Brixton - beer, craft ale and brewery news and discussion
- Thread starter CH1
- Start date
No shit.
editor
hiraethified
I drink all sorts of stuff, most of which these days I luckily get given for free as part of my band/DJ rider. So I'm not fussed, but I do enjoy craft beer and also shit lager sometimes. So now you know. Whoopeedo.
But just to make sure you don't look like the kind of sad twat that has to resort to shit ad hominem arguments when they find themselves losing ground, please explain why my personal choice of beverage has any relevance whatsoever to a discussion about whether a corporate backed brewery can be classed as a true independent. Thanks.
Any why are you even posting this up?
Do they pay London living wage?
CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
They're in Bury St Edmunds!
editor
hiraethified
How many more stupid questions are you going to ask here, FFS?
CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
I was hoping for some enlightenment from the article below, but minimum wage not mentioned.
It does however helpfully state that Mr Rooney Anand, Greene King's CEO originally worked managing building sites for Tarmac at the age of 19.
When Anand came to Greene King, his predecessor was descended from the Kings on bis mothers side, and the nephew of Graham Greene was on the board
Incidentally Graham Greene (as well as being a weirdly depressing novelist) was the brother of Sir Hugh Greene - Director General of the BBC 1960-1989. Under Sir Hugh we had such innovations as Z Cars and Dr Who. He did not go down too well with Mrs Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewwers and Listeners Association. Whitehouse once commented: "Greene fully understood the destructive power of the satire. Why, knowing its power, did he also use it here against family life, Christianity etc? This is the heart of our complaint against Greene."
So there you have it - Greene King is simultaneously at the heart of the establishment, and also connected with undermining decent family values.
Greene King's Rooney Anand: 'As a CEO, you feel like your performance review is held in public every 12 weeks'
discobastard
Well-Known Member
Not really. Well maybe you got one over on me
I quite liked the 'small batch' comment though. They also do Old Speckled Hen. And since then Old Crafty Hen and Old Hoppy Hen. Which is obviously an attempt to get on the bandwagon. They're not awful, but they're not great.
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discobastard
Well-Known Member
It’s not an ad hominem and I’m not attacking you. The idea that BB or Beavertown are now ‘bad’ because they have taken investment from a multinational has been quiet fierce, which makes one assume that you are opposed to them. And so it is a reasonable question to ask whether you are still prepared to drink beer backed by multinationals or not. And there are always situations when one has no choice (big gigs tend to mean Heineken or Carling or some other tasteless shit or bust).
Personally I think I’m neither losing ground nor a ‘sad twat’ (thanks - is that a personal attack or not?), and if you think that asking people whether they spend money with these maligned businesses is an ‘attack’ then you’ve missed the point. I was asked recently whether I spent my money in Acre Lane Tesco (re the LLW argument). My response was not ‘how dare you ask me that’, it was to explain where I try and spend it as frequently as I can.
I’ve also said I try and drink independent small brew beer when I can. I am interested in where you stand on that bearing in mind you are quite vehemently anti-corporate.
Can’t say simpler than that really. If you don’t want to express a position that’s fine.
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discobastard
Well-Known Member
On a lighter note, I've just had a couple of glasses of Bullfinch Cascade at the Sympathetic Ear on Tulse Hill. Genuinely one of the nicest beers I've tasted for a very long time. 6%, really hazy but not with that heavy syrupy feel you often get with the cloudy beers.
Aaaaaand, it was only £3.40 for 2/3 of a pint makes it about a fiver a pint, which for a small batch brew with bar markup at that ABV makes it quite good value for money. Sadly not in cans...
IPA
(it's the one right at the bottom of the page)
Aaaaaand, it was only £3.40 for 2/3 of a pint makes it about a fiver a pint, which for a small batch brew with bar markup at that ABV makes it quite good value for money. Sadly not in cans...
IPA
(it's the one right at the bottom of the page)
editor
hiraethified
Who has called them "bad"? Where?
And despite your best efforts to sidetrack the discussion and keep bringing my personal choices into it (which I've already answered), the argument was always whether a brewery that is almost half owned by one of the biggest brewing corporate on the planet could justifiably call itself "independent."
editor
hiraethified
Interesting piece here:
Here's the original article:
Watch the Hands, Not the Cards — The Magic of Megabrew
Here's the original article:
Watch the Hands, Not the Cards — The Magic of Megabrew
snowy_again
Slush
I never thought I'd read the sentence " legacy premium brands (Bud and Bud Light)"!
That is a great article.
editor
hiraethified
They're awful, but they are immensely popular and, as that article explains, rightly described as "premium." I didn't know that they were made from "30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt," mind.
But here's something I don't understand. Brixton Brewery say that they are still a member of the Society of Independent Brewers yet a Guardian article from last year stated:
More: Indie brewers fight back in bitter row over beer brands' craft credentials
And: Camden Town Brewery founder insists big can also be beautiful
editor
hiraethified
That's really depressing. What chance have real independents got against these faux independents who now have the muscle and financial backing of cash-laden mega-corporates?
editor
hiraethified
Interesting to note that loads of independent brewers pulled out of the 'Beavertown Extravaganza' beer festival once they learnt that the company had flogged off a chunk to Heineken, just like the Brixton Brewery.
The Best Beer Festivals In London In September 2018
The statement from Cloudwater was quite damning:
The Best Beer Festivals In London In September 2018
The statement from Cloudwater was quite damning:
Cloudwaterbrew.co | Blog | Tough Calls And A Bigger Picture
I think the really tricky bit is when people who have always banged on and on about independence sell out - that means it was all lies ie Beavertown.
People who were more up front about their objectives have got a lot less grief - fourpure.
Alex
editor
hiraethified
The Brixton Brewery still insist that they're "independent."
editor
hiraethified
Not by the definition of all the true independent breweries who are boycotting the likes of Beavertown.
This is after all why most of them do it.
I don’t have a problem with the ones who sell out to mainstream brewers, I have a problem with the ones who sell an independent image and then sell out to mainstream brewers.
Alex
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CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
This stuff was on at the Beehive on Thursday. One customer disappointed that Guinness was off tried it on my recommendation - "a bit strong!"
They used to have Titanic beers (from Stoke on Trent) a lot about 10 years ago so was a nice treat to have this strong Russian Stout as a special
They used to have Titanic beers (from Stoke on Trent) a lot about 10 years ago so was a nice treat to have this strong Russian Stout as a special
editor
hiraethified
We're hoping to release a fresh batch of Coldharbour Courage (our delicious charity beer) but aren't chuffed to see that the multinational, recently arrived mega-backed Brixton Brewery are now pushing a similarly named lager. as far as I know they have zero connection to the street and we were here long before them - and we're not about selling off out business for $$$$$$$.
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