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Continuing to wreck my health for the common good:
Belhaven Scottish Stout
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland - 7.0% ABV
Brewer's Note: This deluxe stout is brewed for a full roasted chocolate flavour with a hop character that complements a blend of triple malts. Drink, savour and enjoy.
The roasted notes I don't quite get from this medium-bodied Scottish stout from the celebrated Belhaven Brewery (now wholly owned by Greene "Greedy" Kind of Bury-St-Edmunds) - more a slightly sweetish mix of chocolate and licorice, with some vanilla. Full flavor, though a bit less carbonation would be preferable.
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American pale ales are usually much more aggressively hopped than British ones. 
Seeing that the clock has struck beer again, let's get it on:
Störtebeker Roggen-Weizen
Strahlsund, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany - 5.3% ABV
Brewer's Note: Biergenuss. Traditionelle Getreidesorten, Wasser aus unserer natürlichen Mineralquelle sowie eine einzigartige Braurezeptur ergeben den ursprünglichen Biergenuss, den du schmeckst. Zum Wohl!
Cloudy wheat beers are one of the styles that German breweries truly excel at. Up until a decade or so ago wheat beers came almost exclusively from Bavaria ("south of the Weisswurst equator" - the Main River, essentially), but in recent years more and more central and northern German breweries have been adding new wheats to their range. This one is from the very North West of Germany, former GDR territory, and it differs from most others through the inclusion of malted rye. Thus, the color is orange brown rather than yellow (but not as dark as dark cloudy wheat), and the taste is maltier and fruitier than that of most other wheat beers I know. There are the familiar banana notes, but there's also orange. This is a characterful brew, sufficiently different from the norm to justify the variation of ingredients.
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Well, I don't drink, but I'm glad to see you guys enjoying yourselves.
Thor, why can't you drink? Medical condition?
That's a challenge.
Best of luck to you. Be well.
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Greene King Abbot Ale
Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England - 5% ABV
Brewer's Note: Filtered. Also available in kegs under nitro pressure.
Ingredients: Pale, Crystal and Amber malts; First Gold, Challenger and Fuggles hops - late-hopped with Fuggles. First brewed in the 1950s. Bottles have been sterile filtered since May 2006.
Which is fascinating for those of us who care.
Abbot Ale is Greene King's flagship premium bitter, a standard at many English pubs (and certainly at every J.D.Wetherspoon I've ever been to). It's a fruity, floral ale that balances spicy hops and smooth malts really nicely. Positive proof that mass-produced ales from large breweries can be characterful, if done well.
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Thor - why would you have 'drinking updates' in your 'Cheers' thread - even though you can't drink alcohol anymore? (Nice work if you can get it.)
Well, it can be non-alcoholic drinks. Plus, that thread is really also about your weekend plans and what you're doing as much as what you're drinking. I can still go to parties, even though I can't drink.
Wow, I guess that needs some time getting used to. Is it permanent?
I'll take a Newcastle Brown Ale for you! :-)
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Kozel Svètly (Pale)
Pilzen, Czech Republic - 4% ABV
Brewer's Note: Has a slightly bitter taste, soft scent and a golden-brown colour. This deeply fermented beer with an alcohol volume content of 4% is suitable especially as a table drink during meals.
Fairly standard Czech Pilsener-type beer, with familiar bready & cardboard notes. Drinkable, but nothing more.
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Fuller's 1845 Celebration Ale
Chiswick, London, England - 6.5% ABV
Brewer's Note: Mainly available bottled (bottle conditioned). Occasionally in cask.
Ingredients: Pale Malt (mix of Pipkin, Maris Otter and Halcyon), crystal and amber malt. Goldings hops.
First brewed in 1995 for the 150th anniversary of the brewery.
Winner of CAMRA Champion Bottle Conditioned Beer of Britain (1998-1999). Described by Roger Protz as 'a rich beer with a fruit cake aroma, spices and nutmeg from malt and hops resulting in a dry, fruity finish'.
This is it: The bottle-conditioned premium ale against whose excellence all other bottled beers must be measured! It has the typical bitter orange-rum cake taste that is dominant in most other Fuller's beers, but it is more characterful than their flaghship bitter, London Pride, and yet not as alcohol-driven as their Golden Pride.
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Duckstein Original
Hamburg, Germany - 4.9% ABV
Brewer's Note: Die Rezeptur der obergärigen Bierspezialität beruht auf einer über 400 Jahre alten Brautradition. Ausgewählte Zutaten und die Reifung auf Buchenholz verleihen Duckstein Original einen weichen, leicht karamellartigen Geschmack mit feinbitterer Note. Die luftige Schaumkrone und die klare rotblonde Farbe machen es auch optisch zu einem Genuss.
This is an interesting copper-coloured ale from Hamburg that is matured with beechwood chips, a method that endows the beer with slight resin & caramel notes. A lot like English best bitter actually, or a Düsseldorf Altbier. Characterful brew in nice bottles.
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Dampfbierbrauerei Zwiesel "Dampfbier"
Zwiesel, Germany - 5% ABV
Brewer's Note: Named "steambeer" because of its heavy fermentation.
Steam beer is an arcane beer style for which lager yeasts are brewed at warm fermentation temperatures, it's once again popular - the most famous American version is probably Anchor Steam Beer from San Francisco. This German brew is a little heavier-footed, but quaffable. Sweet-ish, malty character.
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Hofbräu Kaltenhausen (Brau Union) Edelweiss Weißbier Dunkel
Hallein, Austria - 5.5% ABV
Brewer's Note: Is naturally cloudy, and has a classically distinctive, rich, fruity and refreshingly smooth flavor.
Typical cloudy dark wheatbeer, rather yeasty and less fruity than some (certainly less than Paulaner or many other Bavarian cloudy wheats).
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Since my stroke I am only "allowed" red wine. Anyone have any recommendations for $15-17 red wines -- any region, any variety, etc. As background, I am fond of Argentenian Malbecs, California Zinfandels, French reds from the Morgan region, and on-the-dry-side Italian reds.
The most amazing alcohol I've ever experienced (I hesitate to even call it alcohol -- it was more like liquid gold) was a Napoleon brandy from a priceless cask that had been decanted. I was allowed a fair amount during a truly special occasion with some very wealthy people (a one-time never-to-be repeated occasion). It was just incredible -- so many rich, strong, flavors. Wow.
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Nothing washes down bad film music like a cold beer you know is good:
Wells' and Young's Special London Ale
Bedford, England - 6.4% ABV
Brewer's Note: Bottle Conditioned. Occasionally available in the cask.
Production moved from Youngs to Wells & Youngs in 2007.
Ingredients: Maris Otter and Crystal malt; Fuggle and Goldings hops. Dry hopped with Golding and Target hops. Re-pitched with fresh yeast and wort in the bottle.
Young’s Special London Ale is the UK’s No.1 bottle conditioned ale. It is an unpasteurised, living beer, matured in the bottle for a fuller, more complex, multi-dimensional, fresher taste. Without artificial carbonation, the only fizz is the natural effervescence created by fermentation.
“A wonderfully balanced, deep-golden strong bottled ale, brewed from pure malt and a phenomenal amount of hops. A lively, fruity character with suggestions of banana and orange zest.”
CAMRA Champion Bottled Beer of Britain - 1999.
One of my favorites, a bottle-conditioned premium bitter. Very fruity, with just a hint of sweetness before the bitter notes kick in. Orange marmalade with a citric component, biscuit maltiness. Very, very nice.
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of the dark stuff after I finish work shortly! 
