TOPIC:

"TheBeerNut":1lpzrxxh wrote:

"Wobbler":1lpzrxxh wrote: I just think that beer writers, bloggers and commentators rarely point this out.[/quote:1lpzrxxh]Beer writers, bloggers and commentators rarely write anything about the Irish beer market. And, as Séan says, Ireland is one of the very few beer-drinking countries where InBev isn't working against local independent breweries, since no Irish independent breweries have enough market share to be on their radar.
[/quote:1lpzrxxh]
I'm not too famiuliar with drinking outside Irelamd but that point makes sense......but.... I was in London a few months back. Obviously the best thing about beer in Britain is their incredible cask ale. The worst thing about beer in Britain is going to pubs which only carry dodgy lager and keg ale. Last time I was there I noticed a few places (hotel bars and the like) carrying Leffe and Hoegaarden. That's got to be good.

"Wobbler":217qkff1 wrote: I hope that once the Irish become more adventurous beer drinkers, a few more micros will spring up. Not before.[/quote:217qkff1]

ah, but will InBev have had their marketing hooks embed into the Irish mindset by then <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->

&amp;quot;oblivious&amp;quot;:2cwyeul5 wrote:

&amp;quot;Wobbler&amp;quot;:2cwyeul5 wrote: I hope that once the Irish become more adventurous beer drinkers, a few more micros will spring up. Not before.[/quote:2cwyeul5]

ah, but will InBev have had their marketing hooks embed into the Irish mindset by then <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->[/quote:2cwyeul5]
Any changes in the Iriush beer mindset has to be positive.

&amp;quot;Wobbler&amp;quot;:1xmftptu wrote: Last time I was there I noticed a few places (hotel bars and the like) carrying Leffe and Hoegaarden. That's got to be good.[/quote:1xmftptu]I disagree. I got stuck in an InBev-tied hotel in Stoke-on-Trent a couple of months ago, where I could have Stella, Boddington's, Beck's Vier or Hoegaarden. I wasn't feeling witbiery so I went for the Boddy. Ack. I see no difference between this and being stuck in an Irish bar which only sells Murphy's and Heineken. I expect better in Britain.

&amp;quot;TheBeerNut&amp;quot;:34wevbjp wrote:

&amp;quot;Wobbler&amp;quot;:34wevbjp wrote: Last time I was there I noticed a few places (hotel bars and the like) carrying Leffe and Hoegaarden. That's got to be good.[/quote:34wevbjp]I disagree. I got stuck in an InBev-tied hotel in Stoke-on-Trent a couple of months ago, where I could have Stella, Boddington's, Beck's Vier or Hoegaarden. I wasn't feeling witbiery so I went for the Boddy. Ack. I see no difference between this and being stuck in an Irish bar which only sells Murphy's and Heineken. I expect better in Britain.[/quote:34wevbjp]
But that appears to have always been the case in Britain. Unless you're in a decent boozer which carries cask ale, you're stick with nasty lager or ales like Boddy or John Smith. If InBev beers are made available, it's an improvement.

OK, this is probably a personal preference thing. I'd tend to go for the nasty keg ale over the Belgian-style stuff just because I prefer ale in general, and there's the novelty value. Whether there's Hoegaarden or not probably wouldn't affect my choice.

Perhaps a closer parallel is the rise of Greedy King. In the same hypothetical hotel I'd much rather a pint of GK IPA or Abbott Ale than Hoegaarden or Leffe.