I must check my untappd see if I've had it before then, it might be in new packaging or something, it didn't look familiar.
it's also very weird that Lough Gill have an American Pale at a higher abv than an IPA - the IPA isn't even marked "session"
+1 for the cryo pop.
I tried the Hoppelhammer. First sip was a bit strange but after that I found it very nice. I actually got a bit of a stout taste off it for some reason.
It was also very dark compared so most IPAs.
This would be my assumption also, and would glad to be told otherwise / learn. I would assume fewer hops or a cheaper hop.
If Lough Gill can produce a €1.99 for Aldi, but their core range hovers in the €3 - €3.50 range, something has to give - no?
It pretty much true. Just load the beer up with "bland" widely available hops which also then has the bonus of being "sessionable" which will suit the mass market.
I used brew a beer with a different brewery every 6 months for a pub collab and was forever butting head with my area manager as he wanted these low abv/price/unchallenging beers.
Also remember there's a very different pricing system. No distributor taking a margin and those multiples add very slim margins.
So, where you might have a distributor taking 15% then a retailer taking 25% compared to Aldi taking somewhere around 9%. Add in volume and good terms and a brewer could do surprisingly well.
A few years back, an Irish microbrewer told me they make a better margin from Aldi than they do selling the same beer in the independent trade.
Presumably because when Aldi put an order in they do it in bulk for every store in ROI
And for reasons regarding margins, as I explained above.
I dfefinitely think it shows more in the Lough Gill Beers that the DOT beers. The Cryo Pop was lovely, and the Side Step (i think its called ) at 5.8% is decent for the price. the Festbier was fine. The Whitewater beers were always underwheleming for me more in the old IPA style and usually dead as a dodo from sitting on supermarket shelves for too long.
I've enjoyed Lough Gill "Native" and "Rough Wave" when they've done them. Wouldn't be as mad on Paddle that Aldi have been carrying (maybe instead of Rough Wave?). Haven't picked up the latest specials yet (hope to for the weekend) but had SideStep the last time though, and thought it was nice. They had a Stout with Aldi previously, which I thought was good for the abv.
Both of my local Aldi stores had no Whitewater left on Monday. None of the Oktoberfest beers either. Bleh.
That stout you are talking about was lovely, it was called Dark Side. My wife enjoyed it so much I asked Dot for the recipe so I could brew it at home, and they very generously obliged.
Yeah, I had in my head it was Dark Side, but then doubted myself! Hopefully it makes a return over the winter - it was a good session stout.
Any opinions on McGills brewery, Waterville, Co Kerry ? They do/did a Blonde, Red and a Stout.
Still can't decide on what advent calendar to get. I was originally planning to get the Mikkeller one again this year but with the scaling back of their online shop they're not doing one this year 😭
Not sure if I want to go the craftcentral route.
Haven’t done the advent box previous years but feel like it this year. Can anyone recommend one from any of the Irish stores?
I Created my own one a good few years back.
I tend to do something similar. Usually a mix of porters, barleywines, and barrel-aged stouts, a couple of Belgian beers and maybe a Yule ale of some sort. Admittedly, that does mean there are no surprises.
I still miss that Bo Bristle pale ale sometimes!
I've had the Molloys advent box for the last two years (wife ordered them).
I was disappointed with them to be honest, some really average beers and to be honest way overpriced. The novelty is good craic but I like the idea of creating your own that poster above mentioned!
Wow! Some blasts from the past there a lot of those breweries are gone now
8 Degrees cropped up on the craft beer subreddit.
Has it ever been established what has gone on with them? A quick Google brings up articles suggesting potential sale by Irish Distillers late last year but then nadda. Their product is still on the shelves in some spots. Social media is gone quiet since Summer 2022.
Full range still in my local centra
I know that the original owners are no longer involved - they stayed on after the IDL buyout, but are no longer there.
Porterhouse not doing Wrasslers on draft anymore, bar man in Parliament St. said they were downsizing, it was the only decent beer they sold.
I heard during the summer that Carlow Brewing had bought the big giant ex-Mauritius brewkit from them. The brewer who told me speculated that Carlow might also buy the company outright from IDL: they have a habit of picking up distressed brands on the cheap (Boyne, Craigie's). With Boyne, they keep the core range running here but have released new Boyne Brewhouse beers to the export market. A couple of weeks ago, the first new Eight Degrees beer since the IDL takeover showed up, in Italy, with Italian text on the label. So there could be something to the theory that Eight Degrees is now part of Carlow.
I did my normal lunchtime in the office wander to Stephen's Street News, and was struck by the big line up of 8 degree's. I could've missed it other times and they just had a big restock.
Any ideas on where Bran and Sceolan has gone? It might be available elsewhere but The White Hag haven't sold it directly for a while now.
Is it true that a famous Irish mma person has bought porterhouse?
I hope not, but my source seemed credible.
Edit
Looks like I'll be giving porterhouse products a miss.
