Mid Strength Craft Beer - Can You Dig It?

[chrisluki]

Hey guys

I have been working on this article for a few weeks now. I am pretty passionate about MSCB and wanted to know if others shared my passion.

I spoke to quite few brewers and beer marketers in the lead up to this...thanks to all of them for letting me pester them.

Are you guys interested in MSCB, or do you drink a 4XG or CMID if the occasion requires it?

Anyway, as usual, would love to hear your thoughts, and thanks for your support!

Article Link

Cheers

Chris

 

[Mardoo]

I don't tend to drink acronyms, as they get stuck in my throat , but a solid middy allows me to drink beer as a beverage, and leave the flavourful drinking to the higher strength beers. My usual mid is Cooper's, and I'm on the lookout for the craft one that blows my mind, but haven't yet found anything value-for-dollar that I like as much.

I should say that I have a distinction between drinkin' beers and enjoyin' beers. I used to drink Red White and Blue, 3.2%, in the States. Loved it, $3 a sixer, great for pounding while I ****** up the brake job on my car and was sober enough to recognise that I shouldn't quit my day job to become a mechanic. It's not that I don't enjoy the drinkin' beers, it's just that there are different standards of enjoyment, of which I have many.

I like the feeling of drinking beer, but I don't enjoy being constantly pissed. I checked it out, but no. So a drinkin' beer holds a place of high esteem for me. Something I can enjoy the pleasure that sparkly fluid being poured down my throat-hole can bring, and still work out where that ******* vacuum leak is coming from. I love beer more than I like being drunk, so a middy is essential.

So yes, I love MSCB, but I have yet to find one value-for-dollar that I like as much as Cooper's mid. Which MartinOC introduced me to, BTW. There are fantastic ones, but paying $20 a six for a mid is not within my budget. If I had the cash, I would pay it, just like I would buy the Lambo. The 1962 Lambo, that is.

 

[Brownsworthy]

I won't touch 4x gold or any of that other piss weak tasting crap I don't mind coopers mid, pirate life throwback, little bling, founders all day ipa and LC rogers aint bad either.

My only issue is price if a slab of PL throwback was the same as a slab of 4x gold I'd drink it all the time.

 

[Mardoo]

Agreed. And Rogers is a damn fine beer.

 

[clickeral]

I had a small ale as part of my advent calendar on Sat and while of love the can design the aftertaste of the beer left something to be desired :s at the end of the day personally Im not worried about the abv as long as it is balanced with the beer taste.

I have had bigger beers which I am like this is amazing but being 12% takes away from the flavour because its too boozy if that makes sense

Everyone to there own of course

 

[chrisluki]

I don't tend to drink acronyms, as they get stuck in my throat , but a solid middy allows me to drink beer as a beverage, and leave the flavourful drinking to the higher strength beers. My usual mid is Cooper's, and I'm on the lookout for the craft one that blows my mind, but haven't yet found anything value-for-dollar that I like as much.

I should say that I have a distinction between drinkin' beers and enjoyin' beers. I used to drink Red White and Blue, 3.2%, in the States. Loved it, $3 a sixer, great for pounding while I ****** up the brake job on my car and was sober enough to recognise that I shouldn't quit my day job to become a mechanic. It's not that I don't enjoy the drinkin' beers, it's just that there are different standards of enjoyment, of which I have many.

I like the feeling of drinking beer, but I don't enjoy being constantly pissed. I checked it out, but no. So a drinkin' beer holds a place of high esteem for me. Something I can enjoy the pleasure that sparkly fluid being poured down my throat-hole can bring, and still work out where that ******* vacuum leak is coming from. I love beer more than I like being drunk, so a middy is essential.

So yes, I love MSCB, but I have yet to find one value-for-dollar that I like as much as Cooper's mid. Which MartinOC introduced me to, BTW. There are fantastic ones, but paying $20 a six for a mid is not within my budget. If I had the cash, I would pay it, just like I would buy the Lambo. The 1962 Lambo, that is.

Thanks for the reply...we actually think along similar lines!!

 

[chrisluki]

I won't touch 4x gold or any of that other piss weak tasting crap I don't mind coopers mid, pirate life throwback, little bling, founders all day ipa and LC rogers aint bad either.

My only issue is price if a slab of PL throwback was the same as a slab of 4x gold I'd drink it all the time.

I love All Day IPA!

 

[chrisluki]

I had a small ale as part of my advent calendar on Sat and while of love the can design the aftertaste of the beer left something to be desired :s at the end of the day personally Im not worried about the abv as long as it is balanced with the beer taste.

I have had bigger beers which I am like this is amazing but being 12% takes away from the flavour because its too boozy if that makes sense

Everyone to there own of course

Give Small Ale a second chance...it will grow on you!

 

[GalBrew]

Any beer you get in a hamper or part of an advent calendar has likely not been treated well. I got a beer hamper a while back and all the beers tasted poorly.

Anyhow Ballast Point has a very nice session IPA you can get at Dan's.

 

[damoninja]

Ask me this time of year I'll say yes
Ask me again in June I'll say no



I do need to get myself a good mid strength crafty in my arsenal, every time I think "Oh that'd be a good idea" I accidentally end up with something that's 6% and full of hops.

 

[Coodgee]

It's actually something that's been on my mind for a while. I'm from North Queensland where "everyone" drinks XXXX Gold. I still enjoy the occasional one myself. Up there if you drink "heavy" beers (anything full strength or around 5%) people think you must be a bit of a piss head. It's a bit of a right of passage that young fellas start off drinking heavies and then graduate to golds when they get sick of the hangovers and making a **** of oneself. It's pretty easy to go out for a night and get stuck into a few big IPAs on an empty stomach and end up really pissed in no time. So I've been working just recently on a stable of mid-strength beers, especially over this xmas period. So far I have my Rogers-y beer that I have brewed twice now and I think I'll make it the house midstrength. But I've also been working on a mid strength wheat that I want to brew next week. maybe even make it a sub 3% light beer. That would be a true summer quaffer.

 

[clickeral]

Mid strength has quite a following in NZ now since the driving laws changed in regards to the amount of alcohol your allowed in your system, people are able to drink the same amount as they used to (liquid wise) without the same effect

 

[Phoney]

Is mid-strength a strictly Aus/NZ term? I havent seen it used anywhere else...

I always thought there was light, which is anything under 3.5%ABV and then heavy or standard was above. But then Bud Light and Coors light *shudder* are roughly 4% ABV...that would just be marketing I suppose. UK Milds are what, 3 - 3.5% and American Milds are I think the same but with US hops.

 

[Yob]

I 'might' * consider drinking more of them if the price point was reflective of the malt/hop bill that went into them.. everything gets reduced (maybe volume increase?) except for the price point.

nobody seems to have brought out a session RIS yet oddly enough... well except for me of course...

* = probably not

 

[Dave70]

Mid strength seems to knock out my vasopression hormone extremely early in the piece for some reason. Thus, I start pissing like a racehorse.
So I get all the annoyance of frequent urination coupled with a kind of sleepy dregged out feeling. Then I begin drinking them at twice the rate, somewhat negating the point of the low ABV exercise.
There are some nice ones around, but as noted by a previous caller, they ask about the same coin for it. I dont like paying for premium 98 and getting E85.

I really only buy it if its attractively packaged and new looking, and even then, only as a segue into the 4 - 5% happy zone.

 

[damoninja]

nobody seems to have brought out a session RIS yet oddly enough... well except for me of course...

If you have a session on it then why not?

 

[tugger]

I had a crack at releasing a mscb last year. It was a total failure as we saw.
I'm now in the process of securing branding for the next attempt.
I believe there is a gap in the mass market for a hoppy craft mid strength.

 

[Ross]

I 'might' * consider drinking more of them if the price point was reflective of the malt/hop bill that went into them.. everything gets reduced (maybe volume increase?) except for the price point.

nobody seems to have brought out a session RIS yet oddly enough... well except for me of course...

* = probably not

We have & it's a cracker... Usually 3.0% the current batch crept up to 3.2%

https://bbrewing.myshopify.com/collections/dark-ales/products/bot723

 

[damoninja]

I believe there is a gap in the mass market for a hoppy craft mid strength.

I was thinking a hoppy rye pale h34r: h34r:

 

[mongey]

In theory like the idea.

For example I was going to grab a 6 pack of the new pirate life one over the weekend for a BBQ and it was only $1 less than their full strength IPA. Why would I ?