Monocle

Stone recently just released their 13th Anniversary beer, and thanks to their improved distribution, I was able to grab some last weekend. This one is an Imperial Red. It reminded me a little of the Double Arrogant Bastard, though a lot more hoppy. This one was a bit more complex then that, and just as strong. I only had one and put the other two I picked up into storage. Not sure how long I will keep them in there, Stone has mentioned this one should be drunk fresh.

Also had one of Legacy's Hoptimus Prime IIPA for this season, and it was as good as always. They really nail the Northwest IPA style, most breweries in the East Coast area just seem a bit off.

Trying to find Avery's 2009 batch of Maharaja, but have not seen any around here yet.

 

Rob_H

Living in Louisiana, this time of year has me craving for wheat beers (Hefeweizen). I have tried the In-Heat Wheat by flying dog, and find it to be a decent wheat with banana and clove smell on the nose, and a light toasted malty taste with citrus notes. Are there other Hefeweizens that you would recommend (aside for Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat)? I'm not always a big fan of fruit beers overall, as the fruit can be overpowering, but Abita Beer's Strawberry Harvest is exceptional this year. This is a light lager with the perfect amount of sweet strawberry taste, and a good amount of hops in the middle of the taste.

@Monocle
It is best to get the Maharaja within the first couple of months. I found that the beer doesn't "hold" well over time. Last year, I bought a couple of bottles right around when it was released, drank one (or two) right away, but wanted to save the others. When I opened them a few months later, I found the bold taste was somewhat flatter than the initial tasting. It was still very hoppy, but that fresh blast had somewhat diminished. For finding a place that sells it I use Avery's website (http://www.averybrewing.com/), to find a store that official sells it.

 

Monocle

Noticed that myself with the Maharaja, the ones I got around July last year did taste a lot better then the remaining ones on shelf I found in October. We should get it here eventually, Avery beers are always good at moving in my market, I just need to wait it out.

There are a few of the 2008 left at my good beer store, but I have not bothered with them, wanted to get some fresh ones. I am happy to get some more Hoptimus Primes while I wait, very good little IIPA.

Wish I could help you out on suggestions for wheat beers, but I just never could get into the style, Dunklewiezens being the only exception. I have heard that both Sierra-Nevada and Victory make some rather decent ones, if you can get them in your area.

Maybe look around on Rate Beer? I use that page sometimes to get read a bit about a new beer when it pops up in my area.

 

LucidityAxel

A lot of domestic brewers will do a wheat beer and call it a hefeweiss, but the end product isn't very similar to the true-blue German style because a lot of domestic brewers won't bother to import the yeast strains they use in Germany. This yeast is directly responsible for the high carbonation of the beer and the banana/bread smells on the nose, and you can't really get a sense of what a hefeweiss is like unless you use that sort of yeast. You can still make a perfectly delicious wheat beer (and many domestic brewers do), but it won't be a hefeweiss.

A lot of German hefeweizen get really good distribution in the states: Paulaner and Franziskaner are probably two of the biggest ones. I can find them in grocery stores here in Atlanta. Weihenstephaner is really outstanding, but doesn't get as widely distributed.

For American microbrews, I'd suggest Sprecher's hefeweiss (pretty close to the German style) or Bell's Oberon (definitely not a hefe but damn tasty). I'd stay away from Sam Adams or Leinenkugel.

 

Westvleteren

Yeah, as usual i'll recommend offerings from Ayinger, Weihenstephaner, or Paulaner as great starting points for heffes and dunkels. Multiple varieties of all three of these are now being carried at my local super market, which I think is awesome.

Unfortunately, I have developed a seemingly random reaction when drinking beer that has really thrown a cog in my gears. Every now and then, without any rhyme or reason that I can ascertain, i'll become very ill about 5-6 hours after drinking beer. And no, not because I drank too much... i'm talking 3 beers or less over the course of hours. It sucks, and it's to the point where I've become so afraid to drink a beer that I've pretty much given up on my beloved hobby of beer snobbery. Maybe I should start a Scotch forum.. er, thread?

 

Elfarran

That brought a tear to my eye. I'm so sorry for your loss!

Seriously though, I wonder what would cause that. Developed allergy to hops or something?

 

Chirality

Gluten, perhaps? I've seen some Gluten-free beers here at one of the big breweries in Boulder, Colorado, but I can't remember which.

 

Westvleteren

I don't think it is gluten because I eat all sort of gluten with no issues. It doesn't seem to be any particular style of beer, as it has happened with many types. I'd say it only happens 1 out of every 50 times I drink beer. Wine and hard liquor appear to be fine. I've drank beer for 15 years but this started only a year or so ago. It has happened with pasteurized, unpasteurized, bottle conditioned, draft... Apologies if TMI, but when i'm sick all I can taste is yeast. The whole situation is different than the "I drank 1/2 a bottle of scotch and am sick" type of sick. With that you just feel crappy and nauseous. When this happens, it is pretty painful and violent.

Is it Hops? Yeast? Ulcer? IBS? Doctors are just like... "Oh, you have good insurance huh? Well then, how about a few invasive procedures involving scopes!?" I don't want to turn this into the "oh poor west" thread; A lot of different beer drinkers from around the world read this and maybe somebody out there had a similar experience.

 

ulrikft

If I want a dark ale like Kilkenny, but want it to be a tad bit sweeter, what would you recommend? I like it foamy/dark/heavy, I would just love it if it were a tiny tad or a bit sweeter.

 

vhell

I've been drinking at a great local, slightly hidden local bar lately, and its beer selection is just amazing. In particular I've been falling in love with their Rogue choices, especially Dead Guy and their Hazelnut Brown. To top it off, their cask selection last week was Allagash Burnham Road, a smoked beer. I believe (as far as I can remember) this was the first smoked beer I've had and it was quite amazing. The smoked taste lingered far into the night, it probably would have been perfect with a cigar.

 

◊ Hotspur

Well, "pure" beer should really only be: Barley, yeast and hops. However, beer can contain adjuncts, such as rice or corn, or other spices for flavoring. The other thing to consider is how they sanitize the bottles, or kill the yeast to prevent further fermentation. If you notice, most wine bottles say "Contains Sulfites", as that's how they kill the yeast to allow for unfermented sugars. Sulfites or other chemicals may be present in trace amounts from bottle sanitation. So, you may find that a stout, pale ale, IPA and hefeweizen from the same brewery all cause problems, while the same styles from another brewery may be fine.

I wouldn't suggest actively going out and trying to see what causes the allergic reaction (Actually, yes I would, it's a great excuse to buy a lot of beer), but you could start a log or Excel sheet to note what does and does not cause it, and see if there's a pattern.

 

basballguy

Figure i'll add my top 5 beers....a few of them don't get any mention in here.

Spaten Oktoberfest
Shiner Bock
Harp
Red Stripe
Pyramid Curveball (Kolsch)

Spaten doesn't get enough mention among the German brewers. Keeping in mind they are credited with being the first to manufacture an "Oktoberfest" blend.

 

Elfarran

Actually I was reading a thread on BeerAdvocate.com in which a guy was saying any really hoppy beer (he mentions IPA and DIPA) make him violently ill. He can drink less hopped up beers fine. Perhaps it is something similar?

 

Masataka

So I went to drink beer with my sister tonight and found something that I just had to share... Michelob has released a Wheat Beer collection. While it isn't anything ground-breaking it is nice to see "American Piss Beer" start to understand that most REAL beer drinkers prefer what most would call a craft beer. This nifty little 12-pack included a Dunkel Weisse, Shock Top *white Belgian wheat* a super hops one called Hops Hound, and one I will have tomorrow called Honey Wheat. Now as I said it's nothing worth goin to the store and buying right away but it was a nice surprise to find.

Why don't Brothels offer First Time Buyer Incentives?

 

advancedtactics

I don't know if I'm alone or not in this. But I love the "water beers" Michelob ultra bud light miller lite. All these beers to me are delicious. It's like drinking delicious water and I can drink for as long as I please. With a lot of these ales ipos and what nots I find the taste to be bitter and very hard to drink consistently maybe if they invented beer shots I'd be more into that kind of beer. And I respect anyone's love of ales and wheat and all that other kind of beer it's just not for me. In before grow hair on chest comments.

 

◊ Kaubel

If we wanted to drink delicious water, we'd drink Gatorade. Now get out.

 

◊ Nocturnus

Went shopping for a few bottles for a friend's birthday, came home with these. Thank you Central Market.




Black Butte is one of my favorite beers, can't wait to try the special one. Other two are for him, I'm not much of an IPA fan.

 

Elfarran

I snagged a bomber of Red Chair IPA from Deschutes today at a local grocery store. Just wanted to mention this as a good gateway IPA for anyone you might be trying to introduce to the style. It has the hoppiness one expects from an IPA but it isn't overpowering. Even if you are very familiar with IPAs I would recommend it. Good stuff.

 

Alerian

Elysian is quite good. Had their The Wise ESB tonight. Appley start before transitioning to a bread and finishing on a nut taste. Clean. Maybe some caramel or slight citrus tastes mixed in as well. Could drink a lot of these in a night.

 

Denogran

My suspicion is that this isn't because Big Beer wants to make new and interesting flavors for their consumers to try, but rather a more nefarious scheme to turn people away from any sort of craft beer in general. Imagine all you drink is a water-beer, and you have some friend who keeps extolling the virtues of tastier craft beer. So the next time you're at the super market, you decide to grab something besides your normal Crap light. Well, you know you like Crap's normal light beer, so you decide to give their "craft beer" a try - plus it's 1/2 the price of some of the clever named competitors - Bonus!. You pick up a six pack, take it home - and it tastes awful. You're not one to leave a wounded soldier behind, but you don't finish your first beer and toss the rest out before heading back to trusty Crap light. Now you can confidently say you've tried craft beer and hated it( even if you're quite wrong in the first half of the assertion ), and will stick with your Crap light for years to come - safe from venturing off into buying other brands.
/tinfoil hat off

I'll admit that this seems like an absurd line of thought, even to myself. But I just refuse to believe that with some of the most skilled brewers in the world working for them, the Big 2 can't make some amazing craft beers - even some that sell enough to meet their financial needs.

 

Apate

I only tried a taste of Bud's American Ale. I thought that it was better than the usual Budweiser, but still worse than beer.

See you, auntie.

 

LucidityAxel

It doesn't really matter to me what other people drink, except to the extent that it helps or hinders my ability to find and purchase the things that I like to drink.

I tried Avery's Salvation the other day, which they market as a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. It was very disappointing and I won't be buying it again.

I mentioned Brooklyn's Number One earlier in this thread, and have since had the chance to try their Number Two as well. Both are really high-quality Belgian-style beers brewed here in the States. I would recommend either without any hesitation.

 

Chirality

I thought it was much, much worse than regular Budweiser. It reminded me of someone dumping a can of apple sauce into a keg of beer and stirring.

 

Beardstorm

I would strongly recommend looking for a Casque Mark pub and getting yourself a pint of London Pride. I think it's overall well balanced with some malt, some hops with some other flavours that I'm not good enough to pick apart mingled in. Low carbonation, very easy to drink.

As for Belgian strong ales, I enjoy Leffe & Duvel especially although I have no idea how easy any of these are to get hold of on your side of the pond. They are both go down dangerously smoothly given their strength.

I think although you can get a good pint of Guinness in England (depending on the pub) the real deal is in Ireland.

edit: Crap thought the first page was the last. Thats what Duvel does to your brain, doesn't make any of the stuff I mentioned less brilliant though.

 

Gerronimo

While your thoughts are hilariously commendable, they're a bit wide of the mark. I've worked in the aussie equivalent of the big 2 and the situation is almost the same, with a couple of key differences (my old boss invented Coors light, for an example). Down under the 2 big breweries bought out existing craft breweries and built up the brands without too much of a guiding hand. So the beer started off damn good and only got a little worse, but a lot more consistent. James Squire and Matilda Bay, for reference. Nowadays they're starting to knock out their own mislabelled 'craft' beer and the same thing is happening as in the states.

The brewers could make some amazing beers, but too often they sit in a computerised control room churning out pissweak megaswill. It's always the marketing department which controls what a beer will taste like, and most beer marketers are semi-literate 20-somethings who couldn't down a pint without calling for a focus group. And focus groups unanimously call for "easy drinking, light, refreshing, with a little bit of flavour". So you end up with good beers watered down into oblivious inoffensive palatability.

Big Beer brewers have no control over what they make. More's the pity. Do real beer a favour and shoot someone in marketing.

/bitter rant