Supermarket own brand beers !!

bcklschaps · 28-01-2016 4:03pm #1

With all the talk of minimum alcohol pricing etc.

I would like to challenge the beer drinkers to recommend their absolute cheap of the cheap lagers that are actually still drinkable :-)

So I'm talking obscure brands and Supermarket own brands.

Today as part of my experiment I bought

Tesco "L" 4 x 440ml = €2.64
Tesco "James T Ryan" 4 x 440ml = €3.70

and from Lidl

Excelsior 500ml = €0.75
Grafenwalder 500ml = €1.05

Will update tomorrow on what they taste like :rolleyes:

wrmwit · 28-01-2016 4:09pm

I sampled the Tesco own brand beer before and it was horrible stuff.

Good look. I'm following your forum!!

oblivious · 28-01-2016 4:31pm

O'sheas pale ale (Carlow) from Aldi and Grafter (Rye River) via Dunnes are great beers and price points too

andekwarhola · 29-01-2016 12:38pm

Do those cheap Czech beers that Tesco do (Vratislav?) qualify?

They're around €1.30 I think and definitely drinkable enough for the price.

poitinstill · 30-01-2016 3:17pm

perlanbacher from lidl especially on the xxl deal is cheap as chips and tasty

edit: started monday i think.

rubadub · 30-01-2016 4:27pm

wrmwit wrote: »

I sampled the Tesco own brand beer before and it was horrible stuff.

my tesco has at least 5 own brands of beer.

If people are claiming beers are horrible I would also like to hear what they usually drink, and other stuff they think is horrible. or another beer it reminded them of

e.g. it would be little help saying tesco own brand easi singles are horrible if you also think the originals are horrible.

I have had the 2 tesco "james t ryans" and thought they compared favourably to what I presume they have set out to compete with, the mainstream bland beers like heineken, bud, carlsberg.

oblivious · 30-01-2016 10:01pm

Also to add Grafters pale ale from Rye River for Dinner Stores for 1.95!

wrmwit · 01-02-2016 5:05pm

rubadub wrote: »

my tesco has at least 5 own brands of beer.

If people are claiming beers are horrible I would also like to hear what they usually drink, and other stuff they think is horrible. or another beer it reminded them of

e.g. it would be little help saying tesco own brand easi singles are horrible if you also think the originals are horrible.

I have had the 2 tesco "james t ryans" and thought they compared favourably to what I presume they have set out to compete with, the mainstream bland beers like heineken, bud, carlsberg.

It was the james t ryans beer I had last year. I was curious. I normally drink craft beer, even when I'm out. I avoid Heineken, Bud and Carlsberg where I can because I don't like them. They taste acidic compared to the craft beer. Unless I'm at a gig where I don't have a choice!

bcklschaps · 02-02-2016 4:05pm

The Tesco "L" is not great. Its quite metalic and a bit nasty. Will not be buying it again.
The Tesco "James T Ryan" is pretty tasty. Reminded me of Molson Canadian, a little bit of Wheat and hops, but not overpowering and maybe even a better balance than Molson Canadian.

** Note : Tesco cans are 440ml not the usual 500ml and you have to buy them in multiples of 4, to get the best price.

Will be testing Lidl and Dunness offerings this week.

Just to answer some other posters. Budweiser or Molson Canadian would probably be my beers of choice were I not experimenting with Supermarket own brands. So I guess I like a light refreshing lager as opposed to anything malty or heavily flavoured with Hops etc.

bcklschaps · 02-02-2016 4:06pm

So this is my opinion after testing out 4 cans of Tesco "L" and 4 cans of Tesco "James T Ryan"

The Tesco "L" is not great. Its quite metalic and a bit nasty. Will not be buying it again.
The Tesco "James T Ryan" is pretty tasty. Reminded me of Molson Canadian, a little bit of Wheat and hops, but not overpowering and maybe even a better balance than Molson Canadian.

** Note : Tesco cans are 440ml not the usual 500ml and you have to buy them in multiples of 4, to get the best price.

Will be testing Lidl and Dunness offerings this week.

Just to answer some other posters. Budweiser or Molson Canadian would probably be my beers of choice were I not experimenting with Supermarket own brands. So I guess I like a light refreshing lager as opposed to anything malty or heavily flavoured with Hops etc.

bcklschaps · 02-02-2016 4:15pm

oblivious wrote: »

Also to add Grafters pale ale from Rye River for Dinner Stores for 1.95!

Will test out this Grafters Pale Ale .. you are the 2nd person to recommend it now.

But €1.95 for 500ml is the same price as you will be paying for any of the mainstream brands so it doesn't really achieve what was my original aim eg. to find a decent bargain lager or at least the best of the cheap stuff. The price point I am now looking at seems to be hovering around the €1 for 500ml.

bcklschaps · 02-02-2016 4:35pm

andekwarhola wrote: »

Do those cheap Czech beers that Tesco do (Vratislav?) qualify?

They're around €1.30 I think and definitely drinkable enough for the price.

Absolutely, although at €1.30 its kind of at the top end of the price scale.
Plan on trying out the traditional cheapies like Dutch Gold, Royal Dutch, Tennants etc. as well. These can be had for slightly above the magic €1 per can with special offers in some outlets. So nice to see how they compare.

L1011 · 02-02-2016 7:12pm

As a former Tennants drinker (I am from Donegal, its allowed...) I wouldn't even consider it to be honest.

bcklschaps · 02-02-2016 7:59pm

bcklschaps wrote: »

Will test out this Grafters Pale Ale .. you are the 2nd person to recommend it now.

But €1.95 for 500ml is the same price as you will be paying for any of the mainstream brands so it doesn't really achieve what was my original aim eg. to find a decent bargain lager or at least the best of the cheap stuff. The price point I am now looking at seems to be hovering around the €1 for 500ml.

Was in Dunnes Stores this evening. Grafters Pale Ale bottles, 500ml €1.99, but was all sold out :mad:

Got myself a few cans of

Dunnes Stores own brand Lager 500ml = €0.98
Germania Pilsner 500ml = €1.15

Will be drinking them over the next few nights will report back.

mccard · 03-02-2016 5:27pm

Carling Black Label.

neris · 03-02-2016 5:30pm

poitinstill wrote: »

perlanbacher from lidl especially on the xxl deal is cheap as chips and tasty

edit: started monday i think.

but gives you some head the next morning if you drink a good few of them

Sleepy · 03-02-2016 6:59pm

At that level of the market, it's got to be Perlenbacher or, in a pinch, Tuborg.

Losty Dublin · 05-02-2016 4:16pm

Had a few bottles of Grafters IPA last night, a Rye River brew that I saw in Dunnes. Disgracefully poor stuff, not worth trying again.

05-02-2016 6:05pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Had a few bottles of Grafters IPA last night, a Rye River brew that I saw in Dunnes. Disgracefully poor stuff, not worth trying again.

Many people would disagree with that, its now one of the best selling beers that Dunnes sell. Think it's average myself.

andekwarhola · 05-02-2016 9:24pm

andekwarhola wrote: »

Do those cheap Czech beers that Tesco do (Vratislav?) qualify?

They're around €1.30 I think and definitely drinkable enough for the price.

In Tesco the other day and these are about 1.45 now. Are they reading these threads.

mightybashful · 05-02-2016 11:39pm

andekwarhola wrote: »

In Tesco the other day and these are about 1.45 now. Are they reading these threads.

Gotta claw back them wage cuts somehow

Louche Lad · 05-02-2016 11:50pm

andekwarhola wrote: »

Do those cheap Czech beers that Tesco do (Vratislav?) qualify?

They're around €1.30 I think and definitely drinkable enough for the price.

Is Vratislav a Tesco brand then? Should have occurred to me - I've never seen it anywhere else, and they sell it in large quantities. Whatever, it is very drinkable and I always get a few when I'm in there.

andekwarhola · 11-02-2016 1:47pm

Louche Lad wrote: »

Is Vratislav a Tesco brand then? Should have occurred to me - I've never seen it anywhere else, and they sell it in large quantities. Whatever, it is very drinkable and I always get a few when I'm in there.

Haven't a clue actually. Like you, I only see it there and it's cheap so I always assumed they did it. Definitely a good fallback beer for barbecues and the like.

liamtimdusty · 05-08-2016 4:12pm

+1 on the Vratislavs - Actually quite tasty regardless of the price!

dr.fuzzenstein · 05-08-2016 4:29pm

bcklschaps wrote: »

The Tesco "L" is not great. Its quite metalic and a bit nasty. Will not be buying it again.
The Tesco "James T Ryan" is pretty tasty. Reminded me of Molson Canadian, a little bit of Wheat and hops, but not overpowering and maybe even a better balance than Molson Canadian.

** Note : Tesco cans are 440ml not the usual 500ml and you have to buy them in multiples of 4, to get the best price.

Will be testing Lidl and Dunness offerings this week.

Just to answer some other posters. Budweiser or Molson Canadian would probably be my beers of choice were I not experimenting with Supermarket own brands. So I guess I like a light refreshing lager as opposed to anything malty or heavily flavoured with Hops etc.

Well, if flavour in beer is an issue for you, Budweiser is exactly the right thing. It's beer that's been drank already.

Myself, Perlenbacher (the bottle 6 pack or XXL 8 pack) is my poison of choice. One poster mentions it gives you a headache, I haven't noticed. Seems ok to me and tastes ok.

poitinstill · 06-08-2016 2:24pm

Grafters Kolsch at 2 euro a bottle is one of my favs at the moment..

rubadub · 10-08-2016 11:56am

5% grolsch is 24x500ml for €26 in tesco. It was €24 for the same in the past few months too. I found it grand and would think most would tolerate it.

Carlsberg & bud are the same price too, but I would definitely take the grolsch over both of those.

Supermarket own brand beers !!

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