heywood on 4/1/2018 at 18:59
I like Trappist style beers as well, although my favorites are not actually from Belgium. Probably my favorite brewer of Trappist style ales is Unibroue in Montreal, Quebec. Second, an actual Trappist monastery named St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts started a brewery a few years ago after learning the craft by working in Belgium. They have a golden ale that is somewhere in between a patersbier and a dubbel called Spencer Trappist Ale, which is a well balanced, medium strength (6.5%) ale that is casually drinkable but flavorful enough to be interesting. It hits the sweet spot for me. Some of the stronger Trappist ales we get here (e.g. Chimay blue) can overpower the palate unless you drink them very slowly, and they are typically only available in 750ml bottles here, so before you uncork one you had better be up to it.
Harvester on 4/1/2018 at 19:24
I'd actually like to try American and Canadian micro-brewed beers, because I keep hearing good things about them. But they're almost impossible to find here in the Netherlands, unless you're willing to pay through the nose. I'm not interested in the major American brands, after trying Budweiser and finding it watery and bland.
Belgian beers at least are affordable here. A recent favorite of mine is Affligem Dubbel. It's a 6.8% abbey beer, but not a Trappist. Sometimes I buy one or two of those when my weekend starts. I don't really drink by myself often, but usually at the start of the weekend I buy one or two decent beers for myself.
catbarf on 4/1/2018 at 19:58
Quote Posted by nickie
My calculations are that I could save 25p a pint on current prices here, more or less £1 a day which would save £365 a year which would pay 6 months electricity bill. This is good. We could all give up alcohol but I like it and my back needs liquid refreshment after a long day toiling in the fields! And we'll also need to do something with the apples so cider will be on the menu later in the year.
I enjoy homebrew, but I wouldn't get into it with the expectation of saving money. True, in terms of raw ingredients you pay less, but you also have to factor in the up-front costs of a brew kettle, mash tun, fermentation bucket, and bottling/capping. Plus if you want good beer you need to use grain rather than extract, so throw in the cost of a mill. And after all that it's dangerously easy to ruin a batch- I made a wonderful Scottish-style red ale last summer, then got a little full of myself and screwed up a Belgian wit. Insufficient grain extraction and a mild lactobacillus contamination resulted in a weak Belgian-style
sour, which is safe to drink but not very pleasant.
The real strength of homebrew, IMO, is being able to make exactly the style you like and age it. All macrobrews and most microbrews are given little time to age, with brewing to store shelves done in a couple of weeks and typically don't improve over time due to the stabilizers used. In contrast, I'll brew a 5-gallon batch and let it bottle-condition for a month before touching it, and if I draw out that batch over the course of a couple of months it gradually and noticeably improves the older it gets.
All that said- after you put the requisite hours of work into brewing, wait and watch for the necessary days of fermentation, and sit patiently for the weeks it takes to adequately carbonate up and condition, you may be rather less inclined to drink four pints in one sitting. So you might end up saving money, just not in the way you'd expect.
I haven't had the motivation to do another batch yet, so for the time being it's Glenlivet and Vieux Pontarlier for me.
nickie on 4/1/2018 at 20:20
Quote Posted by catbarf
I enjoy homebrew, but I wouldn't get into it with the expectation of saving money.
I don't. But I have brewed before and I have saved money before and every penny will count this year. I can also use the 'no point in going out and buying anything, this'll be ready in a couple of days' factor!
PigLick on 7/1/2018 at 18:54
my local liquor store sells bottles of wine for 3 bucks, enough said
PigLick on 7/1/2018 at 18:55
wait I mean i have said enough
PigLick on 7/1/2018 at 18:56
the devil is in the details, as they say
PigLick on 7/1/2018 at 18:57
and what they say is "enough"
nickie on 7/1/2018 at 19:18
I knew there was something missing from this thread.
If I can make wine from stuff growing in the garden for 20p a bottle, then I'll laugh at your 3 bucks = £2.21 a bottle. I would like to have posted about how many bottles I could make for £2.21 at 20p but my maths is crap.
PigLick on 7/1/2018 at 19:28
if i could make wine from stuff in my garden, my god would it taste like shit
