I tried some Sierra Nevada ESB and Bigfoot based on a couple recommendations above, and I have to say that I enjoyed the Bigfoot quite a bit more than the ESB. My problem with the ESB was that it was just way too overpowering with the hops bitterness to taste anything else, not very balanced at all. I think I'll stick with Redhook for ESB.

I had trouble getting through even 1 of the Sam Adam's Imperial Whites. I have 3 still sitting in my fridge from over a month ago.

I think that if they ever decided to make Banana Nyquil they would model it after the taste of the Imperial White. It was very unpleasant to me along with the very potent alcoholic aftertaste. It was too much, even for an Imperial.

I really think the Sam Adam's Imperial series is a lazy attempt. The packaging is bland and unassuming. The bottles are boring and the beer itself, to me, is not a very good effort.

On the other hand I recently tried Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout which turned out to be one of the better RIS's I've ever had.

If you like the Old Rasputin then you should give the Old No. 38 a try, it's another stout from Northcoast, and it's very well done, its not as strong as Old Rasputin, but definitely full on flavor, and a good bit of a chocolatey after taste. The Brother Thelonius from Northcoast also comes highly recommended, it is a great Belgian style ale.

Hey it's St. Patrick's day, everyone go out to your favorite pub and get yourself some Guinness!

Finally got around to trying Founder's Breakfast Stout last night. Now that was a really tastey beer! Wonderful blend of coffee and chocolate flavors, and the alcohol was completely disguised. Only had two in the four pack, so I am going to save the other two for later.

Is it just me, or are a lot of companies now shifting away from the 22 oz. bottles? Weyerbacher is using a lot more four packs, Insanity seems to be the only 22 Oz. bottle I have seen this year from them, Slam Dunkel, Heresy and the Imperial Pumpkin all shifted to four packs. Bear Republic also now is selling Red Rocket in a six pack, though I admit that size form at may have just reached here on the East Coast.

Speaking of Bear Republic, grabbed a Racer 5 six pack for the weekend.

Racer 5 in a six pack on the East Coast is great news. I'm going to have to look for that.

Yesterday I got some Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock and it's pretty good. It's not the best I've had, though, so I'm open to any alternative suggestions.

Hi there, beer thread.

Last night I was looking at the beer list and I see "Old Chub, $4." I've never heard of it, but it turns out to be a scotch ale from CO, 8% ABV. It had a thicker taste than Sam Adams' Scotch Ale, earthy on the palate but still pleasant. It was well worth the money. I also had a Victory Pilsner, but that was unsurprisingly delicious.

At home, I have a case of the Sam Adams' brewmaster's collection from Costco. The Black Lager and Scotch Ale were nice surprises. the Boston Ale was decent, as was the White (although it didn't really remind me of a Belgian White at all).

Old Chub is good stuff. Dale's Pale Ale (another from Oskar Blues) is even better. They (and recently, Caldera) are my go-to guys for events where glass isn't allowed or cans are more convenient.

Speaking of, Caldera's IPA is incredible. Don't bother with the Pale but if you can get the IPA definitely do.

Finally, I was able to get some Torpedo. It really surprised me, in a good way. I expected the subdued excellence and consistency of all of Sierra Nevada's brews, and it was definitely there. Only not so subdued. I mean, it's not over the top like a Hopslam but it's definitely got all the makings of a great IPA. I think they really hit it out of the park with this one; hopefully they continue to produce it and the distribution gets a little better.

The Black Lager from Sam Adams is great just for the fact it is a decent Schwartzbier that is pretty common. It's a style that is a bit uncommon here in the US. Sam's and the one Saranac makes, which is one of their better beers, are the only two I can readily find here. Well we do sometimes get Black Voodoo from Dixie Brewery, but that's pretty rare here in NJ, even before Katrina wrecked their Brewery back in 05. Now I see their stuff like once a year.

I did go to my good beer store this weekend, but didn't get anything super amazing when I stocked up. Now that Summer is approaching, it's Wheat Beer time, and I just am not a big fan of Wheat Beers. Well okay I like Dunklewiezens. Grabbed some new Trippels and IPAs to try as well as some Bear Republic Hop Rods to stock up on.

I did get an Imperial Indian Red Ale from Rogue, Cap'n Sig's Northwestern Ale, which I had never tried before. Was rather decent. A lot of Rogue stuff is either hit or miss for me, but I enjoyed this one.

I also snagged Torpedo for the first time this last weekend, and I thought it was a good intro IPA. I'd classify it as a good session IPA( but then again, I absolutely love Green Flash's Palate Wrecker, so I'm probably not typical when it comes to hops and IPAs ). SN has added it to their year-round distribution, so you should be able to find it a lot easier than in the past.

When it comes to Oskar Blues, i'm all about Ten FIDY... but as I've made abundantly clear by now, i'm a stouthead.

My supermarket carries Southern Tier OAT now. My supermarket. Down at the corner. This is such an unbelievably awesome thing to me, and a sign of the craftbrew pulse starting to beat ever stronger.

I also want to give another shout-out to Longtrail for their Imperial Coffee Stout. Pretty crazy for a beer of that quality to come out of that brewery imo. I can grab $9 growlers of it, which is nuts. Makes for a fair-priced, hell of a Saturday sucking down a growler of that.

Oh, it's almost summer... I forgot I should be moving onto heffes now. (Though, I seem to have been moving towards "Stout Lite" lately for the warmer weather, ie Murphy's and Guinness nitro cans. Sort of refreshing to drink a completely dull, non-complex stout now and then.)

Tried Schneider-Weisse hefe the other day... meh. I'm a big fan of Weihanstephaner's dunkel. Or their non-dunkel. Paulaner gets my other nod; I don't seem to like the Ayinger offerings as much as it seems I should. A lot of folks complain about the phenols in Weihanstephaner but I dunno, I seem to prefer it for whatever reason.