disloyal or wrong

[tipp brewer]

I ve been drinking the craft beers now for last 5 years or so, very happily like everyone enjoying the different flavours and offerings from the different breweries. I have however in the past 6 months or so noticed a bit of a decline in quality. Tonight I poured 2 beers down the sink, I did the same a few months back after getting some gushers. I m not sure if its a move to bigger premises and an expansion of production with a lot (not all) of breweries that seems to me to be producing poorer beer. I m not sure if its supermarkets not storing them at correct temps or I m not even sure if its my taste buds not working too well. We have a decent range of craft beer here though it tends to be the more recognizable breweries, anybody notice the same.

[Leann ull]

Couple of things at play here

Yep there is an issue with quality of Irish produced beer I guesstimate there is 30% crap out there which originates from the following problem areas;
1 Poor Formulation or a brewery or brewer that has no clue as to what they are doing doesn't use tasting panels or listen to feedback
2 Poor or odd Ingredients, where they are purchased, how they are handled, and or stored and their freshness
3 Sanitation in general
4 Process in general
5 Bottling and Contract bottling   
6 Ageing BBD and or Retail handling/storage at ambient temperatures

Seems simple doesn't it and yet   

I am delighted to say that I have yet to come across a brewery out there making crap where the head brewer was previously a good homebrewer.

Let the brewery know your disappointment, help them try and identify the problem.

[tipp brewer]

I did the last time it happened and they seemed happy to know. I LL do so again after tonight. I guess its only inevitable that not all Irish craft beer will be sensational but would be a real shame if peoples experience of craft beer was not what it could be. Maybe we need to ensure breweries are actually 'doing it for the love of it' unlike some of their distant cousins

[Bubbles]

I don't think loyalty comes into it.. if a brewery, or any company for that matter, makes a bad product, you're not disloyal because you vote with your feet. Bad beer is bad beer and market forces will hopefully sort those producers out in good time.

I get the impression that a lot of breweries that have been set up in the last couple of years were done so by accountants or entrepreneurs with little clue about beer. Some of it is just so bland. This is not doing the industry any favours as some people will taste craft and wonder what all the fuss is about.

[Leann ull]

Other problem is as homebrewers we can outbrew any of the pros as we have no budget constraints and in a lot of instances fresher ingredients.

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

This stuff is being charged for at a premium rate and the least you should expect is that the producers have tasted each batch prior to sending it to market. If there's an issue with packaging then this should be resolved, but how many even test the DO level before and after packaging? The market is flooded at the moment and the sooner the poorer producers are removed, then the more confidence customers/consumers will have for it, and hopefully sales will increase for those remaining. The poor producers are giving everyone else a bad name and thereby restricting sales of the better producers.
In many supermarkets there's a bewildering choice for the uninitiated and if the first beer they try is crap, then they won't be back.
If their beer is good then they deserve loyalty but if it isnt and they haven't bothered testing it properly before selling it then they deserve the same loyalty that they are showing to their consumers.....none

[molc]

I have to confess I buy very little Irish craft for the same reasons, along with the hugely inflated prices in bars. These days, I'll more likely get a Belgian bottle if I'm out, as I know where I stand and quite a few times it's been cheaper!

[Qs]

I think you can tell when a brewery expands how serious they are. Good brewers get better with expansion and bad brewers get worse.

I think packaging and handling is the biggest issue though. Doesn't matter how well you brew if its not bottled/canned with care and then its left out on a shelf for a couple of weeks its not going to taste great. Thats one of the best things about homebrewing, you have full control over the beer from start to finish. Soon as we keg a beer it can straight in the fridge.

[nigel_c]

I've also cut back on the amount of bottles Irish stuff for much the same reason. I hate when you hear about a new beer release on twitter or facebook and you hunt it down only to have to dump it because it either tastes old or has a major off flavor. I find its happening a lot more often these days. There are breweries I love but unfortunately avoid their bottles because they are hit or miss most of the time.

[mr hoppy]

This stuff is being charged for at a premium rate

Nail. Head.

Unfortunately you pay that premium solely because small producers don't have economies of scale.

Guinness FES and Francis Big Banging are first class and cost a lot less than the output of smaller operations.

I also suspect people are getting more sophisticated / less easily impressed.



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[DEMPSEY]

Same here with myself. I still will buy some Irish brewers beers but some of the brewery's I ignore now as I have had just too many dodgy beers from them. Some of them want feedback but others don't as they think they know best and the person complaining is wrong or just doesn't understand .

[DEMPSEY]

If their own organisation that's their to represent them doesn't deal with it then some of them are doomed to eventually go the road of the Dodo 

[Bubbles]

Yes, price is another sore point for a lot of craft drinkers now. Myself and molc both ordered a pint of Althea from a GBB bar recently and we both looked in bewilderment at the lack of small change thrust into our hands by the barman. If memory serves, it was 6.50 for a pint.. this is a sub 4.5% beer folks.... I don't care how much hops are in it, or how hipster it is.. that's fucking gouging, pure and simple. And as nice as it is, I won't be ordering any more of it.

I think it's about time individual breweries, bars and beers are named when we see bad product or simply bad value. Twitter seems to be awash with fanboys and fangirls who self combust with praise every time an Irish craft brewer so much as farts in a glass. I think more honest critique is needed.

I couldn't believe the glowing reviews of this year's RDS fest on social media. I thought a lot of the beers I had were dreadful, but maybe I just chose badly. I had a sour that no other dimension than acid, a grapefruit ipa that didn't actually taste like beer, a pale ale that tasted like plastic. I sometimes wonder what a GABF or IndyMan regular would think of the quality here. Some home brewers simply can't taste serious faults in their own beers; you'd expect the pros to be able to do so, but it isn't happening in some cases.

Credit where it's due though, there are a few breweries that are doing a good consistent job. O'Haras and 8 Degrees have a really consistent level of quality (due to size maybe?) and Metalman pale ale and Galway Hooker is still always a welcome sight on the bar to me. Simple beers done well. And Kinnegar beers are always great.

[Dunkel]

Very similar discussion on Beoir at the moment - http://www.beoir.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11404

[molc]

Yes, price is another sore point for a lot of craft drinkers now. Myself and molc both ordered a pint of Althea from a GBB bar recently and we both looked in bewilderment at the lack of small change thrust into our hands by the barman. If memory serves, it was 6.50 for a pint.. this is a sub 4.5% beer folks.... I don't care how much hops are in it, or how hipster it is.. that's fucking gouging, pure and simple.

Yup the month before I got a fresh bottle of Le Chouffe for less at the meet. Beautiful beer that was worth the less money.