What are you drinking?

[BaggyTrousers]

You a coffee nerd fleg? I'm trying to learn a bit more about it all myself. Got an Aeropress and Chemex after Christmas.

Any decent Chilean Chardonnay and I'm a happy lass.

My brother in lawl is a serious coffee nerd. He roasts his own beans.

That is a serious nerd unless he is one of the Bells !

Can occassionally be a bell end ...

There's a feckin' surprise Merv. There is being an aficionado & there is being what they describe on "The Last Leg" as "a dick".

Be as well grinding his own balls by the sound of him.

Oh just thought, I hope I won't get a slap from your inamorata when I next see yis on the terrace, is it her bror?

[big mervyn]

It's my daughter on the terrace Baggy. SWMBO has no interest in sport of any description.

[Neil F]

I recently put my money where my mouth is and bought shares in Brewdog - a craft beer brewery and pub chain.

Buy their beers - it is for a good cause.

I always thought Brewdog was an absolute triumph of marketing over taste, personally. WEST and Williams Bros., though... Now there's some Scottish beer to get your tastebuds into!

[mikerob]

I recently put my money where my mouth is and bought shares in Brewdog - a craft beer brewery and pub chain.

Buy their beers - it is for a good cause.

I always thought Brewdog was an absolute triumph of marketing over taste, personally. WEST and Williams Bros., though... Now there's some Scottish beer to get your tastebuds into!

I think a number of the Brewdog beers are really quite good but you are correct that their marketing is hugely better than anyone else in the craft beer industry. Similarly their pubs are very popular with a younger crowd out for an evening of beers and food while other pubs focussing on real ales are like churches in comparison with the CAMRA crowd of elderly beardy sandal wearing blokes reverentially supping their ales and occasionally splashing out on a packet of pork scratchings.

It is really because they appear to have their act together commercially I thought it was worth a wee punt with their shares rather than thinking it is the best beer in the world. They are clearly looking to either go public or get bought by one of the big boys.

Disclaimer: this is not investment advice nor can it take account of your own particular circumstances. The value of investments can go up as well as down.

[BaggyTrousers]

It's my daughter on the terrace Baggy. SWMBO has no interest in sport of any description.

Was never quite sure Merv, you must have started young, there doesn't look a huge number of years between you two.

[Rooster]

It's my daughter on the terrace Baggy. SWMBO has no interest in sport of any description.

Was never quite sure Merv, you must have started young, there doesn't look a huge number of years between you two.

Don't insult the girl, she looks young enough to be Mervs granddaughter

[ColinM]

You a coffee nerd fleg? I'm trying to learn a bit more about it all myself. Got an Aeropress and Chemex after Christmas.

Any decent Chilean Chardonnay and I'm a happy lass.

Aeropress any use, like much better than a cafetiere?

I'm a long espresso drinker mainly but quite like the idea of the aeropress for the office. Can you just plonk the unit on top of your preferred mug or is it too big?

[BaggyTrousers]

If I now buy some of those Brewdog shares can I be done for insider trading?

Ah, sure its not really an issue, on my meagre stipend where would I get investment money unless I sold the dogs & my kids, maybe the wife too.

[BaggyTrousers]

It's my daughter on the terrace Baggy. SWMBO has no interest in sport of any description.

Was never quite sure Merv, you must have started young, there doesn't look a huge number of years between you two.

Don't insult the girl, she looks young enough to be Mervs granddaughter

Jaysus Rooster have you met Merv, he's a fresh faced youth compared to a couple of ould wrecks like ourselves?

[Cap'n Grumpy]

It's my daughter on the terrace Baggy. SWMBO has no interest in sport of any description.

Was never quite sure Merv, you must have started young, there doesn't look a huge number of years between you two.

After the Leicester away match you posted something about having enjoyed the company of Merv and his missus .... to which I replied something like he was in BIG trouble if his real missus ever read that.

Need to be careful what you write here sometimes!

[mikerob]

If I now buy some of those Brewdog shares can I be done for insider trading?

Ah, sure its not really an issue, on my meagre stipend where would I get investment money unless I sold the dogs & my kids, maybe the wife too.

The closest I've been to being an insider is being inside their pubs so I don't think so... The shares aren't publicly traded and their latest share offer is closed as they raised the money they wanted from it so the shares aren't currently on sale anyway.

[Cornerfleg]

I'm enjoying a nice cup of Rooibos at the minute ... no caffine which allows me to enjoy my two cups of industrial strength coffee each day without getting heart issues ...

Rooibos chilled with a twist of lemon and some sugar in the summer ... Eet smaaklik!

[ColinM]

I recently put my money where my mouth is and bought shares in Brewdog - a craft beer brewery and pub chain.

Buy their beers - it is for a good cause.

I always thought Brewdog was an absolute triumph of marketing over taste, personally. WEST and Williams Bros., though... Now there's some Scottish beer to get your tastebuds into!

I think a number of the Brewdog beers are really quite good but you are correct that their marketing is hugely better than anyone else in the craft beer industry. Similarly their pubs are very popular with a younger crowd out for an evening of beers and food while other pubs focussing on real ales are like churches in comparison with the CAMRA crowd of elderly beardy sandal wearing blokes reverentially supping their ales and occasionally splashing out on a packet of pork scratchings.

It is really because they appear to have their act together commercially I thought it was worth a wee punt with their shares rather than thinking it is the best beer in the world. They are clearly looking to either go public or get bought by one of the big boys.

Disclaimer: this is not investment advice nor can it take account of your own particular circumstances. The value of investments can go up as well as down.

Sure doesnt marketing ALWAYS win out over taste, in terms of business success?

[Neil F]

I think a number of the Brewdog beers are really quite good but you are correct that their marketing is hugely better than anyone else in the craft beer industry. Similarly their pubs are very popular with a younger crowd out for an evening of beers and food while other pubs focussing on real ales are like churches in comparison with the CAMRA crowd of elderly beardy sandal wearing blokes reverentially supping their ales and occasionally splashing out on a packet of pork scratchings.

It is really because they appear to have their act together commercially I thought it was worth a wee punt with their shares rather than thinking it is the best beer in the world. They are clearly looking to either go public or get bought by one of the big boys.

Disclaimer: this is not investment advice nor can it take account of your own particular circumstances. The value of investments can go up as well as down.

Don't get me wrong - I don't ever remember having a bad Brewdog beer. But nor have ever had one that I'd want to write home about. When Brewdog kicked off, they did a great job in spotting a gap and going for it but they wouldn't have got far if their beer was rancid.

The trouble is that, six or seven years later, all of this "year zero" stuff is a bit tiresome. They are now such a big name that smaller but better breweries, like the Williams Bros seem to go along with it. For context, the Williams Bros had been brewing for ten years before Brewdog came along...

Continuing to spout the idea that any beer made in the UK before 2007 is worthless is good for Brewdog. I'm not necessarily sure it's good for craft brewing in general. That and there is still something of a "boys club" about how they behave, as some of the things they write about "feminists" and "lesbians" on their blog attests to... This probably isn't as damaging as the village-green-preservation-society-clothcaps / pink-beer-sexism of the sad sacks at CAMRA but it's still an annoying reflection of the brewing industry that many people find off-putting.

In investment terms, I absolutely agree. I have a share tucked away somewhere that I bought from their first issue. I found them less annoying, then. Let's make me a fortune!

[mikerob]

Sure doesnt marketing ALWAYS win out over taste, in terms of business success?

I don't think it is as simple as marketing vs taste.

I think with food and drink products, flavour and taste are so subjective that if someone produces a product with a distinctive taste, the chances are that a few people will really, really like it but the majority won't. A classic example is a heavily hopped beer. Some people really go for this taste but I think the majority of beer drinkers wouldn't drink it. A small brewery may be perfectly successful serving the people who like that style of beer but its fair to say that if they want to grow and have more customers, they will need to produce other styles, including blander ones.