Beer in the new era

I'll be in London for the 7 days after that, so beer tips there too.

:) OK!

Also, how big of a pain is it going to be for me to buy a suitcase full of beer in Brussels, haul it to London on the train, then fly home with it.

haha you already know the answer to that question

:(((( I think I may try it anyway. Depending on what I find. Or just drink it all there.

i was able to bring 4 bottles (1 big, 3 small) back from paris last year with minimal fuss. tbf i did buy them the night before i left. it's that week in london that's killing you, from a pain-in-the-ass perspective.

let us know whenever you know where you're staying in london, can give some recs for bars or just general beers to seek out.

Bottles on the train to London = not that big of a hassle really. The hassle comes on getting them onto the train and then from the train to wherever you're staying... Whenever I go to Belgium I always drag a bunch of bottles with me. Obviously you need to be aware of your limit for taking alcohol into the US.

In London I'll be staying at 174 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HU. It's a pretty sweet corporate apartment. What's good near it?

There are some really cracking proper pubs within easy staggering distance of there (I'll jot down a list of favourites at some point) but not many places for yer cutting-edge craft beer. Those would be a bit further away.

my in-laws are driving to philly from chicago to visit and they want to bring me some chicago craft beer that i can't get in philly. any recommendations? daisy cutters?

also - cuvee de jacobins rouge bottles at my beer shop!!?!?!?!?!!!111oneone!!11

Off the top of my head, pubs I like very much which aren't far from your apt:

Old Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street (rebuilt 1667 it says, mad vast rambling place, serves Sam Smiths beer which may or may not be a problem), plus The Old Bell just down the hill, nice old fashined proper pub, have a pint of Tim Taylor's Landlord).
Just by Blackfriars is The Black Friar, an amazing late 19th century arts & crafts quasi-monastic pile, the crypty back room is particularly surprising.
I'd call into the Hoop and Grapes on my way up Farringdon Road, it's just proper and slightly skrunky, does a boring brown beer thing rather well. Then up to Smithfield, on the north side is the Fox and Anchor (more of a gastro than a proper pub these days) and The Hope, see the Hoop and Grapes above.
On the south side of Smithfield is the Black Bull - this place actually will serve you some craft beer, it's tiny but decent. If you're feeling touristy pop down the alley and take a look at St Bertholomew's church, a fragment of an abbey church which must have been massive.
It's worth a look at the Jamaica Wine House on St Michael's Alley, another venerable institution, though I haven't been for ages and heard they'd refurbed a lot of the character out of the place and it's currently owned by ropey old Shepherd Neame. Not far from there, The Bell just by Cannon Street Station was a nice little boozhole once upon a time but I haven't been there for ages either.
Going a bit north and east from you I would recommend the Artillery Arms on Bunhill Row, a very pleasant place to be; then go a bit further to the New Fountain just the other side of the Old Street Roundabout. They'll sell you proper craft beer too. Do as LocalGarda says and drink some beer by The Kernel.
Once you're done there it's not far to The Wenlock, again recently refurbed but a place very dear to the heart of any London real ale drinker.

xp i have been hoarding cuvee, so i am def the wrong one to ask, but uh buy all of them.

you have had it right?

yeah, my fave sour eva. last time i had it was on tap tho. not bottles.

i prefer it in bottles most of the time. prob because the kegs are too fresh. although now that it has sort of a following, i find that the bottles aren't as aged as they used to be when i would find them dusty and forgotten next to the cider in stores half the time.

the only 2 sours i have ever had that could touch it were the mother lambic i mentioned upthread that appears to be functionally unavailable, and a cellared surly 5 we were lucky enough to nab for a friends bachelor party sour fest a little while ago. i have high hopes for the surly pentagram bottles im cellaring now - one bottle for when k gets this baby out of her, and another that i'll try in another 6 months after that.

i've been cellaring beers for after our baby comes out too - char is really excited to try last year's mad elf that i've been saving.

not sure what is available in philly but chicago-area beers I would bring include:

three floyds
half acre
pipeworks
revolution
two brothers

I've had two brothers in New York but I wouldn't say it's easy to find, so maybe even less so in Philly. I don't even think I've heard of the others.

we do get two brothers. i was thinking half acre + revolution specifically. not sure which revolution beers i should aim for, tho.

my in-laws are driving to philly from chicago to visit and they want to bring me some chicago craft beer that i can't get in philly. any recommendations? daisy cutters?

Yeah, Daisy Cutter (made by Half Acre) is definitely worth trying. It's not like it has an extreme or unusual flavor profile (though I think a pale ale that relies so heavily on West Coast hops and so little on malt is noteworthy), but it's excellent. It's a frequent go-to.

revolution and pipeworks bombers imo

As far as the Revolution cans go, their IPA is fairly nondescript but not bad, I like the Belgian-style pale A Little Crazy even though it has a dumb name.

Def get Pipeworks. There are so many random different ones it's hard to even suggest something.

I generally like Revolution's beers, but I don't really think of any of what they sell in bottles/cans as Must Try.

Actually, I take that back: I haven't had some of their bombers. Was mostly just thinking of the regular lineup.

regular lineup is v. solid, agree i wouldn't focus on it assuming there's a limited amount of stuff that can be brought back

Also, I'd recommend something from 5 Rabbit.

revolution and pipeworks bombers imo

― call all destroyer, Thursday, June 27, 2013 10:29 AM (39 minutes ago)

This. That's mostly what you wouldn't be able to get where you're at because they just don't distribute.

Tim, thanks for all the recs. I'll go ahead and bookmark them all and just plan a route.

I'd call into the Hoop and Grapes on my way up Farringdon Road

I've done a lot of rehearsing for plays here. Has a sort of living room charm about it. Plus a v snooty cat.

go a bit further to the New Fountain just the other side of the Old Street Roundabout.

did you mean the old fountain? this place is good.

i'd also recommend st john bar (near barbican) will have a small but good craft beer selection and amazing food.

beer-wise i'd make sure you try kernel as tim says, brodies is also good, you get it cheap and on cask or keg in the old coffee house (though that's in soho central london, assume you may find yourself there at some point.) some newer ones to look out for, rocky head, partizan, pressure drop.

you're about a five-minute walk from hawksmoor guildhall too, large quite swish steak place, though it does other things too. if you're feeling flush it's worth a trip, great beers/cocktails and excellent food/service, and the room is impressive too.

farringdon generally is good and has a lot of craft beer pubs in close enough proximity.

LG OTM on all points, especially the age of the Fountain.

A lot of the most interesting new craft beer brewed in England at the moment owes a great deal to US craft beer; I'd be concentrating more on looking out for some really good traditional cask conditioned ale.

Oh and if you're looking for somewhere to have a pint (or a bourbon) on the Sunday afternoon you're here, drop in to The Lexington on Pentonville Road and say hello to the DJ.

woo, scored 4 bottles of the de jacobins rouge

my man

i think i have a case or so stored away right now because i fear rougepocalypse

Here's everything I've got so far on my to do list:

Euston Tap
Cask Pub & Kitchen
Hawksmoor Guildhall
St. John
The Wenlock Arms
Old Fountain
The Artillery Arms
The Bell
Jamaica Wine House
The Fox and Anchor
The Hoop & Grapes
The Blackfriar
Old Bell Tavern
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
The Lexington

And just for the heck of it, Brussels too:

Délices et Caprices
Beer Mania
't Kelderke
Le Bier Circus
Les Brigittines
Nuetnigenough
Poechenellekelder
Delirium Café
Moeder Lambic
Cantillon Brewery

This is what happens when I travel by myself. The entirety of my tourism is bars.

my friends who have been to belgium recently only talk about the kulminator in antwerp, get thee a bus to antwerp.

Kulminator is one of the most amazing and infusing bars I've ever visited.

I'll have to investigate. Not sure if my work schedule will allow it though.

Is that Cuvee rouge hard to find? I think I see 4 packs of it at binnys all the time.

along w/ the de jacobins i also snagged a 't gaverhopke extra and a robot surf factory pineapple pale ale bomber

hard for me to find? my store said they could only get one box total and they have no idea when/if they'll ever get it again

it's about to be - the demand thx to sours gaining popularity has greatly surpassed the production, so i think theres going to be a 6 month gap, followed by allocated distro

Brussels: there are two Moeder Lambics. The first, which is a super-trad brown bar with a good range of taps and an excellent bottle list, is a fair step out from the middle of town - just off the map of both of the guidebooks I've had to Brussels, but really worth the trip. The second, Moeder Lambic Fontainas, is closer to the centre of town (a short and pleasant walk from the Grand Place) has very few bottles (and all of those are dirty great 75cl jobs) but 40 beer lines! This is, as far as I'm aware, otherwise unheard of in Belgium, and includes some very obscure beer (I had some tremendous Italian stuff last time). I had some Cantillion Rose de Gambrinus on cask (!!!) there and it blew my mind - there's virtually no cask conditioning in Belgium and the zinginess of the Rose was quite amazing. So that one's definitely worth it too.

My other tips in Brussels, like most of my City of London ones, are more about the bar than the rare craft beer. A La Becasse, just a few steps from the Grand Place, is a beautifully-preserved, smallish, late 19th century beer hall, and a glorious place to spend an afternoon half hour. Get a jug of their lambic. (There's an atmospheric little crawl from there along the Grasmarkt taking in Au Bon Vieux Temps and maybe the bar at the Toone puppet theatre, but the Becasse is the really unmissable one. You'll also go past the rather touristy Bier Tempel beer shop which is the most reliable place I've found in the centre of Brussels to buy Westvleteren, if you're interested in shelling out E12 on a little bottle.

Through the Galeries St Hubert to my other unmissable bar, A La Mort Subite, again late C19th, just a beautiful survivor, more or less intact. I love it there, even the sometimes rather shirty service. I tend to have a glass of their gueuze and a plate of cheese. CHEESE!

There are some attractive places near the Bourse which I've never quite got on with - Cirio is another art-nouveauy kind of gaff and Falstaff is more deco-flavoured but I've never really managed to relax in either. Decent collectors record shop by Cirio, fwiw. I prefer Greenwich (I think it's on the rue de Chartreux) which is a chess bar - you have to be quietish in the daytime! - and a bit more scuffed and informal, still lovely though. Next door to that is a bistro called the Fin De Siecle (though you wouldn't know, it has no name or marking on the outside) which is busy and friendly and I had a delicious carbonnade of beef cooked in Chimay Bleu last time I was there.

Most of these places (Moeder Lambic aside) are in the centre of town and are the places I tend to return to having been there a few times; there are plenty of really decent places in Brussels, though, you's need to be making some very duff choices to go far wrong. I'm by no means an expert.

I am going to this at the end of September: http://www.brouwerijdemolen.nl/index.php/en/beerfestival.html

I went last year and it was GREAT. This year I'm taking my wife with me. The list of participating breweries is already tremendous: http://www.brouwerijdemolen.nl/index.php/en/beerfestival/brewers-and-beers.html

Our plan is to take the train from London, stop off for a night in Antwerp to visit Kulminator, then press on and stay in Utrecht which is rather more interesting than Bodegraven itself, and indeed has the greatest Post Office I have ever seen.

Btw if you're up for a beer while you're in London let us know. Not seen Tim in a while either!

For sure, I'm always up for fapping. Dates for London are 7/31 to 8/8. We'll find something that works.

Would it be worth it to visit The Kernel Brewery on Saturday?

But then again, I do have to work on Saturday, so may not make it there before closing.

Depends how much you like looking around modern microbreweries really - ime they're much of a muchness but then I'm more interested in the beer than in the craft.