What beer are we drinking this week? Episode 3

senordingdong

Macy0161 wrote: »

I wonder was there two batches made? First one I had I really liked, but had a second one as part of the craic festival last week and was a bit underwhelmed!

I think so too, the was a tinny/metallic aftertaste from it so I'll try it again.

Hotblack Desiato

Yesterday I picked up one I haven't seen before, O'Hara's White Haze, really like it. Is this a limited edition or will it be a regular?

Macy0161

Helmet wrote: »

Had the Mac Nutty a few weeks back and really enjoyed it!

Really loved the Mac Nutty. And the apex actually.

Shared a few new ones last night. I was a bit underwhelmed by Around the World in an 80's Haze, didn't really have the depth of flavour I'd expect at that abv.

Lough Gill Cutback, 12 acres Pallet Jack, Kinnegars Bucket and Spade, Ballykilcavan Line Blocker were all nice without being outstanding. Reel Deels Irish Blond was very nice, but the show stealer of the lighter beers I had was Dead Centre's Teeny Tiny!

RasTa

Storm Katz by Wander Beyond and Kees. Very nice, straight imperial porter. No lactose or any of that crap but still tasted creamy.

themandan6611

Porterhouse XXXX, a very nice pleasant stout one must say

BaZmO*

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Yesterday I picked up one I haven't seen before, O'Hara's White Haze, really like it. Is this a limited edition or will it be a regular?

Picked up one of these a few weeks ago and really loved it. One of those beers that just seemed to tick all the boxes for my tastes. Hopefully it becomes a regular.

Macy0161

White Haze is definitely my current favourite of their IPA/ Pale Ale line up. It's listed with the likes of 51st State, Notorious (another nice beer), Freebird etc which have been around for ages.

My local Tesco had it last week, but not as part of the normal 4 for 10 like the rest of their (non-DIPA) line up.

senordingdong

Macy0161 wrote: »

I wonder was there two batches made?!

Had another one last night and it was much improved, the metallic taste was replaced with robust melon. Much more appetising.

Pen Rua

Some really solid cans over the last two weeks or so - standouts from O Brother (On Reflection) & Whiplash (their All Together brew). Almost time for a resupply! Speaking of...


Bradley's and the usual places sharing pictures of their new stock... Levrig has a nitro chocolate stout out, DOT have two birthday specials (both stouts)

Ruben Remus

I've had fresh bottles of Kinnegar's 'Rustbucket' and 'Crossroads' recently, and both were beautiful.

L1011

Got two "Hop Foundry" beers in Aldi.

I haven't found the hops... both are exceptionally bland.

MonkstownHoop

L1011 wrote: »

Got two "Hop Foundry" beers in Aldi.

I haven't found the hops... both are exceptionally bland.

LOL glad you did, was tempted to buy them on saturday as i pottered around waiting on Blackrock Cellar to open :pac:

dominatinMC

Ruben Remus wrote: »

I've had fresh bottles of Kinnegar's 'Rustbucket' and 'Crossroads' recently, and both were beautiful.

Can't go wrong with Kinnegar IMO. Had a few Limeburners at the weekend - a beauty.


Currently having a Dungarvan Mine Head American Pale Ale. Wasn't expecting much but am pleasantly surprised.

Geuze

Aldi are selling Guinness ES pint bottles 568ml.

Are pint bottles of Extra Stout usually sold in the retail off-trade?

Maybe this is pub stock redirected due to pub closures?

12 for 24 euro.

irish_goat

Geuze wrote: »

Aldi are selling Guinness ES pint bottles 568ml.

Are pint bottles of Extra Stout usually sold in the retail off-trade?

Maybe this is pub stock redirected due to pub closures?

12 for 24 euro.

If they are returnable bottles they are probably pub stock. You'll know if they're returnable cause there'll be scuff marks on the side of the bottles.

BeerNut

Lots of off licences do sell the returnable pint bottles, usually the older independent specialists. In Dublin the likes of DrinkStore and Deveney's Dundrum always have them. Redmond's of Ranelagh has pint bottles of Smithwick's, which is a real rarity around here.

BaZmO*

Actually, why don't we do more returnable bottles in Ireland in general? AFAIK it's a big thing in Germany?

Pen Rua

Where I was in Belgium for a semester you could take the bottles to an automated machine inside a grocery store. Deposit all the bottles (maybe it was €0.10 per bottle on average) and the machine prints a ticket. You bring the ticket into the store to get the cash back.

It didn't seem worth it for a couple of bottles, but then we found a rake of crates from the previous tenants...

BeerNut

BaZmO* wrote: »

Actually, why don't we do more returnable bottles in Ireland in general? AFAIK it's a big thing in Germany?

Germany does it by having very little imported beer and two standard bottle shapes used by almost every brewer. It's the sort of system you can retain if you've always had it, but when companies and consumers are used to choice it's nigh-on impossible to implement.

Diageo and C&C have an interchangeable system for pint bottles but they'd be the first to object if you told them they can't have all the different custom-embossed shapes they also use. And to widen that out to every other drinks company? Forget about it. Nobody would see the benefit to the massive cost and commercial disadvantages of switching over.

L1011

Only way to get it introduced here would be either positive or negative incentivsation basically

pre-lockdown and can deliveries, we went through quite a lot of Rye River bottles - brewery is a few KM away but the bottles would end up leaving the state to be recycled and Rye River would use 'new' (heavily recycled content in them obviously) bottles. So while there's obvious environmental advantages to being able to send a crate of empties back; it likely wouldn't actually save them any money. There's space as well as capital and operational costs in putting in the kit to sort and sanitise the returned bottles as well as two way logistics


Are pub size bottles of soft drinks even reused anymore? I don't see any careful handling on the bins used for them so I'd presume not.

Pen Rua

L1011 wrote: »

Are pub size bottles of soft drinks even reused anymore? I don't see any careful handling on the bins used for them so I'd presume not.

I used to be in a hotel a couple of years ago & had to do the skips now and then (the trauma). Depended brand to brand/distributor. iirc, Coca Cola generally went into a bottle bin whereas 7up/Club Orange went in crates to be returned.

BaZmO*

BeerNut wrote: »

Germany does it by having very little imported beer and two standard bottle shapes used by almost every brewer. It's the sort of system you can retain if you've always had it, but when companies and consumers are used to choice it's nigh-on impossible to implement.

Diageo and C&C have an interchangeable system for pint bottles but they'd be the first to object if you told them they can't have all the different custom-embossed shapes they also use. And to widen that out to every other drinks company? Forget about it. Nobody would see the benefit to the massive cost and commercial disadvantages of switching over.

Very good points. Makes sense when you put it like that.

It’s enough of a pain going to get the beer in the first place these days without having to go back again with bottles.

L1011

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

It’s enough of a pain going to get the beer in the first place these days without having to go back again with bottles.

It's entirely optional, if you feel flush just bin them

BeerNut

Or donate to a friendly home brewer. Reusable bottles be thicc.

Macy0161

L1011 wrote: »

pre-lockdown and can deliveries, we went through quite a lot of Rye River bottles - brewery is a few KM away but the bottles would end up leaving the state to be recycled and Rye River would use 'new' (heavily recycled content in them obviously) bottles. So while there's obvious environmental advantages to being able to send a crate of empties back; it likely wouldn't actually save them any money. There's space as well as capital and operational costs in putting in the kit to sort and sanitise the returned bottles as well as two way logistics

Possibly because they have to leave the State to be recycled, but Wicklow Wolf used cans being more environmentally friendly as one of the reasons they switched away from bottles.

BaZmO*

Coincidentally I just saw this post on Twitter by BrewDog

https://twitter.com/brewdogjames/status/1280797162578808832?s=21

BeerNut

In a first for BrewDog, it's possible that this announcement is more about the publicity now than actually changing anything in the future.

L1011

Macy0161 wrote: »

Possibly because they have to leave the State to be recycled, but Wicklow Wolf used cans being more environmentally friendly as one of the reasons they switched away from bottles.

Think cans may also leave the state for recycling, although we do have some aluminium industry here (including a larger alumina plant, not the most common).

The main advantage is that they're lighter which impacts fuel consumption at all stages of transport, and slightly smaller also. Recycled ones should generally be at least somewhat crushed and even smaller.

senordingdong

Have a lervig cheap breakfast waiting for me this evening. Really looking forward to it.