cav551:
More of a technical query this: So there is a recipe for brewing a particular beer which is clearly closely followed by any brewery making another’s product, but what about the water? The taste of water varies slightly throughout the country according to whatever minerals are in it, so how do they overcome that?
They add/subtract the relevant minerals to make the water the same- so they say. This will be backed up by “double blind” tastings, which prove that the beers are similar, totally ignoring the fact that the subtleties are acquired taste, which might take weeks to become apparent to the seasoned drinker. They do all sorts to hoodwink us, even to the extent of removing some of the ingredients, so that the ABV figure on the bottle is lower, in full view of the buyer- without any sort of announcement.
My favouite bottled beer has recently become available at a considerable discount. I have a suspicion that they have swapped some of the malt for refined sugar, to keep it profitable at the lower price. They do not have to declare this. Without proper laws, such as they have in Germany, GB remains Rip-Off Britain, regarding beer.