Thread O' Beer!

[Acapelli]

Sweet, hope ya like the Anchor Christmas Ale as much as I do.

been meaning to get this everytime i go to the supermarket. this has been my winter beer of choice this season so far

[Gizmo]

I miss being able to get beer at the supermarket. Gotta go to a liquor store around here.

3. Schlafly, Can Sessions American Brown


I like browns, and am coming around on can beers being more than just a cheap way to sell beer, since they protect the flavor better. But this one tastes like a cheap beer. It's so very bitter, and I can't taste anything more than bitterness. Browns should be full of nutty sweetness with a touch of chocolate and roast. This is like drinking hop water. It looks nice in the glass, with a nice head on the pour, but it all went way down hill from there. Can't be disappointed in taking 20+ beers to find a stinker, but this isn't a strong way to end the season.

2 beers remain before Christmas

[Dukefrukem]

been meaning to get this everytime i go to the supermarket. this has been my winter beer of choice this season so far

What kind of beer is it? Can't tell. Stout?

[Acapelli]

don't know why the image didn't show up before, it's a red ale. here's a different image:

[bac0n]

What kind of beer is it? Can't tell. Stout?

Judging by the color and the 70 IBUs, I would guess it's an IPA of some sort.

[D_Davis]

Sam Adam's Winter Lager is very nice.

[bac0n]

Thanks, added to the list!

[Gizmo]

I'm so jealous! Well, just a bit jealous. I'm going to Belgium next weekend, gonna try to hit up someplace with lots of selection if I can find one within walking distance of our hotel. Tried for 2 hours straight to reserve 2 cases of Westvleteren XII, but couldn't get through .

If you haven't tried Great Lakes, they make my most favorite Christmas Ale and a very good Porter(Edmund Fitzgerald) looks like both are on the list.
MadTree PsycHOPathy is a new local (to my hometown that is, not local for me, I had to go on leave to try it) favorite started by some guys who went to school with my brother. It's an IPA so should be up your alley.
I also haven't met a Victory beer I haven't liked. But who are we kidding, you're gonna be living at the Dogfish Head booth.

[Gizmo]

Soooo.... Bac0n..... how'd it go?

Heading to Brussels in about an hour. Plan on going to http://www.beermania.be/allnewbm.php which is a short walk from our hotel. My plan is to buy some stuff for now and another 12-18 for my annual beer advent calendar. I feel like i'm going to be broke by the end of the day.

[bac0n]

It was a blast, but I think I'll remember it more for the people I ran into than the actual beers that I drank. I got a picture with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, and Bryan Selders, former head brewer at DogFish who now runs a Brewery/Southern Comfort Food joint in Lafayette CO. Also got pictures with some homebrew nerd heroes such as Jamil Zainasheff.

I did try tracking the beers I drank on UnTappd, but my phone started being a shit early on, so that lasted about a half hour each session. But here are some of the beers I remember as being exceptional, or ones that got 4 stars or better.

Beers: (Brewery - Beer - Style)

Prost - Marzen - Marzen/Oktoberfest. One of the founders of Drydock Brewing in Aurora CO left to start his own brewpub that focuses on traditional German lagers, and this is one of the best O-fests that I've had. When in Denver, you must check this place out.

Drydock Brewing Co. - HMS Bounty - Altbier - lovely caramel notes and a light body make this an excellent autumn beer.

3 Floyds - Zombie Dust - American Pale Ale - don't remember much, but i remember giving this beer 4 stars, so there.

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales - Los Vivos Y Los Muertos - Saison - not at all surprising. the open fermentation in oak barrels lends this saison a nice touch of sour and earthyness.

Dust Bowl Brewing Company - Cherry Picker - Fruit Beer - Essentially a porter brewed with tart cherries. The cherries tasted fresh and bright, as well as tart, and counterbalanced the chocolate roastyness of the beer quite nicely.

Dogfish Head Brewing - Chicha - Chicha - Chicha is an old school adult beverage brewed with corn up in the Andes Mountains of Chile. Since corn lacks the enzymes required to properly convert the starches in the corn to the sugars the yeast needs to consume to product alcohol, the makers of the beverage would add those enzymes by literally chewing the corn in their mouths before spitting it all into a pot, adding water and some other stuff, and boiling it. This was the subject of one of the episodes of The Brewmasters, so I had to try it out of curiosity. Although it was not blow-my-head-off good, I thought the taste was pleasant enough. Would make for a good easy drinking summer beverage.

In addition, I ran across a lot of great pumpkin ales - two exceptional ones were from Avery Brewing in Boulder CO, and Alltech's Lexington Brewing & Distilling in Lexington KY.

Breweries

The Bruery - I was surprised they didn't have a huge crowd, but at the same time, glad, because it allowed me to try all their beers without having to wait too long. Everything I tasted was at least 4 stars.

New American Brewing - a very solid brewery, also excited that they are based out of Ankeny Iowa, just north of Des Moines. Planning on checking out the brewery the next time I go down to catch an ISU football game.

[Dukefrukem]

Jack's Abby wasn't there?

[Ezee E]

Bac0n. That brewery/southern comfort place is AMAZING. That city is where I was raised. But the restaurant is new, taking over an old postal office. Standard interior for breweries in Colorado, but an amazing lineup of food and drink.

[Spun Lepton]

this justIN
beer make blern funktion beter
so i now smrtist man in wordd

http://metro.co.uk/2015/01/30/drinki...ience-5042231/

[Raiders]

tumblr_m5xtvp0lgk1r8kxgw.jpg

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack
Black Rye IPA

Best motherfucking beer ever. The end.

[Dukefrukem]

tumblr_m5xtvp0lgk1r8kxgw.jpg

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack
Black Rye IPA

Best motherfucking beer ever. The end.

Added to wishlist

[Gizmo]

I think I may have just found my favorite beer yet.

Pax Brau Imperial Chocolate Mint Stout


It's like

in a glass. With alcohol.

[bac0n]

I'll be right over.

No, wait...

[Gizmo]

Went to Munich this weekend. Had Hofbrauhaus for lunch. A litre of Dunkel, Bavarian sausages, sauerkraut, and music made for a great lunchtime experience. I'd recommend it to anyone who gets the chance.

[bac0n]

FYI GABF (Great American Beer Fest) tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow at 11am CDT.

FYI, it's pretty much the best beer party ever. If you live in Denver (or can make it out there) you should definitely try to pick up a ticket to at least one of the days (preferably thursday or friday. don't bother with saturday afternoon, it's pretty much a bro-fest and lots of the breweries have tapped out by then.)

[Gizmo]

This thread has died off this year, but it'll be coming back. That's right, the 24 beers of Christmas is almost upon us! If you're joining in, you've got one last shopping weekend to get your beers! See you on the 1st!

[Stay Puft]

I've been stocking up on beer the last couple weeks. Lots of cool stuff has come to my store for the holidays (gift packs, seasonal releases, etc.).

Bourbon County Brand Stout is also coming tomorrow, for the first time ever in Canada. I can only imagine how much of a shit show this is going to be, but I'm going to try and get a bottle.

[bac0n]

Nice! Was just stopping by to see who wanted to do the 24 beers of Christmas thing. Count me in, though next week should get interesting, seeing as I'll be in Austin Texas all week for work - I'll try and partake of some local brews, of which there are many.

[Gizmo]

1. Bush de Noel(Brasserie Dubuisson)


I've mentioned in the past that I'm not a big fan of high alcohol or high hop beers, I just don't care for the bitterness/bite which make them harder to drink. Bush de Noel shows up at 12% ABV and packs that punch. It's also hopped a little stronger than a traditional dark Belgian. That said, it has a nice strong caramel base that also shines through, making this a flavorful, but strong and warm, brew. It's sipping really nicely, and I could potentially see myself wanting to slow drink this on a cold night in the winter, so I think Brasserie Dubuisson has done the job with this holiday ale. Solid start to the countdown.

23 beers until Christmas

[bac0n]

1. Indeed Brewing Old Friend
Winter Warmer



Indeed is a local brewery, the first one to open up a tap room after it became legal for a brewery to sell beer on-site in Minnesota a few years back, and now, even with a taproom about every two blocks (not kidding!) in Nordeast Minneapolis, Indeed still has one of the best. Now, if their beer was only as good as their tap room. That last line is what i used to say - Indeed's beers were good but not great, but they've really gotten their act together within the last year or so, releasing a really solid IPA, perhaps the best stout in town, and now they're even releasing some really tasty sours.

But perhaps what Indeed is best known for is their adjunct beers (aka beers where they throw in stuff other than water/barley/hops/yeast). They have a sweet potato porter which people seem to like but I'm afraid to try, a Mexican Honey Ale which is really quite good, and this, Old Friend, their Holiday Beer, a Winter Warmer style (one of the most nebulous categories in all of beer) into which they throw ginger and honey. Now, what little I understand of Winter Warmers, is that they're basically the cognac of beers - meant to be enjoyed out of a snifter, in a comfortable chair, in a warm robe, in front of the fire, with a dog sleeping at your feet - and I would say this beer fits those slippers well.

The medium to heavy mouthfeel, just shy of stout thickness, beckons me to slow down, which is wise because the beer hides its 7.5% ABV rather well, the hops are restrained, adding just enough bitterness to compliment the hint of sweetness of the honey, and to keep the ginger, which always wants to take over, in check. A nice holiday beer indeed, Indeed, one to for sure to share with an Old Friend. You don't want to drink a beer like this alone.

I'm gonna give this a 4/5 - great. Nice start for me as well.

23 beers until Christmas.

[Gizmo]

2. Erdbeer Porter (Bergquell Brauerei)



So yesterday popped out a hard hitting 12% bitter, warming, and surprisingly good sipping beer. Today it's a 4.2% sweet (very thin) porter. In fact it's very sweet. Like soda sweet, but with some beer bitterness in there. Strawberry porter sounded like a good idea at the time, but maybe next time I'll look for a porter without so many strawberries on the label! I'm not saying it's bad, because it's not, but it just doesn't feel like a porter, and barely like a beer. Still drinkable, but only because the sweetness isn't off-putting to me. I can see where there are many beer drinkers who would probably dump this. I think calling it a "woman's beer" wouldn't be a wrong thing to do.

22 beers until Christmas