Dark Star news

[Aqualung]

Now that is a surprise.Never seen it around West London which is a shame as I particularly like it.I have found that Mcspoons managers seem to stick to breweries that they know rather than trying new stuff. Hardly call Hophead new stuff but know what I mean.

One problem is that they have to charge a premium guest price for it which would put some managers and punters off. There are some Spoons around that have Hophead as a semi permanent guest or rotate it with Pale Rider or Jaipur which are also permanent fixtures.
Did you know that the Hamilton Hall does 500ml bottles of Redemption Big Chief for £3.65? This is much better value than the guest ales.

Sometimes you get a dickhead of an area manager sticking their oar in and telling managers to stock only guest ales that are cheap. I believe that may be happening in my area at the moment. The Leytonstone one recently had Westerham guests in rather than ELB or Hopstuff. I rarely go to local JDWs at the moment.

[Mobyduck]

I actually think they have become better.Had lots of very good new beers from them since he left and the quality of their regular beers has been amazing.

Personally I think Hophead is a shadow of its former self, they claim not to have changed the recipe but my theory is they may be using british grown hops instead of the original American ones, whatever they are doing it tastes totally different than it did a couple of years ago.

[Wittenden]

Sometimes you get a dickhead of an area manager sticking their oar in and telling managers to stock only guest ales that are cheap. I believe that may be happening in my area at the moment. The Leytonstone one recently had Westerham guests in rather than ELB or Hopstuff. I rarely go to local JDWs at the moment.

Never thought of Westerham as particularily cheap.

[Wittenden]

Personally I think Hophead is a shadow of its former self, they claim not to have changed the recipe but my theory is they may be using british grown hops instead of the original American ones, whatever they are doing it tastes totally different than it did a couple of years ago.

Not sure about that, but it is up against stiff competition in the sub 4% abv pale ale sector from the likes of Burning Sky Plateau, Bedlam Phoenix and Kent Session PA .Thinking about it, many of the personnel of these breweries are alumni of DS.

[Aqualung]

Personally I think Hophead is a shadow of its former self, they claim not to have changed the recipe but my theory is they may be using british grown hops instead of the original American ones, whatever they are doing it tastes totally different than it did a couple of years ago.

That's exactly what went through my mind when I last tried it in their Haywards Heath pub. The shortage of American hops has been well documented.

[Aqualung]

Never thought of Westerham as particularily cheap.

You probably know the brewery better than I do but by "cheap" I really meant old school low ABV beers where they are careful not to use too many hops. It's a false economy as if the beer is dull then the sales go down and it gets into the vicious circle of falling sales meaning falling quality. I have to admit I'm not a fan of what I've tried of Westerham but do like ELB and Hopstuff.

[Mobyduck]

Not sure about that, but it is up against stiff competition in the sub 4% abv pale ale sector from the likes of Burning Sky Plateau, Bedlam Phoenix and Kent Session PA .Thinking about it, many of the personnel of these breweries are alumni of DS.

Yes all ex Dark Star I believe, though not sure about Phoenix.

[london calling]

One problem is that they have to charge a premium guest price for it which would put some managers and punters off. There are some Spoons around that have Hophead as a semi permanent guest or rotate it with Pale Rider or Jaipur which are also permanent fixtures.
Did you know that the Hamilton Hall does 500ml bottles of Redemption Big Chief for £3.65? This is much better value than the guest ales.

Sometimes you get a dickhead of an area manager sticking their oar in and telling managers to stock only guest ales that are cheap. I believe that may be happening in my area at the moment. The Leytonstone one recently had Westerham guests in rather than ELB or Hopstuff. I rarely go to local JDWs at the moment.

According to a couple of pub owners I have spoken to Dark Star are one of the cheaper breweries to buy from.Agree about Westerham they seem to have dumbed their beers down but still have a couple of good ones.I usually avoid the brewery now. That's a great price for Big Chief.The Hamilton Hall has a particularly boring beer selection every time I visit.

[london calling]

I used to use the Knights Templar on a regular basis when I first started ticking.They always had new beers but from some of the worst breweries imo.Cottage,Northumberland,Itchen Valley and Springhead come to mind.I was puzzled how they could pick such bad beers and asked to speak to the guy who ordered them.He said I know nothing about beer so I just ask the warehouse to pick some good uns and send them.I was gobsmacked and had intended to tell him what I thought of his choices but what was the point.The beers that others didn't want were dumped on him I imagine.
Yes I used to drink them. Sad but through adversity you gain knowledge.Well that's my excuse.

[london calling]

Personally I think Hophead is a shadow of its former self, they claim not to have changed the recipe but my theory is they may be using british grown hops instead of the original American ones, whatever they are doing it tastes totally different than it did a couple of years ago.

Strangly enough I think its one of the few beers that taste as it did when I first drank it.Its the old cask problem. I have had some superb pints of it recently but the odd one where I though it seemed less hoppy and quite astringent.