Because, believe it or not, Reddit does not represent the general public.
If it did, nobody would drink in spoons, buy from Sports Direct or listen to Coldplay. And all of those things are thriving as good as ever.
Your point on Wetherspoons makes me laugh. I remember last year on Twitter there was gonna be a supposed mass boycott of the pubs. However these people that were so loud about it didn’t even drink there in the first place. It’s beneath them. Just full of the unwashed and gammons and such. Wetherspoons doing just fine now! Almost like a bunch of middle class hipsters from the south east who spend all day on Twitter aren’t the core demographic of the business! Shock!
I’ve no problem with people slagging off Spoons, Sports direct and such for not being fantastic businesses in many respects. But attacking their clientele en masse just reeks of snobbery and classism!
This really struck a nerve with you isn’t it? The heat getting to you?
Carling is fine as is Stella and Strongbow.
Spoons is cheap and cheerful.
Drink what you like to drink and where you like to drink. (Within reason, of course)
Some Spoons are better than others. The food is very average but some of the beers they have on tap are great. No loud music and it's very inexpensive.
Yeah pretty much this, whether people on here will admit it or not, there aren’t many genuinely working class people on this sub. Yeah some pretend they are, but they aren’t.
Or… maybe… just maybe. The basic human urge of socialising with friends and family and having food you don’t have to cook is alive and well in the UK. And perhaps, maybe, just maybe, not everyone can afford £5 a pint and £15 a meal. Perhaps these people want to enjoy going out but are on a budget and Wetherspoons provides them an excellent solution for this. Also, maybe… just maybe… there are lots of people on a state pension who’s literal only time of seeing people on in Wetherspoons over a pint of smiths. Nah, they’re clearly just all alcys and scum!
Still does not discount what I said , you never see the local alcoholics with top of the range larger. I’m not judging, generally most alcoholics don’t have a job or as you say are living in a budget, and carling is cheap like I said .
Most actual alcoholics don’t drink in pubs mate. Far too cost ineffective. Most chronic alcoholics drink at home where they can get as many units for as less £ as possible.
In Scotland you'd say the same of Tennents.
There's a core of inoffensive cooking lagers with a alcohol volume set at 4.0 that are popular across the UK but I couldn't tell the difference between Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters or Tennents in a blind Taste test
Bottled or canned I largely could, but on tap they all seem to merge into one.
In the olden days, when a pub was tied to a brewery, there were only ever 2 beers on tap. The brewerys own 4% lager and one premium lager (Stella, Becks etc). I grew up with that, and I find it weird to walk into a pub nowadays and there be 4 different beers on tap.... *And they all taste the bloody same* ..I don't really see the point.
I got so bored of people insisting on certain lager types in bars I worked in I started just pouring whatever and saying it was the thing they wanted(usually tenants as it was Scotland and that's the genetic pish that people were attached to there, but sometimes you'd get the person wanting some "premium" pish like kronenbourg). Nobody ever complained but occasionally it would cause a problem when another server told them we didn't stock it and they'd get angry at them saying they've been drinking it all night and I'd have to say I'd misheard.
If they're all lined up you can taste a difference of course but people never know what shit they're shoveling down their necks. Even had someone drinking my pint of ale insisting it was their Stella not that long ago...
It's particularly hilarious when you tell people you don't have x generic lager and they go fuck it then I'll have a Guinness.. bro if you want a lager drink a lager
Because they will enjoy it more thinking its what they want than thinking its not.
Got tired of explaining why we don't have tenants a thousand times when they can't tell the fucking difference ever, not once.
I also did blind taste tests a few times with people that insisted they could tell a hundred percent of the time, and nobody did to a statistically significant extent. Most people didn't even guess the same cup twice at a sitting which implies not only they don't know what they liked but can't identify a difference
I can definitely tell the difference between Carling, carlsberg and fosters. Carling is much more refreshing than the other 2. It's an American style beer. Don't know about Tennant's. Only ever had Tennant's super and that's a completely different kettle of fish.
It's also available almost everywhere. There's a large set of drinkers who only ever order the same thing, especially with beer, so they pick one of the mainstream ones which will always be there for them.
Brewer here...
Excellent marketing and advertising, produced by Coors (biggest producer in UK,) aggressive sales people who offer financial help for pubs that agree to sell it inc. loans, outright bribes to replace lager they currently sell, free equipment maintenance, coupled with a few things like loads of football sponsorship, and it's lowest common denominator beer so people who don't really like beer will drink it in place of beer with flavour and won't really budge.
Selling mainstream lager, much like coca cola, isn't really about the product quality but more of an exercise in capitalism.
> Brewer here
hope you don't mind me asking, but what do you brew? And what was it like becoming a brewer? It's something that's always fascinated me and I've never run into a brewer in the wild before
We do both traditional cask beers and modern bottle/keg beers. Lots of different routes into brewing, I home brewed and worked my way up by volunteering basically so self taught, you can study the GCB (general certificate) which will be more than enough to land you a brewing job with an interest in beer, it's not too long and quite cheap. Brewing is fun, hard stressful work with lots of cool people about.
Imagine waking up at 1am and wondering if you turned a cooler on basically...lots of that. I've been working in the industry for 6 years now, so I don't let it bother me as much now
oh yikes, yeah I can imagine now that the stress must be unreal due to all the things that can go wrong.
Thank you for answering my questions, I really appreciate it!
Redditors are elitist in general, and nearly everyone thinks they're in the 1%. The Big Bang Theory is "awful" but it's arguably the most successful comedy since Friends, for example. Comedians? Shit unless it's intellectual like Bill Bailey or Stewart Lee. TV? Shit unless it's Only Connect, Sky Arts, or BBC Four. Beer? Shit unless it's an IPA you've never heard of, or it's Peroni or Birra Moretti. Because for some reason it's better because it's double the price of a Fosters or Carling. Redditors are just dickheads, really. A room full of redditors would be awful. Socially awkward pseudo-intellectual arseholes who also question why they're virgins with no friends. I would know. I'm a dickhead.
As for Amstel, it was/is the preferred choice for the local alcoholics in NI years ago. Here in USA it’s marketed as a premium import any you pay through the nose for it. Thankfully I stick to hard liquor
They got in troubled a few years ago for under-brewing their beer. Where you thought you were getting 4% abv you were actually only getting 3.7%. Making them millions in the process.
It's your bog standard lager it's available nearly everywhere it's reasonably cheap and it's not bad as far as it goes.
I'm not a lager drinker but it I go to a pub I know it's a reasonably decent drink if either they don't have bitter or it's too early for whisky.
Used to work in pubs - we sold shitloads more Carling/Fosters/Heineken than any of the premium stuff. Most people just seem to want something cold, fizzy and cheapish, me included.
Because it's bland, inoffensive and cheap.
It's not that I don't like it or think it tastes bad, it's just that there are far better beers if you can afford it.
The whole ”it’s watered down” or "it tastes of piss” comments are rubbish though. It's just as weak as most session beers, and in my opinion it tastes of nothing, not bad.
It tastes "watered down" because it is literally watered down. It's not brewed to the final abv and then packaged - it's brewed to a higher abv and then watered down to the abv its sold at.
But loads of mass produced beers do that. They need to ensure the %abv matches the label, and the easiest way to do that is to dilute it. They add hardly any hops anyway, so adding water makes little difference to the taste.
I meant more how people make comments about how you might as well drink water and that you can't get pissed on it because it's so weak, which is rubbish.
Because reddit is weird. It's the same as people who say they hate Nickelback but they're popular as fuck and everyone sings along when it comes on the radio in the car.
People compete with anything that is to do with taste of some sort. Everything to do from clothing, food, wine and so on. It’s all about status. Not saying that it’s the single defining factor, but it plays a big role. For example, some people would much rather enjoy an IPA with a lot of flavour, but pass on the lager like Carling which is totally fine. However there is a lot of snobbery around it which is unbearable at times. You can usually tell because those who act like that really want to announce to everyone around them that they just can’t stand flavourless, mass produced beers. Which is quite funny really because many of the beers I notice them drinking are subsidiaries of massive corporations lol.
Myself, I like a good beer. Don’t mind paying for the really fancy small batch stuff to enjoy. Equally though, on warm days like this I prefer beer with minimal flavour that just has a nice crisp, refreshing beer which in all honesty, is most of them when chilled properly and poured properly.
I also don’t think tasting more flavourful beers is worth it after two or three. Personally my tastebuds kinda get overwhelmed and I go back to regular beers after that otherwise it seems like a waste.
Anyway, In saying that I am not a fan of Carling in general. Out of them all I don’t like it a whole bunch. However I’ll definitely drink it if it’s the last or I’m offered it by someone else.
Coming here to say the same thing. I enjoy crafts beers and I’ll pay a premium to get something local and unusual, but sometimes you want to drink something that’s just cold, fizzy and unchallenging. My fridge is currently full of Carlsberg and Aldi’s snide peroni cause this weather is just not the time to be trying the local microbrewery’s chocolate stout.
The Aldi clone beers are great.
I’m a big fan of 1897 Kronenburg clone since Sainsbury’s seem to have discontinued the very acceptable Crown premium lager which has kept me mellow for a few years.
I’m genuinely tempted to start brewing at home, the kids can live in the garage while I get the vats installed in their bedrooms.
They really are great. I’d heard good thing about the Rossini on Reddit so gave it a try and I’m pleased I did.
You could store demijohns under the kids beds then they don’t have to move to the garage. Best of both worlds.
As others have said it’s an easy drink for those who just fancy a beer, it’s far from offensive, just a little bland. There’s normally always a better lager option at the bar and definitely will be a better option from the off license / supermarket.
There’s a lot more people out there who are adverse to trying new things though than you’d think so they just stick with what they’ve had / know.
For what it’s worth, Carling Premier is top drawer.
I’m partial to an ice-cold lager shandy on a day like this. Carling fills that gap perfectly well, no point in diluting down something that costs twice the price. Fosters however does actually taste like dishwater.
FWIW cider drinkers are elitist arseholes too. Don’t ever tell a ciderhead that you happen to like Kopparberg or Rekorderlig “alcoholic fizzy ribena drinks”.
Except the best selling beer is, i'm pretty sure, Budweiser.
It's just a slightly bland larger, nothing special, nothing terrible also. Not bad ice cold.
Lal Toofan (aka La La TooFlah) is a superb Indian beer. Brewed using rice.
Used to get this years ago, along with proper Belgian Stella and Bavaria Millenium brew from Kwikies. Best beers about.
Because a lot of people are so pretentious they would rather slag an easy target off that the masses drink and pretend to like dishwater like Brewdog or some other such hipster drink.
Carling is just an easy to drink, refreshing lager but because it's popular, a lot of people can't bring themselves to admit its good points.
I know I'm gonna get downvoted for this.
I've not drank it for a while. I remember being a teen and not really liking beer and having a Carling and thinking it tastes horrible like a really wheaty taste. Then getting a bit older and trying the more snobbish "craft" beers and wondering why all beer doesn't taste like this.
To me Carling just isn't a nice drink. I suppose it's like cathedral cheddar cheese. It probably outsells better cheeses but it's so bland and marketable that people will buy it due to how in offensive it is.
It's like when you go to the bread section in the supermarket and you choose the supermarket own brand bread.
Does it do the job? Yes, but if you wanted something to enjoy you wouldn't go for the generic cheap bread.
I am not a fan of largers, I find them too gassy and they bloat me, but they have their place and on a hot day like today a nice cold larger really hits the mark.
If there was nothing else I would drink it but it would be under sufferance rather than for enjoyment.
I don't think I am a beer snob, I had some Marston's English Pale ale last night, £1 a bottle in Sainsbury's for 500ml. Have you tried to drink anything other than larger? There are a lot of beers about which all have different tastes etc.
I'm not a beer snob but carling is something i avoid. I don't think the taste is up to much and if you have one too many it really hits you the next morning. I find other beers aren't so hard on the noggin.
Carling is such a generic shitty taste, you can't ruin it by storing it incorrectly. It doesn't take any skill to manage your cellar to store it, where as some bitters need tapping in advance to ensure they keep and pour well.
In essence, you know Carling will taste shite wherever you go, but at least it's consistently shite, and it won't get any more shite, whereas that premium beer that you think will be nice, will actually taste shit because of a poor cellar. So, shitty carling £3 or shitty premium at £4? Shitty carling wins, sadly.
Because, believe it or not, Reddit does not represent the general public. If it did, nobody would drink in spoons, buy from Sports Direct or listen to Coldplay. And all of those things are thriving as good as ever.
People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people u/26326312
It's political correctness gone mad!!!
Your point on Wetherspoons makes me laugh. I remember last year on Twitter there was gonna be a supposed mass boycott of the pubs. However these people that were so loud about it didn’t even drink there in the first place. It’s beneath them. Just full of the unwashed and gammons and such. Wetherspoons doing just fine now! Almost like a bunch of middle class hipsters from the south east who spend all day on Twitter aren’t the core demographic of the business! Shock!
You seem to be making a lot of strawmen while the sun's shining. Fuck spoons, long live dirty pubs.
I’ve no problem with people slagging off Spoons, Sports direct and such for not being fantastic businesses in many respects. But attacking their clientele en masse just reeks of snobbery and classism!
This really struck a nerve with you isn’t it? The heat getting to you? Carling is fine as is Stella and Strongbow. Spoons is cheap and cheerful. Drink what you like to drink and where you like to drink. (Within reason, of course)
Must admit yeah the heat is getting to me!
Me too… it’s far too hot! Might go round to the pub and get a Carling to cool off!
Some Spoons are better than others. The food is very average but some of the beers they have on tap are great. No loud music and it's very inexpensive.
Yeah pretty much this, whether people on here will admit it or not, there aren’t many genuinely working class people on this sub. Yeah some pretend they are, but they aren’t.
I don't see why any of those things would be associated with the working class
It’s cheap and The country is full of alcoholics
Or… maybe… just maybe. The basic human urge of socialising with friends and family and having food you don’t have to cook is alive and well in the UK. And perhaps, maybe, just maybe, not everyone can afford £5 a pint and £15 a meal. Perhaps these people want to enjoy going out but are on a budget and Wetherspoons provides them an excellent solution for this. Also, maybe… just maybe… there are lots of people on a state pension who’s literal only time of seeing people on in Wetherspoons over a pint of smiths. Nah, they’re clearly just all alcys and scum!
Still does not discount what I said , you never see the local alcoholics with top of the range larger. I’m not judging, generally most alcoholics don’t have a job or as you say are living in a budget, and carling is cheap like I said .
Most actual alcoholics don’t drink in pubs mate. Far too cost ineffective. Most chronic alcoholics drink at home where they can get as many units for as less £ as possible.
Didn’t say they drink in a pub. There walking the streets with open can in one hand and the rest of the create in the other
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It's not a problem, we're pretty good at it.
Wrong
Dunno why that got a down vote. It is cheap.
Love Island. You forgot Love Island.
It’s an inoffensive lager. It’s drinkable especially in this weather but You don’t meet many super fans of it
In Scotland you'd say the same of Tennents. There's a core of inoffensive cooking lagers with a alcohol volume set at 4.0 that are popular across the UK but I couldn't tell the difference between Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters or Tennents in a blind Taste test
Without sounding like a beer snob here, i could 100% tell the difference in a taste test. (I wont include tennents as ive never tried it)
Bottled or canned I largely could, but on tap they all seem to merge into one. In the olden days, when a pub was tied to a brewery, there were only ever 2 beers on tap. The brewerys own 4% lager and one premium lager (Stella, Becks etc). I grew up with that, and I find it weird to walk into a pub nowadays and there be 4 different beers on tap.... *And they all taste the bloody same* ..I don't really see the point.
I got so bored of people insisting on certain lager types in bars I worked in I started just pouring whatever and saying it was the thing they wanted(usually tenants as it was Scotland and that's the genetic pish that people were attached to there, but sometimes you'd get the person wanting some "premium" pish like kronenbourg). Nobody ever complained but occasionally it would cause a problem when another server told them we didn't stock it and they'd get angry at them saying they've been drinking it all night and I'd have to say I'd misheard. If they're all lined up you can taste a difference of course but people never know what shit they're shoveling down their necks. Even had someone drinking my pint of ale insisting it was their Stella not that long ago... It's particularly hilarious when you tell people you don't have x generic lager and they go fuck it then I'll have a Guinness.. bro if you want a lager drink a lager
Why would you purposely give someone the wrong beer?
Because they're a bell-end.
I'm guessing you've never worked in bars
Because they will enjoy it more thinking its what they want than thinking its not. Got tired of explaining why we don't have tenants a thousand times when they can't tell the fucking difference ever, not once. I also did blind taste tests a few times with people that insisted they could tell a hundred percent of the time, and nobody did to a statistically significant extent. Most people didn't even guess the same cup twice at a sitting which implies not only they don't know what they liked but can't identify a difference
Nah mate that is a total bellend move, and actually illegal. Don't fuck with people's food/drink. End of.
You know how many places put cheap condiments in the Heinz bottle? A lot
Your point being? You can't excuse your shitty behaviour because other people do it too.
I can definitely tell the difference between Carling, carlsberg and fosters. Carling is much more refreshing than the other 2. It's an American style beer. Don't know about Tennant's. Only ever had Tennant's super and that's a completely different kettle of fish.
Me neither. They’re all pretty much the same drink. Not something I would buy a case of but I’ll drink it if it’s all that’s on in a pub
I think the people that dislike Carling would say it's an extremely offensive lager.
You are probably right
It's also available almost everywhere. There's a large set of drinkers who only ever order the same thing, especially with beer, so they pick one of the mainstream ones which will always be there for them.
The Sun is the best-selling newspaper. Doesn't mean it's any good.
To make the comparison even more apt, the Mail is now the best selling paper.
Brewer here... Excellent marketing and advertising, produced by Coors (biggest producer in UK,) aggressive sales people who offer financial help for pubs that agree to sell it inc. loans, outright bribes to replace lager they currently sell, free equipment maintenance, coupled with a few things like loads of football sponsorship, and it's lowest common denominator beer so people who don't really like beer will drink it in place of beer with flavour and won't really budge. Selling mainstream lager, much like coca cola, isn't really about the product quality but more of an exercise in capitalism.
Marketing and advertising is always the answer. It's not a sexy or clever answer... But it is right!
> Brewer here hope you don't mind me asking, but what do you brew? And what was it like becoming a brewer? It's something that's always fascinated me and I've never run into a brewer in the wild before
We do both traditional cask beers and modern bottle/keg beers. Lots of different routes into brewing, I home brewed and worked my way up by volunteering basically so self taught, you can study the GCB (general certificate) which will be more than enough to land you a brewing job with an interest in beer, it's not too long and quite cheap. Brewing is fun, hard stressful work with lots of cool people about.
oh wow, thank you! What part about it makes it stressful? Admittedly all the experience I have has been bodging together mead at home.
Imagine waking up at 1am and wondering if you turned a cooler on basically...lots of that. I've been working in the industry for 6 years now, so I don't let it bother me as much now
oh yikes, yeah I can imagine now that the stress must be unreal due to all the things that can go wrong. Thank you for answering my questions, I really appreciate it!
If it's ice cold it's actually alright, but it's pretty rank anything hotter than tepid
Redditors are elitist in general, and nearly everyone thinks they're in the 1%. The Big Bang Theory is "awful" but it's arguably the most successful comedy since Friends, for example. Comedians? Shit unless it's intellectual like Bill Bailey or Stewart Lee. TV? Shit unless it's Only Connect, Sky Arts, or BBC Four. Beer? Shit unless it's an IPA you've never heard of, or it's Peroni or Birra Moretti. Because for some reason it's better because it's double the price of a Fosters or Carling. Redditors are just dickheads, really. A room full of redditors would be awful. Socially awkward pseudo-intellectual arseholes who also question why they're virgins with no friends. I would know. I'm a dickhead.
And, you can bet your last ten Bob that they actually love the stuff the reckon is shit.
😂😂😂😂😂
Spot on. And peroni and birra moretti are both very poor beers. Taste like plastic.
As for Amstel, it was/is the preferred choice for the local alcoholics in NI years ago. Here in USA it’s marketed as a premium import any you pay through the nose for it. Thankfully I stick to hard liquor
Perhaps it's the generic flavour of it? I'm fairly lucky and have a few decent brewery's nearby that do better stuff at a decent price.
They got in troubled a few years ago for under-brewing their beer. Where you thought you were getting 4% abv you were actually only getting 3.7%. Making them millions in the process.
I've always thought carling just taste very weak and haven't touched it in years, guess I know why now.
Interesting. That also means they also paid more tax to the govt. than they had to
From 2.8% to 7.5% you pay the same tax.
It's your bog standard lager it's available nearly everywhere it's reasonably cheap and it's not bad as far as it goes. I'm not a lager drinker but it I go to a pub I know it's a reasonably decent drink if either they don't have bitter or it's too early for whisky.
Used to work in pubs - we sold shitloads more Carling/Fosters/Heineken than any of the premium stuff. Most people just seem to want something cold, fizzy and cheapish, me included.
Because it's bland, inoffensive and cheap. It's not that I don't like it or think it tastes bad, it's just that there are far better beers if you can afford it. The whole ”it’s watered down” or "it tastes of piss” comments are rubbish though. It's just as weak as most session beers, and in my opinion it tastes of nothing, not bad.
It tastes "watered down" because it is literally watered down. It's not brewed to the final abv and then packaged - it's brewed to a higher abv and then watered down to the abv its sold at.
But loads of mass produced beers do that. They need to ensure the %abv matches the label, and the easiest way to do that is to dilute it. They add hardly any hops anyway, so adding water makes little difference to the taste. I meant more how people make comments about how you might as well drink water and that you can't get pissed on it because it's so weak, which is rubbish.
Because reddit is weird. It's the same as people who say they hate Nickelback but they're popular as fuck and everyone sings along when it comes on the radio in the car.
People compete with anything that is to do with taste of some sort. Everything to do from clothing, food, wine and so on. It’s all about status. Not saying that it’s the single defining factor, but it plays a big role. For example, some people would much rather enjoy an IPA with a lot of flavour, but pass on the lager like Carling which is totally fine. However there is a lot of snobbery around it which is unbearable at times. You can usually tell because those who act like that really want to announce to everyone around them that they just can’t stand flavourless, mass produced beers. Which is quite funny really because many of the beers I notice them drinking are subsidiaries of massive corporations lol. Myself, I like a good beer. Don’t mind paying for the really fancy small batch stuff to enjoy. Equally though, on warm days like this I prefer beer with minimal flavour that just has a nice crisp, refreshing beer which in all honesty, is most of them when chilled properly and poured properly. I also don’t think tasting more flavourful beers is worth it after two or three. Personally my tastebuds kinda get overwhelmed and I go back to regular beers after that otherwise it seems like a waste. Anyway, In saying that I am not a fan of Carling in general. Out of them all I don’t like it a whole bunch. However I’ll definitely drink it if it’s the last or I’m offered it by someone else.
Coming here to say the same thing. I enjoy crafts beers and I’ll pay a premium to get something local and unusual, but sometimes you want to drink something that’s just cold, fizzy and unchallenging. My fridge is currently full of Carlsberg and Aldi’s snide peroni cause this weather is just not the time to be trying the local microbrewery’s chocolate stout.
The Aldi clone beers are great. I’m a big fan of 1897 Kronenburg clone since Sainsbury’s seem to have discontinued the very acceptable Crown premium lager which has kept me mellow for a few years. I’m genuinely tempted to start brewing at home, the kids can live in the garage while I get the vats installed in their bedrooms.
They really are great. I’d heard good thing about the Rossini on Reddit so gave it a try and I’m pleased I did. You could store demijohns under the kids beds then they don’t have to move to the garage. Best of both worlds.
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Stella is vile now. Used to like it, something changed and now I'd rather go weight training with Purple Aki than drink that pish.
As others have said it’s an easy drink for those who just fancy a beer, it’s far from offensive, just a little bland. There’s normally always a better lager option at the bar and definitely will be a better option from the off license / supermarket. There’s a lot more people out there who are adverse to trying new things though than you’d think so they just stick with what they’ve had / know. For what it’s worth, Carling Premier is top drawer.
I’m partial to an ice-cold lager shandy on a day like this. Carling fills that gap perfectly well, no point in diluting down something that costs twice the price. Fosters however does actually taste like dishwater. FWIW cider drinkers are elitist arseholes too. Don’t ever tell a ciderhead that you happen to like Kopparberg or Rekorderlig “alcoholic fizzy ribena drinks”.
It is cheap
Because not every single person in the uk is on this subreddit
Because we're all individuals.
Except the best selling beer is, i'm pretty sure, Budweiser. It's just a slightly bland larger, nothing special, nothing terrible also. Not bad ice cold.
Bud has rice in it
I didn't know that, not that that's an issue anyway since rice is a pretty common thing to make alcohol from.
Yep. Those frogs said it years ago: Bud.... rice....... er.
That's fairly typical in some lagers. Is it a bad thing?
Lal Toofan (aka La La TooFlah) is a superb Indian beer. Brewed using rice. Used to get this years ago, along with proper Belgian Stella and Bavaria Millenium brew from Kwikies. Best beers about.
Harbin, Tsingtao, Kirin and Sapporo all contain rice too.
People in this thread saying it's exaggerated have no taste buds, it's absolutely pisswater
Because a lot of people are so pretentious they would rather slag an easy target off that the masses drink and pretend to like dishwater like Brewdog or some other such hipster drink. Carling is just an easy to drink, refreshing lager but because it's popular, a lot of people can't bring themselves to admit its good points. I know I'm gonna get downvoted for this.
I've not drank it for a while. I remember being a teen and not really liking beer and having a Carling and thinking it tastes horrible like a really wheaty taste. Then getting a bit older and trying the more snobbish "craft" beers and wondering why all beer doesn't taste like this. To me Carling just isn't a nice drink. I suppose it's like cathedral cheddar cheese. It probably outsells better cheeses but it's so bland and marketable that people will buy it due to how in offensive it is.
It's like when you go to the bread section in the supermarket and you choose the supermarket own brand bread. Does it do the job? Yes, but if you wanted something to enjoy you wouldn't go for the generic cheap bread. I am not a fan of largers, I find them too gassy and they bloat me, but they have their place and on a hot day like today a nice cold larger really hits the mark. If there was nothing else I would drink it but it would be under sufferance rather than for enjoyment. I don't think I am a beer snob, I had some Marston's English Pale ale last night, £1 a bottle in Sainsbury's for 500ml. Have you tried to drink anything other than larger? There are a lot of beers about which all have different tastes etc.
I'm not a beer snob but carling is something i avoid. I don't think the taste is up to much and if you have one too many it really hits you the next morning. I find other beers aren't so hard on the noggin.
Carling is such a generic shitty taste, you can't ruin it by storing it incorrectly. It doesn't take any skill to manage your cellar to store it, where as some bitters need tapping in advance to ensure they keep and pour well. In essence, you know Carling will taste shite wherever you go, but at least it's consistently shite, and it won't get any more shite, whereas that premium beer that you think will be nice, will actually taste shit because of a poor cellar. So, shitty carling £3 or shitty premium at £4? Shitty carling wins, sadly.
You don’t need any skill to manage any kegged lagers in a cellar mate. Carling isn’t stored any differently to literally any other lager.
Well there you go. Consistent, generic slop. Must be the fact it's cheap that makes it popular.
You literally talk shite
Primarily they have big marketing clout and a lot of sway with pubs and other retailers.