no more imports!

[desiderata]

While waiting for my home brew to condition, I do occassionally purchase a six pack of store bought--also to help me decide what to brew next. Every import I get (i.e. Guiness extra stout, pauliner hefe w) seems to taste poor, compared to the domestic ones (sierra nev pa, sam adams dark). So, I've concluded that the length/distance of shipping has too much of an effect on the quality of the product, as i know that those imports are not crappy brands. So, domestic only for me from now on--and i'm not meaning BMC!

By the way, anyone in the midwest area tried the Boulevard line? I'm originally from KC and miss the unfiltered wheat. don't think it is sold outside the midwest.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hey, D! I'm gonna be down your area in a couple of weeks. I have to deprocess/inspect/handoff some M109A6 Paladins (usually 3 weeks but I have other commitments).

I'll let you know the dates when I'll be down there.

I was in DC last week. Bush asked for my advice again...I don't know why...he's always ignoring it!

I'll be in PA next week and I have 2 Jersey trips coming up at the beginning of the month, but for 1 week between the Jersey trips I'll be at Stewart.

We usually stay in Savannah exit 94. I'll keep you posted.

 

[SteveM]

There's nothing wrong with those beers when they leave their brewery. But in importing it, the trip will be within a container loaded onto a ship, and storage conditions will be uncontrolled while the stuff is in transit, and transit time will be at least weeks or even a few months. It will go from a ship on the North Atlantic to a container port in the US, where (unless it is a reefer container) it could get warmed up in the sun, then trucked to a big distribution point, and from there to a regional distributor, and from there to your local retail outlet.

I doubt they use anything like temperature controlled shipping (such as is done for low cube, high value stuff like biological products - vaccines and blood and so on).

It used to be that you sort of had to buy imports to get a great beer, but certainly it is not true these days.

 

[alemonkey]

One thing that I've never understood is why so many imports package their beer in clear or green bottles. By the time it gets here it's so skunked it's undrinkable.

What's funny is there are people who have convinced themselves that the skunky flavor is a desirable characteristic.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Nothing can piss you off more than buying a sixer of Pilsner Urkel to find it skunky. Especially after you drop $8-10 bucks for the thing.

I had a similar experience with a 12er of Sam Adams Summer Ale. I was really disappointed. I wound up returning it and buying Rolling Rock. Even in the green bottles it tasted ok. No skunk.

The goal should to brew often enough and have the patience to let it condition in order to have a good supply!

 

[desiderata]

I have a friend who lives in Sheffield, England who prefers the American beers there over the English ones. don't understand that, but then again, he is no connoisseur by any means.

homebrewer 99, look forward to drinking with ya. my english brown ale should be good and ready to go by then--i'll be sure not to finish it off also, there is at least one brewpub, Moon River Brewery, in downtown savannah, we can hit up too. I've been there a couple of times, i like it. keep me posted.

 

[simzy]

I just moved to OKC three years ago, and fell in love with Boulevard beer, espically Boulevard Wheat. Awesome Beers. I'm gonna miss them when I move back home to Washington. And you are right. Boulevard Isn't sold outside the midwest.

 

[G. Cretin]

mmmmm Bully Porter....

 

[user 4295]

One thing that I've never understood is why so many imports package their beer in clear or green bottles.

I once saw a documentary that stated the reason. It was said that after WWII, some of the European breweries wanted to set themselves apart form the American breweries that bottled their beers in brown or amber glass, so they bottled in green and clear glass. Well, I guess they were successful in setting themselves apart, as most of those beers taste like they were filtered directly through a skunks' a$$hole.

John

 

[gonzoflick]

Schlenkerla: You returned opened beer and they gave you another sixer???

Wow I thought around here it was way illegal to return any form of alcohol or cigs. I gotta find me a local liquor store that lets me sample their products...

Good find!

Cheers

 

[kornkob]

I once saw a documentary that stated the reason. It was said that after WWII, some of the European breweries wanted to set themselves apart form the American breweries that bottled their beers in brown or amber glass, so they bottled in green and clear glass. Well, I guess they were successful in setting themselves apart, as most of those beers taste like they were filtered directly through a skunks' a$$hole.

John

Not to be too picky but the people to blame for the skunk is almost certainly the retailer. I've yet to see a retailer who doesn't store the beer in class cases, brightly lit for most of the day (and some places 24/7) with the worst possible light for beer to be exposed to.

Whereas when I buy a case of beer, still in the case from the manufacturer, is is not skunked--- largely because a cardboard box stops the UV that damages beer.

So if you want your beers to be less skunky either buy sealed cases or ***** at your retailer till he changes his handling practices.

 

[user 4295]

Not to be too picky but the people to blame for the skunk is almost certainly the retailer. I've yet to see a retailer who doesn't store the beer in class cases, brightly lit for most of the day (and some places 24/7) with the worst possible light for beer to be exposed to.

Whereas when I buy a case of beer, still in the case from the manufacturer, is is not skunked--- largely because a cardboard box stops the UV that damages beer.

So if you want your beers to be less skunky either buy sealed cases or ***** at your retailer till he changes his handling practices.

I agree with you kornkob. While it is the journey and how the imported beer in the green and clear bottles are handled along the line, some of the blame must lie with the brewers of this beer. These are big guys we are talking about here, with deep pockets, science labs and the knowledge that beer in green glass when exposed to UV light will get skunked. They don't have any control over how the shippers, distributors or retailers handle the beer, but if they were in brown glass it wouldn't even be an issue.

John

 

[Orpheus]

most of those beers taste like they were filtered directly through a skunks' a$$hole.

Hey Johnsma,

How many microns do you get with a filter like that?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Gonzoflick -

I always return nasty beer and of course I only have opened one. Anyone else would do the same with spoiled milk or any dairy.

I once returned beer because they were gushers. The stuff went off in the car on the trip home. Hit R&R tracks and it set off two bottles. The store manager thought it was my fault, that I had shaken up the beer. I left it for him, bought another 12er of something else. The next day I went back and collected my cash. He let it set for about 4 hours and tried popping one open only to get a mini-old faithful geiser.

Kornkob -

The Sam Adams was a closed box 12er. I think the manufacturer bears 80% of the responsibility. They are to blame for poor packaging design that doesn't protect their product in shipping, handling, and storage. The distributor should do turn inventory and provide adequate storage for whatever they buy. However, in this case I think it was processing. Smelled like boiled cabbage.

 

[Levers101]

Boulevard Wheat is good stuff, but around here its probably cheaper to buy it in bottles than to buy it by the pitcher. Its usually around $8.00 a pitcher, and you can buy bottles for $5.99 sometimes for a sixer. Now, IMHO it tastes better out of the tap when the bar does a good job at storage, and keeping their lines clean. But still, its a hit to the pocketbook when you know its cheaper at the grocery store.

 

[fezzman]

mmmmm Bully Porter....

mmmmmm....I'll second that.