So last night went out to dinner with the wife and my old man, and as usual there was NOTHING on the list that looked appealing. Dad has kept asking about Heineken though (he hasn't tried it) and whilst it wasn't on the menu, the closest to it was Becks, so I ordered two Becks.
They come out, bottles and glasses, and we pour our own. I try mine, and the flavour fails to wash over me (refer to the recent "homebrew has ruined beer" thread someone else put up!), but it's not bad by any stretch. The old man tries his and says "meh, I'd rather a Carlton Draught". Interesting comparison I think, but think nothing of it.
As we continue to work through it, he keeps making comments about it, and how poor he thinks it is. I'm still confused, cause mine isn't anything outstanding but I wouldn't call it poor - it's just a euro lager. He then picks up his bottle. "oh", he says, "it's brewed by Lion Nathan".
Now, I'd already noticed mine, and it was not a Lion Nathan. The back label was all in French (I know, the beer is German, but trust me here, it was French), and it had an "imported by" sticker on it. His had "imported" on the foil on top, but it was definitely a BUL. So I do a side by side.
His comparison to Carlton Draught was apt. Where the import was a typical euro lager, all pilsner malt, very mild hops, clean, the BUL had that aussie lager harshness to it. It was a lot paler (pretty hard, I know, but it was!), thin. They weren't even close.
Now, I know that the BUL beers will never be the same as the real thing, but they should be at least close. These were not.
The staff were very apologetic. They claimed they only had one slab, and both beers had come from the same slab. I find it very hard to believe
They come out, bottles and glasses, and we pour our own. I try mine, and the flavour fails to wash over me (refer to the recent "homebrew has ruined beer" thread someone else put up!), but it's not bad by any stretch. The old man tries his and says "meh, I'd rather a Carlton Draught". Interesting comparison I think, but think nothing of it.
As we continue to work through it, he keeps making comments about it, and how poor he thinks it is. I'm still confused, cause mine isn't anything outstanding but I wouldn't call it poor - it's just a euro lager. He then picks up his bottle. "oh", he says, "it's brewed by Lion Nathan".
Now, I'd already noticed mine, and it was not a Lion Nathan. The back label was all in French (I know, the beer is German, but trust me here, it was French), and it had an "imported by" sticker on it. His had "imported" on the foil on top, but it was definitely a BUL. So I do a side by side.
His comparison to Carlton Draught was apt. Where the import was a typical euro lager, all pilsner malt, very mild hops, clean, the BUL had that aussie lager harshness to it. It was a lot paler (pretty hard, I know, but it was!), thin. They weren't even close.
Now, I know that the BUL beers will never be the same as the real thing, but they should be at least close. These were not.
The staff were very apologetic. They claimed they only had one slab, and both beers had come from the same slab. I find it very hard to believe