# Has Lcpa Changed?



## surly (26/7/09)

Has Little Creatures Pale Ale changed?
In the last few months the LCPA I have bought has seemed to lack something, What I am wondering about is if I have been unlucky and been getting old beer, or is it different?
Normally I can get a nice taste similar to lychee (never really thought it was passionfruit), but that seems to be lacking? maybe I am crazy.


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## Adamt (26/7/09)

You could expect some seasonal variation due to hop growing seasons. I've found the hop flavour reminiscent of grapefruit.


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## Pumpy (26/7/09)

surly said:


> Has Little Creatures Pale Ale changed?
> In the last few months the LCPA I have bought has seemed to lack something, What I am wondering about is if I have been unlucky and been getting old beer, or is it different?
> Normally I can get a nice taste similar to lychee (never really thought it was passionfruit), but that seems to be lacking? maybe I am crazy.



Someone bought me a six pack and I am really enjoying it ,last time I had some was in perth and it was a touch warm so difficult to compare


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## QldKev (26/7/09)

I haven't noticed any changes... mmmm LCPA

QldKev


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## benny_bjc (26/7/09)

I've noticed that it seems to have changed too, but I've noticed its been very average for over a year. Unfortunetly I don't even bother buying the beer anymore. It tastes watery, has no hop aroma and very little hop falvour. LCPA use to be one of my favourite beers. I loved the lychee punch!

Despite saying this I have noticed that the pint bottles actually taste a lot better then the stubbies. They seem to have more flavour and aroma... but still no where near the good old days.

BTW I would have thought this would be the perect time (season wise because of the hop harvest in March) for a good quality LCPA.


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## Barramundi (26/7/09)

only ever had this beer on one occasion and wonder what all the fuss was about , nothing special as far as i was concerned, have been led to believe they have changed their hopping in some way , perhaps they no longer get the flowers in from the US like they once did .. dunno but for me it was an OK beer but i wouldnt hurry back to get more given what i had the first time


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## NeilArge (26/7/09)

Barramundi said:


> only ever had this beer on one occasion and wonder what all the fuss was about , nothing special as far as i was concerned, have been led to believe they have changed their hopping in some way , perhaps they no longer get the flowers in from the US like they once did .. dunno but for me it was an OK beer but i wouldnt hurry back to get more given what i had the first time


I had a couple in the brewery this week over dinner and I thought it a superb beer. Full bodied, beautifully balanced with hop bitterness and aroma. I wandered around the back a bit and saw a lad pushing wheelie bins of spent and new hop flowers around with 'quarantine' stamped on them. They say they get their Cascade and Amarillo straight from Oregon, and it looked legit to me (could we be discussing the 'great LCPA swindle'??) h34r:  . It were luverly anyway.
ToG


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## QldKev (26/7/09)

TunofGrunt said:


> I had a couple in the brewery this week over dinner and I thought it a superb beer. Full bodied, beautifully balanced with hop bitterness and aroma. I wandered around the back a bit and saw a lad pushing wheelie bins of spent and new hop flowers around with 'quarantine' stamped on them. They say they get their Cascade and Amarillo straight from Oregon, and it looked legit to me (could we be discussing the 'great LCPA swindle'??) h34r:  . It were luverly anyway.
> ToG



i agree 100%. 

"It tastes watery, has no hop aroma and very little hop falvour", wtf!! I think you was not drinking the same beer... It is prob one of the most hop in you face beers on the market.

QldKev


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## Brad Sofield (26/7/09)

I am lucky enough to frequent the place on a reasonably regular basis, and enjoy it fresh out the tap as well as in "roady form" and I reckon it is as good today as it was when I first drank it. A beautiful fresh hoppy burst in your mouth and nose. Big fan of all their beers, but enjoy the pale ale and Rogers the most. Nothing like it! :wub:


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## Brewer_010 (26/7/09)

Moo Brew pale ale is a very good example for when LCPA is going through some seasonal variation I reckon. Tried it a little while back and was impressed. 
I have thought LCPA does change from time to time, is there a brewer from the LC brewery that could confirm this? Maybe some AHB'er from perth could do some investigation....


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## benny_bjc (26/7/09)

QldKev said:


> i agree 100%.
> 
> "It tastes watery, has no hop aroma and very little hop falvour", wtf!! I think you was not drinking the same beer... It is prob one of the most hop in you face beers on the market.
> 
> QldKev



Well I use to love this beer and the Lychee Punch! Unfortunetly every single bottle I have had in the past year tastes very very average at the best of times. I have had some which taste close to carlton draught. And yes it had the little creatures label on it! 

Maybe I'm just very very unlucky, but I know quite a few people that no longer buy LCPA due to this.


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## HoppingMad (26/7/09)

I really enjoy a LCPA. I have to agree with QLD Kev, this is really a hop driven beer so couldn't describe it as watery. But I guess all tastebuds are different.

As for the taste change it might be the hop substitution as others have suggested. This is certainly something that appears to have happened a bit with James Squire Golden Ale and was covered in a recent thread on that one. When brewers can't get the ingredients they need, they go for the next decent hop that's close. Or up the amount of the available one and lose percentages of the one in the mix that's scarce.

The website currently says that LCPA uses chinook and cascade flowers, but I'm sure 2 years ago they were using amarillo - I'm pretty sure I read it on their website then - so there could be the reason. The amarillo may have been surrendered from the recipe during the US hop shortage never to return, or return in a very small amount. 

Can't say I've had a LCPA recently but regardless I love it. But at the moment Bright Ale really gets the thumbs up for me - like drinking a beery fruit basket :icon_drool2:

Hopper.


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## glaab (26/7/09)

"It tastes watery, has no hop aroma and very little hop falvour."??????........... maybe you've had a stroke !! :wacko:


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## paul (27/7/09)

Have a read of this thread:

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...c=26265&hl=


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## .DJ. (27/7/09)

i rekon it has changed alot! I still have some of a case because the hop flavour is just not there!


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## Ronin (27/7/09)

beer007 said:


> I've noticed that it seems to have changed too, but I've noticed its been very average for over a year. Unfortunetly I don't even bother buying the beer anymore. It tastes watery, has no hop aroma and very little hop falvour. LCPA use to be one of my favourite beers. I loved the lychee punch!
> 
> Despite saying this I have noticed that the pint bottles actually taste a lot better then the stubbies. They seem to have more flavour and aroma... but still no where near the good old days.
> 
> BTW I would have thought this would be the perect time (season wise because of the hop harvest in March) for a good quality LCPA.



I have to agree, with the caveat that I've only tasted it once. But it didn't really convince me to try it again.

I'm thinking that the place I had it at didn't have a very high turnover, so maybe I got an old bottle. It's the only thing I can think of because so many of you sing it's praises, I thought I was going to get a spectacular beer, but it was quite bland.

James


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## Brad Sofield (27/7/09)

Got this pic off their info board last time I was in there. Gives an explanation as to ingredients. Kept the pic so I may try again to match a AG recipe, minus obviously the full fresh flavour and hop burst derived from the fresh flower hopback they utilise


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## Snowdog (29/7/09)

After reading this I was curious so I bought a six from Dan's in Holland Park, and I have to say that they tasted pretty darn good. Now my experience with LCPA has been rocky from the start. The first ones I had in in Tamworth in '07 were good, then a month later, the next six tasted metallic and "off". I then didn't have any for some time until finding it on tap at Milano's on Queen Street in Brisbane. It tasted good there, and has every time I had one there. Tried another six the beginning of this year and it was good, then a month ago I got a metallicy one again. Inconsistant, but generally its on.


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## dent (29/7/09)

Could just be your tastes have changed. I know since brewing myself what used to be ultra-hoppy or very malty now just tastes 'normal'. I find this kind of annoying really, makes one wonder if one is now making overdone beers as a result.


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## petesbrew (29/7/09)

Had a schooner of LCPA straight after a fat yak last weekend at the Australian... the Fat Yak was the better of the two.
But I wouldn't refuse one if I saw it on tap at my local.


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## cdbrown (29/7/09)

Heaps and heaps of cascade flavour. My mate loves the LCPA and he couldn't stop smelling the US Cascade hop pellets I was using in a brew. Fat Yak better - it's just different. I'd prefer an Alpha Pale over a Fat Yak or LCPA.


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## eamonnfoley (29/7/09)

That blackboard is interesting - is that in the new souvenir shop? Its basically a recipe.

The "USA and/or Tasmania" bit says a lot about the varying taste of the LCPA. Cost/availability must be an issue, especially cost I would imagine.


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## cdbrown (29/7/09)

I'm guessing the freshness as well would be a factor especially for the hopback. Lots of fresh flowers get jammed in there for that distinct flavour.


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## BitterBulldog (29/7/09)

probably my fave Aussie Beer - always love it!


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## Sammus (29/7/09)

petesbrew said:


> Had a schooner of LCPA straight after a fat yak last weekend at the Australian... the Fat Yak was the better of the two.
> But I wouldn't refuse one if I saw it on tap at my local.


 :blink: dunno what you're on mate lol. Nah each to their own. When I had fat yak it tasted like commercial megaswill, cold fizzy and flavourless. LCPA is by far and large the best readily available beer I think.


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## brando (29/7/09)

I had a six pack of LCPA for the first time about four months ago. Not longer after I had a couple of glasses of it at the Platform Bar from the keg, and the difference was huge. Kegged variety was very much more hop driven in both aroma and flavour than the bottled stuff.

I've had another six pack since, and still think the kegged version is very different. The bottles weren't too old either.


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## hazard (29/7/09)

brando said:


> I had a six pack of LCPA for the first time about four months ago. Not longer after I had a couple of glasses of it at the Platform Bar from the keg, and the difference was huge. Kegged variety was very much more hop driven in both aroma and flavour than the bottled stuff.
> 
> I've had another six pack since, and still think the kegged version is very different. The bottles weren't too old either.



Well the keg must be hoppy! I met up with a friend last week, me with a six pack JS Amber Ale, he with LCPA. The LCPA tasted hugely of hops, and even though I always enjoy the JSAA, after a stubby of LCPA the AA was the one that tasted watery and weak, and overly sweet. I had hop burps all night from the LCPA.

Now that my taste buds have re-adjusted I am enjoying JSAA again.


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## Brad Sofield (29/7/09)

Yeah the board is in the retail outlet next to the brewhouse. The new part and the board has all their beers noted, that's why I took a pic, better that relying on my memory.


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## discoloop (29/7/09)

LCPA seems a bit different every time I drink it. I put it down to hop character fading with time.... Same as happens with HB.


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## Sammus (29/7/09)

brando said:


> I had a six pack of LCPA for the first time about four months ago. Not longer after I had a couple of glasses of it at the Platform Bar from the keg, and the difference was huge. Kegged variety was very much more hop driven in both aroma and flavour than the bottled stuff.
> 
> I've had another six pack since, and still think the kegged version is very different. The bottles weren't too old either.



Yeah I find the bottles pretty consistent, and the keg version is definitely hoppier in flavour and aroma. Same goes with the Bright Ale and the Rogers.


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## Cocko (29/7/09)

discoloop said:


> LCPA seems a bit different every time I drink it. I put it down to hop character fading with time.... Same as happens with HB.



Yep, always check the date on the label [Neck label] I check after tasting, it never goes bad but the hop hit fades!

Still, an farkin great beer!


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## hughman666 (30/7/09)

maybe this has to do with you brewing hoppier beers over time and your taste buds becoming a bit jaded? i know that a lot of brewers who taste a beer they like, then go away and try to clone it (read: hop the shit out of it) over a period of a few months, and then come back to the original find that it is a lot more subtle/watered down/etc than what they first remember.

i have seen this a LOT. paritcularly with LCPA and SNPA. some of the recipes on the DB here that are in the supposed LCPA & SNPA style have hopping schedules amile over the top from the originals.

personally i dont over-hop my beers and as a result find LCPA to be fairly close to its original form from a few years ago. i had a stubby yesterday over lunch and still got that good hoppy twang....

just my 2c



surly said:


> Has Little Creatures Pale Ale changed?
> In the last few months the LCPA I have bought has seemed to lack something, What I am wondering about is if I have been unlucky and been getting old beer, or is it different?
> Normally I can get a nice taste similar to lychee (never really thought it was passionfruit), but that seems to be lacking? maybe I am crazy.


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## bum (30/7/09)

dent said:


> Could just be your tastes have changed. I know since brewing myself what used to be ultra-hoppy or very malty now just tastes 'normal'. I find this kind of annoying really, makes one wonder if one is now making overdone beers as a result.



I understand your point but it begs the question: who are you (is one) making your beer for?


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## surly (18/8/09)

Thanks for all the replies and the link.

So, my understanding is: There probably is some variation in LCPA most likely due to the seasonal variation in ingredients as well as the availability of hops from US etc.
Also, older beer can lose some of the hops kick.

Then there is little creature's moving it's brewery and all that changes as a result.

But having said all that, I have a stubbie of LC in my hand at the moment and it is all that i remember (Best Before: 17/06/2010). Will make sure to have a look at the dates every time from now on.


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## eamonnfoley (18/8/09)

surly said:


> Has Little Creatures Pale Ale changed?
> In the last few months the LCPA I have bought has seemed to lack something, What I am wondering about is if I have been unlucky and been getting old beer, or is it different?
> Normally I can get a nice taste similar to lychee (never really thought it was passionfruit), but that seems to be lacking? maybe I am crazy.




Your right - at the moment its lacking something big time. they chop and change their hops regularly. Unfortunately this sometimes has detrimental effects on the beer.

Shame because a month ago it was tasting really good on tap and bottle.


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## Bizier (18/8/09)

I had a few pints of this last week and say: if it has changed, I don't care, it is great!


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## droid (5/1/16)

having a squiz through the Little Creatures Geelong website and I see the ibu of LCPA is 40 - I thought it was 38? maybe they've given it a nudge?


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## GalBrew (5/1/16)

LCPA has always changed its hops. The brewery has always made this knowledge public, sure it is better sometimes than other times but that's what you get.


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## TheWiggman (5/1/16)

droid said:


> having a squiz through the Little Creatures Geelong website and I see the ibu of LCPA is 40 - I thought it was 38? maybe they've given it a nudge?


I'm not sure if God would even be able to tell the difference


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## droid (5/1/16)

well it is an observation, make of it what you will, i'm interested if there is a trend based on consumers palates tolerating higher ibu as some have elucidated to in posts about lcpa over the years

however changing hops doesn't mean the ibu bounces around as a result - they could hit whatever number they want


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## Bribie G (5/1/16)




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## JDW81 (5/1/16)

TheWiggman said:


> I'm not sure if God would even be able to tell the difference


God might not be able to, but I reckon Bribie could...


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## spog (5/1/16)

droid said:


> well it is an observation, make of it what you will, i'm interested if there is a trend based on consumers palates tolerating higher ibu as some have elucidated to in posts about lcpa over the yearshowever changing hops doesn't mean the ibu bounces around as a result - they could hit whatever number they want


I wonder if they tweak the recipe a bit to try to keep the flavour due to hop supply ,having said that it doesn't to me seem to be the same as it was,but I'm not a beer judges arsehole and still drink it.


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## Jordie_tackles (21/7/17)

spog said:


> I wonder if they tweak the recipe a bit to try to keep the flavour due to hop supply ,having said that it doesn't to me seem to be the same as it was,but I'm not a beer judges arsehole and still drink it.


Just bought my first case in a while as it's 60 not 70 bucks and it tastes very watered down to what I remember 

Is this general knowledge?


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## GalBrew (21/7/17)

It's been openly stated that the hopping changes with the available supply.


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## MHB (21/7/17)

It went from being a craft brewery (albeit a fairly big one) to a very small part of a global brewing megalopolis, so what do you think the odds of the accountants getting to it are?
Mark


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## Jordie_tackles (21/7/17)

Yep just seems very watered down, I'm not surprised just hadn't encountered it recently. Like others I liked the dogs days beer they brought out just hadn't bought a slab of little creatures as it's always 70 bucks.


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## unwrittenlaw (22/7/17)

Was drinking jugs of rogers on origin night the other week and it's definitely changed too. I've always thought of it as a great mid strength that tastes like a full strength. But now it tastes like a mid strength (watered down). damn megaswill shareholders


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## Jordie_tackles (22/7/17)

The more I am drinking this the more I feel they just chucked another batch of furphy into this slab!


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## manticle (22/7/17)

Shops near me don't have a wide variety (thank goodness for home stuff and an ibc subscription) so LC pale and mountain goat are regulars for me. My expectations aren't insurmountable - I just want a tasty, refreshing beer and they both work well.

Some of you may not remember when regular choice was between carlton draught and Melbourne bitter or...... (insert state equivalent) but we are spoiled comparatively for choice now. Personally wish we were spoiled with more great euro ale rather than 8 million apa/ipa variants but spoiled we are nonetheless (and lc and mg are apa variants for sure).


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## MHB (22/7/17)

If all else fails, you can usually find a Coopers, that for me does the job more often than not.
Mark


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## manticle (23/7/17)

Mostly the stout gets a reasonable run here.

Did an almost straight run of work from may through mid june so kegs here are empty (filling my first today, thankfully).


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## Snowdog (23/7/17)

Jordie_tackles said:


> Just bought my first case in a while as it's 60 not 70 bucks and it tastes very watered down to what I remember
> 
> Is this general knowledge?



Yes, it is. I bought a carton a while back as it was on special for less than $60, and it tasted like it. It wasn't "bad", just very meh. It was a far cry from what I used to get in 2007. I tend to get 4 Pines Pale as a general fridge beer these days.




MHB said:


> If all else fails, you can usually find a Coopers, that for me does the job more often than not.
> Mark



Yes, Cooper's Pale is my solid go-to when I find myself in places where it's the best on tap


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## Jordie_tackles (23/7/17)

Snowdog said:


> Yes, it is. I bought a carton a while back as it was on special for less than $60, and it tasted like it. It wasn't "bad", just very meh. It was a far cry from what I used to get in 2007. I tend to get 4 Pines Pale as a general fridge beer these days.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


100% last beer I am comparing it to was 4 pines American amber that I got for 65 and the 4 pines was like a different league LCPA as I said seemed like Furphy at its price if this is the product now it will drop off markedly at this rate.


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## manticle (23/7/17)

4pines make solid beers


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## Dr_Rocks (23/7/17)

+1 to LC pale ale now tasting watered down....been like that for a while based on my hazy memory. I assume this is due to cost efficiency gains from the big dog Lion Nathan?
+1 to 4 pines pale being a great beer


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