For Albatross the beer lover

If it was dispensed direct from the barrel, with no pasteurisation, filtering, carbonating, preservatives, etc; and then served from the plastic bag into your glass using only gravity, no gas pressure, etc, then it was more than likely real ale.  Especially if they told you it had already dropped bright.

From the looks of their website, it is indeed real ale that this brewery produces.  They also seem to do 1 keg beer, called Tusk.  And the stuff in bottles will be keg as well, unless it says 'bottle conditioned' on the label. 

So there you are!  You've found a cask ale that you like!   

(eta:  I am no expert... just an interested drinker, and the secretary of my local branch of CAMRA  )

Thanks for that great post.  I'm going to stop telling people I dislike real ale then. 

Now that you've jogged my memory, I've even been to a CAMRA festival a few years back.  I remember drinking some nice ciders and perrys, although some were too strong.

I thought of KFdancer last night at the fest when I saw a marshmallow flavoured porter!

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

I would drink that! 

Beer - just keep trying them!  You can get samples in pubs before you get a full pint to see if you like them. 

So many out there. Such personal taste.  Of course, real ales (cask conditioned, bottle conditioned, barrels, etc) are lovely and served cellar temperature.  But there also some really good 'craft beers' now, which are kegged and carbonated and served cold. 

Beer is like whisky.  Someone may think they don't like whisky, but they just haven't found the right one yet.

Me, I'm not fussed if it's true to being a real ale. I put taste and quality of the brew above anything else.  Some real ales are crap.  Some keg beers are crap. Pretty much all large commercial lagery types of beers taste crap to me.  Beer is about taste and flavour and finding what we like 

It would kind of be mean to find a beer I like now.  My husband can only have gluten free beers (which luckily he finds quite drinkable).

 

So many good gluten free beers now!   

I don't like sweet beers, but just out of curiosity tried Stay Puft - the marshmallow porter. It was nice...I only had a half, but I was pleasantly surprised! It had a smoky edge I wasn't expecting,  was like a campfire roasted S'more !

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Even worse, all those places you mention sound very Northern and grim.  I swear I'm not trolling you!

hahahahahahahahaha 

I was at a beer ex with a chocolate and coconut beer - tasted like a bounty.  The toffee apple cider was good.

KFDancer your husband might find this reference for gluten free beers useful
http://www.camra.org.uk/factsheets/-/asset_publisher/tsssSmaAGkUE/content/gluten-free-beers?_101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE_redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camra.org.uk%2Ffactsheets%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_pos%3D1%26p_p_col_count%3D2&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camra.org.uk%2Ffactsheets%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_pos%3D1%26p_p_col_count%3D2

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/real-ale-festival/introduction-to-beers

Hey Jimbo (and anyone else who may be curious)... if you've got a Wetherspoons handy, you may want to pop in during their Spring beer festival.  One of my favourite cask ales will be on: Salopian Lemon Dream.  If it's been kept properly, I think you'd enjoy it!

Not sure what the dates of the festival are, as there are discrepancies on the JDW website, but it's this month sometime...

Not sure if anybody else is close by but there's also Reading Beer Festival in April and they have some good (but sometimes expensive) beers from the US and abroad at the foreign beer section!  Saw "Spring Beer" and instantly thought about Beer Festival lol

I was at a beer ex with a chocolate and coconut beer - tasted like a bounty.  The toffee apple cider was good.

KFDancer your husband might find this reference for gluten free beers useful
http://www.camra.org.uk/factsheets/-/asset_publisher/tsssSmaAGkUE/content/gluten-free-beers?_101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE_redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camra.org.uk%2Ffactsheets%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_pos%3D1%26p_p_col_count%3D2&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camra.org.uk%2Ffactsheets%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_pos%3D1%26p_p_col_count%3D2

I've tried a "Peanut Butter and Jelly" beer and it actually wasn't that bad!

I was at a beer ex with a chocolate and coconut beer - tasted like a bounty.  The toffee apple cider was good.

KFDancer your husband might find this reference for gluten free beers useful
http://www.camra.org.uk/factsheets/-/asset_publisher/tsssSmaAGkUE/content/gluten-free-beers?_101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE_redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camra.org.uk%2Ffactsheets%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_pos%3D1%26p_p_col_count%3D2&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camra.org.uk%2Ffactsheets%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_tsssSmaAGkUE%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_pos%3D1%26p_p_col_count%3D2

I've been lurking as a GF person who used to love beer .. thanks for that link. GF beers are getting so much better now that it's also seen as a health trend, but I admittedly don't fully trust the ones that are made gluten free via enzymes. In the US I think they have to specify if it's gluten free naturally or if it's been removed via enzymes, but I don't drink a ton so I haven't looked into it too much.

I've been lurking as a GF person who used to love beer .. thanks for that link. GF beers are getting so much better now that it's also seen as a health trend, but I admittedly don't fully trust the ones that are made gluten free via enzymes. In the US I think they have to specify if it's gluten free naturally or if it's been removed via enzymes, but I don't drink a ton so I haven't looked into it too much.

Tried the GF Brewdog (admittedly I am not a GF person myself and not sure their method of making it GF), and it honestly wasn't bad at all compared with other GF beers I've tried. My close friend's is a celiac and I've tried his beer before and didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the Brewdog Vagabond.

Easter weekend's beers included:
Hopcraft Citra Plus
Oakham Citra
North Riding El Dorado Zythos
Harbour Cascadian
Oakham Hare & the Hedgehog

Thanks for keeping us up to date.  If I ever get cancer, my Make a Wish thing is going to be an afternoon in the pub with Albatross and Phatbeetle

Thanks for keeping us up to date.  If I ever get cancer, my Make a Wish thing is going to be an afternoon in the pub with Albatross and Phatbeetle

Aww, I don't wish for you to have to 'Make a Wish'-  just come up to Scotland and we'll meet you!