Christmas Lunch Disappointed

[graysalchemy]

Hi

I went out for a curry yesterday lunch with some colleagues and a few bears. Bearing in mind I don't go the pub much these days I was very disappointed with the beer.

Pint No.1- Copper Dragon- It tasted fine to begin with but no real hoppyness or bitter.
Pint No.2- Bombadier - Better pint not bad but not that exciting

Curry- Can't Remember what I had apart from the starter was mussels in a spicy tomato sauce and main was some lamb dish. Both of these were out of this world and a bottle of Kingfisher which was surprisingly refreshing and tasty to a non larger drinker.

Pint No.3- Deuchars IPA not a bad pint could pick out the styrian in it, but again not memorable and certainly not enough to make me stay for another.

To be honest I wish I had stuck to the guinness. Was it because I was drinking cr*p beer or has my taste buds and expectations of a beer changed so much since I have started brewing myself?

:

AG

 

[Dieseljockey]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your last sentence Grays.... :clap:

 

[evanvine]

Was it because I was drinking cr*p beer or has my taste buds and expectations of a beer changed so much since I have started brewing myself?

That's exactly why we go to the effort of AG home brewing.

 

[Tony]

Was it because I was drinking cr*p beer or has my taste buds and expectations of a beer changed so much since I have started brewing myself?

AG

Could well be .. I find I am ridiculously critical of any pint I have. I used to play guitar in a band and for a while it almost ruined music for me (and I think I almost ruined music ). I'd spend hours listening to nuances in the guitar of any piece I listened to rather than enjoying the music.

These days, the same happens to beer drinking ... thanks to this forum (and one other) my beer making has improved to such an extent that I am now able to brew beer that is far better than pretty much anything you can buy - with the possible exception of Jaipur and a couple of others

 

[graysalchemy]

Thanks for that, I think I had come to that conclusion yesterday......

My beer is better :rofl: :rofl:

 

[Springer]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your last sentence Grays.... :clap:

Spot on Diesel :clap:
Never mind paying good money for a poor product :)

 

[Moley]

To be honest I wish I had stuck to the Guinness.

I've been very disappointed by that as well, no body at all and far too wet.

 

[Baz Chaz]

Have to agree, I seldom enjoy a beer from any other source these days, it just doesn't seem to be as good as my own :!:

There's one of my mates who I give a few bottles to from each brew, can't wait for the next brew, he regularly asks when brewdays are on he wants to have a brewday with me after christmas when I get my grain order in for the next few brews :thumb:

 

[graysalchemy]

My brewing partner is the same, he gives beer away to friends and they are always waiting for the next fix. It doesn't seem like rocket science to me to produce a good pint but what you get in pubs just doesn't hit the mark anymore. I think all to many of our independent real ale brewery's are going the same way as the 'big boys' and beer is being brewed by accountants, cutting costs on all fronts to maximise profit, but unfortunately lack of quality is showing.

Cheers

AG

 

[Moley]

I think all too many of our independent real ale breweries are going the same way as the 'big boys' and beer is being brewed by accountants

Well I tend to average around 5-6kg of grain for a 25 litre brew, so that's 4-5 litres from each kilo. It would be interesting if someone could give a commercial comparison.

 

[highwayman]

Another here...for the last sentence G:thumb: I find that I am really critical about my local pub's beers..because my beers are better than theirs

 

[Aleman]

I think all too many of our independent real ale breweries are going the same way as the 'big boys' and beer is being brewed by accountants

Well I tend to average around 5-6kg of grain for a 25 litre brew, so that's 4-5 litres from each kilo. It would be interesting if someone could give a commercial comparison.

Recipe and volumes for comparison What you have to consider with that recipe is that we really produced some extreme beer.

Wibblers is producing some dame nice stuff . . . Funny though the brewer says that he doesn't like any of the beers that they produce as standard . . . much preferring the seasonal specials.

 

[jamesb]

I think all too many of our independent real ale breweries are going the same way as the 'big boys' and beer is being brewed by accountants

Well I tend to average around 5-6kg of grain for a 25 litre brew, so that's 4-5 litres from each kilo. It would be interesting if someone could give a commercial comparison.

We use less than that, but our brewhouse efficiency is better than my homebrew kit. We certainly don't skimp on malt or hops (even though we are run by an accountant :-)

 

[graysalchemy]

I think that is the problem commercial brewers have to produce a beer which has an appeal to the widest audience to get their beer sold, were as in the old days breweries had their own pubs which sold just their beers so drinkers were used to the style of beer that they were drinking. Also with people probably drinking more cheap Sh*t at home when they do treat themselves and go to a pub the beer they drink can't be too extreme as their palette wouldn't enjoy it. So really until breweries push the boundaries a little and re educate peoples palette we will have to put up with mediochre beer in the main.

Another point to mention is that I was drinking in two enterprise in pubs in Altrincham as I couldn't find a pub selling any beer from a micro brewery in the town even though there are at least two micro's within 10 miles of Altrincham. Perhaps we should have caught the train to Knutsford and found a pint of Tatton.

 

[paulpj26]

:hmm: It is interesting to read your comments guys.

If I'm brutally honest about my own beers they haven't (as of yet :pray: ) reached the quality of what I can buy at the pub. I can see your point that what is served over the bar are all within a pretty standard range in terms of taste. Though I doubt they would sell as much beer if it wasn't what the public was used to drinking.

We must also remember a lot of what we drink in pubs is largely down to the skill of the landlord and how tight the landlord is (many places actually water down their beer :shock:)

For myself what drove me to start homebrewing is simply the price of a pint these days and just a general interest in the brewing of beer not necessarily a problem with the quality.

Obviously this is just my opinion :thumb: Perhaps I should aquire some taste buds :lol:

:thumb: :

 

[graysalchemy]

Don't be harsh on yourself your beer is probably better than what you drink in a pub and yes your taste buds will develope.

One other point is that I find bottled beer from commercial breweries to be a lot tastier and perhaps more of a bench mark to strive for. If they can produce good consistent beer in bottles why can't they make it for the pubs, or is it because a lot landlords of don't possess the necessary skills to keep a good pint?

 

[paulpj26]

or is it because a lot landlords of don't possess the necessary skills to keep a good pint?

I think you hit the nail on the head GA, I think there are many landlords out there who don't know how to keep beer properly and those who do probably try to get away with what they can to save a few bob.

Perhaps that's not being fair, there are also a number of Landlords who do keep their beer in the proper way you just need to know where to go (usually CAMRA's good pub guide is a good starting point).

I agree with you about the bottles, and I guess that's just simply down to the fact that a bottle a tightly sealed container and therefore will keep the beer in it's a best condition.

 

[graysalchemy]

I agree with you about the bottles, and I guess that's just simply down to the fact that a bottle a tightly sealed container and therefore will keep the beer in it's a best condition.

I had that same thought as well, but bottled beer tends to be more specialist than session beer though, which again perhaps it does boil down to ingredients.

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