Haagen Lager Beer By Independant Brewers

[barneyhanway]

Independent brew a few under licence in NZ, they got into it after seeing how popular locally brewed Heineken and Stella were here. They command imported beer prices but are often specialed.
They brew (in South Auckland) Carling, Grolsh, Carlsberg and Kingfisher I think, and maybe one or two more?
Haagen I don't think is in any way German. Its a kiwi wannabe as far as I know.

Independent Liqour started out as a family business trying to compete on the same commercial level as the two other big boys in NZ - Lion Nathan and Dominion Breweries.
It's the company responsible for alco-pops in New Zealand, and made a huge name for themselves exporting them to the UK and starting the RTD revolution.
The founder, Michael Erceg got really rich pretty damn quickly, apparantly an amazing feller to work for, a really super chap.
He died tragically in a helicopter accident late last year, unfortunately Lion Nathan is leading the tipping for a takeover bid.

 

[Franko]

I dont mind swilling a case of the Haagen down every so often at $30 a case its good value

 

[mongo]

I quite liked the Haagen when I tried it.

 

[Millet Man]

Independant distillers also make the stuff for Aldi in Vic (MVP???) and it's only about $26 a case and less than $20 for the light. It's what visitors to my place get if they don't have any tastebuds.

Cheers, Andrew.

 

[PistolPatch]

I drink light beers as swill beers after work. I get Haagen Premium Light for $21 a carton and it is my favourite light beer. I'd certainly pay more for it. It's not spectacular but I reckon that it is superior.

As Dunkel Boy mentioned, there can be a bit of variation. I've had several cases that are not quite right and one that I wouldn't drink. I'm prety sure that these case have been exposed to very high temperatures. The good cases (95% of them) have been great.

I remember that I didn't like their mid-strength much. Don't remember what the full-strength was like.

Cheers
PP

 

[petesbrew]

Independant distillers also make the stuff for Aldi in Vic (MVP???) and it's only about $26 a case and less than $20 for the light. It's what visitors to my place get if they don't have any tastebuds.

Cheers, Andrew.

Yeah, not worth wasting good homebrew on them folk...

 

[jeremy]

I used to drink Haagen all the time. To echo sentiments already expressed, "great value for $30". As I was at uni for the past 3 years, this was a nice beer for a good price.

Has anyone ever seen other beers made by Independant Breweries? I remember a couple years ago, for a short while, a local bottle shop used to sell "Regal Lager" and "Blacksmith Bitter". While these were not the nicest beers I had ever tried, they were on par with low quality beers such as West End and the like. Best thing about them was the fact that you could get a carton of 24 x 440ml cans for $26. Fantastic value, for poor quality beer!

Jeremy.

 

[Jazman]

i had it in nz it ok for a swiller better than vb or west end dirt