Getting An Advent Calendar?

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
A petrol station selling beer is a bit odd. I thought I hadn’t heard of this, but remember a colleague from Kingswells mentioning that there was a good selection of beer there.
Probably the best place to buy beer in all of Aberdeenshire. You'll struggle to find a larger curated selection. They have a FAR wider variety than you get in most of the supermarkets. Sadly not enough real ale for my liking, but that's an issue across the entirety of Scotland in my opinion (I love a real ale, its just much more difficult to find up here)...

I'm going to get myself a beer engine at some point next year and brew my own :)

I don’t get all the hype with Brewdog. They have had some good marketing, but I prefer a good real ale (despite them being a local company). Brewdog’s image has slipped somewhat recently.

Yeah their image has taken a big hit, unfortunately even the beers they used to be famously good for (Big bold stouts and other 'big beers') are not as great (in comparison to their competition) anymore. Couple that with the revelations about the nature of the management within the company it must have had an impact. I frequent flagship in Town regularly enough and buy their beer, but the 'rose tinted glasses' are well and truly off!
 

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
Its mental sweet, its actually not too bad overall, but it is very sweet. Don't think I'd want a 'large can' the one I had was a 330ml and that was more than enough.
Agree with the not too bad, it first arrives in the mouth as a gentle pale ale before smacking you round the chops with a saccharine slap, then you get a wee zing of raspberry on the aftertaste.

I won’t be buying that one again. Let’s hope tonight’s beer is something a bit more traditional and not a bacon porter with an infusion of tomato ketchup.
 

Bigfoot

Grand Master
I received


a banana stout as the first advent beverage from my calendar - not sampled it yet, might have a can tonight ...
Why do we need all these weird beers? Is it for the kids, who want alcohol, but don’t like the taste - a bit like alcopops a few years ago?
 

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
Why do we need all these weird beers? Is it for the kids, who want alcohol, but don’t like the taste - a bit like alcopops a few years ago?
'Need' is a strong word :) maybe but I hear you! I'm not sure, there's certainly a place for that kind of thing but the recent surge of the highly sweet 'NEIPA's' (or similar) is a bit odd, they certainly do seem popular though. Classic beer styles do still have their place though, but I'd be a hypocrite if I said the more modern beers are better / worse... Still can't beat a big bold stout with some strange weird and wonderful flavors though!

My preference for the real ale is the tendency for it to be slightly flatter rather than the flavor thing, there are wild and whacky 'real ale's' too...
 

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I received


a banana stout as the first advent beverage from my calendar - not sampled it yet, might have a can tonight ...
My god I hate Banana flavouring.

Had a cherry/strawberry/blonde ale there last night. Part of a Belgian Beer hamper I got, really sweet and kind of strange. Definitely couldn't drink more than one of them but it was interesting
 
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steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
My god I hate Banana flavouring.

Had a cherry/strawberry/blonde ale there last night. Part of a Belgian Beer hamper I got, really sweet and kind of strange. Definitely couldn't drink more than one of them but it was interesting
Not tried it yet, but given the historic quality of the beverages offered by HopShop Abz in the Advent Calendar I fully expect it to be immense. Hopefully it'll have actual banana in rather than banana flavoring! I shall report back after a sample :)
 

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Chilli and beer go pretty well together, assuming you don't make the beer too spicy (at least in my opinion, spicy beer isn't great)...
I like a good cinnamon beer but chilli and beer aren't a good combo for my belly unfortunately

Super combo but my god does it give me serious heartburn
 

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I like a nice chilli washed down with a nice beer, or of course a good Donna Kebab after a good session............
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I like the novelty factors of some of the beers nowadays. The thing is though, it's became more like a cocktail selection than a beer selection. You want to try all the different varieties. It seems like that's the mindset they are catering towards and with the way things are going in pubs now (18 yr olds ordering £60 rounds on their credit cards as they all want cocktails) it's not really surprising.

I'll have a bold IPA or DIPA when I'm having a house beer of my own stock.
When I'm on it, I tend to stick to something watery like Tennents. I'll enjoy a few Peroni or Stella, but I can't have a proper session on them.
The calendar beers are nice for 1 off taster treats but I would never have them on any other occasion.

Elvis Juice used to be one of my go-to shelf beers but since they dropped the ABV and the quality of the product I haven't touched it.

One of the best IPAs is Double Joker by the Williams Bros. I actually prefer their beer stylings to Brewdog overall. Ironically I think the Joker IPA is a bit of a let down and outshone by Caesar Augustus, which is a fine beer. It's strange when you read the description of both beers, it's as if the labels should be switched.
 

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Yeah I've learned in my old age to not mix it up too much, on a day session I'd put 8-10 Guinness into me then switch to Whiskey. The less I mix it the better I'll feel and not suffer from Indigestion or heart burn

Tennants is horrific though shame on you
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
It's an acquired taste, no doubt, but it's 4% and tastes of very little. Still tastes closer to beer than Carling or Heineken though!

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AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
Treated myself a Tony's chocolate calendar this year, quite the fan!

Be interested to hear how that beverage turns out mind you.
Reviewed it a few posts up, here’s the link if you can’t be bothered scrolling 👍

 

VirtualDevil

Silver Level Poster
Reviewed it a few posts up, here’s the link if you can’t be bothered scrolling 👍


Shocking from me, and the beer by the sounds of it! my attention to detail is usually top tier stuff. Glad it's Friday!
 

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
And this is what was behind door number three, Lost Lager with a hint of mango. Another slightly controversial offering but I’ll give it a go!

303A5E4C-5D8C-4C0D-A0B2-FDE88308D0E9.jpeg


EDIT - Some hours later, I have imbibed said beverage… and I’m genuinely not sure what to make of it. Wasn’t unpleasant, just unusual. Smells like a mango sorbet and doesn’t actually taste like anything beery. One for the alcopop crowd, perhaps.
 
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