Coles And Bi-lo Delete Home Brew

[kbe]

No real loss, really. Here you can get a box of PET bottles from Bilo/Coles for $15.58 (or around that), go to Big W in the same shopping centre and pay $12.48.

I am happy to either

1) go to the local brew shop
2) buy off the internet

The range that can be gotten on the net is enough for me to not give a stuff about the shops like Coles and Woolworths and I would rather pay the postage. A few more boxes of PET bottles from Big W and I should have enough.

 

[manticle]

Well said Komodo.

It annoys me when people make out that Woolworths and Coles shoppers are ignorant, or dumb. It's not always the case. Some people are literally happy to spend a small premium for convenience and I am often one of them.

OT

I don't think anyone's ignorant unless I talk to them and find out that they actually are. I prefer independent retailers for a variety of reasons (DIY, same spirit that attrcats me to brewing etc) but for me I can get a week's worth of fresh, good quality meat and fruit/veg as well as most groceries at two independent small businesses within a two minute walk of each other (slightly less distance from my house as Safeway and Coles and Aldi too) It costs me approximately 1/3 the price (not a difference of 5 or 10 - more like a difference of 60 or 70).

Every time I go to Coles I feel ripped off. Every time I go to these two places I feel like I've walked away with a bargain.

I've probably mentioned this on this forum more times than I should but my income is variable (postgrad student and casual worker) so knowing I can feed myself, my partner and my cats significantly cheaper (and better) if I avoid Coles is a good thing.

There's a third independent Italian run supermarket I sometimes go to for smallgoods and their deli makes Coles and Safeway look like a joke - prices are less than major chains although not as low as the other two outlets. Still something like lavazza coffee retails there for around $5 as opposed to 9 or 10.

I'm not sure who suggested that the quality of Coles and Safeway fruit and veg was good but I disagree. Often flavourless and artificially ripened - and no I don't buy much organic produce (can't afford it). I can still get more flavoursome fruit and veg elsewhere for less.

I understand if someone wants or needs convenience. I understand people are busy with kids, business, life, etc and I don't blame them. I work 5 casual jobs with regularity and have a couple of other bits of income making in addition to that as well as study postgrad, brew, draw, make music post ridiculous amounts of waffle on AHB and live with my partner. No kids, thank christ - that's possibly the time killer.

Personally though I find the attitude of 'convenience rules' has contributed a lot to things I don't like - one of which is monopolising markets which means products and decisions that effect the consumer are less and less dictated or influenced by the consumer. I laso like connections with things and find the major supermarkets have the remotest link to the produce (foodwise anyway) that I'm buying. Their deli smells like bleach - my local italian deli smells like cheese and sausage and everything is sliced fresh in front of me. Yes I have to wait longer but if you smelt their cacciatore sausage, you might wait too.

 

[HoppingMad]

Well, I think it sucks. h34r: And sucks big time.

That's one less place we can get this stuff. It's one less place we can compare a price and get the best brew for our buck. I find it damn annoying.

Another sign that Coles are only interested in reducing the number of their suppliers, rather than provide a good range for their customers. Wander around any shelf and you'll find an increasingly pitiful range that has more and more homebrand stuff disguised as legitimate product. If they want to become an upmarket Aldi by stealth then why don't they hurry up and get it over with already. They're not fooling me.

Coopers kits are a great aussie product and deserve support from companies like Coles. It's where most homebrewers start (myself included) and I find it a shame that because a few rows of chips and nuts might have sold better, they're getting rid of this stuff from the aisle. If I had never seen these supermarket kits when I started out, I probably would have never have been introduced to this hobby at all.

This is one brewer that will be voting with his feet and heading to Woolies. Hopefully the stuff will still be seen as a viable product there. They just lost my grocery bill.

Rant over,

Hopper.

P.S: Surprised that Big W still has homebrew stuff. It's been deleted from the Melbourne QV store it appears. Can't find them anywhere. Hopefully this is not going to be a broader policy also.

 

[Pennywise]

Couldn't have put it better myself Hopper, well said

 

[DU99]

or is it a Conspiracy to make us go to the home brew store...which for some they dont locally...or it rebadged coles brand

 

[Nevalicious]

Amen Hopper! :icon_cheers:

 

[HoppingMad]

Cheers fellas,

I'm going to put my rant to paper and send it up the Coles flagpole and see who salutes.

Encouraging news on the related thread someone posted yesterday here on post #9:
Related Thread

That Coles are being bombarded (and rightly so) with complaints. Top work to those that have!

I'm sending out my rant too to Coles Customer Care area - I think it's important they give their customers choice and know about it.

Hopper.

 

[Bribie G]

Aldi by stealth is probably a good take on the situation with Coles. I was in Coles yesterday, at Morayfield. Rarely get in there as it's a 60k round trip but we went to see Shrek4 (3d of course) and I had a look in Coles to see if they were specialling any HB, might make a couple of partials as keg fillers. No such luck, still all well stocked ATM and full price. However looking around the store a lot of things seemed excessively expensive. Just as a backgrounder, the Morayfield store was a BILO until Coles really shot themselves in the foot and coverted a lot of them to Coles.

It used to be full of customers, and before we got ALDI on the island I would drive down every fortnight and stock up on BILO goodies, particularly the bulk meat trays. It was worth the drive. Yesterday the place was deserted. There are two Woolies Stores at Morayfield, plus an ALDI and a new Supa-IGA. I had to go to Woolies while we were there to get a Woolies specific item. It was thronged. And I did my ALDI shop as well seeing as it was right there. Bustling.

Coles are getting their asses busted by the other stores so it will be interesting to see what direction they take.

 

[MarkBastard]

OT

Let's put it this way, if I lived in Brunswick I would do exactly the same as you. Where I'm living at the moment there's no real alternatives. There is a butcher that costs more than Woolworths but has really good quality stuff. I shop there. There's a butcher a lot further away with a massive range and decent prices that I go to if I want to buy big roasts etc or if i'm having a BBQ or whatever. There's a fruit shop (Mal Meningers) that's pretty far away that has insanely good value and good quality produce that I go to when I'm in that area.

I go to the Sunday markets (local) and pick up fruit and veg there when I can too.

But I also go to Woolworths and love it. It is what it is because that's what a lot of people want. I'm not going to rag on it for being the most successful. I'm really glad I have two in close proximity, one a short walk away from home and one on the way home from work with good parking.

Only thing that pisses me off about Woolworths is the one close to my house has free trollys and so people often leave them out the front of my place. The one on the way home from work is in an area no one can walk a trolly home from (industrial sort of area) yet they require a gold coin to get a trolly. So bloody annoying if you don't have a coin on you. It should be the other way around.

 

[bkmad]

Having lived in the UK for 3 years recently, I can see coles and woolworths going the same way as the big chains over there. Tesco and Sainburys have both got their own lines of products and for some things there simply isn't a choice and the only thing available is the own brand product. They seem to have products packaged at 3 different levels, the no-frills level, a similar product with better packaging and then their "premium" range, packaged and priced as such. It's obvious to me that coles especially, have started to head in this direction.

In some cities the big chains have taken over to such an extent that they are the only choice for groceries. Where I lived in Manchester, there simply wasn't a butcher, baker or fruit and veg shop near me. I can only hope we don't let that happen here. Since getting back I've definitely made a point of trying to support local businesses over the big chains, and as others have mentioned, the prices and quality are often better anyway.

 

[Sammus]

spoke to coles management the other day and theyre not even axing it, just removing it from smaller stores, but areas where it's selling theyre keeping it.

And on the topic of all the independant grocers, butchers, etc, there's a few down here I go to regularly, and theyre never cheaper. In fact, it usually costs around twice the price of coles/woolies, but the quality is heaps better... I thought the point is that you go to the little fruit and veg shop or the farmers markets to get better produce, cos in my experience, it's certainly not cheaper.

 

[Pennywise]

And on the topic of all the independant grocers, butchers, etc, there's a few down here I go to regularly, and theyre never cheaper. In fact, it usually costs around twice the price of coles/woolies, but the quality is heaps better... I thought the point is that you go to the little fruit and veg shop or the farmers markets to get better produce, cos in my experience, it's certainly not cheaper.

Agree, the farmers market I go to on the way home from work to get the veggies costs me about $15 more when buying the same stuff from Coles/Woolies, but it's better. The thing is though, I don't have to throw half of it away 2 days later, which is what Coles veggies are like, so in the end it actually works out cheaper.

 

[zebba]

Let's put it this way, if I lived in Brunswick I would do exactly the same as you. Where I'm living at the moment there's no real alternatives.

That's a fair point.

Where I am now is great cause there is a butcher and fruit/veg right next door to coles that sell similar quality for 1/3rd the price (and they throw in freebies too). Yet they are often empty and coles is loaded, which pisses me off no end - the convenience of one store is offset by the fact you wait 3 times as long in line and pay 3 times as much.

But that's a specific rage. I've also lived in areas (malvern, for example) where the fruit/veg stores and butchers are twice the price of coles/safeway. And you get stuck behind some toff asking for the lamb rack to be frenched (what a waste!) so it takes twice as long to get it.

 

[jivesucka]

i'll ask the question again, has anyone used the farmland homebrew products? what are they like?

 

[Bribie G]

My KnK brew buddy mate round the corner did a farmland lager last year and it was pretty vile - I don't know who makes the generic supermarket kits, maybe Wander or someone, but they are made down to a price. Rather pay the extra few bucks for a Coopers or Morgans.

 

[petesbrew]

i'll ask the question again, has anyone used the farmland homebrew products? what are they like?

Pretty vague response, but I used them in a toucan a few years ago, and to be honest it's not worth the $2-3 saving. I dunno, it may come from the same factory, but I'm happy basing my KnK recipes on the Coopers brand.

 

[pcmfisher]

Farmland and woolies generic cans used to be supplied by coopers years ago, in Adelaide anyway. Don't know if they are the same quality on not.
Having said that, a 2 can farmland brew I did once was one of the few brews that ended up on the lawn. :wacko:

 

[HoppingMad]

Have heard of people doing a two-can with a Homebrand Draught and one of the Dark Ale, or Stout cans from Coopers. But on their own you would be getting what you pay for methinks. :icon_vomit: Happy to be proven wrong though if anyone has had a good brew from them.

Hopper.

 

[petesbrew]

Have heard of people doing a two-can with a Homebrand Draught and one of the Dark Ale, or Stout cans from Coopers. But on their own you would be getting what you pay for methinks. :icon_vomit: Happy to be proven wrong though if anyone has had a good brew from them.

Hopper.

hehe, yeah the T-58 yeast did not help.

 

[booyablack]

Jivesucka,

I recently did a toucan with 1 x Farmland Lager + 1 x Farmland Draught. It's been in the bottle for four weeks now. I've tried a couple and they taste terrible so far.

The reason I attempted this was because I had previously gone to the shops to make the cheapest toucan I could and see how it went. That day the Tooheys Special Lager was on special ($8 each) and just cheaper than Farmland ($8.23 ) so that's what I got. It turned out surprisingly good! So I thought I'd do the same with the Farmland cans with the result being far from good. I plan to tuck those bottles away in the corner and come back to them in 6 months - 1 year. Hopefully time heals all brews! Both times I used only the cans and nothing else i.e. no extra grain, hops etc. I even used the kit yeasts both times.