Home Brew Shops

[blackbock]

Was speaking to a HBS operator (...) about the new range of Brewer's Selection Fresh Worts he had in stock. When asking him about the "Amarillo Ale" he told me it was "supposed to be like a Blue Tongue Lager"

I found this quite disturbing! Please somebody tell me this is utter %$%&^W!

 

[Gerard_M]

Was speaking to a LHBS operator (Albion Park) about the new range of Brewer's Selection Fresh Worts he had in stock. When asking him about the "Amarillo Ale" he told me it was "supposed to be like a Blue Tongue Lager"

I found this quite disturbing! Please somebody tell me this is utter %$%&^W!

Very disturbing. The Amarillo Ale is a great drop. If I were to compare it to a commercial beer I would say something along the lines of a James Squire Golden Ale.
I am sending an updated list of our current styles & their comparable commercial beers to all of our stockist in this weeks e-newsletter.
Cheers
Gerard

 

[tangent]

maybe if you add too much water...
edit - and add that horrible dry enzyme...
it could get close

 

[Pumpy]

Very disturbing. The Amarillo Ale is a great drop. If I were to compare it to a commercial beer I would say something along the lines of a James Squire Golden Ale.
I am sending an updated list of our current styles & their comparable commercial beers to all of our stockist in this weeks e-newsletter.
Cheers
Gerard

I had some of the Brewers Selection Amarillo ale at Frankos nice drop .

if you ferment any beer too high temp you can wreck it .

pumpy

 

[Franko]

Let me tell you Ive sampled quite a few of the "Brewers Selection" cubes and all have been sensational.

Its a credit to you Gerard keep up the great work

Franko

 

[dr K]

Given that the Blue Tongue Pilsener (to my tongue) uses Amarillo and Saaz (happy to be proven otherwise) then your Local may not have been so far off the mark.
When I wander into my local Audi shop to buy and A3 or an A4 I do not expect that the guy (or girl) who is selling it to me knows how to build it or even strip it down, nor do I expect that the owner of the business will either.
A good LHBS is there providing a service to you, his customer. You would expect that he has some product knowledge of kits and such and if you are lucky much more, but its not a given.
If you think that you have outgrown him then by all means shop elsewhere..but please do not knock him.

K

 

[Adamt]

I sort of see your point Dr K, but question the validity of comparing HBSs with car dealerships. A much better comparison for beer with car dealerships are bottle shops. They sell the beer but don't know much about it. HBSs sell the equipment/ingredients to make beer. If you went to an auto-parts store would you expect the staff to know nothing about how cars work?

Theres enough information on the internet/in the libraries about beer and brewing that HBS owners/workers have no excuse to have a little scope on how beer is brewed in the big picture.\

My 2 cents.

 

[tangent]

adamt just shot that analogy zeppelin down...

 

[blackbock]

A good LHBS is there providing a service to you, his customer. You would expect that he has some product knowledge of kits and such and if you are lucky much more, but its not a given.
If you think that you have outgrown him then by all means shop elsewhere..but please do not knock him.

K

Kurtz,

the very least that I expect from any salesperson is that if they don't know about something, they tell me so outright, and not make something up! I would go back there again, because he seemed like a nice guy, but I still think it was an amusing story to tell!

 

[user 384]

When asking him about the "Amarillo Ale" he told me it was "supposed to be like a Blue Tongue Lager"

Given that the Blue Tongue Pilsener (to my tongue) uses Amarillo and Saaz (happy to be proven otherwise) then your Local may not have been so far off the mark.

Bluetongue Pilsner, yes. Bluetongue Lager, no.

Their website states for the Lager , "Hops selected from Tasmania's best are suplemented with the more austere flavoured and reisonous hops that are imported from Europe especially for the Bluetongue Brewery". I'd take a punt and say that Saaz are likely to be the European hops they refer to, but the Tasmanian hops is probably PoR.

For the Pilsner, the website states that they use imported Amarillo and Saaz.

So Kurtz is both wrong and right all at the same time.

Cheers
MAH

 

[dr K]

So Kurtz is both wrong and right all at the same time.

Kurtz is many things at the same time !!!
You are certainly correct Blue Tongue does label a product Lager, and another Pilsener (in the green ), which I think is a decent beer, even with the Amarillo !!!!!
I guess what needs to be pushed is (surprise left field comment from Kurtz) is Education....shock horror etc but the Education really needs to come from the bottle shop as well, or indeed primarily.
I can walk into any bottle shop and buy a beer that is just like VB, or LCPA or Hoegaarden, it even says so on the label!! My local bottle shops are crowded with fresh(ish) examples of possibly hundreds of beers and as I do not suffer from MSP I have tasted (often critically) a decent proportion of them but then I am not the average punter who would really like some good advice (pre-checkout) about some of these beers..trust me, it will and is happening.
Most LHBS have a good knowledge of what they are selling (the one's with various glass smoking accessories perhaps not), and lets face it, without them our hobby would not exist and as such I support them sometimes too much, but I am equally aware that as the public punters beer appreciation increases which it is, and as that percentage of punters (small perhaps in percent but large in numbers) decide to dabble in brewing then the shelf kit with 20gms of cascade really aint gunna cut the mustard.
Brewing here will continue to grow, Education and eradication of MSP will see us through !!

Kurtz

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I just found this thread and it's very interesting indeed.

In the pursuit of K&K goodness, the supermarkets were usually the best place because they're cheap and have turnover.

I've been to a place in Richmond (which I believe to be part of a chain) a couple of times to get stuff and found that their knowledge is solid, but basic and almost solely focussed on their own product. Their prices are probably excessive for the value add. For me, it's good for the emergency purchase.

The place in Yarraville is good. Their prices are sometimes competitive with the One True Craft Brew Supplier and they are *usually* friendly and helpful.

I've been meaning to visit the place in Greensborough as my parents live out there, but it really is out in the middle of nowhere...

 

[therook]

I've been meaning to visit the place in Greensborough as my parents live out there, but it really is out in the middle of nowhere... biggrin.gif

middle of nowhere, try living 90 minutes from G&G in yarraville and its the closest HB shop for me

you city folk call a 10 km drive a long way

rook

 

[Lukes]

middle of nowhere, try living 90 minutes from G&G in yarraville and its the closest HB shop for me

you city folk call a 10 km drive a long way

rook

They have a fridge full of "travelers" these day's so it makes the trip over more worth while. :chug:

- Luke

 

[T.D.]

For the Pilsner, the website states that they use imported Amarillo and Saaz.

I have seen several references to the pils having amarillo in it, but I am buggered if I can ever taste it. I would guess its in pretty minimal quantities, potentially just to say they are using the hop given its almost cult status among craft brewers at the moment.

I've got a bottle of it in the fridge actually so I will have another go at detecting it. Not holding my breath though!

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Cool, I rang the only good HBS in town today and said "Hey, I know you are going to ****'s place after work today. Any chance you could bring along 5kg of cracked Pilsener and a bag of US-56?"

His answer? "Absolutely, anytime!" :super:

Now that's service :beerbang:

PZ.

 

[mikem108]

P.Z
You obviously live in a part of Australia where people still give a rats!