Have your say & ask the experts

For me, it's Kronenbourg 1664 - Premier Cru.

It's a nightmare to find, and it only comes in individual bottles (Ain't cheap either), but if there was ever a beer that deserves the title "Nectar of the Gods", it must surely be this.

Failing that, plain ol' 1664 makes a fine alternative.

I make a point of steering clear of anything of U.S or Australian origin..... They're just plain rank....

Big Chris:

I make a point of steering clear of anything of U.S or Australian origin..... They're just plain rank....

Ah you mean driving lager...... due to the fact it's impossible to get wrecked on Fosters. Tastes like shandy to me and I hate shandy.

1664 is one of my favourites, and if you can find it on tap Red Stripe. Coors on tap is dam nice as well.

Mind you anything is better than that alcoholic washing up liquid that goes by the name of Holsten Pills

Beer wise, My favourite is ESB in bottles at the moment.
I love real ales.
Belgian, and belgian style Ale too, I love the trappist taste like Westmalle, and La Trappe Dubbel (from holland)

Lager, I drink quite a bit of Carlsberg Elephant beer, Lapin Kulta 7.2 (Finnish), and Arton 56 (Swedish), but I guess I prerer the weiss beers, such as Pauliner (beautiful on draught)

Wines...My main tipple is Shiraz, or Cabernet, with the occaisonal Merlot, or whites... Puilley Fume or any Sauvignon Blanc. I quite like the Viognier blends too ;)

Whisky ... Can't beat a good Scottish single malt. Favourites... Oban (very soft), and Talisker (very oaky)

I love my cider too...! pity its garbage here in Sweden. I prefer the dryer taste of English ciders... Strongbow is excellent for a standard drink.

Oh and for a treat an expensive aged Ruby Port!

And for a shot, you cant beat jägermeister !

that enough?

Well, can't decide on a category, but...

Malt (brewed) - Butcombe Gold

Malt (distilled) - Talisker distillers edition. Failing that a cask-strength Lagavulin.

Grape (brewed) - McPherson's Full Fifteen

Grape (distilled) - Remy Martin XO

Apple - Ashton Press Premium

Fr0g - seriously, try and get hold of either the above cider (www.butcombe.com/cider.htm), or some Stowford Press - stunning stuff. Makes strongbow taste like the chemical brew it actually is!

fatboyslimfast:

Well, can't decide on a category, but...

Malt (brewed) - Butcombe Gold

Malt (distilled) - Talisker distillers edition. Failing that a cask-strength Lagavulin.

Grape (brewed) - McPherson's Full Fifteen

Grape (distilled) - Remy Martin XO

Apple - Ashton Press Premium

Fr0g - seriously, try and get hold of either the above cider (www.butcombe.com/cider.htm), or some Stowford Press - stunning stuff. Makes strongbow taste like the chemical brew it actually is!

LOL.. I have had Stowford press many times... nice. And I like most of the Westons 'interesting' stuff, and do the french posh stuff from time to time, but I love strongbow, especially in a can!

But then I like fizzy cola bottles too! (The sweet)

It's actually 'Teetotal' or 't-total' and does not refer to tea. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the explanation that the word was first used by a working man, Richard Turner of Preston, in a speech in 1833. He was advocating abstention from all alcohol, not merely from spirituous liquor. They say the word was made by the re-duplication or extension of 'total' and so is not a reference to tea. This was done for emphasis. An example is the first meaning of 'teetotally', which is 'entirely, wholly '(in dialect and in the US) e.g. 'I'll be teetotally damned if that ain't the limit!' This dates from the early C19 . It's quite likely that that came first and Mr Turner made the adjective from it; it would fit his message, that abstinence from liquor was not true abstinence or total abstinence. You had to be completely, wholly, 'teetotally' abstinent (not just from liquor but from beer too).

Here endeth today's English lesson from Guppy.

gpi:

It's actually 'Teetotal' or 't-total' and does not refer to tea. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the explanation that the word was first used by a working man, Richard Turner of Preston, in a speech in 1833. He was advocating abstention from all alcohol not merely from spirituous liquor. They say the word was made by the reduplication or extension of 'total' and so is not a reference to tea.This was done for emphasis. An example is the first meaning of 'teetotally', which is 'entirely, wholly '( in dialect and in the US) e.g 'I'll be teetotally damned if that ain't the limit !' This dates from the early C19 . It's quite likely that that came first and Mr Turner made the adjective from it; it would fit his message, that abstinence from liquor was not true abstinence, total abstinence. You had to be was being completely, wholly, 'teetotally' abstinent (not just from liquor but from beer too).

Here endeth today's English lesson from Guppy.

I stand corrected.

I must admit, it didn't look right when I wrote it, but 'Tee' just brings up golf in my mind, so didn't think that was right either.

You live and learn.

Big Chris:

I make a point of steering clear of anything of U.S or Australian origin..... They're just plain rank....

Not all of them are - just the ones they sell over here! If you ever see a bottle of James Boag's (although actually Tasmanian rather than Australian), give it a try. It's a really nice lager and one of my favourites when I'm visiting me bro out there. Otherwise Hahn Premium or Blonde are good on tap alternatives. Funnily enough, you'll find Fosters is sold in very few places over there!

a nice amerone or a Puligny-Montrachet for me :-)

You can't beat a pint of Belhaven Best. Not sure if you get it in England, but if you ever see it, give it a try.

fr0g:

Beer wise, My favourite is ESB in bottles at the moment.
I love real ales.
Belgian, and belgian style Ale too, I love the trappist taste like Westmalle, and La Trappe Dubbel (from holland)

Lager, I drink quite a bit of Carlsberg Elephant beer, Lapin Kulta 7.2 (Finnish), and Arton 56 (Swedish), but I guess I prerer the weiss beers, such as Pauliner (beautiful on draught)

Wines...My main tipple is Shiraz, or Cabernet, with the occaisonal Merlot, or whites... Puilley Fume or any Sauvignon Blanc. I quite like the Viognier blends too ;)

Whisky ... Can't beat a good Scottish single malt. Favourites... Oban (very soft), and Talisker (very oaky)

I love my cider too...! pity its garbage here in Sweden. I prefer the dryer taste of English ciders... Strongbow is excellent for a standard drink.

Oh and for a treat an expensive aged Ruby Port!

And for a shot, you cant beat jägermeister !

that enough?

I've had one night on the Elephant beers - that gear is frightening!!

Bottled beers: Stella Artois or Molson Dry (haven't seen it in years but it was lovely).

Drafts: Red Stripe, Stella, Kronenbourg, Guinness.

Wines: fr0g, if you like Viognier, try to find the Bonterra Organic Viognier. Very difficult to source now but it's superb. Sauvignon Blanc - Allan Scott's Marlborough is brilliant. I also love Bille-Cart Salmon champagne.

Red wines: French please with the occasional Aussie Shiraz or a '95 Reserve Rioja.

I think you can get premier cru fairly easily in tesco's, at least up in glasgow anyhow.

for me it's Red wine - shiraz or cabernet sauvignon with the cheeky tempranillo etc thrown in. Current favourite brand is Rosemount (Shiraz)

Beer wise it's pretty much any german weissbeer, and Staropramen, Premier Cru, Guinness.

timwileman:

a nice amerone or a Puligny-Montrachet for me :-)

This man speaks my language. Add to that any good Montepulciano Nobile, Crozes Herimtage, Madiran & Medoc...

Steamwhistle Pilsener.
Flowers.

And a nice gerwertztraminer.

Gerrardasnails:

Wines: fr0g, if you like Viognier, try to find the Bonterra Organic Viognier. Very difficult to source now but it's superb.

---for that, read impossible here in Sverige... We have a state controlled monopoly... 'off licences' are government run, and close at 15:00 on a saturday...until monday. You miss that and you are restricted to the 3.5% that the supermarkets are allowed to sell.