Pretty sad

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Nate

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
713
Reaction score
24
Location
Virginia
I'm in line at a local place that carries a good variety of excellent micros when a small group from the UK comes in. I'm watching to see what they select and it's Bud Light all the way around. It kinda hurt a little...
 
When I was in the UK (Manchester then spent a weekend in Devon) last year, I saw more than a few locals drinking Budweiser.
 
You need to frequent my watering holes. ;)

It's amazing how the unwashed masses over here believe the marketing hype.

More of the good stuff for me though!
 
It is all part of the process. I would have to say, most college kids are not too into micros. I did not get into them until after school. I could not imagine how much poorer I would have been throwing down Avery brews in school instead of PBR pounders and Beast.
 
Loved our trip to the UK but was surprised to see Bud in almost every pub. The masses are the masses I guess no matter where you go.
 
You think that's sad? I was at Capital Ale House a few weeks back...they have more beers than anywhere I've ever been, even Monks. 40-some taps just in the main bar, wall fridges full of every bottled beer you can imagine...it's paradise. So I'm sitting at the bar by myself having lunch and a Bluegrass Bourbon Barrel Stout. This chump-ass salesman character saunters up to the bar, not even interested in lunch, just drink. He gets on his bluetooth thingy to a coworker, and through their conversation, I learn that he's staying in the hotel next door, and he's a forklift salesman, and they're having a forklift convention the next day. Yay! Anyway, he's bragging to the guy on the phone who is apparently back at the office wherever that is, that right next door is the CAPITAL ALE HOUSE! Oh my god, how cool is that!!!

What's he order?

Yep. Mich Ultra. I almost spit my beer across the room.

The waitress, cool as hell, doesn't miss a beat (must happen to them more often than I'd like to think it does), tells him they don't carry that kind of stuff. A pilsner, then? She pours him a nice delicious Eggenberg. Word.
 
My point is we can get Bud here every day. Since they were tourists they'll drink anything NEW to them.

Wherever I go I always drink the local beers (other than BMC). That's all they were doing. :D



Thanks Yuri...;)


lol. You honestly think Bud is a new beer to someone from the UK??? Apparently you're not paying attention and/or have not been to the UK. Bud products are available in almost every pub and most of them have Bud products on tap. Bud light is not NEW to them. And saying when you go you drink the local beers is EXACTLY my point. Bud is the furthest thing from a local beer that I can think of. It's THE most global beer on the planet.
 
In the UK, Bud is an import. Since it's cheap here, and it's classically American (whether you like it or not), it's a natural choice for a tourist.

Sorry but AB has a brewery in the UK.. it's not an import.
 
My buddy had a few Irish friends stay with him for a week when they came to visit the States this summer. Some of them were amazed by the variety of Sam Adams and were trying them out, but for the most part they all drank Coors Light.
 
Bud is THE beer to drink in America. If you're here to have the American experience, you drink Bud. Besides, it's NOT an import here, so it's naturally cheaper. I found some UK pub menus listing Bud Light at £2.50 per bottle. That's over $4.00!

Do you really think all Irishmen drink Guinness? But what do 99% of Americans order in Ireland?

Guinness has a brewery in the US...but it's still listed as an import (even on the label, IIRC).
 
Bud is THE beer to drink in America. If you're here to have the American experience, you drink Bud. Besides, it's NOT an import here, so it's naturally cheaper. I found some UK pub menus listing Bud Light at £2.50 per bottle. That's over $4.00!

Do you really think all Irishmen drink Guinness? But what do 99% of Americans order in Ireland?

Guinness has a brewery in the US...but it's still listed as an import (even on the label, IIRC).

What is the logic to converting their currency to our currency when they're spending their money in their country?? It's totally pointless. What would be a good point is comparing the cost of a local brew for them compared to a Bud.

Regardless, that really isn't what I've been debating... it's this Bud is a "new" drink for them thing and why they'd drink that here with so many other AMERICAN choices that they don't have access to. I realize it's their choice and my initial post was just an observation that they're wasting an opportunity to try some really good American micros that they can't get over there... unlike Bud.

Both of you can keep arguing that Bud is a rare drink to people from the UK but I'm not going keep discussing something as pointless as this.

Have fun...
 
I found some UK pub menus listing Bud Light at £2.50 per bottle. That's over $4.00!

That's the minimum price for any bottled beer in a pub.

They probably drink it because it's all they know.

Bud, Miller and Coors are all brewed in the UK.
They are all readily available in just about every pub.

Rollin' Rock and Corona are considered exotic by most.

Carling Lager is considered a class act by most and if they really want to be seen as "Cool" they'll go for a Guinness EXTRA cold. SWMBO won't even drink that because she can't taste it!
 
Nate, I'm not arguing that it's new, simply that it's American. Just as Guinness in Ireland wouldn't be new, just the "Irish thing to do." It's the experience, not the novelty, flavor, or anything else. The currency conversion was to show that you can get the "experience" for a petty price.

What's with the attitude, man? Lighten up.
 
When I was visiting the UK earlier this year it seemed like more often than not the locals would order either Carling, Carlsberg, Pilsner Urquell or similar. I was a bit surprised.
 
lol. You honestly think Bud is a new beer to someone from the UK??? Apparently you're not paying attention and/or have not been to the UK. Bud products are available in almost every pub and most of them have Bud products on tap. Bud light is not NEW to them. And saying when you go you drink the local beers is EXACTLY my point. Bud is the furthest thing from a local beer that I can think of. It's THE most global beer on the planet.
OK, you apparently know who you are talking to...I've been to England more than several times. I also lived in Germany for 9 years.

You are the one missing the point...they're drinking something different from their ordinary every day brew. That's all I am saying. ;)

Me and Yuri are on the same page on this.

Also, your comparision on currency conversion is useless information. When I am on vacation I don't think about if one beer is cheaper than another.

If I want a Guinness I'll order a Guinness. If I want a Budvar I'll order a Budvar. If I want an Efes...you get my point. I don't ask how much it is first. :D
 
Bud light is not NEW to them.
Small point, but I'm pretty sure we can't get Bud Light over here. Normal Bud is available in a variety of places, though there may be some regional differences as I've never seen it on sale in any of the pubs in my area. But it is a well-known brand. I'm not really surprised that some UK drinkers would go for it - most people here drink whatever cheap unchallenging beer is to hand, and much of the time that means they drink beer that most HBTers wouldn't touch with a sh!tty stick. They could either be tourists doing something they thought was typically American, or maybe some pissy-lagerphiles who've had it before. Either way it is wrong and shameful, and on their behalf I apologise. :D
 
Back
Top