Once you go black you never go back.

[donKey jote]

Black Erdinger is my favourite

[schmenke]

It's always difficult to get a good pint of bitter on tap (I never touch the canned or bottled stuff ) around here, and it's often served too cold. I do enjoy it when I can get it though .
I prefer Smithwicks over Guiness tbh.

[Captain VXR]

I'd take cider over beer any day, especially good quality stuff from Somerset or France

[Rollo]

It's not prefection. It's just an overhyped brand. Any Belgian ale with beat Guinness hands down.

No. Just no. For the price you pay it's not worth the effort.
Grant that Leffe, Orval and Chimay do export, most of the beer in Belgium that's any good doesn't travel.

I also don't much enjoy standing around in one shoe because the proprietor makes you surrender it when you buy beer in a stirrup glass. Particularly Kwak is notorious for this.
No. Beer should be a simple thing. There is more to be said about waiting for 4 minutes for a Guinness to settle (or up to 7 minutes for some German dunkels) than having standing in a wet sock.

[Rudy Tamasz]

This is a request. What is your favorite Belgian Ale? Please recommend one - I'd like to try it. I have not tasted anything as good as Guinness, but I do like other beers, and to try other beers.

Sorry, mate. Took me a while to respond. I am not very articulate on beers and therefore suggest that you read this.

http://www.beermad.org.uk/writings/belgianbeer.shtml

I may add that if you are based outside of Belgium then the Belgian beers you are most likely to find in your local store would be Leffe, Chimay and Duvel. They are the most mainstream types of niche beers or the most niche types of mainstream beers. In any case they are very good even if, as Rollo points out correctly, they do not necessarily travel well. I'd take a bottle of Chimay over any of our local types no matter how fresh they would be.

[fandango]

A pint o'plain is yer oney man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwLB2...eature=related

A poem by Flann O'Brien. Guinness is a wonderful beer, but they've messed around with it too much, making it cold to get people to drink it in the Summer etc.
Those moments when a Guinness is just absolutely the right drink for the mood you're in are harder to get these days. But for me, there is the odd day when nothing else will do.

[MrJan]

I'd take cider over beer any day, especially good quality stuff from Somerset or France

Bleh, don't want too much of that Somerset cider, tastes of the North Mind you I usually end up having a few pints of Stowford Press when I go to Moles in Bath, and that's proper Northern stuff (bleddy Herefordshire)

[Roamy]

Alt beer form Düsseldorf - now that is beer. I am very glad belgium bought budweiser. what a sh!t beer and I would rather eat lint than drink a bud/lime

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Guinness is amazing. And the best thing is that I can drink gallons of it without getting a headache the next morning.

[janneppi]

It's not prefection. It's just an overhyped brand. Any Belgian ale with beat Guinness hands down.

I remember reading somewhere that the Guinnes rest of the world gets isn't as good as the stuff they get on the home island. something to do with how they preserve it for longer time.
sort of makes sense to me, last time I drank Guinnes it tasted like crap.

My all time favourite is the Bock type beer that Plevna in Tampere makes and sells.