Crean's lager

pog it

Tried this last night for the first time and was sorely disappointed. I'm delighted that we have this microbrewery renaissance happening here recently but this beer was a complete let-down and I was tempted to give it back to the bar man. As it was I just forced myself to drink it.

Anyone else try it?

pog it

pog it wrote: »

Tried this last night for the first time and was sorely disappointed. I'm delighted that we have this microbrewery renaissance happening here recently but this beer was a complete let-down and I was tempted to give it back to the bar man. As it was I just forced myself to drink it.

Anyone else try it?

I tried it at the Franciscan Well's octoberfest, I quite liked it.

toffeeshel

pog it wrote: »

Tried this last night for the first time and was sorely disappointed. I'm delighted that we have this microbrewery renaissance happening here recently but this beer was a complete let-down and I was tempted to give it back to the bar man. As it was I just forced myself to drink it.

Anyone else try it?

Tried a taste of it last weekend and thought it was bland but that was possibly due to the fact that I was drinking Hooker beforehand.

BeerNut

It's a tough style to do well and this isn't an example of it being done well, IMO. It has quite a bit of buttery diacetyl in it which I think results from insufficient lagering time.

poitinstill

I think the problem with some start up brewers is that maybe they havent brewed before and are operating equipment to a proceedure...I think some of the start ups that have brewed before eg dungarvan know how to brew then just have to scale it up and hope it works... i think 8 degrees beers are great too for spanking new also had breweyed blond and lager...love the blond ..the lager is standard like staropramen etc..

slayerking

Didn't like this at all when I tried it, could really taste the diacetyl off it.
I dont know why they choose to brew a lager as their first beer, dicey enough as any flaws have no where to hide. And its there only offering aswell.

Im not sure who there trying to appeal to here either, compete with the macro lagers (which is a very tricky) or to the growing niche market with craft ales (which they havnt made yet).

BeerNut

slayerking wrote: »

I dont know why they choose to brew a lager as their first beer, dicey enough as any flaws have no where to hide.

I asked them. They reckon there's a market for a specifically Irish-branded lager.

BaZmO*

Tried it a while ago in Farringtons and I really liked it. Wasn't really a crisp lager though. I got quite a strong sweet caramel taste from it, which I liked a lot. Tried it a few weeks later and it tasted quite different, the sweetness wasn't as prominent.

I think they may have a point about there being a gap in the market for an Irish lager though. Especially for people that would be of the mind that they "only" drink lager. But that said, I'd say it'd be a hard sell.

pog it

They have a nice marketing approach to it though, using the Irish language (that normally works for me), and they're based in Dingle. Also the pint they show in the marketing photograph has a deep frothy top and has a pale yellow colour so it looked very good from there, but when I ordered it and tasted it the drink was actually shocking and looked completely different to the photo. That's just unacceptable.

I was just disappointed because I'd love to see more good Irish made beers more widely available.

BeerNut

pog it wrote: »

using the Irish language (that normally works for me)

Everything I've seen has been in English. Are you sure you're not mixing up Dingle Brewing Company with Beoir Chorcha Duibhne out by Ballyferriter?

pog it

BeerNut wrote: »

Everything I've seen has been in English. Are you sure you're not mixing up Dingle Brewing Company with Beoir Chorcha Duibhne out by Ballyferriter?

Nope, was definitely Crean's, based in Dingle.

Seaneh

The problem brewing lagers is that it has to be perfect or it will be ****. You have to spend a long time perfecting a recipe and then match that process every single time in extreme detail and precission or it will bugger up and be really inconsistant. This has happened to most of the Irish breweries who try lagers. Galway Bay Brewery being a great example, their lager was so inconsistant that one batch would be a clear pale yellow (think Staropraman) and the next could be darker than Galway Hooker and twice as cloudy.

This is why they stopped making the stuff!

I'm not a fan of lagers anyway so really couldn't be bothered to try Crean's, but I can't understand how a small start up thought Lager was a good idea.

There is a reason Dungarvan, Carlow, Trouble, Metalman etc have avoided Lagers, they are a pain in the arse and not worth the effort or trying to compete with Heiniken et al.

BeerNut

Seaneh wrote: »

Galway Bay Brewery being a great example, their lager was so inconsistant

Their lager was an ale

Seaneh wrote: »

but I can't understand how a small start up thought Lager was a good idea.

As I said above: they reckoned there was a gap in the market.

Seaneh

BeerNut wrote: »

Their lager was an ale

Why the hell was it all over the place so?!

Doesn't surprise me though.

kenmc

This is actually one of the few lagers I DO like; it's a style I typically find to be lacking in taste! Found it quite creamy with a nice mouthfeel.

Dingle Brewer

We have decided to brew one Lager and one only. Put all our efforts into getting it right.
As per the responses below. We have made some slight alterations... the Cara malt has been reduced to bring the colour from amber to a more golden Lager. As comments were Creans is a hybrid between an Ale and a Lager. Creans is a true Irish Lager! Head retention and cling to the glass was an issue. So the Lagering time has been extended and we have spent alot of time and money on the new nucleated Glasses. Look for the Tom Crean Pipe at the bottom of the Glass. Diacetyl (Vicinal Diketone VDK) will give a buttery or butterscotch flavour and smell. Diacetyl comes from the Yeast during the Fermention of the Wort and from Beer sat in the keg and lines for a period of time. Our Line cleaning was every two weeks. We are now religiously cleaning our Lines and tasting Creans Weekly in each Pub. Creans is a Fresh Lager hence the shelf life is short as we want you drinking Creans at its freshest.

We value your feedback and support. Creans is available in Dublin at Farringtons Temple Bar, O'Neils Suffolk St, Bull & Castle Christchurch, Against the Grain Wexford St, Black Sheep Cable Street opening soon, Rody Bolands Rathmines, Mc Sorleys, Smyths, Birchills Ranelagh. Kildare Silken Thomas and Cuninghams. Newbridge Harrigans and of Course down here in Dingle.

Look out for tastings and promotions on our facebook page.

Hondo75

Thanks for info Dingle.Had first pint in Silken thomas .The pint glass works well..

Seaneh

It's lovely to get feedback and info directly from the producers!

Hope it goes well for ye lads and despite my reservations when it comes to Lagers I wish you all the luck in the world and a successful future!

Sounds like you lot have put a lot of effort into developing a great finished product.

slayerking

Must give it another try when I see it again.

Good to get an explain of why you went with the Lager only, best of luck, just hope its not too niché!

irish_goat

What's the link to the facebook page?

BaZmO*

I was in a pub over the weekend and asked for a pint of it and unfortunately they were out of stock. Got talking to the barman and he said that there was a shortage of it at the moment. He also told me that the taste/recipe was due to change because the brewer was changing/altering the chemicals that they use to brew it. Thought it was a strange thing to say.

BeerNut

BaZmO* wrote: »

Thought it was a strange thing to say.

A publican who didn't know the first effing thing about how beer is made? :eek:

Also: :rolleyes:

BaZmO*

BeerNut wrote: »

A publican who didn't know the first effing thing about how beer is made? :eek:

Also: :rolleyes:

Ah I know that bar people can be as ignorant the average Joe most of the time, but this was a bar that considers itself a "Craft Beer Pub"

Seaneh

The way staff turnover us in bars, even brew pubs will, at times have new people who haven't a clue about craft beers. One bar I live will get new staff and for the first few months they are clueless but within 4-5 months they can talk about flavor profiles and brewing techniques because the longer they work they just seem to develop an interest. Eventually they can start telling different hop characteristics apart.

Short answer, probably a new staff member.

BaZmO*

Yeah probably. Still a bit of a dumb thing to say though. Mentioning chemicals and food in the same sentence is not a great way to promote a product, and I'd imagine it's not something the brewer would like to hear coming what is essentially a sales rep for the product.

Martyn1989

BaZmO* wrote: »

Yeah probably. Still a bit of a dumb thing to say though. Mentioning chemicals and food in the same sentence is not a great way to promote a product, and I'd imagine it's not something the brewer would like to hear coming what is essentially a sales rep for the product.

If thats the case the brewer should be providing the staff with the right info

irish_goat

Do people who drink Irish craft beer drink a lot of lager? I might be wrong but surely craft drinkers tend towards the ales and stouts etc whilst anyone who drinks lager would be inclined to drink Diageinken or one of the decent European lagers.

Likewise, anyone who does branch out from their comfort zone of advertised lager and tries an Irish one is probably then likely to branch out and try other Irish crafts?

Just seems to me like there can't be that much of a market for it.

BeerNut

irish_goat wrote: »

Do people who drink Irish craft beer drink a lot of lager?

I don't, but it's because I don't like most of what's available. I like Budvar, Urquell, Herold Dark and Bernard Dark and will often drink them if I see them on tap.

irish_goat wrote: »

surely craft drinkers tend towards the ales and stouts etc

I think that's because that's where the quality and variety is, in Ireland. Not that every craft ale and stout is nectar but they tend to put in a better performance than the lagers, IMO.

irish_goat wrote: »

Just seems to me like there can't be that much of a market for it.

Only time will tell. I'm sure they've done their research. Note that they haven't really gone for the specialist beer bars as their primary target. I guess the aim is to be an alternative for the Heineken drinker when no other craft alternative exists.

upforit101

I tried Tom Crean Lager recently In Farringtons and I absolutely loved it.
Nice and crisp and light!.
Well done to those involved in producing this.

upforit101

Dingle Brewer wrote: »

We have decided to brew one Lager and one only. Put all our efforts into getting it right.
As per the responses below. We have made some slight alterations... the Cara malt has been reduced to bring the colour from amber to a more golden Lager. As comments were Creans is a hybrid between an Ale and a Lager. Creans is a true Irish Lager! Head retention and cling to the glass was an issue. So the Lagering time has been extended and we have spent alot of time and money on the new nucleated Glasses. Look for the Tom Crean Pipe at the bottom of the Glass. Diacetyl (Vicinal Diketone VDK) will give a buttery or butterscotch flavour and smell. Diacetyl comes from the Yeast during the Fermention of the Wort and from Beer sat in the keg and lines for a period of time. Our Line cleaning was every two weeks. We are now religiously cleaning our Lines and tasting Creans Weekly in each Pub. Creans is a Fresh Lager hence the shelf life is short as we want you drinking Creans at its freshest.

We value your feedback and support. Creans is available in Dublin at Farringtons Temple Bar, O'Neils Suffolk St, Bull & Castle Christchurch, Against the Grain Wexford St, Black Sheep Cable Street opening soon, Rody Bolands Rathmines, Mc Sorleys, Smyths, Birchills Ranelagh. Kildare Silken Thomas and Cuninghams. Newbridge Harrigans and of Course down here in Dingle.

Look out for tastings and promotions on our facebook page.

Any plans to put it in cans or bottles?
IMO there is a gap in the market for this.
I like Porterhouse "Templebrau" but it's only available on draught.
Please put Tom Crean Lager into cans!

Seaneh

I don't think you will be seeing any Irish micro breweries beers in cans anytime soon. Bottles, yeah, but cans not likely.