This sounds daft

[london calling]

Late Knights brewer has opened a new pub in Brockley called the London Beer Dispensary. They have two mystery craft keg beers on one dark and the other light. They only reveal the names of the beers when the keg is finished. Innovative,hip, cool or plain daft.

[Aqualung]

Late Knights brewer has opened a new pub in Brockley called the London Beer Dispensary. They have two mystery craft keg beers on one dark and the other light. They only reveal the names of the beers when the keg is finished. Innovative,hip, cool or plain daft.

Plain daft to me and possibly with trading standards issues unless the ABV is displayed but irrespective of that it's still daft.

[PaulOfHorsham]

Plain daft to me and possibly with trading standards issues unless the ABV is displayed but irrespective of that it's still daft.

Same in Brighton. I think you'll find they are aware of their legal requirements.

[Mobyduck]

Daft

[Wittenden]

Couldn't give a damn.What's "keg"?!

[aleandhearty]

Couldn't give a damn.

My sentiment exactly, although the language was a little choicer, involving the word 'flying'!

[london calling]

Couldn't give a damn.What's "keg"?!
Its very similar to cask beer and in some cases is cask beer. Served a little cooler (but not always) a little more carbonated (but not always)and more expensive (always)but cannot be ruined by publicans or staff who think they know how to condition and serve cask beer. cheers john

[sheffield hatter]

Its very similar to cask beer and in some cases is cask beer. Served a little cooler (but not always) a little more carbonated (but not always)and more expensive (always)but cannot be ruined by publicans or staff who think they know how to condition and serve cask beer. cheers john

Erm, it's keg beer, so not at all similar to cask. In my experience, it's freezing cold, ferociously fizzy and hugely expensive. I dare say you've had more and different experiences, so I'm not saying you're wrong - just that that's my experience.

[Wittenden]

Erm, it's keg beer, so not at all similar to cask. In my experience, it's freezing cold, ferociously fizzy and hugely expensive. I dare say you've had more and different experiences, so I'm not saying you're wrong - just that that's my experience.
Reminds me of the seventies:don't want to go back.(Well, not for the fizz.)

[Mobyduck]

http://www.theeveningbrews.co.uk/cask-vs-keg-the-results/

[Aqualung]

http://www.theeveningbrews.co.uk/cask-vs-keg-the-results/

The fact is that some of the new keg products are very good but hideously expensive. The distrust and rejection of anything keg from older CAMRA people (like myself) comes from the horror show that was the big six keg beers from the 1970s. As far as I know none of those beers still exist. In my limited experience of drinking new keg beers in the Leyton King William IV before the prices went through the roof, the stronger ones tend to come out better as the chilling makes them easier to drink. On a very hot day the keg can become more attractive.
Personally I think that the new brewers are only putting stuff on keg to increase their profit margins.
I had Dark Star Revelation earlier this year and can't imagine why they should want to keg it. The same goes for Jaipur and Siren Broken Dream.

[Quinno]

It's a USP so good luck to them. Free publicity on here for a start!

[Aqualung]

It's a USP so good luck to them. Free publicity on here for a start!

USP? Wot Dat????

[oldboots]

USP? Wot Dat????

"Unique Selling Point" it's supposed to be used as a good thing, personally I'm not so sure as my experience of modern Keg beer is much like Sheffield Hatters, OK if you like that sort of thing but it's not for me.

[Thuck Phat]

With apologies to LC for continuing to hijack the original thread.

I was always very sceptical about keg along with many others here, not helped by the Brewdog experience, and still feel that it's expensive and doesn't quite match the cask product when you can compare the two.

Having visited the Redwillow (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/80945/) recently though I have to agree with both Aqualung and London Calling that there are some very good keg beers out there. Some breweries, particularly the newer ones seem to be brewing solely for keg and bottle so the cask option simply isn't there. So if you want to try their beers, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss Northern Monk's New World IPA, then you have to go keg. Some bars have much more choice on keg.

It does seem to be a metropolitan phenomenon at the moment though and I haven't come across any interesting keg products locally. Entrenched attitudes will take a long time to change if that remains the case as many simply won't get much opportunity to try decent keg beers. Having said that of course I've just classed Macclesfield as metropolitan!

[Al 10000]

Erm, it's keg beer, so not at all similar to cask. In my experience, it's freezing cold, ferociously fizzy and hugely expensive. I dare say you've had more and different experiences, so I'm not saying you're wrong - just that that's my experience.

I have had the same experience with modern keg beers, very cold,very fizzy and very expensive.

I have never been a Camra member,but what they did in the 70s and early 80s meant drinkers could have a decent pint of real ale that was not kegged like the big brewers wanted it to be,they only wanted kegged beers because it was cheaper to brew and lasted longer.

If real ale drinkers of today start drinking keg beers,then surely real ale sales must decline.

I hope these people who like these trendy keg beers dont win the day or we might end up like it was in the 70s with only keg beers on the bar.

I was talking to a mate of mine recently about our crawl round Newark in the early 80s, fizzy john smiths in almost every pub,would anyone like to go back to those days.

I dont.

[Aqualung]

I have had the same experience with modern keg beers, very cold,very fizzy and very expensive.

I have never been a Camra member,but what they did in the 70s and early 80s meant drinkers could have a decent pint of real ale that was not kegged like the big brewers wanted it to be,they only wanted kegged beers because it was cheaper to brew and lasted longer.

If real ale drinkers of today start drinking keg beers,then surely real ale sales must decline.

I hope these people who like these trendy keg beers dont win the day or we might end up like it was in the 70s with only keg beers on the bar.

I was talking to a mate of mine recently about our crawl round Newark in the early 80s, fizzy john smiths in almost every pub,would anyone like to go back to those days.

I dont.

With respect, you really are missing the point here. The smooth flow mixed gas beers were and probably still are a much greater threat to real ale than the niche market of "craft" keg beers from a minority of the enormous number of microbreweries now up and running.

A back street pub selling for instance Banks's Mild and Bitter on cask is never going to swap them for expensive "craft" keg beers from a microbrewery even if they were allowed to by the brewery / pubco. It would be far more likely for them to switch to cream flow.

I've not heard of any larger regional or global brewers producing new keg beers, other than I heard some of them are producing their own lagers and calling them "craft". Regional brewers have been creating their own lagers and subsequently dropping them for decades.

I won't go in a Brewdog pub simply because their policy is to only sell keg, and there is absolutely no reason why that should be the case.

[london calling]

I only drink in London in pubs where I can get new beers.I only drink at night and the age group seems to be 25-45 and these are the people who are driving the keg revolution.They are not your typical real ale drinkers but they want something different.Where you can get good cask beer such as the Craft beer co it still out sells the keg.Three years ago only a handful were doing keg now every month new ones appear.I am not preaching for anyone to try keg but to dismiss it as a fad or a return to the old days is way off the mark.Drink what you fancy.I do.cheers

[hondo]

Well said LC

[Mobyduck]

I am not preaching for anyone to try keg but to dismiss it as a fad or a return to the old days is way off the mark.Drink what you fancy.I do.cheers


Well said LC
Thats the way I see it as well.

[oldboots]

I am not preaching for anyone to try keg but to dismiss it as a fad or a return to the old days is way off the mark.Drink what you fancy.I do.cheers


Well said LC


Thats the way I see it as well.

Pretty much the way I see it as well, I just don't fancy drinking the "new" keg. I know a lot of people like cold fizzy drinks, that's their choice and like Voltaire I'll defend their right to have that choice.

Agreed new kegs are in no way like Watney's Red, McEwans Tartan, Whitbread Tankard or any of the other horrors inflicted on us years ago or the nitro-kegs that to me smell of vomit, however when I tried a side by side test of Roosters Fort Smith the cask version came out top with the keg a long way behind. I've tried various new fangled kegs, two bars in Harrogate usually have a wide choice, and they still don't appeal to me.

Faced with a choice of good cask and a new style keg that's not too carbonated and not too cold I'll still pick the cask, however faced with cask vinegar or John Smith Smooth and a new keg it'll easily be the new keg, actually faced with a choice between any smooth and say, Stella I'll take the cold, fizzy Stella unless there's a nice Lambic or Gueze in the fridge :D.

Sometimes of course the only choice is to turn and leave.

[sheffield hatter]

Sometimes of course the only choice is to turn and leave.

Can't argue with that.