tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post546428809198864905..comments2024-01-29T10:16:00.995+00:00Comments on CALLED TO THE BAR : A pint of Greene King has me thinking about the politics of beerAdrian Tierney-Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-5505739315864355882010-05-04T21:37:06.456+01:002010-05-04T21:37:06.456+01:00Greene King IPA was the gateway drug that got me d...Greene King IPA was the gateway drug that got me drinking ale: it has very little flavour and wass therefore not remotely intimidating. But it didn't take me long to go off it. It's often not in good nick in London -- the kind of places that have it are often just not good pubs -- but, even in good nick, I now find it very, very boring. I'll take a pint of Chiswick over a GK IPA any day.Baileyhttp://boakandbailey.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-1257168759727777412010-05-04T14:38:58.066+01:002010-05-04T14:38:58.066+01:00Funnily enough, I touched on this very subject in ...Funnily enough, I touched on this very subject in my last article at <a href="http://www.beer-pages.com/stories/greene-king-ipa.htm" rel="nofollow">beer-pages.com</a>ZakAveryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01794154105596597019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-59801563936232440212010-05-04T14:12:32.952+01:002010-05-04T14:12:32.952+01:00Barm — fair comment(s)
Velky — I’m sadly old enoug...Barm — fair comment(s)<br />Velky — I’m sadly old enough to remember Ruddles County when it was a decent and lethal drop<br />Bob — not had SS in cask yet, though have had the 12% aged beer on its own<br />Ron — put that in for you ;-)Adrian Tierney-Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-20845585589107099032010-05-04T12:52:01.487+01:002010-05-04T12:52:01.487+01:00"Was this because it was not a correct IPA?&q..."Was this because it was not a correct IPA?" <br /><br />This is something that really annoys me. People saying "But Greene King IPA isn't even a real IPA". It is a real IPA, a type of IPA with a long history (120 years, at least).<br /><br />It's all those grapefruit-flavoured beers that aren't proper IPAs.Ron Pattinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-9122521333723231662010-05-04T01:14:09.640+01:002010-05-04T01:14:09.640+01:00I'm not a fan of GK, probably due to living in...I'm not a fan of GK, probably due to living in GK heart land. GK IPA isn't bad, I find it average, but the main problem isn't the beer but the landlords who don't keep it in good condition. I've had some lovely pints of it, but mostly utter ***** ones. If they could train their tied landlords better, then may be people wouldn't have such a problem with it. Suffolk Strong on the other hand is excellent and I've drunk that in the pub rather then their IPA before.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11459315590784729448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-41655956735829009732010-05-04T00:01:13.251+01:002010-05-04T00:01:13.251+01:00I have only had one pint of Greene King IPA and it...I have only had one pint of Greene King IPA and it was rank - smelt like rubber carpet underlay. But I like the occasional Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen can be a fine drop, and Ruddles is decent as well in my experience. <br /><br />Perhaps though it is a case of group think that causes people to boo them winning an award, just as it is group think that makes American beer nerds suspicious of Michelob being the "craft" arm of AB-InBev, and I fear that group think would decry a superb beer made by Anheuser-Busch simply on the basis of the company rather than the beer.<br /><br />Craft doesn't always equal good any more than macro always equals crap.Velky Alhttp://www.fuggled.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-63459207204415605502010-05-03T22:42:39.841+01:002010-05-03T22:42:39.841+01:00Oh, and to come back to the question at hand, the ...Oh, and to come back to the question at hand, the issue is power. Microbreweries who make crappy beer (and there are plenty of those) don't have the power to push better beers off the bar. Greene King do, and they use it, thus reducing my choice and actually removing several formerly good pubs from my roster of places to drink.Rob Sterowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870233673933087794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-44419350127434291472010-05-03T22:25:11.663+01:002010-05-03T22:25:11.663+01:00Oh yeah, I forgot the fake handpumps they use for ...Oh yeah, I forgot the fake handpumps they use for keg beer in the USA.Rob Sterowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870233673933087794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-7444141437536874652010-05-03T22:23:59.325+01:002010-05-03T22:23:59.325+01:00I don't like Greene King because all their bee...I don't like Greene King because all their beers taste the same; because through their Belhaven pubs in Scotland they are pushing IPA and Abbot at the expense of Belhaven's own beers; because they run a fake "head brewer's blog" written by a PR guy; because they have an appalling record of buying and closing down other breweries; ditto pubs – see the Lewes Arms campaign for an example of them removing a local beer in favour of their own, against the wishes of the customers; and because all this leads me to believe Belhaven, founded in 1719 and one of just two surviving old-established cask ale breweries in Scotland, is also in serious danger of closure as long as Greene King own it.<br /><br />Is that enough to be going on with?Rob Sterowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870233673933087794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-35370923589066980872010-05-03T21:07:01.371+01:002010-05-03T21:07:01.371+01:00Keefie, you have to hang around with ‘beer warrior...Keefie, you have to hang around with ‘beer warriors’ and hear what they think of the biggest cask beer producer in the UK, it’s not very complimentary.Adrian Tierney-Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-83337984789023057912010-05-03T20:40:43.886+01:002010-05-03T20:40:43.886+01:00Utterly mystified by this post. What's wrong w...Utterly mystified by this post. What's wrong with Greene King? I love their Abbot Ale. It's one of the things I go back to England for.Keefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04820411415545249138noreply@blogger.com