Eel River Acai Wheat Berry. |
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Keegan's Mother's Milk on tap. This is a fine stout with chocolate and espresso coffee undertones, very smooth and delicious! |
i just got into the craft beer thing (i needed some new bad habits) and here's my take:
1. once you get into the microbrews, it's unfathomable you'd ever drink another miller or corona. even the premium mass market stuff like heineken and stella tastes insipid by comparison.
2. bell's (two hearted, oberon, amber)lagunitas and three floyds consistently put out a great product.
3. despite its size and ubiquity, sam adams is also excellent and quite a bit cheaper than the littler brewers. they really have kept up their standards. likewise sierra nevada.
4. keep hearing great things about pliny the elder but haven't found it locally--it's on my must-drink list.
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I love the sample packs that many manufacturers put out. I get to try a bunch of great beers and not get stuck with just one type in the fridge when I'm feeling like another.
Sam Adams
Magic Hat
Dogfish Head |
I stick to Stone's regular IPA (by the case from Costco.). Arrogant Bastard is too spicy for me. |
Newcastle has a seasonal beer out now called Werewolf (unfortunate name) but it tastes pretty damn good. Different hops and barley makes for an appreciably better tasting beer.
I haven't drank beer for a few years now and only happened upon it at a Bevmo tasting for some wine. I even went and bought a couple of Libby Pilsner glasses and it seems to have the same effect as a good red or pinot glass in that it holds the smell and flavor differently than the standard straight walled glass (meant for domestic and the like).
All the best,
Nonoise |
ARROGONT BASTARD ALE Stone brewing San Diego |
The Alchemist - Heady Topper |
Ale Industries PINK DRANK a rasberry sour. Dang, get one before they are gone!!! |
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Tried Big Rock tonight , Yeah ... |
Audio zen, your onto something! Deschutes Abyss, there is no comparison. Mmmmmmm. Maybe a snifter of XXIII from the X-tap |
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Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale...Stunning!! |
I'll second Sumpin' Wild, a really good call IMHO. Another interesting choice (that polarizes opinion on occasion) is Hollywood Blonde from The Great California Brewing Co. It's a Kolsch style that's brewed just a few miles from my home in nearby Chatsworth, Ca. (porn capitol of the world!) |
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St. Pauly Girl brings back some good memories! |
Abucktwoeighty,Good story! SML was the first beer I got really sick on,,think it was my second or third time drinking. |
The best beer I ever had was a Schlitz Malt Liquor. My best friend and I were hitch hiking across the U.S. and neglected to fill our canteen with water. It was September and hot. It had been way too long between rides and we were getting desperate. There was a tepid pool of a green colored marsh nearby I was ready to quench my thirst with, not caring about how sick I'd become. Finally someone pulled over and had us hop in the truck bed. We were relieved. The driver opened the sliding window to ask where we were heading and as I was telling him, I saw his friend hand him a Schlitz. There was one left. I told them of our idiot mistake, and that my friend and I would really enjoy sharing that last beer. Since then I've never had a beer taste as good as that one! |
Old Foghorn...bar none...made by Anchor Steam...only available on tap (as far as I know) |
Went to a Super Bowl party and brought a 6 pack of Breckenridge Brewery Vanilla Porter. It was the beer hit of the party. Everyone agreed very drinkable, not too sweet like a dessert beer, but still a pleasant vanilla taste with an earthy but smooth finish. I would prefer to drink only in the cooler months and just a couple until I switch and finish with a malty Sam Adams Octoberfest or the like.
Bill |
I raise up my Warsteiner to each and everyone of ya. Here's to good beer, good music, and good sounding equipment to play it on! |
I said it before, I'll say it again.Milwaukee's Best. The name says it all !!!!! |
My favorite beer also happens to be a seasonal beer available only around Christmas - Lagunitas Sucks. Not the most charming name but there's a story behind it.
Another terrific, seasonal find, but very limited distribution is Pliny The Younger from the Russian River Brewing Company. Otherwise, I keep Bell's Two Hearted Ale and Stella Artois around.
When I want to splurge a little, I'll open a Stone Ruination but it's a little too expensive for an everyday brew for me. |
No just thirsty for good beer. |
Hacker Pschorr Hefe Weizen
Franziskaner Weissbier
Konig Ludwig Weissbier
Berliner Kindl Weisse
Schultheiss
Ayinger
Schneider Wiesse
Spaten Hefeweizen
Pauleaner Hefe Weizen
Wittekerke
Hoegaarden
Blue Moon
Widmer
Pyramid Wheat
Okanagan Wheat
Granville Island Hefeweizen
Victoria Weizen
Liplock Summer Wheat
Pyramid Wheat
Yaletown Brewery Wheat beer
Do you live in a desert?
PHP143 |
Beer that are to my liking and recommend are as follows:
Hacker Pschorr Hefe Weizen
Franziskaner Weissbier
Konig Ludwig Weissbier
Berliner Kindl Weisse
Schultheiss
Ayinger
Schneider Wiesse
Spaten Hefeweizen
Pauleaner Hefe Weizen
Wittekerke
Hoegaarden
Blue Moon
Widmer
Pyramid Wheat
Okanagan Wheat
Granville Island Hefeweizen
Victoria Weizen
Liplock Summer Wheat
Pyramid Wheat
Yaletown Brewery Wheat beer
That's the short list, yes I like wheat beer.
Cheers, |
I moved to New Zealand a few months back and the best beer I have found here is Yeastie Boys His Majesty's Ale. Beer is insanely expensive here though...... |
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had a very nice amber ale Sunday- Weed. Recommended. |
Me, I'mpartial to IPA's and have had a few recently that stand out: Firestone Union Jack, FOunders Centennial, and Green Flash.
Dogfish 90 as a standby but a little to much malt IMO. |
Uerige Doppelsticke
Dark and delicious. |
For a non-alcoholic beer, Maisel's Alkohol Frei Weisse Bier is ridiculously good. Nearly impossible to tell from any other good unfiltered German Weisse Bier |
Chimay, New Belgium Brewery (Fat Tire, Sunshine Wheat, 1554), Bristol Brewery (Laughing Lab, Mass Transit, Beehive). We take our micro brews very seriously here in CO. We had 130 breweries in 2011, only behind Washington (136), and California (268) for total number. Denver ranks number one in the nation beer production per capita and second in the number of breweries.
:-) |
I'm also going to try Ghost. |
Nitro milk stout. Good stuff! |
Tried a home made beer at friends that trounced all others. It was a pale Ale. |
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Well Rockadanny, I think it's your friends. With all respect, of course. ;)
To use your example, it should be pretty straightforward to brew an APA in the league of Founder's Centennial (a very good, but not great, APA). Not saying way better, or even better, but most certainly competitive. I've done this reliably, and I'm pretty casual brewer. (Other styles, like Lagers, are harder.)
IMHO, the most common cause of "amateur" homebrew is cloudy, sludgy beer, that just doesn't taste clean. The cure is patience: enough time in vat for particulate to settle out (and the clean beer to be "racked" off).
After that diatribe, another recommendation:
Schlafley's Tasmanian IPA, with all Australian hops. Pretty local to ST. Louis, but worth a look.
John |
-1 Sweet2ear.
I've brewed a bit as well. I've tasted many others' home brews. I've never tasted any home brew which even comes close to top beers. Better than Bud? Sure. But no comparison to the top brewers like Founders and others. Maybe I just need to get new home brew friends? ;^) |
The best beers are homemade. I brew a bit, and I don't know about this. People say my beers compare favorably to commercial samples (most recently, Rockadanny, a Bacwoods Bastard copy tasted against the original). A lot of this, I think, is a freshness effect. Remember, a lot of the commercial folks were once the best homebrewers. I went to graduate school with Paul Phillippon, and drank his yummy homebrew; now he's the man behind Duck Rabbit, "The Dark Beer Specialists," and brews even yummier commercial beer. (Duck Rabbit is has growing distribution, based in NC, keep an eye out.) My2c, John |
BTW, Tycobb wins. Can't argue with that! |
Just drank a few new beauties from Mammoth Brewing Company (located in Mammoth Lakes, CA). These are all new, limited releases. Descriptions below from MBC's web site. Good luck finding these outside of Mammoth, but if you can get there (the powder is dumping as we speak), they are top notch (and strong enough to knock you down pretty quickly):
Devils Post Pale Ale: Originally brewed for the centennial celebration of Devils Postpile, we superheat volcanic rock to start the boiling process. The result is earthy, caramelized wort, giving this ale its unique flavor. We then generously hop with Centennial hops (of course!) to create this double pale ale.
7.5% ABV, 70 IBUs
Owens Valley Wet Harvest Ale: Mammoth Brewing Company is proud to offer our third annual wet harvest beer. This year, we chose to brew an Imperial Double Red Ale. Drink this limited wet harvest ale today at the peak of freshness to enjoy the aromatic qualities of these high altitude wet hops.
8.0% ABV, 70 IBUs
Lair of the Bear: A true winter warmer to sip by the fire, Lair of the Bear is a hefty Russian Imperial Stout with an O.G. of 22 Plato. Our brewers fermented this stout with our proprietary yeast in stainless for two weeks then racked into freshly emptied Heavenly Hills Bourbon barrels and allowed the beer to rest for seven months. Enjoy now or age for as long as you like, but be aware Lair of the Bear may put you into hibernation.
9.5% ABV, 70 IBUs
Fire & Eisbock: Brewing in the land of fire & ice (the Eastern Sierra) since 1995 has brought us to this style of beer, where we use a long intense boil to concentrate color, flavor, and natural sugars. Then, after fermentation, we freeze no more than 2% of the water content out of the beer. This concentrates the alcohol and smooths out the flavor for a true winter seasonal. Like the bliss of a one swing stick into ice, this beer will distill your attention down to the single focus of the bend of your elbow. Fire & Eisbock will age well, but do drink one now to compare with our barrel-aged eisbock.
10.0% ABV, 27 IBUs |
The best beers are homemade. (period) |
Just realized, three of my fav beers are from Founders.
Fav Bourbon Barrel: Founders Backwoods Bastard
Fav Porter: Founders Porter
Fav Stout: Founders Breakfast Stout
Rounding out my top fav five:
Fav Wee Heavy: Orkney Skull Splitter
Fave Belgian: St. Berbardus ABT 12
Fav Barley Wine: I forget! Dammit! |
I feared I was become a craft beer snob. I'm saved. Last night in a resturant where there was little choice I tried a Sam Adams Larger. A great beer with Chinese for sure, pizza next. Just 'sipping' beer I don't know yet. |
Just picked a 4-pack of Founders Backwoods Bastard. OMG it is fab! Love bourbon barreled beers. |
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