Talk:Irn-Bru/Archive 1

Canadian caffeine law

Originally, the article claimed that the law regarding caffeine in dark-coloured soft drinks had been repealed, based on the introduction of a caffeinated version of Mountain Dew. In fact, the law remains the same, and the new drink is actually classified as an "energy drink", or "health product" to allow it to contain caffeine in Canada. Many brands have followed suit since then, including Tab and Sobe. Other trends include adding guarana instead of caffeine. I have removed this factually inaccurate portion from the article. --dsm iv tr 22:54, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Fruit Flavour

IRN BRU IS DESCRIBED AS A FRUIT FLAVOURED SOFT DRINK A FEW YEARS AGO!

Removed the nonsense about 'cold, half-flat, combined with last night's haggis' as that is clearly a troll with no basis in reality!

Wheres it sold?

I think it would be an advantage to list which fast food places carry Irn-Bru. I know Mcdonalds does, but what about KFC, and Burgerking? Do they carry it in the UK? Chooserr - Oct 1st 2005 -

Russians

Doesn't "Rather surprisingly, it also makes an excellent mixer with vodka, which explains why it sells more in Russia than Scotland" imply that russians are alcoholics? Should it be altered? Bong 10:27, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Eh, they are. But the fact is not so surprising because almost all caffeinated drinks go well with vodka. Red Bull, Coke and Coffee all mix well with vodka. Eric B. and Rakim 10:38, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Actually, I would have thought that the statement about vodka and Russia was simply a reference to vodka being the hard beverage of choice in Russia, and not any implication that all Russians drink vodka or are alcoholics. Steggall 19:01, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I've got to agree, it seemed like a harmless comment to me. Much of the Irn Bru drunk here in Scotland does indeed go into mixers, and Russia's got about 30 times the population of Scotland, so there's a bit of a "staple alcoholic beverage in massive nation goes well with small nation's stable soft drink, where's it going to sell most?" reasoning going on. I can kind of see the controversy, though, and it's hardly the most insightful and logical contribution ever. Ditch it? --Sockatume 02:44, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Canada's Irn Bru really doesn't have caffeine (I have a label scan if you want to see the full horror). I feel that the law against caffeine in non-cola drinks discriminates against Scottish culture. --scruss 16:25, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Church

Does anyone have a source for this Church of Irn-Bru stuff? The website seems to be gone now: http://members.tripod.co.uk/~BARRS_IRN_BRU/ Is that all it was? AlistairMcMillan 17:26, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I have to doubt the 'church of Irn-Bru' stuff too - I've never heard of it in all my time in Scotland. Cal T 15:17, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)

The web site is still available at the internet archive. However, it appears the site was only there for four months in 2001 before it was replaced with this message and shortly deleted. I vote that the material is too obscure for a general article on the 'Bru.

Me too. I vote that this material be removed. Cal T 00:31, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

A Salt and Battery

I have removed the content relating to this Fish&Chip shop in New York. It seemed out of place, and more of an advert than anything else. -- OwlofDoom 08:03, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

That's fair. I'm new at this, so I'll defer to you. But the thing is, the article is unclear on the relatively important subject of "can you get Irn Bru in America?" If I were a Scotsman living in New York, that information would be terrifically valuable to me. I would propose at least indicating that Irn Bru is available in NYC. (Of course then the question becomes "Really? Where?" Which is why I put the ASAB info in there -- evidence for the assertion that it is available in NYC. I have no connection with ASAB.) --

Priceyeah 14:49, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

If I was looking for where to buy the Bru in NYC, I probably wouldn't be looking at Wikipedia, since it's not a tourist/travel guide (you won't find the entrance costs for the Statue of Liberty on here either). Perhaps this information would be better plonked on Wikitravel. -- OwlofDoom 07:39, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Hmm. To be fair, ChipShop in Park Slope sells Irn Bru, but as for grocers, that's basically Meyer's of Keswick near 14th Street.

Flavour

"Its flavor has been described as a mild citric vanilla taste."

The flavour of Irn Bru has been compared to everything from bubblegum to "sheep's wool" (no joke). I'd rather not go down the comparison route. Irn Bru tastes like Irn Bru.Potatojunkie

Seconded -- OwlofDoom 13:27, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC)

one of its 'secret' flavors is bananas

Hyphen?

This is pedantic, but shouldn't the article belong at Irn-Bru, i.e. with a hyphen, with a redirect to this page? It seems like this is the correct spelling from the packaging, although it is difficult to tell whether it's a hyphen or a dot. Just a thought... Cal T 21:39, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I think you're right. The product website has a hyphen [1] and text there has a hyphen. Barr's corporate website ([2] - hit "corporate" then "our business") also spells it with a hyphen. And their corporate brochure [3] says "Thus in 1946 the name "Irn-Bru" came into being.". -- John Fader (talk | contribs) 21:53, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I'll second this. I set up a redirect from Irn-Bru to this page a long time ago, but was too nervous to actually move the page, as I was a newbie at WP back then... -- OwlofDoom 08:33, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

OK, I moved the page and also s/Irn Bru/Irn-Bru/g in the article. -- OwlofDoom 08:37, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Well done and thanks! I was about to do the move, but you beat me to it. I'm convinced this is the right place for this article. Cal T 19:52, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I did miss quite a few hyphens, though, didn't I? Thanks for spotting them! -- OwlofDoom 23:35, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Two assertions

The article makes two assertions that are sufficiently strong that I think they should have sources cited:

• The 'Iron-Brew' produced by other manufacturers is a similar shade, but does not even approximate Irn-Bru in taste.. "Approximate" is a pretty wide benchmark, so I'm not sure this is true (all the others I've tried did taste *approximately* like it, just not exactly like it). Barring (sic) some reference to a competent comparative taste test, I'd be happier if this read The 'Iron-Brew' produced by other manufacturers is a similar shade, and aims to approximate its taste.
• Irn-Bru also appears to mop up damaging free radicals. That certainly needs a reference, as it's quite a claim.

-- John Fader (talk | contribs) 10:01, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

"Free radicals" claim removed, pending a reference.Potatojunkie 17:43, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Availability in Ireland

Could someone ellaborate/correct/comfirm what I said in the article about its irregular availability in Ireland? That is certainly the case in Limerick - I only know of 3 or 4 shops here that stock it, and it seems to only be really available during the summer. And I only ever see 500ml plastic bottles here --Zilog Jones 03:39, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

It's very irregularly available in Ireland. I don't know of anywhere in the entire of Cork City that sells it, but there is the odd garage or small shop in West Cork that stocks it for some reason (in cans). And I found it in a shop once in Galway. On the other hand, it's easily available along the border to Nothern Ireland, in cans and all size bottles. Maeve 22:44, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Popularity

Does the phrase "the most popular caffeinated soft drink in Scotland" actually require the word "caffeinated" to be true, or could it be more broadly worded (i.e. "the most popular soft drink in Scotland")? James Montgomerie 04:58, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

It does look kind of ugly like that, doesn't it? I don't know, does milk count as a soft drink? Potatojunkie 23:00, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Adverts

Wasn't the "Even though I used to be a man" advert part of a greater "See what Irn-Bru can do for you!" series (I remember one involving a ramraiding granny in particular)? --CamTarn

Uncited mythology

I have removed these two so-called myths for lack of citation. If anyone can find a reliable source that mentions these myths then feel free to restore them to the article with the appropriate citation.

Another well known Scottish myth is that a glass bottle of Irn-Bru, when wedged between the meter and the window of a Hackney Cab, causes the meter to speed up, resulting in a higher fare.

Try here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Glasgow-Taxi-Jack-Clyde/dp/0856832324/sr=11-1/qid=1165019307/ref=sr_11_1/202-6911358-6065422 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.140.187.166 (talk • contribs).

Another such urban legend, thought to be started by FHM, is that Irn-Bru severely lowers the sperm count.

JeremyA 03:53, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

Irn-Bru 32

Irn-Bru 32 is a brand extention to the Irn-Bru range, and is the first time Barr themselves have marketed an Irn-Bru variation in the functional energy market.

I distinctly recall that when I was a kid there was something called "Irn-Bru XS". At the time I thought it was an energy drink, but I may have been wrong. Anyone with better memories want to comment? Daibhid C 22:34, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

I've checked online, and I misremembered: it was an isotonic sports drink. Daibhid C 22:53, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Removed sentence about "iron" colour =

I removed this;

It is known to many a disgruntled parent that, due to Irn Bru's (albeit low) iron content, it is very difficult or even impossible to remove from carpets and upholstery. You have been warned! For the hardcore drinkers, an orange carpet may be a preferable solution....

Is it implying that the orange colour is primarily due to Irn Bru's iron content? The article itself mentions elsewhere that it contains two types of colourings. I suspect that the iron has b****r all to do with the orange colour... Fourohfour 19:39, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Russian speakers, I call you

The article goes into a bit of detail about the name changing from Iron-Brew to Irn-Bru for legal reasons (perhaps). There is a photograph of a Russian can of Irn-Brew, labelled in Cyrillic. It looks to me as if the Russian version is actually called Iron-Brew and not Irn-Brew. Am I right? Or am I... a kite? Lupine Proletariat 12:24, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

"Irn Bru" and "Iron Brew" are to all intents and purposes pronounced the same. It could be argued that the omission of the "o" reduces the first word from two syllables to one, but without listening to people (un-self-consciously) pronouncing the two, it's hard to say if there is any difference in real-life usage. The difference is minor at best, and since the Russian version is a transliteration (I presume), it's probably meaningless to say that it is derived from one or the other if they both *sound* the same.... right? Fourohfour 18:56, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

The wording on the can would be pronounced "Ayern Bryoo", where "Ayern" is the Scots word Aye followed by rn.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.140.187.166 (talk • contribs).

availability in Bahrain

as im from bahrain, and been studying in scotland for 4 years, and also been addicted to irn bru. when i been back to bahrain, i found out that the only place to buy irn-bru in bahrain is (al-osra) supermarket in saar. it might be helpful for others just to avoid going to every supermarket and ask for irn-bru. by the way its only available in 330ml cans and costs more than 4 times any other soft carbonated drink can. but worth it all.

Irn-Bru bottled abroad

I bought a can of Irn Bru in Lanzarote which was manufactured in Spain and it tasted horrible...really bad compared to the normal stuff.

Irn Bru 32 article

I don't understand why there is a seperate article for Irn Bru 32 which basically says the same things (apart from a few seperate edits). I think the page should just be made into a redict page to the main Irn Bru page. Tartan 23:22, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Canadian caffeine

as only dark coloured drinks are permitted to contain caffeine.

I added a {{fact}} tag to that. I distinctly remember seeing caffeinated Mountain Dew on sale in CA when I was there. «ct» (t|e) 16:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)