The Beer Forum - It's really a thread but we're too drunk to notice. - Page 99

Monocle · 09/26/08, 10:16 AM

If you want a really strong Oktoberfest, Avery has one out now called The Kaiser. It is from the same beer series as the Maharaja Imperial IPA. This one has an ABV of 10%, that's almost double the normal range for Oktoberfests.

I liked it, but it wasn't something I was able to drink fast. A little odd having a beer in this style that you drink like a Barely Wine. This beer does have some variations each year, I know the ABV does have some variace between batches, so each year it should end up a little different. Worthwhile to try it again next year.

Meanwhile a friend of mine I grabbed one for now loves this beer to death. I'm going to have to snag a couple more for him when I can, as he just can;t get it where he currently lives.

Been trying a few different Oktoberfests this year, but out of them all, Harpoon's still comes across as anice all round one. For some reason, it was really hard tracking some down this year, but I did manage to finally find some!

Also, Elysium has got distribution in my area now, so I will be trying some more of the beers they make. Now if we could only get Ninkasi or Midnight Sun stuff over here...

Nemantopia · 10/08/08, 7:14 PM

Beer forum, I come to you in a time of need! I've never been a beer savvy guy, but unfortunately doing research on the subject has only managed to confuse me more (you'd think I was drunk!). For a while, I thought I didn't like alcohol, but then I found myself with the urge for a beer upon coming home...the problem was I wasn't particular fond of what my roomates or family [depending on the situation] kept around. I soon figured out why: my sweettooth. And by sweet-tooth, I mean "Oh, yum, sweet goodness, ack, that's bitter! Kill it!" taste-buds. Mountain Dew is my non-alcoholic choice of beverage (this next part is important) because I prefer the taste to other sodas, as an example of just how sweet I'm talking and that bitter acid turns me off.

So I gravitated towards things like Mike's Hard Lemonade [my current after-work booze], where I still get my kick without the bitter. I realize this makes me something of a wierdo in a beer community, but it's the basis of my question. As a side note, flavors that are NOT bitter [sour, most fruity or nutty flavors, spices] are good and things I'm looking to try.

So, the question: For someone where the sweet/bitter ratio is so crucial, what specifc beers [or ales, or meads, or whatever] do you recommend where the other flavors, be they malty, fruity, sour, or herbs and spices overrides the bitter to the point where it's not noticable [or nearly so] or doesn't exist? I've noted various meads, ciders, and seasonal beers, and have access to a World Foods [and am mid-north/south on the east coast], but it's really important there not be a conflicting sweet/bitter and I haven't seen much about that dynamic even when discussing the nuttier, fruitier, and sweeter varieties.

Or, for the drunk: "I need sweet! No bitter! What I dree...I drinn...consume?"

If you want, please do it by PM an I'll compile a list in say, a week or so, and post here with the breakdown by YOU, the boozers. And a plan for getting my hands on the trying these for review to help any other sweet nuts out there.

Angeron · 10/08/08, 7:42 PM

Spaten Optimator is incredibly sweet, rich and creamy. It almost tastes like the beer incarnation of chocolate milk. There's pretty much zero bitter taste and it's delicious.

LucidityAxel · 10/08/08, 7:53 PM

Hops lend a bitter flavor to any beer, which is part of what makes many beers an acquired taste. There are plenty of styles that are not strongly hopped: wheat beers, witbiers, and even some Trappist styles come to mind.

For instance, I had some St Bernadus Abt 12 on tap the other day and I swear I tasted notes of Starbust candy in it. It's not nearly as sweet in the bottle, but is still one of my favorite beers.

Witbier is another Belgian beer style. Instead of barley, it uses lightly-roasted, unmalted wheat, and is typically spiced with coriander and orange peel. Your local Whole Foods will almost certainly have a six-pack of Hoeegarden in stock, which gets very wide distribution and is pretty emblematic of the style.

You can get some decent domestic wheat beers, but my very favorites are the true-blue German weiss beers, or domestic brews that use an imported yeast from Germany. That yeast strain gives the finshed beer an incredible banana-bread type of smell every time you stick your nose in the glass for another swallow. A dunkelweiss is a very similar style that uses a much darker roast, which can sometimes lend choclate notes along with the banana. These beers are often strongly carbonated to help offset their mild sweetness and lack of hop bitterness.

So basically, try wheat beers (witbier, weiss, dunkels) if you want a sweeter beer. Stay away from IPAs and pale ale styles. Belgian Tripels can be sweet but can also use quite a bit of hops, so they might be a nice bridge style if you wanted to get used to a bit of hops in your beer. There's a whole world of great, hoppy beers out there and it would be a shame to miss out on them just to satsify a sweet tooth!

Nemantopia · 10/08/08, 9:11 PM

Originally Posted by LucidityAxel

((*snippd lots of good info*))

So basically, try wheat beers (witbier, weiss, dunkels) if you want a sweeter beer. Stay away from IPAs and pale ale styles. Belgian Tripels can be sweet but can also use quite a bit of hops, so they might be a nice bridge style if you wanted to get used to a bit of hops in your beer. There's a whole world of great, hoppy beers out there and it would be a shame to miss out on them just to satsify a sweet tooth!

Thanks, this is definitely what I was looking for and I'll be sure to check it out!

Docjowles · 10/08/08, 10:54 PM

I also saw you mentioned meads. This is kind of a tangent, but if you enjoy sweeter wines like Rieslings, you might like mead. It's essentially fermented honey-water and much closer in taste and alcohol content to wine than beer. I don't have any particular brand to recommend, but meads in general are going to be much sweeter than beer, so they may be more up your alley.

Monocle · 10/09/08, 11:14 AM

Nenamtopia, as was was mentioned, the Wheat bears maybe your best bet. A lot of them have fruit added too, and they are very much on the sweet side. Now if you can find them in your area, a Sweet Stout may be a good choice too. Southern Tier makes a great Vanilla Stout that is very sweet, it literally is desert in a bottle, but I am not sure if they have distribution in your area. There some also some sweet Porters out there, but once again, they may be hard to find.

I'd avoid Barelywines as well in addition to the mentioned IPA's. Whiel they do have the character of a wine, a lot of them are really heavy on the hops.

With it being Fall now, maybe try a pumpkin beer? Theya ren't super sweet, but if you like pumpkin pie, good chance you will like them. Just avoid Shipyards, awful taste, and Juck Pumpkinhead, made by A&B, so the quality on it is just flat out abysmal.

Docjowles · 10/09/08, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Monocle

Just avoid Shipyards, awful taste, and Juck Pumpkinhead, made by A&B, so the quality on it is just flat out abysmal.

I consider Shipyard's the only pumpkin beer worth drinking, so your mileage may vary. That and the one from Boston Beerworks (not Sam Adams...Beerworks is an unrelated brewpub in Boston), but I don't think you can get it outside their restaurants.

On a different note, a few weekends ago I had Left Hand Brewing's "Juju Ginger" beer and it was quite refreshing. It's actual beer with ginger in it, not "ginger beer" as in the soft drink. On a hot night it really hit the spot, might not be as appropriate going into the colder months now. Left Hand is out of Colorado, I'm not sure how wide their distribution is.

Conoris · 10/09/08, 12:13 PM

Another style that may suit you is the Belgian lambic, which come in a variety of flavors, including cherry, raspberry, and peach. Lindemans is the best-known and most widely-distributed brand, at least States-side (Whole Foods usually carries several flavors), though I personally find their lambics overly sweet and simple, at least compared with some of the smaller lambic producers, like Boon.

You could also try a Mackeson's stout, which is in the milk-stout style (milk sugar, or lactose, is added at some point in the process, I believe). 180 degrees from the Irish (read: Guinness) style of stout - sweet and chocolatey.

Karoo · 10/09/08, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Conoris

Another style that may suit you is the Belgian lambic, which come in a variety of flavors, including cherry, raspberry, and peach. Lindemans is the best-known and most widely-distributed brand, at least States-side (Whole Foods usually carries several flavors), though I personally find their lambics overly sweet and simple, at least compared with some of the smaller lambic producers, like Boon.

You could also try a Mackeson's stout, which is in the milk-stout style (milk sugar, or lactose, is added at some point in the process, I believe). 180 degrees from the Irish (read: Guinness) style of stout - sweet and chocolatey.

Mackeson is quite good. Left Hand also makes a very good milk stout.

♦ Asgorath · 10/14/08, 8:27 PM

Today(*) is a great day -- apparently they're importing Dogfish Head beers into California now. Stopped off at the local BevMo on the way home from work to see what appears to be their Halloween seasonal, and managed to get a 4-pack of the 90-minute IPA as well. Last time I'd checked, you couldn't get it in California at all, so I'm pretty happy right now.

Huge thanks to Gurg or Kaubel or whoever else recommended it, definitely one of my favourite American breweries.

(*) Spoke with the guy at the register, and apparently they've been stocking it for a month or two. Guess I need to pay closer attention or something.

Denogran · 10/14/08, 8:34 PM

Originally Posted by Asgorath

Today(*) is a great day -- apparently they're importing Dogfish Head beers into California now. Stopped off at the local BevMo on the way home from work to see what appears to be their Halloween seasonal, and managed to get a 4-pack of the 90-minute IPA as well. Last time I'd checked, you couldn't get it in California at all, so I'm pretty happy right now.

Huge thanks to Gurg or Kaubel or whoever else recommended it, definitely one of my favourite American breweries.

(*) Spoke with the guy at the register, and apparently they've been stocking it for a month or two. Guess I need to pay closer attention or something.

Dogfish Head is a weird brewery to me. Their 60 minute IPA is one of the best beers I've ever had. Their 90 minute IPA is pretty damn good. Every single other one of their beers that I've had I've disliked immensely.

As for constructive beer comments, I was up in Seattle weekend before last and the buddy I was with took me to Mac & Jack's brewery for their tour on Sunday afternoon. I highly recommend the tour to anyone in the area, as they'll answer any question you might have, they give you a free beer's worth of samples (although I really didn't like much outside of their amber, which is quite good), and they give you a free pint glass at the end. All-in-all, awesome.

♦ Asgorath · 10/14/08, 9:05 PM

Yeah, to be honest, not really enjoying the seasonal all that much. Label says "brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, sinnamon and nutmeg" but I figured it was worth a shot. Not usually a fan of beer with other crap in it, and this just confirms my dislike for said beers.

Docjowles · 10/14/08, 9:59 PM

Strangely enough, I just bought 2 bottles of the Dogfishhead seasonal this weekend. I feel the same as Asgorath...it's an alright beer with some junk thrown in that does nothing to improve its flavor, nor does it really taste "pumpkiny". To add insult to injury, it was ludicrously expensive (granted they're a small brewery and Colorado is a long way from Delaware). For my money, Shipyard remains the best pumpkin beer.

Denogran nailed it. Dogdishhead's IPA's are fantastic and perfect examples of the style. Everything else they make, I dislike.

LucidityAxel · 10/14/08, 10:27 PM

Dogfish head makes amazing IPAs. I have not enjoyed any other beer from them that I have sampled.