Newcastle Brown recipe change

The had Newcastle on 2 occasions last year. The first was on tap at Buffalo Wild Wings. I remember it tasting very wTered down and switched to Goose Island IPA. The second time I had it was at my hotel at Disney. They had it in pint cans and I had one while watching the Super Bowl. I remember the canned version being better than the tap version.

 

My local has it on tap. Local bottle shop has bottles, pint bottles and 500ml cans.

Not sure who buys it.

 

It was only a matter of time! They've been getting shit about it since that list came out about them using caramel coloring. Caramel coloring is cheaper than roasted malts like HFCS is cheaper than sugar and you can tell they don't seem very happy about changing it. I like that they point out cupcakes and soda like a child in trouble trying to snitch on his buddies so he isn't the only one in trouble. I'll try one when they are released.

 

It shows an ignorance of traditional brewing to complain about the use of caramel (or to say it shouldn't be in beer). Interestingly, this beer used to be thought of as a very strong one, popular with young men who listened to rock music.

 

The author may have meant to say it is a best-seller in both the US and the UK, and in the UK it's nicknamed "dog," but the way it's written it says that the nickname applies in both places. I've never heard it called dog either, but if that was popularized in the 80s it may have just been before my time (my time as a beer drinker that is... I was 5 in 1980.)

 

I'm ignorant on the topic, so enlighten me. I tried looking up when caramel coloring (not caramel, but caramel coloring) was first used as a food additive, but with no luck. Brewing's been around a heck of a long time, so I was trying to get a feel for how long this practice had been going on to see how traditional it really is.

Either way, I think it's cheating to make your beer darker with a coloring agent that doesn't contribute in a positive way to the flavor.

 

Some ads from US brewing industry magazines in the pre-Pro era of 1900-1918 for "sugar coloring" and other well-known beer coloring ingredients like "Porterine":

 

Would adding carmel colouring mean it should taste the same as Landlord? Maybe it's the power of suggestion, but they seem different to me.

 

Caramel in Brewing Technical Tips product data sheet - Gusmer Enterprises (brewing supply house) made by DD Williamson

 

From the linked BBC article in the OP:

 

I have seen Sinamar in a few top rated craft breweries. It is another tool for a brewer to use to get consistent color.
http://www.weyermann.de/eng/produkte.asp?idkat=26&umenue=yes&idmenue=0&sprache=2