View Full Version : Retro Drinks
General Staal
26-09-2010, 18:33
Back in September, I took my brothers on a pub crawl down in Digbeth. We started off in the ever excellent Bull Ring Tavern.
I ordered three Milds, but was stopped in my tracks by my brothers who asked for Brown and Mild. So we had three Brown Ales and Milds. My brothers' eyes lit up when they received Manns Brown Ale.
I thought that Brown and Mild was utterly delicious, but I don't ever remember having it before. The barmaid in the Bull Ring Tavern knew exactly what we were asking for. I have ordered it in pubs since, but the barstaff have no idea what I am talking about. After I have explained it, I have to order a half of Mild, a bottle of Brown Ale and an empty pint glass. Its invariably Newcastle Brown and it isn't as nice as Manns.
Now my brothers are 10 years older than me and the 70s were their formative years, whereas mine were the 80s. The drink of choice I remember back in the 80s for teenagers out drinking was a Snakebite - a mix of Lager and Cider. Unfortunately, Cider provokes unsociable side effects in me, so I have learned to avoid it.
What other retro beer based drinks are out there, that are still do-able?
NickDavies
26-09-2010, 18:57
Brown ale (but not Newcastle Brown) is (in most cases was) the bottle version of mild, as light ale is of bitter. I see from Ratebeer Manns (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/manns-original-brown-ale/6888/) is now brewed at Burtonwood.
You're lucky to find anyone who knows what a light and bitter is nowadays, let alone brown and mild.
I haven't come across anyone drinking lager and lime for ages.
General Staal
26-09-2010, 19:02
Am currently drinking Mackeson's Stout and Mild. Am taking it in turns between Cain's Mild and Banks's Mild.
Delicious! I remember my old Nan drinking Mackeson's.
Delboy20
26-09-2010, 19:24
Back when I was a bit more agile we used to play football on a Sunday afternoon. The pubs were shut in those days !!
We all used to meet in the pub at 7 on the dot and we always started off with a " Mickey Mouse " - Half bitter and half lager. It was a Banks's pub so I am guessing it would have been Harp lager and Banks's bitter. Very refreshing if my memory serves me well.
I have no idea why it was called Mickey Mouse though !!
Maldenman
26-09-2010, 19:32
Back in the day a pint of "mixed" was bitter and mild, popular in the NW in the late 70's. Student days saw snakebite, never got on with that. A lads holiday in Cornwall on meeting some local lads introduced us to "red cider", ie a pint of scrumpy with a glass of red wine on top. It did the damage you'd expect.
Oggwyn Trench
26-09-2010, 19:33
A few months ago the Station in Oakengates were running a promotion of Brown and Mild , Black and Tan , Light and Bitter and a few others all £2 a pint .
I am sure we have had a similar thread a few months ago
NickDavies
26-09-2010, 19:38
Back when I was a bit more agile we used to play football on a Sunday afternoon. The pubs were shut in those days !!
We all used to meet in the pub at 7 on the dot and we always started off with a " Mickey Mouse " - Half bitter and half lager. It was a Banks's pub so I am guessing it would have been Harp lager and Banks's bitter. Very refreshing if my memory serves me well.
I have no idea why it was called Mickey Mouse though !!
"Golden" they called that in some parts. Black and Tan you don't see any more either, Guinness and mild, or bitter depending who you ask. It was always good for winding up new bar staff in the hope that they put the Guinness in first, thus ending up with an unholy mess, though good for getting you chucked out for the night too if you'd already got on the guvnor's nerves enough.
Oggwyn Trench
26-09-2010, 19:38
Back in the day a pint of "mixed" was bitter and mild, popular in the NW in the late 70's. Student days saw snakebite, never got on with that. A lads holiday in Cornwall on meeting some local lads introduced us to "red cider", ie a pint of scrumpy with a glass of red wine on top. It did the damage you'd expect.
A popular one round here was a Passion Flower , Stella , 1080 cider and Pernod and Black , it was impossible to drink anything on top of this without projectile vomiting , happy days
I haven't come across anyone drinking lager and lime for ages.
It's becoming quite de rigeur for the youngsters round here. Someone ordered it in Wetherspoons yesterday!
I found a keg Manns Chestnut Mild last week when I was in Llandudno. It came as a bit of a blast from the past and was pretty good.
I think the popularity of bottled beers with a half pint has waned over the years. I often see people asking for 'half and half' in the South or a 'mix' in the North, generally being a half of mild and a half of bitter, or even two halves of bitter, e.g. GK IPA & Abbot. I find this usually involves two beers from the same brewery.
Black and Tan you don't see any more either, Guinness and mild, or bitter depending who you ask.
Some Wetherspoons currently have a cask (i.e. pre-mixed) Black and Tan from Naylors Brewery.
Wittenden
26-09-2010, 22:04
Back in September, I took my brothers on a pub crawl down in Digbeth. We started off in the ever excellent Bull Ring Tavern.
I ordered three Milds, but was stopped in my tracks by my brothers who asked for Brown and Mild. So we had three Brown Ales and Milds. My brothers' eyes lit up when they received Manns Brown Ale.
I thought that Brown and Mild was utterly delicious, but I don't ever remember having it before. The barmaid in the Bull Ring Tavern knew exactly what we were asking for. I have ordered it in pubs since, but the barstaff have no idea what I am talking about. After I have explained it, I have to order a half of Mild, a bottle of Brown Ale and an empty pint glass. Its invariably Newcastle Brown and it isn't as nice as Manns.
Now my brothers are 10 years older than me and the 70s were their formative years, whereas mine were the 80s. The drink of choice I remember back in the 80s for teenagers out drinking was a Snakebite - a mix of Lager and Cider. Unfortunately, Cider provokes unsociable side effects in me, so I have learned to avoid it.
What other retro beer based drinks are out there, that are still do-able?
I spotted a couple of lads ordering brown and MILD in the Lamarsh Lion, Essex, last summer.Not real MILD, unfortunately, but it transported me back to the 70s!
Light and bitter was popular around Kent and Sarf London back in the last Century. It made the Courage Best more palatable, I think.
I have come across one pub in Dartford and a couple across the river in South Essex that sell keg Double Diamond although I haven't been in any of them for some time. According to various websites, Tetleys stopped brewing it in 2003 but I have had it within the last 2 or 3 years and there are some recent reviews of it on Ratebeer so it is obviously still around. It still tasted as disgusting as ever when I last tried it.
gillhalfpint
27-09-2010, 08:38
I remember being on snakebite, and it was bitter and cider we had as a mix.
In my young lager drinking days, I hated it when a dash of lime was put in as I cannot stand the stuff and always had to get it replaced.
Black and tan was another popular northern drink.
Just remembered another that was around in the north, a pint of bitter with a little bottle of Gold Label.
Alesonly
27-09-2010, 09:19
Guinness & Gold Label was the Drink of Choice for Me & most of crowed I drank with in the Mid seventy's. Probably because in most Pubs there was No decent Ale it was all Keg manly Tankard Red Barrel Or Double Diamond were we lived in Ponders End Enfield
aleandhearty
27-09-2010, 10:02
Some Wetherspoons currently have a cask (i.e. pre-mixed) Black and Tan from Naylors Brewery.
My village local has this on quite regularly. I'm assuming it's a blend of Pinnacle Bitter and Pinnacle Porter. I know you weren't too keen, but I don't mind it. Not earth-shattering, but quite easy drinking.
Grailhunter
27-09-2010, 12:22
Just remembered another that was around in the north, a pint of bitter with a little bottle of Gold Label.
That brings back memories of the Eighties for me.
I was working in Slough then and we had a local where we would go after work for a couple. My mate would then give me a lift home and while he nipped round to the council car park to get his car I would finish off with a pint of Directors and a bottle of Gold Label to top it up !
It was a wonderful nightcap (Directors was a superb beer in those days when it was brewed in Bristol) and he always wondered why I usually fell into the car when he picked me up !
I always recall people drinkng Ramrod and Special in Youngs pubs. I never did it myself but with Ramrod now back as a seasonal, the opportunity may arise in the not too distant future.
I have come across one pub in Dartford and a couple across the river in South Essex that sell keg Double Diamond although I haven't been in any of them for some time. According to various websites, Tetleys stopped brewing it in 2003 but I have had it within the last 2 or 3 years and there are some recent reviews of it on Ratebeer so it is obviously still around. It still tasted as disgusting as ever when I last tried it.
Oh dear, I used to like DD, and Red Barrel, my favourite at the time though was Watneys' mild, think it was called Nut Brown or something like that :o
Hangs head in shame & slinks off to end of bar :o
Party 7 anyone?
PS, just remembered, it was Drum mild I think
I am talking different tipple here.. I used to love to drink Hooch (remember them?) in mid 1990's and that was before I converted to real ale. Anyway, I find today's current alcopop rather plain and fizzy. Now I miss Hooch especially blackcurrant flavour. Wow what a taste.
Whatever happened to Hooch?
I am talking different tipple here.. I used to love to drink Hooch (remember them?) in mid 1990's and that was before I converted to real ale. Anyway, I find today's current alcopop rather plain and fizzy. Now I miss Hooch especially blackcurrant flavour. Wow what a taste.
Whatever happened to Hooch?
I have no idea if this is true, but I had it in my head that it was voluntarily withdrawn due to the negative publicity it was continually attracting and just replaced with all the other brands.
It was a great gateway drink though, I remember liking it when I wasn't in the mood for lager, the lemon one was my preference.
Evil Gazebo
27-09-2010, 17:27
Ah, the dawn of the alcopops. I remember Hooch first turning up during an unusually hot summer - think it was 1995 - and my memory suggests it was very soon afterwards that the media hysteria began, when drinks such as Mad Dog 20/20 and the ilk began appearing on shelves. IIRC, it was a drink called Two Dogs Alcoholic Lemonade which kick-started the whole thing, but Hooch was backed by superior marketing/distribution or something and stole their thunder.
In a way I can understand the media’s reaction, brightly coloured sweet drinks with high alcohol content, but I’m dubious as to whether they ever really had an impact on the drinking habits of the young. Having said that I can recall (somewhat fuzzily) some extremely drunk weekends, with Saturday morning breakfasts accompanied by a bottle of Reef, which basically tasted exactly like orange juice, but was 6% abv. And then we’d start drinking…
Do you remember Hooch's limited edition of Sex on the Beach flavour? Oh what a great time.. I remember I must have drank 20 of these during Euro 96 between England V Scotland in Gallant Hussar, Derby.
Tasted like pineapple/coconut and very dangerously drinkable.. :lol::cheers:
Not long after came along Smirnoff's Moscow Mule and Metz.. The latter is personal favourite of me.. very sharp lemon taste.
http://www.copper.org/consumers/arts/2007/august/images/smirnoff_mule.jpg
http://imgsrvr.livra.com/imgsrv/r/martini-metz_-7321529498908308668/w/150/h/150
Delboy20
27-09-2010, 19:01
Anybody remember Thunderbirds ? No, not that puppet show - FAB !! I mean the drink !!
I seem to remember it came in 2 varieties - one stronger than the other. We used to get it from Beryl's off licence - she would serve anybody.
After that came 20/20. It looked like pop but blew your head off. We used to take it on coaches to away games cleverly disguised in pop bottles !!
NickDavies
27-09-2010, 19:24
Pony. "The little drink with the big kick" - a hunt through Google reveals it was British cream sherry made in Paignton, of all places. I never knew that at the time. The genius was that they could charge more than the price of a pint for about 2oz of British chemicals - Babycham was another one, also coincidentally west country based. I remember blokes of my father's generation whinging like hell because taking their wives and teenage daughters out to the pub involved vast expenditure on this stuff.
gillhalfpint
28-09-2010, 09:32
Cherry B was around the same time. All had their own glasses too.
NickDavies
28-09-2010, 10:50
I have no idea if this is true, but I had it in my head that it was voluntarily withdrawn due to the negative publicity it was continually attracting and just replaced with all the other brands.
It was a great gateway drink though, I remember liking it when I wasn't in the mood for lager, the lemon one was my preference.
It also enabled the invention of the Turbo Shandy, which some claim to be a great pick me up where a long drink is required to combat dehydration but the stomach too delicate for neat beer. I've never put it to the test.
Whatever happened to Hooch?
He got shot at the end trying to save Tom Hanks. He was alright though, and went on to have puppies.
Anyway, if I remember right, it was Two Dogs that got into the market first but they were the Betamax to Hooch's VHS.
Here's what happened to Hooch (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4419578.stm)
Oggwyn Trench
28-09-2010, 18:03
Dont know how common it is in other parts of the country , i have not seen it for years , but the Coalport in Oakengates is promoting Skol at £2 a pint
arwkrite
30-09-2010, 15:38
As much as we all like to denigrate them the likes of Red Barrel, Double Diamond, Worthington E and Whitbread Trophy were commercial successes. They must have been, me and my mates drank enough of it. They were affordable, did not poison you if you were sensible and did not taste to bad. But being a youngster back then what did I know. I remember some of the real ales being bloody awful. Keg was the thing to drink but we shall put that down to the tastes of youth.
I think you have all mentioned the odd drinks I remember. The girls all wanted Cherry B ( anyone recall Cherry Heering ? ) ,Ponies,or half a cider. If they wanted Brandy and Babychamp you dumped them fast. No point in spoiling them.
Soup Dragon
02-10-2010, 18:02
does anyone remember Bezique?
Oggwyn Trench
02-10-2010, 21:13
does anyone remember Bezique?
Yes , the Bridge in Trench had a promotion night , two very fit young ladies (must have been low paid , they had hardly any clothes) offered Bezique round to the regulars , it didnt mix well with Bankss Mild , 10 pints with Bezique chasers = 1 bad head the next day
does anyone remember Bezique?
Never heard of it.
What is it? Please enlighten us young people...
I was in the decent Wieden Bräu brew pub in Vienna earlier this week and had a krugerl (50 cl) of 'gemischtes' ('mixed') which is served as a blend of their Helles (light) and Dunkel (dark) beers. I've never come across this 'arf'n'arf-type mixture on the continent before so don't know whether it is actually a retro beer style or not...
General Staal
02-10-2010, 22:23
I was out in Birmingham again last night with my brothers and they mentioned that as well as Brown and Mild, they used to drink Light and Bitter. They said it was a bottle of Light Ale poured into a half of Bitter.
I would love to try this, but can anyone enlighten me as to what I would be asking for if I wanted a bottle of Light Ale?
General Staal
02-10-2010, 22:27
Never heard of it.
What is it? Please enlighten us young people...
Bezique was made by Bacardi in the 70s and 80s. It was apparently a mix of rum, lemon and lime...
Oggwyn Trench
02-10-2010, 23:43
Bezique was made by Bacardi in the 70s and 80s. It was apparently a mix of rum, lemon and lime...
Very herby as i remember , it was in the same style as Taboo and the like
General Staal
03-10-2010, 08:16
Brown ale (but not Newcastle Brown) is (in most cases was) the bottle version of mild, as light ale is of bitter. I see from Ratebeer Manns (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/manns-original-brown-ale/6888/) is now brewed at Burtonwood.
You're lucky to find anyone who knows what a light and bitter is nowadays, let alone brown and mild.
I haven't come across anyone drinking lager and lime for ages.
If I wanted to recreate Light and Bitter at home, I could buy a can of Banks's but what would I need in the bottle? Can you give me an example, please?
NickDavies
03-10-2010, 08:53
If I wanted to recreate Light and Bitter at home, I could buy a can of Banks's but what would I need in the bottle? Can you give me an example, please?
Another can of Bank's. The main point of light and bitter was to liven up tired warm real ale in the days when much real ale was tired and warm and in London something like Courage Best or Charrington's IPA. Keg bitter - effectively draught light ale - and lager reduced the need to do that, and nowadays thanks to things like cellar cooling and, dare I say it, cask breathers, real ale is far more likely to be in a presentable condition despite poor cellarmanship.
There was, of course, another reason for having light and bitter. You almost always got a 'good' half of bitter in the glass and therefore a fair bit more than a pint, apart from one or two miserable tight guvnors who insisted on tipping the bottle in first, or one I remember who had pint bottles of light ale to top the pint up with.
If I wanted to recreate Light and Bitter at home, I could buy a can of Banks's but what would I need in the bottle? Can you give me an example, please?
You could give Youngs Light Ale a go:
www.youngs.co.uk/beer-bottle-light.asp
Still serving in half pint (well, 275 ml) bottles, especially for mixing.
General Staal
04-10-2010, 18:28
I tried a mix of Davenports Bitter and Banks's Bitter last night. Banks's was canned and the other bottled.
Very nice!
But not as nice as a mix of Dragon Stout and Cain's Dark Mild!
Soup Dragon
04-10-2010, 19:24
does anyone remember a Crusader bitter i think it was in the mid-1980s?
I wonder if anyone will remember Dissorono - and it's really annoying tv advert ("Dissoronon ont he rocks..." simper, simper). A retro-drink of the future, or a footnote consigned to the same mental drip-tray as Babycham, Snowball et al?
NickDavies
05-10-2010, 10:34
does anyone remember a Crusader bitter i think it was in the mid-1980s?
I do but I'm trying to think where.
A classic* before then was Watney's Starlight, which was the draught version of what went into the fabled Party Seven.
*a classic in that the Morris 1100 was a classic. Everyone had one, nobody liked it.
General Staal
09-10-2010, 11:07
Down the Bishop Vesey in Boldmere last night they had Naylor's Black and Tan. Very nice.
It was a birthday do and I introduced a couple of the younger lads (I mean early 20s here) to the delights of real ale and the Black and Tan went down really well.
Oggwyn Trench
09-10-2010, 11:15
I have probally mentioned this before , but a good alternative to a shandy (if your driving or just fancy something sharp) is Vimto and Mild , its lovelly
I have probally mentioned this before , but a good alternative to a shandy (if your driving or just fancy something sharp) is Vimto and Mild , its lovelly
How can you possibyl drink somethign which is an anagram of "vomit"?
Blimey, I don't know how I've managed to miss this thread...
This is taking me back to my yooff...
I broke in my milk teeth on Light and Bitter..
And as North London was dominated by Shitbreds in the late 70's, wasn't long before we moved on to Tankard and Brewmaster.
Which as it says was trying to put some flavour into the ghastly Whitbred Tankard by mixing in a bottle of Brewmaster, which was marketed as a 'southern Brown Ale'.
Thank christ we have moved on from those days...:glass:
NickDavies
09-10-2010, 18:27
Which as it says was trying to put some flavour into the ghastly Whitbred Tankard by mixing in a bottle of Brewmaster, which was marketed as a 'southern Brown Ale'.
Thank christ we have moved on from those days...:glass:
Someone at the time, probably Richard Boston in the Guardian dubbed all keg beers "Watbread Drunkard." If you were lucky you might have got "Whitbread big head Trophy Bitter, the pint that thinks it's a quart" which had marginally more flavour than Tankard, probably due to higher ABV than anything to do with the brewer's art.
Had a discussion about the retro mixed beers question last night in the village club, which stocks Courage Light Ale and Manns Brown Ale for this purpose. Both Light & Bitter and Dark (or Brown) & Bitter are still quite popular, apparently...
Pangolin
11-10-2010, 14:04
Someone at the time, probably Richard Boston in the Guardian dubbed all keg beers "Watbread Drunkard." If you were lucky you might have got "Whitbread big head Trophy Bitter, the pint that thinks it's a quart" which had marginally more flavour than Tankard, probably due to higher ABV than anything to do with the brewer's art.
Ah, now there was actually no beer called Trophy - not one beer anyway. It was used to give a national brand to the local bitters of the various Whitbread breweries, which were very, very different once upon a time. So Trophy from Faversham (ex Fremlins) was completely different to Trophy from Marlow (ex Wethereds), but both were very drinkable, at least if you found the draught version. Some of the other versions of 'Trophy' were not good though. And they all disappeared or changed back when Whitbreads realised their name and reputation was shot and people preferred local breweries. Until they closed them all of course! Back to the thread - I certainly started on Light & Bitter, but then again it was a Watney pub. I fairly soon found that decent real bitter was much better.
Pangolin
11-10-2010, 14:15
Hang on - I've just remembered Courage Bulldog bitter. A mate of mine regularly drank JCBs - John Courage and Bulldog! Ye gods!!
NickDavies
11-10-2010, 16:21
Dont know how common it is in other parts of the country , i have not seen it for years , but the Coalport in Oakengates is promoting Skol at £2 a pint
I always thought Skol should be aftershave, rather than beer. The sort minicab drivers buy from pound shops and "splash it on all over," like Brut. It's just that sort of name.
arwkrite
15-10-2010, 00:10
While listening to a radio comedy quiz show on the radio I learned that a drink called a " dogs nose " was made from beer and gin. No quantities were given, does anyone know and has any one tried it ?
I await you answers with trepidation.
found this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/23RVFM671BQAZ
Delboy20
15-10-2010, 06:58
found this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/23RVFM671BQAZ
That actually sounds quite good !
I have a soft spot for Gin and might give it a try.
arwkrite
15-10-2010, 08:18
Porter and gin sounds a decent mix and with Charles Dickens's recommendation well worth a try.
I am sure I have an old nutmeg rolling around a kitchen cupboard somewhere.Mind you what was a working class drink will certainly cost you these days.Bath tub gin has long gone.
If that was a Dog's Nose any guesses what the opposite end of said canine would consist off? And I do not mean the waggy bit
Replace Porter with Foster's, sugar with aspartame, gin with Value vodka, nutmeg with ???
A friend of mine asked for a pint of "purple" in a Youngs pub earlier tonight, and I'm sorry to say that this had me stumped...
Apparently, this was (is?) the name for an alf'n'alf of 'Ordinary' and Special, based on the mixed colour of the old red and blue pump clips...
NickDavies
16-10-2010, 07:52
A friend of mine asked for a pint of "purple" in a Youngs pub earlier tonight, and I'm sorry to say that this had me stumped...
Apparently, this was (is?) the name for an alf'n'alf of 'Ordinary' and Special, based on the mixed colour of the old red and blue pump clips...
I feared it was gong to be lager and black. Anyway I've never come across that before - and I did work in a Young's pub for a while back in the days of the old pump clips, and have (been) drunk in enough of them. Maybe it's speciifc to that boozer?
aleandhearty
16-10-2010, 15:59
The mention of Pony, CherryB etc reminded me of my maternal grandmother's favourite tipple Warnink's Advocaat. (A blend of brandy, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla) As a young lad in the seventies, my nan gave me a sip to try and I thought it was the most disgusting thing I'd ever tasted. I think it was the texture as much as anything - all those egg yolks. Even the thought of it now makes me want to heave. Apparently it's still available. God knows who buys the stuff.
arwkrite
16-10-2010, 17:03
My Stepsons has a bottle on his sideboard. Its vintage is uncertain so I am frightened to open it . Mother In Law liked a bottle until thankfully she developed a taste for scotch. All those fancy vomit inducing drinks you can keep.
oldboots
16-10-2010, 18:32
Warnink's Advocaat. (A blend of brandy, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla)...Even the thought of it now makes me want to heave. Apparently it's still available. God knows who buys the stuff.
When I were a young barman it was the main ingredient of a Snowball, the lemonade that made it frothy having to be poured from some height. You could get a premixed version at some time but it obviously lacked the "theatre of the pour". Needless to say this was a "laidees" drink along the lines of "Dubonnet and lemonade" or "half a lager and lime" and eventually the Spritzer or today J2O.
Rex_Rattus
17-10-2010, 16:10
Mrs R used to love drinking a snowball - I recall always having to ask for a bloody cherry on the top. Thankfully she's graduated up to white wine now, which is definitely a step in the right direction!
Oggwyn Trench
17-10-2010, 16:31
When i was a youngster i used to go to the Miners Social Club with my Nan and Grandad , a favorite amongst the ladies (of a certain age) was port and brandy
NickDavies
17-10-2010, 19:31
When I were a young barman it was the main ingredient of a Snowball, the lemonade that made it frothy having to be poured from some height. You could get a premixed version at some time but it obviously lacked the "theatre of the pour". Needless to say this was a "laidees" drink along the lines of "Dubonnet and lemonade" or "half a lager and lime" and eventually the Spritzer or today J2O.
Snowballs were real aggravation, especially when it was busy and you got a party come in and want three of the bloody things. After you'd faffed around finding the ingredients (the jar of cherries was always in the other bar and the Advocaat in a cupboard somewhere) and then making them the bastards would order three pints of Guinness just, I'm certain, to rub it in: meanwhile you'd got an increasingly restive queue forming debating your parentage.
Once a colleague sulkily produced the offending drink for a punter who promptly sent it back wondering what on earth it was - she'd only ever had the pre-mixed before and didn't know what it really was made from. It took a while to calm him down after that.
Strongers
18-10-2010, 19:44
My gran used to love breaking out the snowballs at Christmas. I remember my grandad had a small bar in the living room with three huge light bulbs that were coloured red, green and blue in the surround. I also remember a horrible burgundy soda syphon that I used to use to blast my toy soldiers off the garden wall - the only action the thing ever saw.
NickDavies
18-10-2010, 20:19
I also remember a horrible burgundy soda syphon that I used to use to blast my toy soldiers off the garden wall - the only action the thing ever saw.
Powered by Sparklets? Can you still get the bulbs?
gillhalfpint
18-10-2010, 21:09
One of the Nottingham pubs we went to last week had what looked like a proper old fashioned soda syphon behind the bar. Haven't seen one in a bar for years. Believe a squirt in your drink from one of them was free.
Strongers
18-10-2010, 22:46
Just googled Sparklets :lol: yeah that's the one!
http://www.retonthenet.co.uk/vintage-lighting-unusual-designer-table-lamp-boc-globe-master-bronze-soda-syphon-circa-1960s-100-p.asp
http://www.sodasyphons.co.uk/prices.asp
used to have the green globe
One of the Nottingham pubs we went to last week had what looked like a proper old fashioned soda syphon behind the bar. Haven't seen one in a bar for years. Believe a squirt in your drink from one of them was free.
I remember them, they used to be on the bar, oddly enough I mentioned this pub landaldy the other day, seems yob culture removed them from bar, you can imagine it, spraying them everywhere, then use empty glass syphon as a club
gillhalfpint
19-10-2010, 10:22
Oooch!! I also remember how heavy the empty syphons were as my gran, who used to run a miners club, had one at home and we used to play with it as kids.
Alesonly
19-10-2010, 17:16
Powered by Sparklets? Can you still get the bulbs?
Yes you can get the bulbs in boots or home brew shops as there also used for pressurising Polly pins and home brew barrels. I also have some in a AA tyre repair kit that are used the too inflate tyres after plugging/repair
runningdog
21-10-2010, 18:51
......a favorite amongst the ladies (of a certain age) was port and brandy
Never mind old ladies, I can cope with port and brandy, specially if I'm told to 'elp me self. A bottle of each, a glass, and I'll play quietly all evening..........;):drinkup::drinkup: and :nishelypished: I'll be..........:drinkup:
arwkrite
21-10-2010, 21:48
I like port. The rich rounded taste is very more'ish which is where the problem lies. The more I drink of it the deeper I become depressed. Enough of it and even the sight of the wall paper can reduce me to tears. As with my other devil in a bottle, Bacardi, I keep well away from it now other than a small glass at Xmas while chomping on Stilton and Bath Olivers.
gillhalfpint
21-10-2010, 23:06
Think I have only had port once. Staying at a farmhouse B & B in the lake district when some event or other happened and the farmers wife brought a bottle of port out and gave everyone a drink.
trainman
21-10-2010, 23:41
Mmmm, Port. Must be up there among the carriers of most congeners, well, at least among the cause of greatest hangovers? Maybe it's just that one often has a drop after sooo much booze beforehand?
Anyway, needed summat rich to boost the stock for the Steak & Kidney pie I was making to see me through the Prestatyn (& environs) weekend, and happened upon a Midnight Port for ~£6.50 (Morrisons, Wimbledon). Does for me, though I have, in the past, been known to appreciate some better vintages.
, a favorite amongst the ladies (of a certain age) was port and brandy
I never understood this - it already has brandy in it. And don't get me started on the sacrilege of contaminating a good vintage port with lemonade...
Strongers
22-10-2010, 10:52
I like port. The rich rounded taste is very more'ish which is where the problem lies. The more I drink of it the deeper I become depressed. Enough of it and even the sight of the wall paper can reduce me to tears. As with my other devil in a bottle, Bacardi, I keep well away from it now other than a small glass at Xmas while chomping on Stilton and Bath Olivers.
I can't touch Bacardi - Makes me antagonistic and slightly threatening - I'll start a new thread!!!
NickDavies
22-10-2010, 16:09
Tizer.
Oggwyn Trench
22-10-2010, 18:14
I never understood this - it already has brandy in it. And don't get me started on the sacrilege of contaminating a good vintage port with lemonade...
I love port , and vintage port is wonderfull , if only i could afford it more often....
NickDavies
24-10-2010, 13:22
Having a bit of a sort out and came across the A-Z Party Book, published by the Mirror in 1963. Amongst the many delights is
Mulled Ale
Mix together in a saucepan 1 quart brown ale, 1/4 pint brandy, 1 tablespoon castor sugar, 4 cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg and ginger. Bring almost to the boil, add a peice of fresh butter the size of a small walnut and serve very hot.
It's the butter that makes it.
General Staal
07-11-2010, 19:45
Was in the White Swan, Digbeth on Saturday for a pre-match pint. They serve a Guinness and Mild mix.
They also serve a separate drink called 'Mixed'. I should have asked what it was before I left...
Oggwyn Trench
07-11-2010, 19:49
Was in the White Swan, Digbeth on Saturday for a pre-match pint. They serve a Guinness and Mild mix.
They also serve a separate drink called 'Mixed'. I should have asked what it was before I left...
Round here Mixed is Bitter and Mild
General Staal
07-11-2010, 19:54
Sounds delicious! I have mixed Mild and Bitter out of bottles at home. Just tried Mackeson's Stout to liven up a dull bottle of Badger England's Glory. My God it needed it!
Next year I will be attending a mini reunion in Torquay, and having checked Tripadvisor I note the hotel sells Double Diamond :eek:
Hope it is still on when I go, just to go down memory lane, all together now
"A Double Diamond works wonders, works wonders, A Double Diamond works wonders, works wonders"
Having a bit of a sort out and came across the A-Z Party Book, published by the Mirror in 1963.
Sounds like a "sort out" was a little bit overdue! Haven't got Lord Lucan up in the loft have we?
NickDavies
08-11-2010, 14:50
Sounds like a "sort out" was a little bit overdue! Haven't got Lord Lucan up in the loft have we?
He stays in the shed.
aleandhearty
08-11-2010, 15:06
Haven't got Lord Lucan up in the loft have we?
He stays in the shed.
I should imagine there wouldn't be room for him, with Shergar up there.
ROBCamra
08-11-2010, 15:42
I should imagine there wouldn't be room for him, with Shergar up there.
In dog food tins?
In dog food tins?
It's strange how some things persist in the folk memory - even now we still refer to the fare offered by some eatign establishments (my review this week of a formerly decent village pub close to Andover applies) as "shergarbergers".
TigerGuy
09-12-2010, 19:49
Next year I will be attending a mini reunion in Torquay, and having checked Tripadvisor I note the hotel sells Double Diamond :eek:
Hope it is still on when I go, just to go down memory lane, all together now
"A Double Diamond works wonders, works wonders, A Double Diamond works wonders, works wonders"
"so drink some today!"
nasty horrible stuff it was to :(
TigerGuy
09-12-2010, 20:13
being something of a late comer to this forum and thread my own memories of delving into the dark realms of drinking involved nipping to the pub around the corner from my school, which the masters used as well to enjoy a half of mild, I cant remember how much I paid but I do remember paying 6d a half dimly so I think thats sounds about right (thats old money around 1970)
I never liked bitter (in fact I confess I never much liked beer altogether...am I drummed out now?)
Me and my mates used to drink brown splits which I think was half a mild and a bottle of manns brown, or some would drink a pint of mixed or even a black & tan, really all drinks we probably heard our dads ordering while we were growing up.
I have no shame in admitting that after a very brief daliance with lager & lime (disgusting!) And a rather longer sojurn with a pint of Golden (half a lager & half a bitter) I become a confirmed lager & black drinker, I quite liked the way my vomit always turned everything it touched an indelible red colour!
I went with my best mate to Aigburth Liverpool and visited a conservative club there and the denizens had their views about soft southerners confirmed by my drinking this! Although many years later my mate told me there were still people there who not only remembered me but had actually started to enjoy the odd pint themselves!
As a quick aside once on a very sad night the rugby club ran out of balckcurrant cordial and I was reduced to attempting to drink lager & ORANGE! truly a stomach churning experience.
These days I have become far more sophisticated and my drink of choice is a snakebite & black, which I have always known as a pint of Diesel owing to a colour appearing to be exactly the same as the agricultural form of fuel.
Not being one to drink and drive when I take my good lady out for a very rare drink I usually have to have a J2O and she drinks pints of lager, I almost always get given the pint! When I think back to the first time I saw a female drinking a pint it was in skegness I think and she was drinking pints of bitter with a bottle of gold label in it, a submarine she called it... I was shocked and rather scared to be honest! Now they all drink pints...still it saves the endless trips to the bar :)
Hi TigerGuy,
Welcome to Pubs Galore. Myself and Dave M are the admins of this and the main Pubs Galore site so if you have any problems, queries or suggestions to improve the site please do let us know.
I am intrigued and was wondering what brings you to our site? You may also like to join in the Your Favourite... (http://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/showthread.php?382-Your-favourite......) thread (already partly answered by your post).
Hope you enjoy your stay,
Conrad
Hi TigerGuy
As another Southern Softy, welcome, I had forgotten all about Manns brown ale, your drinking experiences sound much like my travels, brown splits, lager & lime, which I liked TBH. I never did get into the blackcurrant mixes though, I went the Bitter / real ale route, via Red Barrel, Worthington E etc
NickDavies
07-05-2011, 19:59
Came across this which (as I suspect intended) takes me back
http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/keg_bitter/60s_and_70s_beer.html
I'd completely forgotten Long Life - 'brewed especially for the can' . I seem to recall it was the height of sophistication at the time.
Oggwyn Trench
07-05-2011, 21:34
Came across this which (as I suspect intended) takes me back
http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/keg_bitter/60s_and_70s_beer.html
I'd completely forgotten Long Life - 'brewed especially for the can' . I seem to recall it was the height of sophistication at the time.
I drink to forget , and now i remember why:moremad::confused::eek::D
gillhalfpint
08-05-2011, 06:48
My gran used to make us kids shandys using cans of long life when we went to her house for sunday dinner. We did feel grown up.
How about Toby Bitter? I thought this little keg charmer had disappeared into the drip tray of history some decades ago, but I came across it in a backstreet boozer near Canning Town on Friday (the sort of place where John Smiths Smooth would be considered as something that posh people drink).
NickDavies
08-05-2011, 10:29
How about Toby Bitter? I thought this little keg charmer had disappeared into the drip tray of history some decades ago, but I came across it in a backstreet boozer near Canning Town on Friday (the sort of place where John Smiths Smooth would be considered as something that posh people drink).
According to Rate Beer brewed by Wells and Youngs (who should be ashamed of themselves) for Coors. No sign of it on either company's website.
I had a few pints of Double Diamond from the hotel bar during my recent long weekend in Torquay, once I sort the pics out I will post the bar clip one
No idea who brews it now but it was for sale & I had it, and TBH it was not a bad keg pint
PS, the photo was rubbish, the flash has flared all detail out, so I will not be posting it after all :(
I had a few pints of Double Diamond from the hotel bar during my recent long weekend in Torquay, once I sort the pics out I will post the bar clip one
No idea who brews it now but it was for sale & I had it, and TBH it was not a bad keg pint
Now then, I was in the Edgar Wallace in London yesterday which was decked out with DD paraphernalia including a lit keg font at the bar. I was going to try some but was summoned away by a phone call and didn't get the chance....
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.11 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.