Craft beer

[ClaretMov]

Away from football and relegation talk because both these subjects are driving me to drink does anyone on here use or recommend a craft beer club you subscribe to that's delivers beer, I've been looking for a while now but there is loads like beer52 etc.

[Dark Cloud]

"Beerbods" is good. They also sometimes do a Beerbods online quiz night which is brilliant!
Failing that, send for a carton of beer from the Swannay Brewery on Orkney. Lovely stuff.

[Jamesy]

https://radbeer.com/

Try these. Not cheap but quality beers. Local company to me but nationwide delivery. Use code SENDBEER for 10% off. Some of these craft beer clubs send out some mediocre beers.
You can also email them and ask for recommended beers depending on your tastes. I usually go for the 5-7% IPA’s and NEIPA’s.

[claret2018]

Used beer52 in the past but wouldn’t recommend. Beer is average and quite expensive for what you get - much better choice and cheaper from any supermarket these days.

[Jamesy]

Used beer52 in the past but wouldn’t recommend. Beer is average and quite expensive for what you get - much better choice and cheaper from any supermarket these days.

Agreed. Tesco have upped their game of late and are offering a decent selection of what I would class as session craft beers.

[tarkys_ears]

Are you on untappd?

Might help in your quest

[Funkydrummer]

These are very good, if you're pretty local.

https://www.irwellworksbrewery.co.uk/

[Jamesy]

These are very good, if you're pretty local.

https://www.irwellworksbrewery.co.uk/

I have visited their brewery tap a few times when up North. Yes they produce some decent beers.

[Jamesy]

Are you on untappd?

Might help in your quest

Good advice. If you get on Untappd you can look at the reviews for each beer before you commit to buying them.

[ClaretDiver]

I have used Beer Merchants in the past, great selection and reasonably priced. As Claret2018 says, you can get some great selections at supermarkets these days too....

[JohnDearyMe]

Flavourly is ok. A lot more reasonably priced than Beer 52 although perhaps not as much variety.

[aggi]

I used to get Beer 52. It was OK and I liked the themes but there was never anything that special in there.

I have a Brew by Numbers subscription box now https://bbno.co/products/bbno-subscription-box which doesn't have the same variety (generally you get 2 of each beer and you may get some repeated a few months in a row) but does have a much more interesting selection of beers.

[aggi]

Flavourly is ok. A lot more reasonably priced than Beer 52 although perhaps not as much variety.

A lot of the flavourly ones seem to be slightly cheaper versions done directly for them to a price point. I found the flavours somewhat lacking generally.

[Goddy]

I have to say, I find the whole craft beer thing bemusing. When CAMRA started it was to encourage us to get away from 'fizzy tasteless beers in cans' and drink real beer which is a live product and not pasteurised to death.

Craft beer seems to be OK though because it's small producers making fizzy, tasteless beers - bizarre.

Personally, try as I might, I haven't found ANY craft beer which is a patch on a decent real ale. Right, must get my Capt Birdseye beard trimmed, take off my Arran jumper and try and join the 21st Century

[Jamesy]

I have to say, I find the whole craft beer thing bemusing. When CAMRA started it was to encourage us to get away from 'fizzy tasteless beers in cans' and drink real beer which is a live product and not pasteurised to death.

Craft beer seems to be OK though because it's small producers making fizzy, tasteless beers - bizarre.

Personally, try as I might, I haven't found ANY craft beer which is a patch on a decent real ale. Right, must get my Capt Birdseye beard trimmed, take off my Arran jumper and try and join the 21st Century

Fizzy tasteless beers? I don’t know where you have been sampling your craft beers.

You are right about CAMRA though with the ‘real ale’. Personally I think there is a place for both cask and craft. I like going on a night out with friends drinking cask beers all night and I also enjoy visiting places that offer nice craft beers. A lot of the smaller micro pubs offer a good selection of cask and craft.

[JohnDearyMe]

A lot of the flavourly ones seem to be slightly cheaper versions done directly for them to a price point. I found the flavours somewhat lacking generally.

Interesting, i was wondering how they kept their costs so comparatively low. Yeah, definitely not the most adventurous in terms of flavours.

[RingoMcCartney]

I have visited their brewery tap a few times when up North. Yes they produce some decent beers.

Irwell Works in Rammy is a little gem.

The best they do is Green Manalishi.

It's brewed using fresh green hops as opposed to dry hops. The difference is similar to using fresh herbs when cooking as opposed to dry. It's only available in late summer/ early autumn following harvesting and the brewery has a 24 hour window to get the hops into the brew before they rot and become useless.

Fabulous beer and their core beers are all good too. They do mail order.

Vocation in hebden bridge are very very good. Perhaps more innovative than Irwell works. More craft than real ale and they do a very efficient mail order. Lots of different styles under one roof. IPAs, porters , stouts , sours , barrel aged stuff. Highly recommended

[claret2018]

Irwell Works in Rammy is a little gem.

The best they do is Green Manalishi.

It's brewed using fresh green hops as opposed to dry hops. The difference is similar to using fresh herbs when cooking as opposed to dry. It's only available in late summer/ early autumn following harvesting and the brewery has a 24 hour window to get the hops into the brew before they rot and become useless.

Fabulous beer and their core beers are all good too. They do mail order.

Vocation in hebden bridge are very very good. Perhaps more innovative than Irwell works. More craft than real ale and they do a very efficient mail order. Lots of different styles under one roof. IPAs, porters , stouts , sours , barrel aged stuff. Highly recommended

Vocation are great. Also big fan of Thornbridge and Magic Rock

[RingoMcCartney]

Vocation are great. Also big fan of Thornbridge and Magic Rock

Absolutely . Another fan of Msgic Rock in particular here too.

Vocation have the advantage of having a tap in hebden , a stones throw away from a place that does cracking meals. Happy days !

[SalisburyClaret]

‘Craft’ is just another name for ‘Expensive’
Part of the hipster movement to add fruit or fruit flavours into our beer.
Ok if you like that sort of thing but I certainly don’t want Kiwi flavoured ale with a quinoa top note and a hint of lychee on the after taste

[Awayfromburnley]

Ive really got into stouts, milk stouts and porters.

I can't remember the name but the 9% one I got from Tesco was out of this world.

I liked real ale, but it doesn't agree with my stomach, so back to drinking lagers when out for a session.

[claret2018]

‘Craft’ is just another name for ‘Expensive’
Part of the hipster movement to add fruit or fruit flavours into our beer.
Ok if you like that sort of thing but I certainly don’t want Kiwi flavoured ale with a quinoa top note and a hint of lychee on the after taste

That sounds amazing!

[Darthlaw]

You're much better sourcing beer directly from the breweries, imo.

All the beers I've ever had from subscription services have been rank average, with 'Belgian' ones being laughably poor in cases.

Vocation, as has been mentioned, often have sales and in fact had 20% off offer last night. Their stouts are quite outlandish but very tasty. Northern Whisper often will do free delivery in BB postcodes and Bowland is right on your doorstep.

Irwell works is another belter but as a stout man, I'm a fan of their Marshmallow Unicorn. Lighter options Piston Broke and Costa del Salford are equally tasty.

If you fancy belgian beers, I recommend belgianbeerbank.com. They basically do all the belgian beers with some fantastic pricing which will knock loads off comparable pricing from UK shippers.

[aggi]

I have to say, I find the whole craft beer thing bemusing. When CAMRA started it was to encourage us to get away from 'fizzy tasteless beers in cans' and drink real beer which is a live product and not pasteurised to death.

Craft beer seems to be OK though because it's small producers making fizzy, tasteless beers - bizarre.

Personally, try as I might, I haven't found ANY craft beer which is a patch on a decent real ale. Right, must get my Capt Birdseye beard trimmed, take off my Arran jumper and try and join the 21st Century

I kind of agree with this.

I wouldn't say that most of the craft beers are fizzy and tasteless, there's a huge variety out there with some great flavours, particularly in the stouts and porters. I was in the Beavertown pub near the Spurs stadium the other day and they had a lot of interesting beers on. And obviously with current technology cans are the best way to sell them, the beers are still live and unpasteurised but they're protected from the sun, easier to transport and store, etc.

But a lot of pubs, particularly down south, have replaced a lot of their cask beers with 6 different IPAs that are all almost the same (overhopped, a bit strong and a bit expensive). Pubs that used to have 6 cask beers on now may only have 1 on with them being replaced by a load of similar keg beers.

Personally I'm mainly back to drinking bitter now when I go out and craft stuff when I'm at home and can afford the more interesting stuff.

[Goddy]

Fair play, aggi.

I've been to the Beavertown brewery - run by Robert Plant's (he of Led Zep fame) son, I believe - and did enjoy a few beers there although, for me, there's a general metallic flavour I get with most craft ales. Same with Truman's Social Club (which is another place worth trying, in Walthamstow, if you've not been).

My mate (who runs the Southwark Brewing Co in Bermondsey) has also given in and brews some craft beers which (in my view) aren't a patch on his real ales. Maybe it's just me and I absolutely respect everyone's preferences. I suppose it's the idea that CAMRA (in particular) now raves about everything it was once against...although it strikes me CAMRA was, perhaps, always more about the dominance of big brewers rather than what they actually brewed.

[Jamesy]

If you want good craft beer locally just jump on the train to Manchester. Track, Cloudwater, Pomona Island all have bars close to both Victoria and Piccadilly rail stations.

[RingoMcCartney]

If you want good craft beer locally just jump on the train to Manchester. Track, Cloudwater, Pomona Island all have bars close to both Victoria and Piccadilly rail stations.

Great shout. Done cloudwater , runaway ( opens its doors every Saturday) and blackjack who during summer have monthly BBQs , pizza oven , street food and a DJ !

Vocation ( sorry for banging on about them!) now have a bar in Manc.

[Down_Rover]

Used beer52 in the past but wouldn’t recommend. Beer is average and quite expensive for what you get - much better choice and cheaper from any supermarket these days.

Agreed. Poor selection of beers

[JoeAM89]

If you’re on Instagram or TiKTok, might be worth following an account called oneminutebeerreview - he does some good reviews of beers, mainly craft

[eastanglianclaret]

I've discovered some crackers at this place. The Williams range (especially the Caesar Augustus hybrid lager) is worth a look. I'm fortunate enough to be able to drive there but I believe that they also deliver.

https://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/

[clarethomer]

Just to echo what has been said.

Download the Untappd (spelled as I have typed) and use this to record the beers you sample. This will help you perhaps improve your choices going forward as you learn which styles/flavours you like more.

I would also use this to search out what people are drinking.

I would then buy directly from the brewery if you can. Lots locally that allow it. You will find the beer fresher than that on a supermarket shelf but equally a good place with ranges increasing all the time.

There is a Facebook group NWABS if you are on there. Not an active member but there is usually a good conversation and recommendations you can take from there on different ales.

Some things I learned on my ‘education’ of exploring new beers.

Never decrease strength of the beer as you lose the flavours. Start on the lower % strengths at the start of a session and move up the strength as you go along. You will get a complete different taste of a beer if you have a 4-5% beer after smashing out a 10% stout.

And when you can, attend beer festivals and consider getting smaller volumes (I.e. less than a pint) to taste different ones and appreciate and understand the styles, hops and flavours.

It’s no longer for me about smashing 7-8 pints down my neck when I drink but more about the quality of the beer.

[Jamesy]

Great shout. Done cloudwater , runaway ( opens its doors every Saturday) and blackjack who during summer have monthly BBQs , pizza oven , street food and a DJ !

Vocation ( sorry for banging on about them!) now have a bar in Manc.

Don’t apologise for banging on about Vocation. Their beers are good and also on sale in Tesco’s so ideal for someone trying craft beer for the first time.

[RingoMcCartney]

Just to echo what has been said.

Download the Untappd (spelled as I have typed) and use this to record the beers you sample. This will help you perhaps improve your choices going forward as you learn which styles/flavours you like more.

I would also use this to search out what people are drinking.

I would then buy directly from the brewery if you can. Lots locally that allow it. You will find the beer fresher than that on a supermarket shelf but equally a good place with ranges increasing all the time.

There is a Facebook group NWABS if you are on there. Not an active member but there is usually a good conversation and recommendations you can take from there on different ales.

Some things I learned on my ‘education’ of exploring new beers.

Never decrease strength of the beer as you lose the flavours. Start on the lower % strengths at the start of a session and move up the strength as you go along. You will get a complete different taste of a beer if you have a 4-5% beer after smashing out a 10% stout.

And when you can, attend beer festivals and consider getting smaller volumes (I.e. less than a pint) to taste different ones and appreciate and understand the styles, hops and flavours.

It’s no longer for me about smashing 7-8 pints down my neck when I drink but more about the quality of the beer.

Lots of great advice . Well made.

[RingoMcCartney]

Don’t apologise for banging on about Vocation. Their beers are good and also on sale in Tesco’s so ideal for someone trying craft beer for the first time.

Buy from them regularly, and visit hebden often. The Old Gate bar and grill often have vocation beers on cask while the same beers are on keg just down the road at their tap. I find keg beer more refreshing while cask is more flavoursome.

My good lady bought me a selection of stouts / porters for Christmas. Regulars, limited editions , collaborations and barrel aged stuff. Ranging in strength from 5.5 % upto 11.4 % . I thought the best was a honeycomb stout at 7% was the pick. Unbeknownst to me I'd ordered a box too (free delivery over 35 quid) but that was pales, sours and some green hopped lager and ipa. Not a bad beer amongst them !

[LS7]

The coconut stout i got in my beer52 box was one of the most disgusting things i have ever tasted. About half the beers were good, half were filler. It was just a one off order with a discount code. Agree supermarkets are great now. It's just beer after all.

[Billy Balfour]

I've always been a fan of hoppy ales, so the craft beer 'scene' has been a godsend.

[Billy Balfour]

Also, there are lots of brewers doing decent session craft beers these days. Plenty of choice under the 5.0% mark.

[Billy Balfour]

Sorry about the three posts. Just seen this.

I've discovered some crackers at this place. The Williams range (especially the Caesar Augustus hybrid lager) is worth a look. I'm fortunate enough to be able to drive there but I believe that they also deliver.

https://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/

Good shout. I've been using them for years. I use them to buy German dark beers in winter. The roasted grains give the beers a smoky flavour.

[basil6345789]

Thought it was just "Keg", with an inflated prics?

[basil6345789]

Price

[aggi]

‘Craft’ is just another name for ‘Expensive’
Part of the hipster movement to add fruit or fruit flavours into our beer.
Ok if you like that sort of thing but I certainly don’t want Kiwi flavoured ale with a quinoa top note and a hint of lychee on the after taste

I found these in my cupboard, they sound right up your street:

[Jakubclaret]

‘Craft’ is just another name for ‘Expensive’
Part of the hipster movement to add fruit or fruit flavours into our beer.
Ok if you like that sort of thing but I certainly don’t want Kiwi flavoured ale with a quinoa top note and a hint of lychee on the after taste

Agree completely & you get the fancy names & packaging let’s not forget, it’s drainpour at best but vogue right now with people wanting things niche & bespoke.

[ClaretMov]

Thanks to all that give advise I'm going to try flavourly for my first one because they had some good offers on, they gave me a discount code for me to use and anyone else who wants to try them, I think it's £5 off www.flavourly.com/MARKAPZJS

[Belial]

Agree with all the above about Beer 52 (including the comment about the absolute rank coconut beer).

Also, they are a pain in the ass to leave from. Ignore them and buy at shops instead...as said above, you can even get some decent ones at supermarkets these days, but loads of wine shops and specialist ones have good varieties in (often cheaper than Beer 52 as well)

[ClaretMov]

Agree with all the above about Beer 52 (including the comment about the absolute rank coconut beer).

Also, they are a pain in the ass to leave from. Ignore them and buy at shops instead...as said above, you can even get some decent ones at supermarkets these days, but loads of wine shops and specialist ones have good varieties in (often cheaper than Beer 52 as well)

The deal I got works out at £1 a can so not bad to give it a try

[jedi_master]

Verdant are releasing their famed ‘brewed once a year’ Putty on the 19th on their online store - for anyone else who is a fan. Usually sells out very, very fast.

[aggi]

The deal I got works out at £1 a can so not bad to give it a try

That's about the standard price for flavourly. They're definitely on the cheaper (and less adventurous) end of the market.

[Carport]

I use https://www.beersniffers.co.uk/ for Maredsous which I really like

[Tw@]

You should try the Marble Arch, Cloudwater and also Cafe Beermoth in Manchester, 3 of the best craft beer establishments in the city.