Has Lcpa Changed?

[surly]

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.

 

[Adamt]

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

 

[Pumpy]

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

 

[QldKev]

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

QldKev

 

[benny_bjc]

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.

 

[Barramundi]

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

 

[NeilArge]

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

 

[QldKev]

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

 

[Brad Sofield]

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:

 

[Brewer_010]

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....

 

[benny_bjc]

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.

 

[HoppingMad]

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.

 

[glaab]

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

 

[paul]

Have a read of this thread:

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

 

[.DJ.]

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

 

[Ronin]

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

 

[Brad Sofield]

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

 

[Snowdog]

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.

 

[dent]

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.

 

[petesbrew]

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.