~Favourite Tipple~

[Shirley]

What is your favourite tipple??? Do you prefer homemade ale to stuff you can buy in the shops?? Does homemade wine ever taste BETTER than shopbought??

I must admit to being rather partial to Chimay Red - a trappist beer but it's expensive. I like a good many real ales too (on offer at our local m*rrisons at 4 for £5 which isn't too bad compared to many prices... £1.59 per bottle otherwise and that includes the organic stuff too. Our local one has a really good selection of Scottish beers including Three Sisters - which is definitely a fave, along with the Orkney beers, dark island is lovely, but it's even better on draught.

I'm also a red wine lover - if I could make a good rioja style wine at home I would do... is it possible?? (not with a kit mind you)

[Hillbilly]

I can't hold a drink to save my life but I am partial to all forms of the stuff.

In particular at the moment this Westons organic Ciiiiiider while I am waiting for my homegrown stuff to settle. Its very light to drink but packs a whopping punch as my head can testify today.

I'll drink any form of homebrew wine and my favourite is gooseberry. Though the birch sap I amde about 5 years ago was enormously perfick but didnt last long and hasn't tasted the same since when I've made it. Shop bought, like Rioja too - whatdyacallit VII is nice, funny yellow label.

As for ales - dont really like them 'neat' - have to be in a shandy with some proper homebrew lemonade to water it down. I'm sorry if that offends

[ina]

Does homemade wine ever taste BETTER than shopbought??

Yes - the strawberry and cherry wines I made were better than anything I ever bought... Better than the strawberry and cherry wines I bought, I mean.

My favourite depends on the mood I'm in - I like real ales and dry wines and ciders. I also admit to an unhealthy liking for tonic water... It's the bitterness I like about it.

[Millie]

I dont drink

[ina]

I dont drink

Nothing to be ashamed of! Actually, quite a lot of my friends don't drink.... In a way it's a pity, because they would never come to the pub with me. I haven't been to one in ages, and I used to quite enjoy that - especially with live music.

[shiney]

I am partial to a drop of red or white wine. Organic is good but expensive.

My other half likes Westons Organic cider!

[Stonehead]

I am a cider drinker
I drinks it all of the day
I am a cider drinker
It soothes all me troubles away
Ooh aargh ooh argh aay


Nuff said!

Stonehead

PS And none of that lightly sparkling stuff either. Give me scrumpy by the jug, keg, barrel; let it have body, bite and floaty bits; let it make me go "Ooh aargh ooh argh aay".

PPS My last batch of scrumpy from our own apples had real wallop at 12%, while also being very mellow. Caught a few people by surprise that did, "Ooh aargh ooh argh aay".

[shiney]

Sounds pretty Wurzley to me, which is a good thing as I am in the West Country!

Lucky you Stonehead making your own stuff.

[Stonehead]

Lucky you Stonehead making your own stuff.

I also make stout for the OH (can't stand conventional beer myself), beetroot beer, parsnip wine, treacle ale, barley wine, ginger beer, rhubarb mead, rhubarb beer, nettle beer and more.

About the only commercial stuff I like is good malt whisky, preferably Islay and preferably Caol Ila, then Bunnahabain and Bruichladdich. Sadly, I rarely see a bottle these days.

Ah, if only you could run your own still...

Stonehead

[Wombat]

Actually, quite a lot of my friends don't drink.... In a way it's a pity, because they would never come to the pub with me. I haven't been to one in ages, and I used to quite enjoy that - especially with live music.

I don't drink either, but I'll come with you Ina! I just drink coke. We had a huge time in the London pub with the guys when we were there.

Nev

[Batfink]

PS And none of that lightly sparkling stuff either. Give me scrumpy by the jug, keg, barrel; let it have body, bite and floaty bits; let it make me go "Ooh aargh ooh argh aay".

I have a confession to make... I've started drinking Magners... and Strongbow Sirrus. Yes. I am so ashamed, as I used to be a big scrumpy fan - but these two have somehow kicked that in too touch!

[Shirley]

I dont drink

Millie... that's cool!!

Tell us about your favourite non-alcoholic drinks...

[ina]

beetroot beer, parsnip wine, treacle ale, barley wine, ginger beer, rhubarb mead, rhubarb beer, nettle beer and more.

....
Ah, if only you could run your own still...

Just about the worst stuff I ever tried was celery wine - made by the OH of an ex-landlady of mine, back in my young days...( late 70s).

And why couldn't you run your own still? The Scots have done it for centuries It's just the getting caught at it that's the problem. Anyway, I think it's a bit of a risk; takes 10 years to find out whether you've made decent stuff - by the time you've worked out how to do it properly, you're dead and gone!

[The Chili Monster]

Lager, that's my downfall.
My other favourite falling down water is Jamesons Irish whiskey.
Unfortunately, the days where I could manage a bit of both are long gone ...

[Martin]

I don't drink either!
Chai does it for me.........this is the recipe I use, an amalgam of several off the net - I'm told by a mate who's lived in India that the taste is pretty authentic! 8)
Take a large pot/saucepan (that you can put on the stove), and sling in a couple of pints of water out of a just boiled kettle - then in a pestle and mortar add and grind the following - 6 cloves, 6-8 black peppercorns, a good handful of green cardamom pods - then roughly break up a cinnamon stick or two on top, with several thin slices of fresh ginger, then two tea bags, and TEN teaspoons of sugar (without a hefty sugaring it tastes "all wrong" - you need it to bring out the spices!) - shove it all into the pot, bring to boil, and allow to simmer very gently for at least 20 minutes - then add half a large tin of evaporated milk, allow to heat for another 5 mins or so, give it a really good stir with a wooden spoon, and serve in small glass tumblers!!!!!!
I demolish a pot of it nearly every evening, and an alternative therapist friend tells me that all the spices are very beneficial! 8)