Dark Star - British Beer festival.

[medicine man]

We are lucky enough to have several good breweries in Sussex. Amazing how people even do the "My favourite is better than yours" stuff on a beer thread though. I thought that was reserved for the player rankings on match days.

Yeah, I was thinking that. Also, the way such a good local brewer as Harveys suddenly gets people giving it the snobby! You get bad pints of all decent beer due to the way it is produced (bad casks an' that, lie, whatever...)
Quite like Hophead, me. Ironhorse is good, as are the Arundel and Hammerpot beers. Tom Paine- luvverly, as is Quids in and The Kiss (not sure there are any left tho...).
FFS, lets just drink and be merry, together (bastard is they use mostly kentish hops, don't they?)

 

[Robbie G]

well surely an ale that EVERYONE thinks is the best drink in the WORLD must have come somewhere?

or could it be that it is infact VASTLY overrated. is that a banning offence?

Your opinion carries no weight, you drink Strongbow!

 

[ady1973]

Dark Star will now be served up at B.Hill footie club......

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Harveys is insipid gnat's piss. Never understood why people rave about it. Dark Star is in a different league altogether.

 

[DerbyGull]

Harveys is insipid gnat's piss. Never understood why people rave about it. Dark Star is in a different league altogether.

Agreed Harveys is awful, got into a slagging match in my local in derby with a guy who lives up here too from hassocks, his favourite drink is harveys he's even an ambassador for them, needless to say we're friends now but some of the ales from the midlands are the best i've ever tasted, Dark star is good especially the pale one thats beer tag has got a white background and blue writing i think

 

[The Large One]

Agreed Harveys is awful, got into a slagging match in my local in derby with a guy who lives up here too from hassocks, his favourite drink is harveys he's even an ambassador for them, needless to say we're friends now but some of the ales from the midlands are the best i've ever tasted, Dark star is good especially the pale one thats beer tag has got a white background and blue writing i think

Really? I know it's all down to opinion, but Camra voted Harvey's Best as winner of Best Bitter at GBBF in 2005 and 2006 (won this year by Golden Sands, brewed by Southport Brewery).

 

[Questions]

We are lucky enough to have several good breweries in Sussex. Amazing how people even do the "My favourite is better than yours" stuff on a beer thread though. I thought that was reserved for the player rankings on match days.

Go on to any site which talks about beer and you will get a difference of opinion on what are the best tipples and which well known ales are overated.
It is not just a NSC phenomena.
It was always going to turn into a debate on Sussex ales surely and the big 2 are Harveys and Dark Star.

Dark Stars week this time though.

 

[BHAboi]

funny how this thread is opened after its been on the southern news today. LOL

 

[DerbyGull]

Really? I know it's all down to opinion, but Camra voted Harvey's Best as winner of Best Bitter at GBBF in 2005 and 2006 (won this year by Golden Sands, brewed by Southport Brewery).

TBH mate im not in to ur dark ales, i only drink ur pale really hoppy ales. so im not the best to judge the toffee coloured ales, i just dont enjoy 'em

 

[Mr Apples]

Should be a fair number of us at the GBBF on Thursday afternoon to settle the debate

Absolutely, old boy.

See you there!

 

[itszamora]

We are lucky enough to have several good breweries in Sussex. Amazing how people even do the "My favourite is better than yours" stuff on a beer thread though. I thought that was reserved for the player rankings on match days.

I agree. I like both Harveys and Dark Star very much, when I am in a Harveys pub I will drink Harveys and when I am in a Dark Star pub I will drink that, and I will enjoy them both. Although one place in my village has both, and there Harveys usually wins for me...

 

[Brovion]

Yeah, I was thinking that. Also, the way such a good local brewer as Harveys suddenly gets people giving it the snobby! You get bad pints of all decent beer due to the way it is produced (bad casks an' that, lie, whatever...)
Quite like Hophead, me. Ironhorse is good, as are the Arundel and Hammerpot beers. Tom Paine- luvverly, as is Quids in and The Kiss (not sure there are any left tho...).
FFS, lets just drink and be merry, together (bastard is they use mostly kentish hops, don't they?)

I agree. We've seen a lot of that on here recently what with Michael Macintyre, Radiohead, etc: "What I like is better than what you like and if you don't agree with me then you're a limp-wristed Socialist/Daily Mail reading fascist/uncool geeky nerd. (Delete as appropriate)" It makes for good binfests but it's all bollocks; people like what they like and hate what they hate, I mean, some people don't like curry! Can you believe it?

Personally I absolutely adore Harvey's Sussex. I think that people who slag it off are the worst kind of real ale snobs; they're snooty, woolly-jumpered, beardy twats who deserve to have a copy of the Good Beer Guide shoved up their arse sideways. As I say, I might THINK that but I wouldn't dream of saying it out loud. Each to their own.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Personally I absolutely adore Harvey's Sussex. I think that people who slag it off are the worst kind of real ale snobs; they're snooty, woolly-jumpered, beardy twats who deserve to have a copy of the Good Beer Guide shoved up their arse sideways. As I say, I might THINK that but I wouldn't dream of saying it out loud. Each to their own.

I'm no real ale beardy weirdy, but I've never understood the passion for Harveys, and I suppose a bit of me thinks it's local people who are just caught up in the whole 'Sussex loyalty' thing - I only say that because to me it tastes so rank, but it's all personal taste at the end of the day as you say. Now I don't think anyone on here could argue that Michael Mcintyre supported by Radiohead at the Brighton Centre with Harveys being the only tipple on sale would be most people's idea of sheer hell!

 

[Scampi]

I love Harveys and I love Dark Star. Also quite keen on th brewery in Eastbourne area, sorry name escapes me

 

[itszamora]

I'm no real ale beardy weirdy, but I've never understood the passion for Harveys, and I suppose a bit of me thinks it's local people who are just caught up in the whole 'Sussex loyalty' thing - I only say that because to me it tastes so rank, but it's all personal taste at the end of the day as you say. Now I don't think anyone on here could argue that Michael Mcintyre supported by Radiohead at the Brighton Centre with Harveys being the only tipple on sale would be most people's idea of sheer hell!

Sounds f**king brilliant to me!

 

[vegster]

Harvey's is so ubiquitous rather than popular. There are at least 5 locally available beers I would rather drink than Harvey's. London Pride,HSB,Spitfire,Broadside and even Directors.

 

[Danny-Boy]

and for the lager drinkers, their Natural Blonde is far superior to the mass produced chemical crap available in most pubs.

I have to say that so far I have not yet tasted a lager made in Britain that can approach the quality of the German and Czech produced lager beers.

It's quite amazing how the drinking of quality lager (that is produced under the German Reinheitsgebot laws or their equivalent) has taken off.

I worked at the GBBF from 1991 to 2006, in 1991 "Foreign Beers" was a small subsidiary section tucked way at the rear of Olympia, then the yuppies got a taste for Hoegaarden which is actually a wheat beer brewed in Belgium (I think).

Now "Foreign Beers" is a massive part of the Earls Court set-up, if any of you have a chance to go there ask for Alastair, a genial Jock who runs that part of the show, or at least ran it up to 2006.

My tipple of choice is "Rauschbier" a wheatbeer brewed in Bavaria which has smoked ham hung in it for added flavour, grab it while you can on draught.

If you want decent lager from your local supermarket or offie then I'd say Becks is the best, as I think again it's brewed under regulation, you won't get the "Wifebeater" type hangovers that you get from all the chemically "enhanced" UK and US offerings.

 

[Danny-Boy]

I love Harveys and I love Dark Star. Also quite keen on th brewery in Eastbourne area, sorry name escapes me

There's one now based in East Dean, they use the "Tiger" pub there as their main outlet. Is it the Beachy Head brewery or something like that?

 

[The Large One]

My tipple of choice is "Rauschbier" a wheatbeer brewed in Bavaria which has smoked ham hung in it for added flavour, grab it while you can on draught.

If you want decent lager from your local supermarket or offie then I'd say Becks is the best, as I think again it's brewed under regulation, you won't get the "Wifebeater" type hangovers that you get from all the chemically "enhanced" UK and US offerings.

In which case, may I respectfully suggest the afore-mentioned 'Natural Blonde' when you next visit the Evening Star?

 

[The Large One]

Harvey's is so ubiquitous rather than popular. There are at least 5 locally available beers I would rather drink than Harvey's. London Pride,HSB,Spitfire,Broadside and even Directors.

Fair enough, but is it not possible that its ubiquity is down to its popularity rather than, say, its marketing?

Let's face it, how much marketing does Harvey's do, especially in comparison to, for instance, Shepherd Neame or Adnams?