Beer!

We have a pub in my town that makes their own beer; some of it is drawn by handpump and it is indeed excellent.

But in the UK, we sell live beer in casks. The beer is unpasteurised, so it develops flavour in the cask, and is served without using gas (ie draught - it's drawn by a handpump) and at around 46 to 54F (ie not very cold because the taste develops better at those temperatures). We call it "real beer" or "real ale". It's far superior that way. I appreciate that some parts of the US have a climate which may mean that this is difficult, but your excellently brewed craft beers would be even better in areas where this is possible.

A local pub (near York Station) recently sold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale as real ale (at £5 a pint!) and it was sensational.

Of the beers on the list, the only ones I would drink are Sierra Nevada Porter and Chimay Bleue, which are very nice, but Bass Pale Ale on handpump is very good. Guinness, I have to say, is truly awful in England and its market is collapsing. Apparently, it's much better in Ireland. Newcastle Brown is foul, Stella Artois makes people angry so they beat their wives (its nickname round here is "wife beater") and I'd rather drink my own wee than drink Becks, Michelob or Amstel. Warsteiner is the best of the lagers and is very decent. But the best European lager I've had is Budweiwer Budvar.

But I'd rather drink someone else's wee than Carling or Fosters, which are undrinkable.

My daughter and son in law. have since moved to Chicago in the Lincoln Square area.