Supporting Independent Breweries

[manticle]

Why can't we discuss the merits or problems with your Brewery Charity Scheme? Is there a rule on forums that a request made is polar? That we may only either do, or not do?

Products must win buyers on their promise to be better or cheaper than the competition - I see little evidence of the Megaswilleries ousting a beer that deserves to remain on the shelves. The product slips when the buyer is "buying local" not "buying best" - this is socialism, not capitalism. If they "have their market" they give their market swill. This attitude is why we have VB.

LC(PA) got bought because they made a great beer. There are a few others - but we all know them.

Let's have a quick look at the Aussie wine on the shelves of Dans and ask ourselves, "Why is the same not happening (happened) with Aussie beer?" The answer to that question is where you need to focus your beervangelic energies.

Just to make sure you know - I am fully behind your push for maximising variety in our available beer selection - I just think you might be going about it in the worng way.

No I'm afraid you are still missing my point.

IF you see a beer, brewed in AU, that you think has some potential (ie forward thinking), buy a stubby to avoid not ever having any choice beyond squires/LC as our answer to good beer.

Of course you can discuss merits of something realy, really simplistic if it pleases you but at least stick to the point.

I, like you, often avoid AU beers because I've had my fair share of gushers, crap or would just rather buy originals as opposed to imitations. Never tried a good AU dubbel for example and would sooner drink westmalle dubbel than Beechworth.

I'm not talking about supporting AU over import though. I'm talking about making an effort to add an AU to your shopping basket (one bottle) that you don't think is complete rubbish to stop it from getting sunk. If you think it's rubbish, I would in no way encourage you to buy it - rubbish needs to be thrown out.

What I don't want to see is the market dictated to us by the big players - the exact opposite of your slightly naiive summary of what capitalism is (as opposed to what it should be). I quite like what it should be. **** beer at the bottom, good beer at the top. Unfortunately there's a bit more to it.

 

[Nick JD]

I'm talking about making an effort to add an AU to your shopping basket (one bottle) that you don't think is complete rubbish...

Again, I will only do this if it is the best example of the style, or significantly cheaper than the best example.

Pray tell, Mants - what's in your shopping basket in the next 5 shopping trips? I'd like to try your "not rubbish" list, because currently, I've lost the faith to buy any Aussie Micro if there's the archetype of the style at the same price on the shelf above.

 

[pk.sax]

I'd stick a stubble or two of mountain goat hightail ale in my basket every now and then. Duke's my wife's bitter is rather nice. Hargreaves hill esb if can find any. Grand ridge stout and moonshine or whatever it's called if I'm in the mood for that. Murray's angry man or whale ale.

I'd also buy some lc rogers in the hope they keep making that beer.

Haven't been used to tons of choice for some time so my list is rather short. I buy by the singles or 6pack anyway.

 

[tanked84]

Totally agree, mate. I thought I'd try a locally brewed (Yarra Valley if memory serves) hefe last night. Can't recall what it was called, which is a shame 'cos I'd like to save you all the waste of time and money drinking it. At first I thought, "Oh good, they just gave me a bottle and a glass so I can pour it properly." then I tasted it and wished I hadn't spent $9 on a stubbie. Got a Croucher ale of some sort after that and quite enjoyed that. Having said all that, I really support GOOD locally brewed stuff when I find it. I think I paid roughly $90 for a slab of some local ale recently.

I'm assuming your talking about Hargreaves hill hefeweizen from the yarra valley. It costs $4 at Safeway, which is still cheaper than the German ones.
If you paid $9 I'm guessing you got it from a winery or some **** off restaurant.
Of course its not going to be better than the German ones, they have nearly a 1000 years more brewing experience.
In my opinion its not a bad drop, tastes fresher than the imports.
If not disregard this post.

 

[Steve@PMF82]

Yes more :icon_offtopic: BUT FFS

Give me a FRESH, well brewed and handled local beer that may or may not be the worlds greatest example of a " style" (which comes down to individual interpretation of style GUIDELINES) any day of the week over stale imports.

If you have tasted fresh examples of euro beers in or near their country of origin, then you would know that not much of what we get here is any good.
Well handled kegs being an exception.

 

[manticle]

Again, I will only do this if it is the best example of the style, or significantly cheaper than the best example.

OK.

Pray tell, Mants - what's in your shopping basket in the next 5 shopping trips? I'd like to try your "not rubbish" list, because currently, I've lost the faith to buy any Aussie Micro if there's the archetype of the style at the same price on the shelf above.

Pray tell?

Rightio.

Probably a bottle of trois mont, some fullers, a few schloss eggenbrger hopfen konigs and a hawthorn or two. Might chuck in a Jameson's as well - I'll see how I feel on the day.

 

[bruce86]

has the hop hog nick?. i try to grab something new everytime i go to bottlo. (bit strapped for choice here tho) dont usually care bout the style either. You wont know if they have made a great beer if you dont try it.

 

[verysupple]

@Tanked

Yeah you're right it was Hargreaves Hill hefe, I just couldn't remember till someone said it. And yeah, I was at a cocktail bar with friends but didn't feel like a cocktail that early in the evening. I think the funny thing about that beer is that if I thought I was drinking a German style lager it would have been good. But as it's supposted to be a wheat I didn't think much of it because I didn't get any of that nice breadyness from the wheat or that nice sweetness coming through from the pils.

 

[mckenry]

OK, I've had to shoot right to the end on the phone.
Can someone put up a list or link to what is australian owned and independant please?
I've lost track of kirin owning lion owning tooheys owning..... blah blah blah

 

[bruce86]

Not sure if these help mckerney LC isnt on the lion list but i think its just not up to date so could be others missing. (it is wiki)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_(Australasian_company)

http://cub.com.au/beer/



*didnt know knappstein and new norcia were under this mob as well. and leffe BUL

 

[poppa joe]

Just bought a bottle of Hobgoblin...Getting cold..
The Bottle shop in Berry has a massive collection of overseas beers..
Took quite a while to make up my mind which one too buy...
It is worth a look if going through that way..
Cheers
PJ
I put the Tharkstons Old Peculiar back and took the Hobgoblin... :huh:

 

[MHB]

One unstated advantage of supporting the local micro movement and we all should is that it helps us as brewers.
Do you really think there are over 100 different malts and god knows how many different hops available to support the Home Brew market?
These are available to us as home brewers because they are being supplied to craft/micro breweries we just get access.
I well recall when I started AG brewing there were only 5 malts and 1 hop available and even they took a bit of finding, over 20 years ago a bag of Schooner from Adelaide Malting cost me $60+ by the time it arrived we as brewers have never had it so good and a lot of that is down to micro breweries coming on line.

People like Wes Smith and others who started the ball rolling, today there are a bunch of players, but remember that if we dont have a vital and growing craft industry the availability of malt and hops could easily go the other way and as much as we would like to think otherwise home brew cant support the range now on the market.

Try everything available to you, if its good say so (loudly and often) if its got problems tell the brewer, I dont think there is a craft brewer in this country that isnt trying to make the best beer they can, some obviously do a better job than others but they need our support and we need them.
Mark

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

One unstated advantage of supporting the local micro movement and we all should is that it helps us as brewers.
Do you really think there are over 100 different malts and god knows how many different hops available to support the Home Brew market?
These are available to us as home brewers because they are being supplied to craft/micro breweries we just get access.
I well recall when I started AG brewing there were only 5 malts and 1 hop available and even they took a bit of finding, over 20 years ago a bag of Schooner from Adelaide Malting cost me $60+ by the time it arrived we as brewers have never had it so good and a lot of that is down to micro breweries coming on line.

People like Wes Smith and others who started the ball rolling, today there are a bunch of players, but remember that if we dont have a vital and growing craft industry the availability of malt and hops could easily go the other way and as much as we would like to think otherwise home brew cant support the range now on the market.

Try everything available to you, if its good say so (loudly and often) if its got problems tell the brewer, I dont think there is a craft brewer in this country that isnt trying to make the best beer they can, some obviously do a better job than others but they need our support and we need them.
Mark

Great Post.

 

[Rowy]

One unstated advantage of supporting the local micro movement and we all should is that it helps us as brewers.
Do you really think there are over 100 different malts and god knows how many different hops available to support the "Home Brew" market?
These are available to us as home brewers because they are being supplied to craft/micro breweries we just get access.
I well recall when I started AG brewing there were only 5 malts and 1 hop available and even they took a bit of finding, over 20 years ago a bag of Schooner from Adelaide Malting cost me $60+ by the time it arrived we as brewers have never had it so good and a lot of that is down to micro breweries coming on line.

People like Wes Smith and others who started the ball rolling, today there are a bunch of players, but remember that if we don't have a vital and growing craft industry the availability of malt and hops could easily go the other way and as much as we would like to think otherwise home brew can't support the range now on the market.

Try everything available to you, if its good say so (loudly and often) if it's got problems tell the brewer, I don't think there is a craft brewer in this country that isn't trying to make the best beer they can, some obviously do a better job than others but they need our support and we need them.
Mark

And that gentlemen just about kills any argument against. The fors have it. Least ways for me they do!

 

[Nick JD]

One unstated advantage of supporting the local micro movement and we all should is that it helps us as brewers.
Do you really think there are over 100 different malts and god knows how many different hops available to support the Home Brew market?
These are available to us as home brewers because they are being supplied to craft/micro breweries we just get access.
I well recall when I started AG brewing there were only 5 malts and 1 hop available and even they took a bit of finding, over 20 years ago a bag of Schooner from Adelaide Malting cost me $60+ by the time it arrived we as brewers have never had it so good and a lot of that is down to micro breweries coming on line.

People like Wes Smith and others who started the ball rolling, today there are a bunch of players, but remember that if we dont have a vital and growing craft industry the availability of malt and hops could easily go the other way and as much as we would like to think otherwise home brew cant support the range now on the market.

Try everything available to you, if its good say so (loudly and often) if its got problems tell the brewer, I dont think there is a craft brewer in this country that isnt trying to make the best beer they can, some obviously do a better job than others but they need our support and we need them.
Mark

If I don't support Australian Microbreweries I will no longer be able to buy ingredients for making homebrew? :lol: :lol:

 

[MHB]

Nick has it ever occurred to you that every time you post complete **** it devalues everything you have to say?
Clearly you are impervious to any form of argument that doesnt conform to your preconceived ideas, but I believe there are good reasons to support craft brewing and that doing so is mutually beneficial.
Mark

 

[Mike L'Itorus]

Nick has it ever occurred to you that every time you post complete **** it devalues everything you have to say?
Clearly you are impervious to any form of argument that doesn't conform to your preconceived ideas, but I believe there are good reasons to support craft brewing and that doing so is mutually beneficial.
Mark

Ok, it looks like I'll have to take one for the team, and state the obvious:

Nick. Stop being a stupid ****. You're quite possibly the biggest ******* on the internet. Congratulations. You win. Hope it makes you feel big. My 2c, though, is that you need professional help. Ask the shrink to help you with your narcisistic tendancies.

Mods: please dont delete the post in it's entirety. Edit the expletives with hash marks, astrixes, etc....but deleting outright removes context. I presume I'll be suspended on this one, so see you all in a few days/weeks.

 

[np1962]

One unstated advantage of supporting the local micro movement and we all should is that it helps us as brewers.
Do you really think there are over 100 different malts and god knows how many different hops available to support the Home Brew market?
These are available to us as home brewers because they are being supplied to craft/micro breweries we just get access.
I well recall when I started AG brewing there were only 5 malts and 1 hop available and even they took a bit of finding, over 20 years ago a bag of Schooner from Adelaide Malting cost me $60+ by the time it arrived we as brewers have never had it so good and a lot of that is down to micro breweries coming on line.

People like Wes Smith and others who started the ball rolling, today there are a bunch of players, but remember that if we dont have a vital and growing craft industry the availability of malt and hops could easily go the other way and as much as we would like to think otherwise home brew cant support the range now on the market.

Try everything available to you, if its good say so (loudly and often) if its got problems tell the brewer, I dont think there is a craft brewer in this country that isnt trying to make the best beer they can, some obviously do a better job than others but they need our support and we need them.
Mark

Well said MHB

 

[Nick JD]

It's bad internet form to attack the poster when they disagree with your argument.

I will not "support" microbreweries because they have created shops like Craftbrewer - who supply awsome ingredients to the homebrewer. I will support them if they make a great product.

Neither will I support Apple because they invented the tablet computer. I will buy a android-based mobile device because my wallet is not a charity source for commercial enterprises making **** products.

Again - it's bad form to attack the person when you disagree with their post. Attack the post.

 

[Nick JD]

I believe there are good reasons to support craft brewing and that doing so is mutually beneficial.

Support away. Me, I'll support when they make a great beer at a decent price.

At the moment I'm running about and 8:1 ratio on ****:good Aussie Micro beers - and my whole point is I will not support a bad product because the industry has opened up products to homebrewers. That's ******* stupid, and if a product is purchased for reasons other than it being the best value/quality for money ... a moron is buying it.

Supporting products on merit of their industry and not their quality is exactly what happened to the American auto industry.