What you drink when you can't drink what you want to drink,

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Handsome Jake

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I'm assuming many of you, being brewers, are enthusiasts and as enthusiasts you'd prefer not to drink the standard swill you'll find in any pub around the country. Eg VB, Tooheys, Carlton, XXXX, etc

My question to you is, if ever you're in a situation where you can't drink one of your favourites - maybe you're broke and can't even afford a midi of your favourite craft beer, maybe you're in an awful pub with a limited range, maybe you're at a party and you've finished your byo stash, - do you substitute for one of the standards on offer or go without?

If so, which one?

At the pub normally I like to try out new stuff or stick with an old (but expensive) favourite. Most of the time I'm too poor and I'll go for a Coopers Pale - a beer I really enjoy, but not exactly phenomenal. When I'm really skint though, I stick with tooheys New.

What about you?
 
Interesting question, I find myself having a wine more now if the beer list is the usual Stella, Boags etc. etc.
 
If any choice of craft then -> Creatures -> Coopers -> Old -> not drink.

Snobbish but the truth.

That said, it is hard to find a pub these days that doesn't have a beer, even in a bottle, that you can't get by with...

Yeah its expensive but good excuse to drink less, spend less and have a chance with swmbo... ;)

Cheers!
 
Fruity Lexia....I just had a flash back to a school social night, not good!
 
Cocko said:
If any choice of craft then -> Creatures -> Coopers -> Old -> not drink.

Snobbish but the truth.

That said, it is hard to find a pub these days that doesn't have a beer, even in a bottle, that you can't get by with...

Yeah its expensive but good excuse to drink less, spend less and have a chance with swmbo... ;)

Cheers!
Pretty much my rule of thumb also.

However, being an avid wine drinker/lover, if the beer selection is piss poor that's always an option, though some situations you just NEED to have a beer, like at a game of Footy...which is the toughest place in the world to get decent beer sadly.
 
What about a wedding etc and its Carlton draught vb or Carlton draught.....
 
Muggus said:
Pretty much my rule of thumb also.

However, being an avid wine drinker/lover, if the beer selection is piss poor that's always an option, though some situations you just NEED to have a beer, like at a game of Footy...which is the toughest place in the world to get decent beer sadly.
True story: Went to Carlton V Crows last weekend at the G and they were serving full strength beers - one of which was Fat Yak! - we were over the moon with that.. but by time we left, I can see why they do not usually serve full strength, lucky I am a happy drunk!

Lets just say, stagering to Flagstaff was a challenge.

:icon_cheers:
 
I normally have a hip flask of single malt on hand for emergencies
 
New_guy said:
What about a wedding etc and its Carlton draught vb or Carlton draught.....
I'd have no choice but to loudly soil my pants in front of everybody and then excuse myself and go home.
 
I go to work functions ocassionally where all that is on offer is Carlton draught. It's free, company's ok, I drink it. Go to a mate's barbecue where there's slabs upon slabs of icy melbournes. It's free, company's good, I drink it.
I know what good beer tastes like, I don't need to prove it to everyone else.
 
manticle said:
I go to work functions ocassionally where all that is on offer is Carlton draught. It's free, company's ok, I drink it. Go to a mate's barbecue where there's slabs upon slabs of icy melbournes. It's free, company's good, I drink it.
I know what good beer tastes like, I don't need to prove it to everyone else.
That's good. That's not what it's about. I only talk about beer to people who are interested in it. I don't make a big fuss if I don't like what they're drinking.

This post is simply about alternatives to what you normally enjoy.
 
+1 with Manticle...often end up on the cans when camping, because it's practical...happy with a draught, Melbourne or Vic in that case.
Otherwise I look for Coopers Pale, Guinness or Little Creatures Pale.
Been to a couple of weddings lately with Coopers as a beer options.

Maybe this is off-topic, but It amazes me how many restaurants in Melbourne have massive wine lists and super-shit beer lists.
Crown/Peroni/Stella/Becks...**** that.
 
manticle said:
I go to work functions ocassionally where all that is on offer is Carlton draught. It's free, company's ok, I drink it. Go to a mate's barbecue where there's slabs upon slabs of icy melbournes. It's free, company's good, I drink it.
I know what good beer tastes like, I don't need to prove it to everyone else.
I like Melbourne Bitter, it's one of those CUB brands (like Reschs Draught) that they haven't fecked over because they don't have a reason to do so. Still has some nice hop character and lacks mouse piss.


Unlike Carlton Draught that was a quite reasonable beer up to the early 1980s.

carlton draught 1.jpg

Then it was withdrawn and reintroduced

carlton draught 2.jpg

Then withdrawn again and eventually made out of beer and whipped horses

carlton draught 3.jpg

And totally ruined in the process

Edit: I have a theory about Carlton Draught, it disappeared in the early 1980s about the same time that CUB decided to position Fosters Lager as a beer on tap. That excercise failed miserably (anyone had a Fosters recently?) and around the same time - 1983 ish - Carlton Draught re-emerged. I remember that instead of the squat neckless CUB stubbies of the day it came out in longneck restaurant style stubbies as a somehow "premium" product, possibly to desperately compensate for the fact that Fosters Lager was now regarded as no longer "premium" after its prostitution.
 
Sorry for OT about Fosters, but do you guys know how Fosters is marketed in the UK?
It's made to look like the most stereotypical Aussie beer you've ever seen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8yKYulIKPo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yulIts8LPLg

I have to hand it to the marketing team, they really do try and put a spin on a piss poor product.

I've been doing some reading about how Australians are offended at the world's impression of Australians as the Fosters swilling, Mick Dundee types, and coming from a country with strong stereotypes (Scotland) I can see where they are coming from, these ads certainly don't help to dampen the stereotypes! I find it very interesting

Anyway, I'll drink anything really. I'm young and poor so $10 jugs of mega-swill taste great if the company's good, and it all tastes the same after about 5 pints for me anyway!
 
New_guy said:
What about a wedding etc and its Carlton draught vb or Carlton draught.....
I've said many times the standard wedding drinks we were offered for ours (those you mention) is like choosing between dog piss or cats piss.... We paid a bit extra and got boags draught which I quite enjoyed in my tight living days, was a tight budget for the wedding and couldn't afford anything more than that though...
I've been on antibiotics for over a month for a severe infection so I haven't had alcohol in that time, I got so desperate I went to woollies and grabbed some low alcohol and zero alcohol to try... The coopers birrel seemed ok, better than nothing right?? The other euro stuff was pretty bad though....
 
Bribie G said:
I like Melbourne Bitter, it's one of those CUB brands (like Reschs Draught) that they haven't fecked over because they don't have a reason to do so. Still has some nice hop character and lacks mouse piss.


Unlike Carlton Draught that was a quite reasonable beer up to the early 1980s.

attachicon.gif
carlton draught 1.jpg




Then it was withdrawn and reintroduced

attachicon.gif
carlton draught 2.jpg

Then withdrawn again and eventually made out of beer and whipped horses

attachicon.gif
carlton draught 3.jpg

And totally ruined in the process

Edit: I have a theory about Carlton Draught, it disappeared in the early 1980s about the same time that CUB decided to position Fosters Lager as a beer on tap. That excercise failed miserably (anyone had a Fosters recently?) and around the same time - 1983 ish - Carlton Draught re-emerged. I remember that instead of the squat neckless CUB stubbies of the day it came out in longneck restaurant style stubbies as a somehow "premium" product, possibly to desperately compensate for the fact that Fosters Lager was now regarded as no longer "premium" after its prostitution.
I absolutely loathe Carlton draught. I'm not a big fan of vb, but is has a time and a place if ice cold, and I don't mind a Melbourne every now and then. But I absolutely cannot drink draught. To me it tastes like carbonated water with a slight chemical taste, and a very slight taste of ciggie ash. Like that taste you get if you drink a stubby with butts in it if by mistake, but diluted by a factor of 100.
 
stakka82 said:
I absolutely loathe Carlton draught. I'm not a big fan of vb, but is has a time and a place if ice cold, and I don't mind a Melbourne every now and then. But I absolutely cannot drink draught. To me it tastes like carbonated water with a slight chemical taste, and a very slight taste of ciggie ash. Like that taste you get if you drink a stubby with butts in it if by mistake, but diluted by a factor of 100.
I'm the same. I can drink a VB if somebody offers me one, but if it's Carlton Draught I'll politely refuse. Haven't actually have a Melbourne because I just assumed it was equally as bad.



jakethesnake559 said:
Maybe this is off-topic, but It amazes me how many restaurants in Melbourne have massive wine lists and super-shit beer lists.
Crown/Peroni/Stella/Becks...**** that.
I've been lucky enough to find places recently with Coopers and Fat Yak. I agree though, those "premium imported" lagers are absolute piss, and just to rub salt in the wound, they're expensive. I rate Beck's among the worst beers I've had the displeasure of trying, and that includes $25/carton ALDI beers.



God damn, I sound bitter.
 
I buy tooheys cans when camping or going to sea.

Most small country pubs round here have only standards on tap, so i'll drink Tooheys Old (Kent Brown where i can get).

Lucky to find a Squire tap or a Yak in some of the bigger pubs. I don't drink stubbies at pubs.
 
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