Kaubel: If you're eating Mexican, drink Mexican. Negra Modelo is very good stuff.

not a large fan of negra modelo, more of a blue moon type of guy. Although it can only be draft. sucks horribly in bottle for whatever reason. Oh and Magic Hat.

As far as mexican goes, I prefer Dos Equis.

Here's beeradvocate's take, they also like Negro Modelo:
http://beeradvocate.com/news/stories_read/272/

If any of you are ever in the Minneapolis area, on Washington Ave. there is a "Hill Tavern" that has a homemade "Grand Cru" beer. It's 10 percent alcohol, and has a real fruity kick to it. The crazy thing about it is the after-taste: it kinda cascades from roasted oats to orange to cinnamon and back again. It's one of those beers that you can feel stimulating different parts of your tongue, heh. I'm hoping some of you know what I'm speaking about.

Used to live in MN next time I go back I will check this place out.

Didn't realize Grand Cru was a local-only thing? I thought it was just another of the northern breweries I couldn't find down here, but I guess maybe I did only ever get it in MN. From your description I'm pretty certain this was the one recommended to me when we cruised through there. Cinnamon tang to it with an extremely complex (yet cool) aftertaste. I usually dislike fruity beer, but the couple I had were more like a heavy wine than a beer and not bad at all.

Also weighing in to say we tried Blue Moon's White Belgian today as our "Game-day let's see if this sucks" 6-pack. It's actually not bad at all, but I seriously wouldn't touch it without an orange wedge and a glass. (Much like I wouldn't drink a Corona without real lime.) I also wouldn't drink it as anything more than a starter beer before something heavier or better quality. Not bad at all, though.

New Belgian's seasonal fall brew, however, is either crappy or I got a bad batch. "Saison", I believe. At any rate, it was majorly yeasty and generally not good by any of our opinions. I usually like New Belgian brews (1554 woo), but I won't be buying any more seasonal fare from them until their winter line rolls out, methinks.

If you've got a local Flying Saucer or you're in the northeast, you might want to try Rogue's Dead Guy Ale for the hell of it if you can find some. It's average on its own, but a pretty great brew with food or post-meal. Our Saucer down here keeps 80-100 beer on tap and another 100+ bottled, so I'm still working my way through a lot of good brews when we get chance to drop in there. Great place. They've got tons of good imports and lots of awesome homebrews. You can get a giant bottle of Chimay for under $15, which isn't bad at all. You just have to make sure the waitresses don't fall on you because they'd probably break some bones.

(Slug does not tip fatass waitresses, even if the beer is exceptional. Call me rude, but I'm trying to eat here and ugh.)

You may be right...however, they definitely seemed to consider it to be their own, just from the text explaining it's origins and it's awards (silver medal in some beer competition I guess). It's definitely a distinct brand of beer, like you say it's kinda hard to categorize.

I may be weird, but to me, aftertaste is the deciding factor in how much of my paycheck I'll throw away on a specific beer. Complexity is good, I suppose.

Just had a Broad Axe Stout here @ Granite City restaurant. Wasn't bad at all, almost tasted like Bacon at points. heh.

Amen Slug. Amen.

So, I had my first Trappist Ale over the weekend. I was at BJ's. a brewery/restaurant that's popular on the west coast. I was asking the waiter about their selection, and he mentioned, in addition to their own beers, they have an extensive Belgian selection.

I got the list and immediately went after the only Trappist Ale on there (because of the recommendations on this thread). I gotta say, that bottle of Orval was one of the best beers I've ever had. It was light and airy, with a really great dry, hoppy finish. Worth every penny.

I splurged when last at the liquor store and picked up a 6-pack of Anchor Steam Old Foghorn, their barleywine ale. It packs a serious, serious kick and is somewhat sweetish. I hate a bottle for dessert after dinner, and it left me with a nasty hangover the next morning, something I was rather surprised by.

Other than the obvious "Are you legal?" issue, what are the pros and cons of starting a Beer E-Buddy Exchange Program (B.E.E.P.)?