Beer in the new era

Last night I drank a Widmeyer Hefeweizen, which I found meh, and a Maresdous 8, which was very tasty in the tradition of tasty Belgian strong ales. A bit on the sweeter side of what I like but not over the line.

Oh, I'll keep an eye out for that. I've been meaning to start exploring Belgian beers. I was putting it off till I'd tried every English stout but I should probably start sooner.

It's almost summer! Time to put the stouts away!

Oh yeah, I had something called Sunset Wheat the other night which tasted like orange and was surprisingly good considering that fact.

nooooooooooooooooo!!!

(I'm assuming you're talking about Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat, which I declared a vendetta against because it is the single least-pleasant beer I have ever had)

When I was in Belgium last week I totally was rocking all the kriek. But not the Hoegaarden (because that's utterly disgusting). I also had a Trappist (Chimay Bleu) which was pretty intense at 9% ABV

sundar iirc you are in OTT or MTL? where are you getting these amazing beers from in whichever of those two cities you're in?

if you are from neither of those places i apologize, i just remember you saying it once or something. i may be making it up.

I'm from Ottawa (and lived in Mtl 2001-2002) but I've been living in Buffalo NY for almost 2 years now.

When I was in Belgium last week I totally was rocking all the kriek. But not the Hoegaarden (because that's utterly disgusting). I also had a Trappist (Chimay Bleu) which was pretty intense at 9% ABV

Where exactly?

BTW if near West Flanders: Should have tried the Brugse Zot!

(I would imagine that at least Mtl should have good places for this? I couldn't help you though. I drank Colt 45 from the dep when I lived there. Ah, callow youth.)

To be fair, I haven't really looked past my local deps, but the few bars I've found that have bigger selections were pretty disappointing... one place that was recommended highly as a place with a bunch of beers had that greek beer whose name I forget as the rarest one. mythos?

i'll have to check ch0whound or something.

Let me know if you find (or have had) Dieu du Ciel Aphrodisiaque. The ratebeer.com folks rank it as the best sweet stout on earth but I haven't found any around here.

yes. mythos. it's not bad!

I think I am going to drop by Dieu du Ciel tonight, actually. Everything they have is actually to a pretty high standard... the reason you probably haven't found it is because they aren't actually bottling any of their brews yet. Apparently they're opening another brewery north of the city though, and they're going to start bottling there! I can't remember where I heard that. I read it today after doing a bit of ch0whound research. I will see if I can talk to the owners or something tonight (I'm going early so hopefully the place will be near empty, I'm not much of one for the crowd there). I've not had the aphrodisiaque, don't know if it's "in season" (they only brew most things a couple times a year), but if they have it I'll give you a review!

Where exactly?

Brussels. and Paris, but that's obviously not in Belgium. May I also suggest that if you do go to France and decide to try the local brews, Kronenbourg tastes like piss. stay away.

I've developed a fondness for Zywiec lately - I don't even usually like lagers much but it's so smooth and tasty. Perfect warm weather beer.

it is. and that red-temperature indicator on the back is key!

König Ludwig Weissbier is majorly tasty, if a bit pricey.

I recently tried this weird Belgian beer, "La Chouffe." Unpasteurized, 8% and quite good. (Although the floaty yeast cultures were somewhat of a turn-off)

Oh yeah, I've had La Chouffe - very nice. There are so many good belgian beers it's amazing.

I just remembered I have a beer question:

In Mexico I tried Bohemia (regular, not dark) and it was fantastic - at the moment I thought it was one of the best beers I'd ever tried.

Recently I tried some Bohemia in a U.S. Mexican place and it was meh. Is it possible I was getting a different "export" version, or that the transit did something to the beer?

Man...I have had so much "skunky" imported beer, could that be it?

On a related note, what do you do when your beer is obviously off and you've already drank a couple? Can you take the rest back to the store.?

;)

Oh yeah, I went back to Dieu, but no Aphro... was available. I didn't get a chance to ask when/if it was coming back... next time! Maybe I'll go tonight, I would like to dig into my new book and my house smells like cat piss and I am not currently poor.

Oh man! I didn't see that you guys were talking about Biere D'Achouffe. I thought it was a Quebecois beer for so long! True story. Apparently the first place they started exporting to was Quebec! It is very delicious. I don't remember finding any little floaters, though...

Response from Dieu du Ciel to two questions I asked via e-mail:

Hello Will,

Thanks you for your comments. It is much appreciated.

1-) We brew the Aphrodisiaque only 2 or 3 times a year. The next batch
will probably be avaible something like next september.

2-) Yes, it's true, we are in the process of building up a bottling
plant in St-Jérôme. There will also be a pub there. We hope to be able
to sell our first bottles at the end of July.

Cheers!
[dude's name removed by me]

currently - harviestoun Butter and Twisted is amazinhg, but we've just come back from North East France (ie very near the Belgian border and lots of Flemish beer-making tradition) and have been loving L'angelus which is beer's swankiest bottle I fear, gold foil and everything. Also Maredsous, Amadeus (lemon flavoured, should be wrong but oh so right) and god's own beer - Orval.

erm that's bitter and twisted of course

When alcohol content is shown on U.S. beer, it is often labelled by weight. Since alcohol is lighter than water, this can leave the mistaken impression that U.S. beer has much less alcohol, on average, than Canadian beer. A 3.2% beer in the U.S. (by weight) would be equivalent to a 4% beer in Canada (by volume).

Wikipedia I LOVE YOU. Did anyone know this? It boggles the mind! WHY?!

let's have a sesh

link?

my girl friend brought me a 6 pack of Hitachino Nest White Ale. Pretty good stuff. nice floral aromas ,perfect for a hot summer day. i think it's kind of pricey though

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/409121525_01915ec7ca.jpg

link, sorry: Canadian Beer

Apparently they have Aphrodisiaque in now. And I'm destitute poor and going away for the weekend! NOOOOO!

Recommend some beer. Not too heavy, not too wheaty, crisp and refreshing in the style of Tsing Tsao or similar.

Also recommend some beers like Paulaner or the white Kronenberg with the fruity taste whose name escapes me.

I am in the mood for trying different beers.

Dude, Zywiec

(re: light, crisp, refreshing, not wheaty)

I was at the nashville beer fest and the best thing there was a homebrewed bock that they ran out of by my second go-round. After a while though all you care about is that the beer is cold, because it's nearly august, and you're outdoors in nashville.

I think I might have talked my dad into getting a 30-gallon kit from Boot Lager. (ha ha, "boot lager")

I also finally made myself a michelada with a little kosher salt on top of a can of tecate with a lime in it. not half bad, if you don't mind a bit of foamy foam foam.

Sundar, have you tried Flying Bison? I can't quite remember which bars serve it (I think the Ulrich's, but they have closed, I think). I miss it dearly.

I swore by Aviator Red (which you can get at Wegman's) for a while. I still think it's good but have gone off it a bit. Are there other good FB beers?

I wanted to make it to Dieu du Ciel when I visited Mtl earlier in the month but couldn't make it. Drank a lot of St-Ambroise (and some nice micro wheats) instead.

They have seasonal beers (which I can remember the name of), that friends would bring me in growlers. I never managed to locate the brewery, which apparently is on the West Side (on Niagara, maybe?). Anyway, I remember enjoying the summer and winter ales quite a bit.

Available in Wegmans!? Ahh! This was not so when I lived there! I love you, Wegmans!

"Dude, Zywiec"

One of the benefits of my area of London filling up with large numbers of young eastern Europeans is the availablity in the cornershops of excellent Polish beers at ridiculously cheap prices.

Zywiec is one of the better ones, at about £1 a bottle. The dark lagers especailly are a revelation.

Ronan WTF?? This is truly a new era for you!

Saku from Estonia is pretty good

Saku or Saku Kuld, anyway. The dark variety has that soy saucey aftertaste I can't get with.

Ronan WTF?? This is truly a new era for you!

is this a joke? heh...I don't get it if so. is it that unusual that I ask about trying new beers?

I had a Saku Porter that had a weird aftertaste, that was probably the same one.

Wheats: Last night I was drinking Sprecher Hefe Weiss, which was all right.
Non-Wheats: Last night I was also drinking New Holland Mad Hatter, which was goddamn awesome.

I guess I am in the dark :/ I thought you were still teetotalling because of your stuffed-upedness-in-the-cabesa.

shasta otm, the smart thing to do would be for someone to buy the brand and rebuild it as a local go-to. trying to be any bigger than that feels like a death sentence these days.

that video dan m posted is really neat. 1989 and places like Anderson Valley appearing is surprising to me.

Was tempted to go tonight but I also figured it would socked in. As a friend from the UK was visiting I suggested Cellarmaker instead, and it was a hit.

I'm bummed Cellarmaker closed that SF taproom. Did they reopen in Oakland yet? Or did you go to the pizza place?

That was actually the brewery there in SOMA. The landlord raised their rent which is kind of nuts as that area has been a ghost town since the pandemic. So Cellarmaker purchased The Rare Barrel's space in Berkeley and transferred brewery ops there (ultimately they will open a taproom there as well). The Oakland location in Jack London Square is opening soon (early August).

I posted in this about it 9 years ago but I'm 99% sure that the first craft beer I ever had in my life was an anchor steam that Trey Anastasio gave me backstage at a Phish show when I was 18.

So Cellarmaker purchased The Rare Barrel's space in Berkeley and transferred brewery ops there (ultimately they will open a taproom there as well).

"ultimately" = tomorrow at noon! That was much faster than expected.

lol joygoat, that is a perfect story.

I'm pretty sure anchor steam was my first as well, though in a far less glamorous setting.

That was actually the brewery there in SOMA. The landlord raised their rent which is kind of nuts as that area has been a ghost town since the pandemic. So Cellarmaker purchased The Rare Barrel's space in Berkeley and transferred brewery ops there (ultimately they will open a taproom there as well). The Oakland location in Jack London Square is opening soon (early August).

Thanks, I knew they had closed there, but didn't know the story. I really liked that location, super chill, good brewery vibes day and night. I was planning on going again when we are back in SF in December.

Shame about Rare Barrel. One of my friends was way into their stuff.

i don't think that cellarmaker is stopping rare barrel's sour program. you can get both there!

!!

https://vinepair.com/booze-news/anchor-employees-brewery-takeover-bid/

That would be excellent.

Yeah, I wish them luck.. hopefully some silicon valley billionaire can cough up some capital to get them started

RIP Toppling Goliath

https://decorahnews.com/news/8898/2024-presidential-hopeful-ron-desantis-hosted-an-event-friday-at-toppling-goliath-in-decorah/

Toppling Goliath makes a good beer, but hey, fuck 'em. Same happened to Noon Whistle (a good suburban Chicago brewery I used to drink) not long back. They hosted some Republican asshole, then when they got pushback from fans pulled the "we're just a business making a living, hosting this guy is not necessarily an endorsement, free speech, both sides, we're neutral, open minds, blah blah." And the usual conservative assholes then respond to the response with "oh, so now who's the intolerant ones?" And so on.

Ultimately, it's just such an unforced error. Iowa might be a red state, but it's not overwhelmingly red, just run by the usual red bullies these days. Why alienate the other 40% or so?

What's interesting to me about that is that the one time I visited Decorah (on a road trip from Minneapolis-St Paul to Chicago), I felt it less red-state-y than the surrounding areas. But that is bad optics for TG, I could see some fall out among their distro outposts in urban areas.

I'll be at the big beer fest in Madison this weekend (even though I'm not drinking), kinda hope they'll be a boycott of their booth. I'm sure most people will be unaware though.

lol I just talked to someone from Decorah on the phone at work

xpost You should try and visit New Glarus, just 30 minutes away. It's a nice self-guided tour, and you can get some good unique to brewery beer there.

Yeah, deceptively flying vulnerable migrants all over the country pretty much demands a disinvite

Lol Josh, I live in Madison and have def been to New Glarus a few times, thanks though. My band is playing at the fest. Looking forward to the Untitled Art N/A beers (best in the land).

Those Untitled Art ones are even ending up around Portland.

xpost I had no idea! My daughter goes to school there. We're moving her back in next weekend, otherwise this fest would have been fun.

Untitled Art is great. If you haven't had it, I recommend Roaring Table (out of Lake Zurich) and Hop Butcher (especially of you like NEIPAs and DIPAs).

It appears... (based on some financial filings that were screenshotted to me in a slack group)... that Anchor will be back as a co-op sometime soon.

I paused thinking, Wait, were the new-ish house beers at Hopleaf Untitled Art? But no, they were from Art History, and I really liked both of those a few weeks ago.

I love Art History, another one nailing lagers and the like. They put out a really good ... Czech dark lager?

The other day I had a Grodziskie beer, and oof, not my thing. By design, really light, bubbly and low-alcohol, which are all fine, but also smokey, which made it taste like drinking a kielbasa. I assume all smokey beers are kind of controversial, but this one was especially not my jam.

Speaking of Czech lagers, this is probably more "Beer in the Old Era", but to an American traveling within Prague, these variations on beer culture were quite a shock.

During my first night at a Vinohrady burger joint, I noticed servers distributing glasses of a local Pilsner-style lager called Unětický Pivovar 12° that were 2/3 foam, and one glass that was all foam. I asked my server about this, and they pointed me to a diagram of 3 types of beer pours. I eventually tried the 2 alternative pours, and damn, they are definitely worth investigation.

https://www.hopculture.com/the-proper-czech-pours-the-best-foam-youll-ever-drink/

Drinking a 2012 Bourbon County Stout. Tastes fine.

Sounds like Metropolitan Brewing in Chicago is closing, too bad.

Despite being a huge fan of the modern era of beer (lots of local breweries, a sense of adventurousness in style), I really miss having good estery British ales like London Pride available. And it seems impossible to get a good flavourful beer that isn’t some variation on a sour/fruited/novelty-flavoured beer or of an IPA. The occasional porter pops up, but even they — and certainly all the stouts — are usually some kinda saguaro-limestone-toothpaste imperial bourbon breakfast cereal thing. Fuck, dudes, can ya just brew a solid ESB nowadays ffs?

Not sure where you're located but English milds are having a bit of a renaissance on the west coast urban centers. My local even has at least one or two on cask.

I've had a couple of great ones lately. "Thatch Whistler" from Roaring Table 'round here is excellent. There are a handful of breweries specializing in lagers and the like, or at least all things not IPA or pastry stout or whatever.

Re: Metropolitan, feels like there's been a wave of closures lately. It's too bad, but maybe there's only so much room for so many breweries, especially since many of the ones closing (Metropolitan aside) I've never even heard of!

Dying at saguaro-limestone-toothpaste imperial bourbon breakfast cereal thing... so true

My local brewery did a brown ale recently with no novelty ingredients, and named it Nobody Cares.

Not sure where you're located but English milds are having a bit of a renaissance on the west coast urban centers. My local even has at least one or two on cask.

― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Monday, November 13, 2023 12:00 PM

MacCloud brewery in Van Nuys (Los Angeles) closed their second location recently, and announced that they will likely be gone entirely soon. They specialized in British style cask ales. I think they over-extended themselves, first with a restaurant location that never happened, then the one that did. The pandemic didn't help.

An English Dark Mild on cask is an instant order for me, but so rare in my experience.

After being a hazebro for most of the last 8 years, I've been making a conscious effort to expand my palate again. I've been drinking a bunch of Rothaus Pils "Tannen Zapfle" and Weihenstephaner Festbier for the last couple of weeks and loving the change.

Oops, that's MacLeod brewery.

https://i.imgur.com/5xigM3n.jpg

Where have you been all my life

Dunno about that one

The other day I had a Grodziskie beer, and oof, not my thing. By design, really light, bubbly and low-alcohol, which are all fine, but also smokey, which made it taste like drinking a kielbasa. I assume all smokey beers are kind of controversial, but this one was especially not my jam.

I really like these (and Sketchbook's in particular), though the friend I tried it with didn't like it at all as well. I've had a few smoked lagers since, American and German Rauchbiers, and dug them as well. Kind of surprised they didn't have a moment in the 2010s when smokiness was featured in so many condiments, especially having that barrel-aged flavor without the syrup-ness of barrel-aged stouts.

To each his own but for me there’s no better clue to “pass” on a menu listing than “smoked”

I’d just as soon as have smoked Gouda or something at home instead of in a beer gag

Assuming that post wasn't from me, I had one of those smoky beers some months ago, and boy was it gross.

“Smoked lager” is a thing blue point brewing offers and vomits

To each his own but for me there’s no better clue to “pass” on a menu listing than “smoked”

Otm

I tried to make one recently and it was the worst thing I'd ever tasted. I thought I just botched it but I went and bought a bunch of smoked beers and nope, turns out that's just how they taste

iirc there was an interesting "why" behind that style, but ... so?

yeah hard pass for me as well

Wow, more for me, I guess!

Feel like it needs to be recorded somewhere that Sligo's own The White Hag brewery have achieved some rare brilliance in the imperial stout department. Yours, Rapidly Ensozzled

Gonna be in North Carolina for a couple of days, what are the typical menu beer option go-tos?