I met a genuine Russian today!

[Cdnwolf]

Us Canadians know all about weak US beer. Now I could use a cold Labatts Blue anytime.

[Caradhras]

This concept of Britains and warm beer I have had many a discussion with European 'online friends' (if there is a such thing ).

Simply, British ALE is not the sparkling pale yellow lager that is best served cold, but a dark heavy brew more suited to our cooler climes. There is a huge variety of types and flavours which are monitored by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).

Dont knock it till you tried it! We still drink the sparkly pale yellow lager stuff cold (although I avoid it like the plague...strangely unless in a hot country where I find it pleasant!).

My favourite real ales are McEwans No.1 Champion Ale, Theakston's Old Peculiar or Pendle Witch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_ale#Real_ale

[avantman42]

Simply, British ALE is not the sparkling pale yellow lager that is best served cold, but a dark heavy brew more suited to our cooler climes. There is a huge variety of types and flavours which are monitored by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).

I can't abide lager, and if people didn't insist on calling it beer we wouldn't have this sort of misunderstanding.

My favourite real ales are McEwans No.1 Champion Ale, Theakston's Old Peculiar or Pendle Witch.

OP! Mmm, now you're talking.

To get back to the original subject, a friend of mine is Russian. We were discussing yesterday how we should mention her next time we're talking to my wife's grandmother (who is something of a right-winger) to wind her up

[Caradhras]

I forgot my other beers....I do keep in stock some Aussie Stubbies of Coopers, and a nice Czech beer called Nachod both pale and dark. Sometimes it gets warm in the north of England, maybe its global warming...

My preference is red wine but I dont mind the odd beer.

Nice for me to be able to speak on a subject I am well-versed rather than ask all you lot about weapons/vehicles etc etc !!

[Targan]

I forgot my other beers....I do keep in stock some Aussie Stubbies of Coopers, and a nice Czech beer called Nachod both pale and dark.

Mmm, Coopers.

[Mohoender]

That should come from jet lag but I find you slow to come in defense of your beers and they are some great ones indeed. For my part, I enjoy the Hobgoblin.

Simply, British ALE is not the sparkling pale yellow lager that is best served cold, but a dark heavy brew more suited to our cooler climes. There is a huge variety of types and flavours which are monitored by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_ale#Real_ale

Now I understand why there are so many british around my place between july 28th and august 12th (they can't enjoy their beer at home during the 15 days long british summer). Then, I see two weak points about these heavy dark brew:
- If you don't pay enough attention you can confuse them for your meal.
- You get a stomach ache long before you even start to get dizzy.

[Mohoender]

To get back to the original subject, a friend of mine is Russian. We were discussing yesterday how we should mention her next time we're talking to my wife's grandmother (who is something of a right-winger) to wind her up

Try to made her up some common ancestry with the Czar.

[avantman42]

Then, I see two weak points about these heavy dark brew:
- If you don't pay enough attention you can confuse them for your meal.

Pfft! It is the meal. To quote Chez Geek: "It's the meal you drink"

Try to made her up some common ancestry with the Czar.

She was telling me about how the then-czar tried to woo Elizabeth I. Apparently he sent her some poetry, and when she rebuffed him, he started sending insulting/threatening letters instead. Apparently that's romance, Russian style

[Adm.Lee]

about these heavy dark brew:
- If you don't pay enough attention you can confuse them for your meal.

One of my favorite memories of Greenweek (Ger:Grunwache)-- a Berlin agricultural show that I attended in Feb. '91-- was of stopping at the Great Britain exhibit. I had a super-moist, perfectly seasoned, roast beef sandwich in one hand and a Guinness in the other. Mighty nice!

Nearly every country in Western Europe was there, advertising their food & drink products. I sampled a lot. At the France booth with Calvados, there was a fellow yelling "I'm buying" in English. Seems he had been a French PW of the Germans in WW2, and most of the English-speakers there were US servicemen from the Berlin Brigade. So, he wanted to reward the GIs.

After that, my memory is pretty fuzzy.

On the subject of Russians, I met some selling their helmets and Guards badges to the tourists near the Brandenburg Gate.

[Marc]

Returning to the russians.

I remember when my father come back to Catalunya after a short business trip to the Soviet Union. It was in 1982, the year of the Moscow Olympic Games. He brought back with him a few films in Super 8mm format, some of them shot in places where he was not supposed to film. I only remember the images of soviet soldiers marching at "goose step" in the red square and some images from a museum devoted to the Soviet space race. But taking into account that I was only seven years old and I still remember them, I suppose those images impressed me very much!

The next time I saw a russian soldier was in machinegun nest near a bridge in Pristina. This time, the russian (not soviet) soldier impressed me very much, too. But in a very different way. He seems too much young and, though dressed in his combat fatigues and fully equiped, the uniform seemed enourmos for him. He was standing at the side of the road, surrounded by mud, but wearing trainers instead of boots. I don't know if this is representative of the state of the russian army at that moment, but it was difficult not to feel sad for him.

BTW, amazing anecdote Littlearmies!

[Graebarde]

Sitting in the sun drinking warm beer!

that alone tells you they are minions of the underworld! Beer is meant to be be drunk cold while sitting in the shade. Hmmmmm, and that makes me want to have one...be right back

NO!! Beer, except the psss they peddle in the US under the name of beer, is ment to be drunk at room temperature.. of course the room should be less than 62 degrees F.

[Graebarde]

Back about about '97 or so, on a slow Sunday at the Zone in Corpus, I had two guys come in to by auto parts. They spoke no English and what they did speak I recognized as 'Eastern European' though I could not speak any. About that time Dimitri, our resident Russian fisherman who was a regular customer, came in... talk about timing.. I sold the two, with Dimitri interpreting, parts for a US built Ford they had back in Odessa.. about $500 worth of stuff... and a few hours later half the crew from their boat, loading about two miles away at the port, were in the store scarfing up all kinds of 'neat' auto related trinkets to take home. They all got Auto Zone caps free too.. LOL.

[jester]

Ah yes! They were crawling all over Oregon when I got out of the MC. Alot of the men fit in with the Deliverance type locals <to include my uncles> but some of the women.....smokin didn't do them justice!

Then in college the mandatory Spanish course, was taught by Madame Kobzeva, I swear I learned more about her privledged life in Russia growing up and living abroad than we did Spanish. But she was hot too and her younger sister which I took a class with was even hotter. Sadly, I saw her on campus last semester, she is married to another dentist and the years have not been kind ;(

However, before I left the hospital there was a smokin Romanian chica that mmmmmmmmmmm, I gave her my number and sit by the phone waiting for her to call

[Mohoender]

The next time I saw a russian soldier was in machinegun nest near a bridge in Pristina. This time, the russian (not soviet) soldier impressed me very much, too. But in a very different way. He seems too much young and, thought dressed in his combat fatigues and fully equiped, the uniform seemed enourmos for him. He was standing at the side of the road, surrounded by mud, but wearing trainers instead of boots. I don't know if this is representative of the state of the russian army at that moment, but it was difficult not to feel sad for him.

BTW, amazing anecdote Littlearmies!

It was certainly representative of the Russian army not that long ago.

[Littlearmies]

I'd certainly second the recommendation for Sam Adams beer (although I'd say it was closer to IPA than lager).

The rough bottom to create effervesence has been around at least twelve years in Europe (I think it was Kronenbourg who introduced into British pint glasses in around 97/98 - you can tell which geek used to work for a beer company 10 years ago). The idea arose because it was found that bubbles formed around minute specks of dirt on the inside of the glass (if you find your beer has "big" bubbles forming on the side of the glass it's an indicator the glass isn't as clean as it should be) and was adapted from that.

My personal faves include Leffe Blonde (perfect to refresh the palate after a tough day's wine tasting) and Deuchars - both Heavy and IPA. Some of those fruit flavoured Belgian beers are fun to get into and try....but creep up on you as they don't taste alcoholic.

I wound up sending one of those Russians food parcels (he had commented how hard it was to find candy for his kids) for a few months - I remember them all being fascinated that I could have a "second home" and not be "rich" or need a licence.