Brewers have the chance to give the advice on the GBG listingform sent out each Winter (breweries write the first draft of their listing on this form, which is then sometimes edited to keep the page numbers & ramblings down).
But such advice might in some cases be based as much on preference as anything else?
Steve Banfield
The message from "yaf201" contains these words:
I always try my ale before putting it onto the hand pump. If it has a good flavour I drink it from the barrel tap, if not I use the pump and sparkler - I have to confess that it is usually the latter :-(
I have had an offer of a sparkler from a reader of this ng, for which I thank him. I have emailed a reply.
I remember a landlord who screwed the sparkler up tight and gave one tug to the handle.He then released the sparkler and topped up the pint.Result was an attractive head without spoiling the beer too much.
Yeah, doncha just love someone handling the sparkler then putting it into the beer they're pouring for you :) Sparklers and swan-necks, inventions of the devil.
The sparkler never came neer the beer in the glass , but although beer has antiseptic properties I take your point.However , in those days food poisoning wasn't as popular as it is now because we had immune systems.
In article , Andrew Cameron writes
Sounds like it is half an inch short of a pint, not 'full' at all!
Oh dirty Southerner, proper beer has a head, and a good pint of Roosters has a small one. Anyway, isn't the pint line an inch or two below the top of the glass?
Of course proper beer has a head, it need not be much and it should not last longer than the beer; indeed beer straight from the barrel not torn through pipes is ideal. The pint line is only an inch or so below the brim if you have an oversize lined glass, unfortunately far to many landlords favour brim measure glasses, that way they can buy a barrel and sell 60 gallons.
I usually find this kind of reply quite amusing - jumping to huge conclusions over unrelated statements - but please, don't compare Roosters Yankee to Budweiser and tell me I must like the latter. It's incredibly insulting.
It seems that this is how things are done in Yorkshire, and I rather enjoy the result, as do the people I drink with. Which Roosters produce have you tried without a sparkler? For me, the enjoyable part of a pint of Roosters is the creamy fruity (sometimes lychee, sometimes grapefruit) taste that I don't think would be quite as "bright" without the "dreaded device".
Again, a huge conclusion being jumped to. If you spent five minutes in my local you'd know the falsehoods you're attempting to perpetrate. Now, Wetherspoons? That's a different matter...
Sorry chuck (ooh, I went all Cilla there), I'm not really familiar with those areas. I've only actually heard of two of them. Have you tried the Good Beer Guide?
Mmmm Andrew, really bright are you? Been travelin' a fair piece from home lately? Thought you were in North Yorks. Obviously not very far North Yorks. Kinda a citified lager lout, eh?? For shame!
Probably all of them including the Outlaw range. They used to be my favourite beers when consumed in pubs that can keep beers in good condition and all local festivals (including pub festivals) selling them will have gravity dispense. Possibly due the higher price in the distribution chain, I haven't seen too many recently but other breweries are now producing similar products which taste just as nice - also without the sparkler.
IMO, all flavours you like are enhanced without a sparkler - or more correctly, dulled with its use.
Try a blind tasting - one with and one without.
Try also a beer past its best (out of condition) and you may find that the sparkler puts zero 'brightness' back into the beer - in fact you may find it does the reverse.
It's you that said the head could be half an inch.
If your local is using oversize glasses then the half inch head on top of a full pint is good value for money. Otherwise....
Within the pub trade the sparkler has little to do with the style of the beer as all beers will be served the same way. The sole reason for its use is to rip off customers.
Uh, what? I travel, but not a lot around this area. I never drink lager unless I've been forced into visiting a non-ale pub. Why are you jumping to such crazy conclusions simply because I have never visited a few towns you mentioned? Hell, with beer this good around me, why would I go anywhere else?
Well, snap. Roosters' source pub, Blind Jacks in Knaresborough, serves all of its beers with a sparkler, and it's a serious real ale pub. This assumption that sparklers mean rip-off and therefore every pub in the region is screwing their customers for the sake of a few pence is ludicrous.
Next time I'm down there and it's quiet enough to do so, I will - half a pint of each.
According to my girlfriend (who works for the local licensing authority) any respectable pub in the area (including Blind Jacks and the aforementioned Tap and Spile) will use the oversized glass.
It's not - really. That's just how beer is drunk around here. If I can't convince you of this, perhaps Sean Franklin can -
"As a taste consequence the beer is softer because the CO2 had an acidifying effect and the sweet/acid balance of the beer is changed in favour of the sweet. Some beers (Northern) are brewed with more bitterness to take account of this." Can we assume he refers to Roosters in this statement? He certainly doesn't mind his beer being served through one.
"I have enjoyed great pints of beer served either way. But what matters above all is what the customer wants, whatever his preference, and whatever the preference of the publican." A fair way to sum it up.
The message from Andrew Cameron contains these words:
I once (many years ago) made a complete 'TIT' of myself by complaining to the landlord that he had served me with a short pint. "It's and oversize glass" he said "look, there's a pint line on the side'" DOH!
Just about to do this - what should I expect?
(more like 12 hours, mind!)
Some particularly nasty bacterial infection which will keep you running for days!
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