The Truth about Craft Beers...

Baby Jane

xxyyzz wrote: »

That has nothing to do with the taste of beer though. I agree some beer drinkers are snobs and same with wine drinkers but I can't understand how people make the mental leap that they won't enjoy trying a new beer because some clown mentioned its floral aroma on a beer tasting website. Judge the beer on it's own merits, not by the people who drink it.

Yeh, "I really like that band but I'm a bit embarrassed because lots of their fans are pretentious tossers" - so stupid.

Links234

Baby Jane wrote: »

Yeh, "I really like that band but I'm a bit embarrassed because lots of their fans are pretentious tossers" - so stupid.

I like Tool too

keithclancy

jimmybeige wrote: »

How does living next to something somehow make you an expert on it? I lived in Canada for years, I don't expect my knowledge of maple syrup is particularly superior to anyone else's purely because I lived there. Also, there are more beers out there than Belgian ones.

I never said I was ? Simply that the choice is there. Many of the beers are not Belgian by the way, its just so close to the Belgian / German border and on the main transport route from Rotterdam there's a large selection

daveyeh

Nonoperational wrote: »

proper craft beers are wonderful and flavoursome. People that don't like them simply don't like beer.

Arsehole.

MOD: banned

LDN_Irish

daveyeh wrote: »

Who's a clever clogs eh? Must be great to be perfect.


Prick.

daveyeh wrote: »

Arsehole.

Someone's cranky. Did the clocks going forward mess up your sleep or something? Could you not find any prick or arseholes on page 1 to give out to?

Egginacup

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I can't understand the obsession with ice cold drinks in Ireland. If it's cold outside then cold drinks are crazy unless the coldness serves another purpose. Really cold drinks have the effect numbing taste buds making sure the drinker doesn't have to deal with much actual flavour. When the taste buds are somewhat numbed the fizz feels all the more tangy on the tongue.

I think the fizzy texture is the best part of the big brands. A bottle of Miller tastes of nothing really but feels nice in the mouth.

I'm pretty sure the obsession with cold beer comes from watching American TV where Americans slag the UK for serving warm beer. Cold/extra cold beer makes sense in warm countries and on warm day or if you don't want to taste the beer. Since we live in a country where it's rarely warm and frequently cold then I'd prefer if beer the beer I drink was served much closer to room temp

I'm sorry but this statement makes zero sense. I don't know a single person who drinks beer to fend off the cold. What has the weather outside got to do with the temperature of the beer at which people like to drink it. I usually drink in a pub/bar that is warm/hot inside. The weather has nothing to do with it.
Go into any bierkeller in Germany when it's minus 10 outside and you're still going to be served an pretty icy Bitburger or Spaten.

El_Duderino 09

Egginacup wrote: »

I'm sorry but this statement makes zero sense. I don't know a single person who drinks beer to fend off the cold. What has the weather outside got to do with the temperature of the beer at which people like to drink it. I usually drink in a pub/bar that is warm/hot inside. The weather has nothing to do with it.
Go into any bierkeller in Germany when it's minus 10 outside and you're still going to be served an pretty icy Bitburger or Spaten.

It doesn't make 'no sense'. It's culture and convention. It's fairly conventional to serve hot meals in cold weather such as hearty soup and stews while hot summer days are associated with salads, cold soups and pastas even though we eat and drink intemperature controlled buildings.

I was applying the same principal to drinks. Bulmers have famously used the imagery of a warm sunny day and an icy cold pint dripping in condensation.

Personally I prefer drinks to be below room temp but not freezing. My point was that I don't need drinks to be extra cold on a cold day and most days in Ireland are reasonably cold (below comfortable indoor temp of 18-22 degrees).

kylith

kylith wrote: »

I love being able to try loads of different beers and find something that I like. I was in the Porterhouse recently and asked for the barmaid's recommendation and she poured me a couple of wee samples, which was nice of her. I went to the beerfest in 2013 and it was great fun.

Yeah, we were at a craft beer pub in Philadelphia and my friend, who takes her beer as seriously as a sommelier would take their wine, was allowed a small taste of the beers offered until she found one she liked and wanted to buy.

I think that's the way to go with craft beers.

ghogie91

I like craft beers in general but there are some that are absolutely vile.

I hate how highly they are priced. But a good craft beer wins over a general marketed beer any day.

fizzypish

I had no appreciation for craft beer before I made beer myself. I appreciate it more now because I know what I'm tasting. I do understand why people think craft beers are muck though. A real hoppy (herb ish tasting) taste when you don't like or don't expect it can really turn you off. I have made beer before that only I would drink. Bottled stout is an acquired taste at the best of times. By christ it got you drunk though....

newport2

fizzypish wrote: »

I had no appreciation for craft beer before I made beer myself. I appreciate it more now because I know what I'm tasting. I do understand why people think craft beers are muck though. A real hoppy (herb ish tasting) taste when you don't like or don't expect it can really turn you off. I have made beer before that only I would drink. Bottled stout is an acquired taste at the best of times. By christ it got you drunk though....

This.

I love trying the different bottled stouts, much nicer that Guinness IF you're just having a couple. If out drinking for the night, would always stick with Guinness though. I'd be in bits if I drank too much bottled stout. But they're lovely if you're only having one or three.

walkingshadow

I never liked Duff Zero.

Baron Kurtz

It's the crafty (pardon the pun) Irish gouger publican tapping into the whole new beer movement and slapping 6.20 onto an average red ale or something similar - moderate in both taste and percentage - and trying to justify that "that's what you charge nowadays".

It clearly isn't the case, Cullens of Ballsbridge!
Especially as the very same can be purchased for under 5, even in the most specialised of craft pubs.

LDN_Irish

Not a craft beer but has anyone had Lomza? 2 euro a pop in Centra and 5.7%. I enjoyed them but I had a bad headache this morning despite only drinking 2. Coincidence or is it the fact that they're unpasteurised? I have no idea if that could give you a headache.

fizzypish

LDN_Irish wrote: »

Not a craft beer but has anyone had Lomza? 2 euro a pop in Centra and 5.7%. I enjoyed them but I had a bad headache this morning despite only drinking 2. Coincidence or is it the fact that they're unpasteurised? I have no idea if that could give you a headache.

I honestly did not know you could pasteurize beer. Shouldn't be the cause of the headache though. If there's bacteria in your beer (more than there should be that is) it'll taste like... well.. fizzypish! Or you'll get violently ill but I'm guessing on that one.

anncoates

fizzypish wrote: »

I honestly did not know you could pasteurize beer..

Apparently it's the fastest drink around because it's pasteurize before you know it.....

BetterThanThou

I don't think beer is only served cold to mask the taste, a cold beer is nice. I admit, some beers do have to be served ice cold to mask the taste, I couldn't drink a warm can of Budweiser, I could drink a cold one, but I don't particularly like Budweiser anyway. I think craft beers can be served cold, but it's the degree of coldness. Having a craft beer ice cold will ruin the taste, but throwing it in the fridge is grand, I'd take a cold beer over a warm one, the only drink I'd personally drink warm is certain lagers, and even then I'd rather them cold. I just don't enjoy a warm stout or ale.

I rarely drink craft beers in a pub. Firstly, it's my friends. Drinking is a contest, not a picnic. Even drinking with women etc, you're (hopefully) having too much fun for chemical analysis.

Craft-beer drinking, like making cocktails, is a good domestic hobby: something to be enjoyed from the garden, or at the kitchen table, at a slow pace. I do occasionally order craft beers in pubs but it wouldn't very much upset me if a pub only had Heineken.

Off-licences that only sell mainstream beer, on the other hand....:(