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Vote with your wallet. $7 for a craft draft isn't price creep. It's willful extortion.
Depends on the area and the economy. I’m in PA, suburbs outside of Phila. $6 - $6.50 is about the norm for regular craft here. One place we were just at had Bourbon County on draft. That was $9 a snifter. (Don’t know why they put that out in summer.) Belgians are also usually more here, maybe $7 or more but those are usually in bottles.
 
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The days of putting down a twenty and having a few a staying a while seem gone. I don't begrudge a business making a profit, but wonder why I see low alcohol beer at the same prices at high ABV. If I owned a bar or brewpub, personally I'd put at least one beer on that is affordable to the common man without a big salary.
There are places here that do that. It’s usually happy hour and usually $3 bud or miller.
 
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Good Guinness can only be found in a pub etc. that sells a lot of it.
By that I mean, that at a minimum, several barrels a day are being sold.
So, the Guinness doesn't sit in the pipes. Tiny pubs in Ireland will easily
reach this threshold, because Guinness is so popular across most demographics.
In a bar that sells less Guinness, a good landlord will pour a few fingers of Guinness before pouring a pint, so that the drinker is not getting the Guinness that's been sitting in the pipes.
It must be sold at the right temperature, which means the pipes between
keg location and taps must be as short as possible. Seasoned drinkers seem
to prefer Guinness with condensation on the glass. Guinness that doesn't leave
rings around the glass as its level drops is of lesser quality, for a variety of reasons and should be returned for a fresh pint.
Traditionally Guinness never travelled well, which meant that its geographic reach was limited to Ireland and the UK. This has changed. However, if you get 'a bad pint' more than likely the fault is with the premises.
Back fifty years plus, a bottle of Guinness used to be given to hospital patients in Ireland every day, because of the iron content. This was also the case in parts of the UK. During both world wars Guinness supplied bottled beer to hospitals in the UK
because the whole country was on not much more than starvation rations.
For these and other reasons, Guinness has an iconic status for older drinkers.
However, Guinness' advertising has barely put a foot wrong and it's association with rugby and Gaelic football has steadily built market share with younger drinkers.
IMO if you feel the need for a pint of stout. Not much beats a well poured Guinness.
I would go further. Few other stouts even get close in quality and taste.
I heard that Guinness has people who travel from bar to bar and their job is to walk in and order a Guinness and evaluate whether it is being served properly. Then instruct the bartenders if its not.
 
That beer is one of my white whales. Just so curious about it.
I read about a beer that very much interests me that I’ve never had the opportunity to try. Made by Foothills Brewing. They do a special release once a year in time for Valentine’s Day. The beer is called Sexual Chocolate. It is an imperial stout with chocolate added. It’s not been sold within 200 miles of me. But what I’ve read about it sounds really interesting. Anybody here tried that?
 
There is a little Irish pub in Stuttgart we used to frequent, where the bartender had won several awards from Guinness in a competition for serving the perfect pour. The walls were lined with the certificates alongside photos of him at the St. James Gate brewery accepting them.

When pulling a pint, he would often finish off the foam with a shamrock for good luck, and once it said "Sorry!"; when I asked about it he said "well, I did keep yous waitin' a bit long." Fun place, he would keep a tally of pints on our beer coasters, and as the little marks piled up, so did the cheer in the room. In southern Germany that was about as fresh a Guinness as I have ever had, and it is perhaps the best example of a beer that truly lives up to all of it's hype.
 
Pliny The Younger

IMO Blind Pig > Pliny The Elder >>>> Pliny The Younger



(And, for the record, it rhymes with "skinny", not "tiny". Don't care what Vinnie says, he's wrong.)

Agree with the pronunciation but not the evaluation. PtE still knocks my socks off, but for the record I'll pass on Blind Pig and the "Youngster", if anything else is being offered.
 
Depends on the area and the economy. I’m in PA, suburbs outside of Phila. $6 - $6.50 is about the norm for regular craft here. One place we were just at had Bourbon County on draft. That was $9 a snifter. (Don’t know why they put that out in summer.) Belgians are also usually more here, maybe $7 or more but those are usually in bottles.
Now when people ask if me if homebrewing saves money I always tell them it truly does eventually if you're used to buying good beer and get to the point where you can make something similar.
 
To answer a few points. If my beer soaked brain will let me.
I realise that what I'm about to say, sounds like a drinker whose lost all objectivity.
Not so.
If all you've tasted is 'ordinary' Guinness in cans or bottles, then I agree with you.
It is too dry for me also and I suspect for many others, who like me, love draught Guinness served properly.
Chilled Guinness draught has both sweet and sour elements to it's taste. From the malt and hops obviously. I've not had a pint in a few weeks, so I can't quite recall the other elements. Chocolate certainly. Coffee too.
Compared to draught Guinness, the non draught stuff that goes into bottles and cans could be a whole other beer. Now that you can buy 'draught' in cans and have been able to for twenty odd years, I can't think of a reason to drink non draught Guinness.
Yes, Guinness does employ people to go around tasting the pint that's poured in licenced premises. They probably use mystery shoppers too, but I'm not familiar with that. Guinness 'reps' are each responsible for a territory of bars etc selling Guinness. They are employed to help bar owners improve the quality of product poured, as well as help boost sales etc. They will often walk into a premises, up to the bar and ask for a pint. Tasting a little enables them to diagnose what's happening behind the tap and help improve the quality. So, they're called the Guinness Quality Team on their vehicles etc Sounds better than Guinness fault staff or similar.
Guinness will not tolerate a bar etc that continues to serve low quality product. Removing Guinness could mean closure for a bar. They insist on maintaining high quality product, so as not to damage the brand. Because the on sales beer market is so competitive, Guinness know they cannot take any market share for granted. Even in Ireland.
I looked at a business case study of the draught beer part of the Guinness business years ago and it was losing market share rapidly, due to increased competition. But by using sports sponsorships and marketing carefully, as well as aggressively maintaining its quality at the tap, I believe it stopped the slide and might even have reversed it in some markets. Certainly, there is a 'cool' factor to Guinness in Ireland amongst college age kids and older. You wouldn't drink it all night, if you were going on to a club or party, but you'd have a few pints with friends, at the start of the night, in your 'local' pub. I've noticed far more middle class women in Ireland drinking draught Guinness while out socialising, in the past twenty years. I suspect that this was a massive market that Guinness couldn't ignore any longer, if they were to retain market share.
My 10c :)
 
Good Guinness can only be found in a pub etc. that sells a lot of it.
By that I mean, that at a minimum, several barrels a day are being sold.
So, the Guinness doesn't sit in the pipes. Tiny pubs in Ireland will easily
reach this threshold, because Guinness is so popular across most demographics.
In a bar that sells less Guinness, a good landlord will pour a few fingers of Guinness before pouring a pint, so that the drinker is not getting the Guinness that's been sitting in the pipes.
It must be sold at the right temperature, which means the pipes between
keg location and taps must be as short as possible. Seasoned drinkers seem
to prefer Guinness with condensation on the glass. Guinness that doesn't leave
rings around the glass as its level drops is of lesser quality, for a variety of reasons and should be returned for a fresh pint.
Traditionally Guinness never travelled well, which meant that its geographic reach was limited to Ireland and the UK. This has changed. However, if you get 'a bad pint' more than likely the fault is with the premises.
Back fifty years plus, a bottle of Guinness used to be given to hospital patients in Ireland every day, because of the iron content. This was also the case in parts of the UK. During both world wars Guinness supplied bottled beer to hospitals in the UK
because the whole country was on not much more than starvation rations.
For these and other reasons, Guinness has an iconic status for older drinkers.
However, Guinness' advertising has barely put a foot wrong and it's association with rugby and Gaelic football has steadily built market share with younger drinkers.
IMO if you feel the need for a pint of stout. Not much beats a well poured Guinness.
I would go further. Few other stouts even get close in quality and taste.

OK, I expect to get some stick for this (which is fine), and certainly mean no disrespect, but here goes. I believe there is more than a little urban legend associated with "the only place you can get a proper Guinness is in Ireland" meme. This belief almost had religious status when I lived in London in the late 80's, and I suspect for a good many years earlier. There may have been some truth in it from earlier days due to quality control, transport, etc., issues which gave it birth at one point, but I've had some very delicious pints in London, the US and other places over the years which I considered to be indistinguishable from my Dublin pub experiences.

Obviously, you can't have side-by-side comparisons in real time, so that is just my experience and opinion. Guinness is a massive organization (and I have heard, and believe could be true, the stories about Guinness "QA reps" visiting places where it is sold to check on quality; makes sense), and they have the means and technology to ensure a representative product is delivered wherever they sell it. Now what an establishment does with a product once received may be another story, which could also affect other beers as well. I think we have all probably experienced this on occasion (hopefully rarely) with some of our faves; there are certainly many ways a good product can go bad after it leaves the brewery gates.

Last week I had a beer night at my house with many in attendance. I had about 7 of my home brews on tap along with a Guinness stout. A British friend had poured his own Guinness pint, and then came over to congratulate me on making such an amazingly good Guinness clone, 'much better than the crap you get in the US', and then went on and on with usual stories about only getting a good Guinness in Ireland, etc., etc. I could then not tell him that this was actually a commercial keg that I had purchased a few months earlier for another event; at that point it would have been too embarrassing for him.

But one thing which many of us can agree: "Guinness is good"!
 
OK, I expect to get some stick for this (which is fine), and certainly mean no disrespect, but here goes. I believe there is more than a little urban legend associated with "the only place you can get a proper Guinness is in Ireland" meme. This belief almost had religious status when I lived in London in the late 80's, and I suspect for a good many years earlier. There may have been some truth in it from earlier days due to quality control, transport, etc., issues which gave it birth at one point, but I've had some very delicious pints in London, the US and other places over the years which I considered to be indistinguishable from my Dublin pub experiences.

Obviously, you can't have side-by-side comparisons in real time, so that is just my experience and opinion. Guinness is a massive organization (and I have heard, and believe could be true, the stories about Guinness "QA reps" visiting places where it is sold to check on quality; makes sense), and they have the means and technology to ensure a representative product is delivered wherever they sell it. Now what an establishment does with a product once received may be another story, which could also affect other beers as well. I think we have all probably experienced this on occasion (hopefully rarely) with some of our faves; there are certainly many ways a good product can go bad after it leaves the brewery gates.

Last week I had a beer night at my house with many in attendance. I had about 7 of my home brews on tap along with a Guinness stout. A British friend had poured his own Guinness pint, and then came over to congratulate me on making such an amazingly good Guinness clone, 'much better than the crap you get in the US', and then went on and on with usual stories about only getting a good Guinness in Ireland, etc., etc. I could then not tell him that this was actually a commercial keg that I had purchased a few months earlier for another event; at that point it would have been too embarrassing for him.

But one thing which many of us can agree: "Guinness is good"!
I agree with you.
There used to be accepted wisdom that Guinness didn't 'travel well'.
I think to some extent that was true. However, given better transport
technology and/or brewing technology, I don't think this really applies
any longer.
What I also think hasn't changed, is that unless Guinness is fresh out
of a fresh keg, then quality quickly suffers. In small bars on the North
Coast of Northern Ireland, where I grew up and am living now for a
while, you still get the best Guinness where the bar is changing kegs
a few times a night. The pipes are short and the beer is chilled.
This hasn't changed since I first started buying beer in bars aged
about fifteen. Even here in N.Ireland where Guinness also used to be
brewed, you'd only find 'good Guinness' in perhaps ten percent of bars
and everyone knew those bars and would start a night there with a few
pints if they felt like Guinness.
You can still just about find tiny bars in obscure places in southern Ireland,
where they only stock Guinness in bottles. Mainly because there's not
enough trade to make it worth the hassle of transporting a few kegs.
I've seen places like this, that are part general store and/or grocery and
part bar in West Cork and Kerry.
There's no doubt that outside of Ireland and even in some places on the
island, Guinness is a niche drink. Where other lagers etc have a fast turnover
of kegs and Guinness doesn't, that's when you can get a 'bad pint'.
There's not something wrong across all taps. Its purely a matter of
throughput.
The keg your British friend had a good pint of Guinness from. Had you
just opened it? Or, because the beer was fresh from the keg, that might
also have been the reason. I'm not an expert. I only drink the stuff ;)
My father worked for Guinness years ago and he would know everything
about their whole operation. He was a senior manager. Alas he died two
years ago with Covid19 complications, so I can't ask him. I will see if I can
find someone to ask locally.
I don't disagree with anything you've said, other than where I obviously have.
I honestly believe the answer is ensuring the beer doesn't sit in the pipes
for longer than absolutely necessary and having the shortest pipes possible.
That's why, I think, in many pubs in Ireland, the kegs sit right under the bar.
I sometimes carry a camera with me and usually my mobile and if I can get
you a photo of a Guinness 'Quality Team' vehicle, I'll post it.
So far as I know, a Guinness reps relationship with bars in his territory was
never adversarial. Except where they refused to ensure high quality and thus
safe beer. Or, low sales weren't worth a delivery of few kegs once a week.
I don't owe Guinness any loyalty. They did build a lot of what is still high quality
social housing close to their brewery in Dublin and were generous philanthropists.
I hugely enjoy a good pint of Guinness, because pints of the black stuff have started many exceptional nights out, throughout my life.
Also maybe, unlike expensive wines or liqueurs, anyone can afford a good pint of Guinness and that includes the British monarchy to the guy who empties your bins.
I believe the Queen Mother was known to enjoy a half pint. Probably other royals too. For what that's worth ;)
 
Good Guinness can only be found in a pub etc. that sells a lot of it.
By that I mean, that at a minimum, several barrels a day are being sold.
So, the Guinness doesn't sit in the pipes. Tiny pubs in Ireland will easily
reach this threshold, because Guinness is so popular across most demographics.
In a bar that sells less Guinness, a good landlord will pour a few fingers of Guinness before pouring a pint, so that the drinker is not getting the Guinness that's been sitting in the pipes.
It must be sold at the right temperature, which means the pipes between
keg location and taps must be as short as possible. Seasoned drinkers seem
to prefer Guinness with condensation on the glass. Guinness that doesn't leave
rings around the glass as its level drops is of lesser quality, for a variety of reasons and should be returned for a fresh pint.
Traditionally Guinness never travelled well, which meant that its geographic reach was limited to Ireland and the UK. This has changed. However, if you get 'a bad pint' more than likely the fault is with the premises.
Back fifty years plus, a bottle of Guinness used to be given to hospital patients in Ireland every day, because of the iron content. This was also the case in parts of the UK. During both world wars Guinness supplied bottled beer to hospitals in the UK
because the whole country was on not much more than starvation rations.
For these and other reasons, Guinness has an iconic status for older drinkers.
However, Guinness' advertising has barely put a foot wrong and it's association with rugby and Gaelic football has steadily built market share with younger drinkers.
IMO if you feel the need for a pint of stout. Not much beats a well poured Guinness.
I would go further. Few other stouts even get close in quality and taste.
Which Guinness do you mean? They produce several different Stouts of wildly different strengths. Personally, I find Guinness Special Export (only available in Belgium and Holland) to be by far the best version.
 
I have an Irish friend (co-worker) who was living and working in Liverpool. We had a few pints together when he hosted a meeting in Liverpool. I remarked how good it was. He insisted it was better in Ireland - they exported the second rate stuff. Urban legend, I am sure. The beer had hardly traveled.
 
Which Guinness do you mean? They produce several different Stouts of wildly different strengths. Personally, I find Guinness Special Export (only available in Belgium and Holland) to be by far the best version.
Obviously we're discussing the regular draught stout.
I'm not commenting on other export versions.
While I've tried a few. I can't recall them with any accuracy.
 
Surly Darkness. Get your tickets to go get some. You'll be in the company of a few others.

dday-concert.jpg


Alternatively, you can find a few bottles at your liquor store, if you're quick.
 
Most overrated beer?

I'm going to say Corona. How anyone can drink that crap and claim it's "great beer" is beyond me.
And yet check out publications this year like BYO, Craft Beer & Brewing...they’ve have articles on how to brew Mexican lagers like Carona, Tecate, etc. Makes me cringe when I see them. It’s beers like those that made many of us learn to brew our beer! lol!
 
There is a little Irish pub in Stuttgart we used to frequent, where the bartender had won several awards from Guinness in a competition for serving the perfect pour. The walls were lined with the certificates alongside photos of him at the St. James Gate brewery accepting them.

When pulling a pint, he would often finish off the foam with a shamrock for good luck, and once it said "Sorry!"; when I asked about it he said "well, I did keep yous waitin' a bit long." Fun place, he would keep a tally of pints on our beer coasters, and as the little marks piled up, so did the cheer in the room. In southern Germany that was about as fresh a Guinness as I have ever had, and it is perhaps the best example of a beer that truly lives up to all of it's hype.
My wife has that Cert from St. James Gate 👌 No kidding. It was so cool getting video and picks of her behind the bar!

slainte 🍻

KBW. (BTW - We‘re hooked on Bavaria - heading back soon as we can)
 
There is a little Irish pub in Stuttgart we used to frequent, where the bartender had won several awards from Guinness in a competition for serving the perfect pour. The walls were lined with the certificates alongside photos of him at the St. James Gate brewery accepting them.

When pulling a pint, he would often finish off the foam with a shamrock for good luck, and once it said "Sorry!"; when I asked about it he said "well, I did keep yous waitin' a bit long." Fun place, he would keep a tally of pints on our beer coasters, and as the little marks piled up, so did the cheer in the room. In southern Germany that was about as fresh a Guinness as I have ever had, and it is perhaps the best example of a beer that truly lives up to all of it's hype.
When I was working in Germany, I used to attach the coasters with the marks and the food cost as my receipt for the expense account. Nobody ever questioned it, although I am sure that there were a few WTF's?
 
There is a little Irish pub in Stuttgart we used to frequent,.......

When were you in Stuttgart?

I was in the Navy and attached to USEuCom at Patch Barracks for 6 months in late 1975. (God that was a LONG time ago!)

Hated to leave Germany after only 6 months.
 
I agree with you.
There used to be accepted wisdom that Guinness didn't 'travel well'.
I think to some extent that was true. However, given better transport
technology and/or brewing technology, I don't think this really applies
any longer.
What I also think hasn't changed, is that unless Guinness is fresh out
of a fresh keg, then quality quickly suffers. In small bars on the North
Coast of Northern Ireland, where I grew up and am living now for a
while, you still get the best Guinness where the bar is changing kegs
a few times a night. The pipes are short and the beer is chilled.
This hasn't changed since I first started buying beer in bars aged
about fifteen. Even here in N.Ireland where Guinness also used to be
brewed, you'd only find 'good Guinness' in perhaps ten percent of bars
and everyone knew those bars and would start a night there with a few
pints if they felt like Guinness.
You can still just about find tiny bars in obscure places in southern Ireland,
where they only stock Guinness in bottles. Mainly because there's not
enough trade to make it worth the hassle of transporting a few kegs.
I've seen places like this, that are part general store and/or grocery and
part bar in West Cork and Kerry.
There's no doubt that outside of Ireland and even in some places on the
island, Guinness is a niche drink. Where other lagers etc have a fast turnover
of kegs and Guinness doesn't, that's when you can get a 'bad pint'.
There's not something wrong across all taps. Its purely a matter of
throughput.
The keg your British friend had a good pint of Guinness from. Had you
just opened it? Or, because the beer was fresh from the keg, that might
also have been the reason. I'm not an expert. I only drink the stuff ;)
My father worked for Guinness years ago and he would know everything
about their whole operation. He was a senior manager. Alas he died two
years ago with Covid19 complications, so I can't ask him. I will see if I can
find someone to ask locally.
I don't disagree with anything you've said, other than where I obviously have.
I honestly believe the answer is ensuring the beer doesn't sit in the pipes
for longer than absolutely necessary and having the shortest pipes possible.
That's why, I think, in many pubs in Ireland, the kegs sit right under the bar.
I sometimes carry a camera with me and usually my mobile and if I can get
you a photo of a Guinness 'Quality Team' vehicle, I'll post it.
So far as I know, a Guinness reps relationship with bars in his territory was
never adversarial. Except where they refused to ensure high quality and thus
safe beer. Or, low sales weren't worth a delivery of few kegs once a week.
I don't owe Guinness any loyalty. They did build a lot of what is still high quality
social housing close to their brewery in Dublin and were generous philanthropists.
I hugely enjoy a good pint of Guinness, because pints of the black stuff have started many exceptional nights out, throughout my life.
Also maybe, unlike expensive wines or liqueurs, anyone can afford a good pint of Guinness and that includes the British monarchy to the guy who empties your bins.
I believe the Queen Mother was known to enjoy a half pint. Probably other royals too. For what that's worth ;)
I had to go look at the keg. Unbelievably it is almost TWO YEARS old, but still pours a very nice pint. Won't claim that it's the same as the day I tapped it, but it is still extremely drinkable. I run it with beer gas, of course, it it still rises and makes a nice tight head in a perfect Guinness fashion.
 
Can't say heineken is overrated this side of the pond as it isn't rated that much here(outside of maybe amsterdam where it's brewed).

Corona is definately overrated, but more fashion than "craft rated"

Westvleteren 12 is a great beer, but I'm not a huge quad drinker, the 8 they make though.....I'll get my hands on any bottles I can get near normal monestary price.
 
Well, admittedly I've had that exact view of the Charlton facility numerous times - on research visits, of course...

Cheers! (highly enjoyable research visits :D)

ps: I do not consider most of their beers overrated, fwiw. In fact I've been trying to clone a lot of them over the years, so...
Been in that exact spot many times too! (I might have even taken that picture lol).

Yes, the beer is worth standing in line, if you like it that much. Same with the Munson location, where I've seen it backed up to the road. 5 years ago, I was down, but there are so many other interesting options now. Still a sick place to visit, and I will continue to do so, just not regularly anymore. (Except I'll be up there next Thursday the 24th for my BDay :) )

As for overrated beer, I would agree with Heineken. That being said, I'd drink it if that was all they had on tap...
 
So, is there ANYTHING you wouldn't drink if that's all that was on tap? Bud Light? Miller Light? Natty Iight? PBR?
Miller isn't too bad. PBR has its place. Definitely not a fan of Bud light or Natty. But if I was at a Summer party, and that's ALL they had for alcohol, I'd most likely take a few down. But I would NEVER purchase for my own personal consumption. There's a time an place for any kind of beer. Hot Summer day in front of the grill isn't a spot for drinking 4 8% Tree House beers. Or Heady Topper. (Trust me, I've done it. Bad idea.) So, while I'm sweating in the Sun, I'm more than happy to drink Coors Light with my Dad and then switch to something more flavorful when I'm done.
 
Yeah. My brother used to have a 30' boat on Lake Erie. He used to get a 12-pack of (I think) Milwaukee Beast (best) to drink on the boat. As memory serves it wasn't the best stuff, but better than nothing
 
Ditto on Corona - it’s absolutely the worst commercial beer-in 1965 Corona was 5cents a bottle across the border - the least expensive “dog” beer available at that Time-it was also then in a little 8 oz clear bottle ( cheaper bottle than amber) - it’s a testament to how gullible we are to marketing and brand development
 
Saw on the news feed today...this years Sam Adams Utopia is coming out at $240 and 28%

A friend shared one a few years ago...$99...it kinda sucked...

Probably no different now...
I've had it 1x about 15 years ago. And only because my work purchased it for our boss. It drinks more like a cognac. It's only beer because of the process. It's not even carbed. Not worth $240 or even $50 IMO.
 
Most overrated, and I read through the whole thread and didn't see any mention specifically, is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It's boring and bland. When I am out and the server or bartender asks what to drink and I say "Got any craft beer?" and I hear "Sam Adams"... just crestfallen. I know gas stations I can find better beer.

I do like their Octoberfest but I like mine better!
 
Just asking for opinions on people’s most overrated brand of beer.
It can be a craft beer, but I’d like to stick to ones that are pretty well known around the globe.

I’ll start.
For me, I don’t get why people drink Heineken. Every damn time I’ve decided to give it another chance, I regret it. ALWAYS gives me a throbbing headache. Corona is another beer that I would pass by if other Mexican beers are available.
Easy, IPAs...
 
Saw on the news feed today...this years Sam Adams Utopia is coming out at $240 and 28%

A friend shared one a few years ago...$99...it kinda sucked...

Probably no different now...

You could buy an amazing small batch Scottish or Irish Whiskey at that price. Not worth it.

As I mentioned above I had it twice at some beer fests I was working and wasn’t impressed at all.

Sam Adams should stick to lagers, that’s their bread and butter.
 
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