The last time I had it was years ago. It was too sweet for my tastes at the time. I ought to revisit it, tho, cuz I've grown a fondness for Belgian ales over the years.Quoting Hugh_Grant (view post)
The last time I had it was years ago. It was too sweet for my tastes at the time. I ought to revisit it, tho, cuz I've grown a fondness for Belgian ales over the years.Quoting Hugh_Grant (view post)
Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)
Black Irish Plain Porter
Style: Porter
Brewery: Scotch Irish Brewing, Ottawa, ON
I'm not typically much of a porter fan, to be honest. I often find their flavours to be almost offensively dark and bitter, and just not very pleasant a drink. Funny enough, I'm a HUGE fan of a good stout, and being that the two beer styles' histories and production are so closely intertwined, it's weird that I find myself adoring one and not caring for the other.
This locally brewed porter is a different story, though. A rich, full flavour with hints of chocolate and coffee make it one of the most delicious dark beers I've ever come across.
Similar to many other beers of its kind, I find it to be an "occasion" beer. That is, I couldn't drink this every day. I enjoy having one once in a while because its heavy body makes it sit on the stomach like a brick. It's particularly nice around this time of year. I think of it like the espresso or cappuccino of beers - it's more of a dessert than a beverage in and of itself.
Appearance: a dark brown - almost black - colour with a thick brown head.
Smell: a light smell of coffee, and unlike many other beers the smell of alcohol is practically unnoticeable here.
Taste: very rich, dark flavours of barley malt, chocolate and coffee with a nutty finish.
Mouthfeel: light carbonation paired with the beer's heavy body give it a creamy texture, but not quite that of a stout. A good middleground between ales and stouts.
Drinkability: best enjoyed in sips, not gulps/chugging. And as I mentioned earlier, I find it a "have one to enjoy it" beer, as opposed to "drink 15 to get shammered".
Preferred Serving Type: on its own to give all its complex flavours the attention they deserve. On a cold night, after a warming meal of stew or roasted meats and potatoes.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
same hereQuoting Raiders (view post)
i recently tried delerium tremens which was amazing and the brooklyn chocolate stout which blew
Quoting bac0n (view post)
I would give it a 7.5, in terms of hoppiness.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
Oberon Ale
Style: Weiss (Wheat Beer)
Brewery: Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo MI
Oberon is my go-to beer during the warm months. When it first shows up in the liquor stores, I get all excited, cuz that means that summer is finally here. It's a great, easy drinkin' session beer with a slightly lower alcohol content (5.8%) than your typical beer, which is all the excuse I need to have an extra one (or two, or three or ten ).
Appearance: A nice bright amber with a tint of orange and a nice head that would probably last long if I could keep my hands off the damn glass long enough to admire it. The cloudiness tells you there's wheat inside!
Smell: Smells like beer. Good beer. Sorry don't have one at the moment because 1) it's not summer and 2) I'm at work and drinking is generally frowned upon now that the dot-com boom is a distant memory. But trust me, a whiff won't make you cringe.
Taste: Not a bitter beer by any means. Rather, Oberon has that touch of sweetness you would expect from a wheat beer, with a hint of orange and just a subtle twinge of spice. The perfect combination for a hot summer day.
Mouthfeel: Wheat beers are known for their thickness, but this is no where near as hearty as, say, a hefeweizen which you could probably stand a fork in. As far as wheat beers go, this is on the lighter side, tho you can definitely tell it's a wheat beer.
Drinkability: Drinkable? This beer is slammable. It goes down smooth as one of those macrobrews, but it won't make your face contort like some of them will.
Probably not the best thing to be writing about with it currently in the teens outside and with the coldest months of winter still ahead of me. Damn I wish it was June.
Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)
This one gets my seal of approval. I loves me some Oberon.
There are some really good breweries in Michigan. Like the first two I listed for example. If I'm ever in Kalamazaoo I'm totally doing the Bell's Brewery tour.Quoting Kurosawa Fan (view post)
Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)
Any love for Sierra Nevada? Widmer? Lagunitas?
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
Quoting bac0n (view post)
I feel the same way about Ontario.
There are some incredible craft brewers here.
In fact, I'm having a hard time not dedicating more than 50% of my entries to Ontario-based brews.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Do it. I need the recs.Quoting megladon8 (view post)
What types of beer do you guys like?
Ranked:
1. Hefeweizens
2. Lagers/Pilsners
3. Ales
4. Stouts
5. 'Fruity' beers - although I had one pear beer that was the tops.
Me? Hrm. Good question. I guess the style for which I have the most fondness is an american india pale ale of some sort, such as the aforementioned Founders Harvest, Centennial (also by Founders), Crooked Tree's (another great MI brewery, btw) or my current fave, Sierra Nevada Torpedo.Quoting Spaceman Spiff (view post)
There's an important distinction to make between american and british IPAs. The brits hop primarily for aroma, while the yanks hop for flavor/bitterness. Have a Fosters IPA (british) sometime along side one of the american pales mentioned in this thread and you will notice a stark difference in their character.
I guess is i had to pick a second fave, it would probably be a Belgian of some sort, but I find the quality of Belgian beers more divergent than any other style. My single favorite beer is a Belgian, yet there are Belgians which I literally could not finish.
Styles that I would classify as my least faves would be Bocks and Barley wines, both for the same reason - too thick and syrupy for my liking (tho I've had beers of each that I've liked).
Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)
I quite like Liberty Ale, how is that in relation to Foster's?Quoting bac0n (view post)
Chimay, Duvel and Westhevalle are all quite great. I know this pretty classy bar downtown that has quite a selection of Belgians, and once I can afford it I'll plump down on a bottle of Rochefort maybe with a friend or a date.Quoting bac0n (view post)
I am also not a Bock fan.Quoting bac0n (view post)
One of my favorite beers of all time is Mill Street Tankhouse Ale. It's an American Pale Ale (which is why it won't be on this list, since bac0n stole that category already :evil.
It uses tons of cascade hops, which are probably my very favorite hop to work with. Cascade, or a mixture of perle and northern brewer. Them's some tasty hops.
I love traditional pale ales, many pilsners (though lord knows I've come across a few I just couldn't stand at all), and I also like several red and dark ales.
Stouts and porters, as I mentioned in my first entry, are beers I like occasionally but couldn't drink all the time.
Barley wines just aren't my bag, really. Though, of course, I've had one or two I loved.
I would also say that - generally - I'm not much of a fan of Mexican beers. I find quite often they are too thin, almost watery, and rely more on malt than hops for their flavour. Strangely enough many English style beers get a lot of their flavour from malting rather than strong hopping, but I tend to enjoy those quite a bit.
I will say again that even the types of beers I'm not too fond of have at least one or two products therein that I love. Negra Modelo is a Mexican dark that is farkin' delicious.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
1. Ales (especially Pale Ale)Quoting Spaceman Spiff (view post)
2. Hefeweizens
3. Lagers/Pilsners
I won't drink fruity beers unless there's nothing else available. I can't handle the richness of stouts, unless we're talking a black-and-tan, which I do enjoy occasionally.
Tonight I wandered over to my local gastro-pub and had an amazing open-faced beef brisket sandwich with a couple Summit Extra Pale Ales. It was heaven.
Anybody like Boddington's Pub Ale?
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
Not a fan either, but I'm not a huge fan of most reds. Here in Eugene, home of Ninkasi, their Total Domination IPA reigns king. It's hugely popular. I only like their Oatis (oatmeal stout) out of their main line of beers, and I love all of their seasonal releases, Radiant Summer Ale being tops.Quoting Daniel Davis (view post)
Creamy deliciousness in a can? Of course!Quoting Spun Lepton (view post)
Bac0n's just blowing smoke. These are his two favorite beers:
“What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, er... an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks and that's all.”
Yumyumyumyumyumyumyum.Quoting Spun Lepton (view post)
“What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, er... an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks and that's all.”
Brother Thelonious
Belgian Style Abbey Ale
Brewery: North Coast Brewing Company, CA
I was first turned on to this beer when I saw it on a T-shirt. Me, being a huge fan of Thelonious Monk, asked the guy who was wearing it what it was all about. With a name and label like that, I wondered, how can you lose? Intrigued, I looked for it my local beer grocery and found it. The rest is history.
Appearance: Pretty much perfection in a glass. Deep hazelnut/dark red color tone. Very little head after a nice pour.
Aroma: Very traditional Belgian abbey with dried cherry and dry red wine, almost has a cakey-type molasses smell to it.
Taste: Very rich in flavor, not overpoweringly sweet, subtle dark fruits like figs and plums.
If you can find this beer on the East Coast then consider yourself as lucky as I do, especially on tap. A real hidden gem. A 6-pack is pretty expensive at almost $25, but one that I will bust out on special occasions. I can't say enough about how awesome this beer is!
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
Dammit, I was gonna do this one!
I love Brother Thenolonious, me too being a huge Thelonious fan - and also a fan of the beer. It's definitely a special occasion sipping beer. Hell, I might pick up a bottle on the way home tonight to toast in the new year.
Cool thing about this beer is that part of the proceeds go to the Monk Jazz Institute.
Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)
A bartender that I went on a call on last night got punched several times in the face for serving a pitcher with too much head.
It was Bud Light.