Megaswill

[Nick JD]

The other day I was drinking a Corona. And then I had a XXXX Bitter. And then a Carlton Draught. All in a row.

Have we become beer snobs to the point where we come to the table with prejudged assumptions?

Do we screw up our faces before we've actually tasted these beers?

I really enjoyed the Corona - much to my horror. For what it is, it's a good beer.

Do we sit at home, sipping our APAs and laughing at the poor sods who think their lager is worth drinking and forget that our beer tastes like a cross between rexona deoderant and pasito softdrink?

Do brewers get carried away with their own SUPERBEERS chocka full of flavours no one wants to taste? Cept the brewer who HAS THE POWER?

Anyway - my Hefeweizen (a girls' beer in Germany) is going down a treat. Last thing I'd expect would be expecting a swill drinker to appreciate the unripe strawberry and banana with bubblegum. Beer for most people shouldn't taste like a lollie shop.

I can't blame them. I'm reasoning these days that they aren't ignorant; we're snobs. If we met our wine counterparts, we'd probably want to shut them up ... with a chair.

 

[keifer33]

I think whether we like it or not we slowly become a bit more snobby every beer we drink. I was trying to explain what I brew to someone and what it tastes like as they hadn't heard of APAs or IPAs and the best I could come up with was a bitter liquid fruit salad that if your not careful smacks you in the face after a few glasses like a women after you've told them their arse looks big in that dress. This was then followed by them offering me one of the Duff Beers their partners Dad had imported which I almost turned down but then saw 'Made in Germany' on the side and it wasn't a bad 'drinking beer' and Ill admit I didnt say no to a second.

I am beginning to like just drinking 'normal' megaswillish beer now and then and when people come round rather than think I NEED to have a beer for them on tap, I am actually enjoying having a simple easy beer that does exactly what its supposed to do on tap because I WANT to.

Saying all that though I am dying for a 10 Min IPA when the days work is over.

 

[Steve@PMF82]

My 0.02 cents.
I still grab the odd mega just to recalibrate and check where i am at.
Last one was the pale VB thing, but other times it can be a Melb Bitter or an imported lager of some sort.
If i dont have much homebrew LC PA or BA are readily available.
To be honest though i much prefer my own beers because i have brewed them the way i want.
Most of my beers are not what i would called heavily hopped, i like the variety of different malts, yeasts and hops all in balance.
I try to keep an open mind trying any beer, but when it comes to most megas i really do not enjoy them and that is the only reason
i really drink at all, to enjoy the beer.

 

[Guysmiley54]

I reckon you're right, but there seems to be a progression for many home brewers.

It seems very popular for first time brewers to become hooked with American Pale Ales and fruity beers in general. After a year or two drinking Rexona(!) the serious home brewer realises that as their experience and ability level grows, it is possible to taste 1st class examples of every beer style ever discovered (or even yet to be invented!).

I started off drowning in Amarillo and Cascade, which I still love, but now am really enjoying english style bitters and brown ales that are more malt focussed than the American beers that originally started my journey. I intend to brew a larger variety of styles as I continue and I also intend to continue to buy a greater variety of beers too, not because I am a snob but because I enjoy it. :icon_cheers:

I see nothing wrong with enjoying mass produced commercial beers. The problem is, the more I learn about beer the harder it is to enjoy a beer that is brewed over gravity with a high percentage of dextrose , watered down, coloured, flavoured and bittered at bottling time....

The other day I was drinking a Corona. And then I had a XXXX Bitter. And then a Carlton Draught. All in a row.

Have we become beer snobs to the point where we come to the table with prejudged assumptions?

Do we screw up our faces before we've actually tasted these beers?

I really enjoyed the Corona - much to my horror. For what it is, it's a good beer.

Do we sit at home, sipping our APAs and laughing at the poor sods who think their lager is worth drinking and forget that our beer tastes like a cross between rexona deoderant and pasito softdrink?

Do brewers get carried away with their own SUPERBEERS chocka full of flavours no one wants to taste? Cept the brewer who HAS THE POWER?

Anyway - my Hefeweizen (a girls' beer in Germany) is going down a treat. Last thing I'd expect would be expecting a swill drinker to appreciate the unripe strawberry and banana with bubblegum. Beer for most people shouldn't taste like a lollie shop.

I can't blame them. I'm reasoning these days that they aren't ignorant; we're snobs. If we met our wine counterparts, we'd probably want to shut them up ... with a chair.

 

[WitWonder]

Here we go again

I drank a couple of James Boag's pils/lager at Xmas time (is this classified as megaswill?) and really quite enjoyed the subtle hops and pils malt character. My house beer is an AIPA and if you don't like it, I don't care. "I brew beer for me". For me, it's about educating people that not all homebrew tastes like ass, which I think is the common misconception so I do like to brew crossover type beers for the great unwashed to take to a function of some sorts so at least, hopefully, you can change people's perception of what we do. "Oh, you make homebrew" (Poor fella, can't afford to buy the good stuff *snigger*).

 

[Rowy]

I just put down my 5th AG today and was thinking exactly about this. I had about 6 schooners of XXXX on Christmas eve with a couple of mates at the local club. It used to be my beer of choice but hadn't had one for about 4 months. Bland was the first thing that came to mind but still didn't mind it all the same. If being a beer snob is enjoying nice beers and also having the ability to make some of your own then maybe we're all beer snobs. For me I'm at the begining of a journey and I intend for at least 2yrs not make the same beer twice! When I do venture to the pub / club / bar I intend to be a lot more adventurous and try different things I see trying different commercial beers as being part of the hobby as well. Anyway my 2 cents worth.

 

[Batz]

Believe me I've tasted a few beers from so called beer snobs who would never dink a XXXX bitter or gold. Sad because I would often have preferred one compared to the crap they brewed.

No it not one of my mates here ok? :blink: In fact I can't even remember who they are/were. h34r:

 

[sama]

I just cant stand vb or tooheys new,theres some dirty taste that smacks me first mouthful..people put down por hops,but it aint the culprit,i use por flowers at home and tastes great.sadly most of my locals serve the above and thats it.but i dont mind a squires if they got it or a coopers definetly.it all depends what you define as megaswill i suppose...a paulaner at the snitzellhaus yum..is that megaswill?

 

[nifty]

When i first started brewing, my beers, in my mind, were the best and megaswill was crap. I think we all go through this when we first start making our own beer.

All of a sudden we have this flavour explosion and we have this urge to tell everyone about how good it is and swear off the commercial crap forever. Some brewers never come down from that experience and never go back, in fact they would rather go without a beer than have a megaswill, but others see that some megaswill is not that bad and a well made and consistant beer is ok to drink if you are out and there is nothing else available.

For me it started a few years after I went to all grain. I was in a small town near Yass and my wife and I went to the local Golf Club for dinner. They had 3 beers on tap - some sort of light, 4x gold and VB. It had been a long day and after a bit of deliberation (about 2 seconds) I had a vb, and it was the best beer I had all day. As were the 5 or 6 that followed it. My missus had a bit of a laugh at that after all the crap I used to put on the commercial brews.

After that, I've really come to appreciate some of the commercial efforts, although having said that, at my work xmas party the other week, some prick decided to pour some pure blonde into my fat yak. I nearly smacked him down.

Anyway, they're not all bad.

cheers

nifty

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Nah were not snobs mega swill is just what we grew up with then found something much much better with homebrew made from fine ingredients. I drank about a 6 pack of super dry the other night and im still coping with a fuckn headache. Never had a headache the next day with homebrew.

 

[ekul]

Since i've started brewing i think i actually appreciate the megaswills MORE. I taste them when i drink them, whereas before i started brewing (properly) i thought they tasted like utter shit, and wouldn't drink them. Coopers was my staple and everypayday i'd go pick up something different from the bottlo

 

[sama]

The caravan park i just went to 1000kms up north,the tapwater tasted like shit..im use to my filtered water at home..the locals called me a water snob,it tastes fine they said...

 

[pk.sax]

Nah were not snobs mega swill is just what we grew up with then found something much much better with homebrew made from fine ingredients. I drank about a 6 pack of super dry the other night and im still coping with a fuckn headache. Never had a headache the next day with homebrew.

That. + I find it very difficult to get pissed on them. Also, a few - Boags draught and 4x gold have made me want to spew. 4x more than the Boags.
I really hate going to sleep with a few litres of swill in me and still being able to think. And wake up with a headache for a bonus. I don't really know if coronas give hangovers, they're so bland that I switch to something stronger after 3-4.
VB is quite OK to me at the right temp and unabused like the avg carton is. It's not great but it passes. Had a can of Carlton draught last year's Christmas for a dare, glugged warm. It was quite tolerable. I wouldn't repeat that though.

 

[Batz]

the tapwater tasted like shit..im use to my filtered water at home..the locals called me a water snob,it tastes fine they said...

They say that in Adelaide too.

 

[sama]

They say that in Adelaide too.

they reckoned it was good that they could fill there pools and even without treatment nothing would grow in it

 

[bum]

The label others apply to you, or those you choose to apply to yourself, greatly effect the value you should ascribe to your own preferences.

Sometimes I really I hate you, AHB.

 

[Fish13]

I agree nick but the worst i think is we judge our own beers worse. we tolerate them but will never brew it again.

I can not stand teds, instant headache. hahn premium light is my beer batter ingredient and same with cascade.

I just had one of jimboley's kick ass stout and was thinking i maybe going to be dissapointed due to the pour head retention but damn its a nice drop! more drinkable then a coopers BES.

I enjoy toohey's old my poision and i tend to try to replicate it and i havent even come close. must try harder.

 

[Murcluf]

had a de-snobbery moment in Cootamundra where I tried Resch Pils, Toohey's Red and Old. I quite enjoyed both the Red and Old and now would call them my choice swill beers, if only I could get them in SA unfortunately we only get TEDs and New here

 

[Filby]

They say that in Adelaide too.

We would never say it tastes good.

 

[Muscovy_333]

Always try to keep an open mind to avoid the snobbery. Every beer/wine serves a purpose for someone at some time.

Funny enough, sunk a couple of Timothy Taylor Landlord Ales this arvo while 'mashing in' and was expecting a bit more...... it sure was bright though!
It kind of reminded me of a slightly more complex CPA with a bit less yeastiness and a bit more bitterness. Mind you i was not tasting them together.