Beer at home

mfin

I don't worry about how other people drink their beer in their house, I can't think how it would affect me.

mr_goo

itboffin wrote:

Mr Goo wrote:

Always from a glass.
I try to avoid the beers from major brewers. Ringwood brewery now turning out utter rubbish since Marstons acquired them. Doombar from Sharps now poor since Coors bought them out and now brewed in Button on Trent.
Good indy breweries in the Sarf.
Flack Manor
Andwells
Vibrant Forest
Hopback
Dorset Brewing
Palmers
Piddle

If you can find a supplier get thee any of the might fine range from Ramsbury, I'm lucky enough to live in the area so everywhere including Waitrose and Tesco stocks, plus I'm able to pop into their brewery to collect.

https://www.ramsburyestates.co.uk/

TIDY

http://www.thebellramsbury.com/

NOM

Thanks for the heads up. New ones for me to try.

surfercyclist

Well Saturday afternoon I had a BBQ in my garden and I indulged in a couple of cans of ice cold San Miguel decantd into a glass and rather splendid it was too. Especially followed by several glasses of vino collapso...

rolf_f

bobmcstuff wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

SurferCyclist wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Beer in a can? Why would you?!

You don't, you pour it in a glass....

No, you leave it in the shop and buy beer in a bottle instead!

Plenty of good beers available in cans now.

Hops are affected by sunlight and cans protect better against that. They also chill down quicker in the fridge.

For example one of the best reviewed craft brewers in the country (Cloudwater) is almost exclusively in cans apart from a few specials.

But if you chill it much then you won't taste the hops or anything else anyway!

Incidentally, a favourite of mine, bottle or cask, is Yorkshire Legend by Helmsley Brewery. Often pop in to the Brewery Tap after a trip to the Duke of Burgundies at Hawnby and time and again they serve it far too cold. Ruins it. Haven't found a pub anywhere else that currently sells it either. The name isn't conducive to a conclusive search either!

bobmcstuff

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

SurferCyclist wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Beer in a can? Why would you?!

You don't, you pour it in a glass....

No, you leave it in the shop and buy beer in a bottle instead!

Plenty of good beers available in cans now.

Hops are affected by sunlight and cans protect better against that. They also chill down quicker in the fridge.

For example one of the best reviewed craft brewers in the country (Cloudwater) is almost exclusively in cans apart from a few specials.

But if you chill it much then you won't taste the hops or anything else anyway!

Incidentally, a favourite of mine, bottle or cask, is Yorkshire Legend by Helmsley Brewery. Often pop in to the Brewery Tap after a trip to the Duke of Burgundies at Hawnby and time and again they serve it far too cold. Ruins it. Haven't found a pub anywhere else that currently sells it either. The name isn't conducive to a conclusive search either!

Not a craft beer drinker then.

tyke999

eric draven wrote:

Tyke999 wrote:

usually with mates under the bypass.....or in a glass ...usually Woodfordes Wherry , Adnams Broadside,,,,,Moongazer....or if available - Macewans Champion

---

fight in a bottle !!!

McEwans Champion tried that last year but wasn't for me don't think i finished it either,I used to like their Export for home drinking,and would enjoy a pint of their 80 shilling my old local 20 odd years ago

two - chilled bottles - is enough for me...:)

DeVlaeminck

I'm quite enjoying Hobgoblin (not the gold so much) recently - very cheap from Aldi or Lidl (maybe both - my other half tends to shop there more than me) too. Also rediscovered Bass - though I think that's just a personal thing as it was the drink of choice locally when I was a teenager.

rolf_f

bobmcstuff wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

SurferCyclist wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Beer in a can? Why would you?!

You don't, you pour it in a glass....

No, you leave it in the shop and buy beer in a bottle instead!

Plenty of good beers available in cans now.

Hops are affected by sunlight and cans protect better against that. They also chill down quicker in the fridge.

For example one of the best reviewed craft brewers in the country (Cloudwater) is almost exclusively in cans apart from a few specials.

But if you chill it much then you won't taste the hops or anything else anyway!

Incidentally, a favourite of mine, bottle or cask, is Yorkshire Legend by Helmsley Brewery. Often pop in to the Brewery Tap after a trip to the Duke of Burgundies at Hawnby and time and again they serve it far too cold. Ruins it. Haven't found a pub anywhere else that currently sells it either. The name isn't conducive to a conclusive search either!

Not a craft beer drinker then.

Just someone who likes beer warm enough so that you can taste it! Don't get me wrong, very chilled beer can be nice on a hot day but we don't get many of those.

I think that ultimately cans are an unpleasant thing - just opening them is unappealing and I don't associate them with a quality product. That's not to say that I don't get that things have moved forward with them but I've yet to actually see what the advantage a can has over a bottle that makes up for its disadvantages if you see what I mean.

rjsterry

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

SurferCyclist wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Beer in a can? Why would you?!

You don't, you pour it in a glass....

No, you leave it in the shop and buy beer in a bottle instead!

Plenty of good beers available in cans now.

Hops are affected by sunlight and cans protect better against that. They also chill down quicker in the fridge.

For example one of the best reviewed craft brewers in the country (Cloudwater) is almost exclusively in cans apart from a few specials.

But if you chill it much then you won't taste the hops or anything else anyway!

Incidentally, a favourite of mine, bottle or cask, is Yorkshire Legend by Helmsley Brewery. Often pop in to the Brewery Tap after a trip to the Duke of Burgundies at Hawnby and time and again they serve it far too cold. Ruins it. Haven't found a pub anywhere else that currently sells it either. The name isn't conducive to a conclusive search either!

Not a craft beer drinker then.

Just someone who likes beer warm enough so that you can taste it! Don't get me wrong, very chilled beer can be nice on a hot day but we don't get many of those.

I think that ultimately cans are an unpleasant thing - just opening them is unappealing and I don't associate them with a quality product. That's not to say that I don't get that things have moved forward with them but I've yet to actually see what the advantage a can has over a bottle that makes up for its disadvantages if you see what I mean.

Cheaper to make, transport and probably to recycle than glass. Benefits to the producer, rather than the consumer.

bobmcstuff

I disagree that the benefits sit exclusively with the producer.

Canning lines are expensive, for most small brewers it's much cheaper to bottle. Small (generally "craft") brewers who prefer to can aren't doing it for cost reasons (big brewers, sure, but they have more economies of scale with their canning lines).

Cheaper (less carbon intensive) to transport and easier to recycle don't only help the brewer - they're societal benefits.

If you only drink real ales then it's hard for me to argue why colder beers might be better in some cases - a nice big IPA or imperial stout will be better cold (but not super cold). It alters the flavour profile for sure but doesn't destroy it, and some beers work better like that.

Don't get me wrong, I'd never recommend chilling a nice ESB or best for example, but it is appropriate for other styles.

rolf_f

bobmcstuff wrote:

Cheaper (less carbon intensive) to transport and easier to recycle don't only help the brewer - they're societal benefits.

Good point - but from what I can tell the eco advantage of cans over bottles only applies if the cans are actually made of recycled aluminium in the first place. Which obviously there is no excuse for them not to be but that doesn't mean that they are!

pinno

What? Not another alcofrol thread :roll:

rjsterry

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Cheaper (less carbon intensive) to transport and easier to recycle don't only help the brewer - they're societal benefits.

Good point - but from what I can tell the eco advantage of cans over bottles only applies if the cans are actually made of recycled aluminium in the first place. Which obviously there is no excuse for them not to be but that doesn't mean that they are!

Aluminium is the most recycled packaging material. But a lot still ends up in landfill.

pinno

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Cheaper (less carbon intensive) to transport and easier to recycle don't only help the brewer - they're societal benefits.

Good point - but from what I can tell the eco advantage of cans over bottles only applies if the cans are actually made of recycled aluminium in the first place. Which obviously there is no excuse for them not to be but that doesn't mean that they are!

Both Alu cans and steel cans are recyclable*. Bottles are recyclable. There's less incentive to recycle steel cans as they are worth very little and they have a coating which has to be removed before smelting.
There is a finite number of times you can recycle steel and as you get through the number of times you recycle it, you have to add more new ore to it for it to remain both 'mild' and malleable, which is why there will always be a demand for steel. Alu has been 'recycled' since the 1920's and can be re-smelted again and again.
Alu has a lower melting point than steel (less energy).
Besides, it's all about infrastructure. If it's there, then the cost is much less then when the infrastructure is lacking.
I would argue that producers be obligated into making (drinks) cans from Alu.
Tennent's made the switch to Alu in the time I was recycling cans. Some Coca Cola is canned in steel, most Alu. McEwans made the switch too.
Carling is steel for example.

Carlsberg special brew should really be the preferred drink of gentleman alcoholics and tramps as it's in an Alu can.

Bottles are heavy. 90% of recycled glass goes into aggregates - tarmac and concrete! It's inert and stable.
It always made me giggle when people diligently placed the glass into the correct colour aperture.
1 coloured bottle can contaminate 1000 clear one's. It requires much better SAS (separation at source) for it to be viable for re-use as food/drinks use, unless the bottlers want Brown.

[*I did this for 12 years ]

rolf_f

Pinno wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Cheaper (less carbon intensive) to transport and easier to recycle don't only help the brewer - they're societal benefits.

Good point - but from what I can tell the eco advantage of cans over bottles only applies if the cans are actually made of recycled aluminium in the first place. Which obviously there is no excuse for them not to be but that doesn't mean that they are!

Both Alu cans and steel cans are recyclable*. Bottles are recyclable. There's less incentive to recycle steel cans as they are worth very little and they have a coating which has to be removed before smelting.
There is a finite number of times you can recycle steel and as you get through the number of times you recycle it, you have to add more new ore to it for it to remain both 'mild' and malleable, which is why there will always be a demand for steel. Alu has been 'recycled' since the 1920's and can be re-smelted again and again.
Alu has a lower melting point than steel (less energy).
Besides, it's all about infrastructure. If it's there, then the cost is much less then when the infrastructure is lacking.
I would argue that producers be obligated into making (drinks) cans from Alu.
Tennent's made the switch to Alu in the time I was recycling cans. Some Coca Cola is canned in steel, most Alu. McEwans made the switch too.
Carling is steel for example.

Carlsberg special brew should really be the preferred drink of gentleman alcoholics and tramps as it's in an Alu can.

Bottles are heavy. 90% of recycled glass goes into aggregates - tarmac and concrete! It's inert and stable.
It always made me giggle when people diligently placed the glass into the correct colour aperture.
1 coloured bottle can contaminate 1000 clear one's. It requires much better SAS (separation at source) for it to be viable for re-use as food/drinks use, unless the bottlers want Brown.

[*I did this for 12 years ]

It's not about what can be done but what is done. If the brewer buys cans made from un-recycled aluminium then those benefits are not being achieved. We have a long way to go but hopefully the tide is turning.

pinno

Rolf F wrote:

If the brewer buys cans made from un-recycled aluminium...

There really isn't any distinction.
Alu is smelted and mixed with new ore. Global Alu prices are really deflated.
Recycled Alu smelted down has 0 molecular differences with new.

Ore is yielding less though, in the long term. In the 70's, 1700kg's of Bauxite would yield 1 ton of Alu. Now, we are up to over 2600 kg's to produce 1 ton of Alu.

shaun1961

If it's lager then it's straight out of the bottle. Beer then it as to be a glass.

awavey

Shaun1961 wrote:

If it's lager then it's straight out of the bottle. Beer then it as to be a glass.

that can be a bad idea if theyve designed it with one of those nucleation glasses in mind, as it will be as flat as a pancake and taste like sodastream beer, as in too much spare gas that hasnt created a beery foamy head for you.

but your choice of course 8)

awavey

Pinno wrote:

Bottles are heavy. 90% of recycled glass goes into aggregates - tarmac and concrete! It's inert and stable.
It always made me giggle when people diligently placed the glass into the correct colour aperture.
1 coloured bottle can contaminate 1000 clear one's. It requires much better SAS (separation at source) for it to be viable for re-use as food/drinks use, unless the bottlers want Brown.

more so as when they collect the damn things, they just dump them in the same big container all together, so its completely pointless.

but cans are complicated nowadays, craft breweries tend to buy shiny alu cans, and then stick a plastic label on it, clearly you melt the can, you end up with a whole bunch of plastic contaminents that way, though have you seen what they do with coke cans thesedays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1pB6O6AYMU&vl=en so theres also plastic liner inside the can, again melt the can youve got a bunch more of plastic contaminent.

so are any cans even that recyclable anymore ?

pinno

awavey wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Bottles are heavy. 90% of recycled glass goes into aggregates - tarmac and concrete! It's inert and stable.
It always made me giggle when people diligently placed the glass into the correct colour aperture.
1 coloured bottle can contaminate 1000 clear one's. It requires much better SAS (separation at source) for it to be viable for re-use as food/drinks use, unless the bottlers want Brown.

more so as when they collect the damn things, they just dump them in the same big container all together, so its completely pointless.

but cans are complicated nowadays, craft breweries tend to buy shiny alu cans, and then stick a plastic label on it, clearly you melt the can, you end up with a whole bunch of plastic contaminents that way, though have you seen what they do with coke cans thesedays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1pB6O6AYMU&vl=en so theres also plastic liner inside the can, again melt the can youve got a bunch more of plastic contaminent.

so are any cans even that recyclable anymore ?

The liner is burnt off during recycling. Not the best solution.

itboffin

Cycled passed the ramsbury brewery today and was very tempted to bin the ride for a visit.

Priorities

pinno

itboffin wrote:

Cycled passed the ramsbury brewery today and was very tempted to bin the ride for a visit.

Priorities

Ride there, visit, ride home... ?

rolf_f

Pinno wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

If the brewer buys cans made from un-recycled aluminium...

There really isn't any distinction.
Alu is smelted and mixed with new ore. Global Alu prices are really deflated.
Recycled Alu smelted down has 0 molecular differences with new.

Ore is yielding less though, in the long term. In the 70's, 1700kg's of Bauxite would yield 1 ton of Alu. Now, we are up to over 2600 kg's to produce 1 ton of Alu.

It's not about the chemical aspect of it but whether the aluminium is being recycled. Aluminium in landfill is not as eco friendly as recycled glass. If the brewer isn't sourcing recycled aluminium then they are sourcing freshly mined mineral. That's the problem.

pinno

Rolf F wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

If the brewer buys cans made from un-recycled aluminium...

There really isn't any distinction.
Alu is smelted and mixed with new ore. Global Alu prices are really deflated.
Recycled Alu smelted down has 0 molecular differences with new.

Ore is yielding less though, in the long term. In the 70's, 1700kg's of Bauxite would yield 1 ton of Alu. Now, we are up to over 2600 kg's to produce 1 ton of Alu.

It's not about the chemical aspect of it but whether the aluminium is being recycled. Aluminium in landfill is not as eco friendly as recycled glass. If the brewer isn't sourcing recycled aluminium then they are sourcing freshly mined mineral. That's the problem.

I don't think we're disagreeing, Alu is and always will be valued way higher than steel and it is worth recycling. 1/3rd of cans are recycled in the UK.

Tashman

I prefer to visit my local brewery (360degree) with a 3 pint glass growler that they will happily refill for me i exchange for the correct number of beer tokens. This is then decanted into a pint glass at home for enjoyment

photonic69

It's all academic for me at the moment. On tablets that mean I can't drink alcohol which sucks. Thought I'd try Low/Zero alcohol beer/larger and that sucks big time! I think I'd rather drink chilled, used washing up water from the sink....

bobmcstuff

I drink some non alcoholic beers fairly often. Nanny State is probably my favourite because it has some actual flavour (loads of hops).

The erdinger one is pretty good too.

Obviously I prefer real beer. But sometimes I do want beer but I dont want alcohol.

mouth

bobmcstuff wrote:

I drink some non alcoholic beers fairly often. Nanny State is probably my favourite because it has some actual flavour (loads of hops).

The erdinger one is pretty good too.

Obviously I prefer real beer. But sometimes I do want beer but I dont want alcohol.

Look for a drink called H2OPS - non alcoholic, zero sugar. its a US brand with little presence over here, but I believe they plan on coming over.

itboffin

Pinno wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Cycled passed the ramsbury brewery today and was very tempted to bin the ride for a visit.

Priorities

Ride there, visit, ride home... ?

the long steep climb to get there is not conducive to a wobbly steep descent without a tarmac inspection or two, I have form :roll:

pinno

itboffin wrote:

Pinno wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Cycled passed the ramsbury brewery today and was very tempted to bin the ride for a visit.

Priorities

Ride there, visit, ride home... ?

the long steep climb to get there is not conducive to a wobbly steep descent without a tarmac inspection or two, I have form :roll:

Trike?

Look, i'm trying to help you here fella but you don't want help, oh no, you want to smash my empathy with a hammer, discard it with cold indifference and trample all over it with muddy boots.

:roll: