Bought beer..

[Gunge]

Without buying good commercial beer, how do brewers judge their own brews? Track their progress as a brewer? Especially if attempting new styles or cloning recipes.

Pah! Commercial brewers ought to copy me! Buying beer is a mug's game... but some poor, misguided soul did present me with a 12 pack of Boddingtons recently. I guess that should be my yardstick as to how bad things can get.

 

[Clint]

Wasn't your ex neighbors was it? That's a hate crime...

 

[strange-steve]

I think it's a shame when I see threads like this, there's a whole world of incredible beers out there that you'll only experience by buying them. The idea of drinking nothing but my own homebrew for the rest of my life is a rather boring one.

I started a beer diary about 3 years ago (I know it's rather pathetic, my wife tells me often) just to keep track of the commercial beers I've tried and a brief comment on it. I'm currently drinking beer no 590, SOS by Banks & Taylor

 

[Drunkula]

some poor, misguided soul did present me with a 12 pack of Boddingtons recently

Oh god, are you alright?

 

[Gunge]

Wasn't your ex neighbors was it? That's a hate crime...

Actually, it was the boss. Think he's trying to tell me summat?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I think it's a shame when I see threads like this, there's a whole world of incredible beers out there that you'll only experience by buying them.

I agree Steve and at £6 for 4 x 500 ml bottles (Tesco offer) its not that big a deal if occasionally you find one you are not keen on, i have found that to be a rarity and i have tried many.

.

 

[stephen1546]

Bought a case of brewdog the other week 12 x 330 tins at £15 from Aldi, an assortment of IPAs in the case. Getting really popular up here. Its pretty decent.

 

[Leon103]

I buy now and again
Has mentioned it's good to try new things and look forward to brewing something similar

 

[bobukbrewer]

I get feedback from my many friends, and sometimes from the head brewer at my local microbrewery. I recommend trying Oakham Green Devil, but it is a devil to find in supermarkets..........

 

[Lawrence22]

I now drink mostly my own home brew, but by no means exclusively. Got a couple of schneiweisse and Roquefort 10 a couple of weeks ago and usually have some Pilsner Urquell for a light night. I really like a sessionable Irish Red now and again but many of the craft ones I find to be not great, there are a few out there that are excellent. I am always looking for the odd new beer to try though.

 

[bobukbrewer]

if we go away for a few nights in a B&B I make sure there is a decent brewery either in the town or on the route to the town - last one was Panther Brewery in Norfolk - their Beast from the East was superb........

 

[dad_of_jon]

Without buying good commercial beer, how do brewers judge their own brews? Track their progress as a brewer? Especially if attempting new styles or cloning recipes.

+1

a few years ago when i started brewing I bought very little as there was a lot of 'swill' in the supermarkets. Now though I find there are some good beers stocked that are i've not been able to beat... bengali, life & death, stone ipa. Mr president....Granted my tastes have changed. But my last beer was a barley wine and I love it. Those styles are hard to find in my area anyway, so its a mixture of making stuff that's hard to buy but purchasing the best examples of what the retail sector have to offer

short answer: 6 bought vs 10 homebrewed a week on average

 

[Cwrw666]

Mostly I drink my own beer, but I'm out a couple of times a week down the pub so obviously I have to buy their beer.
Also a couple of years ago I started collecting Welsh beer labels, mostly from bottles I've actually drunk. So that's about 250 different Welsh beers so far. Some of it's been excellent, some mediocre and I have to say some has been total ***** - microbreweries started up by people who have no clue how to brew beer at all and don't mind selling you infected garbage. Needless to say they usually go bust quite quickly...

 

[Leon103]

Mostly I drink my own beer, but I'm out a couple of times a week down the pub so obviously I have to buy their beer.
Also a couple of years ago I started collecting Welsh beer labels, mostly from bottles I've actually drunk. So that's about 250 different Welsh beers so far. Some of it's been excellent, some mediocre and I have to say some has been total ***** - microbreweries started up by people who have no clue how to brew beer at all and don't mind selling you infected garbage. Needless to say they usually go bust quite quickly...

Have you tried any from bang on brewery?

 

[Arrakus]

I buy beer all the time. I kid myself that some day I will be able to replicate a Buxton and Omnipollo collaboration imp, DIPA or ice cream beer. My HB has drastically improved over the years but I am not at that level yet.

Lol, same here. I bought a lot of crafty gear last year (Buxton, Verdant, etc) and until by HB can compare I know I’ll continue the buying!

 

[dan125]

I regularly buy beer for variety, and I found it really useful to do side by side comparisons of my HB with commercial examples of a style - especially when dialling in competition recipes

 

[Covrich]

Mostly have my own but I occasionally try new ones I haven't seen before especially styles I haven't have before or much of

 

[Cwrw666]

Have you tried any from bang on brewery?

Not yet. Name's familiar though - are they in Bridgend?
It's a slow job working your way through them all, but someone's got to do it.

 

[GerritT]

December had some days with guests, and they get good bought lager (and I finish what's left in the crate), and Lidl has UK ale on offer again (6x500ml for £8) so I buy some of that. And the occasional rare find. But mostly own brew.

 

[stigman]

I tend to buy "spend" much more on beer than I should. I usually go for a couple of beers at my not so local on my way home from work on a Friday who always have some quality beers on keg, and a brilliant selection of bottles. The rest of the time I drink homebrew or if that runs out might go to Tesco for a few "craft" beers I used to drink all the ales they sell but I've slowly become a beer snob and they just don't cut it anymore.