Greene bloody King :(

Trust me, you're not the only person in the country who's boycotting them as a matter of principle!

How about forming a GK3Z group, publicising the few remaining pubs that are GK free.

Sounds like a good idea - there's a letter in this month's What's Brewing (CAMRA) from someone boycotting GK beers. The idea seems to be spreading.

SD

Ridleys - I'm boycotting GK too. I see from What's brewing that they intend to change the OG of Speckled Hen because they don't have a mid gravity beer.

OTOH - have you come across Marston's Old Empire IPA? A fine full strength (5.7%) true IPA.

In message , Secret Drinker writes

A lot of GK pubs now have signs with just GK's name and trademark on - it's like a return to the keg era. It'll help us avoid them but it's depressing to see two pubs facing each other across the road, both in GK uniform. You can't imagine Tesco keeping two shops open on the same street, why would GK keep two pubs open?

That's already happened. Naturally, the price hasn't fallen.

They have an excellent mid gravity beer in Hardys & Hanson's Olde Trip but you can bet your boots it will come out of Bury tasting of GK. Just like Ruddles County tastes like a grown up IPA , it's almost as if their beers are clones.

Seems to me that Abbot is a 'mid-gravity' beer these days. It's not as strong as it used to be (was nearly 5% IIRC, now only 4.5 or thereabouts). So what's the point of reducing the OG of OSH to the same as Abbot? Is OSH going to be phased out, I wonder? (Must admit I was never a fan of OSH anyway, even when made in Abingdon, so I won't miss it personally, but others like it and it's the principle of reducing choice I object to).

SD

As far as I know, Abbott is still 5% ABV and when on song is a great pint. But GK have denatured two beers now-their Ruddles County bears no resemblance to the Langham brewed version and now the OSH.

No, Abbot is still 5%, and probably the best beer in the GK portfolio now, although quite bland for the strength. OSH had changed flavour completely since the Morlands days and had come to taste like Abbot with slightly different hops. GK want to use OSH as a 'guest' in their pubs but landlords were reluctant to take it since it cannibalized their Abbot sales, hence the reduction in gravity.

Paul

Talking about clones, I've just read on the website of the state-run liquor stores here in Sweden (Systembolaget) that Green King are launching a new version of their IPA, 'IPA Export Strength', rated at

Oops, you're right. It is still 5%, dunno why I thought they had reduced the strength. Probably because they've changed the flavour, to make it less hoppy and bitter than it once was.

That's another thing I object to - GK pubs that sell Ruddles County or OSH as a "guest" beer. I assume we will soon see Hardy's & Hanson's "guesting" in their pubs. IMO the practice of selling "guests" from the same brewery that owns the pub should be outlawed. It's downright cheating! When is a guest not a guest?

SD

I've not heard of this, but wouldn't be surprised if it was just Abbot for the export market. Abbot is exported under its own name to a number of countries though.

Paul

I've seen Greene King "Export Strength IPA" (5.0%) in Sainsbury's. Didn't try it.

Yes, we get it here, at about a fiver a pint, like all imported draught beers (Guinness, Kilkenny, Bass, Spitfire, OSH and maybe a couple more) I can't drink the 'new' Guinness, it tastes watered down. We used to be able to get Murphy's for a while but Diageo tied up with Sapporo means more marketing muscle for Guinless :-(

Wayne

With H&H Olde Trip at 4.3% , GK have acquired an ideal brew to fit into their Premium slot. Olde Trip is a lovely pint when it's on song but I bet it won't be improved by GK when they brew it.

It's widely available in supermarkets round here, and is a distinctly different brew to Abbot, although IME quite a rich, malty beer and nothing like an IPA.

Keep an eye open for bottles of Old Gurners Ale, brewed by Ossett Brewery here in West Yorkshire, and exported to Japan to my certain knowledge.

I've not come across it as yet but will certainly keep an eye open for it! One store I visit regularly usually has about 6 Young's ales, Spitfire, Bishop's Finger and a few other British beers (bottles and cans) so they will surely stock it if it is imported. I'm a tad sad that I won't be able to get any more Dirty Dick's :-(

Oh, and FYI, we've recently got O'Hanlon's beers in Tokyo, although I haven't been down to the pub that imports it to try it (I dislike the area where it's located, too many foreigners)

Wayne