# Foster's doesn't sell **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2001, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163 "2001-06-09T07:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/41 "2001-06-13T09:44:16Z")
Okay **Mats** mate, enough discussion. Don’t you think we should do some practical testing and comparison of the local varieties? **Kayeby** , where are ya? feel like a beer? Some weekend soon maybe? Sunday afternoon? My money’s on Coopers to win - by a head! (hehehe) I’ll email youse all, to set up a date before the end of June, okay? Any other melbourne posters or lurkers might like to give me a buzz too. Redboss hello **wooly, don’t ask** , and welcome! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/42 "2001-06-13T13:39:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > \*\*Just thought I’d break the bad news: IF you like Celis beer, stock up on it now, because there won’t be ANY available, pretty soon. Pierre Celis, the Belgian brewer who set up shop here in Austin TX, sold his operation to Miller some time ago. Big mistake, as it turned out. Miller had NO idea how to market Celis beers, and eventually decided to stop producing them entirely. > > Celis was disappointed, but told the press “I’m 75 years old, and I’m not going to try to rebuild a business like this at my age.” > > So, the Austin Celis brewery isn’t making any more beer. Meaning that, if you DO like Celis beers, and you see them on your supermarket shelves, buy them up FAST! Once the shelves are emptied, that’s it, and there won’t be any more. \*\* Aack! Maybe Pierre Celis would like to take on a young energetic protege who’ll carry on the Celis tradition (ahem). Let’s see here … **Coldfire** can be head of European distribution and … er … quality control. **Loaded Dog** can hold the same position in Australia. _(C’mon, guys \. Can’t spend all day doing “quality control” – gotta do SOME distribution sometimes!)_ **Coldfire** , thanks for the reminder about “weizens”. My pore ole brane forgot about the fact that Hoegaarden-type brews are, in fact, fundamentally weizens, despite some differences from their German cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/43 "2001-06-13T14:25:23Z")
What are the notable differences, then? Granted, they all vary in taste and recipe, no doubt. But they’re all _Weizen_, wheat beers. What sets the Germans apart from the Belgians? Apart from a lack of humour, of course. 😉 [Edited by Coldfire on 06-13-2001 at 09:27 AM] ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/44 "2001-06-13T15:19:05Z")
**Coldfire** , I find that Belgian-style “whites” kick up the citrus & coriander overtones when compared to German weizens. Blindfold me and have me taste-test Franziskaner, Celis Grand Cru (RIP ☹ ) and Hoegaarden. I’d be able to tell the three apart based on the strength of the coriander flavor. IMHO, there seems to be only a hint of coriander present in Franziskaner, plenty more in Hoegaarden, and far more still in Celis Grand Cru (among Grand Cru’s other add-ins, like orange zest & vanilla). Something was making me think that Belgian “whites” had something else going on above & beyond the traditional German weizen recipe, but I was wrong. The only differences seem to be in the proportion of secondary flavorings, and how those proportions influence the final taste of the beer. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/45 "2001-06-13T15:55:15Z")
I fully agree with you. But indeed, it’s all in the ingredients. Another little factoid: the Hoegaarden brewery (these days part of the Interbrew Group) produces the _Grand Cru_, but it also gives us _Le Fruit Défendu_ (“The Forbidden Fruit”). The two are very similar, almost identical even. There is, however, one ingredient added to the latter. Can you tell me, _without using search engines or any other of that sissy stuff_, what that ingredient is? If you can, the first three rounds are on me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/46 "2001-06-13T17:07:37Z")
_Le Fruit Défendu_, huh? Having never sampled that brew, I’ll have to throw a wild guess out. Citrus overtones in weizens aren’t particularly unusual. However, _Le Fruit Défendu_ must have something different, else you wouldn’t have brought up your question. Taking a cue from fellow Belgian lambic brewers, I’ll guess that Hoegaarden throws some **peach** into _Le Fruit Défendu_. Right or wrong, I’ll be better educated about beer today! ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2001, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/47 "2001-06-14T00:54:50Z")
Close, but no cigar! It’s passion fruit. Don’t worry, it doesn’t improve the Grand Cru at all. And heck, I’ll still buy the first round. Gotta give you credit for trying! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2001, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/48 "2001-06-14T05:20:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\* > > Aack! Maybe Pierre Celis would like to take on a young energetic protege who’ll carry on the Celis tradition (ahem). > Let’s see here … **Coldfire** can be head of European distribution and … er … quality control. **Loaded Dog** can hold the same position in Australia. > > _(C’mon, guys \. Can’t spend all day doing “quality control” – gotta do SOME distribution sometimes!)_ > \*\* You’re trusting _me_ to… er… **ahem** I mean, yes _sure_, I’d LOVE to do the distrubition here. MWWWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA **hic** ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/49 "2001-06-14T05:27:58Z")
I don’t think anybody’s mentioned the [beerhunter](http://www.beerhunter.com) site yet. Hours of fun. The likes of **Bordelond** and **Coldfire** may like to go straight to the [styles](http://www.beerhunter.com/beerstyles.html) page, though I’m starting to suspect they know at least as much as the site’s author. Sure signs of a mis-spent youth emerging here. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/50 "2001-06-14T13:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*The likes of **Bordelond** and **Coldfire** may like to go straight to the [styles](http://www.beerhunter.com/beerstyles.html) page, though I’m starting to suspect they know at least as much as the site’s author. Sure signs of a mis-spent youth emerging here. 😉 \*\* Ha ha! I wish! No way, **Loaded Dog**! Michael Jackson is the undisputed world-cham-PEEN shiznat of brew. He’s forgotten more about beer than I could ever hope to learn in a thousand lifetimes. Not uncoincidentally, Jackson happens to have the world’s greatest job, _bar_ none. \ Seriously, in beerdom, Jackson is well-known as THE top-most source of beer info & review. I have one of his Beer Guide books and his CD-ROM, and consult them often. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2001, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163/51 "2001-06-14T15:32:39Z")
Wanna hear some funny shit? This guy I met in bar tried to tell me there was also a dude named Michael Jackson that -get this- _sings_. I laughed at him, and then broke my beer mug on his forehead. What an idiot. TheLoadedDog: misspent youth? What higher goal does a man between 15 and 24 have, other than to drink as many different beers as possible? Provided he also has occasional sex, of course. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fosters-doesnt-sell/68163.md?page=2)