The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[sgtcluels]

DFH90 Minute: That's a pretty good beer. The 120 is way to astringent, and after a few of the 90s I start to taste more booze then I'd like. Have you tried their Aprihop? Now that's a weird beer. The first half of the beer enjoyed. The second... not so much.

FFF Alpha King: Tasty APA. Not as bright as I'd like since it promised "citrus", but it's a very good solid APA with a few subtle malt notes.

 

MN Beers:

 

Grain Belt - Premium. YEah I was just buying regional beers, but it's high life. It's not good, except when it's 90 degrees out and you mowed your lawn. Just buy high life, it's cheaper.

Surly - Furious - Bright citrus and grapefruit flavors in an IPA. It's probably one of the better IPAs I've ever had.

Surly - Bender - It's a hoppy oatmeal brown ale. Great carmel malt flavor with a great smell when you open the can and a not over powering amount of hops. It might be better then Furious.

Surly - Bitter Brewer - It's a bitter british. It's just ok at best, not much going on. It fails to deliver, but it's probably right for the style.

Surly - Cynic Ale - It's a belgium. As I'm not a fan of the style, it's hard for me to pass judgement. It's just alright.

Schells - Firebrick - It starts nice, but then kind of bring son a charcoal taste to it, I couldn't get past it.

Schells - Pils - It's fine. Clean simple Pils. Neither hate or like. It's middle of the pack.

Schells - Zommerfest - It's a Kolsch. Not much to this beer, kind of reminds me of the macro beer style.

Stone - Sublimely Self-Righteous - Black IPA that delivers on all counts. I think this could be a great fall or spring beer since its heavier then IPA. Highly recommend it.

Stone - Vertical Epic (2009) - Porter. Very very good, if you can find a bottle I recommend it. Nice malt flavors.

Stone - Russian Imperial (2010) - Very very boozey, that's all I could taste. Masked everything else.

Stone - Russiam Imperial (2008) - Now that's a good imperial, the booze flavor subsided and it's a lot more subtle with good hearty mouth feel and warming drink feel. Starts to taste like a rich stout.

 

I have a few more Schells to go through (Thanks sampler pack).

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Just had my last Maritime summer batch of Jolly Roger . . . now I have to wait 'till actual winter for another . .. BOO!

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4778681234_8ee1407c22.jpg

[Baldkin]

By the way, to anyone in Milwaukee looking for a new beer-bar, Stubby's Pub 'n Grub just opened up a few weeks ago, right next to the Humbolt St bridge (that was out for 2 years) where Bayou used to be.

 

They have 50+ beers on tap (and there's no Lienie's or Macro's on tap at all -- so 50+ real beers). Oh, and their food (what I've had so far) is phenomenal.

[JumpinMacFlash]

Last night, I was at a Endter's in Hartland having wings with my wife and a friend of ours, and I noticed that they had Harvest Moon. I was excited, because I had been waiting for fall beers and pumpkin beers to make an appearance. I've like Harvest Moon since the first time I've tried it. This year I intend to find and try more pumpkin beers. I'm typically a fan of fall beers, so I'm also thinking about buying some to store for winter. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[TooLiveBrew]

By the way, to anyone in Milwaukee looking for a new beer-bar, Stubby's Pub 'n Grub just opened up a few weeks ago, right next to the Humbolt St bridge (that was out for 2 years) where Bayou used to be.

 

They have 50+ beers on tap (and there's no Lienie's or Macro's on tap at all -- so 50+ real beers). Oh, and their food (what I've had so far) is phenomenal.

Whoa -- that tap list looks awesome

[Funketown]

Grabbed a few brews while in Madison this weekend.

 

New Glarus Abt - Good beer, but disappointing as an Unplugged. Nice 1-2 punch of rum & raisin, but this one should probably be set down for a while.

Bells Third Coast Old Ale - Big barley wine. Lots of dried fruit (raisin, date). Somewhat sweet, but enough bitterness to balance. Very good, but probably would be even better after being set down for two to three years.

New Glarus Staghorn Oktoberfest - Good beer for the style, but I'm not a big fan of this style.

 

I've lived in the Cedar Rapids area for over a year now and I still haven't made a trip to John's Grocery in Iowa City. According to their website, they have an outstanding selection of Belgians.

 

http://www.johnsgrocery.c...owse.cfm?method=prodname

 

I've actually never tried a proper Gueuze, so I'm thinking I may splurge and pick one up. They have quite a few, so I'll have to grab one for a special occasion.

[sgtcluels]

So I have Oso Night Train last night. Damn what a great porter. A little coffee hints, malt, great mouth feel, creamy.

[Beerambassador]

I've been a craft beer connoisseur since before I could legally drink, meaning well over a decade and I FINALLY bought a sixer of Anchor Steam after I realized I'd never had it. It's such a standard of the craft beer industry (kinda like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) that I couldn't believe I'd never bought it. What a great beer! Lately I've really been developing a taste for lagers (is it a lager? is it an ale? that's debatable I guess..) and it really hit the spot. Nice and hoppy with a smooth malt taste. Nice on a cool late summer evening.

 

Inspired by the all the buzz around Black IPAs I went out and found a bottle of Southern Tier Iniquity. I don't know. I know people who talk up Black IPA say it's not just a hoppy stout, but this tasted EXACTLY like a hoppy Russian imperial stout. It was nice, but I don't know about all the hype with Black IPA. I picked up a bottle of Stone Sublimely Self Righteous - which sgtcluels loved - but I haven't had a chance to drink it yet. Maybe this one will change my perception a bit.

 

For the Dancing Man lovers - Woodman's on the east side is all out. Staghorn is out in its place. So if you want some for the winter (and why not, it's got enough alcohol for a cold winter night) better go and find some. I picked up a sixer of Staghorn (and a couple other New Glarus varieties) for my son's post-baptism party. I make sure those who don't like attending church have lots of good beer to look forward to post service but I don't want them to drink all my home brew.

 

Also, had a nice Scotch Ale on cask at the Great Dane the other night. Gotta go there during happy hour to avoid their ridiculous beer costs. The beer - thank God - was really good, which offset how ticked off I was about my sustain-a-burger. What a joke of a hamburger. Especially disappointing since the Dane has pretty good burgers in general.

[logan82]

For the Dancing Man lovers - Woodman's on the east side is all out. Staghorn is out in its place. So if you want some for the winter (and why not, it's got enough alcohol for a cold winter night) better go and find some.

 

Dancing Man is supposed to be out through the end of October so I don't think there is a rush yet. Although at this point I would buy 2 when you only think you need one. Put the second in the basement.

[Funketown]

Had a pint of Founder's Dirty Bastard (Scotch ale) just now. Very nice - lots of dried fruit (fig, date), a bit of smoke, and a touch of chocolate on the finish. I found the sweetness to be a bit cloying, however, it was nicely offset by a bourbon tinged well-hopped finish.

 

While at Woodman's on the west side, I couldn't find Dancing Man. Oh, and a comment on their turnover - I was looking over DH's Raison d'Extra and saw that it was bottled in 2007. At 18.5%, it was probably fine, but it makes me wonder how long some of their beers have been sitting on the shelf.

 

I did however grab a sixer with a couple more offerings from Bear Republic; their Racer IPA and their Red Rocket Ale. I had their Hop Rod Rye IIPA a while back and it was great, so hopefully these don't disappoint.

[Beerambassador]

I've wondered about the turnover at Woodman's. Heck, I wonder about it at all liquor stores. It's my understanding that distributors are supposed to be rotating stock to ensure freshness but I'm betting it rarely happens. I know Bells and New Glarus turnover quite quickly at Woodman's. I've seen the cooler case almost empty for both of them. So maybe I'll just buy those two.

[colbyjack]

Anyone else a fan of Octoberfest seasonals? I'm sure I've mentioned this in this thread before, but Capital's and Bell's in particular are quite good each and every year.

[TooLiveBrew]

I like Oktoberfests quite a bit. Picked up six-packs of Spaten's & Flying Dog's. I like the Spaten better (go figure).

[stalton]

I went to the Great Lakes Brew Fest yesterday, and was treated to several quality beers. There were about 90 vendors overall. I'd say about 50-60 Wisco beers, 20-30 National beers and about a dozen homemade beers. Since there was so many beers to choose from I decided to stay localized and stuck with IPA's, stouts, and apple/fruit ciders. I also tried to stay away from the New Glarus's and the Lienie's since I was pretty familiar with their products.

 

My fav's Furthermore's Fatty Boomblatty. A very smooth pale ale with a big harsh punch: ABV 7.2%

Stonefly's Mustache Ride Pale Ale. At first I thought it was just another PA, but it had a great finish. ABV 6%

Shiner's Hefeweizin. I've had this before, but not from a barrel. Good session beer with a bit of a hint of fruitiness ABV 5.4%

Shiner's Bohemian Black Lager. Very dark, Very Hoppy, Very good. ABV 4.9%

Dell's United Vanilla Bourbon Porter. I tried other Bourbon barreled beers and this was my fav my far. Not too strong but still strong enough to make it a tasty beer ABV ?

 

and my fav Homebrewery, Society of Oshkosh Brewers. They are a group of 40-50 brewers that just brew beers/wines for the group as well as go to events like this. They don't sell any of their beers, but are just out to spread the world and to "convert the miller and coor drinkers in the world. They had a good 12 different beers and wines at the fest. They had a couple of Hibiscus Wines and even a Duck Corn Wine that they guessed was at about 30% ABV. Very corny and very dangerous. I don't know when I'd drink it, but not bad.

 

This was my first big beer festival and I had a blast and learned alot. I look forward to finding some of these (non home brew) beers at the liquor store

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Anyone else a fan of Octoberfest seasonals?

Oktobers and Harvests are actually my favorites. They're just starting to come out here, had a Fremont Brewing harvest at their brewery on Saturday and it was pretty good.

[logan82]

This thread is dead. Long live Pintley. Not really but this seems to be an interesting site for beer lovers.

[Beerambassador]

This thread is dead. Long live Pintley. Not really but this seems to be an interesting site for beer lovers.

That's kinda fun. I can see myself wasting a lot of time there.

[Funketown]

This thread must live on.

 

Well, I finally headed down to John's Grocery in Iowa City last weekend. Their selection of Belgians is phenomenal. Not cheap, but better than any selection of Belgians I've ever seen. I took my first dip into the world of Gueuzes, and I must say I am very intrigued. I picked up a 375 cl bottle of Drie Fonteinen's Oude Geuze for $9.99. Wow is that complex stuff; I couldn't put my finger on a lot of the things in that beer, hold for a tart apple bite. Lots of delicious funk.

[logan82]

I had Oso's Picnic Ants tonight. Not to bad but had sort of a sweet finish. Not going to buy it again. I think there was a fovorable review over at Madison Beer Review and I have been looking out for it. Very dissapointed. Serves me right for trusting one or two guys for a beer opinion. I see it is a C over at BA and it had a 4.5 at Pintley until I voted and brought it down to a 3.7.

 

Sorry I don't contribute more to this thread but my focus has shifted to homebrew. A truly addictive hobby.

[logan82]

Sierra Nevada is teaming up with a monastery to create 3 Trappist beers next year. A dubbel, saison and a Quad.

Goose Island will not be releasing their winter seasonal because they don't have the room. They are not keeping up with the demand of some of their other beers.

[Beerambassador]

Since the thread got bumped I figured I'd see if anyone can help with a beer recommendation. My wife LOVES Amber beer. A few weeks back I picked up a sixer of Ale Asylum Ambergeddon. I loved it. It was really nice and hoppy with a big citrus aroma from what I am assuming was some big additions of Cascade hops. So I'm thinking, "Damn, this is great. But my wife will hate it." She grabs one for herself and she's like "This smells like grapefruit juice! I love it!"

 

So, fellow beer nerds. Who can suggest a similar Amber Ale? To me, Amber Ales always meant malty, maybe kinda bitter. This just totally changed my perception of the style AND double bonus, my wife loved it.

[gypcasino]

Tried this last weekend on tap and it's awesome

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/gypcasino/SouthernTierPumkingImperialAle.jpg

[colbyjack]

Beer Ambassador, Odell's Levity Ale is the best Amber Ale I've ever had. If you don't live around Colorado unfortunately you're going to have a hard time finding it.

 

El Toro's Amber Ale is also one of the better amber ales I've had. I've gotten that at Brennan's. I believe logan just mentioned his disappointment with an O'so beer, but their Rusty Red amber ale is quite tasty.

 

Dumb question if you're a SE WI local, but have you tried Lakefront's Fixed Gear? Not one of my faves, and nowhere close to how good their Riverwest Stein beer is (a beer finally starting to earn some national recognition and awards), but decent with a hint of fruity accents that may be up your wife's alley.

 

Also, it sounds as though your wife and my wife have similar tastes. Have you had her try some of the regional Oktoberfest beers? My wife really enjoyed Levity, El Toro and O'so, and she also really likes Bell's/Sam Adams/Capital's Oktoberfests, but not the more traditional German option of this variety.

[sgtcluels]

I enjoy their fixed gear. I think it's better then stein personally.... especially when it's fresh off the tap and it's got that yummy aroma. Lets see.. beer I've been drinking. (Guess I didn't post my thing last night)

 

21st Amendment - Brew free or die IPA - I had that after drinking IPAs all day, hop heavy IPAs. So it was disapointing when I cracked the can. But going into it with out having drank a bunch of IPAs it's really good. It's not a hop punch in the mouth, but has enough to make make a seasoned IPA vet enjoy it, yet accessible for most. Drink it cold though, it starts to lose it's brightness once warm.

 

Surly - Coffee Bender - Holy balls of deliciousness. If you enjoy coffee beers, this one is a good one. It's a coffee flavored brown ale, but unlike most other coffee browns, it doesn't taste like cheap foldgers.. it's good. This beer will be great when you have to report to a tailgate at 7am.

 

Surly - Surlyfest - It's Surlys version of an Oktoberfest. When it's first poured it has a nice hop forward smell, but that fades fast and it just becomes a normal to style Oktoberfest. It's good, not great.

 

Russian River - Pliney The Elder - My buddy found this rare beer. It's tasty, double IPA.. so it's for those hop heads that' aren't afraid of a little bitterness. If you like citrus/pineapple notes, this is your beer. It's not very carbonated (atleast the bottle I had) so there's not much to hide. If you can find it, I suggest trying it out.

[Funketown]

sgtcluels wrote:

Russian River - Pliney The Elder - My buddy found this rare beer. It's tasty, double IPA.. so it's for those hop heads that' aren't afraid of a little bitterness. If you like citrus/pineapple notes, this is your beer. It's not very carbonated (atleast the bottle I had) so there's not much to hide. If you can find it, I suggest trying it out.

Have you tried FFF Dreadnaught? If so, how does it compare? I had Dreadnaught a couple weeks ago and found it phenomenal. Huge hophead beer - lots of tropical fruit/citrus, apricot, a bit of pine, extremely well balanced though.

 

I picked up a Boulevard 12-pack sampler the other day and have been working my way through that. It was only $11.98, so I figured it was worth a go. So far, I've had:

Amber: Quite boring, a bit uninspired. Found the body way over carbonated, so it was hard to really enjoy.

Wheat: I had low expectations for this, given the plethora of New Glarus wheats I've had in my day, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very simple, not quite tart enough for me, and also under carbonated, but nevertheless refreshing. All in all, a decent wheat.

Bully Porter: I might be portered out. It was fine, but not memorable.

Pale Ale: Hop character a bit weak, somewhat watery. Not bad though.

Oktoberfest: Lots of bread, grassy hops, sweetness balanced by a nicely hopped finish. I'm not a big fan of Oktoberfests, but this one was pretty good.

Singlewide IPA: Lots of citrus and a touch of pine, great hop character, nicely balanced. Definitely the gem of the sampler, all in all a very good IPA.