Bottled ales. What are your favourites or what do you have in your home ?

[WildRosie]

Firstly, I admit I don't usually buy bottled (or canned) beer as I prefer to do my beer drinking in pubs. But it's nice to have one or two in for an aperitif or after work. Generally I go for dark, full-bodied stuff like Double Maxim and Mann's Brown Ale but some of the 'golden' ales are quite palatable, for example, Wainwright and Exmoor Gold. I steer clear of anything that is described as 'citrussy'. Obviously this is all a matter of personal taste and we all have our own likes and dislikes. This question might become more pertinent in the coming days if our pubs are forced to close again!

I've got some Orkney Dark Island in the house. An Innis and Gunn Blood Red Sky too. I am quite lucky as I live fairly close to Hawkshead Brewery. I have had a very nice Leffe Ruby lately. I like German beers as well.
The Wild Beer Co and Fyne Ales are good sources of interesting beers.

Adams Ghost Ship. Actually most Adnams but that's the best.

I want to like the more niche beers, but find they're often disappointing

I prefer dark beers too. UK beers that spring to mind:

Nutty Ambassador (Little Critters - Sheffield)
Gorlovka (Acorn - Barnsley)
Staypuft (Tiny Rebel - Newport - but only in cans)
Fudge (Mill Valley - Liversedge)
Chocolate Stout (Sam Smith - Tadcaster - even though I can't abide the company, this beer is a good one)

And then there are the Belgians........ but not sure I have enough room to do them justice!

My Mum and Dad live in Masham, home of both Black Sheep and Theakstons. We like to visit and head straight for the pubs.

Generally try and drink local at the moment: that means Hornes, Blackened Sun and Concrete Cow, Tring if a little further afield. I did have a fab delivery recently from Magic Rock.

I love beer.

Yes, Tribute is St Austell Brewery.

If you've got a Morrisons near you OP have a try of St Peter's Brewery. Their bitter is delicious but their plum porter is to die for. It's one of my favourite supermarket beers.

I was all about the green hoppy IPAs for a while but I've come back to the bitters, stouts and porters now. Arbor's Cafe Creme which you can get at M&S is gorgeous. If you can get hold of it, Northern Monk/Pilot Deep Fried Caramel Chocolate Bar Stout tastes like Mars Bars but better. Northern Monk Stars and Stripes is a peanut butter jelly stout (I think you can get it at Tesco now - there's a blueberry muffin stout you can get there which is also really good, but I can't remember the brewery).

Ooohh that Tiny Rebel Stay Puft is delightful!

I've got some Orkney Dark Island in the house

You lucky thing!

Oh and Brew York Tonkoko is gorgeous, especially at Imperial strength. They do a lot of good ones actually.

And how could I forget Wylam Geordie Beer Geek - it's a coffee oatmeal stout which I've drunk so much of over lockdown and I regret nothing. Wylam have lots of fab stouts actually.

@BobbinThreadbare123

Ooohh that Tiny Rebel Stay Puft is delightful!

I'm just about to open one!

It also comes in an imperial strength but I haven't been able to find it anywhere, and the lovely chap who runs my local beer shop can't either. I bet it's absolutely gorgeous.

Orkney Dark Island is indeed lovely.

I really like Lia Fail and Fraoch too, but they're possibly a bit lighter than you're looking for.

They used to do an Irish cream Stay Puft....dribble!

Fullers deliver too - try Bengal Lancer, ESB and 1845 (last one is guaranteed to give you a bad head though).

So many possibilities. In the pub I'm in now, I'm drinking (draught) Acorn Old Moor Porter. Smooth and flavoursome but quite heavy-going.

I've had the St. Peter's beers before and I don't remember being that impressed. Titanic Plum Porter is excellent but the St. Peter's is...meh! I think I've had Fuller's 1845 before. Is it bottle-conditioned ? Worthington White Shield was an early B-C beer.

I like the Adnams mosaic and Windermere Pale Ale. Also Honeydew from Fullers.

1845 is bottle conditioned. It’s quite pokey.

@SabrinaThwaite

1845 is bottle conditioned. It’s quite pokey.

"Pokey" ?

For those of you near a Waitrose, Fuller's bottled beers are £1.50 just now.

Pokey = strong.

bought DH some 'Doom Bar' tonight thats pretty good

Thankyou Sabrina. What local dialect is that ? Where I'm from, pokey means small.

I wonder if the bottled Doom Bar isn't quite the same beer as the cask ? The two versions of Adnam's Broadside are very different in O.G.

Sorry, no idea - we’re a mix of Irish, Scots, Devon, Midlands and NE England. Could be any of those.

I'll go for Irish, Sabrina. It seems to hit the ear right.

I've bought a bottle of Fuller's 1845 today. Might try it later in the week.

Adnams Ghost ship is a favourite here. Also adnams broadside is great.Also like Cairngorm brewery beers - Wildcat, Cairngorm Gold
I’m v lucky - our village pub has Timothy Taylor’s landlord only tap. My favourite beer!

I've not had Ghost Ship before but I have had Broadside several times. The bottled version is a lot stronger than the draught. Might even be stocking the draught at my local tomorrow, if it escapes being closed!

I've looked at the Adnams's stout on their website. If anything puts me off it's the delivery charge.

Oo! I've found my people!
1698 is a great beer. Like my ale dark and full bodied. I've also got a great local craft beer shop so have been having lots of different ones delivered during lockdown.
I keep my empties and have got 132 different ones now. ( I sound like an anorak)
Stay puft is nice. Tiny rebel also do Pump Up the Jam which is a jam doughnut beer and actually very nice. I've avoided the imperial stout stay puft. 10% is a bit much for me.
Ferry bridge ales Brewery do some nice dark beers. I'm Lincolnshire so they're more of a local brewery. We also have Batemans xxxb. That's nice and smooth. As for supermarket beers you cant go wrong with Fullers London Pride, Greene Kings Abbott ale or their Ruddles bitter. Hobgoblin isn't so nice now its mass produced. Same for doombar.

I've got a tin of Amundsen Brewery Dessert in a Can stout in my fridge, along with an Origins Habitual, which is based on a Belgian trippel.
Re 'pokey' - I'm a scouser with Irish blood and we use pokey to mean it's got some oomph. I live in Cumbria, and they use pokey to mean fast (l'al car's a bit pokey) or strong.