The Beer Forum - It's really a thread but we're too drunk to notice. - Page 95

♦ Hotspur · 07/02/08, 1:08 PM

Switchback is in Burlington, Vermont; and yes, it is quite good. Most of the (good) restaurants here have it on tap.

The Vermont Brewer's Festival is coming up, it's on July 18th and 19th. I went last year and it was great fun. Each sample is 3oz, and is tiered by alcohol content as to how many tickets per sample, and you can get more tickets. Very handy for sampling a lot of beer to find out what you do and don't like.

White Whisker · 07/02/08, 2:08 PM

I am very pleased to see people discussing beer. Good beer. I am Serbian, and first time I had some beer I was merely 4 years old. Thus, I simply do not understand the legal age issues relating drinking in most other countries, for we do not have drinking age (yet). And, I'm sorry, I have no intention of offending anyone, however, I do not consider what most Americans drink beer. MGD, Bud, High Life, and such. Such nonsense. Also, I must add that I do feel quality of Serbian beer has went down considerably, or it is possible my taste has evolved. But enough of that. I would like to recommend few I have not noticed listed, in case anybody can get a hold of them.

New Holland Brewing Company has some amazing beers. And I do love their slogan Art in Fermented Form! They have something called a High Gravity Series, and High Gravity it is! My favorite of those is Dragon's Milk. It is seasonal, it is expensive, but it is absolutely wonderful. It is a beer that back in the day was brewed for aristocrats only--i am so thankful that is no longer the case, and us non-blue bloods can also enjoy it! It is seasonal of course, and not so easy to get since they brew limited supplies. Another one of the High Gravity Series I enjoyed is Pilgrim's Dole. It is a barley wine style ale, very delicious.

Aside from those, since I have seen people mention Dogfish Head, I am not sure of the name, but they do make a beer with currents. I've only came across it once, and it is almost like wine, however, very tasty as well.

Once again, I do enjoy this beer forum very much, since most people I've come across in the U.S. drink what I call piss, once again, no insults intended. In this forum I came across some brews I must check out if I can get a hold of them around here (Valparaiso, Indiana). Nice thing is my boyfriend and I have been to a local liquor store so often, and gotten a nice amount of expensive beer, they usually take our suggestions, and are willing to try and bring new things in, to try out and see how it goes. Might have to talk to them next time we go in. Thank you everyone.

Zulrai · 07/02/08, 11:53 PM

Well, I took a drive to Flying Saucer this evening to pick up a 4th of July glass and had an interesting sampling that I was not expecting.

First off was St Arnold Divine Reserve, which in this case was an American Barleywine (the Divine Reserve changes by batch, this is batch 6). I'm a fairly big St Arnold fan (when I travel to Houston I like to hit up the tour whenever I can squeeze it in) and therefore I was glad to get my hands on one of the harder to find brews they make. It definitely lived up to its Barleywine billing. Unfortunately, I imagine it is not easy to get your hands on (I found it in Fort Worth), but if you can find it you should give it a try if you are a fan of "Hoppiness."

The second beer of interest I got my hands on was Dogfish Head Midas Touch. It was very smooth going down (really, that was the first thing that came to my mind after a sample) and had a beautiful golden color to it (makes sense of course). My wife was a huge fan after a couple of sips and I'm certain I'll have to keep an eye out for it from now on; they list it as a limited month beer, though

.

I had originally planned on having a Maredsous 10 tonight, but after those two beers I scrapped that plan and finished with a nice Hoegaaden instead (and it really was the right call at that point).

And in tribute to the 4th of July glass this year: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hoppiness"

Rhaegal · 07/07/08, 10:48 AM

I had a beer over the weekend that blew my mind. It's called Ola Dubh (translated: Black Oil), from a Scottish brewery called Harviestoun. It's a limited-quantity (each bottle individually numbered and signed) ale aged in oak casks used to mature 16-year old single malt Scotch from Highland Park Distillery. It tasted like heaven. My roommate thought I had gone crazy, because I was basically in a state of afterglow for about an hour after drinking it. If you can get your hands on a bottle or two, you won't be disappointed. It's pricey, though, I paid $8 for a 12 oz bottle. Then went back and bought another one.

Re: Goose Island near Chicago, as mentioned above - I tried several of their beers while I was there (Matilda, 312, and their summer ale), and honestly the only one I liked was the Matilda. Everything else sort of reminded me of bad college beer. The Matilda was yummy, though. I didn't get a chance to try anything else of theirs. Thanks for the recommendation, though!

♦ Praetorian · 07/09/08, 11:05 AM

If you enjoy good hoppy Imperial/Double IPAs, like Dogfish 90 or Stone's Ruination, you owe it to yourself to track down a bottle of this, available for the summer: Avery Brewing 303.440.4324

I thought it was really damn good.

Humbaba · 07/09/08, 2:07 PM

Originally Posted by Kalman

I honestly don't believe in the ethnic beers with ethnic foods thing anymore. I haven't gone to the extent of the characters in Zodiac (double blind taste testing), but honestly, Mexican beer is mostly not that great. Dos Equis and Negra Modelo aren't *bad*, but rather than pay the import pricing on them, I'd rather drink a decent domestic. Kirin and Sapporo are not good, and I'd rather drink just about anything else.

Country of origin doesn't matter with beer; what matters is if it's good, and if it matches well with what you're eating. Which has very little to do with where it came from. What are you, some kind of roleplayer? :p

So what if this quote is a year old. I had some *excellent* Thai food a week or so ago and I had a bottle of Singha with it. I generally dislike the American-style lagers but this one wasn't half bad. I wouldn't order it most of the time, but given the choices between Bud, Bud lite, Coors, Coors lite, Heineken, Sapporo and Singha it was the clear winner.

My latest batch of homebrew is a Belgian Wit and it turned out quite well. It has the strong orange peel and coriander flavor of Hoegaarden. I had it with some spicy pasta my wife made and it was a perfect fit. Spicy beer and spicy food are a definite win.

Phalanx · 07/09/08, 2:26 PM

Originally Posted by Praetorian

If you enjoy good hoppy Imperial/Double IPAs, like Dogfish 90 or Stone's Ruination, you owe it to yourself to track down a bottle of this, available for the summer: Avery Brewing 303.440.4324

I thought it was really damn good.

This is a very hoppy beer. I liken it to the Sam Adams Hallertau more than the 90 minute. I'm not a fan of hoppy beers, but I'd put it somewhere in between the 90 and the Hallertau, perhaps closer to the later.

It's a good beer, though.

Maligne · 07/09/08, 4:06 PM

Originally Posted by Praetorian

If you enjoy good hoppy Imperial/Double IPAs, like Dogfish 90 or Stone's Ruination, you owe it to yourself to track down a bottle of this, available for the summer: Avery Brewing 303.440.4324
I thought it was really damn good.

This is one awesome beer. Very limited so grab one if you can. I haven't had one this season but 2 years ago I bought around 10. It tastes like you're squeezing a bunch of grapefruits, hops, and oranges in your mouth.

Also...comparing it to Sam Adams...yeesh. And a Pilsner to boot?

Edit: So reading the reviews on that beer the : confused: seems to be better suited for SA themselves for calling it that style.

Edit2: This reminds me we're having a cookout this weekend and my ex-roommate is bringing a sixtel of DFH 60 minute. I can't wait!

Max Rebo · 07/10/08, 11:16 AM

I've had a few good ones recently. I'm a fan of DIPAs and Belgian/Abbey dubbels and tripels.

Stone Ruination
Sly Fox Ichor (dubbel style) - from PA
Stoudt's Abbey Triple - also from PA

One of my favorite IPAs is Russian River Pliny the Elder. It just kicks rear.

Another would be Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. Better than DFH 60-Minute since DFH has done away with secondary fermentation for their 60/90-Minute IPAs in the name of quality control. It's sad because there was nothing wrong with them before. It may just be for the bottled versions. It's likely the kegged ales are okay. I have no idea, though.

Phalanx · 07/10/08, 1:51 PM

Originally Posted by Maligne

This is one awesome beer. Very limited so grab one if you can. I haven't had one this season but 2 years ago I bought around 10. It tastes like you're squeezing a bunch of grapefruits, hops, and oranges in your mouth.

Also...comparing it to Sam Adams...yeesh. And a Pilsner to boot?

Edit: So reading the reviews on that beer the : confused: seems to be better suited for SA themselves for calling it that style.

Edit2: This reminds me we're having a cookout this weekend and my ex-roommate is bringing a sixtel of DFH 60 minute. I can't wait!

If you've had the Hallertau, it's really not like most pilsners (at least not like the ones I normally drink - Paulaner, for instance). It's absurdly hoppy and has the citrusy tones on the back end. Not nearly as much as the Maha, but they're there.

Humbaba · 07/14/08, 4:24 PM

Odell's Levity Amber Ale was good. It's a little lighter than I'm accustomed to drinking in an amber ale, but it was well balanced and certainly worth drinking. I think this bottle was one my dad gave me, but I'll keep an eye out for a 6 pack the next time at the beer store.

macka · 07/17/08, 10:22 AM

Two things about the Sam Adams Imperial Hallertau Pilsner:
1. Pilsners are lagers, so it's not an ale
2. It has an absurd amount of Hallertau hops, something not typically employed by IPAs

It is extremely bitter, but a nice change for hopheads who tend to gravitate to IPA/DIPAs.

duostrike · 07/17/08, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by Tharamis

On a side note for those in the Midwest, US: If you are near Omaha, NE there should only be one place to go for beer, Beertopia. No macro brews, only imports and microbrews. The two things you need in this world are a good butcher shop and a good beer store.

Beertopia - Beer Corner USA - 36th & Farnam, Omaha, Nebraska

If you are in Omaha you need to go down to Upstream and have some Scotch Ale. Preferably two or three. Then pick up a growler of it and take it home for later.

Upstream Brewing Company

Maligne · 07/18/08, 2:04 PM

Interesting note as a result of the InBev/AB merger - The Boston Beer Company is now the largest American brewery. I wonder if they'll keep making those ridiculous "look at how small of a microbrew we are" commercials?

Brookston Beer Bulletin Blog Archive Samuel Adams, Biggest American Brewer

Kalman · 07/19/08, 6:04 PM

The good: Arbor Brewing's Holy Heifer hefeweizen. Very nice flavor, *very* citrusy with a good aftertaste. Not as bitter as you'd expect from the amount of citrus in the flavor.

The bad: It probably isn't available outside of Ann Arbor and immediate surrounds.

The ugly: Echt Kriekenbier. It's intended to be a cherry ale. Instead it's some kind of cherry beverage which they tipped a little ale on top of and it's terrible. I *like* cherries, but this was just badly done.

Anyone in SEMI going to be at the Michigan Summer Beer Festival next weekend?