Kirin shuts West End Brewery, Adelaide.

[ben 10]

13 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

and you could taste the POR hops.

cluster

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

7 hours ago, Ben 10 said:

cluster

I was wondering if I was going to have to pick him up but you got it covered

[Pezzza]

There you go boys - Benny and NB @Ben 10 @NewBrews am greatly appreciative of that - thank you very much - here I am thinking all these years it was PoR - I haven't brewed either with PoR or Cluster recently - in the real beer phase - but had this memory of the dim distant past - in the days of Coopers Lager out the can... that I had added PoR hops in a rare event and that was a bit like the Fourex thing... well I have made a quantum leap in learning here - bllllloody ripper - good stuff.   I shall have to chase down some PoR and some Cluster and check it all out.

So is PoR more of a Crowny - Melbourne Bitter taste?

I remember in around 1980 that Fourex out the stubby had a sort of 'nutty taste'... is that Cluster - or the malt - it no longer tastes like this as far as I can tell.

Thanks Brewers - appreciate the steerage on this one!

Edited October 16, 2020 by Bearded Burbler

[Aussiekraut]

On 10/15/2020 at 12:11 PM, YeastyBoy said:

The consolidation of breweries will continue until we end up with one or two global mega swill brewers (such as AB InBev) & that is probably not that far away.

The counter point is the local craft beer market which has employed probably more people in brewing than have been displaced by the mega swill brewers shedding jobs. Plus the beer is a hell of alot better.

So the simple message is buy local and support the family owned/craft brewery or two down the road.

Vote with your wallet.

Cheers YB

I agree, buying local and small is the way to go but it only works up to a certain point. Once the smaller breweries get bigger, they appear on the radar of the mega swill brewers, get bought out and that's the end of them. Craft beer and big business don't work together as one is about making good beer, the other about making beer as cheaply as possible in as large amounts as possible. 

[Pezzza]

15 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

I agree, buying local and small is the way to go but it only works up to a certain point. Once the smaller breweries get bigger, they appear on the radar of the mega swill brewers, get bought out and that's the end of them. Craft beer and big business don't work together as one is about making good beer, the other about making beer as cheaply as possible in as large amounts as possible. 

Agree AK mate - and I probably shouldn't have such a jaundiced view of the world - but I guess on the other hand it is a mighty positive view - and that is - thanks to the Brewers on this site - books - mates - and my little Micro/LHBS a few hours away - CPB - trial and error and more structured experimentation - I really believe that you and I can make as good as or even possibly better beer than the Micros anyway... as for MS - not in the game.

If we are making - with good water - great malt and hops - good yeast husbandry - good temp control - hygiene/brewing practices - as we are working with such small volumes - if our ingredients quality - surely making 21L in one batch - with all the intense focus - should be able to make a better brew than 2,100L - and easily more than 21L of MS. 

This likely does not include some of the more 'hi tech' fancy old-traditional wild yeast brews and speciality brews of Europe including Weissbier... but mainstream Ales, IPAs and Pilsener/Lagers... 

We should be able to get pretty close to what a Micro can offer.... or maybe even better.

Plus I mostly brew beers that would send any good micro broke with the amount of freshly milled grain I use haha... 

And finally - whether anyone else would like our breweries' products ha ha - that is a different question... but we must agree that we are here to satisfy our key clients ; )

[Aussiekraut]

1 hour ago, Bearded Burbler said:

And finally - whether anyone else would like our breweries' products ha ha - that is a different question... but we must agree that we are here to satisfy our key clients ; )

That is exactly the point. We want to make beer WE like and as long as that is the case, it's happy days

 

[Pezzza]

On 10/29/2020 at 10:56 AM, Aussiekraut said:

That is exactly the point. We want to make beer WE like and as long as that is the case, it's happy days

 

Or maybe.... hoppy daze 

[Malter White]

Today, June 17th 2021, was the last day of production at West End Brewery. THE END!

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, MUZZY said:

Today, June 17th 2021, was the last day of production at West End Brewery. THE END!

Sad day for SA, it's not just the Beer, it is history, jobs lost & a whole lot of other stuff. So now the Mexicans can buy it !! 

Actually I think it will be made in QLD.

[Pickles Jones]

1 hour ago, CLASSIC said:

Sad day for SA, it's not just the Beer, it is history, jobs lost & a whole lot of other stuff. So now the Mexicans can buy it !! 

Actually I think it will be made in QLD.

I would say that Southwark and West End and in particular Southwark were very  much an acquired taste.  So maybe, not withstanding the jobs that have been made redundant it won't be lost and will be remembered in retrospect.

[Malter White]

11 hours ago, Pickles Jones said:

I would say that Southwark and West End and in particular Southwark were very  much an acquired taste.  So maybe, not withstanding the jobs that have been made redundant it won't be lost and will be remembered in retrospect.

I have a theory that all beer has an acquired taste and people drink what they're accustomed to.
Environment plays a large part in our tastes. Just take a look at beer sales across states of Australia. In SA West End was/is the market leader. In Victoria it's probably VB or Carlton Draught. Go to Qld and XXXX is the preference and so on across the other states and territories. The welded on drinkers of these beers think they are great and can't understand how others can drink those other "dreadful" beers. (It's here I'll remind everyone Southwark Bitter was also a market leader in SA in the 70s). Now all of these parochial drinkers can't be right that their beer is the best....and it isn't. Their beer is to what they're accustomed. Their beer is the best FOR THEM.
Much like home brew. In my 4 decades of drinking beer I have latched on to WE Export, WE Draught, VB, Coopers Pale, Boags, Tooheys ED, Cascade, Carlton Draught and others as my favourite brand for lengthy periods. Now I make my own and my own beer is now my preferred beer. Now I know for certain I don't make the best beer but I do make the best beer FOR ME.
 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, MUZZY said:

I have a theory that all beer has an acquired taste and people drink what they're accustomed to.
Environment plays a large part in our tastes. Just take a look at beer sales across states of Australia. In SA West End was/is the market leader. In Victoria it's probably VB or Carlton Draught. Go to Qld and XXXX is the preference and so on across the other states and territories. The welded on drinkers of these beers think they are great and can't understand how others can drink those other "dreadful" beers. (It's here I'll remind everyone Southwark Bitter was also a market leader in SA in the 70s). Now all of these parochial drinkers can't be right that their beer is the best....and it isn't. Their beer is to what they're accustomed. Their beer is the best FOR THEM.
Much like home brew. In my 4 decades of drinking beer I have latched on to WE Export, WE Draught, VB, Coopers Pale, Boags, Tooheys ED, Cascade, Carlton Draught and others as my favourite brand for lengthy periods. Now I make my own and my own beer is now my preferred beer. Now I know for certain I don't make the best beer but I do make the best beer FOR ME.
 

Well said Muzzy, I totally agree with you, I have drank many beers from many different states & although I found some to be really nice, others I wouldn't drink if they were Free.

There are no bad beers, best beers, as you say it all depends on where you come from & what you are used to. In the 70's I travelled throughout NSW extensively & Resch's beer was everywhere, probably still is but I found it disgusting as I do VB & a few others but SA has had a few horrible ones over the years as well & so on.

Making your own is much more rewarding & economical so now I don't have to worry.

[Pezzza]

3 hours ago, CLASSIC said:

There are no bad beers, best beers, as you say it all depends on where you come from & what you are used to. In the 70's I travelled throughout NSW extensively & Resch's beer was everywhere, probably still is but I found it disgusting as I do VB...

Haha yes mate to some VB is the Very Best...

and to others Very Baaaaad 

Tho I do like the colour scheme of the Cans haha 

The power of advertising?

Edited June 18, 2021 by Graubart

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Graubart said:

Haha yes mate to some VB is the Very Best...

and to others Very Baaaaad 

Tho I do like the colour scheme of the Cans haha 

The power of advertising?

I simply can't drink it, I get blinding headaches & it taste like  ....  

[Tricky Micky]

On 10/16/2020 at 7:21 PM, Graubart said:

So is PoR more of a Crowny - Melbourne Bitter taste?

GB, not sure about Crownies or Melbourne Bitter but Head Brewer and Chemist Dr. Google states that POR is used in VB.

Style and Ingredients:

It delivers higher bitterness through the Australian family of Pride of Ringwood hops, combined with a 4.9% abv for a balanced, full flavoured beer that retains its flavour ice cold.

https://www.victoriabitter.com.au/pages/the-brew#:~:text=Style and Ingredients&text=It delivers higher bitterness through,retains its flavour ice cold.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

23 minutes ago, Mickep said:

GB, not sure about Crownies or Melbourne Bitter but Head Brewer and Chemist Dr. Google states that POR is used in VB.

Style and Ingredients:

It delivers higher bitterness through the Australian family of Pride of Ringwood hops, combined with a 4.9% abv for a balanced, full flavoured beer that retains its flavour ice cold.

https://www.victoriabitter.com.au/pages/the-brew#:~:text=Style and Ingredients&text=It delivers higher bitterness through,retains its flavour ice cold.

 

Pride of Ringwood is used in Coopers Pale Ale & I know I would rather drink that than the above but I guess we are not here to rubbish other beers, just not to my taste.

[Kietz]

On 6/18/2021 at 8:49 AM, Mickep said:

GB, not sure about Crownies or Melbourne Bitter but Head Brewer and Chemist Dr. Google states that POR is used in VB.

Style and Ingredients: 

It delivers higher bitterness through the Australian family of Pride of Ringwood hops, combined with a 4.9% abv for a balanced, full flavoured beer that retains its flavour ice cold.

https://www.victoriabitter.com.au/pages/the-brew#:~:text=Style and Ingredients&text=It delivers higher bitterness through,retains its flavour ice cold. worktime

 

cool, thank u for this information 

[Worts and all]

I have just come upon this thread and it has provoked some thought. I am a proud kit and kilo( and occasional extras) brewer.I am also a regular visitor to my local ,where beer ( Boags Draught) is well served in good, clean glasses. I enjoy it very much. I always seem to leave wishing I could have one more. I would say it is good beer. Then there is home brew. I have tasted many different brews, all grain, partials and kit and kilo. Many are delicious . Then I come to my own brews. When I sit back and sip a, say, APA or a Dark Ale, I often sigh and say, well, beer doesn’t get any better than this! I know it is mostly the smug self satisfaction of the home brewer, and that all the dedicated all grainers on here will disagree, as well they might. They wish to see, and no doubt can, rewards for all the extra effort they put in to the craft.But is the beer “ better”? If so,how? I am perfectly willing to admit my palate may not be as sophisticated as some, but I simply don’t find other beers to be more enjoyable. @MUZZY and @CLASSIC have covered it nicely in their contributions, whereas I seem to have only raised unanswerable questions. Ah well ,if it provokes thought it is worthwhile. Happy brewing!

[Classic Brewing Co]

23 minutes ago, Worts and all said:

I have just come upon this thread and it has provoked some thought. I am a proud kit and kilo( and occasional extras) brewer.I am also a regular visitor to my local ,where beer ( Boags Draught) is well served in good, clean glasses. I enjoy it very much. I always seem to leave wishing I could have one more. I would say it is good beer. Then there is home brew. I have tasted many different brews, all grain, partials and kit and kilo. Many are delicious . Then I come to my own brews. When I sit back and sip a, say, APA or a Dark Ale, I often sigh and say, well, beer doesn’t get any better than this! I know it is mostly the smug self satisfaction of the home brewer, and that all the dedicated all grainers on here will disagree, as well they might. They wish to see, and no doubt can, rewards for all the extra effort they put in to the craft.But is the beer “ better”? If so,how? I am perfectly willing to admit my palate may not be as sophisticated as some, but I simply don’t find other beers to be more enjoyable. @MUZZY and @CLASSIC have covered it nicely in their contributions, whereas I seem to have only raised unanswerable questions. Ah well ,if it provokes thought it is worthwhile. Happy brewing!

I agree with your thoughts but I think we are all guilty of self praise & admire our brews enormously. As beer making can be categorised into all grain, partials and kit and kilo, done properly they can all be good beers. I particularly enjoy extract/partials & I don't mind bottling so switching to AG doesn't really interest me that much ATM due to the extra equipment/expense/work not to mention allocation of space. However each one of us does what we want to or what is best suited. As I have stated before my next project would be a Kegerator as in my opinion, my beers would struggle to actually get much better than I have achieved but I like the idea of passing it through Co2 for the ultimate head retention ect.

Cheers.

[Otto Von Blotto]

It's probably bias having made it yourself. Generally I tend to enjoy my own beers more than bought ones, although I have made a couple of shockers  

As for kits etc v AG, to my palate the AG tastes fresher and the flavour pops out more. Kits taste manufactured to me. I'm not putting down kit brewers or anything, just describing what I taste. It's a bit like instant coffee v brewing it freshly with beans. I was given a plunger last year after drinking instant for a long time and now I avoid instant like the plague. The fresh brewed coffee is way better. The difference isn't as stark with brewing beer, but it was something I noticed immediately upon tasting my first AG beer. When I did do a kit brew one time when I couldn't get an AG batch done, it just wasn't the same to me. 

That's why I keep doing it. I know it takes about ten times longer to get the wort ready but the end product is definitely worth it. And I do enjoy the process too of course. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Otto Von Blotto

[Classic Brewing Co]

13 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

It's probably bias having made it yourself. Generally I tend to enjoy my own beers more than bought ones, although I have made a couple of shockers  

As for kits etc v AG, to my palate the AG tastes fresher and the flavour pops out more. Kits taste manufactured to me. I'm not putting down kit brewers or anything, just describing what I taste. It's a bit like instant coffee v brewing it freshly with beans. I was given a plunger last year after drinking instant for a long time and now I avoid instant like the plague. The fresh brewed coffee is way better. The difference isn't as stark with brewing beer, but it was something I noticed immediately upon tasting my first AG beer. When I did do a kit brew one time when I couldn't get an AG batch done, it just wasn't the same to me. 

That's why I keep doing it. I know it takes about ten times longer to get the wort ready but the end product is definitely worth it. And I do enjoy the process too of course. 

I totally agree Otto, AG would taste better & your points on comparison are valid. I guess the next step for Extract/Partials brewers obviously has to be BIAB of full AG.

I for one am not completely ready for AG ATM as my main interest is acquiring a Kegerator but I would be up for eventually moving into it.

Cheers.

[Breaktrainjack]

@Otto Von Blotto "Kits taste manufactured to me. I'm not putting down kit brewers or anything" ..Sure sure ..thread engagement rate proves otherwise but  ..im hearing ya  ..ive made some BIAB brews that were no better than some extract ..the best of both worlds i say ..heck.. i think my extract brews taste better than store bought .. Coopers Commercial are the only exception ..even then .. for the selection range time price out lay cant be beaten ..case in point extract ..blue berry muffin wheat blonde ive just made ..2 +cartons 50 bucks tasty as 

[Malter White]

@Otto Von Blotto Hahahaha. I drink instant coffee. I guess it's no surprise I'm an extract brewer too.

[Classic Brewing Co]

I have a Pod machine, various Percolators which are all great but out of habit I still seem to boil the kettle first thing in the morning & have a good old International Roast instant or 3.

Yes, the others are better but instant is quicker, a bit like extract brewing I guess. 

[jamiek86]

I also brew extract with added malt and hops instead of dextrose and believe tast better than mega swill out of my keggerator. I also prefer to get sex out of the way really fast for the purpose of having more time to brew and drink brew

Edited July 9, 2021 by jamiek86