Beer in the new era

picked up a Three Philosophers (haven't tried it yet, but I'm a big Ommegang fan) and a Unibroue Quatre Cientemps (had this with dinner last night; I've had it before, and it remains one of my favorite beers. only 7.5%, too, so it doesn't knock me on my ass quite as fast as the other Unibroues. too bad it's a limited edition Q_Q)

also had a Terrapin Gamma Ray the other day -- weird, extremely sweet, 11% ABV "wheat wine". not unpleasant, but I'm not sure I'd buy it again.

i love this stuff

http://blogs.menupages.com/philadelphia/hitachino.jpg

I think I posted about Hitachino in another beer thread, still pretty good stuff. Been chilling with Rogue Double Dead Guy lately, and the Bell's Amber.

lots of Sierra Nevada Celebration for me.

we have another good local brewer here in Oregon that just started bottling, they are called Ninkasi. Anybody had it yet? They make about six or seven varieties in bottle.

In case anyone has been tempted by the Bell's Cherry Porter: don't be.

I've had the Ninkasi IPA a couple of times when in Eugene, and found one in Portland a couple weeks ago. I think I liked it?

I haven't had a Double Dead Guy yet, is it very different or just more boozy tasting? I had the Rogue Yellow Snow the other night for the first time and it was really good.

One of the benefits of Bell's returning to the Chicago area is that their interim brand ("Kalamazoo Beer") is now for sale dirt cheap in bars and stores. It's not quite a Bell's, but for $1.75 a bottle it kicks PBR/Old Style/Schlitz's collective asses.

I can't get used to the idea of buying beer in a champagne bottle.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/213/tx6240rv7.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/pantomus/OldRasputin.jpg

http://www.beerclubofbritain.co.uk/images/uploads/roaringmeg_large.jpg

is all leinenkugel so unimpressive? i've taken almost a month to finish 6 of them! it doesn't help that it is "berry weiss" and i really don't like fruity beer (except i would drink one in the summer, only one) but i needed it for a recipe. it's like drinking juicy juice. bleh.

normal leinies is pretty reliable cheap beer---it's like the yuengling of the midwest

but fuck that fruity bullshit

srsly whose idea was fruity beer--they are stupid. i had this in august. i like the hilarious name and label but if i wanted to drink peach juice i'd drink peach juice! should just be called "peach" anyway, there was no wheat to be found.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/50/136392892_87f2bf94c2.jpg

i will try these normal leines because i am in a non-yuengling state too

Had Sly Fox Pale Ale in a can -- not that good.

Normal Leinie's to me means someone brought one of those sturdy boxes out to someone's party in the woods at a cabin or at the beach and there will probably be fireworks or naked skiing or boot hockey or a homemade slip-and-slide and a sauna and stars and such. Therefore it's always going to be great.

haha that sounds like that 'perfect party' thread

leinenkugel's fireside nut brown is amazing shit guys

maybe a little bit sweet for some but I am very much enjoying a proper brown ale produced stateside that isn't hopped to shit

fruit beer, and pumpkin beer, are some of the stupidest products ever. who likes them, actively???
a six pack of any kind of fruity lambic or pumpkin beer would sit in my fridge forever.
lately at home, been drinking guinness, and whatever wines my roommates have on hand.
tonight i did not drink any beer, only whiskey.

also, sly fox may not be good, but it is affordable and drinkable. still better than a tecate.

I'm sorry you never learned how to drink tecate

tecate isn't really the best example i guess. cuz it's totally a fine beer.
but really, sly fox isn;t really bad.

really really really

innis & gunn.....just tried this Scottish beer tonight for the first time. Quite aley...really amazing toffee/vanilla flavours in there. so good.

a six pack of any kind of fruity lambic or pumpkin beer would sit in my fridge forever.

Pumpkin beer is mostly disappointing, except for...

http://www.shawncope.com/beer/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/dogfish_head_punkin_ale.jpg

ive never had the dogfish head one but i should def check it out - the idea of them doing pumpkin ale is like the perfect test to see which law is more true, "dogfish head always makes great beer" and "pumpkin beer always blows"

i had this sam adams cherry wheat beer recently, it was a pretty tough six pack to get through.

Haha, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is the first beer I ever ordered from a bar in the U.S.

the dogfish head with raisins sux0r.

what beer to drink tonight?
given how crummy the day was i think i might just get cheap bourbon.

Oh gosh, I've really enjoyed some pumpkin beer this year. Also Raspberry beer is delicious, esp. this one...
http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2005_11_01_images/beer%2520018.jpg

i think i knew cherry wheat was an epic fail when my gf wouldn't touch it. i have come to realize she has forgotten more about beer than i ever know, i.e. her encyclopedic knowledge of beer bars in cities we have yet to go to.

"malt beverage with natural flavor" (shudder.)

I don't think Cherry Wheat is bad for what it is, but I don't often have a taste for fruity beers like that.

The other night I had a Unibroue Apple Ephemere, which was great because it was basically just a well-rounded Belgian white with just a tiny hint of apple.

i had an orchard white from this place, pretty dope imo:

http://www.thebruery.com/beers/index.html

Yeah, that sounds tasty.

Garda, was the Innis and Gunn the IPA or the Blonde? Saw them both in Sainsburys, couldn;t decide which to go for and so bought some of Prince Charles Select Ale instead.

Not sure, it says "original" on it and "oak smoked beer". They only had one variety in my Sainsburys. I'd recommend it highly tho, 4 for the price of 3 at the moment. Realised it's 6.6 percent after drinking four...oh well.

all pumpkin beer is vile
lenie's berry weiss is vile
sam adams cherry wheat is vile
sam adams honey porter is vile

but any "smoked" beer (or beer that involves liquid smoke) is even more vile

(imo)

i can imagine smoked would be gross, possibly grosser than fruity

one thing i like a lot though: winter warmer! any spicy fall/winter-type beer. like harpoon ww or great lakes xmas ale.

Dan, what do you think about Three Floyds Pride & Joy? I could've sworn I'd had it on tap somewhere and enjoyed it, but the six-pack I bought last week was kind of gross. It tasted kind of floral or artificially sweet, like Smarties or something.

Not that the beer itself was sweet, but it had the peculiar tang of artificial sweetener, if that makes sense.

Fruit's a great flavoring in lambic, but doesn't really suit lager or ale. There are a couple of beers with fruit flavor that aren't gaggy, but that's not much of an endorsement. (Pyramid Apricot Weizen is decent.)

I had a taste of rauchbier at the Sierra Nevada brewpub...blechhh.

xp Hmmm, reviews at beeradvocate.com are mentioning grapefruit. I guess that's a positive spin on it. Not my cup of tea, though.

but any "smoked" beer (or beer that involves liquid smoke) is even more vile

this doesn't taste ultra smokey to be fair...I've had smoked beers that taste like sausages but this is definitely not of that variety. I really recommend it, it's a very smooth treacley taste...really good.

Pride & Joy is decent, I think I've only had it on tap though. Maybe you got a bad batch? All the Three Floyd's I've had have been at least as good, even if maybe I wouldn't go for them again (Scotch Ale comes to mind, just not my thing).

I'm having a Goose Island Honker's btw, on sale for 5.99 a six at my local store.

xpost the ones I've had have an aftertaste like sitting around a campfire all night

Yeah I know what you mean, this definitely isn't like that.

Had a taste of one last night that was like a chorizo.