Beer in the 80's

[Tabasco_Dave]

What beer was like for the rich

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What beer was like for the rest of us

[T_i_B]

1. Dunno what it's like in the States....

....but these days there are a few "craft" beer bars in the UK which charge some truly extorionate prices for keg beer and bottled beer (much of the pricey stuff being imported from the States). I can remember a couple of months ago having a bit of a discussion with a barman in the Sheffield Tap about the cost of Stone "Cali-Belgique" which he maintained was as outrageously pricey in the States as it is over here.

But the price of some of the new wave of UK keg beers from the likes of Brewdog & Magic Rock is what really takes the piss.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. We have our fair share of pretentious overpriced brews as well.

But there are more than a handfull of craft beers that range from $3-$5 per pint that are absolutely fabulous. My guess is that these gems are probably $6-$8 per pint by the time they cross the pond. Being from NE Ohio, Great Lakes Brewery is only 25 minutes away and have alot of good things to offer. Holy Moses and Lake Eire Monster are my favorites from Great Lakes. It seems like the midwest and west coast are chock of these small unique breweries.

I really love wheat beers, belgian whitbiers, and pale lagers. I'm not a big fan of IPA or very hoppy/bitter beers so the recent fad of craft beers has missed me for the most part. Everyone seems to go crazy for these rediculously hoppy beers. I can't have more than one or two of them before getting hopped-out... what fun is that? "It's an aquired taste", I've been told. Well, fuck that... my taste buds are only aquired to things that actually already taste good. Lake Eire Monster is the only IIPA I've liked however it is rather malty with citrus tones... so at over 9% ABV I'm willing to forgive it's mild IPA heritage.

Personally, I started brewing my own beer and find that I can make most any style I want and cut back on the bitterness, tailor the malt flavors, and keep gravities where I like them. So far I have a mild but rich black Ale and a mild pale Ale that are both fantastic... and cost me less than $0.80/pint to brew up. Sure, it takes about 5 hours total work for a batch of 40 pints but it's alot of fun. My next two recipies will be to try making a Hoegaarden clone and a red English barleywine. That will give me a dark ale, light ale, witbeir, and red/amber...
I'll never have to buy beer again.

[T_i_B]

3. Being imported & (for the most part) strong, US Beers tend to be more expensive over here

Bottles starting from about £3.80 and from there the sky can be the limit for the rare & racy stuff. Not including the US "craft" beers you can get in supermarkets over here of course.

On draught? Well I normally expect to pay between £2.50-£3.20 for a pint of cask ale (more for strong stuff, £4.20 for a 7.5% beer for instance), but the best keg beer I've had in yonks was Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, which was £5.00 a pint. I drank it in halves and I have to say it was worth the money.

Again, the sky can be the limit for prices of the rare & racy stuff. I dread to think what the Odell/Thornbridge collaboration "Pond Hopper" was on draught when they had it in the Sheffield Tap last week.

However, I'm left wondering if if any US "craft" brewery can get anywhere near Scotland's very own Brewdog in terms of pretentiousness and rip-off prices on draught.

You can tell I'm a beer geek in the UK's premier real ale city (Sheffield) can't you!

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

4. I think you're right.

I enjoy less hoppy english & belgian brews... but there are quite a few (that are "rare" over here) coming from europe that have some serious pricetags. I never try those - I stick to my wimpy drinks.

Although I'll be experimenting with making some hard tea and lemonade (to make half & half) that will be well over 10% when I get some of my brewing equipment freed up. 3 pints or so should make for some fun rounds of golf.

[OriginalGeek]

6. Are you in Bell's territory?

They got some great stuff at Bell's. Two Hearted Stout and Expedition are among my faves there.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. I'm unfamiliar with Bell's... I'm in the Akron area.

[OriginalGeek]

8. lol, it's all "up north" to me

They are based in Kalamazoo, Michigan...but i figured if they make it all the way down here to Florida they might stop in Ohio along the way.

If you find them, they are worth checking out - although some of their offerings are hoppier than you indicate you like.

[OriginalGeek]

5. We pay a pretty fancy bit for your stuff too

I think most UK beers are around 8 to 10 dollars for a 6 pack which is on par with most craft brews. Except Guinness -we can get that everywhere and it's usually about 4 bucks a pint at the Irish pubs and more at the pretend pubs. But we can also get the draught cans in the grocery stores here for about 2 bucks a pint.

I pay more for things like Hobgoblin and Old Speckled Hen and Skullsplitter (not sure if that is UK though) and usually it's more for the bigger beers. Newcastle Brown is readily available as well as Murphy's Stout and both reasonably priced.

We get gouged on Belgian stuff though - Chimay is ridiculous and so is Duvel - like 12 or 14 dollars for a FOUR pack...but verrrrry tasty so worth it sometimes to splurge. In Savannah, Georgia I paid 8 bucks a pint for Corsendonk Abbey Brown ale and I'd do it again if I'm ever in Savannah again.

We have a british pub nearby that has Fuller's on tap and I am given to understand that is just regular beer over there (not liek a craft brew would be) and I gotta say, you guys do regular beer way better than we do. But I'd put our micro/craft brews up against anybody.

One thing I had from Scotland that I am desperately trying to find again is Innis and Gunn's aged cask ales. Got a 4 pack for christmas last year and if I can find a good supplier I'd consider buying a new refrigerator just to keep that in stock.

[T_i_B]

9. Orkney Isles are part of the UK.....

...so yes, Orkney Skullspitter is a British beer. It's about the only one in your post that's worth paying a premium for but that's another matter. Orkney are a brewery who are not fashionable at the moment as the UK beer scene is so fixated on pale US/NZ hopped beers right now but I've always liked their beers.

Hobgoblin is good on cask when it's been kept well, Old Speckled Hen used to be excellent, but then the brewery who used to make it got taken over by Greedy Kerching, who promptly shifted production to Bury St Edmunds and utterly ruined the beer.

As to Fuller's, they do make some pretty decent stuff as it happens. Nowt wrong with London Pride in good nick.

Innis & Gunn on cask is something I would love to try myself but II think 've only ever come across the stuff in bottles before now.

And happily, Belgian beers are not really stupidly overpriced over here just yet, although UK beer duty doesn't help matters.