Quality at Lidl and Aldi

[Steve Firth]

Absolute c*ck.

OH FFS, you talk such shit that your collar must be permanently brown.

[geoff]

In message , Kevin writes

f*ck knows what you're whittering on about

and no - don't bother replying

[Kevin]

or you

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember stuart noble saying something like:

As ever, no store is good at every item. I get a lot of Lidl /Aldi stuff, and I can say without hesitation that Lidl's own bread is crap, but they also have Hovis Granary so that's ok. I've found it best to avoid the cheapest ranges in L/A as the slightly more expensive choices are much better, but still a fair bit cheaper than Tesco. For example, the cod and haddock come in plain budget packs and seem to consist of recycled inner tubes, whereas for a quid more the premium fish seem to have actually swum at some time.

They change their recipes and suppliers from time to time also, and what was consistently good for ages can suddenly plummet in quality. Sometimes it happens the other way too, as I found recently when I accidentally bought some stirfry dish I'd avoided for a couple of years as it was bloody awful then - I found to my surprise it was actually quite edible now.

[The Medway Handyman]

Not the ultimate test of course, but beers with higher alcohol content tend to have more 'body'. And indeed more flavour in most cases.

Lager is a case in point, not that lager has a taste as such, so a higher alcohol content makes it more paletable IMO.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes - Heinz baked beans and Nescafe, for example. Plenty of others too.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Really? Can't say I've seen any badly behave kids - unlike in the local Waitrose. Nor do you get people buying a couple of items, packing them carefully *then* deciding which credit card out of many to use. It's not a place to 'shop'- it's somewhere to get in and out of quickly. Which suits me just fine.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It is if you're an alcoholic on a budget. Ask dribble.

[geoff]

A fan of special brew, are we ?

IMO, what you say just isn't true - for bitters 3.5 - 5% is about right

Higher alcohol beers - e g Rochefort, Chimay, etc tend to be a bit too sweet and the malt / hops balance is lost

The best way to make lager palatable is to cool it to the point where it numbs the taste buds

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , geoff writes

Exactly, hence the recent trend for super-chilled beers (Carlsberg, ice- cold Guinness.) It means the brewers can foist sub-standard s**te on the great unwashed, who, because the "beer" is so cold, don't notice.

I had the unfortunate experience of going into local Wetherspoon's recently. There was a big digital display on the bar proudly indicating that the temperature of EVERY beer served was 2'C. Including the real ales. I think that rather puts paid to their claim to be a real ale expert. I had to warm up the pint between my legs (getting some odd looks) until it was warm enough to actually taste something. Never again.

[Adrian C]

The "Olive Oil Label Fraud in Discount Supermarkets" - May 2005

I note some of my favourite bottled delicatessen items in ALDI which previously had things (e.g. mushrooms) immersed in sunflower oil, are now changing to vegetable.

Big telling question just found in a random google search about ALDI/LIDL on an Ireland based blog.

"Would you buy condoms from Lidl?"

[Alan]

It took 30 seconds of research on the web to find that European (Spanish) extra virgin olive oil prices were 2.2 euros/kg two weeks ago with a forward forecast of 1.5 euro/kg with a threat of better quality new world oils entering the marketplace. Australian extra virgin olive oil is already selling well in the USA because the better quality oils don't demand a premium price.

[Steve Firth]

I've always had Dribble down as a Buckfast man.

[robgraham]

Ancient history now, but I moved to Portsmouth in 1968 after University in Edinburgh and had major difficulties finding a beer that was worth drinking. Lagers had appeared in Scotland then and in line with Scots beer management were gently chilled (the pub basement) to give a nice feel on the palate - I remember finding pub somewhere 'darn sarth' that had lager and drank this near frozen mush that exploded bubbles in my mouth with a force that nearly took my head off.

In two years I don't think I ever did find a beer worthy of the name.

Rob

[Rod]

Didn't find Gales of Horndean?

[Steve Firth]

You couldn't have bene trying very hard.

OTOH I've never had decent beer in Scotland. It's all pressurised keg fizzy crap.

[Graeme]

You couldn't have bene trying very hard :-)

Two bars in my village serve real ale, in NE Scotland (Aberdeenshire).

[Old Git]

Exactly what I have found as well, my local Aldi and Lidl are a pleasure to shop in. I've always found that the majority of dribblers and knuckle draggers are to be found in Tesco and Asda. Of course, you can go even further down the evolutionary ladder and enter Co-Op, where the staff often as retarded as the clientele.

[geoff]

In message , Graeme writes

Is it actually any good ?

Another myth which seems to have grown up around the real aleisti is that its good BECAUSE it's real ale ... which is not always the case

[Frank Erskine]

More flavour =/= better flavour.