tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post3404143509842338398..comments2024-03-25T18:49:00.608+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: Drinkers demand weaker beerCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-2986165022510671332010-03-13T23:04:04.797+00:002010-03-13T23:04:04.797+00:00I think the points raised by Curmudgeon and Tyson ...I think the points raised by Curmudgeon and Tyson hit the nail nicely on the head. The relative "heaviness" of many 5% ales does probably account for their being harder to drink in quantity, and the fact that brewers such as Robinsons have found it hard to sell their stronger offerings in their own pubs mirrors my own experience of these matters.<br /><br />Years ago, when Whitbread were anxious to project a more local image, they brought out a strong bitter called "Tusker". The beer was named after the famous Fremlins elephant symbol, and was sold under the Fremlins name. (For the uninitiated, Fremlins were the major, and best regarded, brewery in Kent until Whitbread acquired them during the late 1960's).<br /><br />Despite it being an excellent beer, Tusker proved difficult to sell to local drinkers, weaned on a diet of 3.5% bitters. It started to suffer from quality issues brought on by poor turnover - linked, of course, to low sales. Eventually it was withdrawn.<br /><br />Our own local brewery, Larkins, suffer from the same problem. Very few pubs take their excellent 4.4% Best Bitter, perhaps hardly surprising as the majority of their outlets are rural freehouses, where not wanting to exceed the drink-driving limit is obviously an issue with drinkers.<br /><br />Despite these issues, there is still no excuse for brewers to deliberately reduce the strength of their beers.(I seem to recall this was common practice back in the 60's and, of course, much easier to conceal when there was no requirement to display the strength of a beer!).Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-54942615179741171562010-03-13T13:15:42.741+00:002010-03-13T13:15:42.741+00:00There are quite a few modern IPA styles that are v...<i>There are quite a few modern IPA styles that are very easy drinking for 5%. </i><br /><br />There are - Hopback Summer Lightning springs to mind. However, you don't tend to see these as regular beers in mainstream pubs. Robinson's have tried with Frederics and now Double Hop, both of which were/are excellent beers when well kept, but you scarcely ever see them in their tied houses.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-22668956663805660242010-03-13T08:54:31.328+00:002010-03-13T08:54:31.328+00:00I would have to agree that 5% lagers have an edge,...I would have to agree that 5% lagers have an edge, in that respect, over a lot of their ale counterparts. Certainly, OSH, when it was stronger, was a case in point. However, isn't that mainly only true of the traditional strong ale? There are quite a few modern IPA styles that are very easy drinking for 5%.Sat In A Pubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08123038980796000837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-48753538909391403712010-03-12T23:24:55.910+00:002010-03-12T23:24:55.910+00:00I do think the relative "heaviness" of a...I do think the relative "heaviness" of ales in the 5% strength range does make them harder to drink in quantity than lagers (or ciders) of comparable strength. In a sense maybe that is a point in their favour.<br /><br />One or two folks have said "who cares, Caffrey's is shite anyway?" Maybe it is, but part of the remit of this blog is to look at trends in the overall beer market and not just to cover craft beer in a narrow sense, which others do much better than me.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-64707715709430798682010-03-12T22:55:01.898+00:002010-03-12T22:55:01.898+00:00This may sound strange, but 5% lagers don't se...This may sound strange, but 5% lagers don't seem to affect me as much as 5% ales.<br /><br />On my recent visit to Prague I was drinking between six and seven half litres of 5% Czech lagers a day (Don Schenker take note!). Although I was pacing myself, eating sensibly at lunchtime and in the evening, and also doing a fair amount of walking, the beer had very little efect on me, and I felt as right as rain the next day! Had I been drinking the same amount of 5% strength ale back home, I know I would certainly be feeling the effects.<br /><br />I'm still not sure why this should be the case, and I'm not about to switch to drinking Stella or Heineken to further this research. I will add that 5% is perhaps a fraction too strong, certainly for a good session ale. 4 - 4.5%, is probably just right though!Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-58684156649655881932010-03-12T21:15:24.000+00:002010-03-12T21:15:24.000+00:00Not sure how Caffrey's could join any list of ...Not sure how Caffrey's could join any list of popular beers.NAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247378318975737305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-65948207000328250732010-03-12T21:08:56.147+00:002010-03-12T21:08:56.147+00:00I enjoyed Caffrey's back when I was at college...I enjoyed Caffrey's back when I was at college, especially when sat in the O'Neill's on Broad St in Brum wishing I was extroverted enough to chat up the lovely barmaid from Connemara with an accent that could melt the stoniest heart.Alistair Reecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15929927359428659775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-17499486038212345922010-03-12T20:16:09.124+00:002010-03-12T20:16:09.124+00:00Brains brewery in Cardiff used to do a very nice &...Brains brewery in Cardiff used to do a very nice 'light', which you could drink two pints of at lunchtime and be unaffected in the afternoon.<br /><br />For evening drinking, they had SA and a few pubs served it straight from the barrel. That was 'wake up fully clothed with half a bag of chips in your pocket and no recollection at all' stuff.<br /><br />I'm a long way from Cardiff now, so I don't know what the current situation is.<br /><br />A light beer is a useful thing at lunchtime when you're thirsty but still have stuff to do in the afternoon. So it's a handy thing to have available.<br /><br />I won't be drinking any tonight. It's whisky night for me.Leg-ironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04932361799889315359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-13087550278888574892010-03-12T19:53:55.048+00:002010-03-12T19:53:55.048+00:00I enjoy beer of all strengths, but this is just lo...I enjoy beer of all strengths, but this is just lousy smooth flow crap, so I find it difficult to give a damn how weak or strong they make it.Séan Billingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10347677720588826886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-60913662536956645012010-03-12T19:50:58.500+00:002010-03-12T19:50:58.500+00:00Drinkers demand weaker beer
Yeah right! I treat t...<i>Drinkers demand weaker beer</i><br /><br />Yeah right! I treat things like this with the contempt they deserve Cumurgeon.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10072165710888952465noreply@blogger.com