OK, this is my lame attempt to be funny and to do something graphical. What do you expect from MS Paint! No photoshop here, and it shows! Anyway… I picked up a can of Newcastle Brown Ale the other day, specifically because it was in a can.
We all know that light is the enemy of beer quality and flavor, so when Newcastle made the decision to bottle their beer in clear glass bottles, you have to kind of scratch your head and wonder why anyone would choose that for a beer. By the way, I’ve also heard that green glass is much the same as it doesn’t keep the harmful UV rays out of the beer either. If you’re drinking beer it should be from brown bottles or cans…period.
When I saw this can of Newcastle I remembered two things. First was that the can might improve the flavor, and second was how bad it was in bottles. If you don’t remember, let me refresh your memory:
I can appreciate a malty brew as long as there is something inspired in the flavor. Don’t look to Newcastle Brown Ale for any of that inspiration. This is the Pabst of English brews.
You can find my entire review here. However, seeing this beer in a can gave me a hope that it might be better than I remembered without all the UV rays and florescent lights doing their bad work on the brew. I figured at the very least the beer would taste like the brewer intended it to taste. So in the name of science I spent the $1.79 and purchased said can. Was it any better?…
In a word…YES! It was remarkably better. Still thin and watery for the body, which I think might be an English thing anyway but the flavor was much more robust. Another thing I noticed was the alcohol makes an appearance. It is actually a flavor that I get on the back side of my palate.
It is still thin, but this brew has been saved by the can! It is someting I would actually buy again as a light nutty roasty summery brew that has a bit more flavor than a tired Lager or Pilsner by the end of the summer.
So if you are not a huge fan of Newcastle Brown Ale (and who could blame you) if you see it available in a can pick some up and let me know if you agree…Newcastle Brown Ale has been saved by the can!
Is there anything Cans can’t do?
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Thanks for trying it. Now, I won’t have to.
Oh, and MS Paint? SMH.
Does SMH stand for “Sh!t in My Hat”?
I was wondering that too. I didn’t want to say anything because I don’t want Zac to think I’m not cool…
Google, boys. Google.
SMH = “shake/shaking my head”
I kinda like Sh!t in my hat better.
I know, I know…*shrugs and holds head in shame*
Anytime! Glad to take one for the team, as it were.
in the can!
Nice graphic (for you). Sorry I couldn’t pitch in, bro.
I love canned beer!!
I stopped drinking Newcastle sometime in the eighties because of what you mentioned, it became watered down piss. Before that though, it wasn’t too bad, much more tasty than many of the domestics available at that time. Thanks for the review, I may pick up a single can just to see how it compares to my rusty memory of those times.
I would, it won’t set you back but a couple bucks, couch change. I was actually surprised by how much more lively the brew was. Everything from the head and lacing all the way to the nose, much more pronounced.
Newcastle is my parents’ “go to” beer. They load up on twelve-packs of the stuff whenever they go to the big liquor mart. Although they often seem to like the good stuff I bring by when I visit, they can never remember the names of the beers. I’d say they’re stuck in a Newcastle rut.
I can only assume that massive amounts of preservatives and clarifying agents go into the bottled version of Newcastle to prevent it from skunking. Now I’m slightly curious to try the canned version.
Like I told Will, you can get a can for couch change. Its cheap, and actually pretty good. I’m not going to say it rocked my world, because it didn’t but in comparison to the bottle it is night and day. Like a different beer entirely.
Newcastle on tap in an English pub is a very different creature than what you get out of bottles here in the US. I was so glad when I saw the cans, for all the same reasons you mentioned. It does the brew some justice for once. Still, it is not as good as getting it from a pub. I was actually in Newcastle just last summer, and disappointingly the first pub I stopped in at had it only in bottles! It felt like going to Texas for BBQ and getting served a plate of stuff that comes from those mass-distributed plastic tubs of BBQ in the supermarket! I was miffed.
There ought to be a law that all pubs in Newcastle have Newcastle on tap! I’m just thinking I wonder if it would be good on Nitro.
Everything’s better with Nitro! 🙂
It’s funny how I remember discovering newcastle when I first started drinking beer and thinking I was someone ahead of the curve. Guess when all you’re friends are drinking coors and miller it is easy to feel like newcastle is some undergound item.
No More. Once you get into the Big Boy beers, you quickly realize that Newcastle is pretty weak. That said, it is definitely better in cans.
yeah i don’t think i’ll seek it out or anything, but if i see it I might get it
Good for them. I hope they release their new seasonals in cans too so I won’t try them either.
You never know Scott, you could be missing out.
Ha ha!!
Hey I got it in the can last night, and it was pretty good…
Alright now…
Where can I buy the cans?
I’m not sure, I got mine at Brewforia in Boise, ID. I’m assuming they sell them all over the place.
Newcastle in a can is my favorite beer. Wish I could find it for a reasonable price in the can. It goes camping with us on every trip.