GRcade

I got some of the little stone ice cubes for Christmas. I have the big round ones and they work great, but these little ones don't seem to make drinks cold (yes I did put them in the freezer before someone makes the obvious joke ). Tried them in a gin and tonic and assumed it was just volume, but they're struggling with a double whisky as well...

Bud Light releasing on Perfect Draft today.

Never had it before, and don't expect it'll be anything mind blowing but at 3.5% it's ideal for an early start on a hot summer day with a BBQ.

With the credit I had built up got 2 kegs, 2 half pint glasses, a bar runner and some beer mats for £18.

Is anyone a rum fan? I know it can be very tribal, with plenty of people thinking anything that's been spiced or flavoured should not be considered rum. Kraken is nothing special, but I have a bottle of their Black Roast variant from the US and it's pretty good. Just noticed they've released a Roast Coffee variant in the UK so will have to get it and compare. Would be nice if it's the same recipe for half the price of importing, but the UK one is a higher ABV and doesn't look as dark in colour.

Got a Brewdog keg in myself at the moment. Was never a huge fan, but have a bit of a taste for it now. Just ordered the new Palm keg, which sounds just like my kind of thing, plus a short-dated Drunken Sailor (!) for a bargain £25, and the Mikkeller Heated Seats, which has plummeted from being a very pricey premium £43 to just £30. I assume it's not selling at all. If I like the Palm, I'll quickly order the double pack with free glass.

They're really doing well with new kegs this year. They've announced two new Kwak kegs today. Too strong for my liking but I'll also try the Palm, which isn't, at some point.

Drunken Sailor is very good. I found the Heated Seats to be a bit bland first time around but will give it another go.

Yeah, I tried a bottle of Kwak. It’s OK, but I wouldn’t want to be restricted to drinking a whole keg at that strength. I recently had a St Feuillien keg, and that was very nice, but a bit heavy going too.

The Palm is excellent, and I’m definitely ordering more. Bit weird that it’s in the multi-buy offer already, but I’m not complaining!

Some really shitty news from Perfect Draft. Five discontinued kegs, including Shelby, and five on hold - one of which is my favourite Schneider’s. So I’ve just ordered three. Hopefully they’ll come back one day.

Has anyone tried Faxe? I saw it doing the rounds on Facebook a few years back, it's a Danish lager that's 10% ABV sold in 1 litre cans in places like Home Bargains or B & M I think. I've heard it's not too bad but surely that can't be true.

Saying that, I do like Affligem Tripel and that's 9% ABV.

I’ve heard it mentioned somewhere recently. Athletico Mince, maybe. Never tried it though.

rinks wrote:Some really shitty news from Perfect Draft. Five discontinued kegs, including Shelby, and five on hold - one of which is my favourite Schneider’s. So I’ve just ordered three. Hopefully they’ll come back one day.

Disappointed about the Shelby, with the Jaipur on hold. I don't think they have anything from Thornbridge.

I always thought the Dark Arts and Drunken Sailor sold really well.

The Heated Seats has been received quite badly. The Lux and Bayrisch Hell were always supposed to be limited edition.

I finally tried the Drunken Sailor, and it’s pretty good. I’d definitely have bought it again (occasionally), so it’s a shame it’s delisted (for now, at least). They haven’t even got any old stock left.

Now on the Cervezas La Virgen. Quite similar to Jupiler, so very nice. I wouldn't necessarily choose one over the other, so it's probably one to pick up when it's in a multi-buy offer (as this one was).

That's one I really want to try. The 360 is very nice.

I've been doing the Refill sub since October, was coming faster than I could drink it so have currently got about 21 kegs! Cancelled it now and the wife got the father in law one with my refer a friend code so he can use up some of my stock.

Tempted by the pro?

I was kind of tempted. With the discount and the trade-in, and what I paid for the original machine (nearly a whole year ago!), the overall cost works out to £408, which is only a little more than the Pro's RRP. So if I really resented having bought the machine just before the new one came out, I could have justified it. But the features of the Pro aren't enticing enough. And it looks bloody huge! The variable temp is neat, but the rest, I'm not fussed about. How about you?

Thanks to recent deals, and panic buying a load of Schneiders, I've got 14 kegs myself, and storage is... a challenge!

The main reason why I'm holding off is that I've got loads of skins, some I've not used yet, which would be redundant. I guess I could have 2 out but if I were to do that if rather have 2 the same.

Agree the bigger size is slightly off putting. I quite like the variable temp.

Agree on the storage! I spent some time stacking them, in their boxes, in the cupboard under the stairs in best before date order. Afterwards I realised I'd not included the box just delivered. The stack was 6 high. The next morning the wife open the door and they collapsed nearly taking her out! That was when I realised I needed to cancel the sub!

Just tried the Heated Seats, and I like it. So that’s another one I’m too late to! Might order a couple while they’re still available.

Currently at my aunts, sitting on her balcony in the sun and she just handed me a Thatchers Cloudy Lemon cider. Absolutely lovely in this sunshine!

That Stella Artois Unfiltered is such a vast improvement over the standard version (both the terrible current one and the naughties edition) that having initially only bought 6 cans to try it out I’ve bought a whole crate. Maybe had they not spent the last 2 or 3 decades Carlsberging the brand this launch wouldn’t have even been necessary.

KK wrote:That Stella Artois Unfiltered is such a vast improvement over the standard version (both the terrible current one and the naughties edition) that having initially only bought 6 cans to try it out I’ve bought a whole crate. Maybe had they not spent the last 2 or 3 decades Carlsberging the brand this launch wouldn’t have even been necessary.

Yeah, it’s a decent pint. Definitely one I’ll buy again this summer.