Home of the BrewNosers

Read the first couple entries here:

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Two trips ago in London, Jay Brooks and I went on a tear of tasting during which every single cask-conditioned brew we tasted for about ten or more in a row was badly affected by diacetyl. I’m talking serious butter bombs! After which a glass of clean, good quality, keg-dispensed pilsner would have gone down a treat. And CAMRA, that occurred at your flagship event, the Great British Beer Festival!

Bottom line, for this CAMRA member: It’s what is in my glass that counts, not how it got there.

Words of wisdom for more than just CAMRA...

I completely agree - and I know we've disagreed in this area before! I firmly support what CAMRA does, but when it comes right down to it, it's not whether the beer comes from a keg with a hand pump; it's whether it's well made (and much as I love British beers in principle, there's not much to beat a good Czech Pilsner, either).

I need to go back to the notes I posted to the old mailing list after my trip to the UK last summer. Almost a year later, three beers still stick in my mind. The Sneck Lifter in the Lake District (don't remember the brewer) - a pure CAMRA selection; Deuchar's IPA (a 3.5% IPA - not considered a "Real Ale"); and on the negative side, Greene King IPA which isn't worth the reputation it's gained. I wonder what I rated, better or worse, that isn't that memorable now...