The Official Beer Lovers Thread

[elsid13]

Some more reviews. Some are little older because I usually post them at BF.

Avery kaiser an Imperial Oktoberfest Lager. Pours a burnt orange with smell of beard and fruit. Goes down extremely smooth and without any sharpness. I am surprised how much I like this beer, it worth picking up.

Rebel by Měšťanský Pivovar Havlíčkův Brod, A.S. It is Czech Pilsener. I wish I could give through review on this, but my brother took the six pack and wouldn't let me have my more then taste. He loved it. It is classic Czech Pilsener with a light taste and for those that are not into hopped IPA or Ale it nice brew vs mainstream American brewery offerings. I would recommend it for party or for your woman if she hasn't be exposed to classic craft brews.

So I finally broke open the Avery Samael’s this weekend. Shared it with my brother because after a Dragon's Milk and Stoudt's fat dog stout (great stout by the way) I was wary of drinking one by myself. I hate to say it, but it was just to darn sweet for me. I tried it cold, and then let it sit a room temperature to allow it to breath but it was not very enjoyable drinking experience. I will try the other Demon Brews from them, especial the stout, but I am wary of recommending the brew to any but a true beer snob.

Either pumpkin ale is great taste of autumn, or it's just bad. Shipyard' Pumpkin Head isn't great and it not worth picking up. It pours slightly orange and taste like badly brewed English Ale. So stay away from this one.

[Los Broncos]

At the airport bar having a Tower 10 IPA, not bad at all.

[elsid13]

Samuel Smiths's Organic Cherry Ale. They are not kidding when they say they brewed it with cherries. It pours as cloudy reddish ale. You get the strong smell of cherries right out of the bottle. It drinking much like cherry 7-up (surprising that to not bad). There is little bite at the end, but not much aftertaste. Overall it is different but worth a try if you like cherries.

[elsid13]

Full Sail Imperial Stout (Reserve 2010). This is classic imperial stout. It pours a rich dark black with a nice tan head. A slight nutty smell when you first open the bottle with regular hints of chocolate and maltiness. Overall pretty good stout, not as smooth as it should be, but worth picking up.

[loborugger]

Has anyone mentioned Red Hook's ESB? I am a big fan.

[elsid13]

21st-amendment back in black. An Americanized IPA with stout like color. It surprising good, you get the hops of traditional IPA but has the under pinning of porter. It does give off a strong malt smell when you open the can.

[Dudeskey]

[Mediator12]

Have been hitting all the Oktoberfest beers the past 2 months:

Started with Hacker-Pschorr case from Costco. Awesome buy at under a buck a beer. The beer was good, but it was very light for a Marzen style for me.

Next, I hit the traditional Weihenstephaner Festbier. This was also a lighter marzen style but I liked it much better than the HP.

Then I went for Paulaners Oktoberfest-Marzen. This was a pure amber style beer and it was easily my favorite. The amber is rich with malt and the mouthfeel was extremely smooth and no bitterness at the end.

So far, Weihenstephaner and Paulaner have made huge impressions on me with the overall consistency of their offerings. If Paulaner's hefeweizen was better it would be one of my top 5 breweries out there. Only Three Floyds and Weihenstephaner have been all B or better beers for me.

[Broncobiv]

Since my last update, keg #5 in our kegerator has come and gone, and today I got #6! First of all, #5 was:



Killian's is tasty and very inexpensive. I didn't know what to get, and I didn't want to spend $140, so this one ended up being a great choice!

Like I said, I just tapped in a brand new one today. My wife and I wanted to spend a little extra and get a really good winter/Christmas seasonal. This one kicks ass:



Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin (oatmeal stout - their winter seasonal). This stuff is great! I'm a big fan of stouts, porters, and nearly anything black in color. This one is gonna be highly enjoyable for the next 4 or 5 weeks!

Try Tsingtao,Snow,Carlsberg

[Mediator12]

Had some incredible stuff recently:

1. Hell Hath No Fury-Belgian strong Dark Ale from Bell's in Michigan. They had this at a Beer fest I went to this summer, but I got a rare 6 pack in Indiana. This is as good as any of the trappist strong dark Ale's, including Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 IMHO.

2. St Bernardus Christmas Belgian Dark ale. Do yourself a favor and try all of the St. Bernardus Ales if you like the Belgian style. Their Quad, Abt 12, is my all time favorite beer. This one is also a great one in the style.

3. 3 Floyds Moloko Milk Stout-One of the best stouts I have ever had. Smooth and perfect taste for the style. Perfect amount of bitterness and hops for me.

4. Bell's Hopslam is back! I am not a big fan of the IPA or DIPA styles, but the 2 I really like the most come from Bell's: Two Hearted and Hopslam. Hopslam is a seasonal and its one of the top 5 beers I have ever had and its super fresh right now just being released. The only other IPA's I drink Are Dreadnuaght From 3 Floyds, Nonge O's DIPA, and Stone's Double Bastard. The smoothness and mouthfeel of those make up for the intense hops.

5. Finally a great Beer is Tilburg's Dutch Brown Ale. I am big fan of the Belgian style Ale's, but this is supposed to be a Brown Ale. However, It comes across a lot sweeter and with exceptional smoothness that personifies the better Belgian's. A great drinkable beer and a solid nightcap beer.

[elsid13]

Old Engine Oil Black Ale. It is from Scotland (Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.) and it lives up to it's name in color, but the taste is little watery. You can smell the chocolate malts and has smooth taste, but I was hoping for something a little thicker. It is good beer and I really like the name and the bottle, pick it up if you see it.

Brewdog's Paradox smokehead. It is an imperial stouts stored in Islay Whiskey barrels. It pours pitch black and with dark brown head. You smell the peat smoke as you bring it to your nose and when you drink it, it like drinking smoke from a bonfire. It very interesting, but not something you want to have more then once. Brewdog is very interesting brewery but unless you are looking for brew to tease your friends with I would stay away.

New Holland Cabin Fever Brown Ale. I was surprised how good it was. Nice tan head, with hints of chocolate malts and roasted nuts. It just a solid brew.

[Broncobiv]

New beer in the kegerator, #7!

I live in Tucson, Arizona. There's a wonderful microbrewery here called Thunder Canyon. I ate there last week and tried a few of their beers. I liked one a lot and decided it would be a nice change of pace from the thick Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout I just finished. I purchased a keg of Thunder Canyon Orange U Glad.

I couldn't find any pictures online, and I certainly doubt they created a logo for the beer, so I took a picture of it with my own camera so you can see the color.



It's a fruit beer, very cloudy and creamy. Tastes like a Belgian white with orange juice mixed in. However, it tastes a lot better than that simple description. It's not overly-sweet or fruity like many fruit beers can be. Very nicely balanced. It's gonna be great to drink when I wake up before noon on the weekend! I like this beer a lot, and since the orange is brewed in, you don't even need to squeeze a lemon/orange into it!

I highly recommend stopping into the Thunder Canyon Brewery at the Foothills Mall if you're ever in Tucson. Steve, the owner/brewmaster is very hospitable and seems to have no problems if you want to set up a brewery tour (it's only one room, so it's not like it takes a long time to get through).

On a side note...this is 1/2 barrel #7 and my 5 pound CO2 tank still has not run out. I'm amazed at how much air they can compress into such a tiny tank!

[Requiem]

Bell's Hopslam.

If you haven't tasted it -- you suck.

10% alcohol baby.

I had about 8 tonight. Suck on it.

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Bell's Hopslam.

If you haven't tasted it -- you suck.

10% alcohol baby.

I had about 8 tonight. Suck on it.

8 at $3 a bottle? I thought times were tight

Hopslam is the Best DIPA I have ever had and a top 20 beer on Beer Advocate BTW. Well worth the effort to try.

[Mediator12]

We had a new Brewery open here in INDY and they have got a lot of my business the last few months. Its a small shop with excellent quality. Here is their site: bierbrewery.com. Have not been trying a lot of other stuff, just enjoying well made beer here from the Growler. Their Belgian's are exceptional and their stout's and porters are very good for the style. Hefewiezen's are pretty good and the Kolsch is exellent too. They rotate 3-4 every week and the triple is world Class IMHO.

If you are in INDY, check them out.

[elsid13]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

We had a new Brewery open here in INDY and they have got a lot of my business the last few months. Its a small shop with excellent quality. Here is their site: bierbrewery.com. Have not been trying a lot of other stuff, just enjoying well made beer here from the Growler. Their Belgian's are exceptional and their stout's and porters are very good for the style. Hefewiezen's are pretty good and the Kolsch is exellent too. They rotate 3-4 every week and the triple is world Class IMHO.

If you are in INDY, check them out.

I might be there this summer so I will.

[Broncobiv]

As I'm sure you've all been waiting impatiently on the edge of your seats for the past 6 weeks, I would like to introduce beer #8 in my kegerator!

Lost Coast Great White



A good citrus-tasting Belgian white. It's beginning to get hot here in Arizona, so we didn't want to buy a heavy stout again just yet. Although I kind of wanted one since we just finished an orange beer, I am happy with this decision.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Originally Posted by Broncobiv

Since my last update, keg #5 in our kegerator has come and gone, and today I got #6! First of all, #5 was:



Killian's is tasty and very inexpensive. I didn't know what to get, and I didn't want to spend $140, so this one ended up being a great choice!

Like I said, I just tapped in a brand new one today. My wife and I wanted to spend a little extra and get a really good winter/Christmas seasonal. This one kicks ass:



Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin (oatmeal stout - their winter seasonal). This stuff is great! I'm a big fan of stouts, porters, and nearly anything black in color. This one is gonna be highly enjoyable for the next 4 or 5 weeks!

That looks really good. One of my favorites is Samuel Adams Cream Stout. However, I took about a ten year break from alcohol, and now I can't seem to find it anymore. Do you see it sold in stores?

Tonight I will be partaking of the traditionally awesome.....

[Broncobiv]

Originally Posted by Al Wilson 4 Mayor

That looks really good. One of my favorites is Samuel Adams Cream Stout. However, I took about a ten year break from alcohol, and now I can't seem to find it anymore. Do you see it sold in stores?

I still see Sam Adams Cream Stout in stores. Not sure what stores are available in your area, but I'd bet that the beer/wine/liquor superstores like Total Wine & More and BevMo carry it. If you don't have those, just call around to liquor stores I guess. I don't think that particular Sam Adams brew is in the big chains like Safeway/Fry's/Kroger or whatever, so you'd have to look in liquor stores. See if one can special order it for you from the local Sam Adams distributor.

Good luck!

[oubronco]

Originally Posted by Broncobiv

As I'm sure you've all been waiting impatiently on the edge of your seats for the past 6 weeks, I would like to introduce beer #8 in my kegerator!

Lost Coast Great White



A good citrus-tasting Belgian white. It's beginning to get hot here in Arizona, so we didn't want to buy a heavy stout again just yet. Although I kind of wanted one since we just finished an orange beer, I am happy with this decision.

Well how was it

[Broncobiv]

Originally Posted by oubronco

Well how was it

It was great! Actually, it blew on Sunday night. Took 5 weeks to finish that one off. It's got a clean, crisp citrus flavor. Very refreshing and it definitely does not weigh you down.

So, since I said it blew on Sunday, I'll introduce keg #9! It is one I'm sure you've ALL had before. It is mainstream nowadays, but I think it's still very good.



We are having a big party at the end of the month and I'll be buying a Miller Lite keg for that night. So we wanted something this time that we could drink quickly so that by the night of the party, most of it would be gone. Blue Moon goes down easy and tastes good, and since it's fairly inexpensive compared to a lot of other craft brews, it was a no-brainer.

Next keg though, I am getting something thick and black! I'll be a little wheated-out by the end of this month!

[Kid A]

Got to try this earlier this week. 99 IBUs suckas.

Working my way through the New Belgium spring mix pack this weekend. Some good pale ales in there.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Originally Posted by Broncobiv

It was great! Actually, it blew on Sunday night. Took 5 weeks to finish that one off. It's got a clean, crisp citrus flavor. Very refreshing and it definitely does not weigh you down.

So, since I said it blew on Sunday, I'll introduce keg #9! It is one I'm sure you've ALL had before. It is mainstream nowadays, but I think it's still very good.



We are having a big party at the end of the month and I'll be buying a Miller Lite keg for that night. So we wanted something this time that we could drink quickly so that by the night of the party, most of it would be gone. Blue Moon goes down easy and tastes good, and since it's fairly inexpensive compared to a lot of other craft brews, it was a no-brainer.

Next keg though, I am getting something thick and black! I'll be a little wheated-out by the end of this month!

Have you tried the Blue Moon with Honey Ale (can't remember the exact name, but that's it essentially)?

It's on sale at my local Albersons for $11 a 12 pack, and I'm considering trying it.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Originally Posted by ksBRONCOfan

Damn, that sounds tasty.

I just picked up a great ESB from Bridgeport Brewing Company out of Oregon. It's the first American brewed ESB I've had and I will make sure I get it again.

Bridgeport makes a coffee flavored porter that is really good. It's one of the best dark beers I've ever had. I actually saw a review of it in a brewer's magazine at the mall. It was rated a 98 out of 100. There were only 1 or 2 beers they had rated that high, and they were all high dollar beers that go for $10 a 22 oz bottle.

If you like dark beers you'll love it.

The last beer I had was a 12 pack of Deschuttes Black Butte Porter, which I got because it was on sale. It last me a couple of weeks because I usually only have a few beers twice a week, but it was pretty good for the 12 bucks I paid for the 12 pack.