Random news of the day

[Aqualung]

I seem to remember when it first appeared people raved about it. It was bronze in the bitter category CBOB in 2006, two years after GKIPA got silver overall. Have tastes changed, or the beer? Or does familiarity indeed breed contempt?

As an aside, I read somewhere of people moaning that Pride had gone downhill just days ofter the Asahi takeover, suggesting that the beer in the mash tuns knew about the takeover before anyone else.

Familiarity does breed contempt but the major problem is that the more widely available a beer becomes the more places there are that don't look after it or it becomes a "token real ale". I've never gone for Pride much but after being cornered into having a GK IPA a few years ago I found it darker than I remembered and devoid of flavour.
The explosion of microbreweries in the last 10 years has made the availability of decent pints much wider but there is also a much larger mountain of dross.

[Pangolin]

Familiarity does breed contempt but the major problem is that the more widely available a beer becomes the more places there are that don't look after it.

Exactly so. Cask Marque and other cellar accreditation schemes help but are far from infallible. Even Sharps have launched a Doom Bar quality scheme, which is probably too little, too late but better than nothing.

[sheffield hatter]

Even Sharps have launched a Doom Bar quality scheme, which is probably too little, too late but better than nothing.

Just suggesting that maybe it won't be ready to go on the bar the same day it's delivered to the cellar might be a start.

[Aqualung]

Exactly so. Cask Marque and other cellar accreditation schemes help but are far from infallible. Even Sharps have launched a Doom Bar quality scheme, which is probably too little, too late but better than nothing.

I was chatting to the landlord of a pub in Walws at the beginning of the year and he was telling me that he had stopped subscribing to Cask Marque as it was costing nearly £300,.00 a year but he was getting nothing for it. He pointed out that the nearby Spoons was Cask Marque and they didn't sell good beer. My take on the Spoons is that it's a small town outlet that doesn't sell a lot more than the Trio Of Doom. I do know from observation that some JDWs sell the same beer for well over three days. I recently made three consecutive visits to the Great Western, the first on Thursday. By Saturday all three rotating guests had changed and a lot of people there drink the cheaper Holden's beers or the Batham's Best.

[aleandhearty]

Unfortunately, I can picture some spade-bearded halfwit, in strawberry coloured cords, coming out with such drivel:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSpyRAlXwpM

[london calling]

I think Doom was a better beer when it first invaded London and it was going downhill long before it was bought out.The brewer who invented it use to blog and he was an outspoken sort of guy.You cant go from brewing 5000 pints a week to 500,000 and still have the same beer.The head brewer from Fullers said the same about Pride .Big breweries have a tasting panel that tastes the beers brewed every week and it is more a case of trying to get a similar profile to what the beer should taste like rather than an exact match.

[london calling]

I was chatting to the landlord of a pub in Walws at the beginning of the year and he was telling me that he had stopped subscribing to Cask Marque as it was costing nearly £300,.00 a year but he was getting nothing for it. He pointed out that the nearby Spoons was Cask Marque and they didn't sell good beer. My take on the Spoons is that it's a small town outlet that doesn't sell a lot more than the Trio Of Doom. I do know from observation that some JDWs sell the same beer for well over three days. I recently made three consecutive visits to the Great Western, the first on Thursday. By Saturday all three rotating guests had changed and a lot of people there drink the cheaper Holden's beers or the Batham's Best.

For 300.00 a year you get a little badge to put on your wall.Surely that's sufficient.

[Tris39]

I think Doom was a better beer when it first invaded London and it was going downhill long before it was bought out.The brewer who invented it use to blog and he was an outspoken sort of guy.You cant go from brewing 5000 pints a week to 500,000 and still have the same beer.The head brewer from Fullers said the same about Pride .Big breweries have a tasting panel that tastes the beers brewed every week and it is more a case of trying to get a similar profile to what the beer should taste like rather than an exact match.

Pride is now dreadful. I can't tell the difference between it and Gloom.

For 300.00 a year you get a little badge to put on your wall.Surely that's sufficient.

I've never found Cask Mark to be a reliable sign of good beer and stopped trusting it years ago.

[Mobyduck]

Pride is now dreadful. I can't tell the difference between it and Gloom.



I've never found Cask Mark to be a reliable sign of good beer and stopped trusting it years ago.

It normally signifys boring beer in my experience.

[Pangolin]

I was chatting to the landlord of a pub in Walws at the beginning of the year and he was telling me that he had stopped subscribing to Cask Marque as it was costing nearly £300,.00 a year but he was getting nothing for it.

Actual cost is £222 first off, then £162 annually, less if brewery-sponsored. A very well-run pub will not gain much apart from the advertising benefits, but the majority can get a significant boost by having their cellar management and practices checked. At the very least it makes them think more about basics like cellar temperature, line cleaning, glass management etc. Of course it can't legislate against change of manager and suchlike which can turn a good boozer into the opposite in a very short time, but at least you can register the fact which can lead to reinspection. Out of interest, they have now launched a similar Beer Marque covering non-cask pubs but I haven't come across one yet.