Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Wed Feb 27, 2013 11:16 pm  

I like it when you go into a pub where you ask for a bitter and it's hand pumped and the cheapest beer there (apart from the mild). I won't buy 'guest' beers anymore because depending on how well it's kept it can taste awful. If the normal bitter is a nitro keg one I'm usually happy enough with that because at least you know what you are getting. I'm not a fan of the real ales that are made to purposley taste distinct. Or the ones that a brewed to be strong. Give me one at around 3.6 - 4% anyday.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Wed Feb 27, 2013 11:18 pm  

Mintball wrote:

If you like a wheat beer and you ever see this, it's gorgeous.

Had it in Germany and Austria. Very nice. Wouldn't buy it over here though. The experience wouldn't be the same.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 1:55 am  

wigan_rlfc wrote:

... I won't buy 'guest' beers anymore because depending on how well it's kept it can taste awful.

Not every pub seems to have an interest in, or maybe an ability to, consistently serve high quality real ale. This isn't hard. but it's not easy either, you do need some idea, and you do need to have an interest. Nothing does more damage to the image of real ale than pubs which purport to stock it, but can't keep it properly, and consequently serve wildly inconsistent stuff, often sour rubbish.

Any decent real ale pub will be very happy to pull you a mouthful to try before you buy, for beers new to me, I do this all the time. You shouldn't have to buy a full glass of something you might not like, and its great customer relations too.

wigan_rlfc wrote:

.. If the normal bitter is a nitro keg one I'm usually happy enough with that because at least you know what you are getting.

I understand what you mean, though (though there are landlords that incredibly manage to serve poor pints of even nitroshite, somehow!!) - the reason you know what you are getting, in general, is because the product is dead as a dodo. As bereft of life as Python's parrot. First sterilised, then pasturised, and then the killed beer is mixed with a concoction of various gases, to give it back a fake appearance of being alive.

wigan_rlfc wrote:

.. I'm not a fan of the real ales that are made to purposley taste distinct. Or the ones that a brewed to be strong. Give me one at around 3.6 - 4% anyday.

The thing is, every real ale tastes distinct. It even varies in taste from the really fresh, when the first pint is pulled, to the end of life after 2 or 3 days since as a living food, it slowly changes and eventually "goes off". I understand why people like consistency, I often do myself, and have my own favourites, but the thing would be to have your real ale of choice as your regular tipple. There are plenty at all strengths. But that is the thing about real ale, it isn't that it tastes "distinct", it is that it TASTES, it is several steps up the taste ladder from nitrokeg which is bland and featureless; indeed it is invariably served over-cooled to mask the lack of taste and appeal to lager drinkers where colder is better.

The fact is that beer is stuff suspended in water. Water is not tasteless, but the main taste is the stuff. The nitrokeg process filters out much of the stuff when they chill the beer to almost freezing point, which produces a chill haze, which they then pump through filters which remove the haze, as well as all yeast, bacteria and thereby much of the taste. And less tasty stuff is put in, in the first place; for example, using cheaper feed-grade barley instead of hops. So objectively, it has to be less tasty.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:23 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

The thing is, every real ale tastes distinct. It even varies in taste from the really fresh, when the first pint is pulled, to the end of life after 2 or 3 days since as a living food, it slowly changes and eventually "goes off". I understand why people like consistency, I often do myself, and have my own favourites, but the thing would be to have your real ale of choice as your regular tipple. There are plenty at all strengths. But that is the thing about real ale, it isn't that it tastes "distinct", it is that it TASTES, it is several steps up the taste ladder from nitrokeg which is bland and featureless; indeed it is invariably served over-cooled to mask the lack of taste and appeal to lager drinkers where colder is better.

The fact is that beer is stuff suspended in water. Water is not tasteless, but the main taste is the stuff. The nitrokeg process filters out much of the stuff when they chill the beer to almost freezing point, which produces a chill haze, which they then pump through filters which remove the haze, as well as all yeast, bacteria and thereby much of the taste. And less tasty stuff is put in, in the first place; for example, using cheaper feed-grade barley instead of hops. So objectively, it has to be less tasty.

A few years ago, when I was living in Staffs, I looked after a friend's pub while she was on holiday. A barmpot barman put a keg of Caffrey's on the John Smith's pump, I only noticed when the Caffrey's ran out. Rather than bugger around swapping everything back over again and to keep the stock "right", I simply put the John Smith's on the Caffrey's pump. Not one person noticed.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:16 am  

I think I may be going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. For somebody who has drank Stella for the last thirty years, and may I say, a considerable amount of it, I've suddenly got into the Bombardier that my landlord has had recently installed. Been enjoying it as well. And incidentally, it's a bloody lot easier to neck a couple of gallon of that in an all day sesh than a couple of gallons of Artois.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:29 am  

When your regular crowd of mates includes a person who has worked in a major brewery laboratory for the whole of his working life, it can be a pain in the bum to walk into a random pub anywhere and be told by him that the Tetleys is off, when you can't taste anything wrong with it, he'll then go on to tell you how old it is and which part of the country it was brewed in (these days).

On the other hand when in a real ale pub we'll stand him at the bar to taste all of the samplers and pick the best one for us all - thats when he's useful.


PS - something in beer and wine kicks off migraine in me, every time, without fail, I therefore do not touch alcoholic drinks, but I love a "proper" beer and will often risk one, or even if I'm dicing with death, two pints.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:35 am  

We shouldn't be talking about ale at this time in the morning. I've suddenly become all thirsty. Not to worry. Three hours and Les will be unlocking the office front doors.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:56 am  

kirkstaller wrote:

The annoying part is when you say that you think Smiths of Boddies is nice, at which point you're talked down to like a tramp in the street.

People eat or drink what they like. Others may consider it bland or unadventurous, but keep schtum and let everyone enjoy their ale, regardless of what it is.

Snobbery happens all the time.
There was a thread a while back and we got snobbery over coffee shops and coffee itself.
I'm not having a go at anyone BTW as I have been guilty of it my self in the past.
I build my own PC's (No qualifications all self taught). In the past I have been know to pipe up with 'Why have you bought that graphics card? It's poor you should have bought this one. Or that CPU is awful'
Does it get annoying? Hell yes but as I say most of us do it now and again.

[John_D]

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:19 am  

JerryChicken wrote:

PS - something in beer and wine kicks off migraine in me, every time, without fail, I therefore do not touch alcoholic drinks, but I love a "proper" beer and will often risk one, or even if I'm dicing with death, two pints.

Even if it does take you 33 minutes to get served.


Still bitter.

Re: Watered down Budweiser? : Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:22 am  

I hate snobbery too! it reminds me of my dear trainer when i was an apprentice and still wet behind the ears. he once invited me to his house for a 'drink', when he called off at the shops for a 24 box of carling. i thought wow thats alot between us. got to his house where he turned his gas fire on. it was mid summer. he then opened all 24 cans and lay them in front of the fire for 20 minutes where he then showed me around the house, came back, nd then started to drink all the cans to himself warm and flat.... i had a cup of tea. true legend of the drinking world.