Let me push that stool in for you: the off-topic thread

BeerNut · 23-02-2024 5:10pm

Convenience stores are the way to go for this, particularly independent ones. They serve a specific market of connoisseurs who like to buy their Coors one can at a time.

L1011 · 23-02-2024 5:13pm

Can buy a single can of any of the big macro lagers, a huge variety of Polish/Baltic lagers, and a bundle of Irish options also (Farringtons and 8 Degrees definitely) in my local Centra.

irish_goat · 23-02-2024 5:30pm

Lidl Excelsior tends to be what I buy if I need a single can of cooking lager.

L1011 · 23-02-2024 8:44pm

Still undergoing the renovation from hell in my house; and a habit for both of us (me less so, but anyway) to get distracted and start a side-project while something else is effectively on fire.

But the outcome of the most recent side project is quite beneficial. 3x IKEA Besta 60x20x64 frames mounted on the kitchen wall, glass shelves, smoked glass doors, all installed to take my spirits and glassware.

Each unit can take ~20kg on each shelf officially but you'd be hard pressed to get 20kg of bottles in - 14 700ml ones of perfect shape and size would fit in each. Some 1L, some weird shapes and also things like bitters bottles reduce the total to probably 30 'big' bottles plus a handful of bitters bottles; but that should be enough for anyone. Or at least, it currently leaves me space for about three more....

Glass shelves will take anywhere from four champagne coupes / martini glasses to an absolute pile of Glencairns and branded glassware each.

I have the lighting kit to install but haven't done it yet, cause its not a project in this house unless it remains somehow unfinished. I'll get to it, before the heat death of the universe, I promise.

the beer revolu · 24-02-2024 11:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121808761#Comment_121808761

Thats exactly what I went with. It's one of 2 lagers sold individually in Lidl, I think.

Hotblack Desiato · 24-02-2024 9:54pm

@L1011 pics?

One_More_Mile · 24-02-2024 10:50pm

Heineken pulling a stroke with the new recycling cans (%), older one on the left same price of course

odyssey06 · 16-05-2024 2:46pm

Scientists researching an edible gel that prevents drunkenness … early research involving mice shows promise.

“If you ingested this gel before you drink, most of the alcohol you drink is converted into acetic acid,” he says. “That means alcohol doesn’t cross into the bloodstream and you don’t suffer from the side effects.”

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2430828-edible-gel-prevents-and-treats-alcohol-intoxication-in-mice/

irish_goat · 16-05-2024 4:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122145760#Comment_122145760

Maybe I like the side effects.

Hotblack Desiato · 16-05-2024 4:53pm

Note to scientist: non-alcoholic drinks have already been invented

odyssey06 · 16-05-2024 4:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122146254#Comment_122146254

True, but they don't compare to the real thing in taste, especially for spirits, red wine imo

If such a gel does become available, I can see it being popular for festivals, christmas party season.

BeerNut · 16-05-2024 5:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122146271#Comment_122146271

When you see the blue lights in your rearview…

Black Sheep · 15-07-2024 11:59am

Haven't seen this before. Looks like one on all of these Copeland rums. Is this marketing? I wasn't sure for a second. Thought it was like what CAB do with seizures for a minute but then saw the cask number etc

BeerNut · 15-07-2024 12:10pm

Part of the "Smugglers Reserve" branding.

tommiet · 15-07-2024 4:02pm

Has anyone tried this beer, got 4 cans at the weekend. drank them last night, its a light beer, 3%, but quite nice. I'd get again for Sunday evening drinking.

BeerNut · 15-07-2024 4:17pm

Yeah, I tried the first batch. It's fine. Nothing terribly interesting about it.

L1011 · 15-07-2024 4:20pm

Its also not the first waste-bread-beer on the market here, think Hope did one a fair few years ago.

BeerNut · 15-07-2024 4:31pm

Hope and Rascals have both done it.

odyssey06 · 17-07-2024 3:56pm

Pernod Ricard selling off some major wine brands to focus on spirits:

The sale to Australian Wine Holdco Limited, a consortium of international investors, will see Pernod Ricard offload 10 wine brands: Jacob’s Creek, Orlando, St Hugo, Stoneleigh, Brancott Estate, Church Road, Campo Viejo, Ysios, Tarsus, and Azpilicueta…
Wine drinking has been on a steady downward trajectory since 2018, driven by a decrease in consumption in China and as high inflation has eroded disposable incomes worldwide…
The sale followed a “wider trend” of large distillers refocusing their portfolios on premium spirits, pointing to Diageo’s sale of its wine business in 2015 to Treasury Wine Estates.
Pernod Ricard is also doubling down on American whiskey. The group announced plans last week for a new US-based company, North American Distillers, to further support its American whiskey portfolio, which includes Jefferson’s and Rabbit Hole.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/17/business/pernod-ricard-wine-sale/index.html

tommiet · 19-07-2024 12:56pm

Had a few of these last night, picked them up in my local off licence. Very Tasty. 4.3 %

the beer revolu · 19-07-2024 1:46pm

I'm really enjoying Original 7 Wonderland Red. It's a pretty light and crisp red, not too malty. It's a great session beer for me!

odyssey06 · 20-07-2024 5:33pm

Saw this on wine writer Jancis Robinson's website:

According to a report released last week by World Spirits Alliance, ‘should current trends in both categories continue, spirits volumes will soon surpass those of wine.’ The report cites 2022 figures that show that 9.9% of total beverage alcohol sales by volume were spirits, with 10.4% being wine. In the last two years spirits sales have grown by volume while wine sales have shrunk. Spirits sales by value are more than double those of wine, with spirits representing 40% of total beverage alcohol sales by value compared with wine’s 17.6%.

Hotblack Desiato · 23-07-2024 12:41pm

Does a restaurant need a licence to permit BYOB?

BeerNut · 23-07-2024 1:13pm

No. The various types of licence all grant permission to sell. There's no licence specifically for consuming alcohol that was sold elsewhere.

odyssey06 · 12-08-2024 3:42pm

Decline in Irish Spirits exports…

Total export value of the sector was €1.3 billion, which represented a 9% decline on the previous year. This decline is attributed to a highly competitive global market and tough economic headwinds which have complicated the market for drinks categories worldwide… Domestically, Irish Spirits volume sales were marginally down by 1.4% in 2023, reflecting general trends in alcohol consumption here.

https://www.shelflife.ie/irish-spirits-exports-decline-by-9-amid-global-economic-challenges/#ixzz8ihYMhvpm

Hotblack Desiato · 16-08-2024 6:29pm

😁😁

youcancallmeal · 19-08-2024 2:44pm

Just back from the US, can't get over how most craft beers are 7 and even 8% abv as standard and session beers are 5/6%. They're not labelled as DIPA, just seems to be a standard abv. Kind of annoying when you go to a bar and want to try a few beers but know you shouldn't as you'll be stumbling home afterwards.

Also in my opinion I think Irish(And UK) brewers are more or less on par with the Americans nowadays. In the past when I was in the states(5+ years ago) I found in general craft beers were noticeably better than the offerings here.

Black Sheep · 20-08-2024 10:01am

I think it's somewhat a different model of drinking over there. I used to tend bar in NY, and session drinking as we know it was unusual, they might do it a few times a year, but it was more common for people to have 1-3 strong drinks and nurse them for ages.

Don't know if it varies or if it's still the case, but sometimes I couldn't even find the ABV printed on a can of beer stateside.

It does lead to odd situations where they don't judge well the difference between having 1-2 "bottles of Bud" versus having 1-2 of the high ABV beers. I was driving through Florida and, at lunch, thought about having a beer. No ABVs were printed, and the waitress couldn't tell me how strong any of the beers on the menu were. Ended up googling. What I was going to order turned out to be a Russian Imperial Stout. I said to her, "Well, I probably couldn't have that and drive", and she says "You could have two and drive". I wasn't sure whether she was confused about the effect of ABV on blood alcohol, or just making a statement about the distinction between what we might like to do, but shouldn't, and what we cannot do.

Of course, DUIs in the US are another cultural departure. Not as big an issue as here, and the odds of actually being pulled in and stopped are probably a bit lower, unless you have an accident. Although, with the depletion of Roads Policing here in Ireland, you could say we're somewhat gone the same way. I don't think I've been stopped or breathalysed in a decade now.

As to the quality of US versus UK/IE beer, I really think the scene over here has matured and it is less common to open a beer and find it has that slightly soapy, murky 'homebrew' set of qualities, that used to be relatively common in the early days. I guess I would have to say that, however many good breweries there are in the UK/IE these days, my real experience is that when I go stateside it feels like the scene is ahead. I cannot say whether that's the rose-tinted glasses of a tourist, though. I think it's a lot to do with scale and time.

FlicFlak · 20-08-2024 12:21pm

Was having a look on celtic whiskey auction, they had an auction that finished yesterday, and i'd say more than half the lots didnt sell cause they didnt meet the reserve prices. Some of the lots never really got started cause the reserves were so high so i assume people just didnt bother then.

Are people still expecting huge prices from lockdown a few years ago? Not saying they should sell cheap or give them away, but do reserves hurt more than they help?

Let me push that stool in for you: the off-topic thread

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