Where is the Beer Thread?

[Happyhooker]

To cheer myself up I'm on the Buxton Styrian dragon.

Which is a phenomenal beer

[Happyhooker]

The cans/bottles were ok - you don't want to know what they did to the tap ones.....

Oh I do. Please tell.

Tbh when you had other things like Harp or Fosters on tap...

I read an article on the history of Harp which pointed out that when it was originally launched, they made a genuine effort to make an authentic German Lager (albeit slightly weaker) German head brewer, correct yeast, hops and malt, decently lagered. Within a few years they were discussing whether they could cut down the lagering from 2 weeks to 10 days

I believe it was being pushed out in a week towards the end

[mat the expat]

What's wrong with Holsten Pils, Kronenberg 1664 or Stella?
They were my go to Lagers then along with Rsd Stripe and Bud on Tap.

The cans/bottles were ok - you don't want to know what they did to the tap ones.....

Oh I do. Please tell.

Tbh when you had other things like Harp or Fosters on tap...

I used to get Fosters delivered by tanker.

Most of the other beers were not brewed the same as the continental originals.

In busy, late night bars, it was fairly common (I refused to do it) the slops were decanted into a special barrel and re-pressurised - that was the last orders barrel to prevent ullage

[C69]

The cans/bottles were ok - you don't want to know what they did to the tap ones.....

Oh I do. Please tell.

Tbh when you had other things like Harp or Fosters on tap...

I used to get Fosters delivered by tanker.

Most of the other beers were not brewed the same as the continental originals.

In busy, late night bars, it was fairly common (I refused to do it) the slops were decanted into a special barrel and re-pressurised - that was the last orders barrel to prevent ullage

I bet that was London or the surrounds.
They have always been dirty bastards.

[mat the expat]

Oh I do. Please tell.

Tbh when you had other things like Harp or Fosters on tap...

I used to get Fosters delivered by tanker.

Most of the other beers were not brewed the same as the continental originals.

In busy, late night bars, it was fairly common (I refused to do it) the slops were decanted into a special barrel and re-pressurised - that was the last orders barrel to prevent ullage

I bet that was London or the surrounds.
They have always been dirty bastards.

Absolutely - The cunt of a manager (who had a day on, not day off) threatened to set the bouncers on me.

I locked the door to his office and let him know that I was friends with the bouncer, they thought he was a cunt and they weren't in the office at that point.

He didn't raise it again

[SaintK]

Beer prices going through the roof. due to infationary pressures across the board according to Heineken
I'm sure the mega multinationals will survive but this could be very difficult for the small craft breweries

Heineken’s chief executive has warned that “off the charts” cost inflation will further push up the price of a pint and said the risk of outright shortages was growing as brewers face persistent challenges delivering beer to pubs, restaurants and supermarkets.

Dolf van den Brink told the Financial Times that it was impossible to gauge how much consumers would reduce consumption in response to additional price rises, adding that the usual models the sector used to try to predict behaviour were breaking down.

“In my 24 years in the business I’ve never seen anything like it, not even close,” van den Brink said of the cost inflation. “Across the board we are faced with crazy increases.”

He added: “There’s no model that can handle this kind of inflation. It’s kind of off the charts. So it’s anybody’s guess . . . what the impact is going to be on volumes due to all these price increases.”

Heineken did not disclose how much it had increased prices per unit, although its so-called “price mix” — a metric that includes the effect of consumers choosing more expensive products — rose 8.8 per cent year on year in the six months to December 31.

Drinkers already face paying £6 for a pint of lager in London and $9 in New York.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Beer prices going through the roof. due to infationary pressures across the board according to Heineken
I'm sure the mega multinationals will survive but this could be very difficult for the small craft breweries

Heineken’s chief executive has warned that “off the charts” cost inflation will further push up the price of a pint and said the risk of outright shortages was growing as brewers face persistent challenges delivering beer to pubs, restaurants and supermarkets.

Dolf van den Brink told the Financial Times that it was impossible to gauge how much consumers would reduce consumption in response to additional price rises, adding that the usual models the sector used to try to predict behaviour were breaking down.

“In my 24 years in the business I’ve never seen anything like it, not even close,” van den Brink said of the cost inflation. “Across the board we are faced with crazy increases.”

He added: “There’s no model that can handle this kind of inflation. It’s kind of off the charts. So it’s anybody’s guess . . . what the impact is going to be on volumes due to all these price increases.”

Heineken did not disclose how much it had increased prices per unit, although its so-called “price mix” — a metric that includes the effect of consumers choosing more expensive products — rose 8.8 per cent year on year in the six months to December 31.

Drinkers already face paying £6 for a pint of lager in London and $9 in New York.

More people will drink at home - tough for pubs.

During lockdown when drinking via Zoom the quality of the beer I drank went up and the price went down. If I pay less than a fiver for a pint in a pub I consider it a bit of a result.

[Happyhooker]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

[robmatic]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

Maybe time to get the growlers out.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

Guess I'll have to switch to bottles

On which note, drinksupermarket.com had some slightly out of date Augustiner Edelstoff at half price. That's working well for me currently.

[SaintK]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

One of the things mentioned in the Heineken article along with the doubling of barley prices over the past 12 months

[Happyhooker]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

One of the things mentioned in the Heineken article along with the doubling of barley prices over the past 12 months

Oh, I didn't read the article, what kind of behaviour is that?
Bit disingenuous of Heineken or any of the big brewers shouting about this now. They realised a while ago that these (and other) shortages were approaching and used their size to buy options on all this stuff, squeezing the smaller breweries out. It's only now, a year or so later, that it's now hitting them and they've joined in with the complainants who have been roundly ignored for the last 12 months

[Jock42]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

One of the things mentioned in the Heineken article along with the doubling of barley prices over the past 12 months

Oh, I didn't read the article, what kind of behaviour is that?
Bit disingenuous of Heineken or any of the big brewers shouting about this now. They realised a while ago that these (and other) shortages were approaching and used their size to buy options on all this stuff, squeezing the smaller breweries out. It's only now, a year or so later, that it's now hitting them and they've joined in with the complainants who have been roundly ignored for the last 12 months

Any idea which is the best home draught to buy? My understanding is they all support different kegs so they're not interchangeable. Looking for variety over pricing.

[SaintK]

Dinsdale. Bad news if you were enjoying cans from all those breweries who had invested in canning lines. Massive aluminium shortage on the way, prices are going through the roof

One of the things mentioned in the Heineken article along with the doubling of barley prices over the past 12 months

Oh, I didn't read the article, what kind of behaviour is that?
Bit disingenuous of Heineken or any of the big brewers shouting about this now. They realised a while ago that these (and other) shortages were approaching and used their size to buy options on all this stuff, squeezing the smaller breweries out. It's only now, a year or so later, that it's now hitting them and they've joined in with the complainants who have been roundly ignored for the last 12 months

Not a problem for Heineken or the family shareholders!!!

Heineken said that its net revenues increased by 11.3% to 21.9 billion euros (£13.4 billion) in 2021, with sales of its Heineken-branded beer up by 17.4%.
The brewer's profits rose by 80%, although it said the coming year remained "uncertain" due to "inflationary challenges".

[Happyhooker]

One of the things mentioned in the Heineken article along with the doubling of barley prices over the past 12 months

Oh, I didn't read the article, what kind of behaviour is that?
Bit disingenuous of Heineken or any of the big brewers shouting about this now. They realised a while ago that these (and other) shortages were approaching and used their size to buy options on all this stuff, squeezing the smaller breweries out. It's only now, a year or so later, that it's now hitting them and they've joined in with the complainants who have been roundly ignored for the last 12 months

Not a problem for Heineken or the family shareholders!!!

Heineken said that its net revenues increased by 11.3% to 21.9 billion euros (£13.4 billion) in 2021, with sales of its Heineken-branded beer up by 17.4%.
The brewer's profits rose by 80%, although it said the coming year remained "uncertain" due to "inflationary challenges".

Kinda my point "oh shit, we might not make 4bn profit this year, let's start shouting "

[Happyhooker]

One of the things mentioned in the Heineken article along with the doubling of barley prices over the past 12 months

Oh, I didn't read the article, what kind of behaviour is that?
Bit disingenuous of Heineken or any of the big brewers shouting about this now. They realised a while ago that these (and other) shortages were approaching and used their size to buy options on all this stuff, squeezing the smaller breweries out. It's only now, a year or so later, that it's now hitting them and they've joined in with the complainants who have been roundly ignored for the last 12 months

Any idea which is the best home draught to buy? My understanding is they all support different kegs so they're not interchangeable. Looking for variety over pricing.

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

[Jock42]

Oh, I didn't read the article, what kind of behaviour is that?
Bit disingenuous of Heineken or any of the big brewers shouting about this now. They realised a while ago that these (and other) shortages were approaching and used their size to buy options on all this stuff, squeezing the smaller breweries out. It's only now, a year or so later, that it's now hitting them and they've joined in with the complainants who have been roundly ignored for the last 12 months

Any idea which is the best home draught to buy? My understanding is they all support different kegs so they're not interchangeable. Looking for variety over pricing.

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

Cheers mate. A couple of mares have the Phillips perfect draft and I know you can get a couple of tiny rebel beers on it. Not wanting to shell out if ranges are limited.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Any idea which is the best home draught to buy? My understanding is they all support different kegs so they're not interchangeable. Looking for variety over pricing.

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

Cheers mate. A couple of mares have the Phillips perfect draft and I know you can get a couple of tiny rebel beers on it. Not wanting to shell out if ranges are limited.

Also depends how much you drink. If you have a decent cooler/ dispense system then a 20 or 30l keg will last for weeks. That means you can buy almost anything. A friend has a Kegerator which works well.

[Happyhooker]

Any idea which is the best home draught to buy? My understanding is they all support different kegs so they're not interchangeable. Looking for variety over pricing.

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

Cheers mate. A couple of mares have the Phillips perfect draft and I know you can get a couple of tiny rebel beers on it. Not wanting to shell out if ranges are limited.

I think we call them women nowadays

I've got a lindr set up at home, but that's a bit industrial so I only use it for bbqs etc as the smallest keg size is 20l.

I guessed you're talking about the 5l minikegs

[Jock42]

Aye 20-30 litres sounds a bit much. I like a bit of variety so wouldn't really want much more than 5l which would last a couple of weeks.

Looks like I'll be sticking to cans/bottles for a bit longer. Had a look at the perfect draft variety. They've got 60 odd kegs and half a dozen I'd def buy but 10 pints is a lot to buy if its pish.

Cheers lads

[Happyhooker]

Aye 20-30 litres sounds a bit much. I like a bit of variety so wouldn't really want much more than 5l which would last a couple of weeks.

Looks like I'll be sticking to cans/bottles for a bit longer. Had a look at the perfect draft variety. They've got 60 odd kegs and half a dozen I'd def buy but 10 pints is a lot to buy if its pish.

Cheers lads

His response:
Limited by make. Mine was the Philips one from Beer Hawk and I’d heartily recommend it. Brexit permitting there’s usually a great range of beers.

(Btw, he makes his living writing about beer, so does know his stuff)

[Jock42]

Cheers for that

[Blackmac]

Any idea which is the best home draught to buy? My understanding is they all support different kegs so they're not interchangeable. Looking for variety over pricing.

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

Cheers mate. A couple of mares have the Phillips perfect draft and I know you can get a couple of tiny rebel beers on it. Not wanting to shell out if ranges are limited.

I've always been a bit sceptical about these, especially when you see people with Stella and Heineken kegs. I just can't see how they can improve the taste experience enough to justify the cost.

[Jock42]

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

Cheers mate. A couple of mares have the Phillips perfect draft and I know you can get a couple of tiny rebel beers on it. Not wanting to shell out if ranges are limited.

I've always been a bit sceptical about these, especially when you see people with Stella and Heineken kegs. I just can't see how they can improve the taste experience enough to justify the cost.

Its a fair point. I wouldn't be shelling out for that pish though

[Happyhooker]

Not really my area mate, but a friend has one he swears by. I'll ask him

Cheers mate. A couple of mares have the Phillips perfect draft and I know you can get a couple of tiny rebel beers on it. Not wanting to shell out if ranges are limited.

I've always been a bit sceptical about these, especially when you see people with Stella and Heineken kegs. I just can't see how they can improve the taste experience enough to justify the cost.

Oh, those people are called idiots

[Jock42]

Bump for a rather drinkable New England DIPA "Luminous Nights" from 71 Brewing.

[Blackmac]

Just checking that the Edinburgh lads are aware of the Stewart's Brewery beer and pizza house out at Loanhead. Absolutely superb spot, well worth a visit, especially on Thursday when they have bands and half price pizza. Glad that the Stewart's stuff is finally taking a firm hold in Edinburgh.

[pjm1]

Bump for a rather drinkable New England DIPA "Luminous Nights" from 71 Brewing.

Yeah, the Lidl selection are pretty interesting. I also like the Luminous Nights and there's one I have in my fridge at the moment called the Trossachs Tickler or something. Apart from one, all of the 71 Brewing beers have been very nice - the exception being a sour I didn't realise was until I spat it out

[SaintK]

Bump for a rather drinkable New England DIPA "Luminous Nights" from 71 Brewing.

Yeah, the Lidl selection are pretty interesting. I also like the Luminous Nights and there's one I have in my fridge at the moment called the Trossachs Tickler or something. Apart from one, all of the 71 Brewing beers have been very nice - the exception being a sour I didn't realise was until I spat it out

Best (newish) Scottish Craft bewery I've come across is Overtone Brewery in Glasgow. Their NEIPAS and DIPAS are excellent!!
https://www.overtonebrewing.com/pages/about

[pjm1]

Bump for a rather drinkable New England DIPA "Luminous Nights" from 71 Brewing.

Yeah, the Lidl selection are pretty interesting. I also like the Luminous Nights and there's one I have in my fridge at the moment called the Trossachs Tickler or something. Apart from one, all of the 71 Brewing beers have been very nice - the exception being a sour I didn't realise was until I spat it out

Best (newish) Scottish Craft bewery I've come across is Overtone Brewery in Glasgow. Their NEIPAS and DIPAS are excellent!!
https://www.overtonebrewing.com/pages/about

Excellent, I might have to stop and pick some up after dropping the kids off at school :) I think I had one of theirs a few weeks ago at Shilling in the city centre - I remember the name.