Beer in the new era

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.

not good

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

― Rock Hardy, Thursday, November 6, 2008 2:31 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

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.

― Tyrone Quattlebaum (Hurting 2), Thursday, November 6, 2008 2:42 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

haha. i'm generally a fan of the obnoxiously hopped american IPAs. i agree though that it's in some ways a typical american approach.

but really, i don't think i've had an english IPA that really compares to an american one. the english ones just taste watery in comparison. the obnoxiousness at least makes for more adventurous brewing.

also, most good american IPA brewers are smart enough to know that simply adding more hops doesn't make a good beer. the best american IPAs IMO usually have a big, malty taste upfront to provide a good counter to the bitterness.

agree though that i

* agree though that one or two big IPAs is all it takes before they get to be a bit much. i've come around to enjoying more rounded-out, subtle beers

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2287/2149728296_cc4a538f23.jpg

To start, and then later on I will move on to Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

^^ black chocolate's one of the best buys for big-tasting stouts right now. 8.99/six, that's pretty awesome compared to most. what's old rasputin, like 9.99/four?

i was so happy to see that beer show up on the shelves a few weeks ago

i think it might be even more here, like $12/four.

http://www.villevallapub.se/sortiment/image_file/22

Disappointingly sour tasting. Could have been sitting on that HEB shelf for no telling how long, though.

this one's great........

http://ontap.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/storm.jpg

Gulden Draak is one of my favorite Belgians, maybe you're right on the storage.

And this is what I had tonight...

http://static.flickr.com/108/298326506_17a0546bbd.jpg

my current fave quality but not $$$ beer, frequently on sale for $7/6-pack.

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.

― ketchup dood (harbl), Monday, November 17, 2008 11:30 PM (Yesterday)

otm x 6000 re fall/winter beer. though i did have a winter beer at a local brewery (the elysian in capitol hill) and it was just too much. to the point where i couldn't finish it because it was just too much spiciness, and it was making me nauseated.

here is an example of a good smoked porter:
http://www.stonebrew.com/porter/porterleft.jpg

For winter spiced beer I like Anchor Steam's version ("Christmas Ale" I think it's called). Haven't had any yet this year.

And I had a smoke beer once from Germany. Can't remember the brewery but it had a yellow label. I liked it well enough but at ~$4 bottle probably wouldn't buy another one.

re: Gulden Draak & storage

Live beers are more sensitive to those issues, right? Also, I got a big one that was corked rather than capped - dunno how that might effect freshness.

I had this Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend the other day. I didn't care for it very much. The cherry flavor made it a bit cough-syrupy to my palate:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42/3457

OTOH, I bought a six-pack of this the other week, and found it quite drinkable - like a pilsner but a shade darker. Mind you it's not going to displace Pilsner Urquell as my Czech beer of choice:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/308/3263

(That last one was BrouCzech Lager - for those who don't want to click on the link.)

no link to the current new yorker article about "extreme beer"?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/24/081124fa_fact_bilger

money quote:

“When a brewer says, ‘This has more hops in it than anything you’ve had in your life—are you man enough to drink it?,’ it’s sort of like a chef saying, ‘This stew has more salt in it than anything you’ve ever had—are you man enough to eat it?’ ”

Fuck over hopping, fuck this stupidity really hard.

Quote very much OTM.

yeah i'm glad to see there is some pushback on this hop thing.

this is my new favorite beer, very tasty and smooth!

http://soheil.callage.com/photo%20Galleries/Beers/images/Netherlands-Tilburg%20Brown%20Ale.jpg

the new New Yorker hasn't arrived in my mail yet but the podcast teaser about the beer article is worth listening too (probable obvious overlap with article)
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2008/11/24/081124on_audio_bilger

dude, Ed, some people like really hoppy beers. I like them once in a while. Nobody is forcing you to drink them. What's the big deal?

I like some hoppy beers - but I think that those IPA-style beers have become almost synonymous with American micro-brew, to the point that if you go to a beer store with a "good" selection, you will find dozens of variations on a single theme, but not much variety outside of that. But hey, if that's what people want... I guess the IPA-style beers are sort of the equivalent of Starbucks coffee. The typical Starbucks dark roast flavor signifies "gourmet" in coffee much the same way as hoppiness signifies "gourmet" in beer - to the point that people who style themselves as connoisseurs forget that good coffee can also be medium roast, or that good beer doesn't have to be loaded with hops.

^real talk

Thanks for that New Yorker link. Good article if only for understanding how the personalities of the brewers drive their companies. Everything Brooklyn produces is consistently pro but not revelatory, while Dogfish is wildly hit-or-miss.

x-post oh yeah and there are a couple good American IPAs and a ton of really bad ones.

I don't know, there are plenty of great pilsners and stouts and wheat beets and whatnot being produced. Most of the brewers that make the super-IPAs also make other quality beers too.

ha i feel like im living on a different planet from you guys--the stores i go to have as many IPAs and other hoppy beers as they do stouts & whatever else--then again i like hoppy beer so finding it in a fridge doesnt fill me with insane rage

stores I go to in DC are usually like IPA SECTION, IPA SECTION, IPA SECTION,
BELGIAN SECTION, CORONA ET AL SECTION, HEINEKEN ET AL SECTION OTHER AMERICAN CRAFT BEERS SECTION (YUENGLING GOES HERE)

I know what m@tt means--it's like if you're going to "make it" as an American craft brewer you are obligated to share your vision of the IPA with the world. My local store has a ton of these random-ass breweries with obnoxious labels telling you how much ass their IPA kicks.

Nevertheless this thread has inspired me to go there tonight and pick up some silly American craft beer.

http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/video/palosanto.htm

wow this stuff!!

did we havea thread already talking about burkhard bilger's piece in the nyer food issue? my corner store bro says they've been moving quite a bit more DH product since. "who reads the new yorker?" internet, dogg.