tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post2648996211889139008..comments2024-03-25T18:49:00.608+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: Black powerCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-63341748701913649402023-02-19T22:15:58.971+00:002023-02-19T22:15:58.971+00:00Agreed it is quite a bland beer let alone porterAgreed it is quite a bland beer let alone porterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-89344205046146713432023-02-17T02:24:57.786+00:002023-02-17T02:24:57.786+00:00But out all the porters in Ireland Guinness is the...But out all the porters in Ireland Guinness is the most lacklustere and in the on trade gotten to the stage where its price advantage like Murphy’s and Beamish over the smaller independents is gone. Pint of O’ Hara’s Irish stout in Doyles near D’Olier street €5.90 Guinness is the same price. I could list all the porters I have drank. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-24359060336428054232023-02-17T02:24:40.727+00:002023-02-17T02:24:40.727+00:00As a 19 year old a number of people in my generati...As a 19 year old a number of people in my generation are drinking porter. But out all the porters in Ireland Guinness is the most lacklustere and in the on trade gotten to the stage where its price advantage like Murphy’s and Beamish over the smaller independents is gone. Pint of O’ Hara’s Irish stout in Doyles near D’Olier street €5.90 Guinness is the same price. I could list all the porters I have drank. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-89989710621518158932023-02-12T21:15:18.876+00:002023-02-12T21:15:18.876+00:00In the 70's DD was regarded as K9P, I have the...In the 70's DD was regarded as K9P, I have the badge somewhere.<br />Camramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18318102430590706251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-35979002143943520532023-02-09T09:13:31.079+00:002023-02-09T09:13:31.079+00:00They weren't big sellers, though. Lager didn&#...They weren't big sellers, though. Lager didn't exceed 10% market share until the 1970s.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-55299038962710819332023-02-09T08:57:37.567+00:002023-02-09T08:57:37.567+00:00Austro Bavarian, Wrexham and Tennants were widespr...Austro Bavarian, Wrexham and Tennants were widespread long before Carling was first brewed in the UK. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-20560127429155421872023-02-09T07:17:44.765+00:002023-02-09T07:17:44.765+00:00I worked on the Guinness hop farms, Bodiam, Teynha...I worked on the Guinness hop farms, Bodiam, Teynham and Malvern, in the sixties and seventies, and there was always a free cask of draught Guinness in the workshps during hop-picking in early September...<br /><br />The taste the real stuff, with the intermingled smell of hops, hot machinery and wheezing oasts will stay with me forever...Scrobs.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12942449871600526680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-53031384395881671062023-02-08T10:39:13.591+00:002023-02-08T10:39:13.591+00:00Double Diamond was certainly the biggest selling b...Double Diamond was certainly the biggest selling bottled beer. T'other Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-37304606035341503572023-02-07T18:03:45.456+00:002023-02-07T18:03:45.456+00:00Carling will still be the winner if you discount t...Carling will still be the winner if you discount those 160,000 pints not drunkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-76062121372085726202023-02-07T17:50:37.330+00:002023-02-07T17:50:37.330+00:00More than 160,000 pints of Guinness are lost every...More than 160,000 pints of Guinness are lost every year in facial hair (true)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-29485394462520747402023-02-07T12:53:24.327+00:002023-02-07T12:53:24.327+00:00Thanks for a very interesting and well-informed co...Thanks for a very interesting and well-informed comment.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-56608246009935102332023-02-07T12:51:29.743+00:002023-02-07T12:51:29.743+00:00Carling was one of the first wave of draught lager...Carling was one of the first wave of draught lagers introduced in the UK, and was the house beer of Bass Charrington, the biggest pub owners in the country, so I doubt whether another lager got there first. It may have taken over from Harp as the best-selling *lager* in the country.<br /><br />I asked this question on Twitter, and the most widely-expressed view was that it was Double Diamond, which was a very widely-distributed keg ale.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-10444071628061728552023-02-07T08:57:23.273+00:002023-02-07T08:57:23.273+00:00I think the sales figures apply only to the on tra...I think the sales figures apply only to the on trade. Guinness isn't the biggest off trade brand. The off trade is bigger by both value and volume than the on trade. When Draught Guinness came out it was a premium product, retailing at about a pound a can, expensive for the time. Now it retails at about a pound a can putting it slightly more expensive but not in the the league of the multiple pound craft cans. It's managed price rises on trade, though.<br /><br />It remains a pleasant drink with history & heritage and as you infer, it doesn't have to be the tastiest roastiest stout out there to be a nice drink. It's usually not ruined by the pubs that stock it and more often than not served well.<br /><br />Changes in the beer market usually come down to generational shift than consumers switching products so it's interesting a new generation of kids are liking Guinness as older Carling drinkers age and leave the market.<br /><br />As you point out, Guinness, as a brand, is invested in and the product isn't regularly reformulated as a cheaper product. Brand extensions tend to polish the core brand rather than diminish it. Few other beer brands are invested in. You mention Stella but an earlier classic example is Bass. An iconic brand left to wither and die. Madri will be one of those strange zombies in a few years. The umbrellas will still be up in the grottier pubs as people ask whatever happened to it.<br /><br />It is interesting that craft only really produced one national brand, punk, and that has peaked. Though shipyard was nicer and deserved to succeed. No more will come out of that sector as it retreats as a high energy input business with declining output values. Less attractive to cheap money and retired accountants with dreams.<br /><br />Cask beer will continue it's decline into a cottage industry to the delight of its enthusiasts. Support Doom Bar !PaddyTheLeprechaunnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-53602133101951980032023-02-06T23:42:28.909+00:002023-02-06T23:42:28.909+00:00It helps disguise the lack of much in the way of t...It helps disguise the lack of much in the way of taste, otter than the taste of hype. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-16304767947258623532023-02-06T21:42:54.969+00:002023-02-06T21:42:54.969+00:00I'd suggest you could add Staropramen to your ...I'd suggest you could add Staropramen to your list of "premium lager that is still a bit premium". Always a welcome choice if there's no cask.stymasterhttps://www.piglet-net.net/pigblog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-41152971783488017802023-02-06T21:42:53.615+00:002023-02-06T21:42:53.615+00:00There are very few pubs this side of the watter th...There are very few pubs this side of the watter that can serve good Guinness and their bottled stuff is far better than their accursed widget canned spray bombs.<br />In the ould country Murphy's is at least its equal.<br />Scottish Newcastle for a while sold Gillespie's lovely stout. Brewed in Edinburgh. I even bought it in a Welsh pub. It was a reincarnation of an stout from a brewery of that name. I miss it.Doonhamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07046353503910797372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-19624625409969516272023-02-06T18:38:31.469+00:002023-02-06T18:38:31.469+00:00I wish the pubs would stop serving Guinness freezi...I wish the pubs would stop serving Guinness freezing cold.Andynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-77652712781714416512023-02-06T17:40:42.865+00:002023-02-06T17:40:42.865+00:00I'd say Carling superseded other mass market l...I'd say Carling superseded other mass market lagers, Harp, Skol, Hofmeister, McEwans, and even Carlsberg, and as it grew in availability and was heavily marketed, more beer drinkers moved over to it too. Most of the lager brands that were available nationwide are still ticking along with low volumes. electricpicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09144970068645280352noreply@blogger.com