For the benefit of those living in the USA I am in a position to tell you that Goose Island Brewery brew another good beer that they call "Honker's Ale" (Honker's - geese - geddit?)

At 5% abv it is slightly weaker than the IPA but there is a family resemblance. It, too, is bitter although less so than the IPA. Its nose is a little more fruity than the IPA but the finish is slightly shorter.

Another fine beer and one that deserves to be successful. It is possibly a better choice for those for whom the extreme hoppiness of the IPA is too much.

And how do I know about it? I've just finished a pint that I bought from our local Safeway, that's how!

Richard English

Richard, the Honker's Ale was what I had thought you meant in the beer thread. Now I will have to try the India Pale Ale! Yes, the name is not very sophisticated!

My original description was of the IPA (India Pale Ale) and I think I prefer it to the Honker's, if only because it's a rare style nowadays.

If you found the Honker's too bitter, then you'll certainly find the IPA too bitter. At a guess I would say it has around twice the bitterness unit count. It's very distinctive, long-lasting and full flavoured.

It's my guess that you'd prefer the T.E.A.

Richard English

So you prefer the bitter taste? What do you mean by rare style?

Nothing difficult; it is simply a style that has gone out of fashion and is thus rare. There are many such examples in the beer world; Porter is another style that is presently not very popular and it is thus rare to see Porter available in most pubs.

And, yes, I do prefer a bitter beer. Bitterness, as any strong flavour, has to be experienced several times and learnt before it can be appreciated. This is why the likes of AB produce beers with so little taste. The less there is to taste, the less there is to dislike. The problem is, of course, that there is also less to like which is why most people endure AB beers; few actually like them - what is there to like?

Richard English

Okay, I understand your explanation. However, I now wonder if I will ever like what you describe as the good beers. I don't like bitterness, be it in coffee, beer, or whatever. Anyway, I had some of the IPA last night, and it did seem too bitter to me. The man at the store said that Goose Island now has several beers, but he thinks that Honkers and IPA are the best. There is also a Hex Nut and a Christmas Ale.

There is a learning situation here.

As children we like sweet things naturally and tend to dislike things that are salty or bitter. The appreciation of non-sweet tastes is something that is acquired through practice and not all people acquire it.

It's often a difficult process since the first taste of a strongly flavoured item is disconcerting. I hated my first drink of beer, as I hated my first drink of red wine (in Dinard in 1947). However, my first drink of Cassis (a sweet drink) was fine.

It took me a while to begin to appreciate the bitterness of the tannin in red wine and the hops in beer but the appreciation, once gained, is so worthwhile. People who say that they don't like red wine or Real Ale will be those who have not yet drunk enough of either to acquire the taste.

Keep trying; once you acquire the taste you will have a source of enjoyment that will never leave you and then you, too, can regard with pity those who have not yet learnt to enjoy the tastes that so please you!

Richard English

This seems to be a "Kalleh-Richard" thread, but that's okay. As CJ said in the pornography thread, we all should have the right to choose what movie we see....and that of course also means what threads we read. So, those of you who don't like the beer threads, allow Richard and me to have fun with them!

Anyway, Richard, last night I tried Goose Island's Hex Nut Brown Ale. I loved it! It was the best ever! It is a bit more fizzy than any other beer I've had, but I didn't find it bitter at all. I am curious if it is available in England? I hope so because I would love your opinion.

By the way, I have not been able to post on the Realbeer.com community forum since I first posted. Have you ever had problems with that? It allows me to log in, but it won't let me post. I have sent 2 messages to the forum's editor with no response. They have a midwest forum, and I had wanted to ask whether anyone knows if there is a place in Chicago that sells Hogs Black T.E.A.

I haven't seen this beer over here yet but I'll keep looking.

Brown Ale is not so popular as it used to be in the UK; far more pale ales are drunk but that's not to say that there aren't some good brown ales. I haven't found any recently, though.

There is a well-known international brand called Newcastle Brown. This is not a traditional brown ale and is not, to my mind, a good beer (in spite of the vociferous peons of praise of its merits from those who come from Tyneside). It is not bottle conditioned and its main "virtue" is that it is very strong and much favoured by football hooligans!

My identity is recognised by the RBP site but I had to go back and re-click on the link in the confirmation email to make it work as it didn't take my request the first time. I also wrote to the webmaster and also received no reply. I suggest you just register again.

T.E.A. is brewed by the Hog's Back (not Black) brewery. Its name comes from its location on the Hog's Back. This is a part of the A3 which is on the crest of a hill which, from a distance, is said to look like the back of a hog. It's about 25 miles from where I live.

Richard English

This brown ale was so fizzy that it tasted almost like a carbonated beverage. It seemed very strange to me for a beer. Sorry about the Hog's Back--and I didn't even use an apostrophe!

I suppose I can register once again on that Realbeer site. They seem much more knowledgeable than I about beer so I won't be posting much. I hate to sound like an idiot!

If the beer was that fizzy then it probably wasn't bottle-conditioned.

As I have mentioned previously, the difference between bottle-conditioned beer and carbonated beer is the same as the difference between champangne and cheap sparkling wine.

You now know, to your own satisfaction, the truth of this analogy!

Richard English

You have just confirmed something that I have feared all along.....maybe, just maybe, I like bad beers! I swear to you that I hate Budweiser, though! One of the reasons that I want to find Hog's Back T.E.A. is to see if our tastes compare at all, though I do fear that I might hate it!

Can a woman change her mind? I have been test-tasting the Hex Nut Brown Ale all week, and by now I really don't like it. Yes, it isn't bitter. However, it tastes like a beer cola--thin and far too carbonated for my tastes.

I found that Goose Island was originally named Kilgubbin because of the Irish who settled on Kilgubbin, or Goose Island, in Chicago, over 100 years ago. This Goose Island website is interesting because it shows descriptions of the various beers. I am thinking that the Old Clybourn Porter might be most like English beers. I hope to try it soon!