Sam Adams double bock

[hockeyfight]

If you live in or around Boston, enjoy good beer, and haven't been to Jacob Wirth's on Stuart St, you're doing yourself a great disservice.

Partial Beer List

Oh, and for Scottish ale, Innis and Gunn or GTFO.

[Jerseyprophet]

How can you say Magic Hat is only for getting drunk and not tasting >< Well, thats the best part about being beer guys I guess, everyone has different taste. Personally, I l.o.v.e. #9 as a lager so much so as it occupies number 1 of 2 tap handles in my kitchen:


http://zedomax.com/blog/wp-content/u...egerator-3.jpg

The other line alternates between Coors Light (budget, I know I know), und UND UUUND Spaten Oktoberfest when I can get it. Make no mistake gentlemen. There is no other Oktoberfest.

[RandomJoe]

Just about anything from Stone is impressive. They have a wide variety of crafted high-quality beers ranging from the most brutal of IPAs (Rumination) to easier to drink oatmeal stouts/stouts.

I'm a fan of Dogfish Head as well. You'll be hard pressed to beat their 90 Minute IPA and worldwide stout

I also like Left Hand brewery. They're not as refined as stone perhaps, but they produce some high quality unique beers (smoked jumper anyone?).

I'm not really a fan of pilsners/heineken-esque beers. The style is too filtered and artificial tasting. There are a ton of worthwhile, non-expensive american microbrews out there, and grocery stores around here are finially starting to pick up on it, its a growing industry.

I had a case of 'Thirsty Dog, Old Leg Humper (robust porter)'for my birthday and it was the best thing out of a tap i've ever had. Its still one of my all time favorite beers. It was kind of the beer that got me into darker beers when i first started to explore styles.

Too many good beers/styles to contain in one post.

[Maxxthepenguin]

I'm going to second pretty much everything RandomJoe said, especially, Left Hand, their Milk Stout is just an interesting and tasty beer.

[Jerseyprophet]

I'm a fan of Dogfish Head as well. You'll be hard pressed to beat their 90 Minute IPA and worldwide stout

He speaks the truth.

[RandomJoe]

"Lancaster Milk Stout' is another good milk stout. I recommended it to someone at a bar and he thought it was too bitter, when oddly, i never really noticed the bitter taste. It was something i had to actually think about to taste.

I'm curious what others think about the Tripel style. I've only had about 5 different Tripel's and i find it to be like... the best you can get out of a beer. They're light in color with a full thick head with a strong malty sweet aroma, (very) high (9-11%) alcohol content, and a very powerful full-bodied taste with a hint (if well done i think) of alcohol.

Every time i've had them its been in a pint+ 9oz bottle, and by the time I'm done with it I'm pretty drunk. My favorite was from Affligen (heineken own independently operated), and i haven't had a chance to personally try any of the Trappists' breweries take on them but i'm curious.

So i'm curious what others think of the Chimay, Trappists Rocheforts etc's take on the Tripel?

[Jerseyprophet]

I tried Chimay and it was either Duvel or Rodenbacher's Three Philospher's the same night. I gave it to Chimay.

[Maxxthepenguin]

As far as Chimay goes, I haven't had their Tripel, but their Grande Reserve was great. I have no idea what style it was but it was a strange mix of creamy and fruity that was just delicious. And potent. Very freaking potent.

Actually, I don't think I've had a proper Tripel.

[Correction]

I just remembered that I order Fat Tire beers whenever I'm at a restaurant where the burgers cost more than 8 bucks.

[aru]

So you work for Beer Advocate?
Curious as to why you didn't post this on their forums.

pahnphoenix knows what he's talking about, listen to what he has to say.

do a lot of you guys that consider yourselves beer connoisseurs really like wheat beer? I've tried most of the beers you all have listed and I absolutely hate wheat beer. I just don't even consider it real beer anymore...I don't really know any guys that truly know beer that like wheat beer. Its just...bleh

Just because you don't like it doesn't make it not a "real beer". Beer styles are so MASSIVELY varied that if you had some of the more extremes you would undoubtably say that wheat beers were "real beers".

[Daydreamer]

My 2 favorite beers.

Weihenstephener - Oldest beer in the world. It celebrates it's 1000 year anniversary soon. It is the original wheat beer. Don't bother with the lager, just get the hefe and you're golden. Easily the most complex and best weiße I've ever had.

Tilburgs dutch brown ale - It's just good. Try it!

[Maxxthepenguin]

Relevant: Drinking a full bottle of Chimay White label is a great way to deal with being stood up.

[pahnphoenix]

"Lancaster Milk Stout' is another good milk stout. I recommended it to someone at a bar and he thought it was too bitter, when oddly, i never really noticed the bitter taste. It was something i had to actually think about to taste.

I'm curious what others think about the Tripel style. I've only had about 5 different Tripel's and i find it to be like... the best you can get out of a beer. They're light in color with a full thick head with a strong malty sweet aroma, (very) high (9-11%) alcohol content, and a very powerful full-bodied taste with a hint (if well done i think) of alcohol.

Every time i've had them its been in a pint+ 9oz bottle, and by the time I'm done with it I'm pretty drunk. My favorite was from Affligen (heineken own independently operated), and i haven't had a chance to personally try any of the Trappists' breweries take on them but i'm curious.

So i'm curious what others think of the Chimay, Trappists Rocheforts etc's take on the Tripel?

i love tripels. as i said earlier, chimay white (cinq cents; tripel) is my favorite kind of chimay (the blue and red labels seem kind of too... fruity, or sweet, or dark at times... they're excellent and i'd never refuse to drink one, but i'd always rather the white).

i've been meaning to try some trappist rocheforts for a long time, but haven't found any yet. i'm taking a trip to NYC in a week, so i'll probably look for some (as well as some oaked arrogant bastard to take home, since stone doesn't sell *anything* to CT, which fucking sucks-_-).

allagash predictably makes a good tripel. all allagash is generally good. the last i tried was the curieux, which floored me (more so in the sense that it got me drunk off my ass than that it was the best thing i ever tasted, but it was very good). also happens to be a tripel, but i'm not sure how representative of the style it is considering how large the bourbon barrel-aging contribution is to the flavor.

the best tripel you'll find for the money is unibroeu's la fin du monde, in my opinion. can often get large bottles for $5~, and it's pretty widely available. i love that brewery's numbered anniversary releases (i recently had a 3 year old bottle of 15 and it was *amazing*, the best thing i've had in months. BA users don't seem very down with it, but i loved it), as well as don de dieu which is a bit apple-y. maudite is okay if there's nothing better around at a bar or restaurant... i bet terrible is better, but i haven't had it. they have some fruitier lambic stuff... i hate that style of beer though.

by FAR the worst tripel i've ever had was river horse tripel horse, which tasted like fucking oil. it had a great aroma that promised something as good as the beers mentioned above, and ended up sickening and infuriating me. i'd suggest avoiding at all costs, or at the very least not having it in the name of "trying a tripel". i should have been suspicious of a $9 6-pack of 9%~ABV, though like i said above, la fin du monde delivers a superior beer for a low price.

i've tried a lot of random tripels that i remember liking but don't particularly remember the flavor of (karmeliet for example). currently, i'd say my favorite belgian beers are la chouffe and n'ice chouffe, and probably duvel which i've sort of had a resurgence in love for.

tonight i'm giving orval a shot. i've tried it before, but i kept it too cold and killed the flavor. hopefully that will go well (edit: it did. the alström bros review on BA is spot on; describes this beer exactly. it's good stuff. the head is out of control, and the way the tartness and bitterness and spiciness fight with each other is pretty amazing... nice warming alcoholic finish too). if not, i have penny weiz and dogfish head 90 minute lined up to pick up the slack.

re: milk stout, that's so weird, i just tried milk stout at john harvard a few days ago. it was very interesting... i liked it a lot, but i'm not sure how often i'd get it again, if at all. it sort of reminds me of pouring a starbucks vanilla frappachino (or whatever) into a cup of guinness, and having it actually turn out tasting good.

re: wheat beers, some are great. again, allagash comes through pretty strong. UFO white isn't bad either. nor are hoegaarden or blue moon, though they're a bit watery. i can't think of any outstanding hefeweizens or witbiers offhand besides anything i haven't already mentioned (like penny weiz, which is new england local only i believe), but i'd bet that's more due to me not trying enough of them or having a bad memory. usually i'd prefer a more complex beer with a higher ABV, but wheat beers can be great sometimes.

[Dolmen]

I personally am a huge fan of Hefeweizen, however I feel way too many breweries have gone all wrong with them. Leinenkuegel (sp?) is one I just can't stand at all, the artificial fruit flavoring destroys the beer in my opinion. What I'm drinking changes a lot, but lately I've been on a big Belgian kick. Allagash rocks for an American brewery doing Belgian styles. I love the dubel and tripels out there, as I feel they offer a multi-dimensional experience when drinking the beer.

Overall though, my favorite variety of beer is the porter. Give me some Synebrychoff Porters and I'm a happy man.

Also, Stone does make some really nice aggressive beers. I'm a huge fan of Arrogant Bastard Ale as it makes beards grow.

[Zoolander]

To me its not that the wheat beers are poorly made or anything, its just something inherently wrong with the taste of wheat in beer to me. Most of this fruit shit they add to wheat beers doesn't really help its case either to me...something most of the girls I know go for because they don't like other beers. I'm not some big macho man, but if I want a fruity drink, then I'll just have a fruit drink. If I'm drinking beer, I want a fucking beer.

One of my favorite beers is also the Hofbrau Oktoberfest beer. We bout a big case of 20 for really cheap in Munich but apparently no one in the entire city uses ice for anything...so we ended up drinking it warm and it was still fucking good lol, will always have a special place in my <3 for that one.

Also heres the kegerator so dear to my heart. It can fit two kegs in there, although usually we are lazy/cheap and just do one at a time.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...33722_3541.jpg

[Oxyminus]

Aventinus Doublebock

Discovered it at my favorite bar during my Bday Party last year.

milk from the gods!

I've also been on a big Belgium Beer kick for a looooong time, just love them.

And Young's Double Chocolate Stout...it will put a rock in your stomach but it's soooo good.

[Odon]

To all the faggots who are saying Magic Hat sucks, #9 is all I gotta say. That beer is fucking amazing.

[Moridam]

spaten optimator is pretty fuckin' tasty, but i made the mistake of drinking it like you would any other 6-pack. it all made a hell of a lot more sense when i woke up the next afternoon and found the ABV on one of the bottles after the fact, but suffice to say, the understanding was little consolation at that point.

6x12oz at ~8.5% is rough on folks like me with a diminutive frame :\

[RandomJoe]

pahnphoenix

Thanks for the info

[Milks]

Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel ftw