Will the real Stella Artois stand up.

[corydoras]

Excalibur:

...washed down with Jenlain biere blonde (6%, ok it's french, but it's malty and superb, and £1.29 per 660ml)

Have you tried Jenlain's dark beer (bierre brune). Now that is stonking stuff. A real treat for all my fellow real ale lovers. You will never believe it is French when you taste it. It is fron the north of the Pas de Calais, a part of France where beer drinking is common. They even still sell beer in pints in some bars.

[RUDD]

corydoras:

corydoras:

I must admit Rudd that ive started drinking more red wine these days.

As long as its a full bodied red and no weak french stuff.

What 'weak french stuff' have you been quaffing?

Corydoras

 

There are more and more people drinking red wine than ever before.

We are lead to belive that most French people in the countryside are fairly poor and drink very cheap and poor quality red wine with their supper, hence the reason for mixing it with water to dilute the taste.

Go to any wine merchant in France and there is alot and I mean alot of cheap crap (not weak as most wines have a strength of between 10/14% averaging at about 12%) bad tasting wine.

There are alot of good wines to come out of France ( I think You have to look for Application control or soething like that, on the label) and for years we were lead to belive that red wine from any other country apart from Itlay was crap as only France made decent red wine. With the supermarkets buying power of today we now know how good wines from the New worlds are.

Go into any supermarket and you will find fine wines from South Africa, Chille, Argentina, Australia, California and New Zealand all at affordable prices with many on offer.

There are also great wines coming out of Hungary, Bulgaria and a few other Eastern European countries.

 

The truth is that French wine is only average now that the playing field has been levelled to a world wide level.

 

PS : JP Chenat with the funny bottle neck is a Top French wine with their Merlot being the best of the range.

[Tyke]

Cant remember the names of the french wines ive tried but none seemed as full bodied and rich in fruit flavours as the south African cape reds or the Aussie ones.

Can you reccomend a good French red at under £4 a bottle corydoras?

The Asda African cape red at £2.80 a bottle is a good value bottle at the price and quality.

Im no wine expert but i know what i like.

I once bought a £10 bottle of red as a treat at christmas and i dident really enjoy it so now ill rarely spend over £4 for a bottle of red.

[awaaar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Corydoras:

Even better IMHO is another Czek beer called Staropramen. I have had it on draught in a couple of pubs in London. It is expensive, but tastes like God himself drinks it. I have not yet seen it in bottles.

---

I was suppin' that out of bottles on Friday, very nice, another nice Czek beer I've tried is Zamek, but I haven't seen it either on tap or in bottles for a few years now

 

mmm beer

[rich]

Try Baron De Ley from asda, £7 a bottle, a nice Rioja. There is also a Grande Reserve at a tenner but not really that much difference.

 

cheers,

 

rich

[Guest sslatter]

corydoras:

Have you tried Jenlain's dark beer (bierre brune). Now that is stonking stuff. A real treat for all my fellow real ale lovers. You will never believe it is French when you taste it.

YUK! Tried it once and hated it. Too sweet for me. Must be an acquired taste. Then again, I've never been a fan of any dark beer apart from Guinness.

 

quote:It is from the north of the Pas de Calais, a part of France where beer drinking is common. They even still sell beer in pints in some bars.

Also down south. Any bar worth its salt in Marseilles will serve you by the pint if you ask. Many of them have a collection of different pint glasses on show behind the bar. And 20 years ago, most Parisian bars would also serve by the pint if you asked. Don't know about these days though. Haven't been in Paris for ages.

 

[ 12. August 2003, 01:38 PM: Message edited by: Graham X ]

[Tyke]

If you like strong dark beers try Newcastle star from morrisons.

Its 8% and you can get 4 bottles for a fiver.

Beats me old fave Old Peculier for taste and strenght .

[Guest sslatter]

Tyke:

Cant remember the names of the french wines ive tried but none seemed as full bodied and rich in fruit flavours as the south African cape reds or the Aussie ones.

Can you reccomend a good French red at under £4 a bottle?

My local Lidl always has a stock of at least two different Bordeaux, both of which are very good. One is bottled by a cooperative,(£4.99), but the other is bottled at the Château (£3.99). Look for "Mis en bouteille au château" on the label. Lidl often buys in bulk the whole annual produce of a particular grower, and then puts a name on it, which they change from time-to-time. That's why I can't remember the current name they're using for it, but it's always "Château something". If you've got a local Lidl check it out. The french rave about this supermarket and its wine choices, which must say something.

 

BTW If you want a real stonking PROPER rosé (not white plonk with colour added) to drink ice-cold in this hot weather, try to find a "Bandol". You won't be disappointed. Can be relatively expensive though (£6-£10) in an offy (if you can find it) but it's well worth it.

[Tyke]

Where can i buy Jenlain's dark beer (bierre brune). ?

do they sell it in the supermarkets?

[corydoras]

RUDD:

There are more and more people drinking red wine than ever before.

Don't forget that I am regarded by many of my French mates and family members as 'honorary French' and am a bit biased. I always speak up for the French when I am over here and for the Brits when I am in France.

We are lead to belive that most French people in the countryside are fairly poor and drink very cheap and poor quality red wine with their supper, hence the reason for mixing it with water to dilute the taste.

Then I am sorry but you have been mislead. I have never seen a Frenchman putting water in wine unless it is for a child to drink.

Go to any wine merchant in France and there is alot and I mean alot of cheap crap (not weak as most wines have a strength of between 10/14% averaging at about 12%) bad tasting wine.

This sounds like the stuff that we call 'le pinard' or 'le gros rouge'. It is for alcoholics and for cooking.

 

There are alot of good wines to come out of France ( I think You have to look for Application control or soething like that, on the label)

Agreed. A Lot of good wines come out of France, but you ned to learn to read the labels. Buying Appellation Contrôlée marked bottles will not guarantee you a good bottle of wine, just a guarantee that it is made where it claims to be made.

With the supermarkets buying power of today we now know how good wines from the New worlds are.

Go into any supermarket and you will find fine wines from South Africa, Chille, Argentina, Australia, California and New Zealand all at affordable prices with many on offer.

Abolutely... and long may it continue. I am not mad on the Californian stuff though (sorry Newt:0)

There are also great wines coming out of Hungary, Bulgaria and a few other Eastern European countries.

I'll go along with that too.

The truth is that French wine is only average now that the playing field has been levelled to a world wide level.

Now I need to stop agreeing with you. Whilst there are many fine wines that hail from the New World the idea that French wines are 'average' is just 'pas vrai'.

 

Try some of these Appellation Contrôlées

 

St Emilion Gran Cru (God drinks this)

From about €4,60 to about €3.000+

Côtes de Nuits Villages about €14+

Côtes de Bourg

Medoc

 

Some of these can be pricey but you should be able to find examples of most from €4 plus.

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[ 12. August 2003, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: corydoras ]