Beer

[intlzncster]

Sours are tough to handle for novist Belgian drinkers. Same with saisons, lambics, and geuzes.

Cool trappist trick. The seven pure trappists beers are.

Westlvleteren (One of the best beers in the world, incredibly rare)
Orval
Westmalle
Rochefort
Achel
Chimay
Koningshoeven

The acronym is WOWRACK. Chimay, many of you have probably seen in stores. Very good, but not cheap.

On another note, Weihenstephan is a German brewery that is the oldest in the world dating back to 1040. You can usually find it in stores. Also very good beers.

Just keep in mind that Belgian and German beers are not like what you are used to drinking over here.

Does this mean that I'm drinking the Budlight of Trappist beer?? Funny, I utter some version of "Wow! Rack!" pretty much every time I'm at a bar.

I'm going to try some of these. Cheers.

 

[defaultroute]

Is there a good book about all things beer? History, types, regions etc...

This is a great book. Required reading for Cicerones

http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894

 

[defaultroute]

I've never been a big Belgian/Trappist fan. I've recently gotten back into German beers. I've been a big fan of Gose for the past couple of years. That style is coming back with a vengeance.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Does this mean that I'm drinking the Budlight of Trappist beer?? Funny, I utter some version of "Wow! Rack!" pretty much every time I'm at a bar.

I'm going to try some of these. Cheers.

There are a lot of Belgian breweries, most of them good that we get over here. None of the trappist ones I named particularly excel in the sours realm, at least as far as I know. I think Petrus is reputable. Look for Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, and Rodenbach. Some of them are hard to find though. I think the bud light of them all is probably Lindeman's. Their lambics taste like wine coolers. Chicks dig them.

 

[ctchamps]

Went to the North Carolina State Fair this past weekend. They had several wine and beer sampling booths to taste free samples. The microbrewery we loved the most was Blind Squirrel. So did most people sampling the free drinks. Loved their nut brown ale and Stout. My wife loved their cream ale.

I have to thank you dudes. If I didn't decide to make an entry I would never have gone to this microbrewery's Facebook and catch the shot of my son sampling beers. Nothing like being in North Carolina with UConn gear!!!

 

[intlzncster]

Went to the North Carolina State Fair this past weekend. They had several wine and beer sampling booths to taste free samples. The microbrewery we loved the most was Blind Squirrel. So did most people sampling the free drinks. Loved their nut brown ale and Stout. My wife loved their cream ale.

I have to thank you dudes. If I didn't decide to make an entry I would never have gone to this microbrewery's Facebook and catch the shot of my son sampling beers. Nothing like being in North Carolina with UConn gear!!!

That is hilarious. Nice one.

Pretty great thread overall actually.

 

[imno1]

I mean if you're trying to get drunk why even bother with IPA's when you can get a few Steel Reserve 40's for like 5 bucks?

Once you get past the first few sips it starts to get better. By the second 40, it starts to taste sweet. Its an odd sensation.

Or my fav

 

[pepband99]

Good call on the trappists. Orval is my personal fave, but the price makes it an occasional treat.

 

[coachcap]

I like beer. Love Two Roads. Like SHED from Vermont & most beers from Vermont.
BUT, my favorite brews are from Innis & Gunn.

 

[Dove]

Ill meet you there. Im always up for a good Fish Taco (although Im invariably disappointed in N.E. Ive spent too much time on Orange county..), Ive been jonesing them lately.
Dove you in?

Always in.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Does this mean that I'm drinking the Budlight of Trappist beer?? Funny, I utter some version of "Wow! Rack!" pretty much every time I'm at a bar.

I'm going to try some of these. Cheers.

Pick up some singles of these. You won't find Westlvleteren anywhere. I'm not an Orval fan, but many people love it, so try it. I'd suggest Chimay Blue and Red and Rochefort 12 and 10. You'll need to figure out if you like Doubles, Triples or Quads. Spencer actually makes a somewhat unusual Abbey style, traditionally consumed by the Brothers, and they agreed with the others who collectively own the Trappist brand not to make anything else for a few years.

The best German beer I've ever had is Ayinger Celebrator. It's like liquid bread pudding drizzled with fig sauce.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I've never been a big Belgian/Trappist fan. I've recently gotten back into German beers. I've been a big fan of Gose for the past couple of years. That style is coming back with a vengeance.

Me neither. I like a nicely made quad, but really do not like the Belgian yeast phenols in any pale beer. I just hate cloves and it carries through too much in any pale beer. Sadly, the same is true of some German Hefeweizens, which can have clove/banana scents to varying degrees. So I tend to like the darker beers from both countries. But many people love the same thing that I dislike, so to each his own.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Me neither. I like a nicely made quad, but really do not like the Belgian yeast phenols in any pale beer. I just hate cloves and it carries through too much in any pale beer. Sadly, the same is true of some German Hefeweizens, which can have clove/banana scents to varying degrees. So I tend to like the darker beers from both countries. But many people love the same thing that I dislike, so to each his own.

We have a similar flavor profile. I prefer dark and malty opposed to clove and coriander. Some of my favorite quads other than Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 are St Bernardus Abt 12, Gouden Carolus Van Der Kaizer Blauw, Pannepot and Allagash Odyssey (American). Ommegang, Unibrou and Allagash are great exclusively Belgian style American breweries.

The Celebrator is excellent, as well as Weihenstephan Korbinian.

This is all making me very thirsty.

 

[intlzncster]

Pick up some singles of these. You won't find Westlvleteren anywhere. I'm not an Orval fan, but many people love it, so try it. I'd suggest Chimay Blue and Red and Rochefort 12 and 10. You'll need to figure out if you like Doubles, Triples or Quads. Spencer actually makes a somewhat unusual Abbey style, traditionally consumed by the Brothers, and they agreed with the others who collectively own the Trappist brand not to make anything else for a few years.

The best German beer I've ever had is Ayinger Celebrator. It's like liquid bread pudding drizzled with fig sauce.

Cheers for the recos.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We have a similar flavor profile. I prefer dark and malty opposed to clove and coriander. Some of my favorite quads other than Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 are St Bernardus Abt 12, Gouden Carolus Van Der Kaizer Blauw, Pannepot and Allagash Odyssey (American). Ommegang, Unibrou and Allagash are great exclusively Belgian style American breweries.

The Celebrator is excellent, as well as Weihenstephan Korbinian.

This is all making me very thirsty.

Yes, very similar. You caught my laziness. I meant Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus abt 12, when I said 12 and 10. Forgot to type in the brewery. Unibrou is in Quebec...so "American" as in on the continent, but not "USA!" American.

 

[HooperScooper]

We have a similar flavor profile. I prefer dark and malty opposed to clove and coriander. Some of my favorite quads other than Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 are St Bernardus Abt 12, Gouden Carolus Van Der Kaizer Blauw, Pannepot and Allagash Odyssey (American). Ommegang, Unibrou and Allagash are great exclusively Belgian style American breweries.

The Celebrator is excellent, as well as Weihenstephan Korbinian.

This is all making me very thirsty.

Ommegang Three Philosophers is very good stuff. Drank many of those at the brewery this summer while my son was playing at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The stuff isn't cheap though. $100 a case.

 

[Dove]

Dare I admit that I've been on a cider kick for the past few months, drinking far more of it than beer? Started off as a gluten thing, but has continued because I genuinely like it and feel much better both while drinking and afterwards. Definitely much less bloated/logy.

Like beer, cider is another thing that has come a long way lately, with lots of different styles now; if you thought it was just the sweet stuff, think again. Downeast from MA, Citizen Cider from VT and Crispin from CA (especially their Honeycrisp bomber) have been among my favorites, but even Woodchuck now has off-dry (Granny Smith) and hop-forward (Hopsation) ciders. New England Cider Co. is a newer local one on the scene and making some great strides. And Etienne Dupont has some great Normandy style ciders that taste like Belgian sours in some instances, or champagne in others.

As but one indicator of how popular cider is becoming, I've seen it reported several times now that Boston Beer Co., which owns both Sam Adams and Angry Orchard, is selling more Angry Orchard than Sam Adams Lager.

I stopped by North Madison Wine and Spirits. Assembled a six pack of items and picked up the Downeast cider they had. Am drinking it while cooking. Turns out I got the cranberry blend but makes Angry Orchard Crisp Apple taste like Motts. I like this Downeast Cider House stuff. Will look for the Original Blend.

 

[8893]

I stopped by North Madison Wine and Spirits. Assembled a six pack of items and picked up the Downeast cider they had. Am drinking it while cooking. Turns out I got the cranberry blend but makes Angry Orchard Crisp Apple taste like Motts. I like this Downeast Cider House stuff. Will look for the Original Blend.

Thank you; I'm glad you bought some from him. I told Bob to order it a few weeks ago and he did. I stopped in last week to see how it was selling and they said it wasn't really moving yet. I felt guilty so I bought some, even though I didn't need any. I know it is selling very well at both the place next to Stop & Shop and the place across from the Ford dealership on Route 1, as they tell me they can't keep it in stock. Both the cranberry and original are very good; the cranberry is actually a little more dry. I wasn't too big on the lemonade blend one they sold this summer.

 

[alexd]

I don't know...maybe it's just me....but when I see those TV ads for the cider, I think of Bartles & Jams wine coolers back in the '80's. I have to admit. I've never tried the stuff.

 

[upstater]

And a bottle poured into a good, frozen glass is the next level.

Last night I read an article about this being the worst thing you can possibly do with beer because the cold of the glass creates the head which disperses all the flavor into the air.

This is why beer snobbery is confusing. If you read beer advocate occasionally, all these people are going on about the head and the "lacing." But now I've come to find out that the head supposedly disperses the flavor.

So after reading the article, I poured a bottle of Allagash White into a frozen wheat beer glass.

It was good.

 

[upstater]

I don't know...maybe it's just me....but when I see those TV ads for the cider, I think of Bartles & Jams wine coolers back in the '80's. I have to admit. I've never tried the stuff.

In my experience, there are two different kinds of cider. The British kind which does remind of Bartles and James. And then there's the French/Belgian stuff, usually spelled Cidre. It's a whole other order. Not as candy-ish as the British stuff. It's very good. More beer-y.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't know...maybe it's just me....but when I see those TV ads for the cider, I think of Bartles & Jams wine coolers back in the '80's. I have to admit. I've never tried the stuff.

Like anything, some is good, some not so good. There are tons of them now when I used to find just Woodchuck. McKenzie's, Angry Orchard, Crispin, Ace, Down East etc.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Last night I read an article about this being the worst thing you can possibly do with beer because the cold of the glass creates the head which disperses all the flavor into the air.

This is why beer snobbery is confusing. If you read beer advocate occasionally, all these people are going on about the head and the "lacing." But now I've come to find out that the head supposedly disperses the flavor.

So after reading the article, I poured a bottle of Allagash White into a frozen wheat beer glass.

It was good.

Disperses the flavor? That is idiotic. Who said that? As with wine, beer has taste and smell, and as we all know smell has a big impact on taste. The head can help bring out the aroma, which can enhance the flavor. So can using the proper glass (#properglassware). There are reasons not to use a frosty glass because extreme cold itself does flavors, but with Allagash White it should be fine. Jon Kimmich from the Alchemist talks about drinking Heady Topper in this video, worth a watch.

 

[upstater]

We have a similar flavor profile. I prefer dark and malty opposed to clove and coriander. Some of my favorite quads other than Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 are St Bernardus Abt 12, Gouden Carolus Van Der Kaizer Blauw, Pannepot and Allagash Odyssey (American). Ommegang, Unibrou and Allagash are great exclusively Belgian style American breweries.

The Celebrator is excellent, as well as Weihenstephan Korbinian.

This is all making me very thirsty.

Unibroue is Quebecois though.

We have these on tap not 5 minutes by foot from where I'm typing right now, except for the Gouden Carolus and Pannepot.

 

[upstater]

Disperses the flavor? That is idiotic. Who said that? As with wine, beer has taste and smell, and as we all know smell has a big impact on taste. The head can help bring out the aroma, which can enhance the flavor. So can using the proper glass (#properglassware). There are reasons not to use a frosty glass because extreme cold itself does flavors, but with Allagash White it should be fine. Jon Kimmich from the Alchemist talks about drinking Heady Topper in this video, worth a watch.

An article off of Yahoo News.

 

[upstater]

Ommegang Three Philosophers is very good stuff. Drank many of those at the brewery this summer while my son was playing at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The stuff isn't cheap though. $100 a case.

Hit up a Wegman's. They have the zaniest beer deals there. So 4 Three Philosopher's goes for $20. But they also have something called Craft-Your-Pack for $10. Any 6 beers mixed for $10. So of course I buy 3 Phils, 2 Allagash and 1 Anchor Steam for 410.

Makes no sense, 4 for $20, or 6 for $10.

 

[8893]

In my experience, there are two different kinds of cider. The British kind which does remind of Bartles and James. And then there's the French/Belgian stuff, usually spelled Cidre. It's a whole other order. Not as candy-ish as the British stuff. It's very good. More beer-y.

The major difference in style is usually whether they use ale yeast or champagne yeast for the cider; and then there is the Normandy style which is totally different. The champagne yeast ones tend to be drier and more effervescent; but you can accomplish dry and off-dry ciders with ale yeast, too, depending on the apples and whether you are using concentrate or fresh pressed cider; or apple juice/concentrate.

I find the Downeast ones the most like true apple cider, like the kind you get fresh at this time of year. They are not sweet, but not too dry either. I believe they use only fresh-pressed apples.

Angry Orchard's large bottle series actually has some very good ciders, including The Muse, which is very champagne-like.

Crispin's cans of English cider are very dry.

 

[August_West]

Was at a place in Black Rock last night that was pouring SixPoint Resin . I enjoyed it, but Fishy would have hated it, much more Forward Pine Cone than Heady Topper. ;-)

 

[upstater]

The major difference in style is usually whether they use ale yeast or champagne yeast for the cider; and then there is the Normandy style which is totally different. The champagne yeast ones tend to be drier and more effervescent; but you can accomplish dry and off-dry ciders with ale yeast, too, depending on the apples and whether you are using concentrate or fresh pressed cider; or apple juice/concentrate.

I find the Downeast ones the most like true apple cider, like the kind you get fresh at this time of year. They are not sweet, but not too dry either. I believe they use only fresh-pressed apples.

Angry Orchard's large bottle series actually has some very good ciders, including The Muse, which is very champagne-like.

Crispin's cans of English cider are very dry.

First time I ever tried a cider I liked was in the abbey at Mont. St. Michel in Normandy, so that explains why I was knocked back by how good it was, since I was not in favor of the British ciders I had tried prior to that.

 

[8893]

First time I ever tried a cider I liked was in the abbey at Mont. St. Michel in Normandy, so that explains why I was knocked back by how good it was, since I was not in favor of the British ciders I had tried prior to that.

Look for the Etienne Dupont ciders (and anything else imported by B. United). Normandy style and probably my favorite overall of all the ciders I've ever tasted, especially the organic one. They also hold up well for years. For CT people, they are available at Amity, Coastal, etc. and plenty of other places. 750 ml bottles.