Beer (was Screen resolution question)

[killer]

I forgot to mention earlier that one of the differences between beers is whether it is alive or dead.

Real ales, stouts, and lagers are living beers. They are either conditioned in a bottle or a cask (barrel). Cask beers have a short shelf-life. Bottled beers can live for a long time.

Dead beers are sold in kegs and bottles. "Dead" means that fermentation is stopped by the addition of SO2 (Sulphur {US= Sulfur} Dioxide). The beer is then kept under pressure of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and is chilled. Guinness for long distance storage is pressurised by Nitrogen so it does not get over fizzy.

Now call me old fashioned but I prefer a living beer. I hate chemical beer like "Eurofizz" or US Budweiser. Real Budweiser from the Czech Republic is a living beer. UK beers are either living or dead. I prefer real ale. Guinness has achieved a good half-way compromise when it is shipped a long way. It is dead but held in a zombie state. Guinness in Ireland is outstanding. Guinness in the US is better than anything but Bass.

Ah, Bass ... there is another tale. Bass comes from Burton-upon-Trent which has the best water in the world for making beer. Why do I say that? Because every other brewery uses a process called Burtonisation where they change their water to be like the river Trent in Burton.

Even Guinness with the Liffey as its source Burtonises the water.

Who cares ... time for a pint.

[mattbiernat]

since you don't like cold drinks... ever tried tabsco sause, vodka and cranbery juice taken as a shot? tabasco is all the way in the bottom, cranbery juice on top and vodka all the way on top. 3 layers but tastes good!

[RealBlackStuff]

Even Guinness with the Liffey as its source Burtonises the water.

It's a popular misconception that the waters used for Guinness Beer came from the Liffey River in Dublin. Many residents of Dublin even believe it.

Eric Newby, the English travel writer, visited Guinness's water filter beds in the mid-1980s when he was in Dublin. The filter beds are to the west of Dublin, near Lock 8 between Ballyfermot and Clondalkin on the Grand Canal (that flows out of Dublin and joins with the Shannon River to the West and the Barrow River to the south). There he found that the filter beds were brick-lined ponds. Some were open to the air, others were not only roofed over, but had grass growing over the roofs. Here in these ponds the water used to make Guinness beer was allowed to rest, so that sediment could sink to the bottom, before being piped to the Guinness plant 4 1/2 miles away for further purification and ultimate use.

The water in those filter beds, still there today, does not come from the River Liffey, but rather from the Grand Canal that the beds are near. And the water in the Grand Canal -- at that point near Lock 8, at least -- does not come from the Liffey, but rather from Seven Springs, St James's Well, in Pollardsdown Fen near Kildare. That water is soft and alkaline, with lots of lime, and that, Newby was told, was the water that was used for making Guinness.

By 1995, though, the water Guinness used had changed. "Above 8th lock are the filter beds from which Messrs Guinness used to draw the soft water that was so suitable for brewing. The filter beds are still in use today, but the water is used for washing purposes only." ("Guide to the Grand Canal of Ireland", The Waterways Service with the co-operation of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, 5th Edition, 1995.) The water now (as of 2004) comes from the Wicklow mountains, in County Wicklow.

[Marin85]

...one bourbon, one scotch, one beer...

[killer]

@mattbiernat. That drink should go well with a curry.

@RealBlackStuff. Thank you for that informative posting. Sorry for making the mistake of supposing that the Liffey was the source. BTW, did you see the Ireland v France game on Saturday? I am sure several metric tonnes of the black stuff were consumed afterwards.

[RealBlackStuff]

Unfortunately I was occupied elsewhere and forgot to set my DVR, but I hear that the Irish thrashed the French (not for the first time).
And the Real Black Stuff was downed just as much during the match! What do you think pubs are for?
If we win, we drink to celebrate.
If we lose, we drink to forget our sorrow.
Either way, a good time was had by all!