Lovely to see a bit of enthusiasm on this front. Real Ale’s always been a particular interest of mine. It’s hugely underrated and I wish more people interested in wine would drink it. The complexity and variation therein, which sees Tim Taylor’s Landlord as a Sancerre on the one hand and Dark Star Porter as an Aussie Shiraz on the other, should be more than sufficient to attract some seriousness, but it rarely does even amongst its fans. Its history as not only a working man’s drink (when such terms were relevant) but also a primary source of (his) sustenance, together with its bitterness, has tended to make it a male-only indulgence. Indeed a quick head-count at a beer festival will indicate that this is still how the land lies. That is at least one reason that it hasn’t gained any foothold as a liquid to be pored over in the same way that, say, wine is. But things are changing, and when you wouldn’t have had any women at all at a beer festival, there now are at least a few. It helps too that beer is gaining recognition as something with which to match food. Even so, when restaurants are unlikely to keep a cask with its inherent high-maintenance as referred to in Richard Neville’s article, Real Ale is only likely to be received in bottle-conditioned form which is not quite as good in my opinion - certainly it is a different product. Go to the Wenlock Arms in London if you want to try it. Or, in fact, any decent Wetherspoons. Order a half of everything and taste your way through.
Incidentally, the West Sussex based Dark Star Brewing Co is the best brewery in the country to my mind, whose beers should turn heads even when in bottle form. These may be available in supermarkets.
Hear, hear. Real ale is much underrated. Odd really when you think about it. A passion for meat, for example, doesn’t preclude a passion for fish or for cheese so why should a passion for wine mean that most overlook beer as a fascinating and rewarding alternative? I certainly agree that it goes well with food - much better than wine with tricky-to-match cheeses, for example - and regularly include pairings on my site (matchingfoodandwine.com for those of you who are unaware of it).
Maybe a good new year’s resolution for members of this forum would be to set themselves the task of trying one beer they’ve never tasted each month of 2009. Not a hugely ambitious target so it shouldn’t distract too much from the wine consumption 
And it’s cheaper too - perfect for these recession-ridden times . . .
Good beer is certainly one of lifes great pleasures and a love of wine and a passion for beer are absolutely not mutually exclusive activities - just look at how many winemakers / wine merchants will look to down a pint or two of ale after a long wine tasting.
In this part of the world (the English Midlands) a wealth of good pubs with well kept beer exist - indeed it is far more difficult to buy a good glass of wine during an evening out, than it is to buy a good glass of beer.
Hello all. I remember a great lesson from some years ago from a wine consultant here in Toronto, who said. “Never trust a wine consultant who doesn’t like beer”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. We are most fortunate here in the colonies that we have several local breweries that are making some really first rate ales and lagers. Two off the top of my head are Mill Street Brewery and Great Lakes Brewery.
Ah, so whom of the jancisrobinson.com team should we trust? (If anyone?)
Be wary with your trust, David!
We are pathetic girlies without that much volumetric capacity (though, come to think of it, Camden bottle recyclers might find that hard to believe).
I really appreciate good beer from time to time but in relatively small quantity and, alas, I find I just don’t have the time to add expertise in any liquids other than wine to my personal portfolio and shrinking mental capacity.
Jancis, if you work your way up to drinking your Echezeaux in pint glasses, then I’m sure the switch will be easy.
Jancis, you certainly don’t have to become an expert in the ‘barley sandwich’, but as long as you still enjoy a good brew every now and then, all is right with the world.
Hello Richard, oh the pain of the research! I’ll see what I can do, but it actually might be a couple of weeks because I must fly to Vancouver on Friday for family business. However, Richard, I can already tell you that I’ve only tried both these brewers’ products from bottle, not cask, so I cannot give you a comparison. I will have to visit establishments that carry them on tap and see how they do it. As I said, oh the pain of the research!
Yes, or order in half pints. It’s not a real excuse.