IRN-BRU

My favourite soft drink by far

I credit once having had a Scottish girlfriend for an introduction to this fine drink ten years back.

guys
start a sat night chat thread pls

I was trying to think of what other locally popular soft drink IRN-BRU reminds me of and it hit me

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Kola

WTF @ Rus-Bru pic!?

according to wikipedia IRN-BRU is mostly brewed in russia nowadays?!

in soviet russia, girders are made... from irn-bru

sorry to be the first person to do this but this stuff blows i was so disapointed when i tried it, i'm such a sucker for unique regional treats and even at 3am in edinburgh drunk this was just immediately obviously worthless. iirc kind of like cream soda but, even a bit sweeter -- i dont get it

I always think of Tizer when I think of Irn-bru not sure if they taste remotely similar. Haven't tried either in ages, think they were similar brown/orange colour. Is it rust coloured since they're apparently made from girders?
& is the advertising watchdog going to be down on them for 'made in Scotland from girders' if they're actually bruing in Russia?

They've not used the "made in Scotland from girders" strapline for years, have they?

They have good adverts on the telly, but I wouldn't voluntarily choose to drink the stuff ever. Don't mind it if strapped for choice, but I can't remember the last time I actually chose it ahead of any other options.

I bet the Russians mis-heard the recipe and they make it from burgers.

i can't have sugar anymore (lol fatty) but barr's full-fat drinks seemed to be especially sweet and sugary - have seen fairly placid kids go apeshit after drinking a glass bottle of barr's red cola, which afaik hasn't travelled outside scotland yet.

the best thing abt irn-bru is that, if you do like the taste (i do), the sugarfree variety is pretty tolerable too (unlike diet coke imho)

red kola is the business

xp the label on the Irn-Bru six pack says something like 'may affect the behaviour of children'
IIRC old school Tizer was even sweeter tasting, but from the 'refresh your head' era onwards they cut down the sugar.

metallic bubblegum

the finest of hangover drinks, god bless our national character.

sorry to be the first person to do this but this stuff blows i was so disapointed when i tried it, i'm such a sucker for unique regional treats and even at 3am in edinburgh drunk this was just immediately obviously worthless. iirc kind of like cream soda but, even a bit sweeter -- i dont get it

― flopson, Sunday, 13 March 2011 08:58 (10 hours ago) Bookmark

totally

it's ridiculously sweet and very orange

does it have sectarian connotations in scotland?

I was talking to a doctor recently who told me her surgeon friend has identified a condition exclusive to the West of Scotland - they put endoscopes inside weegie neds and they have glowing orange stomach walls thanks to all the irn bru they put away.

xxxp

― pissky in the jar (onimo), Tuesday, 14 September 2010 14:15 (5 months ago)

Best drank from a jeggie (75 cl) bottle.

Exacerbates asthma and heavy consumption can give girls sore boobs.

i can't have sugar anymore (lol fatty) but barr's full-fat drinks seemed to be especially sweet and sugary - have seen fairly placid kids go apeshit after drinking a glass bottle of barr's red cola, which afaik hasn't travelled outside scotland yet.

the best thing abt irn-bru is that, if you do like the taste (i do), the sugarfree variety is pretty tolerable too (unlike diet coke imho)

― Ward Fowler, Sunday, March 13, 2011 1:01 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest

i've seen the red cola in liverpool and manchester, also. it's great.

panda pops green cola, awesome too.

don't much like fizzy drinks but wd take Vimto over Irn-Bru in a irregular heartbeat

red kola and irn bru rule. fuck vimto tho, that shit is vile. worse than dr pepper

meh, vimto is ok, the fizzy variety at least.

i'm not scottish

favourite sodas

coke
cidona
guarana antartica
fanta

I like IRN-BRU because they thought, if all we're doing is just putting sugar into fizzy water fuck it let's make it orange

it's ridiculously sweet and very orange

does it have sectarian connotations in scotland?

thankfully we're no that bad.

Someone just gave me a wee bottle of diet Irn Bru, which I drank in the interests of research. Ward Fowler OTM:

the best thing abt irn-bru is that, if you do like the taste (i do), the sugarfree variety is pretty tolerable too

It didn't taste discernibly different from what I remember its tooth-rotting big brother tasting like. I still wouldn't drink it voluntarily though.

If you're really used to standard Irn-Bru, diet (or now Sugar Free) Irn-Bru tastes seriously watered down, or at least it did the last time I tried it.

I'm verging on addicted to Irn-Bru (and other full sugar fizzy drinks), so I have to not drink the stuff at all or I end up drinking it all the time.

I have a friend who is seriously addicted to the stuff, to the point where she has given it up for Lent as her major sacrifice.

I'm not a massive fan of the taste myself but it's great to have with breakfast in the morning when you're hungover before going to work.

Can we discuss the brilliant adverts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87QCmugOST4&feature=player_embedded#at=439

Er let's try that again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haNhogYCEdM

Spent too much money on the adverts and not enough money stopping their drink taste minging, imo.

Couldn't change the beloved taste.

Two cans today. One before 9am. Hoorah.

sorry stupid foreigner question, but how do you pronounce it?

Iron Brew.

ahah *doh*! - thanks

red kola is the business

Is that exclusively a Scottish drink? I like Irn Bru but there's better gingers than Irn Bru

http://www.getraenkeservice-muenchen.com/shop/catalog/images/3178.jpg

This is my favourite soda. Tastes great, and it's organic too.

Balls to organic, it's got to be made from as many chemicals, flavourings, e-numbers, stabilisers as possible before it passes my lips

I don't care if it's because of the organic production or because of other things, but Bionade just tastes great, mostly because it has identifiable strong flavour and not too much sugar. I'm not a kid anymore, so I don't really care about overtly sugary drinks like Coke.

I'm not a kid anymore, so I don't really care about overtly sugary drinks like Coke.

Classic!

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Irn Bru outsold Coca Cola in Russia until very recently (like, maybe, five years ago).

(Also, Red Kola rocks.)

it outsold coke in scotland until five or so years ago but didn't think it ever got that big in russia

Ah, maybe I'm getting confused. This page (1999!) says it was the third-best selling drink in Moscow, after Coke and Pepsi, though.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/460001.stm

Russians I've met always seem to like Scots and Scottish things

its huge popularity with russians is v funny yes! but then a lot of scots love vodka I suppose but usually glen's rather than moskovskaya

xpost

Is that Bionade cabbage flavoured?

can't have sugar anymore (lol fatty) but barr's full-fat drinks seemed to be especially sweet and sugary - have seen fairly placid kids go apeshit after drinking a glass bottle of barr's red cola, which afaik hasn't travelled outside scotland yet.

the best thing abt irn-bru is that, if you do like the taste (i do), the sugarfree variety is pretty tolerable too (unlike diet coke imho)

― Ward Fowler, Sunday, March 13, 2011 1:01 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest

i've seen the red cola in liverpool and manchester, also. it's great.

― http://i56.tinypic.com/xnsu1g.gif (max arrrrrgh), Sunday, 13 March 2011 19:45 (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

its huge popularity with russians is v funny yes!

Robert Burns is big with Russians too

There's different flavours: ginger-orange, lychee, elderberry, etc. The one I posted is herb-flavoured, and IMO it's the best.

The German word "Kraut" appears in the word "Sauerkraut", but in general it means "an herb". The general German word for cabbage is "Kohl".

(xx-post)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i voted yes but ive never had this

i just wanted to fit in :\

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-42565363

Heading the "Hands off our Irn Bru" petition is joiner Ryan Allan from Ayr.

He has already made preparations to preserve his favourite drink and has a stockpile for "when he is hungover".

He told the BBC's Kaye Adams programme: "I've got 24 glass bottles in my loft that will do me for emergencies."

So come February this guy's going to be crawling the walls.

brb gonna start making my own irn bru in a bathtub and selling it to desperate punters once the new version hits the shelves

I'm actually a wee bit trepidatious about this. i only indulge once in a while so the sugar content is no factor for me

capitalism: brainwashes you into buying shit that you don't need then snatches it away when you're hooked. motherfuckers.

What really troubles me is the idea of having a stinking death hangover from hell, and having to retrieve a warm bottle of Iron Bru from a pile of itchy loft insulation for re-hydration. That doesn't sound like a solution to me!

it’s that fearless fortitude which makes scotland the greatest nation on earth iirc

Just had an amusing discussion about this.

following up on 6 years ago: https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/irn-bru-permanently-reintroduces-original-1901-high-sugar-recipe-scotland-924623

Had my first one last year and loved it. Must've been the regular amount of sugar. Not too sweet anyway, I can't stand Coke and stuff.

*following up on 4 years ago

nectar of the gods

You’ve had it in the States?

Yes! alt.coffee on ave A used to sell it in the 90's, the owner's wife was Scottish. Myers of Keswick on Jane St. still stocks it.

My brother sent me a case for my birthday years ago, p sure that batch was bottled domestically.

I have been told I would like this but I’ve never seen it in the US (not even like Cost Plus World Market or whatever)