299355 Fri Dec 03 12:13:07 -0800 2004 38 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1658136 Ok, so far we've had a beer pairing post and a worst beer posting. How about your absolute favorite brew? Lately I've been enjoying a local micro-brew from the Heavyweight Brewery caled 'Lunacy'. I also love the brews from the Brooklyn Brewery. My favorite mass produced is Original Coors. Imports, Bass , Guiness and Samuel Smith. I tend to prefer malty flavors over hoppy. Fri Dec 03 12:13:07 -0800 2004 0 Chef A 1 1658138 Lately it's been the Winter Palace Wee Heavy, a Scotch Ale made by Paper City Brewery in Holyoke Massachusetts. For awhile I was in love with the Raison d'ete (sp?) from Dogfish head, but on subsequent tastings it seemed sweeter than it was the first magical time I had it. I've also been on a Victory Hop Devil kick lately. Sierra Nevada is usually my default beer at a bar, or Bass. When at dive bars, I go with Bud Light or pitchers of PBR. On a somewhat related note, Dogfish head (I think their pale ale) is the only beer I've ever had that, while tasty on its own, reduced to an overly sweet syrup when I was using it to cook some sausages. Odd. Link: http://www.papercity.com/ Fri Dec 03 12:33:07 -0800 2004 1658136 0 joypirate 1 1658140 Old Dominion Brewing's Oak Barrell Stout. It's Grrreeeaat! but not widely distibuted. It's pretty much just in the DC metro area. I believe my all time favorite is Alaskan Brewing Company's Alaskan Amber. It's an Alt style ale. Unfortunately it's not available anymore in the DC area. Fri Dec 03 12:45:43 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Chris in Vienna 1 1658145 My favorite beer of all time is Pyramid Apricot Ale, which I've been having a hard time finding. I also really like the Hefeweizen at Capitol City Brewery. Darker, more bitter beers make me sleepy for some reason. When buying a six-pack, I enjoy Labatts and Becks. Sometimes, nothing is better than an ice-cold draft Miller Lite in a frosted mug (except maybe several of them). Fri Dec 03 13:27:07 -0800 2004 1658136 0 gina 2 1658147 More bitter beers have more hops, which have soporific qualities. Do you live in/around DC? You should be able to get Pyramid in NoVA. Fri Dec 03 13:35:50 -0800 2004 1658145 0 Jim Dorsch 3 1658153 I'm pretty sure Pyramid (incl. Apricot Ale) is also available at the beer store in the Cleveland Park strip mall. Fri Dec 03 14:28:48 -0800 2004 1658147 0 Reece 4 1658159 I appreciate the info! I did live in the DC/NoVa area, but moved to Phila. this past summer. There's got to be someplace here that has it, I would think. Fri Dec 03 15:15:42 -0800 2004 1658153 0 gina 1 1658146 I think Boulevard Pale Ale or TenPenny are my favs. They're only around KC for a few hundred miles. Does anyone know Big Shoulders from Chicago? I had it years ago (the porter) and really liked it, but even when I've been back I've not seen it. But, like joypirate, my default at bars is Sierra - their Porter is pretty good too. I kept this to domestics - but in DC we have the Brickskellar, which has maybe the largest selection in the US if not the world, but they still seem to be fairly stale on the domestic offerings. It would seem to me that they would be really going after a lot of the microbrews. Fri Dec 03 13:34:49 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Dennis S 2 1658184 The Brickskeller is fairly stale in general, filling their Wall O' Beers with obscure imports, many well past their prime. Some are probably collectors items by now. There might even be a "Billy Beer" left over from the Carter administration up there behind the Appelknacker Sheissenbrau. Fri Dec 03 18:35:48 -0800 2004 1658146 0 flavrmeistr 1 1658150 20 years ago my company moved me to Australia, as a 24 year old. I lived there for 3 years, and fell in serious love with Coopers pale ale, fermented ( I asssume ) in the bottle as it had sediment in the bottom of each bottle. Does anyone knw if it is available in the southeast US? Fri Dec 03 13:55:22 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Tee Crenshaw 2 1658152 Yes, I've seen it around a good amount, but haven't tried it. If by southeast US you include DC, I know that beer store in the Cleveland Park strip mall carries it. Fri Dec 03 14:25:31 -0800 2004 1658150 0 Reece 3 1658164 Thanks Reece. I live in NC but it is good to know it is imported to the US. Fri Dec 03 16:09:59 -0800 2004 1658152 0 Tee 1 1658154 It may be the season, but my favorite is Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Fri Dec 03 14:30:10 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Tugboat 1 1658155 I wish there was a beer club where you can sample beers from different micro-breweries all over each month. My favourite beer here is Sleeman's Honey Brown. Also, I would drive three hours for real cask ale (then since I drove I'd only be able to have one, but it would be worth it) It would be awesome to try all these beers people can only get locally. If anyone wants to start a micro -brew beer club, I'll be your first customer! Three cheers for beer! My favourite quote from Benamin Franklin: God made beer to show that he loves us and wants us to be happy. Fri Dec 03 14:33:53 -0800 2004 1658136 0 bluespoon 2 1658200 Regarding Cask Ale, many hounds stop by this festival every year. I went for this first time last year and it was really, really good. Make sure you click on the "beer list" to guarantee you're enticed enough to drive the 3 hours. Link: http://www.nerax.org/ Fri Dec 03 21:25:16 -0800 2004 1658155 0 joypirate 1 1658160 Terminal Gravity Pale Ale Fri Dec 03 15:34:20 -0800 2004 1658136 0 grumpy 1 1658161 Best: Zatte Bie (Belgian Quadrupel) and Westvleteren 12 (Belgian Trappist Strong Dark Ale) certainly come to mind as beers that I think cannot be improved upon. Bavarian Hefe Weisse from Weihenstephaner, Schneider Organic, and Paulaner are favorites. Unibroue's (Belgian-style Canadian) "La Fin du Monde" is very nice. There are a lot of American micro-brews I like, but I can't presently think of any I really *love*. Most of the offerings from Ommegang (Belgian-style New York) are very good (Rare Vos, Ommegang, Three Philosophers). I'm generally a fan of Brooklyn Brewery. Sierra Nevada, Anchor's "Liberty Ale." Worst: Beers that have almost made me puke include Duchess de Bourgogne (Flanders-style Belgian), Rauchbier in general (i.e., German "smoked bier"), and good-ol' Budweiser. Fri Dec 03 15:46:19 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Reece 2 1658162 Oops, reversed them -- Zatte Bie is the Strong Dark Ale and Westy 12 is the Quadrupel. Fri Dec 03 15:55:36 -0800 2004 1658161 0 Reece 2 1658213 Ommegang - excellent - I didn't care for the smoked beer either. (rauchbier) Sat Dec 04 01:46:01 -0800 2004 1658161 0 Chef A 2 1658573 Anyone know where to find it in Brooklyn, NYC, or (better yet) by ordering a crate or 2? Fri Dec 17 13:16:55 -0800 2004 1658161 0 hestermann 3 1658577 Lately it's been extremely difficult to get the 12 in the U.S. period. The only way I know to get it quickly right now is to go to the brewery in Belgium (where it's really cheap also). Sat Dec 18 03:40:40 -0800 2004 1658573 0 Reece 4 1658579 You should call ahead before you go. The Brewery is only open some days to sell by the case and they can go several months between openings... You can always go to the nearby cafe/restaruant for some fabulous food and drink though... Boris Sun Dec 19 13:48:34 -0800 2004 1658577 0 Boris Carlitov 3 1658578 I sort of assume you did, but just want to make sure -- did you check Bierkraft in Park Slope? Sat Dec 18 03:46:59 -0800 2004 1658573 0 Reece 1 1658166 McNeill's Extra Special Bitter. Brattleboro, VT. Fri Dec 03 16:21:09 -0800 2004 1658136 0 GG Mora 2 1658188 Favorite Special Beer--Pliny the Elder (incredible hops) Standard Bar Beer--Sierra Nevada Limited choice place--Heinekins Home staple--Henry Weinhards (I grew up drinking Blitz Weinhard, so Henry's tastes "right" to me) Fri Dec 03 19:03:33 -0800 2004 1658166 0 e.d. 3 1658190 Sorry I posted this in the wrong place. Grading finals rots the brain. I'll repost where it belongs. Sorry to waste your time. ed Fri Dec 03 19:07:39 -0800 2004 1658188 0 e.d. 1 1658189 Favorite Special Beer--Pliny the Elder (incredible hops) Standard Bar Beer--Sierra Nevada Limited choice place--Heinekins Home staple--Henry Weinhards (I grew up drinking Blitz Weinhard, so Henry's tastes "right" to me) Fri Dec 03 19:06:04 -0800 2004 1658136 0 e.d. 1 1658204 I am a hophead, so Anchor Liberty Ale. I do love that Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale too. Fri Dec 03 22:36:07 -0800 2004 1658136 0 snackish 1 1658210 Full House Trader has a tremendous list of beers by category... all the rankings are from actual "head-to-head" tastings... Link is below. As for me, if I can only pick one beer in a category, these would be the ones: Summertime/Weiss: Probably Julius Echter on tap, if not available then Paulaner Weiss in the bottle Fall Ale: Hands-down I'm going with the Incomparable 3 Floyds Dreadnaught... the "king" of Imperial India Pale Ales... if you can find it on draft don't miss it, but it's awesome in bottle also. Fall Barleywine: There's several fantastic barleywines... If I can only pick one then ... this is tough... I'll eliminate 3 Floyds Behemoth only because it's so rare... in the end I'll pick Victory Old Horizontal by a nose over Anchor Foghorn or Dogfish Immortale Weizenbock: Schneider Aventinius is very solid. Winter Porter: Goin' with Anchor Porter Deep-Winter Stout: Just had another tasting on this (see GREAT BEER: Stout tasting dated 11-25-04 on this General Board)... the clear winner that evening was Bells EXPEDITION Stout (not Bells regular stout which is only fair)... Super-Premium Stout: Dogfish WorldWide 18% alcohol Belgian Strong Ale: Westvleteren is hard to beat. Link: http://www.fullhousetrader.com/beer_reviews_favorite_beer_rankings_beer_tastings_wine.htm Sat Dec 04 00:13:40 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Chicago Mike 2 1658214 thanks for the great link! Sat Dec 04 01:48:39 -0800 2004 1658210 0 Chef A 3 1658215 You're welcome... The BIG CHALLENGE is boiling it down to just ONE BEER... But if anyone asks me my "single favorite beer" one always comes to mind: The One... The Only... The Incomparable: THREE FLOYDS DREADNAUGHT IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE ON TAP!!! My second favorite would probably be the same in the bottle... it's unlikely not to be fresh. But you have to hard-pour and foam this, sort of a "rough, foamy decant" to get all the complexity of sweet flavor out of it... If you can find a better beer than that, please let me know, lol. Sat Dec 04 02:58:54 -0800 2004 1658214 0 Chicago Mike 4 1658217 Here's the RateBeer.com site... the most Chow-worthy beer site on the web... You can look up any beer and get ratings from "expert drunks" on that beer, lol. Link: http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Ratings-Top50.asp Sat Dec 04 03:01:06 -0800 2004 1658215 0 Chicago Mike 5 1658223 I will definately be on the lookout for Three Floyd's Dreadnaught IPA, Thanks again! Sat Dec 04 10:00:28 -0800 2004 1658217 0 Chef A 1 1658254 I really enjoy all of the beers from Unibroue in Quebec. The trois pistoles or la fin du monde being my favs. Rouge consistently makes good beers, I really love the Shakespear stout. Sat Dec 04 21:20:49 -0800 2004 1658136 0 MV 1 1658256 No one's mentioned my favorite six-pack: Fat Tire Ale Sat Dec 04 21:33:03 -0800 2004 1658136 0 desert rat 2 1658505 Yahoo - someone posted my favorite! I am from the east, and carry home a 12 pack everytime I get out west. Tue Dec 07 17:43:31 -0800 2004 1658256 0 chowhuntin' 1 1658263 A few years ago on a camping trip we found ourselves in St. Marys, PA, and found the local Straub brewery's all grain beer very refreshing and bought a case to take home. However it contains no preservatives, and didn't have a very long shelf life. Available in PA and northern OH, but alas, not in CT. Moral: If I can't get Straub fresh, I'll settle for Sam Adams. Link: http://www.straubbeer.com/ Sat Dec 04 23:16:20 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Don Shirer 1 1658277 Traquair House Ale, no contest. It's a Wee Heavy from Traquair House Brewery in Scotland. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Wee Heavy style, it's a very malty Scottish style due to the historically high cost of importing hops into Scotland. The Traquair House Ale is exceptionally complex, with chocolate, caramel and fig elements and a reasonable alcoholic level to provide warmth, as well as good cellaring potential. Sun Dec 05 10:30:54 -0800 2004 1658136 0 Brent Kulman 1 1658422 There is no way I can pick one favorite. There are so many high quality tasty beers, that limiting yourself to one favorite is impossible. What mood I am in decides what my favorite is right now. Today I'm feeling a bit lagerish ;-) Here's my short list of favorites. Smuttynose IPA Ipswich Oatmeal Stout Mahr's Ungespundent Weheinstephan Korbinian Uerige Sticke Abbaye Des Rocs Grand Cru De Dolle Arabier St. Bernardus Prior 8 Aecht Schenkerla Ur-bock Poperinges Hommelbier Otter Creek Vermont Lager Boon Kriek Ayinger Celebrator Spaten Optimator Avery Barlywine Victory Old Horizontal De Ranke XX Bitter Unibroue Ephemere Mon Dec 06 17:28:50 -0800 2004 1658136 0 rl