brock |
Being in Colorado, Blue Moon is the cheap equivalent of drinking a good beer (i.e. not Coors, Bud, Michelob) which are on tap everywhere. If you want something that's kinda light and cheap, but actually tastes decent, Blue Moon/Fat Tire it is.At the end of the month I'll be going to the Great American Beer Festival. I'll have much more to share then. In the mean time, I'll keep trying to remember the good beers I've had lately.
Fat Tire was one of the others that I tried!
Love to hear more about the Festival. Interesting American beers are starting to appear on the market here in the UK, and I like to check here for reviews.
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
Aberzombie |
Aberzombie wrote:My brother got me a 4 pack of Dogfish Head's Burton Baton IPA last night for my birthday. I have to find it from my gaming group tonight.That reminds me....
Note to self - Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale should be out soon. Pick up some before Japan trip.
September is one of the three months they scheduled to produce Burton Baton this year. So you might not have a problem finding it. I've still got 4 or so left in a case that I bought earlier this summmer. Good stuff. I should pick up another case as well.
GeraintElberion |
Twigs wrote:Just dawned on me that this will be my first Oktoberfest of age.
I am so stoked, you guys.
the Octoberfests are out now! It's funny there are never any left by October. Not a fan of the accompanying Pumpkin brews tho-don't spice the ale! I do love this time of year.
There is only one oktoberfest. A colleague is going this year and I am jealous.
Aberzombie |
There is only one oktoberfest. A colleague is going this year and I am jealous.
I will join you in your jealousy. If we get enough people, we can fry his brains with out negative mental energy!
GeraintElberion |
GeraintElberion wrote:There is only one oktoberfest. A colleague is going this year and I am jealous.I will join you in your jealousy. If we get enough people, we can fry his brains with out negative mental energy!
Fry his brains!
That's a secret about Laura that I didn't want to find out :O
umbralatro |
Fat Tire was one of the others that I tried!
Love to hear more about the Festival. Interesting American beers are starting to appear on the market here in the UK, and I like to check here for reviews.
Yeah, the GABF is the showcase of American beers and I try to go every year now. This time I'll be attending on Thursday (first session) and Saturday morning (judging session), so hopefully everything will be available.
They basically just separate an entire convention hall into "districts" based on geography and you roam around and drink what sounds interesting.
So, if anyone has any specific requests I can certainly try and get around to certain regions to experiment. Categories of beer (i.e stouts, lagers, IPAs, etc.) are harder to track down individually, but if you want a certain regions fares, I can easily do that.
BrewMaster Aberzombie |
I thought this was cool....
White House brewing its own beer
I wonder if they'd make bottles available to the general public.
Lilivati |
Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale is my fav.
Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA is also very high...they stopped selling in my state earlier this year and I am quite sad :(
Anything and everything by Three Floyds is spectacular, and as their brewery is located in my state, we can get pretty much everything they distribute fairly easily (some stuff they only sell at their restaurant, so you have to drive up to get that).
There's also a small brewery in Bloomington, IN called Upland that I like quite a bit. And a newish brewery in Indianapolis that is producing something called a "cream ale" that is rapidly becoming a house favorite.
As far as "cheap beers" go I like Blue Moon, Fat Tire, Smithwick's, and other sort of high-low-end/low-mid-end beers.
Cornielius |
At three locations in Richmond, Va. and one in oldtown Fredricksburg, Va. ,is found a tavern called Capitol Alehouse.
Their specialty is beer. They have some 60 or so on tap, mostly small brewerys from around the world, and around 300 in bottles. (What is on tap changes by week.)
They have taster sized glasses for you to try different interests and put out a directory each week which lists availability.
They have a large take-out bottle they will fill from the tap for you, as well.
If you sit at the bar, it has a 6" wide water trough kept frozen so you can keep your glass frosty.
On Saturday's, they have a special from 11 till 6 that puts greatly reduced prices on all on-tap American brews.
My present favorite- Blue Grass Jefferson Reserve (Kentucky) : a stout, aged 2-3 months in bourbon barrels. (McLain & Kyne Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon casks, if that means anything to you.)
I'm working my way through the stouts, porters, and darks for now.
My problem is I'm a light weight- I can only do about two beers before reminding myself it's a two hour drive home. (Alchol content on some of these brews can get pretty high.)
This weekend, Octoberfest.
Oh, and the food's really good, too.
Lilivati |
Lilivati wrote:Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale is my fav.I was really disappointed with the Thelonious, but it could just be that the bottle I tried was a bit off.
For abbey style ales, Chimay and Ommegang are still my favorites. Maredsous is quite good, too.
Ommegang is extremely good, but I remain partial to Thelonious. It is possible to get "bad bottles" with North Coast- I've encountered it with some of their other brews- which is pretty unfortunate since they're otherwise producing solid beer. I think I had Maredsous recommended to me recently, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Abbey ales are a particular pet of mine, sometimes it seems like I've tried so many of them I've lost track. Mostly chosen by just browsing the proper section of local huge liquor store or plucking beers off bar/restaurant menus by description. :P
Lilivati wrote:You poor, deprived soul! If I were you, I'd be up in arms!Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA is also very high...they stopped selling in my state earlier this year and I am quite sad :(
Yeah, I know, right? Apparently they were outgrowing "microbrewery status", or something along those lines, and pulled out of a number of locations. I think they still sell in Ohio so at some point I might make the trip across state lines to get a fix. XD
Beerbunny |
I thought this was cool....
White House brewing its own beer
I wonder if they'd make bottles available to the general public.
I am a fan of this.
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
Forgot to post this:
Another good beer I had, ironically, on the day I left Japan was Yebisu Black. Really good. Reminded me a bit of Abita Turbodog. I'll have to try and find some here in the states.
Abita Turbodog is one of my favs. Nearly impossible to find up here in NH, unfortunately.
Picked up today a jug of some sort of Rogue Dead Guy ale and found a six pack of Hobgoblin which is the first time I've seen it in smaller bottles.
Aberzombie |
The Hobgoblin thing is weird. For a couple years I've seen it in 12 oz bottles, but recently they redesigned, and went to an 11.2 oz bottle.
I can get Abita here in Philly. Oddly enough, the first time I went down to Total Wine and More in Delaware, they told me that Delaware doesn't carry Abita beer.
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
The Hobgoblin thing is weird. For a couple years I've seen it in 12 oz bottles, but recently they redesigned, and went to an 11.2 oz bottle.
I can get Abita here in Philly. Oddly enough, the first time I went down to Total Wine and More in Delaware, they told me that Delaware doesn't carry Abita beer.
A friend of mine was going to grad school in Connecticut and he'd find Abita there for me. I have seen Abita Purple Haze in a store the next town over, but never the Turbo Dog. I wish I had bought one of the pint glasses when I was in New Orleans a few years ago. It's smokey black at the base and gets clearer as you get to the top.
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
I used to hate pale ales of all kinds, but lately thanks to female influences, I've gotten a real taste for Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale.
Fall seasonals:
Sam Adam's Octoberfest is probably their best.
Magic Hat's Hex is quite good.
Sierra Nevada is delicious. Most stores in my area carry at least the Pale Ale but sometimes I'm lucky to come across their Tornado (an IPA) or the Bigfoot Barleywine. I picked up a big bottle of their Harvest Ale yesterday along with some other beer.
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
John Benbo wrote:Sierra Nevada is delicious.Ugh -- I can never understand how they stay in business. I've tried about four of their different styles and disliked all of them.
I'm the same way with Magic Hat. I always hear people saying how much they love it, but I haven't had a Magic Hat that I've liked.
Aberzombie |
Beer news:
They now sell Young's Double Chocolate Stout in 11.2 oz bottles. Huzzah!
Total Wine & More in Delaware finally sells Abita! Huzzah!
Picked up a 4-pack of Dogfish Head Chickory Stout! Good beer!
Also, picked up a couple of bottles of Abita's 25th Anniversary Vanilla Doubledog Ale. A description:
Turbodog is the inspiration for this robust, dark ale. It is brewed with generous amounts of pale, caramel, and chocolate malts and Willamette hops. Whole natural vanilla beans are added during the aging process. This combination provides a rich body and color with chocolate, vanilla and toffee-like flavor.
Guess what I'm drinking.......
Evil Lincoln |
Kirth Gersen wrote:I'm the same way with Magic Hat. I always hear people saying how much they love it, but I haven't had a Magic Hat that I've liked.John Benbo wrote:Sierra Nevada is delicious.Ugh -- I can never understand how they stay in business. I've tried about four of their different styles and disliked all of them.
Their Winter black lager "howl" is pretty good. I also liked their fall seasonal "hex".
It's all overpriced here in NY, but they sell it at the place next door and not much else but corn lagers.
As for not liking Sierra Nevada (even the basic pale ale?!) I don't comprehend. Torpedo was too out there for me, but the porter and the pale ale are good beers ! If expensive.
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 4 pack tonight. 10%. Tastes like bliss. Two for me, two for the SO, and a fireplace.
>:-D
EDIT: I should add that the girl returned to the car last week with a purchased tome on home brewing. Completely unprovoked. I am one lucky nerd.
Evil Lincoln |
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
I've discovered a new grocery store near enough to work that I can hit it during my dinner break that has a really good selection (for NH). Only problem, is they haven't been restocking after I buyout something, like the six packs of Hobgoblin. I just went today and bought a bunch of Weisenstephan (German beer and I'm probably misspelling it). They also have six packs of Cisco's "Whale's Tale Pale Ale" one of my favorites from Nantucket. I can't remember who makes it but the store was selling a banana bread stout beer that was a hit with the ladies at my work. Unfortunately, they've been out of that but if I could find it, I'd be a hero!
Valegrim |
hmm; I would never mix em; but Run; then coke followed by a beer; repeat sounds interesting.
you know; in Gernmany when I lived there a lot of women and youths drank beer and coke mixed; Gernman beer; was ok when I tried a few sips; bit sweet for me
Valegrim wrote:Never heard of a Captain Coke....Captain Coke is a mixture of Captain Morgan spiced Rum and Coca Cola.