John Trager wrote: > "Casey Rousseau" <casey at the-bat.net> wrote: > __________ > > >FWIW, when I splurge my carb budget on beer, I'd rather be > >drinking Newcastle Brown or Samuel Smith's Nut Brown. > > Sammy Smith I'll agree with (their brews are high quality > across the board), but Newcastle is just so-so for me. If > we're opening up to imports and getting away from microbrews, > I have to give my nod to Fuller beers. I love Fuller's Extra > Special Bitter, and their 1845 is very good as well. Since the discussion had quickly moved to Belgian beers, I didn't think going across the channel to be much of a stretch. As for Newcastle vs. Sam Smith, I too prefer Sam Smith's, but it is a question of availability. I've yet to find Sam Smith's available on tap. Newcastle on the other hand is fairly common. > For those who are into the darker stuff... Young's Double > Chocolate Stout is a consistent favorite, and the Rogue XS > Imperial Stout (not sure if that's being made any more -- I > haven't been able to find it in years) is quite possibly the > best stout I've ever tasted. I've never cared for Stout. Give me a nice Brown Ale and I'm perfectly happy. Casey