For years beer or ale has been something that only people who liked beards and sandals with socks, could appreciate. Well, no longer! Recent surveys have shown that beer has finally come in from the cold.
The big shift has been away from the two extremes; in Britain you could previously only get cold, yellow, fizzy, almost tasteless stuff or warm, brown and flat beer. There wasn’t a great deal of beer offered by brewers which sat between them. But in recent years, on both sides of the Atlantic, beer has been transformed and you can now get a huge range of beers to drink on their own. And, if that’s not for you, then there are a whole range of European beers which are a superb accompaniment to food or even as a food in their own right, which of course is how the Germans think of beer.
You can get a spritzy golden yellow ale which would go nicely with marinated chicken or deep rich Belgian beer to go with a sizzling steak. Beer may seem an odd accompaniment to food, but before wine became the market leading alcoholic beverage, beer was regarded as the normal drink to have with dinner.
If you want to know more, then check out Melissa Cole’s new book, ‘Let me tell you about beer – a beginners guide’. In this, she has written about some great beer and food combinations which might be great fun to try. One recommendation that we’ve tried is a well chilled Pilsner Urquell with a Livestock Park Smokey buffalo sausage in a sourdough bun. It is absolutely delicious!
So, if that’s made your mouth start watering then check out our great deals from Majestic, Wine Hound, who both have some great beers and ales on sale. If you grab one of our promotional codes then your experiments will cost you lots less!