What Makes Megaswill Just So Crap?

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not me i can't make better beer.. yet.

but just by thinking about it i have certainly tried out more beers and educated myself about taste a lot more. i quickly came to the conclusion i can't afford to drink the commercial beer i really like.

i better get good at making beer. B)
 
not me i can't make better beer.. yet.

but just by thinking about it i have certainly tried out more beers and educated myself about taste a lot more. i quickly came to the conclusion i can't afford to drink the commercial beer i really like.

i better get good at making beer. B)


I agree , but I reckon the most basic homebrew would be better than the big breweries main lines. I used to drink them but now drink the expensive stuff while waiting for my first HB efforts to condition.
I am not looking forward to going to the footy this weekend when megaswill is the only beer on offer.
Drinking coopers stubbies now for $17/half doz, where I used to drink Hahn ice at $30 per 30 can block.

Better stop now. Another of these sparkling ales and I will be talking $hit , hic
 
it's alarming how i'm drinking the same right now. :lol:

it places nicely on the value/flavour/availabilty and effect graph.
 
This thread is v interesting. Firstly, I find the name of it pretty ordinary, and full of generalisation. I am assuming that by the term "megaswill" that Sponge (and others who have replied) implies adjunct lagers.

Adjunct lagers are a style of beer all by themselves, and need to be appreciated as such. The Australian International Beer Awards defines the style "Australian Lager" as follows:

"Australian Style Lagers have low to medium hop bitterness. Hop taste and aroma, if present, should be of low to medium intensity. They are light in colour (less than 15 EBC) and fruity esters (if present) should be low to medium. They have low to medium body, a clean crisp flavour and medium to high carbonation. There should be no diacetyl and no chill haze. Low levels of DMS can be present in pale lagers. Residual malt/sugar sweetness should be low."

When you get a good fresh one, it is a great beer, and I would be happy to drink them in multiples of six. They are all about the careful and subtle integration of ingredients, as are American beers - not very easy beers to brew, and there are a lot of very intelligent people working diligently on their production, with massive R & D budgets. My point - for what they aspire to be, Australian lagers are beers of good quality, and certainly no worse than macrobrewed beers of other nations.

What do you mean by "just so crap"? I think that as brewers we need to avoid such generalisations and actually define the fault, whether it is acetaldehyde, diacetyl, oxidisation or whatever. I don't think any of us, as brewers, would like our beer simply branded as "crap" without further qualification.

Incidentally, I work for a micro, and I often taste our beer out in trade on draught, and it is occasionally quite unrecognisable from the state that it leaves the brewery in. There is some very scary stuff that grows in beer lines out there , and there is little that we can do to control it. We once had a customer accuse us of sending out faulty beer, but when questioned about his cleaning regime, he admitted that his lines hadn't been cleaned with appropriate chemicals for 4-5 months - this is a guy who specialised in serving live beers (which makes it far worse), and took pride in his beer selection. I don't want to think about the average publican who couldn't care about his lines at all.

I was talking to a Dutch bar manager who told me that where he's from, the lines are checked regularly by the food safety people, to ensure good cleaning happens regularly. I think that this is something that K Rudd overlooked in his election campaign - funding for beer line police. You could probably even get a volunteer brigade together.

We, as consumers and producers are at the mercy of publicans. We all understand the fragile nature of beer, and it doesn't take much to ruin a good beer.
 
Evening sponge. I can't comment on their ingredients but I have a bit of a theory about the beers storage properties. The big brewery beers don't appear to travel very well, kegs fair a bit better than smaller glass and aluminium. The beer is probably not to bad when "brewery fresh" as they say in the ads but given the rigors of our weather conditions and transport I think they go down hill very quickly. Have you ever driven past a pub bottlo and noticed pallets of booze sitting in the sun for hours at a time ? I have, and you generally don't have to look to far.

Hi Razz,

Re: storage qualities. If you talk to quality control people who work for the major breweries, you often hear that, as the beer is both filtered and pasteurised, it is at its best the moment it leaves the brewery, and will decline from then on. Past 6 weeks it should not be drunk, though this is not reflected in the use-by-date or they'd be shooting themselves in the foot and not selling any.
Don't know about you people on the mainland, but finding beer less than 6 weeks old in a bottleshop in Tassie is nigh impossible.

MFS.
 
Hi Razz,

Re: storage qualities. If you talk to quality control people who work for the major breweries, you often hear that, as the beer is both filtered and pasteurised, it is at its best the moment it leaves the brewery, and will decline from then on. Past 6 weeks it should not be drunk, though this is not reflected in the use-by-date or they'd be shooting themselves in the foot and not selling any.
Don't know about you people on the mainland, but finding beer less than 6 weeks old in a bottleshop in Tassie is nigh impossible.

MFS.
Thanks MFS. And according to the beer fan/home brewer/part time Cascade tour person, who very kindly showed us around that old brewery last February, you will find their freshest ales being served out of a bar in Salamanca place. But I'm guessing you already know that ! It wasn't you was it ? :D
 
Evening Mr. Brau. What do you do for a living ? Any comments on my theory ?
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=306522
I'm a brewer.

There is an old English saying - "if you can't see the brewery, don't drink the beer!"

There are some very high quality filtered beers that travel in bottles from Europe, across the equator in shipping containers that reach 50degC inside, and arrive in fairly good nick, though.

I just don't believe that there is that much faulty beer out there, aside from the stuff that goes through infected lines - I do think that the style is misunderstood. I am not sure why I am being an advocate for aussie lagers - most micros don't even make them. As a brewer, I am just completely over simplistic statements like "megaswill is just so crap". It doesn't do the industry any good at all.
 
As a brewer, I am just completely over simplistic statements like "megaswill is just so crap". It doesn't do the industry any good at all.

Hey Razz, if i could change the title of the post I would as i didnt actually mean for my thoughts to come across like that. Sorry mate

I was mainly wanting to know if there are any lesser quality ingredients or procedures which are used by the big breweries to give a beer of, not lesser quality, but lesser taste/flavour? (cant think of the right word). And as a few people have mentioned which i never really thought of, but its made that way because thats what sells. They wouldnt be multi million dollar businesses if their product didnt sell. They advertise well, and produce the beer which most australians are happy to be drinking. Not that theyre of lesser quality, just theyre brewed for the aussie palate and they do a dam fine job for 90% of the aussie beer drinkers

Once again, sorry about the post name as I realy dont like it either.


Sponge
 
... I don't think any of us, as brewers, would like our beer simply branded as "crap" without further qualification ...

Excellent point.

It is what it is. I find it hard to believe even the most avid homebrewer would find it hard to finish a whole glass. By even the critic's own admission, it is supposed to be found palatable even by people who don't like beer! It might be unexciting beer, but not distasteful. Bland maybe, but not "awful".
 
I'm a brewer.

There is an old English saying - "if you can't see the brewery, don't drink the beer!"

There are some very high quality filtered beers that travel in bottles from Europe, across the equator in shipping containers that reach 50degC inside, and arrive in fairly good nick, though.

I just don't believe that there is that much faulty beer out there, aside from the stuff that goes through infected lines - I do think that the style is misunderstood. I am not sure why I am being an advocate for aussie lagers - most micros don't even make them. As a brewer, I am just completely over simplistic statements like "megaswill is just so crap". It doesn't do the industry any good at all.
Thanks Mr Brau. I think I know why you're an advocate for Aussie lagers, something to do with being a professional brewer by day and a homebrewer by nights/weekends. Passion.
Thirsty boy shed some light about big breweries for me when he spoke about ingredients earlier in the thread.
Don't regret the post name sponge, I think it's contents have been enlightening. It certainly has bought out peoples thought and feelings about the subject. And now, back to the James Bond movie. Good night all. :D
 
Thanks Mr Brau. I think I know why you're an advocate for Aussie lagers, something to do with being a professional brewer by day and a homebrewer by nights/weekends. Passion.
Thirsty boy shed some light about big breweries for me when he spoke about ingredients earlier in the thread.
Don't regret the post name sponge, I think it's contents have been enlightening. It certainly has bought out peoples thought and feelings about the subject. And now, back to the James Bond movie. Good night all. :D
Actually work for a microbrewery - my weekends are my own. BTW I prefer a good AHB thread than Pierce Brosnan as 007. Sean Connery or even Daniel Craig would kick his arse. Brosnan is a pussy.
 
BTW I prefer a good AHB thread than Pierce Brosnan as 007. Sean Connery or even Daniel Craig would kick his arse. Brosnan is a pussy.

Well said. Sean will always be the greatest bond.
 
As a brewer, I am just completely over simplistic statements like "megaswill is just so crap". It doesn't do the industry any good at all.

That's certainly an important point. I think what this thread (and others like it) reflect is frustrating/disappointment/disillusionment with mainstream beers on the part of new brewers. For many brewers, it's their first time to drink different beers than standard Aussie lagers. After years of drinking one style, they see the variety of beers that there are. (It'd be like eating Maccas every day for years, only to discover there are other kinds of food. :( :icon_vomit: ) It's really no wonder that some think there's a conspiracy that's meant they've missed out on this world of beer. Then, brewers try to spread the word, only to be confronted by friends/family who refuse to admit that other kinds of beer might be tasty (as well). Sure, it's not that there is a conspiracy, sure the beers made by large breweries are very good technically, but it's nice to have more than one kind of beer. :chug:

And well done to you as well, mr brau, for bringing different beers to the market, unless of course your micro only brews light lagers. :lol:
 
Stuster............. i started to post half hour ago and deleted it. I wasnt diplomatic enough but you hit it on the head.

I dont mind most comercial beers........ they are made to fill a market requirement! Its what Aussies have been bred to drink.

So live with it! ITs not going to change.

There will always be the majority that thinks "swill" type beers as we know them are the best beer in the world.

Them bloody poms drink their beers warm and flat! you know the line.

But to be honest.......... i still like going to the club after a hot day for a cold schooey of new........ fresh off the tap!

I have a few and become fatigued and come home and apreciate that i can make better.




We are home brewers!

Make your own, enjoy your own and except the fact that you making a bit of beer in your garage wont change the world......... but you can enjoy what you make with a smile on your face knowing its better.

If its not........ put up with the swill, dont complain and keep working till you get it right!

Thats my 2 bobs worth

cheers
 
beer is beer.
The beer I make is for me and I love it.
I also enjoy Macro brew beers as well.Some are better(more enjoyable) than others, but thats my palate speaking.
some of the most ordinary beers I've had have been from micro's, due to infection or batch variability.These are the things that confront us as homebrewers as well,and I'm sure we are all forgiving in our judgement of our own brews.
mega brewers deliver a consistent product to an enormous market and do it well.
beer is beer.
 
Ok Sean is by far the best bond as he oozes class and style.

Back to the megaswill. It is not crap as I will still often drink it when I go out. Will drink Coopers Pale as my first choice but will also drink what ever is available. What i produce at home is more to my taste with hop aroma and flavour more suited to my taste rather than what others like. My mates like my beer but not enough to start homebrewing as it is so much easier to buy a carton of what they are used to.

The brews that we make are primarilly to suit our own personal tastes. I have seen many posts that have recipes to suit peoples mates for parties but would that be your first choice for yourself.

Beer is all about individual taste. There is no bad beer as long as someone likes it, just personal taste.

I like my beer and am always trying changes as there is no such thing as the perfect beer. Just what we enjoy and are happy to drink.

Cheers, :beer:
Ian
 
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