One thing about Indy breweries is if they want to expand internationally they usually end up selling up to the likes of InBev etc.

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Yeah, but a lot don't want to. Breweries here (at least where I am) are becoming the local pub, the place where a family can meet up with friends on a weekend and grab soem food, a few drinks, play some games, even watch a movie etc.

A lot of the brewery owners seem content to keep things local and manageable so as they can balance a nice work life and their family life. Few from my experience want to become global as it can ake away from their original reason to set up a brewery.

I think it's a great business model for the riht person. Russian River out in Califormia have spoken about hwo their brewery, while producing massively hyped and hugely in demand beers, is the right size for them and that they don't want to expand. The owners are making a great living from it and can have that level of freedom and family ife balance that being inter state or international wouldn't afford them. most of these owners are craftsmen and women, are brewers and fans of beer, rather than folks who want to be CEOs of fortune 500 companies.

comment by The Welsh Xavi (U15412)
posted 3 hours, 29 minutes ago
comment by Ledders the King - 2017/18 FF Enders league champion 🏆 (U20121)
posted 8 minutes ago
No surprise but if that game takes place on the West Coast then the kick off will be at a ridiculous time. Anything later than about 1pm local time and most of the world would struggle to watch it.
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You'd have to think they'd do it for European time zone as surely the European TV money would be more than the American TV money?

Can't imagine sky or BT would pay as much as they are for a 1pm kick off
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Well with it being on Saturday as opposed to midweek they’d probably argue it could be at anytime, and if they wanted to capitalise on the new market in America as well as the existing ones in Europe and Asia they’d probably do so. 1pm in New York would be 6/7pm UK and Europe and 9/10pm in Dubai. I’d suspect they’d try and avoid a time clash with the established sports in the US like NBA and NFL and avoid showing it in the evening. Interesting to see how it would pan out should it come to it.

comment by IvanGolacIsMagic #CsabaOut (U5291)
posted 6 hours, 40 minutes ago
Aww mate, you think UEFA care about anything other than money and that supporters are treated as anything other than customers

There there, there there. Just enjoy the hug and let the pain wash away
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Absolutely, they’ve done their very best to tinker with the CL so that only the biggest leagues have any chance. this is just one more step along the gold paved road....

comment by ism (U20893)
posted 3 hours, 44 minutes ago
It takes 60 days to break an addict, and about the same to develop a new habit
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You haven’t tried crack. Very More-ish

comment by Bobby Dazzler (U1449)
posted 17 hours, 47 minutes ago
Everywhere has their crap beers/lagers, there's plenty on sale over here Carling, Fosters, Heineken, Carlsberg etc, I'd rather drink nothing at all than drink those, same goes for the dreadful Budweiser
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Agree completely. Although, ironically given the conversation, of those listed I can just about stomach a cold Bud in the right situation. But I genuinely consider the rest undrinkable.

Nah Heineken is nice.

comment by Flashy flibble (U10324)
posted 8 minutes ago
Nah Heineken is nice.
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Un. Drinkable.

....ok, maybe ice cold on a hot day. But only then.

We live in the age of the snobs towards lagers. IPA's etc are in, lagers for the hipsters atleast, are out.

Nothing wrong with bud, heineken, Carlsberg Export, heineken export and other lagers.

Nothing to do with fashion, Nick. I've been avoiding those beers for over 30 years.

Every so often trends cross paths with my opinion, I guess what you're saying is that happens to be the case now.

After visiting a Australia several years ago I could never go back to drinking beer served at room temperature.

That rules out most of the beers that ar fashionable at the moment

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 17 minutes ago
comment by Bobby Dazzler (U1449)
posted 17 hours, 47 minutes ago
Everywhere has their crap beers/lagers, there's plenty on sale over here Carling, Fosters, Heineken, Carlsberg etc, I'd rather drink nothing at all than drink those, same goes for the dreadful Budweiser
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Agree completely. Although, ironically given the conversation, of those listed I can just about stomach a cold Bud in the right situation. But I genuinely consider the rest undrinkable.
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Carlsberg and Heineken are ok to me for a Saturday night in a pub (mostly Guinness though)

But last week I was in Cologne and had the Kölsch, brewed at Gaffel Becker & Co. My word, one of the best lagers I've had in a long while.

comment by Nickasaurus (U9257)
posted 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
We live in the age of the snobs towards lagers. IPA's etc are in, lagers for the hipsters atleast, are out.

Nothing wrong with bud, heineken, Carlsberg Export, heineken export and other lagers.
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I completely disagree that lagers are "out," at least from my perspective this side of the ocean.

The 4th largest brewery in Massachusetts in production terms, behind the nationally available behemoths of Sam Adams and harpoon, is jacks Abby that produces lagers and only lagers. tghey are hitting it out of the park with their pilsners and traditional european styled beers and people are consuming them in vast quantities.

What i would say instead of "lagers are out" is that poor quality beer in general is out and thats where a lot of people place the macros such as bud, miller etc. These beers forgo with the traditional taste of malt and hops and instead go with cheaper alternatives sych as rice or corn to produce them. A lot of people just don;t like that flavor and want more from a beer. It doesn't taste of much outside of fizzy water.

A well crafted lager on the other hand is a thing of beauty. Lovely, hoppy, grainy, bready. So while other styles have indeed taken up more and more of the market place, its not just a 'hipster' thing, its variety and choice being available. What was it henry Ford said....any colour as long as it's black. those days are long gone as more people want greater variety.

Sometimes I want a chillingly cold pilsner and a bag of ready salted.

Other times I want a multi hopped hazy new england IPA with a bag of sweet thai chili wavy cut crisps.

Different tastes.

To me, German beer is by far the best in the world but Belgian and Czech beers do nothing for me despite the fact they’re from neighbouring countries.

Some of that Belgian stuff is too strong for me.

Give me some bitburger from Germany any day.

Also like red stripe when I’m over there in the Caribbean.

Opinion was mixed upon which was the best German fraught beer but we were unanimous that Radeburger was the best bottled beer.

I wish you could buy it here.

*Draught beer.

comment by LQ (U6305)
posted 29 minutes ago
Some of that Belgian stuff is too strong for me.

Give me some bitburger from Germany any day.

Also like red stripe when I’m over there in the Caribbean.
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Much as I hate to do this...but LQ is actually spo on for once.

Love Bitburger. Just tough to find it fresh over here. We only just got their Word Cup branded 4pks this last week.

comment by Boris 'Inky' Gibson (U5901)
posted 40 minutes ago
Different tastes.

To me, German beer is by far the best in the world but Belgian and Czech beers do nothing for me despite the fact they’re from neighbouring countries.
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I don't really see it as a national thing, more of a style choice.

Give me a good quality pils from Germany or Czech or Boston, it makes no difference as long as it's well executed.

My point is Czech and Belgian beer taste totally different to German beers presumably because the brewing traditions are different.

...and I don’t like them as much.

comment by Boris 'Inky' Gibson (U5901)
posted 21 minutes ago
My point is Czech and Belgian beer taste totally different to German beers presumably because the brewing traditions are different.
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To some degree yes, but again i think thats mostly dependent on the style. A lot of traditional belgian beers will use particular yeasts that would give a very specific flavor. Sometimes its a little funky, sometimes a little winey. So traditional beglians are definitely different.

But its hard to say theres a certain flavor to german beer or a certain flavor to czech beer.

Grab a Bitburger, grab an Urquel, they are both pilsners brewed with very similar ingredients. maybe justa slightly different taste from the hops.

But take a german bitburger and compare it to a german hefeweizen and you'll find that even though they are both german, they taste worlds apart.

Maybe brewing technique and beer flavour was the original basis for the setting down of national borders across Europe.

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 3 minutes ago
Maybe brewing technique and beer flavour was the original basis for the setting down of national borders across Europe.
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Like how england has southern shandy drinking poofs?

comment by Manfrombelmonty (U1705)
posted 13 seconds ago
comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 3 minutes ago
Maybe brewing technique and beer flavour was the original basis for the setting down of national borders across Europe.
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Like how england has southern shandy drinking poofs?
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Exactly!

...no wait

Man I want a beer.

Saying that, I do have 4 under my desk