New Castle brown ale

sneezles61 2019-12-19 11:20:03 UTC #1

Picked up a 6-er... It has changed... I look over the label to find Lagunitas is brewing it... It doesn't have the familiar hint of brown sugar in the background ... It's not a bad beer... Just different now.. Sneezles61

dannyboy58 2019-12-20 19:28:21 UTC #2

Yea Heineken was brewing it for the US then decided to "reimagine" it for some reason when they bought Lagunitas.

https://www.brewbound.com/news/lagunitas-begins-brewing-newcastle-brown-ale

That's a pretty iconic beer...not sure why you choose to F with it...

voltron 2019-12-20 19:36:20 UTC #3

Now I'm intrigued; might have to pick up a six pack. I don't think I've had Newcastle in over 12 years or so.

loopie_beer 2019-12-20 22:58:31 UTC #4

Because big brewers make money by logistics and massive buying power. For example, they may be buying C60 at pennies for a pound. So if the recipe calls for using C80 they are going to rework that recipe for C60, rather than buying it at more per pound.
I love it when a brewery gets bought up and they say they won’t mess with the beer. BS. That’s how they make money.

sneezles61 2019-12-21 16:07:58 UTC #5

It's a shame to mess up a good product because of gaining one more penny... I'll call that greed... And Greed will destroy a company.. I don't understand why you can't keep the signature product the same, and just ride with it...
Greed sucks. Sneezles61

squeegeethree 2019-12-24 13:02:58 UTC #6

"In 2000, the beer was renamed "Newcastle Brown" with the "Ale" being removed from the front label. This change, only in the UK, was due to market research claiming that the term "ale" was outdated and costing the company sales in the youth drinking markets. The older name was reinstated with no fanfare in 2004, when it was realised that the change had made no difference to sales."

I have't had Newcastle in years, I guess since I started brewing, there is just so much good local stuff to consume now

sneezles61 2019-12-24 15:38:51 UTC #7

But it was/is an iconic brew.... Heck, it was my gateway brew to brewing. Sneezles61

squeegeethree 2019-12-24 15:47:08 UTC #8

No argument here, definitely one of the finer ales available most places.

sneezles61 2021-06-30 19:18:42 UTC #9

Was in a conversation with a beer distributor... Claims theres a nation wide shortage of New Castle Brown Ale... I said "I will not buy this brew... Its fallen way short of the original from the UK"...
He said he'll pass that info on..
I had to post this, especially after seeing Brew Cat has brown sugar listed in his Baltic Porter... There are some brews that deserve/need to have it.. Its a shame when a fabulous brew gets tinkered with in another area/country and doesn't stay true to its reputation... On the big shooters scale I'm saying... I'm digressing..
Sneezles61

loopie_beer 2021-06-30 22:44:42 UTC #10

I agree and always makes me laugh when one brewery buys another and says they won’t mess with the recipes. It often happens because breweries save money by bulk purchasing. Similar to us buying a pound of hops at $14.00 vs an ounce at $2.00; or a sack of 2 row at $36.00 vs $2.00 per pound. So if they have a substitute they think will work or a way to produce said beer that they think people won’t notice they’ll make that change. Often to the detriment of the beer.

voodoo_donut 2021-07-01 00:10:27 UTC #11

Too often that has been the case. Especially back in the merger mania days in the 60s through the 90’s,The goal was to make an American adjunct lager as cheaply as possible to get the lowest price point. Decent, iconic American lagers were ruined in the process. Strohs, Rheingold, Ballantine(an ale), Pearl, Hudehpohl, hell, even Schlitz and Pabst.
I got into an interesting exchange with Short’s brewing companies head brewer when they sold out 20% to Heineken in 2017.He basically stated that it would stop at 20% and to his credit that seems to be the case. They make good beer, but I’ll still buy from other Michigan independent craft breweries instead. I do miss the Soft Parade and Huma Lupa Licious.

wilcolandzaat 2021-07-01 08:00:06 UTC #12

Last time i had it while visiting. Manchester

sneezles61 2021-07-01 12:00:46 UTC #13

Ahhh.. Strohs.. Bells makes a close representation of it... well.. as I remember, Bohemian Pils or Lakeshore Pils..
Sneezles61

brew_cat 2021-07-01 12:46:41 UTC #14

I remember Strohs was popular for a time. I remember the name not so much the beer. Probably a good beer when it was local but i believe like was said in another post. Lost something somewhere