Olives in your beer?

[adk]

I was at a restaurant tonight, and I saw a woman drinking a draft beer with two olives. I looked over to the bar, and it was either Heineken or Beck's Oktoberfest with olives in it. Is anybody familiar with this practice?

[mkrishnan]

I googled it because you mentioned it and it seems there are a few people who do it, but I can't say I remember ever seeing someone do it before.

[jessica.]

Originally Posted by adk

I was at a restaurant tonight, and I saw a woman drinking a draft beer with two olives. I looked over to the bar, and it was either Heineken or Beck's Oktoberfest with olives in it. Is anybody familiar with this practice?

I would personally take her beer away.

[Abstract]

Olives in my beer? Only if they want a punch in the face.


I'm already a bit weirded out by all the bad Amer-exican beers like Corona that require a lemon to disguise its blandness. A bit of lemon in a Hoegaarden wouldn't be completely out of place, but olives are a tad much.

[DZ/015]

Never heard of this practice but it is just wrong. There should be nothing added to your beer.

[OttawaGuy]

[MacNut]

Did she think it was a martini or something.

[mkrishnan]

Originally Posted by DZ/015

Never heard of this practice but it is just wrong. There should be nothing added to your beer.

I do an orange slice in Blue Moon (at least at bars / if there is one available).

For a while there was a thing of having Corona with a shot of Grenadine, but I've never had it.

[Scepticalscribe]

German Weissbier usually comes with a slice of lemon, (which enhances it), and some other (rather bland) beers, such as Corona, as mentioned by Abstract, also come with slices of lemon, but olives? That is something new to me. Is it fashion? Or merely an attempt to sem stylish? I'm not at all sure what it might do for the beer in question.

Cheers

[Jaffa Cake]

On a visit to London a couple of months ago, I was stunned to find the natives quaffing ale chilled way below acceptable levels, with ice in it.

The savages.

[mkrishnan]

Originally Posted by Jaffa Cake

On a visit to London a couple of months ago, I was stunned to find the natives quaffing ale chilled way below acceptable levels, with ice in it.

My understanding with this one, too, was that there were a very small number of beers, which were historically served this way, and which are appropriately served this way -- but I don't know which beers they are and I have not seen the practice in restaurants.

[Blue Velvet]

A depth charge of Galliano added to a generic pint of lager on a hot summer's day can be quite nice on occasion.

Not too sure about olives, though. Prefer them outside the beer, in a dish.

[juanster]

Originally Posted by Jaffa Cake

On a visit to London a couple of months ago, I was stunned to find the natives quaffing ale chilled way below acceptable levels, with ice in it.

The savages.

I drink my beer very very cold, won't have it any other way, i've heard some ppl and some bars in the UK serve ambinet temp. warm beer? true?

[Jaffa Cake]

Originally Posted by juanster

I drink my beer very very cold, won't have it any other way, i've heard some ppl and some bars in the UK serve ambinet temp. warm beer? true?

Generally, lagers are served very cold while ales should be at a higher temperature otherwise you destroy the flavour. For example, the bitter I'm currently drinking has on the label 13°C as the recommended temperature for pleasurable supping.

12°-14°C is the optimum temperature for cask ales. Lager of course is generally served much cooler, in fact there's a chain in this country which boasts all its lagers are served between 1°-3°C.

[juanster]

reallly??? that's interesting, never knew that.. i will totally give it a try soon... don't think I'll like it, but hey never know until you try it right? now i gotta lookup a good ale here in Canada...

[Applespider]

Originally Posted by Jaffa Cake

Generally, lagers are served very cold while ales should be at a higher temperature otherwise you destroy the flavour.

I'm a semi-heathen. I loathe most lagers since they have no taste whatsoever and prefer something with a little colour BUT I like them at the lower end of the acceptable temperature range. Ideally, I'd be drinking them around 9-10C - the thought of putting ice in them is abhorrent though!

Thankfully, since my favourite beer (Anchor Steam) is a lager, even though it's a lovely shade and quite hoppy, I'm allowed to drink it chilled But I suspect you'd have to pay me quite a lot of money to adulterate it with olives

[Abstract]

Originally Posted by juanster

I drink my beer very very cold, won't have it any other way, i've heard some ppl and some bars in the UK serve ambinet temp. warm beer? true?

Yeah, it's usually the lagers that are served cold, while bad lagers are sometimes advertised as being "extra cold" (it'll say on the label). They'll be so cold, that the taste will be ruined. The cold will also be a bit numbing, so that you don't say anything about the lack of flavour as it goes down.

And like the Cake said, some ales and darker beers are served chilled, but not "cold". If I'm given a really cold ale or stout at a pub, I'll wait for it to warm up a bit first before I drink it. Otherwise, you totally ruin the experience. On the other hand, I've seen Guinness Extra Cold several times.

There are lots of good beers at the Beer Store or LCBO.

[gonyr]

Olives in beer just sounds so wrong. Actually, olives in any sort of beverage is kind of gross. And yes, this includes martinis.

[iJohnHenry]

Originally Posted by juanster

now i gotta lookup a good ale here in Canada...

Good luck with that search, and let me know if you find one.

Upper Canada did have an excellent bitter called Publican, but Sleeman's killed it quickly on their buy-out.

Former Guinness drinker, converted to Kilkenny.

[duncyboy]

Now, your common or garden main-brand lagers I like absolutely ice-cold- same way I like my water/juice/Pepsi/cordial/milk. However...

Pale Ales- I like chilled a bit

Bitters/Stout- room temp

Wine- room temp- don't care what the colour is, don't like cold wine

Proper dark ales/beers (Hobgoblin/ Pendle etc)- I must admit I like them with a nice chill on them. Enough that you get some condensation on the glass/bottle. Probably colder than the average quaffer, but to each their own

But olives in beer? I'd rather have Olive from On The Buses. 'tis a fad.

And in case anyone wades in with this particular example, I liked ice in my cider WAY before Magners made it trendy. Watch Withnail & I.

[Lord Blackadder]

A good beer stands on its own. If you have to put something in it you need a better beer, or should switch to a martini.

[MattG]

Originally Posted by Abstract

Olives in my beer? Only if they want a punch in the face.


I'm already a bit weirded out by all the bad Amer-exican beers like Corona that require a lemon to disguise its blandness. A bit of lemon in a Hoegaarden wouldn't be completely out of place, but olives are a tad much.

Mmm...it's been a few years since I had Hoegaarden. It was served with a lemon wedge, I remember that much. Good stuff

[Counterfit]

There are a few places in Rhode Island that serve blueberry ales with, surprise, blueberries in them. It's pretty funny to watch them rise and fall from the CO2 bubbles.

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Unless someone puts their male chicken in my beer then I'm going to drink it regardless.

Now if anyone tried to put anything in my Jack (except 3 standard ice cubes and a small and I really mean small splash of coke) I would drop them like a toilet seat.

Olives: sure why not.
Lemon: err OK.
Lime: Hell yeah.

"You want fries with that? Yeah stick a bloody sausage in it as well." Jack Dee... Years ago!

Fox

[OutThere]

Olives!? Never.

Though all this talk of ale reminds me of the delicious Deuchars IPA I had out of the cask in Edinburgh last week...mmm.