Beer in the new era

*tasty, not tasting.

i had that winter blue moon the other night, i think it's called Full Moon. not too bad

i definitely second the interest in black non-stouts... i had that german one recently that says something like "black beer, blonde heart" or something on it. kostritzer?

I agree that Sierra Nevada is a fine beer - very hoppy, but with a complex, floral character that sets it above other hoppy American-style ales and lagers. It usually tastes fresh too. I don't always want something with such a strong bite to it, so I'll usually take an HB or Pilsner Urquell or even a Harp instead, if those are available - but I'd still rank it over Sam Adams Lager or Brooklyn Lager.

I never would've guessed that.

i wouldn't either, but perhaps Sam Adams seems more ubiquitous in the Northeast? or the West drinks a lot more beer?

that's possible. if someone's going to drink a craft brew on the west coast, i don't imagine them picking sam adams.

The Economist reports that a looming hops shortage threatens US craft brewers:

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10337782

Scary stuff.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.economist.com/images/20071222/20071222issuecovUS160.jpg

not such a merry christmas

Alaskan and Deschutes (as well as Full Sail and Rogue) beers are just ubiquitous here in the NW - to the point that I kind of don't think of them as "craft" beers anymore, they're kind of just the default. Most of them are pretty good.

I tend to like a lot of the Rogues the best, but they don't seem to have one single beer that's always around and on tap at any regular hole-in-the-wall bar. Dead Guy is probably the closest, but is still less common than Mirror Pond, Black Butte, Big Sky Moose Drool, Alaskan Amber / Pale / IPA, Fat Tire, and any of the Widmers.

I have a 22 of Deschutes Hop Trip in the fridge that I think I'm going to enjoy tonight.

Dead Guy seems to be the most common Rogue that you see on tap here in the Midwest. (I felt comfortable enough to include ROGUEDEADGUY in a crossword I made recently, clued as "'Morbid' beer made in Newport, Ore.")

I'm alternating Bell's Two-Hearted and Expedition Stout. They don't sell the stuff in Chicago any more, so it's a nice treat.

Great Lakes Brewing News National IPA Championship

brackets: http://www.brewingnews.com/nipac/images/NIPAC-RoundONE.gif

I think I've had 8 of these.

this makes me want to drink more sam adams... to show my support, or something, i guess

I had some magic hat number 9 last night, very nice a fruit beer that isn't sweet, very subtle tang of apricot.

they sell this nice tartish kriek in my local shop now but forgotten the name

Drij Fontainen?

I love that Maisel's Weisse stuff but haven't found a nearby offie with it.

http://www.lemarkbbc.com/images/bottles/469_Zubr.JPG

had a couple of bottles of this. It was notable because I mispronounced the name at the bar and got laughed at by a group of middle-aged Polish businessmen.

It wasn't that good.

how is it pronounced?

my local bottle-o has a bunch of obscuro euro beers and local boutique stuff but i haven't been drinking frequently enough to get the chance to check it out. has anyone had chili beer? is it worth it?

lol it's kind of hard to use letters, I guess like "zsheubber". with emphasis on the "zsh"

http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-RedSeal.htm

Anyone tried North Coast Red Seal...?

Yeah, I've had that. It's pretty good.

So disappointed in Baltika 3. It used to be a great light beer back in the day in Russia, blah blah blah. It isn't the same now it's from Tesco's.

Red Seal is ok, but then I think my beer tastes have been permanently damaged by all the hop-centric American IPAs of the past few years. Everything else just tastes sort of bland now, and malty reds in particular have just fallen off my radar. It's like using too much hot sauce on your mexican food.

Overhopped American ales really piss me off. It's not a B.U. contest, assholes!

Strikes me as such an American approach too, just like how it's always "JIMBOB'S HOT-AS-FUCK HOTTEST FUCK YOU IN THE FACE HOT SAUCE," rather than just good-tasting hot sauce.

Baltika! I almost bought a 51oz plastic bottle of Baltika 9 at a beer store in Portland last month so I could mail it to my friend in Chicago. It just looked so horrible, and was like $4. Like the plastic bottle was saying "if you're drinking me you're depraved enough that you could easily break a glass bottle, plus you obviously don't care that this beer is going to taste like plastic".

I like hoppy IPAs but not everything should be be that way. I had a Sierra Nevada barleywine that was super hoppy the other day and was not at all what I wanted from a barleywine. The "everything else tastes bland" thing is also in effect, so most brown ales now taste kind of weak and flat to me now, like something is missing.

this is one of my favorites:

http://www.allagash.com/curieux.htm

You'll have to believe me: Baltika tasted great to a 21-year-old idiot wandering around Russia looking for things to drink other than vodka and Polish cream liquers.

You know what's not bad? the new Budweiser American Ale

You know what's not American? The new Budweiser American Ale.

Not that I really give a shit whether beers are american, it's just an amazingly nervy bit of doublespeak

Didn't like it...they should stick to lagers. It offended me with its attempt to be inoffensive.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA - This is a nice, smooth, well-rounded IPA. I would consider this as an alternative to my usual standby, Sierra Nevada - though the flavor seemed a bit less intensely floral than the SN - almost a little too well-behaved.

^^ive been sucking these back w/ regularity recently. v. good tho a little expensive to buy by the bottle

drinking Heineken. It's really pretty good.

Was in Amsterdam last weekend and had some more of these...
http://www.sevenpack.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/ChristoffelBlonde.JPG
Really nice - although I'm not sure I could drink a lot of it.

Have been drinking Vedett quite a lot at home. I know it's a bit gimmicky but so nice. If only could figure out a way of getting a customised crate back from Belgium.

drinking Heineken. It's really pretty good.

― Tyrone Quattlebaum (Hurting 2), Friday, November 7, 2008 10:38 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wasnt there some ilx thread where a bunch of ppl were shitting on heineken? i think its perfectly good for a decently priced import

what do u guys think of grolsch - despite being a weird word to pronounce i enjoy it, and also i enjoy the gimmicky caps

Grolsch can be OK but can also be quite 'oniony' to me anyway - particularly if it's not super cold.

I was told by the UK marketing manager for it over here that they wanted to serve it REALLY cold in the pubs over here but the Dutch parent company wouldn't let them - maybe this is why I don't like it so much when it's on draft.

wasnt there some ilx thread where a bunch of ppl were shitting on heineken? i think its perfectly good for a decently priced import

― Because it's a snow machine (deej), Saturday, November 8, 2008 4:06 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yeah, I think I and a lot of people came into the beer world with negative impressions of it as the beer equivalent of a BMW or something, plus with all the new microbrews and imports to choose from it seemed dumb to drink Heineken. But I got some on sale and I think it's very tasty. A nice, well-balanced beer.

i had a Dead Guy Ale last night--pretty great, never tried a Rogue before

Yeah agreed on Heineken. Nothing wrong with it - I have a mini keg in right now. Great beer and one of the few reliable international brands.

The only thing ever wrong with it was the old Heineken you used to get in the UK. They actually used to make an adulterated watered down version as people were more used to drinking lager than bitter. One of the worst beers I've ever drunk. So glad it's gone.

I don't like Heineken like I don't like Stella - both always taste kind of skunky to me in an unpleasant way. A lot of pilsners taste do this to me, so it might just be that. It's a flavor I really don't like in beers.

i had a Dead Guy Ale last night--pretty great, never tried a Rogue before

― Mr. Que, Saturday, November 8, 2008 9:23 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

The deli around the corner from me usually has this. It's great.

Tonight is the Southampton Publick House double white. It's good. It doesn't gimme a headache like a lot of white beers do (I'm looking at you, hoegarden.)

I'm just now enjoying my third Millstream Schild Brau Amber, which they sell at the local hippie whole food store. Not one of those super-hoppy American ales, but kind of at the malt-y end of the lager spectrum. Probably only available around Iowa, but yumm.

Had lovely Westmalle last night, ruined only by a terrible date

What beers should I seek out in Austin, TX?

Yeah, Heineken tastes kind of metallic to me.