06 April 2008

A bullet dodged

Cheers to Thom of Black Cat Brewery fame for spotting that Samuel Adams Winter Lager was being sold in the Bull & Castle last night, and for buying me a bottle.

I had previously complained that Redmond's were selling it by the six-pack only, and that I wasn't prepared to shell out that much money for that much of it. Since I wrote that, I got talking to the management in Redmond's who said that American beer by the six-pack is definitely the way forward and that people will buy a cardboard basket of US imports for nearly €13 who wouldn't buy single bottles of it. I can only count my lucky stars that the Holiday Porter is not being supplied in such baskets, because Redmond's would have no qualms at all about flogging it exclusively in this form. Mind you, it'd be worth it, but I wouldn't know that unless I'd already been able to buy a single bottle.

I'm horrified by the whole development and hope it's a passing fad rather than a permanent fixture, especially now that I've had the Winter Lager and hated it. It's very similar to Boston Brewing's excreable Octoberfest beer: oversweet, heavy and cloying with an unpleasant maize-like character.

Words cannot express my relief at not being stuck with five more bottles of this rubbish. Thanks again, Thom.

7 comments:

  1. I must admit to being absolutely puzzled by the resistance to beer being sold in multiples only. Yes, sometimes it means you might buy something that turns out to be a bit dodge, but six bottles is hardly a large amount!

    I rarely buy single bottles. In fact I rarely buy bottled beer. So maybe I'm talking nonsense.

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  2. So what do you do with the other five? I've no problem finishing off a beer I didn't like, but having five unopened bottles of beer that I hate sitting about would really annoy me.

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  3. No sweat. There are very few beers I would happily buy multiples of. Brooklyn Lager is perhaps one, or Goose Island IPA, but generally I like to have a bit of variety, and it would piss me off to have bottles of beer hanging around that I paid for but don't want to drink.

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  4. Beer Nut - I agree with you entirely. This forcing customers into buying multiples should be resisted on principle.

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  5. Anonymous2:43 pm

    Try the Boston Ale.
    It's my favorite of all the Samuel Adams brands.
    The Black lager and Scotch Ale are also very nice.
    Translated into American money, these are more than $20 per six-pack. (They cost from $7 to $9 in New Jersey.) With the Euro so strong, they should be half of what you're being charged.

    Brian Callaghan

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  6. Unfortunately, Brian, most of that price is made up of Ireland's crippling excise duty and VAT.

    I'm sure I'll try the Boston Ale eventually, but I ain't buying six of them. I do like the Black Lager, though Holiday Porter trumps it, IMO.

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  7. If I like something, I want more of it... however I do take the point that if you try something new and don't like it, you're stuck with bottles you don't really want.

    That's what drunken guests, brought back after the clubs kick out at 4am, are for.

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