Woolies no longer selling APA?

[Thirsty Jim]

9 hours ago, Yuley said:

Because Bayswater didn't have it, I assumed it was all... Obviously I need to expand my horizons. 

I just realized how close you are to me Yuley.  If that map on your profile page is accurate you are better off shopping at Canterbury Gardens anyway.  Much better store, bigger range. 

Some bizzare things have gone on at Baysie Woolies ... like people being set on fire, surprises in the fruit and veg.     Expand your horizons by all means.   Bayswater has quietened down a lot in recent years and quite frankly I wouldn't live anywhere else.   I have been here 20 years and I am not going anywhere,  which is surprising because when I was a cab driver, before I lived here, I avoided the area like the plague and referred to it as 'the badlands'.   I am told told that things improved markedly when they closed the police station and usual suspects moved to Boronia.  

[Yuley]

14 hours ago, James of Bayswater said:

I just realized how close you are to me Yuley.  If that map on your profile page is accurate you are better off shopping at Canterbury Gardens anyway.  Much better store, bigger range. 

Some bizzare things have gone on at Baysie Woolies ... like people being set on fire, surprises in the fruit and veg.     Expand your horizons by all means.   Bayswater has quietened down a lot in recent years and quite frankly I wouldn't live anywhere else.   I have been here 20 years and I am not going anywhere,  which is surprising because when I was a cab driver, before I lived here, I avoided the area like the plague and referred to it as 'the badlands'.   I am told told that things improved markedly when they closed the police station and usual suspects moved to Boronia.  

Closer than it appears on the Map. I am on Canterbury Rd near Bayswater Rd. Not sure why its marked me up near Dorset. Been here for almost 15 years, minus a short relocation to Qld for 3 years in the middle.

Yep. Bizzare is right. I haven't seen any people on fire (but I remember that on the news), however I have had my fair share of interesting conversations or witness to drug deals in the carpark. We usually stick to Aldi these days anyway. If only they did HB stuff. 

[Thirsty Jim]

I live exactly half way between Bayswater and Boronia and right on the border between them.  I have a great view of the hills.  Like Yuley I mainly shop at Aldi  but there are some things like Yorkshire tea, Chicken Noodle Soup and Popping Corn that Aldi doesn't sell and I have to go to Colesworth. For home brew I usually go to Dan's or Woolies in Boronia central (handy to Peter's LHBS in Dorest Road) or sometimes I go to Big W in Ringwood as they often have the best specials. 

We also have a mob called Clever Brewing operating out of Bayswater North that has a very impressive online catalogue but they don't do over the counter and there is a delivery charge which I hate paying because I live a couple of k's down the road.   Bayswater is also host to a couple of micro breweries these days hidden away in the industrial area.  Just as well because the pub is a disappointment and always has been. 

I don't even think of myself as living in 'Melbourne' anymore.  Melbourne is about 30 or 40k's away to the west and I rarely go there and when I do I feel like a tourist.

[Shamus O'Sean]

On 4/7/2020 at 7:35 PM, James of Bayswater said:

I avoided the area like the plague and referred to it as 'the badlands'.   I am told told that things improved markedly when they closed the police station and usual suspects moved to Boronia

Yeah.  That sounds like when I lived there.  And about when I left. 

Actually, I spent my first 26 years in Westham Crescent in Bayswater.  I never saw any of the issues that stereo-typed the area, other than those carried out by me.

After all this sh1t we must catch up.

Cheers fellas.

[Goldcoast Crow]

Went to get some Apa for my 2nd brew and my woolies only stocked home brand and coopers draught and lager and Morgan’s Gold, never had a lager so I’m trying that as a ”toucan”, Apa is still on the online product search.... btw has anyone tried the home brand ?

[Instigator]

4 hours ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

 btw has anyone tried the home brand ?

Yes. Don't bother with the Woolies lager. It's awful, even when made to 10L. I suspect they forgot to add any hops. I haven't tried the draught, but I'm not rushing to give it a go.

[Journeyman]

8 hours ago, Instigator said:

Yes. Don't bother with the Woolies lager. It's awful, even when made to 10L. I suspect they forgot to add any hops. I haven't tried the draught, but I'm not rushing to give it a go.

They don't add hops - on the tin it says 'hops extract' and an industrial chemist I knew a while back with 30+ years brewing experience said he'd never met a hops extract worth using.

12 hours ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

btw has anyone tried the home brand ?

Yes, I made one recently, with extras and some bittering both hops and also boiled the cans - I used 2. First taste was a bit 'bleh' and while drinkable I wondered if it had been worth it. At 3 weeks it was SO drinkable I drank my last one last night. (Brewed on 10th March)

It also makes a good substitute for LME at half the cost.

[Instigator]

26 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Yes, I made one recently, with extras and some bittering both hops and also boiled the cans - I used 2. First taste was a bit 'bleh' and while drinkable I wondered if it had been worth it. At 3 weeks it was SO drinkable I drank my last one last night. (Brewed on 10th March)

It also makes a good substitute for LME at half the cost.

Bare in mind that @Goldcoast Crow is looking for ideas they can use in a craft fermenter, which basically limits how much extract you can fit in there to about 1 full size can. You could do a heap with hop boils and grains and such to try and improve the basic can as you did, but it's not really worth the bother when a single can of APA does the job and is virtually foolproof.