As an Aussie homebrewer I thought I'd put in my ten cents.

From my limited travelling experience I have noticed that Fosters seems to
be more heavily marketed overseas (particularly in Asian countries) than it
is here in Australia, the biggest exception to this would have to be the F1
Grand Prix, known as the Fosters Australian Grand Prix. At this event in
Melbourne, unless you are in a corporate box Fosters is the ONLY beer you
can buy (Fosters draught and Fosters Light) - **side note - I'm pretty sure
that fosters light is the same beer as fosters draught just with extra water
added after the fermentation**. Fosters is not a good beer but thier
marketing has been very successful, if you were to ask any Melbournite to
name A few brands of beer most of them would probably respond Victoria
Bitter (VB), Fosters and Carlton Draught. All of these beers are basically
the same, they are golden in colour, pour with a nice head but taste very
very plain, in other words they look good and taste ordinary.

The people who drink these beers (which covers most of the Melbourne beer
drinking population) as a general rule do not appreciate or savor the
flavor, they just drink them for the sake of drinking them - peer pressure;
again, this goes to show that the marketing is working. I suspect that this
is probably the case all over the world.

Some of my friends who still drink this stuff always complain to me that my
homebrew has a 'funny taste', when I explain to them that taste is hops and
that that is beer is supposed to be that way they usually go on drinking
thier VB or Carlton Draught and try to convince me that my beer is either
off or that 'it's just not beer'. That's fine by me, it leaves more
homebrew for those of us who enjoy it.

In London on holiday from Australia, I was offered a beer - "I'll drink what
the locals drink" say I foolishly. I was brought a cool (not ice cold)
Fosters, which I had to politely force down, blaming jet lag.

"Alright, what does Grandad drink?" would have been a smarter response.

Make mine a Coopers (anything).

Red

"Spanky" wrote in message
u...
As an Aussie homebrewer I thought I'd put in my ten cents.

From my limited travelling experience

Get with the program, Bill. Seems as though the entire nation of Oz is
regularly on walkabout. g

I have noticed that Fosters seems to
be more heavily marketed overseas (particularly in Asian countries) than
it
is here in Australia, the biggest exception to this would have to be the
F1
Grand Prix, known as the Fosters Australian Grand Prix. At this event in
Melbourne, unless you are in a corporate box Fosters is the ONLY beer you
can buy (Fosters draught and Fosters Light) - **side note - I'm pretty
sure
that fosters light is the same beer as fosters draught just with extra
water
added after the fermentation**. Fosters is not a good beer but thier
marketing has been very successful, if you were to ask any Melbournite to
name A few brands of beer most of them would probably respond Victoria
Bitter (VB), Fosters and Carlton Draught. All of these beers are
basically
the same, they are golden in colour, pour with a nice head but taste very
very plain, in other words they look good and taste ordinary.

Heresy!
Actually, I'm in full agreement with you. I've had the good fortune of
visiting Oz a number of times, and I've noted the chauvinism with which many
Aussies regard their beers. ("Hey Yank, what do you think of our VB? Not
like those watery American beers!" Me: "Well mate, this VB is just
Australian Budweiser." Fight ensues.)

That said, I quite enjoy Cooper's Ales, Toohey's Old, and a micro from WA,
Little Creatures. Like in the States, you pay a hefty premium for quality.

I think many Aussies haven't had the opportunity to become aware (or sample)
the amazing variety of American beers available as a result of the microbrew
boom. American brewing is still viewed as the mass-marketed macroswill the
world has come to know and hate.

Interestingly, I've noted in some of Oz's more upscale/trendy areas
(Sydney's North beaches, Byron Bay, Noosa, etc.), wine has replaced beer as
the libation of choice for many. Of course, I think the average popularly
priced Australian wine is much superior to the average Oz beer.

The people who drink these beers (which covers most of the Melbourne beer
drinking population) as a general rule do not appreciate or savor the
flavor, they just drink them for the sake of drinking them - peer
pressure; again, this goes to show that the marketing is working. I
suspect that this is probably the case all over the world.

Indeed.

Some of my friends who still drink this stuff always complain to me that
my homebrew has a 'funny taste', when I explain to them that taste is hops
and that that is beer is supposed to be that way they usually go on drinking
thier VB or Carlton Draught and try to convince me that my beer is either
off or that 'it's just not beer'.

LOL. I find the same thing.
When some of my Bud/Miller/Coors dinking friends ask for a sample of one of
my "strange beers" (even something as benign as a pale ale), the response is
often "Man! That's got *alot* of taste!) Then, of course, they open another
macro.

That's fine by me, it leaves more homebrew for those of us who enjoy it.

Cheers!

EFB

Eric Berg wrote:
LOL. I find the same thing.
When some of my Bud/Miller/Coors dinking friends ask for a sample of one of
my "strange beers" (even something as benign as a pale ale), the response is
often "Man! That's got *alot* of taste!) Then, of course, they open another
macro.

And no, it's not limited to beer... Not only do I drink "strange
beers," I listen to "strange music," read "strange books," watch
"strange movies." I guess you can't fault average people for being average.


--
Theodore M. Kloba *
http://www.geocities.com/heytud/

On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 00:47:21 GMT, stephen wrote:


[blah blah blah American beer blah blah]

that's easy, it missing 3 things that obviously don't appeal to your
palate: flavour, body and alcohol.

Alcohol isn't the prime determinant in assessing whether a beer will
be interesting. The majority of beers, whether mass-produced industro
swill lagers or craft ales, come in at around 5% abv or below. Some
of my favorite beers - British mild ales, for instance - are quite
low in alcohol, 4% abv or below, and can be superb. There are plenty
of crappy beers sold with elevated alcohol levels. Flavor and body
are different matters entirely.
--
Nobody You Know

american beer is weak and tastes like ****.

american beer is weak and tastes like ****.

You know what **** tastes like???

"Captain!" wrote in message
news:mgezc.18865$lN.293@edtnps84...
american beer is weak and tastes like ****.

Just curious, is the second comment from experience? I mean I've tried
Budweiser, so I agree with the first comment.

Red

"Spanky" wrote in message
u...
american beer is weak and tastes like ****.

You know what **** tastes like???



Sure he does. He drinks Canadian Whiskey.

Teflon

american beer is weak and tastes like ****.


You know what **** tastes like???


reminds me oth the joke/saying: "oh you want some american beer? Let me
finish a pitcher of this and i'll make you some."

Considering the olfactory sense is a part of taste though, and that
particals have to enter your nose and go past you soft palate when you
are inhaling , you've pretty much tasted **** if you've smelled it.

I still laugh everytime i hear someway say something tastes like shit
though..

In rec.crafts.brewing Richard J wrote:

Sure he does. He drinks Canadian Whiskey.

Teflon


So cool.

--

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

In rec.crafts.brewing stephen wrote:

reminds me oth the joke/saying: "oh you want some american beer? Let me
finish a pitcher of this and i'll make you some."

Considering the olfactory sense is a part of taste though, and that
particals have to enter your nose and go past you soft palate when you
are inhaling , you've pretty much tasted **** if you've smelled it.

I still laugh everytime i hear someway say something tastes like shit
though..

So cool.

--

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

In rec.crafts.brewing RedMan wrote:

Just curious, is the second comment from experience? I mean I've tried
Budweiser, so I agree with the first comment.

Red


Again, so cool.

--

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

In rec.crafts.brewing Captain! wrote:
american beer is weak and tastes like ****.


Very cool.

--

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

stephen ) wrote:
:
: reminds me oth the joke/saying: "oh you want some american beer? Let me
: finish a pitcher of this and i'll make you some."
:

About 6 weeks ago I had the honor of stewarding the World Beer Cup. One
of the judges at the table I was working was from Miller. We had prepped
the table with bread, crackers and two pitchers of tap water. Right
before the session began she asked me if we had any bottled water so I
said, "Sure, which kind do you want, Miller Light or MGD?" It got a luagh
-- I went and found her a couple of big bottles of spring water.

Turns out she is responsible for product consistency and has a rather
amazing palate. Listening to her contribute to that judging session was
an eye-opener for me -- there is a lot going on in the lighter flavored
beers that my own senses are blind to. I guess I have a very subdued
sense of taste and smell so I like over the top, ultra hoppy or ultra
malty (or both) beers and very heavily seasoned food.

I wonder, though, what the original poster meant by "weak." If it's a
reference to alcohol content I'd suggest finding a bottle of Dogfish Head
World Wide Stout. It's an American Beer, isn't it?

--
Bill

reply to sirwill1 AT same domain as above