Kirin, yuk!

[DylanL7]

Guy at my local bottle shop ussually gives me a free stubby to try most times I buy a six pack, gave me on of these saying there his favourite, it wasnt even just the normal megaswill fizzy water, it was worse, I couldnt put my finger on it.... a sort of cat urine off food taste. Anyone else got a mega hate megaswill?

[Otto Von Blotto]

Tooheys New or Extra Dry are right up there in my most hated megaswills. New is worse, it's like drinking soda water with a hint of some weird flavour in it. I've not tried the Kirin beer, though.

[DylanL7]

Ive never tried tooheys new, dry put me off enough! I gave the xxxx pale ale a go the other day, actually wasnt as bad as I thought out of the bottle, but poured into a glass it was totally different, like yellow flat water.

[NorthCoast85]

I will drink any beer that is given to me, boring megaswill, homebrew mistakes or ultra cheap brands, I'll drink them all. Whether I enjoy them or not is a whole other matter lol.

 

My worst experiences would have to be VB, TUN Bitter and TED. Can't stand those three, but don't mind a Foster's lol, not sure what that says about me....

[Hairy]

I bought a six pack of Kirin a couple of months ago when they were on sale at Dans. I thought it was alright; I could definitely knock a few down easily in summer.

[DylanL7]

I will drink any beer that is given to me' date=' boring megaswill, homebrew mistakes or ultra cheap brands, I'll drink them all. Whether I enjoy them or not is a whole other matter lol.

 

My worst experiences would have to be VB, TUN Bitter and TED. Can't stand those three, but don't mind a Foster's lol, not sure what that says about me.... [img']unsure[/img]

 

I really don't like vb either, ill try anything once, some megaswills arent too bad, especially on a hot day, some days after work during busy periods we will take turns in bringing in beers at the end of the day, the crowd favourite is actually emu export which I dont mind at all! Whether its because its near on 0c or whether its actually not bad, very thirst quenching (ill probably cop some crap for saying that haha)

[DylanL7]

I bought a six pack of Kirin a couple of months ago when they were on sale at Dans. I thought it was alright; I could definitely knock a few down easily in summer.

 

Really? Im not sure what it was, I live in the country so theres all the chance it could have been in the fridge for god knows how long, or been stored poorly, but there was definitely some off tastes

[headmaster]

I was working over in SA at a satellite earth station in Ceduna way back in 1991 as a young fella, and tried West End back then. It was one of the only beers available. Made from Todd River water, quite mineralised. It was the worst tasting example of something claiming to be beer that I have ever experienced. It was bloody awful. Maybe it's improved now, anyone know?

[Magnaman]

I was working over in SA at a satellite earth station in Ceduna way back in 1991 as a young fella' date=' and tried West End back then. It was one of the only beers available. Made from Todd River water, quite mineralised. It was the worst tasting example of something claiming to be beer that I have ever experienced. It was bloody awful. Maybe it's improved now, anyone know? [/quote']

 

I had a similar experience about a decade earlier working my way around the continent, I found the canned West End the most "challenging" beer to drink and the biggest difference between packaged and tap beer.

 

In those days of drinking irresponsibly, after a hard days work on a hot day well after 3 or 4 SA pints the rest tasted ok.

 

The other point of difference was that the West End was such a different type of beer to what I started drinking as a "lad".

 

"All beers good beer, somes better than others"

 

Cheers.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Ive never tried tooheys new' date=' dry put me off enough! I gave the xxxx pale ale a go the other day, actually wasnt as bad as I thought out of the bottle, but poured into a glass it was totally different, like yellow flat water.[/quote']

 

That sounds fair enough, New is the worse of the two.

 

I haven't tried the XXXX pale ale yet. I was gonna get one from Dan's last time I was there but I couldn't be bothered getting one out of a 6 pack. I tried the Darling pale ale from Tooheys at a pub recently, it wasn't the worst beer I've ever had, but it didn't really strike me as a great example of the pale ale style.

[Beerlust]

Hi Dylan.

I bought a six pack of Kirin a couple of months ago when they were on sale at Dans. I thought it was alright; I could definitely knock a few down easily in summer.

 

Really? Im not sure what it was' date=' I live in the country so theres all the chance it could have been in the fridge for god knows how long, or been stored poorly, but there was definitely some off tastes[/quote']

I'm with you on the Kirin experience. In that part of the world they do have some odd customs, practices, & varied levels of quality control. Well, if they'll put feces in packets of frozen raspberries, who's to say you're not right on the money about what's in the Kirin beer?!!

 

Hairy has proven to have higher tolerance levels than anyone else I am aware of here on the forum, so this may explain his view on this one.

 

BTW Hairy, have you sampled the XXXX Pale Ale as yet, & did it reach any dizzying heights for you?

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Hairy]

Hi Dylan.

I bought a six pack of Kirin a couple of months ago when they were on sale at Dans. I thought it was alright; I could definitely knock a few down easily in summer.

 

Really? Im not sure what it was' date=' I live in the country so theres all the chance it could have been in the fridge for god knows how long, or been stored poorly, but there was definitely some off tastes[/quote']

I'm with you on the Kirin experience. In that part of the world they do have some odd customs, practices, & varied levels of quality control. Well, if they'll put feces in packets of frozen raspberries, who's to say you're not right on the money about what's in the Kirin beer?!!

 

Hairy has proven to have higher tolerance levels than anyone else I am aware of here on the forum, so this may explain his view on this one.

 

BTW Hairy, have you sampled the XXXX Pale Ale as yet, & did it reach any dizzying heights for you?

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

I think the Kirin was brewed under licence by Lion. Nothing fancy but very drinkable. Definitely no off taste to my tolerant palate.

 

I haven't tried the XXXX Pale Ale yet but will give it a go some day. I have tried the Lazy Yak, which was very ordinary, and the Tooheys Darling Pale Ale, which surprised me. It was an understated pale ale, not very hoppy and a little sweet but quite drinkable.

[Beerlust]

The megaswill breweries with these recent new releases, are making a mockery of the style "Pale Ale" & even "Ale" for that matter & what it constitutes. The expression of drinking "Pale Ale" & consuming ale in general has now become 'trendy' by enough of the drinking public, that they could no longer ignore the sales possibilities.

 

I hope the Coopers promotional department is on the lookout for any advertising that may present promoting these megaswill pale ales as being anything wonderful, & deals with them in a similar manner as it did Canadian Club.

 

Coopers vs Canadian Club.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'd have to agree with that. The two I've tried (Crown Golden Ale and Darling) are terrible examples of excellent beer styles, in my mind. When I see something labelled pale ale, I expect an aromatic, moderately hoppy style of beer - which is nothing like the Darling one which is bland with little to no hop aroma, or flavour.

 

Maybe they were following these guidelines when they came up with the recipe, because it sounds pretty close to the nothingness of them:

 

World Beer Cup

Australasian Pale Ales are gold to light brown. Chill haze should not be present. Fruity-ester aroma should be perceived. Diacetyl should be very low if present. DMS aroma should not be present. Hop aroma is often absent. Malt sweetness and other malt character are very low to low. Hop flavor is very low to low. Hop bitterness is very low to low. Fruity-ester flavors should be perceived. Diacetyl flavor should be very low if present. DMS should not be present. Body is light. This style is a mild, pale ale.

 

[Hairy]

Why does a beer labelled as a pale ale have to be in the style of a hoppy American pale ale?

 

Coopers Pale Ale isn't hoppy. And if you drink it at the cold temps that most pubs serve it at then it isn't very estery either. It is still a half decent drop.

[Beerlust]

Why does a beer labelled as a pale ale have to be in the style of a hoppy American pale ale?

 

Coopers Pale Ale isn't hoppy. And if you drink it at the cold temps that most pubs serve it at then it isn't very estery either. It is still a half decent drop.

In a Pale Ale' date=' I either want it to be hoppy in flavour on the palate, or at a bare minimum, aromatic on the nose, whether that be from hop influences, or as Coopers do, primarily by yeast derived esters.

 

These megaswill offerings offer neither. Take the Crown Golden Ale I have sampled, it tastes very similar to Crown Lager IMHO, but appears to use an ale yeast & possibly has a slight alteration to the malt grist to throw a different hue. If all you're going to do is throw an ale yeast at a lager recipe, then WTF bother? [img']rolleyes[/img]

 

To the megaswill breweries I say, if you're not going to try & produce a beer that is true to style, then stay the heck away from producing & labeling these beers as being something THEY ARE NOT!

 

You can call an apple an orange all you like, but that doesn't change the fact it is still an apple!

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[DylanL7]

Hi Dylan.

I bought a six pack of Kirin a couple of months ago when they were on sale at Dans. I thought it was alright; I could definitely knock a few down easily in summer.

 

Really? Im not sure what it was' date=' I live in the country so theres all the chance it could have been in the fridge for god knows how long, or been stored poorly, but there was definitely some off tastes[/quote']

I'm with you on the Kirin experience. In that part of the world they do have some odd customs, practices, & varied levels of quality control. Well, if they'll put feces in packets of frozen raspberries, who's to say you're not right on the money about what's in the Kirin beer?!!

 

Hairy has proven to have higher tolerance levels than anyone else I am aware of here on the forum, so this may explain his view on this one.

 

BTW Hairy, have you sampled the XXXX Pale Ale as yet, & did it reach any dizzying heights for you?

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

 

Im glad its not just me

[DylanL7]

Ive never tried tooheys new' date=' dry put me off enough! I gave the xxxx pale ale a go the other day, actually wasnt as bad as I thought out of the bottle, but poured into a glass it was totally different, like yellow flat water.[/quote']

 

That sounds fair enough, New is the worse of the two.

 

I haven't tried the XXXX pale ale yet. I was gonna get one from Dan's last time I was there but I couldn't be bothered getting one out of a 6 pack. I tried the Darling pale ale from Tooheys at a pub recently, it wasn't the worst beer I've ever had, but it didn't really strike me as a great example of the pale ale style.

 

I wouldnt say its horrible, straight from the bottle its okay, but not very hoppy at all, I suppose they are still trying to appeal to a mass market, but poured into a glass it seems to somehow become even more bland, I prefer american pale ales so that might be why I thought it was kinda bland

[DylanL7]

Why does a beer labelled as a pale ale have to be in the style of a hoppy American pale ale?

 

Coopers Pale Ale isn't hoppy. And if you drink it at the cold temps that most pubs serve it at then it isn't very estery either. It is still a half decent drop.

In a Pale Ale' date=' I either want it to be hoppy in flavour on the palate, or at a bare minimum, aromatic on the nose, whether that be from hop influences, or as Coopers do, primarily by yeast derived esters.

 

These megaswill offerings offer neither. Take the Crown Golden Ale I have sampled, it tastes very similar to Crown Lager IMHO, but appears to use an ale yeast & possibly has a slight alteration to the malt grist to throw a different hue. If all you're going to do is throw an ale yeast at a lager recipe, then WTF bother? [img']rolleyes[/img]

 

To the megaswill breweries I say, if you're not going to try & produce a beer that is true to style, then stay the heck away from producing & labeling these beers as being something THEY ARE NOT!

 

You can call an apple an orange all you like, but that doesn't change the fact it is still an apple!

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

 

I couldn't agree more, I hate the trend setting the mega companys that are like you say, a lager based recipe with ale yeast, and no hop taste or aroma branded as pale ales. Ive got a few American pale ales to try tonight that I havent had before, hoping they are infact pale ales and not lager hybrids

[Magnaman]

Well seeing that Mitsubishi is the parent company of Kirin, we may get in a new add for Kirin,

 

" It's a Mitsi "

 

 

[NorthCoast85]

Seeing as Kirin was the inspiration for this post I'll throw in a little story about Japanese beers.

 

A good buddy of mine is obsessed with all things Asian, the food, the girls and especially the beer. When I go to his place the only options to drink beer are Asahi and Sapporo. On the whole these aren't bad beers, however, they're hardly exciting and the obsession with serving them super cold doesn't help. Just some super dry, super clean lagers that some would consider better than Aussie mega swill.

 

He now has it in his head that these beers are the prime example of good beer and looks down at any beer (especially homebrew) that provides different flavours. I'm a massive fan of stouts/dark ales and had an Ivan the terrible (Big Sky Brewing US) while out to dinner and got him to try some, was not a fan (fair enough beers like that aren't for everybody). He was even less of a fan when I insisted on letting it warm up as it was too cold and I wanted the full flavour profile.

 

I find it really hard when people say they like beer but balk at styles other than dry lagers (happens a lot in my part of the world - apparently slightly warm weather means you can only drink lager, even in winter!!).

 

What makes it more frustrating is that this friend has a very good attitude when it comes to cider and we often sample new varieties as they become available and he can identify and enjoy the particulars of each style of cider lol.

 

On an even funnier note I remember showing up to a BBQ a bit late one day and the beer stocks were quite low, I'd just picked up a case of Coopers ESVA and was happy to distribute this wonderful beer for everyone to try - of the 6 I handed out all 6 came back with one sip taken - "That's not beer" was the general consensus....

 

 

[DylanL7]

Wow, close minded people! I find alot of people that drink lager often dont even want to try other styles of beer out of fear too hoppy hoppy bitter, which is a shame because theres more to beer than just lagers! Ive heard of some people that only drink coronas and wont touch anything else

[the villain]

whilst on the subject of japanese beers, i spend alot of time in ports around japan and korea ect, the asahi/kirin/sopporro that you get in australia is defiantly not the same beer as you get up here,

 

the beer sold locally (in japan) is brewed in japan, whilst the stuff sold in australia is brewed in china, the taste difference is chalk and cheese. you can tell the difference straight away as the true japanese asahi is written 100% in japanese, whist the crappy chinese brew is labeled in english.

 

a few years back when asahi was $80 a case in australia, that was the true version, when it dropped to $45ish is when the chinese version turned up.

[Frosty Chop]

For me it would have to be Hahn Ice

 

The only discernible taste is that of lawn clippings, I can't think of anything worse.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Why does a beer labelled as a pale ale have to be in the style of a hoppy American pale ale?

 

Coopers Pale Ale isn't hoppy. And if you drink it at the cold temps that most pubs serve it at then it isn't very estery either. It is still a half decent drop.

 

That maybe came across a bit one-sided, I'm not saying it has to be like a hoppy American style pale, the English ones are good too, but both of these are flavourful and/or aromatic as well. I agree that Coopers pale ale isn't all that hoppy but it is flavourful, just personally not a flavour I enjoy all that much compared to other pale ales (too much yeast influence for mine). S&W Pacific isn't all that hoppy either but it still has flavour and aroma, which to me is quite pleasing, though not for everyone of course.

 

I suppose what I was getting at is that when I see something labelled "Pale Ale", I don't expect bland, nondescript beer, which is what Darling was to me.