Well Beardstorm, depends what they get. there are a ton of really good American beers they could carry, and some not so good ones. Dogfish Head has a number of IPA's, the standard ones being 60, 90 and 120. The 60 is the normal one and the 120 is the super strong, fully hopped version. It reminds me more of a barelywine then an IPA. The 90 is in the middle, and I prefer that one the most of the trio. They also have some limited released IPA's.
Dogfish Head does have some other beer styles, and some that tend to be on the odd side. The two ancient ales are rather good (Midas Touch and Chateau Jiahu) and I really like the spice beer they make (Pangaea).
Stone, well anything they make is good, so you really can't go wrong. Speaking of Stone, last weekend I managed to try their new Vertical Epic for 09, which was a Belgian Porter. I liked this one more then the style that the 08 Vertical Epic had, but like that one, this one really will need some aging to get the full flavor. Planned ahead and have some stilling in the basement now.
I am in full swing trying the current Oktoberfests. Brooklyn's batch this year turned out very well, so I will try to track some more down. I think they improved it a bit from last year. Going to be trying the one from Harpoon next I think.
I just returned from a trip to Alaska. While in Juneau, a group of us took the time to visit the Alaskan Brewing Company. Upon walking in the door, we were asked, "Want a beer?" We ended up trying all the beers they had on tap several times. I personally like the Amber and the White, but the Stout was tasty also. There is no true tour of the brewery, but one of the staff talks about it, taking time out for beer breaks. I have to say, it was a very pleasurable few hours!
I was jonesing for some pumpkin ale, but all I could find was the Saranac. It was on sale for 10.99/12 pack, and it's not bad. There's a definite pumpkin flavor without much sweetness, and it finishes like an average ale. Overall, I'm impressed, though it's the first pumpkin ale I've had this year, so I don't have anything fresh on the palate to compare with it.
e: Sam Adams coastal wheat is bad. Boston Beer Company needs to stop making beers like this and the blackberry wit
I'm not from the US but in the few trips I've been until now, the only US beer I liked enough was Sam Adams. I believe it was one of their seasonal beers with either apple or raspberry flavor. We have a few microbreweries(sp?) too over here(Quebec) that make similar products. Blueberries, rasperries, apples or even wildberries.
I'm generally not a fan of sweet drinks, but maple beer is quite delicious. If you like hydromel and can get your hands on some maple beer, give it a try. It's a light ale with a slightly sweet taste and has that unusual smoked smell (like a well-cooked ham). Also very good for recipes that have a touch of sweetness, once again like ham, or even pancakes!
I'm not a heavy beer drinker, but I enjoy a good ale once in a while. I have a hard time with lager and some pilsner. My favorite "commercial" beer is probably Rickard's Red or Moosehead I'm generally more of a red wine or strong alcohol drinker but I can never say no to a good beer, mostly wen it's offered! ;P
I like it a lot. Nice balance of flavors - malt, pine, citrus - and damn easy to drink. It has that typical flowery/herbal taste that NB likes to put in most of their stuff, but more bitterness than what you'd expect from them. I'm thinking it would pair really well with some beef stew. A really good "gateway" beer for any fledgling hophead.
After having it so readily available and loving the brewery so much, I finally tried ST Pumpking. While it was a well made beer, I don't think pumpkin ales are my thing. I never tend to get into the christmas ales either...
Then I tried Fuller's London Porter. It's weird... whenever I saw it in a store, I always equated it to looking at a bottle of Dundees or something lame for some reason. Would have never thought to buy it. Loving Flying Dog Gonzo, I tried their Road Dog porter and it wasn't very good. I went to ratebeer to see how it was rated and noticed Fullers London Porter sitting at #2 for the style and was like... huh? So I picked it up and, wow. For such a beer snob, and especially such a lover of stouts and porters, I can't believe this one slipped under my nose for so long. The vanilla in the finish is pretty great, reminds me of the porter version of Oak Aged Yeti or something. My beer snob friend was over and he was pretty surprised by it too.
Fuller's is quality, haven't gotten to try their porter yet though, but since I will now. Their English ale is terrific, and their ESB isn't far behind. Agree about Road Dog though, Flying Dog is like that though, some of their beers are terrific and others are just ok. Their wheat and their amber are two of my favorites, and I'm not much of a wheat beer fan.
Just tried Black Sheep's "Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale." I was shocked it wasn't a gimmick but rather a pretty decent beer. Very smooth, fairly sweet and biscuity with a hint of fruit. Not enough hops for me though.
Drinking Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic tonight. Opens with spice, goes to vanilla then choc and finishes deliciously. Little hints of a smokey, roasted coffee. Very good. Makes me wish I had space to age some for six months and then for December 2012.
I thoroughly enjoyed a Hoegaarden last night during a 10-man ToC. It's been one of my favourites for a while not, on tap or bottled.
I'm unfortunately limited in the beers I have sampled. I normally stick with Bud Light or Coors Light. I've tried a couple of others beers we have (Alexander Keith's being one I could never really enjoy.
Are there any Canadians around that can suggest a good "domestic" beer? I'm almost willing to try anything.
Anyone else ever tried a homebrew kit? I bought one last week (not entirely un-inspired by my in-game Brewmaster title) and started my first batch yesterday.
My favorite beers are white ales, like Hitachino White Ale or Blanche de Bruxelles (charmingly known as "Mannequin Piss" by some bars). Hoping eventually to make stuff like that
Anyone else ever tried a homebrew kit? I bought one last week (not entirely un-inspired by my in-game Brewmaster title) and started my first batch yesterday.
My favorite beers are white ales, like Hitachino White Ale or Blanche de Bruxelles (charmingly known as "Mannequin Piss" by some bars). Hoping eventually to make stuff like that
My boyfriend's dad makes homebrew. He's always got at least 4 buckets going at once.
It's not that bad - it depends on the kit you buy.
I thoroughly enjoyed a Hoegaarden last night during a 10-man ToC. It's been one of my favourites for a while not, on tap or bottled.
I'm unfortunately limited in the beers I have sampled. I normally stick with Bud Light or Coors Light. I've tried a couple of others beers we have (Alexander Keith's being one I could never really enjoy.
Are there any Canadians around that can suggest a good "domestic" beer? I'm almost willing to try anything.
The best canadian ales i've ever had are from Unibroue from Chambly, Quebec. They have a focus mostly on Belgian styles. Hoegaarden is a Belgian White so maybe you'll find it a good crossover. If you do attempt one: These are real, fine ales and are certainly nothing resembling a coors lite in body, taste, consistency... or price. They will be bottle fermented, so they will have a sediment of yeast on the bottom that you may or may not want to pour into your glass. (i'd start with may not as your option).
The best canadian ales i've ever had are from Unibroue from Chambly, Quebec. They have a focus mostly on Belgian styles. Hoegaarden is a Belgian White so maybe you'll find it a good crossover. If you do attempt one: These are real, fine ales and are certainly nothing resembling a coors lite in body, taste, consistency... or price. They will be bottle fermented, so they will have a sediment of yeast on the bottom that you may or may not want to pour into your glass. (i'd start with may not as your option).
Thanks for the suggestion - I do enjoy the Belgian style.
I know that with Hoegaarden they have instructions on the bottle for how to drink it, which involved only pouring out half of the bottle and then swirling the remaining beer around in the bottle to collect that sediment.
Saw and tried something interesting this weekend. Shipyard now makes an Imperial Pumpkin. Called Smashed Pumpkin, this is a much bigger beer then their normal pumpkin. I really enjoyed this one, much more then the normal pumpkin they make. Alcohol was hidden very well too.
Also tried Rogue's Oktoberfest (Maierfest). As Marzens go, it was only okay, I have had much better. Still like Brooklyn's entry the best I think.
I'm having some of Brooklyn's OF right now. It's good. It seems different than I remember it being... Wasn't it a bit darker last year? This seems more along the schema of the style. I'm still pretty partial to Paulaner's oktoberfest, I haven't had any of theirs this year yet though.
Rogue always strikes me as being pretty meh. Sort of like Magic Hat.
Yep it was. Last year was very good, this year they hit the ball out of the park. It's great that I can get an excellent one this year that is not expensive and rather easy to find. I have not tried their Post Road Pumpkin for the year yet, should hit some this weekend.
Rogue is strange, imo. They make some beers I really like, like the Smoke Ale and Northwestern Ale, and others are just average. The ones I like, I end up REALLY liking, their Smoke is a favorite of mine, but it seems to be retired for now. That's the reason I always make sure to try their offerings when I see something new. However I do end up trying the same thing again, as Rogue is a little infamous for rebranding their beers in a different package.
Nice looking bottles for most of their stuff at least.
I don't think I got around to posting these: Cottonwood's Pumpkin ale is still the tastiest I've found. It's not just pumpkin; the beer tastes like liquid pumpkin pie. Everything else I've had from them is decidedly average, but they nail pumpkin beer.
Also tried Avery's Imperial Oktoberfest last time at my local Flying Saucer. Delicious - it's a bigger, badder Oktoberfest with fuller flavors. Not too hoppy, but there's definitely some alcohol.
If you are ever in Ontario, especially Eastern Ontario, I HIGHLY recommend Beau's (pronounced Bo's) All Natural. It is from a very small micro-brewery in a small town called Vankleek Hill, Ontario and it is getting rave reviews! The LCBO recently picked it up (that is the place we buy booze at in Ontario, a government run store called LCBO or Liquor Control Board of Ontario) which means it is seriously gaining ground considering the costs required to get on their shelves. It has a very smooth start and finish with just a hint of sweetness. The best part is the bottle it comes in! It is a ceramic bottle with a re-sealble top comparable to Grolsch.
All in all, not to be missed if you see it (careful... $9 per quart)!!!!!!
If you are ever in Ontario, especially Eastern Ontario, I HIGHLY recommend Beau's (pronounced Bo's) All Natural. It is from a very small micro-brewery in a small town called Vankleek Hill, Ontario and it is getting rave reviews! The LCBO recently picked it up (that is the place we buy booze at in Ontario, a government run store called LCBO or Liquor Control Board of Ontario) which means it is seriously gaining ground considering the costs required to get on their shelves. It has a very smooth start and finish with just a hint of sweetness. The best part is the bottle it comes in! It is a ceramic bottle with a re-sealble top comparable to Grolsch.
All in all, not to be missed if you see it (careful... $9 per quart)!!!!!!
Hey, sounds like a good one. The bottle especially sounds funky. I'll have to try to find it.
Where in Ontario are you? I'm in eastern Ontario myself and I'm going to start looking for more microbrewery beers in the area. Do you think there's better selection at the LCBO or at the Beer Store?
Hey, sounds like a good one. The bottle especially sounds funky. I'll have to try to find it.
Where in Ontario are you? I'm in eastern Ontario myself and I'm going to start looking for more microbrewery beers in the area. Do you think there's better selection at the LCBO or at the Beer Store?
I am in Ottawa, so hello neighbour!
There are two main differences, in my opinion, between the LCBO and beer store. While the beer store has more general selection of items, most of their selection is the more common brands and they have a large bottled inventory as opposed to cans. The one nice thing you do get at the beer store is a decent selection of Ontario microbreweries. Over at the LCBO, most of their microbrewery selection is European; beers I happen to prefer. I guess it all comes down to preference but I do generally prefer my beer in cans due to the "closer ro draught taste", even though something like Beau's is a true gem in a bottle.
Like I said, it may be personal choice based on what you prefer but I have always been a LCBO "8 mixer pack of imports" kind of guy.
There are two main differences, in my opinion, between the LCBO and beer store. While the beer store has more general selection of items, most of their selection is the more common brands and they have a large bottled inventory as opposed to cans. The one nice thing you do get at the beer store is a decent selection of Ontario microbreweries. Over at the LCBO, most of their microbrewery selection is European; beers I happen to prefer. I guess it all comes down to preference but I do generally prefer my beer in cans due to the "closer ro draught taste", even though something like Beau's is a true gem in a bottle.
Like I said, it may be personal choice based on what you prefer but I have always been a LCBO "8 mixer pack of imports" kind of guy.
I'm in Kingston. Not too far.
The 8 mixer pack sounds like a safe bet - I've got my failsafe Hoegaarden, but I'm more than willing to try new kinds. Maybe next time I find myself in Ottawa, we can discuss the finer points of pints.
Bit of a late notice (I was only made aware of this event yesterday), but a coworker let me know that Brewfest is back, at least if you are near the Florida Panhandle:
For anyone in/around Sydney this weekend the 24th/25th- The Australian's annual beer festival is on. Usual crop of middle players and a host of microbrews.
Little Creatures Pale and crocodile pizza mmm.....
09/22/09, 11:04 AM
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