The Great Beer Thread

[Geesie]

Well my daily drinker is generally an American Lager. When I go to the refrigerator to grab a cold beer to accompany the game or homework or something, I really don't care about the thousand and one subtleties of some expensive craft brew.

I liked to get regional blue-collar lager/pilsner standbys. When I lived out east, it was usually Yuengling or Iron City. Back home in St. Louis, I do enjoy Budweiser products, plus the wonderful beer from Schalfly*. These days I'm poor so I generally drink Pabst, the most drinkable cheap beer in the country.

Sometimes I do treat myself to something more expensive and complex. In Irish pubs it's almost always Smithwicks. Otherwise, I prefer eastern European beers. Czech, Polish, Russian, etc. A few pages (and years) ago someone mentioned Baltika. They've got some good brews. The porter is a little sweet (but boy does it pack a punch) but I like it, the wheat is WAY too sweet for my taste, but in general I like their stuff. I first had it in Russia in 1996-7 and I finally started finding it in the US about 3 years ago.

* If you're ever in St. Louis, go to the Schalfly brewpubs, either the Tap Room or the Bottleworks.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

The only time I don't drink Pabst, it's because someone offered me a free beer. I always have PBR in my frigidaire and am proud to say it. My parents drink Anheuser-Busch products, Dad - Natural Ice, Mom - Natural Lite, but my dad keeps a vast variety of brews in the house, because he gets bored. We have Bud Lite on tap, Natural Lite, Natural Ice, Pabst, Budweiser in cans, and Lone Star, and Schlitz in bottles.

 

[Luke 42]

You guys make me thirsty..
I'm really looking forward to some nice pints of Belhaven Best (truly the best of Scotland) on tuesday when I have handed in my Bachelor thesis. I can almost taste it already


I'm really glad I don't have to drink Budweiser (the american one)

 

[scottyrocks]

My top beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I can drink that anytime, anywhere, with anything.

 

["Skeet" McD]

Well my daily drinker is generally an American Lager. When I go to the refrigerator to grab a cold beer to accompany the game or homework or something, I really don't care about the thousand and one subtleties of some expensive craft brew.

Dear Geesie,
Good for you: I'm partial to Yuengling (under certain cirumstances ) myself. But, by and large, American lagers are not my thing...although I have great respect for, and pleasure in, European Pilsners. IPAs are my faves. All that is just preamble, however...to give you an idea of where I'm coming from.

One American lager I have enjoyed tremendously--as a "watch the ballgame/mow the lawn" tipple is Brooklyn Lager. It claims...as many others do...to be a recreation of the pre-prohibition American generic beer. Unlike the others...I think it may actually BE that. Distinctively American with its corn adjunct and a lightish lager...it has taste and I find it charming. You might too, if you can find it: I live in Massachusetts, and it's not "imported" to the Commonwealth. But, if you see it somewhere....give it a whirl. And let us know what you think!

Another local brew that has been revived and I think does a good job of holding up American regional beer is Narragansett. Both my parents grew up in Providence in the 1930s (my father the eldest of 14 kids)....and a PILE of those uncles worked for 'gansett. It was the beer of my youthful summers. After the usual tale of being bought up and then discarded, it's been revived. Here's the website:
http://www.narragansettbeer.com/splash.aspx

"Skeet"

 

[JJWord]

My reliable fallback is Sam Adams Boston Lager. I can usually find it in stores or bars or restaurants. Good every time.

But I really prefer the brews of Saranac out of Utica, NY. My favorite is their Caramel Porter, which is brewed and released sporatically throughout the year. Finding Caramel Porter is like a treasure hunt for me. Their Black Forest is a close 2nd for me.

There's also a brewery in Rochester, Rohrbach Brewing Company, that has some great beers. Their Highland and Scotch ales are particularly delicious.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

[QUOTE="Skeet" McD]Dear Geesie,
Good for you: I'm partial to Yuengling (under certain cirumstances ) myself.
"Skeet"[/QUOTE]

Oh, I wonder why Mr. Massachusetts!

 

[St.Ignatz]

I'm leaning toward the new Bud dry lite ice with a lime wedge served at 34 degrees so I don't actually have to taste anything.

 

[Tomasso]

I'm leaning toward the new Bud dry lite ice with a lime wedge served at 34 degrees so I don't actually have to taste anything.

lol

 

["Skeet" McD]

Oh, I wonder why Mr. Massachusetts!

Well, Tom...it brings back some very happy memories of evenings in camp doing American Civil War reenacting...there were a pair of fellows from Pennsy, very good historians, who (in first-person interpretation) would go into ecstasies about how they wished they had a tumbler of "yingling" in front of them...and, at least when we were in the PA/MD area...were often to be found dispensing the same.

Probably not what you had expected, eh?

"Skeet
Late Lt, Co. "A", 5th N-H Vols.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

[QUOTE="Skeet" McD]Well, Tom...it brings back some very happy memories of evenings in camp doing American Civil War reenacting...there were a pair of fellows from Pennsy, very good historians, who (in first-person interpretation) would go into ecstasies about how they wished they had a tumbler of "yingling" in front of them...and, at least when we were in the PA/MD area...were often to be found dispensing the same.

Probably not what you had expected, eh?

"Skeet
Late Lt, Co. "A", 5th N-H Vols.[/QUOTE]

No, I was just expecting it to be because it was a hometown brew. Ironically enough, my family all drank Pabst back when we lived in M'waukee. Even though my family's original homesteading spot in the US, was right by Schlitz Brewery, about a block from there actually.

 

[dnjan]

Does anyone remember Falstaf? It was the "house" beer at a local bar back when I was in college (when the cheap stuff was on tap and the good stuff was bottled).

They must have brewed it in authentic copper kettles, because it had an aftertaste like you had sucked on a penny.

The sun has been shining in Seattle, and therefore it it time to have a kolsch brewed at Hales.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

They made Falstaff until Late 07 if memory serves me. They just discontinued it recently. It was a product of Pabst Brewing Company and I beleive was being contract brewed at Miller, Leinenkugels, etc, etc.

 

[Geesie]

Falstaff was one of the St. Louis macros that A-B eventually wiped out. Pabst brought back the name but I guess it didn't inspire the nostalgia that sustained PBR or Stag.

Another St. Louis historical brew that recently returned and is still available is Griesedieck Brothers.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

In the history, Lemp, Falstaff, and the Griesdeck Brothers all tie together. We're southern sympthisers here, and Lemp let confederate soldiers hide in their caves, while Anheuser-Busch did the opposite, yuck!

 

[St.Ignatz]

Visited DogFish Head Brewing in Milton Delaware over the vacation. Great tasting at the end of tour. Enjoyed all but the 120 minute Ale. 14% and way too sweet. Needs about a decade in the cool part of the cellar if it was sedimented.

 

[scottyrocks]

I have one of their ball caps because:

1. its brown, and

2. 'dogfish head' is just that cool.

 

[MisterCairo]

My top beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I can drink that anytime, anywhere, with anything.

Have you tried Samuel L. Jackson's? I'm told it's so good it'll get you drunk!

On a serious note, in my neck of the Canadian woods my favourite local beers are mainly craft brews, Waterloo Dark ale, Wellington Dark ale, Stratford Lager, and from a larger brewery, Sleeman's Cream ale.

My favourite import by far is Caledonian's 80/, which in old English money means 80 shillings. It's a Scottish ale, referenced in the Rebus crime novels from Ian Rankin. A real session ale, it is incredibly smooth, but rich enough in taste.

It is found in a few select pubs in Ontario, and in the LCBO government liquor stores. I haven't found it at the Beer Store yet (yes, we have a chain called "The Beer Store", owned by the larger breweries with a government mandated monopoly on retail beer selling, subject only to the aforementioned gov't run LCBO - you know, Bill O'Reilly may be on to something - perhaps we are commies), but am still looking!

 

["Skeet" McD]

On a serious note, in my neck of the Canadian woods my favourite local beers are mainly craft brews, Waterloo Dark ale, Wellington Dark ale, Stratford Lager, and from a larger brewery, Sleeman's Cream ale...(yes, we have a chain called "The Beer Store", owned by the larger breweries with a government mandated monopoly on retail beer selling, subject only to the aforementioned gov't run LCBO - you know, Bill O'Reilly may be on to something - perhaps we are commies)...

Dear MC,
Although from the barnacle hanging on the bottom of your country my wife and I have had occasion to head your way with some frequency...our dogs were whelped in Mitchell...so I have had some experience of your brews.

Have you been up to/tried the products from Neustadt? Worth a trip...the brewer is a chatty lad, the product is good, you can get well-made craft sausages across the way (or could)....and: well, that's about what you can do in Neustadt. But: well worth the trip IMHO. Here's the URL to whet your...thirst:
http://www.neustadtsprings.com/

Ah, yes: The Beer Store. I does sound somewhat Orwellian, doesn't it? But my favorite Ontarism in terms of commerce--not yet taken over by Big Brother Beaver, eh?--are the various MEAT STORES you see signs for. Can't fault you fellers on the score of plain speaking, no sir...

On a recent trip up we stopped at a BEER STORE somewhere near floatin' Proton and, as usual, I picked up a few oddities we don't see down here. Some of them were from the Steam Whistle Brewery in TO (I think that's their name, at any rate). Three of them just weren't my thing...but ONE of em! Unfortunately, of course, I can't remember which one did it for me, and they aren't imported here anyway. So, I guess I'll just have to head North again and FORCE myself to try them all again.

PS...What do you think of the Creemore products?

"Skeet"

 

[MisterCairo]

Skeet,

it's a small world, ain't it? Glad to know the neighbourhood gets positive feedback from the visitors for things other than the theatre!

I have enjoyed Neustadt's Scottish ale on more than one occasion, a very tasty brew indeed.

As for Creemore, it has been one of my fav lagers (I'm more of an ale man) for a while. It almost tastes like an ale, the best compliment I can give a lager!

An issue I have now, however, is that Creemore has been bought out by Molson's, which is now Molson Coors, of course. One thing worries me - the former sales policy was "24 hours to delivery, or no delivery - ensures freshness". Now, anything goes.

Also, rumour has it they have changed the brew master. Molson did this a number of years ago with another craft brewer, Algonquin. A pub in Ottawa stopped selling the beer when Molson's fired Algonquin's brew master and stopped printing the ingredients (water, malted barley, hops and yeast) on the packaging.

I can't say that Creemor Springs tastes differently now, but it's always at the back of my mind!