Beer! Glorious Beer Thread!

[pahnphoenix]

For any Quebecers or anyone from Ontario:
DDC's spring beer is being sold now. My local started selling it early. It's a maple Scotch ale. Very drinkable, very delicious. If you see it, give it a try because it will probably only be around for another month or so.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/...c4415655ae.jpg

that sounds awesome... i wonder if any will make it to boston. i'll have my friend pick me up some if so, i love scotch ales and maple can really elevate a beer if used well.

i've somehow never had anything by dieu du ciel. weird that i've never tried peche mortel with how talked up it is, but there it is.

---

myself, i had a bottle of eel river triple exultation which was a lot better than i remembered but still not mindblowing. followed with ithaca cascazilla, which never disappoints.

[Fieros]

I enjoy most beers except Guiness. Some of my favorites are Killian's Irish Red, Blue Moon, Bud Light, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, Corona Light, and Landshark. Some pretty exotic beers mentioned in here, might have to try a few.

[Ezhno]

Some of my favorites are Killian's Irish Red, Blue Moon, Bud Light, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, Corona Light, and Landshark.

http://i27.tinypic.com/9a37g9.jpg

I mean I can understand the rest because they're cheap (I used to go through a lot of Killian's in college), but seriously. I am pretty sure Bud Light isn't even technically beer.

Some pretty exotic beers mentioned in here, might have to try a few.

This would be a step in the right direction.

[Fieros]

the abyss makes me mad at other beers for not being the abyss, and at deschutes for not distributing to CT.

Your review really opened my eyes. Guess I'm used to the cheap stuff. Too bad this beer is so rare, what might you recommend as a more readily available runner-up until next season?

[wipers]

PBR cheap good stuff. Plus bonus points for being a hipster.

[Flarega]

Not sure if anyone has heard of this one but last night I had a growler of the Pinehopple Express beer from a local brewer near where I go to college. It's an IPA with good hoppiness and a nice aftertaste. If you ever are in San Luis Obispo and want to check it out, hit up Central Coast Brewery. I like their stuff.

Unfortunately, they don't always have this beer so you might have to try and get it soon. I'd also recommend their Catch 23 for IPA enthusiasts, its a Dark Rye IPA.

[pahnphoenix]

Your review really opened my eyes. Guess I'm used to the cheap stuff. Too bad this beer is so rare, what might you recommend as a more readily available runner-up until next season?

hmmm, similar to the abyss... it's arguable whether or not they're runners up, but oskar blues ten fidy (comes in cans, kind of expensive, usually like $15~ a 4pack) or north coast old rasputin (more reasonably priced, i can't remember if it comes in 6pks or 4pks, but it's something like a $10~ 6pk if i remember right) could be good starts.

since you're in florida, you might have access to cigar city brewing. i guess they're in tampa: http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com/Ciga...ting_Room.html and the best way to find high quality stuff from them would be to go right to the source (they just released a few really respected/snatched up stouts, called hunahpu's, bohr, and dirac (the former is definitely sold out, but they might still have the latter at the brewery). this is probably your best bet for finding abyss caliber beer (if you live anywhere near cigar city and end up "getting into beer", you'll probably discover that you're pretty lucky, location-wise).

beyond stouts, there's lots of other beers mentioned in this thread of varying price and availability. if you're just "starting out" in the beer world, you really shouldn't have to drop more than $8~ for 22oz bottle or $10~ for 6pk to find really eye-opening things. i'm sure you'd like the $30 1-day release bottles, but it's not like you can't get world class quality at the local store nowadays.

hmm, actually, the guys at new england brewing company told me that florida is one of their biggest markets... there might be some imperial stout trooper floating around where you are (it's relatively limited, but i can find it on shelves near the brewery). it has a picture of a storm trooper with a mustache-mask on the cover of the bottle b/c george lucas told them to cease and desist the original storm trooper label.

any of great divide's yeti beers could be good.

(any florida beer lovers, deschutes doesn't distribute to florida, do they? if they do, you may actually be able to get abyss 2010. if you somehow found abyss 2009, don't get it though... they had some kind of infection problem, which isn't a health risk whatsoever--most if not all health risk bacteria can't survive in high alcohol environments like beer--but it tastes sour and you'd probably not like it--no one likes it, and the brewery sends people checks for their money back when they buy 2009 abyss.)

it depends what about the abyss sounded interesting to you i think, because you can find beers that really exemplify a lot of those different elements... it's good to just mess around and try different things. you might encounter some snobbery from beer geeks early on, but just tell them to go fuck themselves / ignore them if they've forgotten that drinking beer is about enjoyment, not status.

[Eratosthenes]

Picked up a six pack of the latest Summit Unchained today:

I'll crack one open tomorrow. I don't really know what to expect.

[Pirian]

I'm glad somebody bumps this so I remember to talk about what I've been drinking....but I'll have to do it later, it's too late now, lol. Had Bell's Hopslam on tap, which was amazing. Also had Bell's 10,000 Batch on tap, which was very good. Enjoyed the Hopslam much more than the 10,000 Batch, but I liked the Hopslam out of the bottle more than 10,000 Batch out of the bottle anyways. It's hard to compare them though, because they are such different styles of beers

[Zoolander]

Haven't been trying much new stuff lately, but I have tried several different beers of this somewhat new brewery in Gainesville, FL called Swamp Head. Think they first started out with a stout called Midnight Oil. I actually really liked their Big Nose IPA though, I was somewhat impressed. Thinking back on it I guess it was similar to 90min. Sure they will continue to expand, hopefully Gainesville gives them some good business & they can start to branch out and develop more of a name for themselves. Old people love good beer and have money to spend, so I see no reason why they can't be successful. Their numbers are a little inflated on Beer Advocate due to low volume, but still pretty nice & hopefully will only get better.

http://visitsouth.com/images/uploads...-swamphead.jpg

[Eggroll]

Anyone on the west coast near Vancouver / Victoria needs to try this. I'm a pretty big Phillips fan but this is definitely my favorite beer that they've put out. Those interested should probably pick it up pretty quick, Phillips beers tend to come and go pretty fast.

[Tokitoki]

I haven't shared in a while so I have quite a bit to add...

Chatoe Rogue Creek Ale, First Growth (Rogue Brewery)

It's a Grow Your Own beer where they have grown their own (really?!) malts and things for the beer. This one was good, but the finish was a bit tart because of the cherry in it. It added a strange after taste.

DFH Fort
Described as a beer brewed with a whole lot of raspberry puree. What I drank was basically a beer with a really strong taste and smell of alcohol and the tiniest hint of raspberry. I thought that maybe since it was an older bottle it could have affected the taste in a negative way, but I would assume normally cellaring it for a few years would decrease the alcohol taste.

Rogue Brewery John John Ale, Dead Guy Ale aged in Dead Guy Whiskey Barrels.

Honestly amazing... The Dead Guy Ale is good, of course, but then you get an end that's sharp like whiskey. You can really taste that whiskey, and I love it.

Rogue Brewery John John Ale, Hazelnut Beer aged in Spiced Hazelnut Rum Barrels.

Very good. It was smooth and incredibly drinkable. It wasn't overpowering at all, in fact I waited til I finished dinner to continue drinking it after my food washed out the taste of the beer. I didn't get that sharpness in the end from the Rum as I did the Whiskey though, which I was looking for.

Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin Dark English Ale.

A tasty dark ale. I don't have a lot to say about it. It was dark (obviously) but not heavy. Could definitely drink my share of these.

DFH Squall (again).
Still love it of course. The aged bottle I had before was smoother than this one and seemed to have a more developed taste. If you have the room and patience to cellar it, do it.

DFH Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (again).

Heavy stout with a sweet finish. The third bottle I was able to get my hands on. Was fortunate enough to find the last bottle in the distributor near me. Originally the owner took it home, but didn't drink it so he brought it back to sell it.

In the fridge:
Wychwood Brewery Wychcraft
Chatoe Rogue OREgasmic Ale
Rogue Brewery John John Ale, Dead Guy Ale Aged in Dead Guy Whiskey Barrels.

And for your viewing pleasure. Steve-o in a flu prevention ad on a NJ Transit train platorm...

[pahnphoenix]

@eggroll,

i love a good imperial red. the first that comes to mind is lagunitas lucky 13. oskar blues g'knight (formerly "gordon") is good too, though i like them to be a bit maltier. that phillips red sounds right up my alley, i hope luck brings me one.

@tokitoki,

i don't really even like dead guy, but i loved the john john dead guy aged in dead guy whiskey barrels too (i still see it on shelves actually... i think it's because rogue has a bit of a pedestrian beers for high prices reputation). the sort of coconut and vanilla from bourbon and american oak really shines. i could drink that beer every day, really.

i recently took a trip to the dogfish head brewpub in rehoboth, DE. the beer was great: split a 4 year aged olde school that changed my mind about the beer entirely, some fresh 60 minute which is pretty glorious, a white wine-like noble rot which was mild but great with food (i didn't review it, but if i had i could have just written "standard saison + pinot grigio = this"), the somewhat crazy fungus tea'mungus, and samples of friends' red and white (loved; more pinot noir and less pinot grigio, that's the idea DFH), black and red (great creamy stout, but too much mint for me), and a few others.

...but the beer was put to shame by DFH's distillery. holy shit. i was at the brewpub for several hours, and while 3 and a half beers is kind of a lot, i could have had at least 3 more and been fine (to walk home to the hotel, that is). however, once i tried some of the DFH gin and the brown honey rum, i couldn't really turn back and it was time to forget about beer (for the night at least). these drinks were really eye opening for me. the wit-spiced rum was even better than the oak aged brown honey, and the belgian dark chocolate infused blue hen vodka was just unbelievable. ended up having 10 shots (for $16). strongly considered picking up a few 750ml bottles for $25 each, but i get enough alcohol in my diet... i don't need to expand to hard liquor just yet.

[Pirian]

No pictures, but had Sierra Nevada's Northern Hemisphere Harvest and Southern Hemisphere Harvest beers tonight. Really just amazing, hoppy, beers. We have been saving them for a good time to drink them side-by-side to see how they compare, and tonight just happened to be the night. It's hard to pick a winner, but I liked the Northern better, if I had to choose. This just may be due to the fact that it's had more time to sit and mature, though.

Northern Hemisphere Harvest
Southern Hemisphere Harvest

[Moss]

I had some delirium tremens on draft the other night and enjoyed it.

Any suggestions on what to try next from this place: http://bulldog-batonrouge.draftfreak.com/BRBeerMenu.pdf

I haven't tried enough non-party beers to say what I like/dislike, so I'm open to any style.

[Eratosthenes]

I had some delirium tremens on draft the other night and enjoyed it.

Any suggestions on what to try next from this place: http://bulldog-batonrouge.draftfreak.com/BRBeerMenu.pdf

I haven't tried enough non-party beers to say what I like/dislike, so I'm open to any style.

Try the Duvel. That's good stuff.

[pahnphoenix]

on the draft menu, it's only really the belgians that are any good, and just a couple of them; delirium tremens and maredsous tripel. the lindemans lambics are overly sweet, bad representations of their style (that brewery makes one good beer but should otherwise be avoided unless you like it sickly, artificial-sweetener sweet), hoegaarden is eclipsed by better instances of the style though it isn't terrible, stella is mass produced, watery, usually skunky piss, and grimbergen dubbel i've never had but looks like an inferior representation of its style.

all the other foreign beers are mass produced, generally-taste-alike piss i'm afraid (pilsner urquell is almost good), with the german selection being especially shameful. the californian beers are good if fresh, but probably won't be mind blowing. so too with the flying dog beers (pretty boring representations of an otherwise good brewery). abita... i'm not sold, but they might make some okay stuff. the colorado selection is downright insulting; 3 of the shittiest beers in america from one of the top 3 beer states in america. should have avery, great divide, odell if they can get it, but they just have crap.

the bottle selection is a lot better though (and the prices are actually very good, not much markup from an average bottleshop elsewhere in america). all 3 of the chimays are excellent (chimay blue was my entryway to good beer actually), and as mentioned above, duvel is as well. maudite and la fin du monde from canadian brewery unibroue are both great (and you should be able to find them relatively reasonably priced in stores in other 4packs or 750ml bottles if you like them). they have 2 of germany's heaviest hitters, schneider aventinus (an excellent and pretty beloved weizenbock--i would strongly suggest trying this one, since it's very unique) and ayinger celebrator (the standard setting dopplebock).

still nothing great from great britain, though sam smith beers are pretty good (j.w. lees would have been nice). nothing but shit from japan and italy, both of which have vibrant craft beer scenes and good stuff coming out of them (hitachino nest, baird, baladin). the rest of the foreign bottled beer is crap as well, except koningshoeven, which is decent.

from california, they have a definitely mislabeled anchor old foghorn, which i love but is almost twice the alcohol content as they have listed... if it's really old foghorn and not steam beer or something, it's definitely worth a try, very solid english barleywine (i usually have a 4pk of it on hand). colorado is insulting once again, maryland has flying dog's gonzo imperial porter which i would say is worth a try, the sam adams option could be decent (probably not), the missouri, texas, pennsylvania, wisconsin beers are all shit, and oregon is woefully underrepresented by rogue, but some of those rogue beers are worth trying.

[Moss]

That's perfect, thanks. Your list should keep me occupied for a while.

The only reason I picked out the delirium last time was because I remembered it from this thread, lol.

[Zoolander]

on the draft menu, it's only really the belgians that are any good, and just a couple of them; delirium tremens and maredsous tripel. the lindemans lambics are overly sweet, bad representations of their style (that brewery makes one good beer but should otherwise be avoided unless you like it sickly, artificial-sweetener sweet), hoegaarden is eclipsed by better instances of the style though it isn't terrible, stella is mass produced, watery, usually skunky piss, and grimbergen dubbel i've never had but looks like an inferior representation of its style.

all the other foreign beers are mass produced, generally-taste-alike piss i'm afraid (pilsner urquell is almost good), with the german selection being especially shameful. the californian beers are good if fresh, but probably won't be mind blowing. so too with the flying dog beers (pretty boring representations of an otherwise good brewery). abita... i'm not sold, but they might make some okay stuff. the colorado selection is downright insulting; 3 of the shittiest beers in america from one of the top 3 beer states in america. should have avery, great divide, odell if they can get it, but they just have crap.

the bottle selection is a lot better though (and the prices are actually very good, not much markup from an average bottleshop elsewhere in america). all 3 of the chimays are excellent (chimay blue was my entryway to good beer actually), and as mentioned above, duvel is as well. maudite and la fin du monde from canadian brewery unibroue are both great (and you should be able to find them relatively reasonably priced in stores in other 4packs or 750ml bottles if you like them). they have 2 of germany's heaviest hitters, schneider aventinus (an excellent and pretty beloved weizenbock--i would strongly suggest trying this one, since it's very unique) and ayinger celebrator (the standard setting dopplebock).

still nothing great from great britain, though sam smith beers are pretty good (j.w. lees would have been nice). nothing but shit from japan and italy, both of which have vibrant craft beer scenes and good stuff coming out of them (hitachino nest, baird, baladin). the rest of the foreign bottled beer is crap as well, except koningshoeven, which is decent.

from california, they have a definitely mislabeled anchor old foghorn, which i love but is almost twice the alcohol content as they have listed... if it's really old foghorn and not steam beer or something, it's definitely worth a try, very solid english barleywine (i usually have a 4pk of it on hand). colorado is insulting once again, maryland has flying dog's gonzo imperial porter which i would say is worth a try, the sam adams option could be decent (probably not), the missouri, texas, pennsylvania, wisconsin beers are all shit, and oregon is woefully underrepresented by rogue, but some of those rogue beers are worth trying.

Yea that draft list was really a big head scratcher. It seems like such a waste to have such a huge amount of beers on draft and end up with that list. I figured you would be able to tear it apart better than I would so didn't reply first lol. I'm guessing all the Abita is because of being in Louisiana...they're not amazing, but Turbodog is pretty solid as is some of the others.

Make sure to try the Rogue Dead Guy Ale, and the other Rogue beers, Moss. If you liked Tremens then Dead Guy should be right up your alley.

[Konohamaru]

Of all the beers from PA to represent on that list they put Rolling Rock... Seconding the draft list. Phoenix hit it pretty head on, IMO



Speaking of Belgians... Bartender recommended this the other day, I loved it.


Kasteel Cuvée Du Chateau

A mouthful to say, had problems telling people the exact name afterwards haha.

Was dark, a slightly sweet like most belgians I like. Delirium seems to be one of the huge gateway beers for people, I'd recommend this if you could find it anywhere. Slightly higher ABV at 11% though, but still very drinkable with a pleasant feeling in your mouth. (giggidy)