What to do when the beer selection sucks?

lagerale · Post by **lagerale** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:02 am

For a chain, Fionn MacCool's has done some good beer work (relatively speaking). Two years ago, they had a good wheat beer promotion and even had Hoegaarden Grand Crus and Verboden Vructs (sp?).

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:48 am

Tapsucker wrote:I don't think this means on tap though, which is sad.

Actually, based on the sizes listed in the press announcement, I'm guessing that the Brooklyn and Bulmer's will be on tap:

Brooklyn Lager (16 oz/ABV 5.2%)
Anchor Steam Ale (12oz/ABV 4.9%)
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (12oz/ABV 6%)
Bulmer’s Dry English Cider (19oz/ABV 4.5%)
Fischer Tradition Ale (22oz/ABV 6%)

It also looks like the Bulmer's is going to be the British one, as opposed to the more common Irish one that is sold here under the name Manger's.

And it's worth noting that in addition to this promotion, Fionn MacCool's actually has a small year-round bottle list that has a couple of decent selections, including Duvel, Schneider Weisse and Pilsner Urquell. Not up the standards of beerbistro or Volo, of course, but still impressive for a mainstream pub chain.

esprit · Post by **esprit** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 11:08 am

no negotiations...agents can't "take back product". Prime is a great organization and they are doing their best to promote craft beers to the unwashed masses. DFH is part of their current promo and we hope to do some interesting things with them in the future.

$ · Post by $ » Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:53 pm

If the beer choice is really really really really bad, buy a beer that doesn't try to taste like beer. A super cold light ( lite? ) beer.

I remember having a choice between bud and bud light one time. The lite was better since it tasted less like "beer" and more like cold water.

Make it out to your friends that you are making a big sacrifice for them, and they'll see you drinking a lite beer and start to cry for you or be embarrassed by your beer, so eventually you'll leave and go somewhere else.

Magni · Post by **Magni** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:48 pm

hmmm. drink wine?

El Pinguino · Post by **El Pinguino** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:53 pm

If the beer selection is absolutely abyssmal, I turn to rum and coke or some other mixed drink I haven't enjoyed in a while.

I do have a crowd that goes where the 'cheap beer' is. So am often left with limited options. However, if not for them, I wouldn't have discovered that FRESh Steamwhistle on tap is great and you can mask the taste of bad beer by drinking irish car bombs

More often than not I do find something tolerable for at least 1 or 2 drinks and will take the 'best available' route over mixed drinks or car bombs.

A lack of beer selection has saved me plenty of money where I skip out or leave early.

sprague11 · Post by **sprague11** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:57 pm

Most places I go to will at least have a Steamwhistle or Rickards White on tap, so that's usually my default beer. In the States I downgrade to a Sam Adams. If neither of those are on tap that's when I reach for the Run and coke.

Luckily my local pub has a seemingly endless supply of King Pilsner on tap.

toweringpine · Post by **toweringpine** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 3:39 pm

Jon Walker wrote:...

P.S. I used to carry around a bottle of hop extract for such situations but since the stuff has gotten harder to find (and the instances where I would need it have declined) I've abandoned it.

I was intrigued by this and when my wife asked what I wanted for my birthday I said a bottle of hops extract. Lo and behold she found it on Ebay and although it arrived after my birthday I am now the proud owner of a small bottle of very concetrated hop extract. The other birthday present I got was a beer shopping trip to Buffalo ( my first time, talk about a kid in a candy store!! ) so being well stocked on high quality brew I haven't tried it out to much yet. I have used my hops juice to make a few stray Molson Dry's taste a bunch better than they would otherwise. I have never seem hops extract before this and am not just sure how best to use it. Any ideas?

shintriad · Post by **shintriad** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:17 pm

toweringpine wrote:
Jon Walker wrote:...

P.S. I used to carry around a bottle of hop extract for such situations but since the stuff has gotten harder to find (and the instances where I would need it have declined) I've abandoned it.
I was intrigued by this and when my wife asked what I wanted for my birthday I said a bottle of hops extract. Lo and behold she found it on Ebay and although it arrived after my birthday I am now the proud owner of a small bottle of very concetrated hop extract. The other birthday present I got was a beer shopping trip to Buffalo ( my first time, talk about a kid in a candy store!! ) so being well stocked on high quality brew I haven't tried it out to much yet. I have used my hops juice to make a few stray Molson Dry's taste a bunch better than they would otherwise. I have never seem hops extract before this and am not just sure how best to use it. Any ideas?

That is extremely cool. What varietal is it? And does it really make pale lager taste better? I'd be interested in buying some if that's really the case. Hops are good for you.

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:26 pm

My answer to what to do when the beer selection sucks is three words: Molson Stock Ale.

It's actually available at a number of places in the KW, and is more often than not the only drinkable thing available.

toweringpine · Post by **toweringpine** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:02 am

The ad said Cascade Hops. The bottle itself says only 'freshops'. It adds a nice aroma as well as some bitterness. On the bottle it says to add two drops to a bottle of underhopped beer or to add it to unhopped beer postfermentation. The shipping on it was more expensive than the product and the final bill still came to less than ten bucks.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:47 pm

I'm glad the tip was useful. The stuff I used to get was similar, add a few drops for more of a hop aroma and a slightly increased hop bite. Let's be clear, you can't change a Blue into a ST IPA with the stuff but you can make an average beer taste at least like it's 10-15 points higher on the IBU scale.

Perhaps you can post a link to where you got it so that others can follow suit? Keep us posted on your findings as you use it.

toweringpine · Post by **toweringpine** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 4:10 pm

I can't really post a link. She got it through an Ebay auction and it seemed to be the only bottle on offer at the time. I looked online a bit and never found any other places selling anything similar. You are quite right that it won't turn a bad brew into something world class but it makes a mediocre beer more enjoyable.

inertiaboy · Post by **inertiaboy** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:37 pm

Jon Walker wrote:Perhaps you can post a link to where you got it so that others can follow suit?

It is likely from freshops.

shintriad · Post by **shintriad** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:49 pm

inertiaboy wrote:
Jon Walker wrote:Perhaps you can post a link to where you got it so that others can follow suit?
It is likely from freshops.

Indeed it is. Just ordered a vial. After shipping, a mere $6.50 US.

I ordered through the site but they don't automatically tally the shipping cost with their form, so I had to follow up by phone. It was 1-800-460-6925 and I dealt with Dave.

It's Cascade extract, but he warned me it doesn't add bitterness, just aroma and some flavour. I'll let you know how the experiment works out. I just hope nobody sees me do it at a bar and assumes I'm roofie-ing myself.