Albert, One of the reviewers at Dagogo always sings the Johnny Cash song "Hey Porter" every time he sees me. I love it and references to good beer are welcome as well :-). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkWGYydqjxM Old stuff ;-) |
For me, with rare exception, the only beers that matters are India Pale Ales. One beyond excellent examples are Russian River's Pliny The Elder. I would also include Elysians's Space Dust and Deschutes Fresh Squeezed on my personal short list. As an aside, I recently learned that Elysian's master brewer is going out on his own. This is great news indeed, now that Elysian has been gobbled up by Anheuser-Busch. Elysian still maintains, however, that "corporate beer still sucks." Right. |
thanks, marty. since we're logrolling here, i agree with you wholeheartedly on the hop/malt balance thing--the trap i think many of these young gun microbrewers fall into is overamping the hops and/or alcohol to give their potions more "character"--the net effect is that they alienate a lot of potential acolytes, whose taste buds just aren't that acclimated to extremes--sorta like a green day fan being exposed to death metal. to which end, i just quaffed at gordon bierch--while i generally eschew all things franchised or cloned, i gotta say their beer is very good--it's accessible without being cloying. damn good brisket, too. |
I often find myself agreeing with Loomis J's music and audio posts, now I have to second his beer observations (except that I've enjoyed many a Pliny over the past couple of years). Do music, sound, and beer tastes correlate? Is Loomis a Burgundy and Borolo fan, too? Are entangled quantum systems at work here? Mysteries abound, I suppose. I especially agree that Sam Adams is underrated, possibly because it's a big company these days. Their chocolate stout, in particular, is a great example of delivering excellence on a style that's often abused by smaller, more fashionable producers. I think Sam Adams generally does a great job of balancing hops bitterness and malt sweetness, something that seems to elude most of the more revered craft brewers IMO. For those claiming home brews rule, I'd point out that one big difference is consistency. Like a restaurant vs a home cook, the restaurant needs to make its signature dishes taste the same each time. Even if it tastes good, variation from one meal to the next is a problem. It's very tough for most home brewers to achieve that consistency because precise temperature control is key, and the systems required to achieve that are too expensive for most home brewers. Final note: If you find yourself in San Diego, check out White Labs. They are a commercial yeast supplier and they have a tasting room that features up to five examples of beers that are brewed identically, except for the yeast strain. AFAIK, it's the only place in the US (world?) where you can do such a controlled tasting. Kinda like finding an audio retailer with five identical turntables - except each is equipped with a different cartridge - feeding the same system. The rarest of A/B/C/D comparisons. |
My brother-in-law is dating a Canadian and she refuses to drink Molson's American version. The Canadian version did seem to be more robust....but I don't know and make no claims....... I've always heard that American brewers started using rice to appeal to feminine tastes during prohibition, and the big American names do taste watered down by comparison. |
I was drinking SweetWater Georgia Brown Ale this winter. Not a big far of dark brown ales - some are too malty for me, but this struck a nice balance with the caramel and chocolate malts plus the hops. I like Bells Two Hearted Ale. Now that spring is here (almost feels like summer here in Charlotte today), I'll try the Oberon. |
Well I found a place nearby hat sells Bells. They had a bunch of different 6 packs for sale, but no Hopslam. I asked if they ever get this in and they said they got allocated 2 cases from the recent shipment. 6 packs sold for $20 each and they were gone in 1/2 a day. To me that means it is "beerus unavailiem" in my neck of the woods. So I went to my favorite beer bar and tried some Bells 2 Hearted Ale on tap. Decent enough, but not a fave. Switched to Allagash Hugh Malone and was much happier. Then had a Bellhaven Black for dessert. |
Bells is from Kalamazoo Michigan (est. 1985) and the original location includes the Eccentric Cafe tavern, a music venue, beer garden and the original brewery where a wide variety of small batch microbrews are still crafted. Bells distributes beer, from their production brewery in neighboring Galesburg, MI, to 19 states, including NY. You can find it here; Bells Beer Finder If the snow ever melts, I can sometimes be found in the Beer Garden after a group bicycle ride, or at other times. |
It seems one can't go wrong with any of Fuller's brews. Like Mitch2 says, their ESB is fine and I really like their London's Pride as well. Right now I'm savoring some Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, a might fine ale if there ever was one. Oh, and Deschute's Obsidian Stout is quite tasty, imparting only hints of chocolate and coffee instead of bombarding you with them. |
Of the super-hard to find, my faves are Heady Topper (VT only) and Pliny the Elder (CA or West Coast only). Of limited availability beers that still get fairly wide geographical distribution, I am in love with Bell's Hopslam. It was released a few weeks ago and is already getting hard to find in Chicago. But for IPA lovers, its release is the highlight of my beer year. |
