Beer thread
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@Kiwiwomble said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@Kruse said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
UK vs NZ vs Aus pubs... I've come to the conclusion that there's shit ones, and good ones (with character) - in each country... but in each country, the "flavour" of the good/shit is slightly different.
In the UK - you get the corporate bland shit like Wetherspoons, Slug/Lettuce, All-Bar-One, etc. Even, to a lesser extent, the 'chain country pubs' - Harvesters was one, I think? "Hungry Horse"? Some others... those places in the countryside - that are big bland chain attempts at replicating the "good". And then the good - the classic village pubs, hitting your head on crossbeams every time you go for a piss. Sometimes a beer-garden on a canal.
NZ - it's nearly the reverse, in the North Island at least. Just off the top of my head - really shitty bland country pubs, with some farming tools on the wall in an attempt to be "character" - but really... shit beers on tap, and just... country-bogan. And a very few decent bars in some of the cities. Although I'm probably prejudiced, as most of the bars I frequent - in my 2 years back in-country, I'm already known to the staff, and typically get staff/hospo discount.
South Island - might be reversed again? Some classic country pubs - my recollection of Chch bars (admittedly-pre-earthquake) - was decidedly Slug/Lettuce/All-Bar-One-esqueAus - I don't have a wide experience... but my feel was more of a UK pattern.... plenty of shit "glossy/corporate bars" in towns, with some fucking cracker country pubs... and in Melbourne at least, some quirky fucking-random country-type-pubs in the middle of the city.
have to say, i cant think of too many chains or corporate pubs in Aus, all seem independent (around me anyway), so they either are or they're putting in some effort to hide the fact they are part of a chain
and i love a craft beer pub, will often have a different schooner with each round...when i just want to drink the same beer all night i'll buy a slab and drink at home
There’s a time and place for different beers. I’ll be fucked if I’m gonna spend north of $12-13 for a Heineken at the pub which I’ve had about 10,000 times in my life. But the potential future father in law left a whole bunch in my fridge recently after a visit and they went down a treat after a hard day in the garden. Anything less than ice cold and they’re pretty grim though.
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@Windows97 said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
Craft beer pubs - I just hate them. The beer is simply more expensive than a "normal" pub and for some reason because they're a "craft beer" place the food is overpriced as well.
You get charged restaurant prices for beer which is slightly better than normal and restaurant prices for what is little more than pub quality food...
I could literally pay a few bucks more and go to a nice restaurant where there's quality food and a good selection of alcohol or if I want a pub meal just go to a normal pub where I get much better value for money.
So that's what I do, I either go to a restaurant or a pub and craft beer places can kiss my *ss.
Probably one for the beer thread but 'value for money' with craft beer is totally subjective and IMO quite dependent on the styles you like.
If you just want 'beer' then of course paying a small independent bar a 'high' price for a lager or standard pale ale is going to feel like a rip off. However, if you want to try a 'one off' or something you cant usually find at the supermarket, or a fresh IPA etc then the prices are no worse than paying $10 for some pish at a pub. In fact the markup is much less. -
@Crucial said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
Probably one for the beer thread but 'value for money' with craft beer is totally subjective and IMO quite dependent on the styles you like.
I think the Craft beer industry is trying to create a niche where they can charge more, and a reasonable amount more, I mean people pay north of $30 for a bottle of wine, you can pay $10+ for a single can of craft beer, my preferred beer is $21.95 (Ratrod) for 6...gone are the days I'd buy a doz for $19.99!
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@taniwharugby said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@Crucial said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
Probably one for the beer thread but 'value for money' with craft beer is totally subjective and IMO quite dependent on the styles you like.
I think
the Craft beerindustry is trying to create a niche where they can charge more,FIFY, seriously...thats what business does generally
I will say beer is just more expensive in Aus, might be why people are happy to go to the pub rather than round to someones house, you've got to be drinking something pretty average (or buying in bulk) to be paying less than $4-6 a can from the bottle shop, so that gap to be going somewhere you have some atmosphere, get a feed, watch some footy kind of seems less of a problem
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@Kiwiwomble said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@taniwharugby said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@Crucial said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
Probably one for the beer thread but 'value for money' with craft beer is totally subjective and IMO quite dependent on the styles you like.
I think
the Craft beerindustry is trying to create a niche where they can charge more,FIFY, seriously...thats what business does generally
I will say beer is just more expensive in Aus, might be why people are happy to go to the pub rather than round to someones house, you've got to be drinking something pretty average (or buying in bulk) to be paying less than $4-6 a can from the bottle shop, so that gap to be going somewhere you have some atmosphere, get a feed, watch some footy kind of seems less of a problem
Mate, there's a lot of pretty good "average" beers out there for cheaper than that! For < $60 per case ($2.50 each for those without a calculator), you can get Kirin (my staple), Asahi, any of the Asian lagers, James Squire's range, Tui, 4 Pines range, Single Fin etc
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@voodoo i did say unless buying in bulk, i dont often buy more than a couple of 6 packs at a time, largely because my little townhouse doesn't have anywhere to put it but also id prefer to have a couple of different ones
also, most of the ones you mention are perfectly good but all average/mainstream
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@Kiwiwomble said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@voodoo i did say unless buying in bulk, i dont often buy more than a couple of 6 packs at a time, largely because my little townhouse doesn't have anywhere to put it but also id prefer to have a couple of different ones
also, most of the ones you mention are perfectly good but all average/mainstream
The term you're looking for is "normal"...
Missed the bulk-buy piece, quite amazing the rort that is 6-pack pricing!
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@voodoo we were talking about craft beers
edit:....cant remember the last time i searched for beer as will just go to the bottleshop and pick out of what they have in stock....this just showed up in my feed
edit 2:...shit...and this
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Best bang for buck in NZ at the moment if you like the style is Macs 'Showboat' Hazy. The mid price bracket (Macs, Monteiths, BRB etc) attempts at craft styles usually fall well short as ingredients in = quality out and the price point they aim for means less flavour etc. Some are drinkable and I would prefer them to a 'cheap' beer but this Showboat one has hit a taste level (if not alcohol level) of many bog standard craft hazys out there. I would even go as far as to say that in a blind tasting it would come out well ahead of many.
You get an instant fruity hoppy smell and taste that lasts. The can is ugly AF though and looks 'girly' -
@Kiwiwomble point is, beer has been traditionally seen as a much cheaper alternative, but they have decided with the craft beer they can start moving cost up closer to the wine side of things (has been happening for many years TBF) as the guys at a craft brewer in Rorotua said as much when I was doing a tasting there many years back.
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@Kiwiwomble said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@Kruse said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
UK vs NZ vs Aus pubs... I've come to the conclusion that there's shit ones, and good ones (with character) - in each country... but in each country, the "flavour" of the good/shit is slightly different.
In the UK - you get the corporate bland shit like Wetherspoons, Slug/Lettuce, All-Bar-One, etc. Even, to a lesser extent, the 'chain country pubs' - Harvesters was one, I think? "Hungry Horse"? Some others... those places in the countryside - that are big bland chain attempts at replicating the "good". And then the good - the classic village pubs, hitting your head on crossbeams every time you go for a piss. Sometimes a beer-garden on a canal.
NZ - it's nearly the reverse, in the North Island at least. Just off the top of my head - really shitty bland country pubs, with some farming tools on the wall in an attempt to be "character" - but really... shit beers on tap, and just... country-bogan. And a very few decent bars in some of the cities. Although I'm probably prejudiced, as most of the bars I frequent - in my 2 years back in-country, I'm already known to the staff, and typically get staff/hospo discount.
South Island - might be reversed again? Some classic country pubs - my recollection of Chch bars (admittedly-pre-earthquake) - was decidedly Slug/Lettuce/All-Bar-One-esqueAus - I don't have a wide experience... but my feel was more of a UK pattern.... plenty of shit "glossy/corporate bars" in towns, with some fucking cracker country pubs... and in Melbourne at least, some quirky fucking-random country-type-pubs in the middle of the city.
have to say, i cant think of too many chains or corporate pubs in Aus, all seem independent (around me anyway), so they either are or they're putting in some effort to hide the fact they are part of a chain
Between ALH and Ausvenue they'd own about 500 I'm guessing? Given there's reportedly 6,000 in Australia, that's still a lot of independents.
and i love a craft beer pub, will often have a different schooner with each round...when i just want to drink the same beer all night i'll buy a slab and drink at home
Probably my favourite local is the Durham. Does good food, Simpsons trivia nights etc. and themed events, e.g.
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@MN5 Yup. I'm not a craft beer snob, but if I want to enjoy a beer I will search out somewhere that serves anything but the offerings of the two big breweries. However as you say hot day after some hard exercise I'll smash a couple of really cold lagers. Similarly, in NewCaledonia all they really had was something similar, but in the tropics why the hell not. Probably not going to find, or enjoy a really chewy DIPA.
It's not just the beer it's the atmosphere. I've spent many a happy hour talking shit with some old Vietnamese guys (not understanding a word) and drinking green beer.
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@antipodean said in Beer thread:
@Kiwiwomble said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
@Kruse said in The hot takes and unpopular opinions:
UK vs NZ vs Aus pubs... I've come to the conclusion that there's shit ones, and good ones (with character) - in each country... but in each country, the "flavour" of the good/shit is slightly different.
In the UK - you get the corporate bland shit like Wetherspoons, Slug/Lettuce, All-Bar-One, etc. Even, to a lesser extent, the 'chain country pubs' - Harvesters was one, I think? "Hungry Horse"? Some others... those places in the countryside - that are big bland chain attempts at replicating the "good". And then the good - the classic village pubs, hitting your head on crossbeams every time you go for a piss. Sometimes a beer-garden on a canal.
NZ - it's nearly the reverse, in the North Island at least. Just off the top of my head - really shitty bland country pubs, with some farming tools on the wall in an attempt to be "character" - but really... shit beers on tap, and just... country-bogan. And a very few decent bars in some of the cities. Although I'm probably prejudiced, as most of the bars I frequent - in my 2 years back in-country, I'm already known to the staff, and typically get staff/hospo discount.
South Island - might be reversed again? Some classic country pubs - my recollection of Chch bars (admittedly-pre-earthquake) - was decidedly Slug/Lettuce/All-Bar-One-esqueAus - I don't have a wide experience... but my feel was more of a UK pattern.... plenty of shit "glossy/corporate bars" in towns, with some fucking cracker country pubs... and in Melbourne at least, some quirky fucking-random country-type-pubs in the middle of the city.
have to say, i cant think of too many chains or corporate pubs in Aus, all seem independent (around me anyway), so they either are or they're putting in some effort to hide the fact they are part of a chain
Between ALH and Ausvenue they'd own about 500 I'm guessing? Given there's reportedly 6,000 in Australia, that's still a lot of independents.
and i love a craft beer pub, will often have a different schooner with each round...when i just want to drink the same beer all night i'll buy a slab and drink at home
Probably my favourite local is the Durham. Does good food, Simpsons trivia nights etc. and themed events, e.g.
there you go, live and learn, didn't know about those, no ALH in my area but two of my "locals" are Ausvenue, dont remember common branding so at least trying to appear unique, theyre across the road from each other too, thought they were in competition
you're local sounds great
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So okay, I know it isn't beer and may be seen by some as being a sissy drink (or maybe a "backs drink" which is why I like them) but...
A Hard Seltzer is popular these days and whilst most of the commercial stuff is a bit meh... to do your own, wow!
My wife loves them, and so do I to be honest, so I've made several versions so far:
Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Lychee, Guava and Papaya and the last, a Mango 2X Hard Seltzer at 10%The Raspberry (7.2%)
The Passion Fruit and Lychee (7.3%)
The Guava and Papaya (7.5%)
The best so far, Mango (10%)
Used more than 2kg of fresh, frozen and canned Mango for this. Turned out awesome, none of that artificial mango flavouring you get in the commercial stuff. This is proper mango flavour with a Mike Tyson Punch!
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@RoninWC said in Beer thread:
So okay, I know it isn't beer and may be seen by some as being a sissy drink (or maybe a "backs drink" which is why I like them) but...
A Hard Seltzer is popular these days and whilst most of the commercial stuff is a bit meh... to do your own, wow!
My wife loves them, and so do I to be honest, so I've made several versions so far:
Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Lychee, Guava and Papaya and the last, a Mango 2X Hard Seltzer at 10%The Raspberry (7.2%)
The Passion Fruit and Lychee (7.3%)
The Guava and Papaya (7.5%)
The best so far, Mango (10%)
Used more than 2kg of fresh, frozen and canned Mango for this. Turned out awesome, none of that artificial mango flavouring you get in the commercial stuff. This is proper mango flavour with a Mike Tyson Punch!
The other half enjoys a seltzer, I pinched one over the weekend too after a hard day in the garden, not too bad although a bit more strength ( like your ones ) would be nice !
Not really a drink I’d bother with over winter I don’t think.
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@MN5 said in Beer thread:
@RoninWC said in Beer thread:
So okay, I know it isn't beer and may be seen by some as being a sissy drink (or maybe a "backs drink" which is why I like them) but...
A Hard Seltzer is popular these days and whilst most of the commercial stuff is a bit meh... to do your own, wow!
My wife loves them, and so do I to be honest, so I've made several versions so far:
Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Lychee, Guava and Papaya and the last, a Mango 2X Hard Seltzer at 10%The Raspberry (7.2%)
The Passion Fruit and Lychee (7.3%)
The Guava and Papaya (7.5%)
The best so far, Mango (10%)
Used more than 2kg of fresh, frozen and canned Mango for this. Turned out awesome, none of that artificial mango flavouring you get in the commercial stuff. This is proper mango flavour with a Mike Tyson Punch!
The other half enjoys a seltzer, I pinched one over the weekend too after a hard day in the garden, not too bad although a bit more strength ( like your ones ) would be nice !
Not really a drink I’d bother with over winter I don’t think.
Definitely a warm afternoon/day spring/summer drink. Today got to 27°C and the Mango Seltzer went down a treat at lunch time.
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Holiday beverage time.
Two beverages done for a planned Xmas dinner with my in laws.
My latest brew, in the keg just 10 days and will be just shy of 2 weeks so should be at peak of drinking. A Holiday Hazy, went a low'ish ABV at 6.5% on this one given how much other stuff is consumed on and around the big day.
A couple of firsts for this brew, first time using Bluestone Yeast Co.'s New England liquid Yeast and Nectaron hops. To partner the Nectaron of course I had to stick with all NZ hops so I used Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka hops. A real tropical hazy fruit bomb.
Also got on another Mango Hard Seltzer fermenting now which should also be lower compared to my others at 7.5% and will be kegged tomorrow. I'll get it into the kegerator and will put it on it's own CO2 at 25psi to make sure it's nice and carbonated.
Given the big glut and quality of mangoes available right now, this one was made with all fresh mango, no frozen or canned at all. 8 mangoes used and it smells amazing.
Happy Holidays and Cheers all!
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@Tim said in Beer thread:
https://i.ibb.co/n042WQk/Fgushy-BWYAEUZx-G-format-jpg-name-900x900.jpg
Would absolutely smash that.
Kathy Ireland looks ok too.
