Beverage: Beer (favorite brands & articles about)

Post by **Darb** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:23 pm

Stoudts ... that brings back memories of a drunken bus trip by my old brewing club to and from a craft brewing festival at Stoudts sometime. We killed half of a free keg of Brooklyn Brewing Brown Ale (brief aside: a full third of us were BJCP judges who, at the time, were judging homebrew competitions at brooklyn brewing, who helped sponsor our trip) ... sampled ourselves silly at the CBF, then swapped our half keg of brooklyn brown for a full keg of Stoudts (courtesy of one of our former members who, at the time, was a regional distributor for Stoudts - I forget which label the keg was, because my memory of the trip home was rather fuzzy) ... which we drank half of the 2nd keg, and donated the remainder to the friend's tavern that served as our assembly point for the trip.

I'm omitting a lot of details ... such as how the bus's transmission broke down for almost 2 hrs on the jersey turnpike on the way down and the bus company had to send a replacement bus to pick us up (we arrived lat the CBF fashionably late, and in RARE falstaffian form I might add) ... and how the toilet overflowed on the ride home (courtesy of the company forgetting to pump the tank, plus our swilling copious amounts of beer all day).

Fun trip.

Anyway, from memory, I recall liking their honey dopple maibock ... and I still have a rather threadbare t-shirt of their "scarlet lady" red ale in my dresser.

Post by **Darb** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:33 pm

A friend of mine will be putting kegs of both Stone Old Guardian (11% abv) AND Legacy Euphoria <strike>(12% abv)</strike> (8%ish) on tap soon. Concurrently. Both of those are rare keggings, and are almost impossible to find.

Man, i'll be like a crazed starving dog confronted with too many food bowls to choose from, deciding between those taps. I'll definitely need a designated driver ... and an IV drip of ibuprofen the next day.

[Edit: See correction above. I tried the euphoria, and it sort of tasted like a strong ale version of a mild Belgian geuze. Wasn't really my speed.]

Post by **Darb** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 4:30 pm

I've added a spare 1 liter masskrug to the trunk of my car, for beer emergencies.

Speaking of beer emergencies, I'm having one right now. I'll be leaving in 10 mins or so to hit a friend's tavern for a liter of Lagunitas Imperial Red, and then I'll be meeting another friend of mine at another friend's restaurant for dinner. Names witheld to protect the guilty.

Woo hoo ... it's <strike>Miller time</strike> Lagunitas Time !

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:44 pm

We have been drinking a very light beer lately -- Berghoff Pilsner. When we were in Minneapolis recently, we had a local beer, Grain Belt. It's like their local version of a "cheap" beer, but we really liked it. It was also a light-tasting beer (I don't know enough about describing flavors to be more specific). We talked to a local liquor store about getting some here, but they don't distribute this far east.

Sounds like you had fun last night, Brad. And now I will say something very sappy, friends are the spice that make all food and drink taste good!

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:43 pm

Violetblue,

If you like Berghoff Pilsner, you should try Victory Prima Pils, TrÃ¶egs Sunshine Pils or Stoudt's Pils. They are all great examples of German style Pilsners (Pilseners). I don't know where you are, but all three of these are brewed in Pennsylvania so they are available many places in the East.

As far as Grain Belt goes, I don't know much about it other than it is classified as an American Macro Lager and is considered one of the better ones. I would suggest maybe trying Brooklyn Lager, it is somewhat similar and probably even better.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 2:17 pm

I went to a small party last night and brought a few beers with me.

A magnum of Anchor Our Special Ale 2007 (Anchor Christmas Ale)
A 750ml bottle of Duchesse De Bourgogne a Flanders red ale
A 750ml bottle of La Chouffe a strong Belgian blond ale

Post by **Darb** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:17 pm

Nice.

What's the spicing profile for Anchor's holiday ale this season ?

They change it slightly every year, but usually it's some permutation of spruce and/or all spice.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:30 pm

I'm never very good at figuring out the flavors in beer.

Spruce?
Cinnamon?
Anise?
Nutmeg?
Clove?
Maple?

Those are my guesses

Post by **Darb** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:20 pm

Brad wrote:A friend of mine will be putting kegs of both Stone Old Guardian (11% abv) AND Legacy Euphoria <strike>(12% abv)</strike> (8%ish) on tap soon. Concurrently. Both of those are rare keggings, and are almost impossible to find.

Man, i'll be like a crazed starving dog confronted with too many food bowls to choose from, deciding between those taps. I'll definitely need a designated driver ... and an IV drip of ibuprofen the next day.

[Edit: See correction above. I tried the euphoria, and it sort of tasted like a strong ale version of a mild Belgian geuze. Wasn't really my speed.]

Note corrections to earlier post.

Guardian's not on tap yet, but the Lagunitas Imperial Red is almost done (had 2 pints on my way home last night), so I'll be starting on that next.

That imperial red is really nice. Reminds me of my 5th batch of homebrew, back in 1995 .... I'd made something I called "Red Zeppelin Strong Ale", which was a rockin hoppy red strong ale. The lagunitas uses west coast hops however, whereas I used East Kent Goldings.

I'm going to have to rebrew that one ... especially now that I'm inching my way back into the beer scene.

Post by **Darb** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:27 pm

Man, i'm have a bad beer emergency. This place is a ghost town, and that liter masskrug in the trunk of my car is calling to me.

The second I leave work today, I'm heading for my friend's tavern for a full liter of that yummy lagunitas imperial red ... and then I'll head over to another friend's tavern for a liter of whatever he's got on tap that looks good (if all else fails, guinness).

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 9:59 am

I'm doing a small beer tasting tonight for some friends. I've done a Belgian tasting and a German tasting already. This one will be a English and Scottish tasting. I'm serving the following.

Bitter - Charles Wells Bombardier
Brown Ale - Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale
India Pale Ale - Samuel Smith's India Ale
Pale Ale - Black Sheep Ale
Porter - Samuel Smith's, The Famous Taddy Porter
Extra Special Bitter - Young's Special London Ale
Sweet Stout - Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Oatmeal Stout - Young's Oatmeal Stout
Old Ale - Thomas Hardy's Ale
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy â€“ SkullSplitter
Scottish Ale - Belhaven Scottish Ale

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:50 am

That sounds like fun. Do you actually take notes when you do tasting parties, and try to isolate flavors? I've gone to wine tastings where we've actually been given a chart of flavors, etc., so I was curious. What were the results of the tasting? Did everyone have a favorite, or was opinion divided?

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:02 pm

*snicker* we had some interesting beers while I was in England.... well, JOE had some interesting beers. The rest of us looked on in horror and disgust (would you believe, Carling is considered a great beer over there???)

The worst of the bunch, and the only one whose name I can readily call to mind, was Barn Own. It didn't *look* nasty.... but the smell was redolent of some sickly sweet movie theatre floor, and the taste..... um.... I'm not sure I can even accurately describe the taste. It tasted like all things sweet and nasty, and I think Barn Owl was more a description of what creature produced the fowl stuff than any flight of the brewer's fancy....

I'll try to get an accurate listing from Joe as to what all he drank that night (he had .... ten pints? and only two of them were of the same stuff). That's if he can still remember now that he's sobered up.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:06 pm

I do a very informal tasting party. It's really just an excuse for me to go and buy a bunch of good beer and drink it with my neighbors. I write up a little fact sheet about each style and the beer I'm serving to represent that style, I then like to have someone read it to everyone. I then pour everyone a small serving, about half of a regular serving, and we drink it. Then people say stuff like "this is pretty good, I like it", "this is ok, but I liked that other one better", or occasionally "This is beer? Ugh I can't drink this!â€

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:10 pm

tollbaby wrote:...would you believe, Carling is considered a great beer over there???

The worst of the bunch, and the only one whose name I can readily call to mind, was Barn Own.

I know, in a land that produces so many great ales it's the lagers that are gaining popularity. At it's not even the good lagers either, Fosters is a pub favorite too.

As for the Barn Owl, was it Barn Owl Premium Bitter brewed by Cotleigh Brewery? I've never had it, but the only thing I've ever heard about it was favorable. Though it was just one review.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:15 pm

daetara wrote:question for ya'll...thinking of giving an assortment of beers to my dad for christmas. did it once before on a cheap-beer level (packaged assortment from a "world market" store) and it was well received, but this time i'd like to up the quality level a bit. not really sure what types of beer are his favorites ...i know he drinks yuengling on occasion, and he had a bass ale once at a restaurant that he seemed to enjoy. i think he'd be willing to try most types of beer at least once. any suggestions? looking to give him a box of about 8-12 different beers, preferably bottled.

So, what did you end up getting him? Did you check out Corks & Kegs?

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:11 pm

gpackin wrote:As for the Barn Owl, was it Barn Owl Premium Bitter brewed by Cotleigh Brewery? I've never had it, but the only thing I've ever heard about it was favorable. Though it was just one review.

I have no idea which brewery produced it... It was on tap, so we didn't even see the bottle. But it was truly foul stuff. After I sniffed it, I was loath to try it (it smelled... CHUNKY), but try it I did, and it took me two lemonades to get rid of the taste LOL

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:31 pm

The people at your party sound like my kind of people. "Tastes good," or "nope, don't like it." That about as descriptive as I am capable of getting!

I'm surprised you didn't like the beer more in England, tb. I don't like ales or any bitter type of beer, though.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:57 pm

I actually don't drink at all LOL The only one I tasted was the Barn Owl... but back when i did drink, I mainly drank beer, so I had a good memory to base my opinion on.

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:49 pm

tollbaby wrote:I actually don't drink at all LOL The only one I tasted was the Barn Owl... but back when i did drink, I mainly drank beer, so I had a good memory to base my opinion on.

Sacrebleu! (vb faints dead away). Say it is not so, tb. How can a fine dinner be appreciated without being accompanied by a glass of fine wine? How can one shell shrimp sauteed in butter and Worchestire sauce (with lemon squeezed on top, mais oui) without an icy cold draught on the side? Life is passing you by, tb, seize it!

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:50 am

sorry, stuff makes me sicker'n hell now

Had one bad experience when I was 19, and haven't been able to stomach it since *sigh* I do occasionally have a half-glass of wine, or a wine spritzer... and I have the customary glass of champagne at Christmas, but that's the extent of my drinking these days.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:22 am

That would make you the permanent designated driver!

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:02 pm

Yup... my auntie loves it (she bought me the car). Cause now I can pick her up and she can drink as much as she wants, and she doesn't have to worry about whether or not she can drive home.

Post by **Darb** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:04 pm

Here are some beauty shots of some recent beers:

[Mod: links expired ... new image host to be provided later. -- Brad

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:36 pm

wow.... I haven't worn beer goggles in ages. thanks for the trip down memory lane, Brad