# đŸ» Real Ale / Lager / Cider or Spirits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Food and drink\ **Created:** [19 June 2015 19:55 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555 "2015-06-19T19:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bucks](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/bucks/32/87_2.png) [@Bucks](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Bucks)\ **Post date:** [16 October 2015 21:01 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/61 "2015-10-16T21:01:30Z")
Forgive me, catching up with this thread as a relatively recent member: Used to be almost exclusively lager. Any decent strong lager, Peroni probably my preferred, or Becks if on the piss because a) its 4% and b) hangover is less painful. The last two years for some reason I have started drinking cider as much as lager, and not just in the summer. Quite picky athough, dont like many of the well known brands and certainly avoid the poncy flavoured ones that seem to be everywhere. Never touch real ale or beer of any kind. Caffreys when it was around but nothing else. Proper southerner, me. ---
**Author:** ![Barry-Sanchez](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/barry-sanchez/32/76_2.png) [@Barry-Sanchez](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Barry-Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [16 October 2015 21:17 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/62 "2015-10-16T21:17:29Z")
I sit with can of strognbow in my hand, don’t mind bottled beer if peroni but a Hawkes Bay or a good Gibbston Valley Sav Blanc is my favourite. ---
**Author:** ![Goatboy](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/goatboy/32/167_2.png) [@Goatboy](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Goatboy)\ **Post date:** [16 October 2015 21:21 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/63 "2015-10-16T21:21:47Z")
ooooo look at her :lou_is_a_flirt: ---
**Author:** ![saintbletch](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/saintbletch/32/618_2.png) [@saintbletch](https://www.sotonians.com/u/saintbletch)\ **Post date:** [17 October 2015 11:26 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/64 "2015-10-17T11:26:53Z")
As I mentioned above, I have a preference for cider. My son’s working in Winchester and went here the other day
 [The Stable - The Square, Winchester](http://stablepizza.com/locations/winchester/) He reckons that they’ve got ~60 ciders on the menu and they do a tasting platter, so I reckon I’m going to try it out soon. Has anyone been there? ---
**Author:** ![Bucks](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/bucks/32/87_2.png) [@Bucks](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Bucks)\ **Post date:** [17 October 2015 21:55 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/65 "2015-10-17T21:55:03Z")
Looks like my kind of place Bletch, make sure you report back. I see they have a branch opening in beautiful downtown Southampton soon, which might make it easier for me. ---
**Author:** ![Barry-Sanchez](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/barry-sanchez/32/76_2.png) [@Barry-Sanchez](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Barry-Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [17 October 2015 22:38 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/66 "2015-10-17T22:38:55Z")
if you are in Liverpool a person I know runs this place, seems similar and very good pizzas [http://www.tribeca-liverpool.co.uk/](http://www.tribeca-liverpool.co.uk/) ---
**Author:** ![Halo-Stickman](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/halo-stickman/32/23_2.png) [@Halo-Stickman](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Halo-Stickman)\ **Post date:** [18 October 2015 19:28 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/67 "2015-10-18T19:28:50Z")
Good research, Ant. As for my own research into PO postcode ales, I think I visited 10 pubs in total yesterday, but can’t be sure because everything got a bit hazy. Fortunately, I made notes as I went: Pub 1. Goddards’ Wight Squirrel - bland Pub 2. Island Brewery’s Wight Gold - bland Pub 3. Yates’ Golden - bland Pub 4. Goddards’ Fuggle-Dee-Dum - good Pub 5. Goddards’ Fuggle-Dee-Dum - very good Pub 6. Goddards’ Fuggle-Dee-Dum - fucking good Pub 7. Blank Pub 8. I’ve scrawled an eleven digit number, which I fear is the telephone number of a vintage-bus and real-ale enthusiast I met in the smoking shelter who tried to enrol me into her Morris dancing troupe - I’m praying I didn’t give her my number. 🙁 Pub 9. Someone has drawn a knob. 🙁 🙁 Pub 10. An unknown person has written “loking ferwood to seing you nex yeer luv graham x”. 🙁 🙁 🙁 HTH ---
**Author:** ![Goatboy](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/goatboy/32/167_2.png) [@Goatboy](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Goatboy)\ **Post date:** [18 October 2015 19:36 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/68 "2015-10-18T19:36:51Z")
Good work Halo :lou_lol: ---
**Author:** ![Bucks](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/bucks/32/87_2.png) [@Bucks](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Bucks)\ **Post date:** [18 October 2015 19:46 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/69 "2015-10-18T19:46:00Z")
Halo continues to be a legend. FACT. ---
**Author:** ![jet-sounds](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/jet-sounds/32/52_2.png) [@jet-sounds](https://www.sotonians.com/u/jet-sounds)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:07 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/70 "2015-10-30T22:07:08Z")
On the lager front I’ve become rather partial to Birra Moretti of late, much better than Peroni
but the other week when music in the city was on, I spent an hour in The Dancing Man Brewery and had a couple of pints of ‘Vagrant’ bitter which was absolutely superb!. ---
**Author:** ![Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/coxford_lou/32/11_2.png) [@Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Coxford_lou)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:21 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/71 "2015-10-30T22:21:12Z")
Honey Dew. My dad would be ashamed because I drink it cold. But it’s very refreshing! ---
**Author:** ![Spudders](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/spudders/32/15_2.png) [@Spudders](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Spudders)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:29 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/72 "2015-10-30T22:29:11Z")
What’s Honey Dew Lou? My ale of choice is one with a honey flavour. Edit: ok ignore me, looked online, same thing! ---
**Author:** ![Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/coxford_lou/32/11_2.png) [@Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Coxford_lou)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:34 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/73 "2015-10-30T22:34:47Z")
It’s a Fullers Organic Ale, I think it’s probably quite lightweight, like, I can almost feel Ant’s disapproval. But it does a job for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spudders](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/spudders/32/15_2.png) [@Spudders](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Spudders)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:43 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/74 "2015-10-30T22:43:34Z")
It’s 5% as I Googled it a few minutes ago. I like golden ales/beers. They may not be the strongest beers in the world but it’s not a competition is it. When I worked in Belgium a few years ago they did a beautiful beer called Westmalle tripple that was 9.5% think that’s the nicest one I’ve had, don’t think you can buy it in the UK though. Plus you couldn’t drink it all night!! ---
**Author:** ![Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/coxford_lou/32/11_2.png) [@Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Coxford_lou)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:45 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/75 "2015-10-30T22:45:30Z")
Ah Belgium. I studied there for a bit. Ah, Leffe :lou_smiley: ---
**Author:** ![Spudders](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/spudders/32/15_2.png) [@Spudders](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Spudders)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:47 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/76 "2015-10-30T22:47:23Z")
![](https://discourse-sotonians-uploads.s3.dualstack.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/original/3X/3/0/30a09a992e8c92595f31b6ec12bf386203ebfea5.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Goatboy](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/goatboy/32/167_2.png) [@Goatboy](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Goatboy)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:51 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/77 "2015-10-30T22:51:12Z")
They do this at the South Western: Quite a few other Belgian beers too. ---
**Author:** ![Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/coxford_lou/32/11_2.png) [@Coxford\_lou](https://www.sotonians.com/u/Coxford_lou)\ **Post date:** [30 October 2015 22:52 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/78 "2015-10-30T22:52:28Z")
I feel drunk just looking at those. Might be best I stick with the shandies
 ---
**Author:** ![saintbletch](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/saintbletch/32/618_2.png) [@saintbletch](https://www.sotonians.com/u/saintbletch)\ **Post date:** [14 November 2015 11:21 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/79 "2015-11-14T11:21:27Z")
OK, as might be clear from my contribution late last night on the Tories thread, I went to The Stable in Southampton yesterday. I really enjoyed the evening and the premise is excellent - if you like apples, pizza or pies. it’s wall-to-wall cider from tame, sweet, colourful stuff; to strong, dry cloudy stuff; to a selection of calvadoses. And thanks to the tasting platter concept (5 1/3 pint samples) I think I tried every single fucking one of them. I couldn’t fault the cider, but if I had a criticism of the place it’s that it isn’t really conducive to a drinking session. To me, the name The Stable conjures up a rustic, spit and sawdust pub with quirky, old and comfortable chairs. So that was what I was expecting. Instead, it’s open-plan on two floors with clean, light wood tables and benches - redolent of a post-modern Munich beer hall. As I got louder and more obnoxious I felt quite conscious that perhaps I’d missed the point. Anyway, the food is good but expensive for what it is. They focus on pizza and pies and offer a good variety of both. As for the cider, I had stuff I loved and stuff I didn’t love, but it was all good quality. They have a large number of ciders on tap and an even larger number in boxes. The boxed ones are the whackier ones, and they are not chilled which makes them tastier but less refreshing. I finished the evening on something called Mr Whitehead’s Boxing Day which was 7.5% and nice. Well actually, I finished the evening by hoovering up the leftovers from our tasting platters. On reflection, that showed poor judgement. I’m not a very capable drinker and had a pint of something different at each round (nothing under 5%) and shared 3 tasting platters, so whilst I’m fragile this morning, I really should feel much worse. Perhaps staying on apples all night means you don’t get so hung over? Get yourself to one Bucks, you’ll love it. ---
**Author:** ![saintbletch](https://www.sotonians.com/user_avatar/www.sotonians.com/saintbletch/32/618_2.png) [@saintbletch](https://www.sotonians.com/u/saintbletch)\ **Post date:** [14 November 2015 11:34 UTC](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555/80 "2015-11-14T11:34:25Z")
Forgot to say
guess which Pizza I had? ![](https://discourse-sotonians-uploads.s3.dualstack.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/original/3X/a/7/a7ab1dde7e006e51d33cf9da1ea64feea7e72eb4.jpeg) [Previous page](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555.md?page=3) [Next page](https://www.sotonians.com/t/real-ale-lager-cider-or-spirits/1555.md?page=5)