Comments on: Session #25: You must read this

By: SteveH

SteveH — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:48:23 +0000

“…it’s a rant at the usual lager scene…”

I haven’t had a chance to peruse the rest of the BLOG (and I will at Stan’s suggestion), but I have to wonder if there is an alter ego to this rant that promotes the less-than-mealy lagers that defy stereotype.

On my trip to London my friends and I did our best to drain the city of the great real ale available, but in the midst of the trip a cohort and I spotted an Ayinger font at one pub and just had to veer from course a little. It was Helles; fresh, sweet, delicious — a nice style counterpart to our main mission.

By: reluctant scooper

reluctant scooper — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:34:52 +0000

Me? The sake of the thrill? I should coco.

Average English lager is woeful. Average stuff imported into England isn’t much better. Over here, a pint of lager often equates to a pint of Carling which is one of the most mealy-mouthed excuses for alcohol that I know of.

Like Steve says, it’s a rant at the usual lager scene here and a sly dig at the real-ale-weirdies who see lager as evil incarnate.

By: Stan Hieronymus

Stan Hieronymus — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:41:29 +0000

Steve – It is totally rant and not at all education. A lot easier to enjoy if you view it that way. Plus is probably tells us something about the usual lager selection in the UK.

By: SteveH

SteveH — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:46:14 +0000

Okay, so I read it — and while his prose is very well crafted, his inspiration and research leave me shaking my head and thinking he’s being a rebel for the sake of the thrill.

“For me, lager is a big chemically mess.”

I think there are posts after posts by many with chemical backgrounds who have disproved this theory at RealBeer — and they were talking about the US big 3, not Ayinger.

Someone, Stan? Take this poor soul to Southern Germany, even southern Wisconsin!

By: SteveH

SteveH — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:37:35 +0000

Oy. Not that old, ignorant rant again. It’s this sort of perspective that seems to be creating big gaps between the ale and lager camps in the beer community. I wish some beer drinkers wouldn’t use such a broad brush to paint styles — especially since there are so many widely diverse characters in beer.

I haven’t gone over to read the full post yet, but I’m honestly hoping that it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek and/or mostly directed at, as he says, the “forcibly abducted” swill that calls itself lager and not the good stuff that’s really out there.