I noticed the change in packaging. Still purchased and tasted. No thanks.
https://www.foodandwine.com/beer/newcastle-brown-ale-american-production-lagunitas
Oh, man!
Sacrilege!!!
Thanks for the warning, I’m out. I used to like that brew.
I did an impromptu side by side at a neighborhood bar a couple of weeks ago with their last bottle of the imported Newcastle. I thought that the American version was more bitter.
James
Ugh. I haven’t drank a Newcastle in many years, but drank a lot of it in college/grad school/early working years. Always liked knowing it was readily available should I want one. I have zero interest in a Newcastle reimagined by Lagunitas. Or anything from Lagunitas.
I stopped buying Newcastle years ago when I learned that the toasted malt color in the Newcastle Brown Ale was caramel coloring.
There are claims that artificial caramel coloring (made from ammonia) is carcinogenic. Heineken USA (owner of Newcastle) apparently stopped using artificial caramel coloring under consumer pressure; however, I had already lost interest in the malty sweet brew.
Most of the dark coloring for beers (other products too) comes from a product called Sinamar that is made by the malt producer we use, Weyermann. It is produced in accordance with Reinheitsgebot. Sadly, it has become prevalent in many dark beers as a cheaper way to get color without using the appropriate and more expensive malts that have traditionally been used. To me it has a distinctive taste that I don’t care for. I recall a doppelbock from one of the big Munich breweries that was absolutely wretched when I was there last Fall.
Newcastle sold out a long time ago and the beer changed, cant recall who bought them bought it was never the same as the old newcie that we remembered. None of teh current stuff is worth a damn