CAG Beer Drinkers Unite! Beer Snobs and Cheap Ass Drunks Welcome!

Yeah, I can't think of a micro brew from Ohio (or anywhere in the midwest for that matter) that I've liked--but I probably haven't had many either. Seems California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Colorado are the states that have the best micro breweries with stuff like Stone and Lagunitas (CA), Troegs, Victory and Weyerbacher (PA), Southern Tier, Brooklyn Brewery (NY), Avery, Oskar Blues (CO). New Hampshire too with Dogfish and some others.
 
[quote name='depascal22']Has anyone tried Hitachino Nest? $9 a bottle (24.3 oz) but it's one of the white ales out there.[/quote]

Out of curiousity I tried it a long time ago. All I remember is that it was a little sweet, very light and super easy to drink. Generally a good beer. With that said I never bought it again, only because it's too expensive for an okay beer.

Mississppi Mud is awesome. After one of those I'm feeling pretty good. One of the few beers I drink right out of the bottle. Also I like cooking with it. I make a mean beer-bratwurst & sourkraut with this stuff.
 
I had a taste of a Traquair beer the other day. It was absolutely fantastic. I encourage anyone who has this available to them to give it a shot.

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Ah. Nothing like a nice imperial stout after a long day at work. Just cracked open my 2nd Old Rasputin--picked up a 4 pack on the way home. Also grabbed a 22oz Stone Ruination and Lagunitas Capuccino Stout. Didn't see anything I hadn't tried that caught my eye so just went with some old favorites.
 
Regardless of me visiting this thread there's no beer for me for the next month. I drank a lot during the holidays so I'll be detoxing. I try to do it near the begining of every year. And going to this thread right before I get off work doesn't help much.
 
:D

I've never felt a need to detox. I drink often, but seldom get drunk. I'll usually only have 1-3 beers a night depending on the amount of Alcohol. I'll get hammered every once in a while, but probably just like 5-6 times a year on special occasions, beer festivals etc.

And outside of my love of beer, I eat pretty healthy and try to exercise. I was consistenly getting to the gym 3-4 days a week for the past decade or so, but the past 6 months have been spotchy from traveling a lot for work and being busy as hell. But I'm getting back on track (nagging foot injury aside).
 
I rarely get wasted either, but during the holidays I was a having a little drink almost everyday, not just beer but hard stuff too. Vacation in the Florida Keys with an open bar will do that. After I got back I started feeling tired a lot so I decided to quit for a month or so.
 
Definitely understandable. The few times I've went on a bender in recent years I feel like crap and don't drink for a while myself.

It sucks getting old, can't handle that shit like I could 10 years ago (and many other things).
 
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Alright. dmaul, I'm callin' on you. A beer book I read a few years ago tried to argue that the conventional american pilsner style that we generally drink, and the lack of variety in American beer styles, is the direct result of prohibition and the destruction of breweries/degradation of brewery equipment over time.

What do you know about that at all? I feel like I'm missing out on the whole story there - how a style of beer arose from the law and policing styles at the time.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']My favorite beer to drink while eating is Kirin. It goes great with anything fried, burgers, etc.

Has anyone tried this smoked beer? I love it but it's kinda hard to find around me. It's got such an odd taste. It's like food.

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I put it in my list for beers that wubb should try. I have the Marzen in my fridge right now and had the Urbock last year which I thought was great. Definitely a different style of beer, but great with barbecue or other smoked meats.
 
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Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland Oregon had a new beer called Brr. It's a winter edition and is truly awesome. Just beware of 7.2% alc content. This beer is dark and is for people who prefer dark beer, so piss water drinkers(bud light,miller) stay away. i don't discriminate against water drinkers, but when i drink a beer i want a great taste not something i piss out in 30 minutes.
 
I might be able to help, myke. I read somewhere pilsners were the only beers to be found during and directly after Prohibition so America just started getting used to it. Our palettes weren't adjusted to the more robust bitter beers so they fell out of style. Average Joe Six Pack was more than happy with Budweiser, Miller, or Coors. The companies also had the advantage of distribution early in the game. It wasn't that they made the best beers but they distributed it farther than any other company could hope for.

Breweries were up and running before distilleries and wineries (after Prohibition) but they were still just making one or two beers a piece. It was more that the breweries made business decisions to stop making beer that wasn't selling. Also, pilsners are the cheapest beer to produce. They use more water on average than other beers and less hops also.


It wasn't until the 1980s that IPAs, Stouts, and Brown Ales came back into style. Sam Adams started in 1984. Sierra Nevada started in 1981. RedHook started in 1982.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Alright. dmaul, I'm callin' on you. A beer book I read a few years ago tried to argue that the conventional american pilsner style that we generally drink, and the lack of variety in American beer styles, is the direct result of prohibition and the destruction of breweries/degradation of brewery equipment over time.

What do you know about that at all? I feel like I'm missing out on the whole story there - how a style of beer arose from the law and policing styles at the time.[/quote]

It seems like that was the case at least according to wikipedia. Pre-prohibition, German immigrants brought lagers to America which replaced Ales as the preferred beer. At the time, they were using a corn and barley mixture and the result was the American pilsner which was higher in alcohol content and body than current lagers.

After prohibition, only a handful of breweries still existed, and World War 2 brought restrictions on barley which forced them into using alternatives like rice and corn in much larger percentages. This resulted in the flavorless lagers (which really can't be compared to the pilsners of old) that we have today.

Probably because the beer is so inoffensive (and cheap to produce), it has stayed that way ever since.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_beer#Post-Prohibition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-style_lager
 
Ooh. Maybe it was that crummy book by the owners of Brooklyn Lager where I read about that.

Don't forget Jimmy Carter passing legislation to make it legal to brew in your home; that certainly had something to do with why microbreweries happened in the 1980's and not sooner.

Thanks for the help, y'all.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Alright. dmaul, I'm callin' on you. A beer book I read a few years ago tried to argue that the conventional american pilsner style that we generally drink, and the lack of variety in American beer styles, is the direct result of prohibition and the destruction of breweries/degradation of brewery equipment over time.

What do you know about that at all? I feel like I'm missing out on the whole story there - how a style of beer arose from the law and policing styles at the time.[/QUOTE]

I read something about that a while back too--might have been in one of Michael Jackson's books. But I don't recall the specifics. But I think it had something to do with the type of beers they made under the table during prohibition, maybe something to do with the non-alcoholic brews they made at the time or something along those lines. The 3.2% ABV law after prohibition likely had a lot to do with it too. Not that many styles of beer you can make that are that week.

I've not read up much on the history of beers, and know nothing about brewing. I've just tried a ton and like trying new ones and keeping track of what I've tried, rating them etc. :D

But in any case, thankfully the lack of styles in American beers is long gone with the huge boom in microbrews. Even the big brewers are making some more stuff--see all the different Michelob styles Anheiser Busch has started putting out.
 
[quote name='depascal22']God bless Jimmy Carter for that. I can't put him at the bottom of the Greatest Presidents list just because of that.[/QUOTE]

But... but.... he builds houses!
 
I hit Total Wine last night and picked up a few from the recs. Couldn't bring myself to buy any of the $5 bottles but I picked up a few from the normal priced list.

Noticed the Harvest seasonals were on sale, main one I spotted was DFH Punkin Ale at $6 for 4 - but I passed. Mistake?
 
[quote name='carpwrist']Usually a good winter ale has Spruce tips in it, which you should clearly taste. The Alaskan Winter Ale is a perfect example of it. It's alcohol content is usually higher too, which is an added bonus to it's darker taste.

Anyhow, I picked up a great local beer today. Spent $10 on one bottle of The Abyss from the Deschutes Brewery. One of the highest rated beers, if any of you can get their hands on it, I HIGHLY recommend it. Definitely my favorite stout.
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Reviews[/QUOTE]
looks like Guinness , but does it taste like it?
 
[quote name='wubb']
Noticed the Harvest seasonals were on sale, main one I spotted was DFH Punkin Ale at $6 for 4 - but I passed. Mistake?[/QUOTE]

If you like Pumpkin Ales, that's probably the best one I've had.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']If you like Pumpkin Ales, that's probably the best one I've had.[/QUOTE]

That's the thing, I can't remember ever having one. I would have nabbed a single for sure but I wasn't too keen on buying 4 and then hating it. :shrug:
 
Yeah, they're a pretty drinkable beer. As long as you like pumpkin flavor (think pumkin pie--the ales tend to taste a bit like that, with lots of pumpkin and nutmeg flavor) you'll not hate the beer.

They're not my favorite, but I usually have one or two on draft every fall for the hell of it.
 
DFH's Pumpkin Ale is actully one of my least favorites of all of the ones I have tried. I bought 4 or 5 different varieties last October and the best one, by far IMO, was Post Road Pumpkin Ale (Brooklyn Brewery). Worse than DFH was Harvest Moon (Blue Moon) - that shit doesn't have ANY pumpkin flavor at all!
 
Yeah, it depends on what you're looking for.

I like the Dogfish Punkin as its got a decent amount of pumpkin flavor, but not too much like some, and at 7% ABV it's the strongest of the pumpkin ales I've tried (and again I prefer strong beers).
 
Cracked open a North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout last night. (One of the ones suggested.)

Definitely stronger than what I typically drink, but I knew that going in. I liked it and it was maybe the first Imperial Stout I've had. Will I be buying this or other Imperial Stouts a lot? Probably not, but I could see picking one up every now and then.

Love the dark color and thick mouthfeel. Good flavor, I could tell it was high ABV but it wasn't unpleasant.

Also has toffee biscuit undertones with almond lacing.
That last sentence was just for myke. :booty: - and made up.
 
YEAH!

North Coast has a...Red Seal Ale? Something we carried at a bar I worked at 7 or so years ago. Was very good stuff.

Wife's going out of town for the weekend. Maybe it's time to brew up a batch of something.
 
I picked up a 12 of Sam Adams Winter since the thermometer is topping out at 2 degrees today. It's a nice day to stay inside, stay "hydrated", and play some games.
 
Old Rasputin is a damn good. I polished off a 4 pack the past couple of days. I love imperial stouts, definitely my favorite beer. Old Rasputin is probably my second favorite after the Stone Russian Imperial, but I have it more since it's always available and the Stone is a seasonal.
 
I don't think you're supposed to have more than 2 Imperial Stouts in one sitting. For me it screws with my taste buds. It's kinda like when you eat too many Sour Patch Kids and you don't want to taste anything sour for a while.
 
It doesn't bother my taste buds really, not for ours or anything at least. I mean with any strong beer like that you don't want to have a more subtle flavored one after it as it will kill your taste buds in the short term.

So always save an imperial stout or barleywine etc. for the last beer if you're sampling a few different kinds.

As for not drinking more than 2, that's a good rule but more in terms of not getting super shit faced. Most of the russian imperials I've had fall in the 9-12% ABV range. So two of them is what, like drinking 6 Bud Lights or other watery 3.2% beers? :D
 
[quote name='Rodimus']I don't think you're supposed to have more than 2 Imperial Stouts in one sitting. For me it screws with my taste buds. It's kinda like when you eat too many Sour Patch Kids and you don't want to taste anything sour for a while.[/quote]

There is no such thing as too many Sour Patch Kids.
 
[quote name='ArthurDigbySellers']There is no such thing as too many Sour Patch Kids.[/quote]

Dude, by the end of the bag my tongue is a radioactive wasteland. I can't taste right for the rest of the day.
 
If anyone lives in california...you need to have Fat Tire. God how I miss that beer. If only they would bring it to the east.
 
I saw Fat Tire somewhere recently, but I've been doing a ton of traveling the past 12 months, so it may have been anywhere between southeastern ohio and portland, oregon. :lol:

I'll see if my memory comes back, but it was definitely somewhere over the magical "1 day line" they previously avoided delivering past.
 
loved Old Rasputin, but i do agree stones is my fav, lucky enough to fine more at a local whole foods , i already had 2 to save.. I fine it dangerous to drink thou since for me its very easy to drink and i drink it to fast lol..also Middle Ages Brewing Company - Dragon Slayer Imperial Stout, was also good..

- oh when i was out in cali i had the chance to try fat tire on tap, very good stuff
 
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has anyone been to such events as a "brew at the zoo" or something of that nature?
1. BAD ASS
2. there's a unique beauty in gazing upon endangered creatures whilst inebriated!

-i discovered bells two-hearted fish, recently. it's in my top 5 as far as IPA is concerned
 
I've not had anything good lately that I've not already mentioned. Mostly been drinking favorites and the few new one's I've tried have been mediocre at best.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I've not had anything good lately that I've not already mentioned. Mostly been drinking favorites and the few new one's I've tried have been mediocre at best.[/quote]

Yeah, pretty much the same with me although I haven't tried anything new, just stuck with old favorites. I got ripped during the Super Bowl on Heavy Seas Peg Leg and Below Decks.
 
Had some Bass Ale for the first time in a long time. I like it much more now that I'm into Pale Ales and IPAs. Something about that hoppy bite that puts it up there with my favorite types of beers.

Saturday night I went to BJ's. It's a Pizza joint/Brewhouse. They have six or seven of their own beers including Pale Ale, German Blond, Hefeweizen, Brown Ales, Red Ale, Porter, and a Stout.

I tried the Pale Ale and Stout and they were decent. I've definately had better beers but they were definately priced right. Both were a shade under $5 for a pint. That's not bad for a restaurant.

I hope to be heading down to Bloomington soon and trying out the Upland Brewery's selection. I've had their Wheat Ale and I was pleasantly surprised to get such a good beer from a local brewery.
 
Had a couple good beers when traveling last week.

Rouge Chocolate Stout--had in bottle before and thought it was pretty good, had it on tap for the first time and it was even better.

Brooklyn East India Pale Ale- nice hoppy IPA.

Going to California for work later this week and hoping to hit the Stone Brewery for a tour and dinner in their beer garden restaurant while I'm out there. Easily my favorite brewery so hoping I can make it out there. It's about 80 miles from where I'm staying for work, but I have the Saturday and Sunday free.
 
[quote name='Dingleberry']If anyone lives in california...you need to have Fat Tire. God how I miss that beer. If only they would bring it to the east.[/QUOTE]

why anyone in california? its a colorado beer.


anyway, i had some of this recently, it wasnt fantastic, but not bad. just had it for the novelty.

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[quote name='depascal22']Almost a month has gone by and this thread is almost dead. Anyone else have a favorite beer we should all try?[/quote]

I may have mentioned it before but my new favorite beer is Bodington. But if you have one you must pour it into a glass. Drinking from the can is forbidden. Since it's starting to get warmer down in Florida I'm hanging up the dark beers & looking to lighter ones.

But I havn't been drinking a lot of beer in the past few weeks. Maybe I'll stop by my local pub tomarrow, order some fish n' chips and have a few pints.
 
Oh had another good one last night--Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter.

as with the Rogue Chocolate Stout I'd had it in bottle before, but it was much better on tap.
 
I have a buddy who swears that Rouge's Chocolate Stout is better than Young's. I've had both but can't tell much of a differance.
 
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