiting the UK I realized that the drinks had no ice and tons of mixer!!!! yuk!! So I tried and loved Cider with black currant syrup and StrongBow.  (even though I was told that these are not very ladylike   )

cider & black is gorgeous... and it's NOT considered a 'macho man' drink.  .. LOL..

It's what I used to drink when I first started drinking. Definitely considered a girly drink. It's funny how cider is considered so girly when it is more alcoholic than most lagers/beers which are so MANLY.

I'm not a pint drinker (beer-blech!)...but hubby isn't fond of the English beers offered in southern parts of England, just not the same as the sturdy pints offered up here.   His real favorites are Belgian beers...then Riggwelter -- Black Sheep Brewery in Yorkshire, also Old Peculiar/Theakston Brewery (basically these beers are cousins) -- all in the Yorkshire family, as it were.  He also likes Scottish beers.

What can I say?  It's good up north!

Carolyn B

Hmmm - guess your hubby hasn't had anything from the Nelson Brewery down here in Kent, then.  Because Nelson's Blood Extra is pretty "sturdy" at 7%! 

EustaceTilley, we could be bosom beer drinking buddies.
Wells Bombardier is the best beer in the UK.  A close second is Badger Tanglefoot.  Both are fantastic ales.

As for lagers, we tend to go for Budvar from the Czech Republic.  A Carlsburg or Stella will do the trick as well.

As for ciders, Britwife, they are too sweet, so often considered a drink for women.  Men tend to go in for bitters, lagers.  Ciders can be
very filling as well.

I should make it to a beer festival one of these days.  I don't drink very much but I do so love the taste of good beers.

Matt

Hmmm - guess your hubby hasn't had anything from the Nelson Brewery down here in Kent, then.  Because Nelson's Blood Extra is pretty "sturdy" at 7%! 

Well he did have a Nelson something(?) when we were at a pub in London over Easter weekend, but I don't think it was that one.  He wasn't particularly impressed with the one that he had, so he'll have to try the Blood Extra next time maybe.

C

...we could be bosom beer drinking buddies... 

Yes, I've often found that beer drinking leads men to become...'erm, bosom buddies ... ('You don't get many of THOSE to the pound')  British men, beer, bosoms...oh, well, nevermind.

Not much of a drinker at all. In fact the smell of any sort of lager makes me sick but lately I have discovered the wonderful world of cider. I've tried Strongbow, Blackthorn and Woodpecker so far. Woodpecker is a bit on the sweet side. I prefer Blackthorn so far but intend to try some others.

DH drinks anything in a 500ml can! Usually cheap black label! But he prefers Stella Artois in the bottle.

There's a nice little beer festival coming up in Newton Abbot (Devon) on April 21, 22, 23.  Hosted by Tucker's Maltings, they have a nice range of ales on offer (mostly from the Southwest), a large tent set up in the park or you can drink indoors and last year they had a sausage wagon with some of the best sausages I've ever eaten in England!  What more could you ask for!!!  There is music and it is less than a five minute walk from the train station and for a post-beer drinking meal, there are two great Indian restaurants close by (one traditional, one contemporary).

www.edwintucker.com   (this is the website for Tuckers Maltings, take a peek at the photos, especially the ones of the "Security Team" 

Beer used to be my favorite alcoholic beverage but no longer. In fact I've almost given up drinking since I came to the UK simply because I don't like the beer and I've never really been a hard liquor person. Sorry, I know they're good but they're too heavy for my taste. I was a Miller Lite girl through and through. The only time I ever drank anything else but Miller Lite was when I was living in Germany and would go to a fest or on a volksmarch. I'd have a pils now and then but normally would abstain until I was back home on the military base and could reach into my fridge for a nice frosty bottle of my own beer. I can't go on the US military bases here in the UK to buy beer because I no longer have an ID card, I had to give it up when the ex and I got divorced.

Beer used to be my favorite alcoholic beverage....  I was a Miller Lite girl through and through.

Hmmm, I think some would say there's an oxymoron in that!

...I've never really been a hard liquor person.

Hard liquor!  It's the only way to go.

I drink more here than I *ever* did in the US -- maybe it has something to do with the weather?  Back in the USA, I thought I was 'living it up' if I had a drink maybe once or twice a month - max!  (not kidding)  Here -- I can't stay away from the bottle...   My poisons of choice are usually wine (red!) and then vodka/cran (or some such).

C