The Great Beer Thread

[davidraphael]

"you can only get the best Guinness in Dublin" I've heard this many times, and it isn't really true. I'm sure it was an invented marketing slogan and it's mentioned in the top 10 myths about Guinness.

I lived in Dublin for several years - a couple of miles away from the brewery, in fact - and never once had a Guinness and thought "that's somehow more special than anywhere else."
Apparently, there was a competition to find the best pint of Guinness in the world and Ireland lost out to Singapore.
Maybe Guinness only seems to taste better in Dublin because it's a respite from living in such a tedious city. Dublin in general has built up a lot of mythology about itself and it's greatly exaggerated. It's great for a long weekend; that's about it.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout was mentioned. God, I love that beer. I'm originally from the part of the world where it is brewed, but I had it for the 1st time in Shanghai! I was hooked and now seek it out wherever I can.

 

[bulldog1935]

Mikkeller, the batch microbrewer with vats in Denmark and Belgium, brewed a Chipotle Porter, sold only in Texas
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13307/59250/?ba=TMoney2591
My buddy and I buy every bottle that shows up at the local Specs (and I'm sure the Houston Specs would mail order to you...)
One of the most celebratory beers ever, IMO, it starts with a vanilla creamy body, followed by a sudden kick of smoke.
The grilled pepper acid is subtle, but builds through the glass.
One friend, not so much a beer connoisseur (probably making him a better commentator) said it was like drinking a beer, eating chips and salsa, and smoking a cigar all at the same time.

 

[H.Herdick]

A friend of mine brews this "Ruhrtal" beer, in Witten, Germany.

http://www.sonnenscheiner.de/index.php?id=13

Like in this part in Germany a very hopped beer. On the pictures you can see almost the whole brewery. My friend fills the bottles of beer by hand (of course with the help of a little machine, but it is still handwork). He uses a very good amount of malt and the finest hopp-pallets. This beer is not pasteurized, so you have to keep the beer cool.

This is a very fine, fresh beer and to my taste not over-hopped. If you can lay a hand on it, buy a bottle (0,75 l) and enjoy it. Althought, it is hard to get in the rest of Germany.

My friend makes also the liqueurs of "Sonnenschein" - I didn't taste the liqueurs. The liqueur is not fired. Just alcohol with flavour (like almost of al the liqueurs nowadays are made). But "Sonnenschein" still sell some fired whiskey, made in the end of the last century. I tasted that, and I can tell, a very great taste.

 

[gear-guy]

Guiness for me as a favorite every time beer, but almost anything Belgium will always do. As for PBR we drank it college along with Steerling and Little kings, because could not afford anything else, and now drink PBR because it is cheap. Somethings never change.

 

[danofarlington]

There's a craft beer store near me, and I've bought some bottles there. Generally they sell 22-ounce bottles of beer with percent alcohol from 7-10%. I really like those. There's one made by Samuel Adams called "Wee Heavy," sold in 12-ounce bottles, that I like a lot. My general maximum is "two beers," and one Wee Heavy at 10% alcohol roughly equals two beers, so it's neat and clean portion-wise. These craft beers are sort of like good alcohol milkshakes. I'm becoming a fan.

 

[jamespowers]

There's a craft beer store near me, and I've bought some bottles there. Generally they sell 22-ounce bottles of beer with percent alcohol from 7-10%. I really like those. There's one made by Samuel Adams called "Wee Heavy," sold in 12-ounce bottles, that I like a lot. My general maximum is "two beers," and one Wee Heavy at 10% alcohol roughly equals two beers, so it's neat and clean portion-wise. These craft beers are sort of like good alcohol milkshakes. I'm becoming a fan.

I have gotten so now that if it doesn't have a cork then I don't want it.

 

[anon`]

I have gotten so now that if it doesn't have a cork then I don't want it.

Well that's limiting!

I was recently given a Deschutes growler (they're amazing), filled with Hop Trip. Quaffed a pint of that earlier. Now I'm working through what I can only describe as an imperial dunkelweizen. It turned out much better than I'd first feared!

 

[jamespowers]

Well that's limiting!

Not here. There are tons of them on the shelves. Craft brewing has certainly come of age.
It also keeps me away from hipster beers.

 

[anon`]

Not here. There are tons of them on the shelves. Craft brewing has certainly come of age.
It also keeps me away from hipster beers.

There are tons of them around here, as well. And for every one bottle that's corked, there are a dozen with crimped caps or even (gasp now) in cans. But all craft brews that no hipster would be caught dead with.

 

[jamespowers]

There are tons of them around here, as well. And for every one bottle that's corked, there are a dozen with crimped caps or even (gasp now) in cans. But all craft brews that no hipster would be caught dead with.

Cans?! :faint: Definitely Hipster material.
Aging in barrels also keeps the Hipsters away.

 

[anon`]

Cans?! :faint: Definitely Hipster material.
Aging in barrels also keeps the Hipsters away.

Yes, but aging in barrels is inappropriate for many styles.

And as anathema as cans sound, they're actually cheaper than bottles and superior at blocking light and oxygen. I don't care for them, either, but I also drink my beer out of glassware, so it really doesn't matter one way or another. I buy bombers because I can reuse them, however.

 

[jamespowers]

Yes, but aging in barrels is inappropriate for many styles.

And as anathema as cans sound, they're actually cheaper than bottles and superior at blocking light and oxygen. I don't care for them, either, but I also drink my beer out of glassware, so it really doesn't matter one way or another. I buy bombers because I can reuse them, however.

That's ok. I don't like those styles.

If the beer is that old that light and oxygen have effected it then I don't want it.
Beer just tastes better in glass whether it is in a bottle or glassware.

 

[anon`]

Drinking out of the container it came in? You're doing it wrong!

Anyway, I still hold true that you've shut yourself out from far, far too much. 'Tis a shame, really!

 

[jamespowers]

Drinking out of the container it came in? You're doing it wrong!

Anyway, I still hold true that you've shut yourself out from far, far too much. 'Tis a shame, really!

I didn't say I drank it out of the container. I said if I did then it would taste better than out of a can. lol lol

Well, next time I see you, you can endeavor to prove me wrong with prime examples.

 

[dnjan]

Cask Beer in Toronto

I was in Toronto for a meeting earier this week, and luckily came upon BarVolo.
They are hosting a cask beer festival this coming weekend, and for the week prior to the festival they are serving a number of different cask beers on their patio. This past Monday there were at least 15 different firkins all tapped and tempting. I started with their own Punter's Gold, and continued on from that for the next 3+ hours.

Any cask beer fans who happen to be in the Toronto area - this is a must-do visit!

 

[jamespowers]

I was in Toronto for a meeting earier this week, and luckily came upon BarVolo.
They are hosting a cask beer festival this coming weekend, and for the week prior to the festival they are serving a number of different cask beers on their patio. This past Monday there were at least 15 different firkins all tapped and tempting. I started with their own Punter's Gold, and continued on from that for the next 3+ hours.

Any cask beer fans who happen to be in the Toronto area - this is a must-do visit!

Too bad I live so far away. :cheers1:

 

[bulldog1935]

Late to report, but I'm an IPA guy, and lately have been buying IPAs in cans because they pack better in a bicycle trunk sack.

Dales is the old reliable. (Oskar Blue's)

Modus Hoperandi is exceptional. (Ska)

Ranger makes a nice one with flowery hops (New Belgium)

Corruption IPA adds honey malt making for a chewy, semi-sweet liquid lunch (DC Brau)

went on a 37-mi ride last weekend, packed (and drank) Deviant Dale's - it meets this last mold of hoppy, malty and chewy, as well. (Oskar Blue's)

 

[John in Covina]

I was in Toronto for a meeting earier this week, and luckily came upon BarVolo.
They are hosting a cask beer festival this coming weekend, and for the week prior to the festival they are serving a number of different cask beers on their patio. This past Monday there were at least 15 different firkins all tapped and tempting. I started with their own Punter's Gold, and continued on from that for the next 3+ hours. Any cask beer fans who happen to be in the Toronto area - this is a must-do visit!

Oh you lucky dog! Were any of them going thru a beer engine (hand pump) cause that's the ticket.

 

[John in Covina]

Late to report, but I'm an IPA guy, and lately have been buying IPAs in cans because they pack better in a bicycle trunk sack.

Cans are
lighter so shipping is less
the inner coating these days keeps the metal from imparting any "tastes"
will keep any brew from becoming light struck
able cool the brew down quicker than glass.

Less likely to result in shattered dreams when the grocery bag is dropped.

I have had a few of the new brews in cans, it was a blast from the past for me, reminding me of my earliest days of beer tasting.

 

[dnjan]

Oh you lucky dog! Were any of them going thru a beer engine (hand pump) cause that's the ticket.

These were all poured straight from the firkin through a tap on the end. Breather in the bung hole on the topside.