Sunday 8 July 2012

Cheap and Cheerful.. or not

Having spent an abominable amount on beer over the last couple of months... the old bank balance is looking somewhat peaky. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every minute, but we are running low on tea bags, toilet roll and washing powder. If we run out, I don't think myself or Mr Ticker will be very popular.

Hence a trip to bargain basement in Morrisons. Morrisons near us has a bargain basement corner. A few shelves where it sells beers that have somehow been waylaid from multipacks, or beers that are close to the sell-by date. So there I was, at bargain basement, and I managed to get a whole 7 different beers to try for under a fiver. I was so very proud of myself... in recent weeks we have been known to spend a fiver on one beer, let alone 7!!

As you might expect, the outcome was not an entire success...
I want to like all the beers. I want have eclectic tastes and want to avoid beer snobbery.

108: Coors Light, Coors Brewing Company, 4.2%
Smells very familiar. Sharp smell. Unpleasant smell. Tastes, slight bitterness, but next to no flavour. Very watery. Its redeeming feature it is is cold. Think I'd prefer a glass of water though.


109: Fosters Gold, Fosters Group Ltd, 4.8%
Doesn't smell unpleasant, quite faint though. Flavour is a bit malty, no bitterness. Definitely refreshing. A big improvement. Would drink this again.

110: Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Brewing Company, 4.66%
Non-descript aroma. Tastes a slight slight bit malty. Very similar to Coors Light but with a little more body. Bottle says it is made with choicest hops... I can't taste any really.

111: Budweiser Brew '66', Anheuser-Busch, 4%
First of the bunch to have a slight malt aroma. Carbonation overpowers the flavours.

112: Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch, 5%
One percent stronger, but I can't distinguish anything different between the two Budweisers. Not offensive... refreshing, yes...

113: Gold Label, InBev UK, 8.5%
My first ever barleywine. To be honest, wasn't expecting great things... Sweet smell. Sweet, sharp, pungent taste. Boozey to the point of being oppressive. Unpleasant. This had nothing redeeming about it. I'm sorry to say it went down the sink. The first ever time I've poured a drink away.

114: Snakebite, Wychwood Brewery, 4.2%
Having had beers from Wychwood before, I was expecting this to be the best of the bunch. Described as an apple fruit beer. Cider aroma. To me, tastes like gone off concentrated apple juice and not even vaguely like beer. A pretty unpleasant taste, can't drink it all. Disappointed.

So... feeling a little less smug. A pretty non-descript bunch followed by the binning of two beers, which means my bargain was less of a bargain. I dislike negativity. To be honest, I was struggling to decide whether to post this or not. But I bought the beers as an experiment in penny saving, to add to my experience, and I learnt an awful lot. So I ought to share the experience. I'm sure that some people will love these beers, they are just not for me.
Am I a beer snob?

6 comments:

  1. If disliking some beers over others makes you a beer snob then I suppose you are, but don't feel bad, you're in good company. :)

    Others might call it discerning.

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  2. Thanks Gareth! Discerning. Like it!

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  3. One of my favourite activities is hunting round local convenience stores, for budget friendly oddities. Respect due.

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  4. Its only being snobbish if you dismiss them before trying them or try to force your vuews on others, everyone is entitled to their opinion on beer taste. If you aren't discerning you're drinking for the booze and not the taste and then you may aswell be drinking vodka...

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  5. Thanks guys. I find it really interesting, I want to like all beer but just don't. And I'm not drinking just for e booze, grew out of that when I was 18 I think!

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  6. Wychwood Snakesbite... *shudder*... as a suggestion steer clear of Wychwood Fruits of the Forest. It is of a similar alcopop vein. May I suggest the new Tesco simply range of beers for budget friendly boozing/ticking?

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