Newcastle Connoisseurs

It is on tap tons of places here in East Tennessee. Actually pretty tasty. One of the beers that first got me away from BMC.

 

He does walk to Founders, I've seen him do it. Walks in, slams some class 3s, spits in the bartender's face and peaces out.

 

i've only tried the clear 12 oz. bottles, and i love it ... it's underrated in my opinion -- skunking included. sure, I would LOVE for them to switch over to darker glass, but for 15 cents/ounce or less, it's a solid English brown ale.

i haven't found the cans yet, but i'm going to keep looking. are they nitro cans? old speckled hen in a can (nitro) is WILDLY different from the bottled version ... that nitro stuff is different.

 

Or more often "Newkie Brown"
I understand that it was one of the very few British beers actually intended to be bottled.I've never seen it in bulk, that must have been a later development.

 

All joking aside, there was a time some 30 years ago when Newcastle Brown was justifiably considered to be a 3 out of 4 stars 'Worth seeking out' beer. At least that's What Michael Jackson felt and I can vouch for him on that. It WAS a delicious and relatively rich but well balanced beer. And there was a time when it was one of the ultimate 'gateway' beers for anyone outside of the UK wanting to explore English breweries. If that's still the case for folk then who am I to argue?

 

That would be assuming
1. The pub that the bottle was consumed sold cask ale
2. The pub that the bottle was consumed knew how to keep cask

Both extremely common scenarios.

 

This varies from area to area. In my part of the world all our pubs sell cask ale and the overall cellarmanship is very good.Inevitably there is the occasional below par pint; in my experience given a quiet word it will be replaced and the beer taken off sale.

 

You're so right, and when I get bored of drinking all the great local beers around here I am not ashamed to admit that Michigan swill you mention is one of my guilty pleasures. Always brings back memories of the days before better beer, just like an occasional Newcastle Brown does.

 

More power to ya if you like that stuff. But now you tweaked my pet peeve.

Why is it so hard for some on this site to understand that it's not about whether it's "craft enough" and it's not about being a "beer snob"? It's about not liking the taste of certain beers and/or beer styles. Maybe you like to drink awful beer. I don't eat food that makes me gag, I don't drink beer that tastes bad to me.

 

Is Newcastle a decent beer worth retreating to from time to time?

Most definitely NO. It's a decidedly lousy beer and I wouldn't drink it if it was the only beer in the pub.

 

1. I wouldn't go to a pub in Britain that didn't offer cask ale.
2. If the pub had poorly kept cask ale, I'd leave and go to a better one.

It's not difficult - I've followed that simple strategy on all my visits since 1995.

 

Good for you.

 

Part of it is your palate evolving. I too, used to love Newcastle years ago. Heck, my bottle opener keychain is still Newcastle. But as you become accustomed to better craft beers, you just cant go back. It tastes weak because it is weak, yet it was stronger than the macros you were drinking before. Look at this as a good thing.

 

I used to love this stuff. Its a good gateway/stepping stone beer. Their Winter IPA wasnt bad but was a tad bland.