The Beer Forum - It's really a thread but we're too drunk to notice. - Page 57

Kaubel · 06/13/07, 8:23 AM

Originally Posted by LucidityAxel

Personally, I don't see any point in drinking something like [Triple Bock].

Same reason some people climb mountains.

Varsyn · 06/13/07, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by LucidityAxel

Personally, I don't see any point in drinking something like this, but I guess there's one in every crowd.

It's the kind of beer you pop open once in a while for an ounce to sample the complexity. I suppose there could be someone out there that drinks it regularly, but I don't feel it was ever made with that in mind. I think of it more like that special cognac you pull out for a shot once a year.

If someone does drink it in large quantities on a regular basis, I am very afraid!

Aod_Macabre · 06/13/07, 12:35 PM

Forgive me for not skimming all 34 pages of goodness here but I figured I would toss out a nice Ontario pick of mine. Anyone from Ontario has at least heard of Creemore Springs Cream Ale. It is a moderately dark cream ale with a rich, somewhat sweet overtone to it. It is the type of beer you can sit back and relax with, and before you know it, you are completely bombed with an empty case. It will thoroughly spoil your taste for all beers that are not brewed with similar quality (for us Canadians, that means pretty much any Labatt or Molson product).

It should also be noted that Kokannee from BC >>>> Kokannee from Ontario.

I will leave my input at this, as I am more of a red wine and scotch drinker now as I approach 30 years old. Oban anyone?

Kalman · 06/13/07, 1:35 PM

Originally Posted by Aod_Macabre

I will leave my input at this, as I am more of a red wine and scotch drinker now as I approach 30 years old. Oban anyone?

Oban is pretty decent; I prefer Islays to the highland/lowland scotches, generally. Obviously this means I like Laphroig's taste; in terms of somewhat lesser known distilleries, Scapa is good. If you can find it, Tomintoul is both excellent and reasonably priced. One of the nice things about it is that while it has excellent flavor, it isn't as harsh as a lot of good scotches tend to be, so it's a nice one to introduce someone to good scotch with.

Jairek · 06/13/07, 1:42 PM

I tend to favor more heavy hitting Imperial Stouts over other types of brew. A few good examples would be Great Divide's Imperial Oak Aged Yeti Stout, and Bell's Expedition. I'm rather fond of Bell's brews in general, but they are the must-decant types, so drinking isn't always convenient.

I avoid Guinness Draught like the plague, though Guinness Extra is decent. I'd say that in the states, the quality is so-so. You're better off going after one of the micro-brew stouts that are becoming more prevalent.

When it comes to lighter stuff, I'm less picky. The Denver/CO area has a number of great breweries, not including Coors. New Belgium, Flying Dog, Great Divide, Breckenridge, Lynkoop, and so on. Notables are Fat Tire and Avalanche.

Aod_Macabre · 06/14/07, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Kalman

Oban is pretty decent; I prefer Islays to the highland/lowland scotches, generally. Obviously this means I like Laphroig's taste; in terms of somewhat lesser known distilleries, Scapa is good. If you can find it, Tomintoul is both excellent and reasonably priced. One of the nice things about it is that while it has excellent flavor, it isn't as harsh as a lot of good scotches tend to be, so it's a nice one to introduce someone to good scotch with.

Laphroig is a stellar choice to say the least. I am not sure where you live, but the Islay's here are really pricey. I tend to stick to Oban or Lagavulin because of the sheer price factor. I do tend to indulge once a year, usually around the holidays and pick up a nice Bowmore or Dalwhinnie. Only once a year though, since they tend to run from $85-$200 a bottle, depending on the age.

Zaphid · 06/14/07, 1:43 PM

Originally Posted by BeeLz

I know, I've been in Prague 4 times so far and they have really good beers but there's one problem. A lot of pubs have very bad taps, which makes the beer taste awfull :p

Being Czech i have to answer this one:
Actually, it's usually better to avoid the obvious pubs, because they all have 4 or 5 types of the same beer. The best are scattered through the whole country, for example medieval pub with old fashioned type of service (say goodbye to forks and steaks, here you eat with your own hands) and with it's own brevery. One of the best beers i ever had.
Oh and 30 people, 7 kegs, 1 cottage in the mountains=best Silvester and New year celebration ever.

Ozbourn · 06/14/07, 2:56 PM

Originally Posted by Chmee

Finally, just wanted to point out places to check out if you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest sometime (Washington, Oregon, and northern California).

http://www.rogue.com/
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/default.aspx
http://www.pelicanbrewery.com/
http://www.bridgeportbrew.com/
http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/
http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/hawks-brewing/
http://oregonbeer.org/links.html Not comprehensive, just too many new breweries popping up.

http://www.lagunitas.com/
http://www.avbc.com/main.html
http://www.mendobrew.com/
http://www.bearrepublic.com/

My bar here on the East coast was serving Lagunitas IPA on tap and it's really quite amazing for a summer hop ale. I went out an got a case right away.

Varsyn · 06/15/07, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by Ozbourn

My bar here on the East coast was serving Lagunitas IPA on tap and it's really quite amazing for a summer hop ale. I went out an got a case right away.

I just tired a bottle of Lagunitas Lucky #13 and was very impressed. I would recommend this to anyone who likes to try red ales. It has some citrus like punch, but much stronger is the hop flavor and malt tones, like a hoppy toasted caramel.

I will certainly have to find their IPA and give it a whirl, it is supposedly dynamite.

LucidityAxel · 06/15/07, 7:38 PM

I took Kaubel's advice and picked up a six-pack of the Dogfish 60-minute IPA. (As well as a 6-pack of Dogfish's Brown India Ale, a 6-pack of Flying Dog Wheat Ale, and a bottle of Three Philosphers from Ommegang.)

The Dogfish 60-min has a golden-red color in the glass and the classic flavor profile of an IPA, with nice, fat malt underpinning and a clean hop finish a mile long. Interestingly, it's much hoppier and much less interesting straight out of the bottle than in a glass. It's a really nice IPA and I will certainly enjoy the rest of the six-pack. It paired really well with the home-made chicken fajitas I had for dinner and I'm enjoying it as a session beer as I type this.

I said earlier in the thread that I wasn't much of a hophead. This isn't because I don't enjoy bitter flavors, but because most hop-focused beers are pretty monomaniacally focused on that aspect of the beer. The Dogfish 60-minute has a lot more going on than most IPAs I've tried due to it's fantastic malt underpinning, but at its heart it is still a really straightforward, simple showcasing of some high-quality hops. I think that's exactly what an IPA should be if it is going to remain true to its style.

Personally, I tend to prefer styles that can have some more complexity, like hefeweizens (or dunkels), witbiers, lambics, and various sorts of trappist beers. In that respect, the Dogfish hasn't changed my mind, but it does make me wish that they would try their hand at a style that is a bit more up my alley.

Artaxz · 06/16/07, 2:08 AM

I picked up a couple of Great Divide Titan IPAs tonight. Usually I shy away from these types of beers (not a huge fan of grapefruit), but this was one I would recommend you try.

Pours amber gold with a full head. You get hit instantly with the smell of of citrus (tastes acidic), hops, grapefruit, and caramel; definitely can taste the grapefruit, with the west coast hops. As the beer warms it gets maltier and the caramel comes more to the fore front.

If you like those Dogfish IPAs, check this one out. 4/5.

Docjowles · 06/16/07, 9:25 PM

Originally Posted by Kaubel

On the topic of summer beers, I just picked up a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Summerfest. I really, really like it. Pretty hoppy, very clean, higher than average ABV according to the slight buzz I'm feeling. (I typically drink my beer with food. In this case, it was ravioli with meat sauce.)

After looking it up on ratebeer.com, I'm glad I bought it before I saw it's score. It deserves way more credit than those bums have given.

I picked a six pack of this stuff up last night after seeing some good reviews here. This is a fantastic beer, thanks for steering me in its direction! The local liquor store owner (picture an overweight 50 year old Russian who is drunk at all times) warned me that he didn't like it because it has "too many flavor", but I gave it a shot anyway. It's pretty flavor packed, but they meld together perfectly. Very crisp and refreshing. I see myself going through a Maligne-esque phase of drinking this all summer...

Shabadu · 06/17/07, 2:38 AM

Highlights from today's beerfest!

Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout is the greatest thing in the world, but only slightly better than Schlaflay's Coffee Stout (mixed with oatmeal stout, heaven in a glass). Long Trail's hefeweizen impressed me a good deal (it may have been due to the fact that it was near the end of the circuit and I'd had a lot of stout and porter.) I tried everything that Allagash put out this year. The bourbon barrel aged Curieux was one of my less liked tripels, but the Innoculator(aged in okay barrels with cherries) was much better. Jolly Pumpkin's Luciernaga was my favorite pale ale of the day. Some of the better named beers include THE LIVERATOR (dopplebock from the livery in MI), Arquebus (aged in chardonnay barrels with honey, from Cambridge Brewing) and YouEnjoyMyStout (imperial, also from Cambridge.) The single wierdest beer has to go to Magic Hat's Kerouac beet beer. Bright grenadine red but only a tad bit sweet and definitely surprisingly normal for being so red.

It was really really hard to remember all of that. There was just so much and 2oz glasses lend themselves to being drank that you can't say no to trying everything.

Docjowles · 06/17/07, 4:00 AM

I'll try and compare your notes with my co-worker who worked Saturday night's Beerfest. I'm sure this describes like 80% of the volunteers, but he would be the friendly prematurely bald guy in his early 20's. He has a single-minded fixation on dark beers, so I'll be interested to hear his take on the offerings.

Shifting gears, I brought some Lagunitas IPA tonight to bring to a BYOB party. Found it completely at random here in Boston. I loved the first two bottles, after that it was a bit much to handle. I definitely enjoyed it, but quickly realized it's not suited to having more than one or two at a sitting. As IPA's go, it's excellent. Definitely more going on in there than just hop overload.

Kaubel · 06/17/07, 10:16 AM

I've gotten to where I go with familiar session beers if I'm ever at someone else's get-together. Grazing on lots of different foods and experimental beers tend to not go well with one another, so thank God for Shiner Bock and SA Boston Lager because they pretty much go with anything.