Carlsberg lager

[1976_Child]

I used to drink Carlsberg by the gallon. If I remember correctly, until about 2004 it used to be about 3.4% abv. Then it went up to 3.7%. It used to be a fantastic session lager. Could drink it all day - and often did.

 

However, after some really, really bad pints inside SMS I have been fervently anti-Carlsberg since about 2007 and wouldn't touch the stuff with a barge pole. But yesterday I was in Sainsburys and a tad short of cash and they had a deal on: 8 pint tins of Carlsberg for £8. Bargain I thought, that will do nicely while I watch the Bournemouth game. And actually, it was nice. Can't believe what I've been missing. Nicer taste than Fosters/Carling and slightly less alcohol witch is good during the week. The problem is, I can't think of one pub which sells the stuff now. It is all Fosters/Carling at 4%. Even Stella is trying to rebrand as a 4% lager.

 

Anyhoo, just thought I'd mention it. Carlsberg ain't always as bad as the crap they serve us at football.

[miserableoldgit]

But........IT`S LAGER!!!!! It`s not a real drink!!

[1976_Child]

But........IT`S LAGER!!!!! It`s not a real drink!!

 

I know, I know. I'm more of a real ale fan too. Give me a nice selection of bottled ales any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But they cost about half as much again then fizzy beer.

[dune]

I stick with Fosters. Real ale is usually vile.

[1976_Child]

I stick with Fosters.

 

I prefer Fosters to Carling. Carling just tastes 'sticky' like one is drinking sunflower oil.

[Saintandy666]

Fosters in taste is on level with ****.

[dune]

Fosters in taste is on level with ****.

 

Nah, it's a nice pleasant pint. I've drunk it since I started drinking and have no intention of swapping to any foreign muck.

[Saintandy666]

Nah, it's a nice pleasant pint. I've drunk it since I started drinking and have no intention of swapping to any foreign muck.

 

If I'm drinking beer I like a Peroni. I don't mind an ale either, but I think ciders are my favourite.

[dubai_phil]

Tsing Tao in cans or bottles, OK so it's Chinese, when you find it it's very cheap and it is by far the best canned lager I or any of my mates have come across

[Patrick Bateman]

Carlsberg definitely tastes FAR better in Copenhagen. I was there a couple of weeks ago for a week, drank gallons of the stuff and different types of (darker) lager by the same brewery.

 

When I got over here, had some in the pub (may have even been the Alex for the Walsall match?), it was more gassy, tasted weaker and was a poor version of what I drank over there!

[Jonnyboy]

I drink Anything apart from Fosters and Carling, ugh.

[Colinjb]

Carlsberg is definitely my 'cooking' lager of choice. Becks Vier is always prefered if it's on sale but Carlsberg sees me fine.

[dan17]

Carlsberg Export is the only relation of Carlsberg that I will drink. Carling just seems to taste full of chemicals and Fosters is just plain horrid (and weak).

[Sheaf Saint]

Nah, it's a nice pleasant pint. I've drunk it since I started drinking and have no intention of swapping to any foreign muck.

 

err, you do know Fosters originates from Australia don't you dune?

 

And I have to agree with Saintandy666: It tastes like something from the devil's ar$e.

[Colinjb]

Nah, it's a nice pleasant pint. I've drunk it since I started drinking and have no intention of swapping to any foreign muck.

 

Sorry, but that has made me laugh.

 

At least Carling is brewed in Alton/Burton and Tadcaster.

 

If you really wanted British you wouldn't touch anything else.

[RedAndWhite91]

Fosters is awful. I'm a cider drinker but got home from work the other night and had a tin of Carlsberg which was in the fridge, and it wasn't that bad. If I do drink lager it's usually Becks or Stella, but much prefer cider. Oooo arrrr.

[Rut]

Can't beat a few cans of Carlsberg Special Brew.

[Draino76]

Polish lager FTW.

[bungle]

Can't beat a few cans of Carlsberg Special Brew.

 

All about the Miller Lite with the vortex bottle, isn't it?

[Gemmel]

Fosters is brewed in the UK (for what we drink anyway)

[OttawaSaint]

Forgot that normal beer was as low as 3% in the UK, do you like the stronger stuff? 5% is the norm here, 3% is considered lite beer.

[Rut]

All about the Miller Lite with the vortex bottle, isn't it?

 

Oh yeah that vortex bottle makes all the difference... At least they didn't do something shocking like add more alcohol to it instead!

[St Jim]

Fosters is brewed in the UK (for what we drink anyway)

 

Most of the beers are I think (Fosters and Carlsberg certainly are alhtough I'm not sure I can classify rats p155 as beer), brewed under licence.

 

London Pride or Vale Ale for me

[Lord Duckhunter]

You cant beat a pint of Tanglefoot.

 

Although I am starting to worry I'm turning into some sort of fairy. I'm starting to prefer botles of Peroni or San Miguel to my normal Spitfire or Old Speckled Hen for home drinking.

[dubai_phil]

Back to the OP. I guess I first realised the con perpetrated by the "Big Brewers" when I landed over here in '93.

 

Of course the first "disaster" was being taken to an Irish pub for a full Irish Breakfast and Guinness straight off the plane. Duh I thought the entire Middle East was like Saudi - no Pork & Dry.

 

The second "downer" was to find - NO REAL ALE. In those days it was cans of Boddingtons or Lager. No sign of Cider either back then.

 

But then the surprise was to find that the beer all tasted different and I couldn't seem to drink as much - all the lagers were 5%. So met a guy in the trade and he said that this place imported the beers direct from the main factories. So Fosters came direct from Aus, Heineken from Holland, Guinness direct from Ireland etc and of course Carlsberg from Denmark.

 

And yes it DID taste totally different. OK Fosters is still sort of a perfumed lager taste but the others were drinkable. The only UK strength that you could find was Amstel Light and it (as you guys may have noticed) tastes a helluva lot different from regular Amstel.

 

So anyway, I found out that the reason I hated Guinness was I had tried to drink the UK stuff the REAL stuff is heaven. Heineken became drinkable and even Carlsberg on occassion. Attempts were made to import Carling from the UK for the blingy tourists but didn't last long, we got John Smiths, Teltley & Kilkenny added over the years as poor substitutes for Real Ale, and hell today we even have the Belgian Beer Cafe with over 40 different Belgian bottled beers and draft Leffe Blonde & Dark, Hoegaarten & even Cherry beer on tap. We EVEN get a beer festival now (99% bottled though)

 

BUT the point was that it showed that UK Lager was simply some weak cheap local muck stuck with a marketing badge.

 

From where I travelled in and out a couple of times a year, it seemed that the growth of Kronenburg 1664 & Stella meant there became lagers I could actually taste when back, trouble is you feckers had been so used to drinking the weak p1ss water that you all drink it at 3 times the speed we can manage on the stronger stuff we drink slower but longer (We go out about 8:30 and come home about 1:00 you guys go were still programmed by the old gotta guzzle before last orders and tend to go home about 11 except weekends ...

 

Which again seemed to be why IMHO there has been this trend now to reduce the alcohol content in lagers especially over there. It also helps explain why so many tourists come over here, drink at their normal speed and whoosh get wrecked quicker and end up getting into all sorts of crap.

 

So English Lager was rubbish rip off marketing bull**** of the proper stuff. It was weaker so you could drink more and quicker. So lower alcohol content was the cause of the binge boozing culture.

 

Oh wow that was profound, didn't mean to write a blog. Sorry

[thesaint sfc]

I stick with Fosters. Real ale is usually vile.

 

This.

[scotty]

Back to the OP. I guess I first realised the con perpetrated by the "Big Brewers" when I landed over here in '93.

 

Of course the first "disaster" was being taken to an Irish pub for a full Irish Breakfast and Guinness straight off the plane. Duh I thought the entire Middle East was like Saudi - no Pork & Dry.

 

The second "downer" was to find - NO REAL ALE. In those days it was cans of Boddingtons or Lager. No sign of Cider either back then.

 

But then the surprise was to find that the beer all tasted different and I couldn't seem to drink as much - all the lagers were 5%. So met a guy in the trade and he said that this place imported the beers direct from the main factories. So Fosters came direct from Aus, Heineken from Holland, Guinness direct from Ireland etc and of course Carlsberg from Denmark.

 

And yes it DID taste totally different. OK Fosters is still sort of a perfumed lager taste but the others were drinkable. The only UK strength that you could find was Amstel Light and it (as you guys may have noticed) tastes a helluva lot different from regular Amstel.

 

So anyway, I found out that the reason I hated Guinness was I had tried to drink the UK stuff the REAL stuff is heaven. Heineken became drinkable and even Carlsberg on occassion. Attempts were made to import Carling from the UK for the blingy tourists but didn't last long, we got John Smiths, Teltley & Kilkenny added over the years as poor substitutes for Real Ale, and hell today we even have the Belgian Beer Cafe with over 40 different Belgian bottled beers and draft Leffe Blonde & Dark, Hoegaarten & even Cherry beer on tap. We EVEN get a beer festival now (99% bottled though)

 

BUT the point was that it showed that UK Lager was simply some weak cheap local muck stuck with a marketing badge.

 

From where I travelled in and out a couple of times a year, it seemed that the growth of Kronenburg 1664 & Stella meant there became lagers I could actually taste when back, trouble is you feckers had been so used to drinking the weak p1ss water that you all drink it at 3 times the speed we can manage on the stronger stuff we drink slower but longer (We go out about 8:30 and come home about 1:00 you guys go were still programmed by the old gotta guzzle before last orders and tend to go home about 11 except weekends ...

 

Which again seemed to be why IMHO there has been this trend now to reduce the alcohol content in lagers especially over there. It also helps explain why so many tourists come over here, drink at their normal speed and whoosh get wrecked quicker and end up getting into all sorts of crap.

 

So English Lager was rubbish rip off marketing bull**** of the proper stuff. It was weaker so you could drink more and quicker. So lower alcohol content was the cause of the binge boozing culture.

 

Oh wow that was profound, didn't mean to write a blog. Sorry

 

Dont apologise, I enjoyed that.

 

Its worth mentioning that for some reason, drinks in general taste different depending on where youre drinking them. We were in portugal and the local lager, Bock, was absolutely fantastic tasting. So much so that I brought a few bottles home, even chilled from the fridge they tasted of nothing here. Ive even bought them since then, Makro have them and not the usual "brewed under licence by whitbread", actual imports from portugal, same thing. My mrs cant function without her morning shot of Lavazza espresso, we used to have a flat in spain. She even packed lavazza bought in england, plus a flask of uk semi-skimmed hahahaa, she swore it wasnt anything like the taste in the uk.

[skintsaint]

4.8% - 5% is normally the content in beer out here out here. Prolly why they accuse us of drinking **** water!

 

Think 4% comes as mid-strength!

[markyboy]

I'm a proper real ale drinker, but can actually stomach cold Fosters on a hot summer day. Saying that though, visited Germany and Czech Republic in my younger days, and their beer, although lager type tastes much better than the fizzy crap we have over here. Back in the early 90s, the beer in Prague was only about 20p for a large jugged glass.

[Jonnyboy]

Anyone make it to the real ale festival at the South Western in St Denys last night?

 

Really nice ones from the Itchen Valley brewery (which Id never heard of) and many more.

 

Great atmosphere too so get yourselves down there today peeps! before the strong ones run out

[Pugwash]

...Germany and Czech Republic in my younger days, and their beer, although lager type tastes much better than the fizzy crap we have over here.

 

They have much more stringent regulations about the quality of water used for brewing. Couple of guys I know married Bavarian women and moved over there. I didn't believe them till I tasted their stuff - so much better than the versions they send us or are brewed in the UK. Got totally bladdered in the home town of Warsteiner in the 90's (all the bars sold exclusively Warsteiner) but no headache/hangover in the morning - couldn't believe it!

[the stain]

[markyboy]

if it's ale i drink it. I remember the owd roger sold in the muddy duck to start off proceedings on a winchester pub crawl. two pints of that and you were half way there on the stroll down jewry street

[trousers]

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/09/carlsberg-poster-free-beer-billboard

 

[Golden Balls]

More of a ale drinker myself.

 

For a sessionable lager Carlsberg is alright. It is available in a fair few pubs and bars around Southampton as Carlsberg supply some of the bigger groups and insist on stocking their lagers (Carlsberg, San Miguel etc).

 

Seems Czech beers are finally getting going around here. Kozel is 4%, easy to drink and full of taste.

[PhilippineSaint]

cant beat a Portugese Super Bock when you have been trapped for 28 days offshore it's been reduced to 5.4% from 7% but is just about right to take the edge off before flying home from Angola. and as its better than the Angolan stuff full of formaldehyde.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

All lager tastes the same to me. Metallic fizzy and cold. Give me a real ale or even a cider, at least you can taste those. All Australian beer is lager by the way. All dreadful, all tastes the same, the brand differentiation attempts are pointless.

[LVSaint]

All Australian beer is lager by the way. All dreadful, all tastes the same, the brand differentiation attempts are pointless.

 

Same used to be said for American beer up until a decade or so ago. It's all about craft beer now, so much so, the MillerBudCoors CEOs are all rather uncomfortable these days.

 

Stone Brewing Co.

[buctootim]

Same used to be said for American beer up until a decade or so ago. It's all about craft beer now, so much so, the MillerBudCoors CEOs are all rather uncomfortable these days.

 

Stone Brewing Co.

 

American beers and cars have been totally transformed the past 10 years or so. Amazing turnaround not just on taste but also strength.

 

I came out of an all night session in LV at 7am having drunk 24 bottles of Bud (I kept the labels in my pocket), still able to find my way to the hotel (my mate insisted we should turn right instead of left and turned up at 3pm having been kicked out of some casino for sleeping on the floor. It was something like 2.1% alcohol. Good night though.

Edited 12 April, 2015 by buctootim

[simo]

Give me a good bottle of rum any day

[Hamilton Saint]

I drink mostly ale. (Might have a Grolsch, or Becks, or Heineken, occasionally). I like Smithwicks, Guinness, Murphy's Stout, Hobgoblin, Old Speckled Hen, London Pride, etc., etc. I like a beer with a distinctive taste. Lots of good Canadian ales, too.

[Saint Charlie]

Is this a serious thread?

 

Carlsberg, Fosters and Carling are pretty much all a disgrace.

 

Many far, far better beers available.

 

I was under the impression that people only chose to drink those three if they either want the cheapest beer and don't care if it tastes nice, or have just never tried anything else.

[Twiggy]

Carlsberg is what I drank when I first turned 18. As it was the cheapest pint at Spoons.

 

After 2 years of drinking it solidly and, in turn, seeing it again to put it politely (cannot neck it at all). I would rather drink my own urine.

 

Peroni, Grolsch or Kronenburg.

 

Although San Miguel, Sol and Estrella Damn deserve a shout for a sunny day.

[Coxford_lou]

Is this a serious thread?

 

Carlsberg, Fosters and Carling are pretty much all a disgrace.

 

Many far, far better beers available.

 

I was under the impression that people only chose to drink those three if they either want the cheapest beer and don't care if it tastes nice, or have just never tried anything else.

 

The interesting thing is in Denmark, Carlsberg is actually a pretty amazing, charitable organisation. It's only here it's got a reputation of lads getting legless after one half.

[Whitey Grandad]

The interesting thing is in Denmark, Carlsberg is actually a pretty amazing, charitable organisation. It's only here it's got a reputation of lads getting legless after one half.

 

Carlsberg in Denmark is different to the stuff sold here, but I preferred Tuborg myself.

 

My (later) wife and I went on a free tour of the Amstel brewery in Amsterdam in 1969 with endless free samples and I've always been partial to the stuff ever since ?

[Patrick Bateman]

The interesting thing is in Denmark, Carlsberg is actually a pretty amazing, charitable organisation. It's only here it's got a reputation of lads getting legless after one half.

 

Carlsberg in Denmark tastes far far better than what we get over here and not only that, but they have different ranges than we get which all taste better.

[Hamilton Saint]

I did a tour of the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford St. Mary, Dorset about five years ago. They make badger beers, available in bottles or casks - all (or most) are ales. They also do a few ciders. A very interesting tour, explaining thoroughly the brewing process. They also have vintage equipment located around the place, so they can compare the old ways with the new. At the end of the tour, you get a free pint in the brewery's own pub. We enjoyed a pub lunch there, too.

[SarniaSaint]

I did some work for Labatts years ago around 1990 when they started brewing Carlsberg and the difference is the yeast used in fermentation and some tweeks in the mash

[Lord Duckhunter]

I did a tour of the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford St. Mary, Dorset about five years ago. They make badger beers, available in bottles or casks - all (or most) are ales. They also do a few ciders. A very interesting tour, explaining thoroughly the brewing process. They also have vintage equipment located around the place, so they can compare the old ways with the new. At the end of the tour, you get a free pint in the brewery's own pub. We enjoyed a pub lunch there, too.

 

Years ago the tour used to allow you to drink an hour for free after the tour.

 

Hall and woodhouse is a strange company nowadays . They're really big into their seasonal ales , therefore a lot of pubs have knocked tanglefoot on the head .Tanglefoot was their classic ale , strong but a session beer taste, but at least half of their pubs in the Poole area don't stock it now . They also don't allow their beers to be sold anywhere else either , whereas previously they allowed Freehouses & golf clubs ect to stock them . I always used to look for a Hall & Woodhouse pub , but there's so many alternatives nowadays unless they're serving Tanglefoot I won't go in ( their first Call , which Is rebranded Badger Best is shocking) .

Edited 13 April, 2015 by Lord Duckhunter

[sadoldgit]

Hoegaarden for me. More flavour, body and less gas.