The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[PrinceFielder28]

One of my favorite winter/ fall beers is Capital Autumnal Fire. It is good in a bottle and awesome on tap at the brewery.

I also have grown very fond of anything brewed by Tyranena. i really like there Brewers Gone Wild series of beers.

 

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[fstorm1]

Ooohh, I completely agree on the Autumnal Fire. Excellent stuff, but I hadn't seen any anywhere around me (Fox Valley) for a couple months, then this past weekend I saw it in the Chippewa Valley.

[ManOfTheBeer]

As great as Capital's Autumnal Fire is (and it is!), their Eisphyre apparently blows it out of the water. From what I've heard, it's basically a high gravity "ice" version of their Autumnal Fire. Kirby is either a lunatic or a genius, and I'm leaning towards both. Some of the recent stuff like their Baltic Porter and Rustic Ale has been quite good. The Rustic Ale is a blend of their excellent Wisconsin Amber and Island Wheat.

[Beerambassador]

Based on the recommendations here I picked up the Goose Island Mild Winter. It's a nice pleasant, malty winter beer. I'm not in love with it, but it's a good beer. The Bell's Christmas Ale was nice too. Maybe not the best Scotch Ale I've had, but again, a pleasant beer. I guess I was expecting more since I'm basically in love with the brewery.

 

I need to drink more Capital beer. The Autumnal Fire is an outstanding fall brew and I've enjoyed petty much everything I've tried from there with the exception of their Pale Ale. Definitely an under-rated brewery.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hopefully we can get some reviews of Capital's Eisphyre. Sounds interesting. I'm another that loves their Autmnal Fire.

[fstorm1]

Some of the recent stuff like their Baltic Porter and Rustic Ale has been quite good

Had the Rustic tonight, not as good as I'd hoped, but the Baltic was very good. Didn't see the Eisphyre at Festival, but I'll definitely keep an eye out.

 

TLB, how where the beers? Worth the hoopla and the wait?

 

Edit: I notice the Eisphyre is listed as retired at BA. Bummer, duuuuude.

[Beerambassador]

Right now I'm drinking the New Belgium 2 Below Winter Ale. It really reminds me of Fat Tire, especially in regards to the aroma. Very malty, but maybe a bit more complex. Very light for a winter beer.

 

My father-in-law had some Budweiser American Ale. Really not bad at all. Smooth, with a nice mild hop taste and aroma.

 

Finally, the Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout. Complex, high in alcohol, not overwhelming with the chocolate taste. It's a very nice cold weather brew, but not one that I could drink a lot of.

[TooLiveBrew]

TLB, how where the beers? Worth the hoopla and the wait?

 

It was great to taste some good old' WI brews again. The Capital Oktoberfest was very good (my first sip of it made me take a deep sigh & just say, 'Ahhhh'), as was the New Glarus Staghorn Oktober. Of course the superstar was the Dancing Man Wheat. Ok. I get it now. That beer is freaking great. I'm not really much of a weisse fan, and -- dang -- I want summorra that beer. Outstanding! So, thanks again, fstorm... karma will catch you back on that soon enough. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

I picked some Josephs Brau Winterfest at Trader Joe's (B grade from the users at beeradvocate.com). Iirc this is a Trader Joe's brew, not just one they happen to carry. Very good winter brew. 7.5% ABV. It pours great, and is a dark beer -- a double bock. Even so, if I had to describe it, one adjective I'd use is 'light'. It's not a very creamy beer, so I'm really referring to the texture. I just recall other winter brews this season having a 'bigger' feel to them than this one does. Very nice aroma, and heavy on the malt. The description on the bottle cites "Munich & caramel malts". Definitely a win at $5.99/6-pk.

 

Oh, and one more thing -- I noticed that Trader Joe's has their 2008 Vintage Ale back for sale. I know there are some that have commented in this thread (NeedMoreFans I think was one) on how much they enjoy that brew. $4.99 for the big aging bottle was the price I saw today... and they noted you could age the beer up to 7 years. Interesting thought.

[logan82]

I was looking up the New Glarus Road Slush and it looks like they are not making it this year. Looks like they are going to have a Coffee Stout instead. Also for the D-Man fans, they are going to have it out in May. I may be mistaken, but I thought I remembered it coming out in July last year. I no doubt will be trying the New Glarus Black Wheat when it comes out.

 

New Glarus Beer Calendar

 

Michelob has a line of craft beers out. I saw them with $2 off coupons so I picked up the Dunkel and Amber Bock. The Dunkel isn't to bad.

[datrain711]

Also regarding New Glarus, they are serving up 2 more wheat beers this year; Cracked Wheat and Black Wheat.

All you Dancing Man fans might enjoy these different interpretations of wheat beer. I'm especially excited for the Black Wheat, a very nice full flavored wheat beer that is a nice change of pace from regular wheat beer.

Also, their first Unplugged of the year is a Saison which has me dying in anticipation. One of my favorite beers of the moment is a saison made by Ommegang called Hennepin Farmhouse Ale. Hopefully Dan will be able to brew us something similar.

[PrinceFielder28]

I had the SATIN SOLSTICE IMPERIAL STOUT from Central Waters over the weekend. It was very good heavy winter beer with a high alcohol content.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

I may have a new contender for a favorite . . . The Diamond Knot Industrial IPA.

 

I would agree with this part of one of the reviews . . .

Mouthfeel: medium-heavy in body. Lightly crisp at the start, smooth and dry at the finish. Aftertaste is surprisingly short.

 

Drinkability: for the style this has bold flavors but does not leave your togue battered. Great to drink, but a few of these will catch up to you. Great version of the style.

Also the brewery in Mukilteo, WA has the GREATEST. URINAL. EVER!!!!

 

 

 

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3420/3193561457_0c8c1d6b42_b.jpg

 

 

'cause you see, you turn their good beer into Bud Light.

[fstorm1]

Ha! Classic! Wonder if my nice lady friend will let me install one of those in our bathroom...

 

BTW- was anyone watching you as you took that pic?!? That might require a heckuva response.

[logan82]

So I got my Hops N Props tickets last week. It came with a long letter about parking and warning people about drinking and driving. My wife and I already planned to cab our way around town and stay in a motel overnight. There don't look to be any within walking distance of the EAA air museum.

[logan82]

My wife recommends the New Glarus Coffee Stout. She liked it as much as the Road Slush oatmeal stout it replaced.

 

Has anybody found the New Glarus Crack'd Wheat yet? Last time I was at the liquor store I was talking to the owner and he called his distributor to ask about it. His distributor, out of Madison no less, had not even heard about it yet.

[Beerambassador]

I stumbled upon a Unibroue sampler pack the other day, which is just amazing. I'd never even imagined they'd have such a product, but if you like Belgian-style beers this is quite the find. It has eight bottles, two bottles of La Fin du Monde (their outstanding triple) and then one each of six other beers. Considering what you pay for a 750 ml bottle of Unibroue, this is a great way to familiarize yourself with their beers without getting stuck with a big bottle of something you hate and paid $8 for. So far everything is dynamite. I also finally bought some Duvel. Found it with the nice duvel glass in package. Great beer. I'm just in love with Belgian beer right now, which is kind of unfortunate considering the costs involved.

 

Also, as an aside, while driving home yesterday I wondered why nobody makes a raspberry chocolate stout. The flavors seem tailor made for each other. So I thought you could probably get the same effect by mixing some Young's Double Chocolate Stout with the New Glarus Raspberry Tart. I ran it by my wife and she started drooling. So I'm going to pick some up and try it out. I'll report back on the results after we try it.

[logan82]

Was up in Oshkosh and stopped at Festival foods. No dice on the Crack'd Wheat. They didn't even have the Coffee Stout. A guy there recommended the Central Waters Burbon aged beer. I told him I preferred wheat beer and he said to try the Franziskaner Dunkel. I didn't see the Dunkel, but I did pick up a Breckenridge Agave Wheat. Has to be the thickest Wheat I have ever run across. It was as cloudy as a normal wheat beer even before doing the swirl. After the swirl it was about the consistency of orange juice, except more of a tan color. As thick as it looked, it was pretty light tasting. Good beer overall. I also picked up a Central Waters Satin Solstice Imperial Stout(that's a mouthful) for my wife. It was pretty good as well. It had a really strong flavor.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Picked up the Capital Maibock. Outstanding. Higher ABV but still very drinkable.

[fstorm1]

Stopped at Woodman's last night and they didn't have the Cracked either. Bummer. It'll pop up somewhere. Also tried the Agave Wheat several weeks ago. I agree with your "review" and that there's nothing overly exciting about it. Okay, but nothing to make it stand out.

 

Actually I haven't really had anything overly exciting lately. Lot's of average or slightly above (Capital Rustic Ale, Lagunitas Rich Copper Ale, Pyramid Snowcap Winter Warmer, Atlantic Brewing Mount Desert Island Ginger, Big Sky Powder Hound Winter). But the Lost Coast Brewing Winterbraun Ale is good stuff. Darker, but the chocolate eased as it warmed to a nice balance.

 

And Newfield, the Capital Maibock is my favorite maibock. Cool you saw it out already, usually doesn't pop up until Spring.

[ManOfTheBeer]

Perhaps Capital is releasing the Maibock already to prepare for Bockfest and the Blonde Doppelbock? I've never been to Bockfest, but every year my friends tell me it's a great time. I wasn't a big Capital fan until the last year or two...now I don't know how I'd get through Wisconsin's long winter without their help.

 

Beerambassador: That raspberry chocolate stout concoction sounds very interesting. I haven't started homebrewing yet, but one of my dream beers is to use some form of peanut oil to make a peanut butter/chocolate stout. I think that might be an interesting dessert drink.

[stoops17]

Stopped at Three Cellars last night, their new location that is. It's in the Franklin Village Plaza, 76th & Rawson. It's smaller, but I like the layout. Wine on one side's wall, beer singles on the other wall, six packs in the middle front, bar in the back with two beers on tap.

 

Built a couple six-packs for myself to try this week.

[logan82]

No Crack'd Wheat for 2-4 weeks. It is still fermenting in the warehouse. I was just at the liquor store, the owner called his distributor and that's what his distributor told him.

[fstorm1]

No Crack'd Wheat for 2-4 weeks. It is still fermenting in the warehouse. I was just at the liquor store, the owner called his distributor and that's what his distributor told him.

Rats. I was going hunting tomorrow. Ah, well. On a side note, and this may be old news to some, but Hacker Pschorr brats are awesome. Boil in it for awhile, then crank up the heat and fry until the beer caramelizes into a sticky, gooey, uh, mess. Add kraut and secret stadium sauce. Oh my.

 

Hoping there's some early (real early) spring beers available for perusing on the morrow. Could use some cheering up from the cold, and snow, and the Badgers, and J.P. leaving, and...ugh. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[GoudaBrew]

I'm new to this thread, but I thought I'd pass on two beers I enjoyed this weekend:

 

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA (on tap!)- Fruity and hoppy, but very smooth. Rogue is so expensive in liquor stores ($12-13 for a 6er), but I'll always try them on tap ($4.50 a pint in this case)

 

Sierra Nevada ESB (Early Spring Beer) - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a staple beer for me, so I'll always try their seasonals and I enjoyed this one very much

[fstorm1]

Friday night, my nice lady friend and I visited one of new (new to us at least) favorite place, Stone Cellar Pub in Appleton. They have a great all-you-can-eat fish fry for only $9.99, and they make a handful of good beers (I went with their Scottish and the lady grabbed up their awesome Vanilla Cream Ale, their two best). Anyhoo, on the way out I snatched up some reading material, "Ale Street News", a monthly periodical that's based out of New Jersey, which means the vast majority of the stuff pertained to the East Coast. But they had a couple of interesting things (too me, I hadn't heard of any of these):

Sam Adams has a glass "specially" designed for their Lager (I can list specs if anyone cares);

Leinie's has a "Classic Amber", and this periodical had the first ad I'd seen of it anywhere (couldn't find anything on their own website about it, but did find a story here;

and finally, from the "only-in-Wisconsin-and-that's-why-I-love-it-here": Rob LoBreglio of The Great Dane and Kirby Nelson of Capital are teaming up to "attempt not only a high alcohol beer, but in fact to break the record for the strongest all-malt beer ever brewed". Goes on to say that Dogfish Head and Sam Adams both have set previous records for brews measuring over 20% (!), those brews did so using sugar, fruit and/or maple syrup, and that the boys from Madison will try to use only the 3 ingredients set by the German Reinheitsgebot beer purity law, those being water, barley and hops. The record for that is currently 15%, and thy're aiming for 17%.