In Reply To #15

Just a quick question: while you say that you don't like beer, have you tried the German stuff to which you now have unfettered access? It's not quite up there with the Belgian stuff but it's way better than what either the UK or Australia knocks out. My wife would kill for access to the dark beer. What we get on import here just isn't the same.

In Reply To #16

The most tolerable beer I have had is actually the Chinese Tsingtao. I've tried a couple of German beers here (even the really sweet crap like Krombacher) but they're still not doing it for me. I can only conclude that I just don't like the stuff in beer that makes it... beer.

And yeah, I'm kinda in the wrong country then, but frankly, I came from the wrong country as well. So no big deal.

In Reply To #17

Well, there's a lot of variety out there so you never know what might float your boat. Tastes change - I used to hate ale but I much prefer that now over lager, which only goes to prove that I'm turning into my dad.

Still, if you've discovered wine then that's probably good enough. I can't say that the German stuff does much for me (the wife keeps threatening a trip up the Mosel Valley - no gags, please) but you are close to France and I love the Old World wines. If you get the chance while you are in Europe, a trip to Tuscany is well worth it. Lovely scenery, great food and fantastic wine that costs peanuts.

Yeah, I used to be a hell of a sweet tooth but that's changing now. A few years ago I would refuse all alcohol and even tea, and just stuck to my soft drinks and fruit juices.

Now I'll do tea any day of the week, though I'm yet to be convinced that coffee has any merit (taste-wise).

The fact that it is an Ice Wine makes a lot of sense; that stuff is sweet as all hell.

Germany has some knock-out wines actually. Their whites are notably fantastic (hence Riesling, Gewurztraminer and such). The Rhine region is just covered with wineries and beautiful landscape. Because of their very 'beer-centric' global image they are generally forgotten about for wines, but they make some great ones.

The Czech Republic is what got me into beer, followed shortly by Belgium. "Into" to the point that now I brew my own with increasing sophistication and money spent on strange apparatuses.

In Reply To #19

Bloody hell, you sound almost sociably acceptable. I thought that was impossible to achieve with Australians.

In Reply To #20

Ah, I remember Prague. 20p a pint when I was there. Good times...

During my 5 year stint at work I had quite a few people wonder if I had a English background (as in, during my lifetime, not ancestry - that part is obvious).

Apparently my mannerisms and accent are not properly 'ocker'.

In Reply To #23

You mean you don't grunt and play with your own shit?

In Reply To #24

My visit to Manchester is looking more and more like it might contain murder...

In Reply To #25

€33 will get you pretty damn good wine in Europe. Then again, there's also a few good ones that won't cost you €10. Icewine is a very good present. Bottles of the stuff get their price raised quite a bit over here.

In Reply To #25

Now that sounds Australian.

In Reply To #20

I used to brew with a buddy of mine in grad school. But we're both microbiologists, it's almost mandatory. Now I live in a state where the only Sunday you can buy alcohol on are holidays. The opportunity to get supplies is nil, so I think I'll have to give up on that hobby. Without a local brewshop, it just ain't the same.

Leg, you should buy a flat of Dogfish Head and when you realize you don't like it give it to me. :)

In Reply To #29
Hell, skip with even trying to realize it and just buy me beer online (ship it direct!).

I have a Dogfish Head/Stone/Victory collaboration beer in my fridge right now. Had to buy them by the 12oz bottle and there is but one left. I cannot drink beer for another 5 weeks but it'll be the first to go when I can.

I don't think I've ever had a beer by Victory I didn't like. Nor maybe the other two but I did buy Dogfish's 120 minute IPA once (again, single bottle) and it turned out the thing hadn't fermented. It was like GOYA malt soda with a ton of hops. Sad night.