The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[Beerambassador]

Have you had her try some of the regional Oktoberfest beers?

Right after she had some Ambergeddon, I had her sample my New Glarus Staghorn and she said it was bland, but admitted that was as much due to her palette being tainted by the massive hops in the Ambergeddon. To me, an Oktoberfest is almost 180 degrees from what I'm looking for. An Oktoberfest is all about smooth maltiness and and a nice (but light) hop aroma. Ambergeddon was almost like an Amber IPA, only with more emphasis on hop aroma and flavor than hop bitterness.

 

Also, sgtcluels...do you have a Minnesota connection that you're drinking all this Surly, or can it be had in southern Wisconsin now? I've heard a lot of good things about their beer.

[sgtcluels]

Yeah I had Dreadnaught, but I was already a few beers deep so I don't remember it to well. I wrote down some notes, but I can't seem to make it out (It was during a sampling)

 

Beer - Was up there a few weeks back, Stocked up.

[Beerambassador]

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is now available in the U.S. It was only available in foreign markets (I know in the Caribbean and south/central America, maybe Africa). It was sort of a "holy grail" for beer nerds and after picking up a four-pack I can tell why. It tastes like Guinness - only more. More roasted malt, more hops, more alcohol. In short - this is an outstanding beer and a must try for beer enthusiasts.

[Funketown]

Just had a great beer weekend in Boulder, Colorado. Hit Avery and Mountain Sun as well as sampling a few more offerings unavailable here in Ioway/Wisconsin.

 

Avery Rumpkin: Had to try this one, despite the $10/10 oz. price tag at the tap room. Pretty spectacular, huge pumpkin with lots of pie spice, sipped like a liqueur.

Avery Beast 09: Highly complex, lots of deep pit fruit.

Avery Beast 10: Tastes quite a bit like a younger Beast 09. Cool to see them side by side and compare, I found the 10 to be harsher and simpler than the 09.

Avery Jerry's Roggenbier: Not what I expected. Banana, cocoa aroma. A bit spicy, almost like a dunkelweizen. Not nearly as resiny as I had expected. My only true experience with Rye has come in RyePA's, so that's what I expected.

Mountain Sun Smokescreen: Good, but compared to NG's smoked from a couple years back, a bit overpowering on the smoke.

Mountain Sun Java Porter: Great coffee stout. A bit one dimensional, but fabulous nonetheless.

Mountain Sun RyePA: Good resiny RyePA. I'm really becoming a fan of these RyePA's.

Mountain Sun XXX: Very assertive APA, drinks like an IPA.

Mountain Sun Colorado Kind: Again, an assertive APA. Very nice.

Mountain Sun FYIPA: The last beer I had on Thursday, this was somewhat good, but I won't pretend that I was sober when I drank this.

 

Lost Abbey Red Barn: Great saison. Lots of orange and ginger.

Jenlain Ambree: French Biere de Garde. My first of the style. Very interesting, very enjoyable.

Oskar Blues Old Chub: Scotch Ale. Very sweet, but not cloying. Lots of toffee, biscuity texture.

 

Grabbed some Great Divide and Deschutes as well. I was tempted by a $14.49 bottle of Russian River Consecration, but I had to pass it up.

 

Both the Mountain Sun and Avery are must hits in the Boulder Area.

[TooLiveBrew]

It was sort of a "holy grail" for beer nerds and after picking up a four-pack I can tell why. It tastes like Guinness - only more.

 

Sounds like what it tastes like across the pond. I must get some.

[Beerambassador]

It was sort of a "holy grail" for beer nerds and after picking up a four-pack I can tell why. It tastes like Guinness - only more.

 

Sounds like what it tastes like across the pond. I must get some.

Not really, to be honest. I've had it in Ireland and this is not Guinness Draught by any stretch. There's nothing session-able about this beer, but damn if it isn't good.

[sgtcluels]

I really like Oscar Blues beers. They've done some great stuff, Old Chub, Gordon, Dales Pale, Gubna (which was under whelming for the price). A few gordons will get the juices flowing that's for sure... but it just tastes so good.

[TooLiveBrew]

Not really, to be honest. I've had it in Ireland and this is not Guinness Draught by any stretch.

 

Interesting. Now I really need to get some.

[Bikeage77]

Beerambassador - have you tried Milwaukee's Louise Demise? I tend to get that when I want an amber that's not Ambergeddon or Fat Tire. Riverwest Stein is probably my favorite, but I never get 6 packs since I typically always drink it at bars.

 

I've probably tried about more than 10 Octoberfests this year. Trying to remember, my order of preference is:

 

Bells

Spaten

Sprecher

Lakefront

New Glarus

New Belgium

Tyranea

Sam Adams

Milwaukee

Leine's

[Bikeage77]

Winter brews are starting to come out. I already got a 6er of 2 Below from New Belgium and the Winter Skal from Capital. Woohoo!

[logan82]

There is a Heretic Brewing Company opening up in San Francisco. They should have some beer out by March 2011. Jamil Zainasheff is the brewmaster and he is supposedly a celebrity amongst home brewers.

 

Had a few of the 2° Below tonight. Good stuff.

[TooLiveBrew]

I like 2° Below, and Pyramid's Snow Cap Ale is a good (Oregon) winter warmer that is available in WI. I wish Jubilale (Deschutes) were, but oh well.

[sgtcluels]

21st Amendment - Hell or High Watermelon - What a weird beer. There really is no hiding the watermelon taste at all, it's there and in your face. But it works.. perfect "Yard Work" beer. It's light, crisp, refreshing, but during the cooler parts of fall it doesn't fit right. But I could imagine drinking a few of these while doing some yard work.

 

Uplands - Komodo Dragon Fly Black IPA - Dark dark colors, a ton of chocolate in this beer. So much so that you lose a lot of the bright hop characteristics. The hop aroma is there, but as soon as you drink it you get nothing but rich chocolate. It's pretty tasty.. but don't expect much hop characteristics.

 

Coney Island - [urlFreaktoberfest]http://beeradvocate.com/b...442]Freaktoberfest[/url][/url] - 6 malts, 6 hops, 6.66% ABV. You crack the bottle and pour it into a glass and it's blood red. But that's about when the fun stops, the beer is pretty boring. It's watery to the point where you don't get much octoberfest and its just.. there. Nothing to right home about.

 

21st Amendment - Back in Black - Another Black IPA. It's not nearly as cocoa and chocolate then the Uplands version. A bit lighter and a not as much offft.

[Funketown]

New Glarus had a sneak peak of their schedule up. Nothing on the schedule terribly interesting. Happy to see Uff-Da, Dancing Man, and Moon Man back, disappointed to see Two Women, Snowshoe, and Back Forty, which I find a bit dull.

 

http://newglarusbrewing.com/images/2011brews.jpg

 

Also, I don't know how accurate this thread is from BA, but it sounds like they'll be releasing a Kristallweizen, a Black IPA and Two Women Lager next year. They will also apparently be releasing two "thumbprint" beers to go along with the four unplugged beers. I'm intrigued by Two Women Lager, although I usually find pilsners boring. They'll also apparently be re-releasing Imperial Weizen (score!), Smoked Rye Porter, and Cranbic.

[Beerambassador]

Their "released" schedule kinda blows. Cabin Fever was a stinker - at least by NG standards - Back 40 is pretty average. Three bocks is overkill. I'm the only person in the world that doesn't like their apple ale.

 

I found the BA thread, and if it's accurate (I suspect it is) there is some hope. Two Women as a seasonal would be fantastic. I'd prefer they make it a year round. What a great pilsner. I'm in love with pilsners right now, and there aren't many American breweries making good ones. And what you get import-wise is suspect in the freshness department. NG making a pilsner has me downright giddy.

 

*Pilsner detour* I used to think pilsners were boring. Then I had Sam Adams Noble Pils. Then I had Victory Prima Pils. And Two Women. When they're fresh, it's the ultimate in refreshing. Balanced, crisp, malty, hoppy. I'm drooling. And it's 8 in the morning. *Pilsner detour done*

 

I'm not wild about Black IPA, but if Dan Carey makes it, I'll try it and I'll probably like it. I'm also kind of bummed about all the repeats in the Unplugged series. To me those should be something new and unique. I'm still unclear about what these "Thumbprint" beers are about, but I'm intrigued. Deb said something on their facebook page about a Neil Young inspired beer. Maybe that'll be one of them. During the beer vote, somebody requested a Neil Young inspired beer, and she said "Harvest Moon" is her and Dan's song, so he'd be working on that. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see a "harvest beer" in the fall with that theme. I also think there will be at least one more yet-to-be-named year round. Could be wrong about that.

 

I kind believe how bad I geek out about New Glarus. I pretty much only drink my homebrew and New Glarus at this point.

[sgtcluels]

I have to agree on the Pilsners, but they have to be some what fresh. Sam Adams Noble Pils was the first Sams I liked... a hint of hops.. but crisp and easy to drink.

 

I'm not a big fan of New Glarus. I do enjoy Moon Man, but the rest of their beers... meh... just not my style.

[Funketown]

^ I totally understand your feelings on Apple Ale. I personally enjoy it, but I'm pretty disappointed to see it released as an unplugged. I just hope for more interesting offerings from the unplugged series, like their Berliner Weiss or their Smoked Porter. And yes, I agree with you on the bocks. I like Uff-da, but Cabin Fever bores the heck out of me.

[logan82]

I really liked the Two Women Lager. I didn't like either bock that New Glarus put out this year. As always I love D-Man. I am a little disappointed to see Stone Soup get dropped. I didn't get in soon enough to vote this year. Last year I stuffed the ballot boxes but didn't know I could vote yet until the last possible day this year. I think I liked Snowshoe.

[logan82]

My wife had the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout over the weekend and she said it was better than what we get over here. We had a Sam Adams sampler last weekend. Not impressive at all. I like the Irish Red and my wife liked the Oktoberfest. It had a dunkelweisse. My wife liked the homebrew dunkelweisse better. She drank that and left the Sam Adams for me. Gee, thanks honey.

 

Watched the Brewmasters show on Discovery. I liked it. 16 weeks(9 actually once they got started on the test batch) to turn a beer from concept to selling it in stores is pretty quick. Actually brewing has given me a lot more hands on knowledge of what the ingredients will do.

[Funketown]

^That's funny, I picked up a 12-pack sampler of Sam Adams at the store the other day as well (I'm in Iowa and it was on sale from $12.99). So far I've had their Fezziwig, a spiced winter ale, which was better than average, but cloyingly spicy, their Chocolate Bock, which had a cloying cocoa powder flavor, Boston Lager, which is okay, and their White Ale, which is quite poor.

 

I still have yet to find a wit that I'm wild about. Ommegang's was decent, but nothing to write home about.

 

Brewmasters was fun, but I don't know if a whole series will be too much. I'd rather see a series where they highlighted one brewery each week, but that'll never find mainstream television.

[logan82]

I would like to see them do about 6 weeks on one brewery and then move on.

 

Ommegang's abbey(Ommegang) and saison(Hennepin) are pretty good. I don't like the coriander in wits. Wit general being a wheat beer flavored with coriander and orange.

[Beerambassador]

I pick up the Sam Adams holiday sampler every year. I think it's usually pretty solid stuff with at least one stinker in there. In past seasons it was always the cranberry lambic - which I see they mercifully removed this year. I love the Fezziwig and the Holiday Porter. I've had the chocolate bock in the past, they used to only sell it in big bottles for pretty decent money. I thought it was a very good chocolate beer. No artificial chocolate flavors like you often get in chocolate beers.

 

I think Sam Adams is just a good brewery. I think I've mentioned it before, but a lot of people assume that since they're so big that they can't be good. They do make some awful beer, but Boston Lager is a craft "standard" for good reason. It's a damn good beer. Their Noble Pills is freaking outstanding as well, ditto for their Cream Stout. I don't buy a lot of Sam Adams - why would I when so many Wisconsin brewers make excellent products? But I do buy it on occasion and I mostly enjoy their beer.

 

Also, Ommegang Hennepin is one of my favorite beers ever. For some reason that I can't figure out, Festival Foods, at least in Green Bay, sells it for $4.99 or so a bottle. I've never seen it for less than $7 anywhere else. So I try to stock up when I'm in the area.

[Funketown]

^Overall, I agree that Sam Adams is a pretty good brewery. However, I just don't think most of their offerings stand up to those from the top tier breweries. I'm actually drinking their Holiday Porter right now, and it's a good, but not great, porter.

 

I had Great Lakes' Christmas Ale this weekend, which was quite nice. FFF Gumballhead is a very good American style wheat, although I found the lemony note almost astringent. Tyranena's Sheep Shagger was quite good as well.

 

As I was at the In-Laws' this weekend, I decided I'd do a swill sampler to help them clear their fridge. My wife bet me I couldn't finish any of them. Here are the results:

 

1) Pacifico - Bad, boring, insipid, but not offensive. I was able to drink the whole thing, although it wasn't exactly enjoyable.

2) Heineken - This really sucked. I don't know what they use to brew this stuff, but it tastes like straight urine corn water. Had to pour a few ounces.

3) Milwaukee's Best Ice - Vomit. This is absolutely, without a doubt, the worst beer I've had in the last few years. I could only drink an ounce or two.

[TooLiveBrew]

Milwaukee's Best (& basically any macro-brew) is "beer" like foodservice Nacho Cheese is "cheese"

[logan82]

Milwaukee's Best (& basically any macro-brew) is "beer" like foodservice Nacho Cheese is "cheese"

Very true. They are adjunct alcohol. Mostly made with rice and corn with very little barley. After talking with a relative this weekend I am not sure how much if any hops is actually in any of them either. He said they used hop extract because it wouldn't skunk like hops do. In the case of Miller Lite they make a 9% abv "beer" then cut it about 50/50 with carbonated water. Most commercial beer is made to be as inoffensive and flavorless as possible to appeal to as many people as possible.