It is great beer at a reasonable price. I like it and buy when I can.
Every time I pass an Aldi I rub my chin… Mmm, Wernesgruner!
This crazy place just prompted me to go to my local Aldi and pick up a twelver of Wernesgruner. The best-by date was 12/24/2021. That seems pretty decent.
Aldi’s rules!
They just built an Aldi about 15 minutes away. We’ve driven past and said we need to go in but we haven’t yet. Sounds like I need to change that soon.
I like their pork loins
Unlike most German beers with a freshness date of 12 months, Wernesgrüner is 15 months which is retarded for a bottled beer. I’ve also got the 12/24/21 and the intense noble hop aroma is starting to fade. There are reports of 1/29/22 out there in the wild so good luck and happy date sorting!
Gosh dang blue laws… We have an Aldi near me, but you can only buy beer in liquor stores in RI. I’ll have to see if there are any near me in MA or CT…
It has only been maybe ten years or so that MA supermarkets could sell beer and wine and as late comers to individual town liquor permit number limits and state corporate limits it is still unusual for a grocery store to sell liquor, beer, and wine. Luckily for me the little mom and pop grocery in my rural town started about a year ago selling beer and wine and recently expanded and have good variety, including a full line of Jack’s Abby and Von Trapp. I am getting familiar with them and will make a few specific requests.
I checked out an Aldi’s In Leominster MA a couple of years ago. It was actually pretty awful, I took it to be like a Walmart of grocery stores, cheap because of low quality.
I can’t help but think that this is a silly “debate”. Don’t like it? Don’t buy it. Duh.
But more than that: keep in mind context. Here in Sacramento, after doing yard work all day in the summer, I’m not going to reach for a 6.5% hazy IPA or even a 5.5% pilsner to congratulate myself and feel refreshed. It’s going to be a NAIL…or something I’ve brewed that’s similar to a NAIL. Duh.
Sitting around the outdoor fireplace in the winter? I’ll be sipping on an imperial stout, not a NAIL. Also duh.
Context people, context.
there isnt any debate.
it sounds like you didn’t read any of the thread at all.
I hear what you’re saying but for dedicated NAIL drinkers, there is no “season”… they drink NAILs all the time because they’re NAIL drinkers. Nothing wrong with that.
ALDI is very esoteric. Be sure bring a quarter to unlock the shopping cart, and you have bring or buy bags, and you bag your stuff after they check you out.
But they have some good deals once you get used to it. And our German friends swore by some of their stuff (not sure about the beer) because it’s actually what they would buy Germany.
I recall that from Germany. Interesting that they’d bring it to the US with them.
you guys are probably lucky to have it.
i experienced carrefour in taiwan, which had a few real french products which was cool and tesco ran one of the biggest supermarket chains in korea. so it ended up being the 0.1% of the population who are foreigners are the only ones buying tesco branded stouts, tins of baked beans, black tea, marmalade etc. i would always check the discount bins and the very expensive imported cheeses/alcohol at korean department stores. they import all this pricey stuff because they want to demonstrate that they are high-end/international and therefore classy, but koreans didnt even know what to do with most of it and would never buy it. so it would get 90% off sales near their expiry dates.
id love to have an ALDI near me.
It’s not bad once you get used to it, but they should post a how-to guide by the entrance. There’s one in Huntsville now off of Memorial as you’re heading towards Lacey’s Spring. On the topic of house-brand beers, they’re putting in Trader Joe’s where the old mall used to be by Research.
But coming back around to the topic of NAILs – this thread (to me) really highlights the cultural shift that craft beer has brought about. I started with Guinness and spiraled out from there to brands like New Belgium and Odell. It’s hard for me to imagine BMC being the only beer available. But if I were going to recommend one change to make them better, I’d just suggest a more characterful base malt – nudge them in the direction of a Vienna lager or a Mexican lager.
Funny that you mention Mexican lagers which as it happens contain a lot of corn and yet those beers have a much better flavor then the average North American lager.
Someone should write a book: ADM and how cheap high maltose corn syrup killed American macro lager.
There is a corn processing plant in Lafayette IN that makes corn syrup. Today it is owned by Tate and Lyle’s of Golden Syrup fame. Before that it was owned by A E Staley. Way back when I was going to University, it was Anheuser Busch. They made their own corn syrups for use in the Busch line of beers.
My understanding is that American lagers descend from Pilsner styles while Mexican lagers descend from the Viennese tradition. That’s why I keyed in to the base malt. :shrug: ??
I buy much more Mexican beer than I do American beer… when it comes to macro-produced beer. It’s common to find Negra Modelo, Modelo Especial, Victoria and Pacifico in my bar fridge, especially in the warmer months. You will not see Miller, Coors or Bud products in that fridge unless someone brought it and left it here. Anyone who sees those Mexican beers will be inclined to drink them including my wife and kids, inlaws, nieces and nephews, friends, etc.