I prefer homebrew!

[Gunge]

pms67 that lager,as bad as you say it is, is probably on a par with my feeble attempts! I've had plenty of genuinely good ales though, but none that have made me doubt my own efforts, whatever nonsense they put on the label.

 

[stigman]

Every once in a while I try a bottle of something from the supermarket that I've heard very good things about. So far, I've invariably been left thinking "christ that was a waste of money". Bought beer is okay for folk who have yet to learn the basic life-skill of,er,making beer.

Erm I think you need to stop buying supermarket beer pal, get to a decent bar or bottle shop and spend a bit more money. I'm currently drinking a cloudwater dipa v9 and it's the dogs doodads! If my Dipa that I dry hopped last night comes out half as good as this I'll be one happy bunny.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Every once in a while I try a bottle of something from the supermarket that I've heard very good things about. So far, I've invariably been left thinking "christ that was a waste of money". Bought beer is okay for folk who have yet to learn the basic life-skill of,er,making beer.

I recently tried several different beers from Bargain Booze at 3 for £5 and thought the ones below were excellent, as i only drank lager up until trying these i was not expecting to enjoy them and was surprised how good they were, i know many beer brewers here also enjoy a pint in a pub or a bottle of beer so the breweries must be doing something right.


Robinsons Trooper Ale 500ml

Bishops Finger Ale 500ml

Everards Tiger Ale 500ml

Titanic Captain Smiths 500ml

Brains Rev James 500ml

 

[strange-steve]

Erm I think you need to stop buying supermarket beer pal, get to a decent bar or bottle shop and spend a bit more money. I'm currently drinking a cloudwater dipa v9 and it's the dogs doodads! If my Dipa that I dry hopped last night comes out half as good as this I'll be one happy bunny.

Agreed, I have tasted a lot of home brews, mine and others and let me tell you the vast majority of it doesn't come close to some of the great commercial beers. If you think otherwise you are buying the wrong beer.

 

[pms67]

pms67 that lager,as bad as you say it is, is probably on a par with my feeble attempts! I've had plenty of genuinely good ales though, but none that have made me doubt my own efforts, whatever nonsense they put on the label.

Im not saying it was bad,perfectly drinkable in fact but,and its a big but,its nothing like the description on the bottle,i think a lot of beers are like this mind you, promise the earth,for a true hophead etc and ends up bland, but im just opening a Long White Cloud right now and it beats anything i can brew 👍

 

[MickDundee]

Ok,here's the other side of the coin,i bought this tonight and i have just opened it,no taste to speak of,certainly no "heavy on the hops" and as for "Lager that refreshes the body vigorous", wtf? I didnt buy lynx showerwash did i?
Rip off.

I wasn't a big fan of their IPA either. Them and Deeside Brewery are the 2 I've been unimpressed with recenty

 

[Oneflewover]

Agreed, I have tasted a lot of home brews, mine and others and let me tell you the vast majority of it doesn't come close to some of the great commercial beers. If you think otherwise you are buying the wrong beer.

I have absolutely no doubt that this is spot on. Have tried very few beers that are not 'mainstream'. Mind you, at the price of some of the beers mentioned in this thread I wouldn't be drinking many of them!

At my local my regular cask ale is Tribute. I like it (and it's only £2.60 a pint :thumb:), but my my homebrew is - to me - more enjoyable.

 

[Gunge]

Looks like I might have to broaden my horizons a little! Honestly the best bought-beer I've ever had was called 'Darling',made by Border Brewery. Apparently it was a one-off stocked by the local,now defunct off-license chain sometime back in the nineties.So impressed was I that I bought all their stock, and I'm still using the empties for me homebrew! Ring anyone's bell? Maybe it's still alive and well, I dunno but haven't seen it since.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Agreed, I have tasted a lot of home brews, mine and others and let me tell you the vast majority of it doesn't come close to some of the great commercial beers. If you think otherwise you are buying the wrong beer.

Having just spent over £150 on the top Belgian beers from beers of Europe(xmas & birthday prezzie), I have so far found what I used to regard as awesome beers now as merely above average :-( - that's £150+ i'll never get back.

my conclusion: I'm brewing stuff I like. As I have in the past really enjoyed what most experts agree are top notch Belgian beers - not just my weird preferences, I must be brewing better beers than the Belgians :whistle:

I'd never have thunk that when I started this HB lark!

There are a couple of styles I can't do because of time or equipment restrictions. Sour/lambic/geuze and iipa's. My wheat's, RIS,quads, dubbles & tripels are better than the ones i've bought

so apart from a few commercial exceptions (e.g. bengali tiger)
I prefer homebrew!

 

[Badseed1974]

Having just spent over £150 on the top Belgian beers from beers of Europe(xmas & birthday prezzie), I have so far found what I used to regard as awesome beers now as merely above average :-( - that's £150+ i'll never get back.

my conclusion: I'm brewing stuff I like. As I have in the past really enjoyed what most experts agree are top notch Belgian beers - not just my weird preferences, I must be brewing better beers than the Belgians :whistle:

I'd never have thunk that when I started this HB lark!

There are a couple of styles I can't do because of time or equipment restrictions. Sour/lambic/geuze and iipa's. My wheat's, RIS,quads, dubbles & tripels are better than the ones i've bought

so apart from a few commercial exceptions (e.g. bengali tiger)
I prefer homebrew!

If you're brewing better beers than Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 then you're quite possibly the best home brewer in the world :)

 

[IainM]

If you're brewing better beers than Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 then you're quite possibly the best brewer in the world :)

I've corrected that for you.


Seriously though, I do prefer home brew. Not because I can make things that are better than the best commercial examples. One that strange-steve mentioned, Cloudwater DIPA, just blows me away every time, and well worth the £4 or so for a 330ml bottle. In fact, I'm yet to brew a high gravity beer that I'm completely happy with, and I've brewed a couple that were just awful. No, the reason I prefer my homebrew is because:
(1) When they do work out they can be better than most of the commercial equivalents.
(2) They are cheaper than the commercial equivalents.
(3) They are mine, and everything tastes sweeter if its the product of your own work.
(4) I know what goes in and what comes out, and I can start to learn the difference between this grain, that hop, this yeast... Its a education for the palate which can help you appreciate all beers, home brewed or not.

 

[strange-steve]

my conclusion: I'm brewing stuff I like. As I have in the past really enjoyed what most experts agree are top notch Belgian beers - not just my weird preferences, I must be brewing better beers than the Belgians :whistle:

That's a bold statement and if it's true then hats off to you :hat: There are some truly spectacular Belgian beers, Struise pannepot, Rochefort 8 & 10, St Bernardus 12, Westvleteren 8 & 12, Black Albert, Black Damnation, Abbeye des rocs to name only a few.
My Belgian quad won me a gold medal in the NHC competition at the start of the year, I was really happy with it, as was everyone else who tried it. But I compared it to a Rochefort 10 a while ago and there was no comparison. The Rochefort blew it away, hands down, it wasn't even close. I have never tasted a home brew that was anywhere near that quality. If yours is then Badseed is right, your possibly the best home brewer in the world
That being said though, I can understand that home brewing allows us to tailor our beer to our own specific taste which gives it an advantage over commercial beers.

 

[Badseed1974]

I've corrected that for you.


Seriously though, I do prefer home brew. Not because I can make things that are better than the best commercial examples. One that strange-steve mentioned, Cloudwater DIPA, just blows me away every time, and well worth the �£4 or so for a 330ml bottle. In fact, I'm yet to brew a high gravity beer that I'm completely happy with, and I've brewed a couple that were just awful. No, the reason I prefer my homebrew is because:
(1) When they do work out they can be better than most of the commercial equivalents.
(2) They are cheaper than the commercial equivalents.
(3) They are mine, and everything tastes sweeter if its the product of your own work.
(4) I know what goes in and what comes out, and I can start to learn the difference between this grain, that hop, this yeast... Its a education for the palate which can help you appreciate all beers, home brewed or not.

I understand what you're saying, I really do, But I think for the average home brewer to claim his/her beers are better than the best commercial beers available is just a bit silly.

I've made some killer beers, I've also made some pretty duff ones, but I know that even my best ones don't come close to the best of the comparable beers available commercially.

 

[BeerisGOD]

THeyl always be a commercial beer that tastes better than HB. But regardless, the beer were making is still quality stuff.
And for me and Im sure many others, haven't had to spend half as much making beers to buying them. I've saved loads of cash I have either saved or put to a more worthy cause (is there one?). Looking back at old reciepts at the amount id buy was staggering. As it was there visible id have to drink it all there and then. My HB is either in the airing cupboard conditioning or in the garage out the way so temptations not as bad. Hue lost half the waist I had too since making beer. So overall Im in the I prefer HB camp.

 

[Gerryjo]

Funny it was sampling commercially brewed Ales that got me back into HB.My favourite being Old Crafty Hen.Iwas out with a few friends a while back and found Clonmel 1650 on draft and to my surprise I loved it.

"Clonmel 1650, named after one of the most historic events of the town of Clonmel, celebrates the resilient spirit of the people and demonstrates the strong ties our business has to the small Irish town where it all began.

At 4.3% ABV, Clonmel 1650 is a fine example of a pilsner style lager. It has a slightly fruity, estery nose, with a subtle hoppy character.

This makes Clonmel 1650 a well-balanced and medium bodied lager, ensuring moreishness and sessionability!"

I found this to be bang on as thats what not only I but four other friends drank all night.
I'm also quite partial to a Guinness but shall certainly be looking for a good stout recipe for AG to brew in the new year.:whistle:

 

[Bigcol49]

I recently tried several different beers from Bargain Booze at 3 for £5

Hi!
I like to get more bang for my buck, and enjoy these strong ales; I see them in stores like Home Bargains and B&M:
Bateman's Victory Ale 5.9%
Marston's Strong Pale Ale 6.2%
McEwan's Champion 7.2% (4 for £6 in Morrisons)
Marston's Owd Rodger 7.4%

 

[strange-steve]

Some good points made by Iain and BiG.
At risk of starting another grammar/semantics debate, I suppose there is a difference between 1. preferring your HB and 2. saying your HB is better.
If I brewed a beer which was almost as good as a Rochefort 10, I would possibly have a preference for it because of the reasons mentioned by IainM. However I think I would still have the awareness to say that objectively the Rochefort is better.

 

[Ale]

One of the things I like about home brew is knowing what the ingredients are. I have a food intolerance to sweetcorn and corn sugar is sometimes used in commercial beers or there is apparently a corn derivative that is used as finings. This Rochefort 10 mentioned above says it includes a blend of sugars so is probably a no go for me. I might risk trying it though, where can you buy it?

 

[Oneflewover]

Some good points made by Iain and BiG.
At risk of starting another grammar/semantics debate, I suppose there is a difference between 1. preferring your HB and 2. saying your HB is better.
If I brewed a beer which was almost as good as a Rochefort 10, I would possibly have a preference for it because of the reasons mentioned by IainM. However I think I would still have the awareness to say that objectively the Rochefort is better.

Yep, that's my take on it. I would never claim that my meagre efforts are better than commercial beers, BUT I can make my own brew the way I like it and it is sooooo satisfying to drink something that you have made.

 

[Gunge]

One of the things I like about home brew is knowing what the ingredients are. I have a food intolerance to sweetcorn and corn sugar is sometimes used in commercial beers or there is apparently a corn derivative that is used as finings. This Rochefort 10 mentioned above says it includes a blend of sugars so is probably a no go for me. I might risk trying it though, where can you buy it?

Ye, I like knowing exactly what's in my beer. When I persuade the missus (not a beer fan) to try the latest batch she invariably goes "ooh tastes just like real beer", and my standard response is that it's more 'real' than anything bought. As for rochefort, sorry can't help. Have you tried a cheesemongers?