TLDR Beer Club - Page 16

kidcolin · #**151** 09-07-2006, 05:01 AM

Jeff,

Wookie's advice is good. Go with some well known beer companies. You don't have to jump straight into small microbreweries. Try some Newcastle, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, etc.. these might not be the cream of the crop according to beer enthusiasts, but they're still pretty darn good, and pretty affordable. They're also widely available at bars, so you can try it there, too. And like Wookie said, it takes time. I'm still pretty new to the beer thing and my tastes are still developing.

stormy455 · #**152** 09-07-2006, 04:41 PM

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I was wondering how do you guys try these exotic beers... I havent even had the more traditional ones sold in grocery stores such as IPA and red stripe mostly because I dont want to buy a 6 pack and hate it..

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My local liquor store has what they call a "Beer Buffet". You can mix and match single bottles to create your own 6 pack. They charge $1.20 per bottle. This is a great way for me to try something without buying a whole 6 pack. I'd really hate the thought of having paid for 6 bottles of that crappy chili beer. My liquor store is a small mom and pop outfit so they aren't as well stocked as a mega store. They probably have 100 or so varieties available on their "buffet". Check your local liquor stores to see if any of them will let you build your own 6 pack. I'll bet you'll find one nearby.

stormy455 · #**153** 09-07-2006, 11:27 PM

I decided to try some Australian beers. My liquor store had 4 varieties of Cooper's Ale; Extra Stout, Dark Ale, Pale Ale, and Sparkling Ale. I sampled the first two last night and the second two tonight. The Extra Stout and the Dark Ale were very dark. I generally prefer light lagers, but am learning to appreciate the dark beers. This was the first stout that I've tried. I found it to have a very strong coffee flavor. The malts were very sweet but weren't overwhelming. Both the stout and the dark ale had a very similar taste, but the stout had a much fuller mouth feel. The dark ale felt a little thin. There was very little bitterness to these dark ales. Overall I liked them both, but prefer the stout because of its mouthfeel.

The pale ale and the sparkling ale were much, much lighter. The pale ale had a straw color and was lighter in color than most pale ale's I've tried. It really didn't have much flavor and didn't have much hop bitterness either. All in all a rather bland beer. Better than out American Macrobrews for sure, but nothing really special. The sparkling ale had a golden color - similar to MGD but a little deeper and richer. We have a Colorado Microbrew that makes a "golden ale" that I really like (Flying Dog Brewery - Tire Bite Ale) that is very similar to this. I'm going to sample them both together to see which I like better. First impressions were that the Cooper's sparkling ale didn't have much flavor and that it was a little more bitter than my Tire Bite. I'll sample them back to back and report back here in a few days.

Skjonne · #**154** 09-08-2006, 07:49 AM

Two friends and I got together yesterday for at tasting of beers they'd brought home from Hungary and Poland respectively. I added two Icelandic beers someone got me.

All together 24 different but totally crappy pale lagers without any interesting features what so ever. At times it were a long night....

The only positive entry was this one:

It's a 9.2% ABV Baltic style porter from Polish Jedrzejow Brewery that is owned by the second largest Danish Brewery, Royal Unibrew.

The Brok Porter tastes of coffee and licorice (sp?) in particular. Even though is rather strong, the alcohol balances the fat roasted malts perfectly. I give it [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

MrWookie · #**155** 09-12-2006, 09:27 PM

Just a quick review here, no pictures. I went on a brown ale buying kick, and one of the ones I picked up was He'Brew's Messiah Bold. Dubbed as "the beer you've been waiting for," the kitchy marketing of this beer is pretty clever, making me hesitant to try it -- I've been afraid of all marketing, and no beer. However, it finally wore on me, and I picked up a bottle. It pours dark brown with a small head. It smells good and malty. Taking a sip, this is a very solid brown ale. It has great malt flavor, mild hops, and hints of caramel and coffee. It's somewhat sweet. It's not going to unseat my current favorite, Brooklyn Brown, though. I like it about as much (BB is a little hoppier and a little sweeter, Messiah is a little darker in flavor w/ the coffee), but the Brooklyn Brown is quite a bit cheaper. Regardless, this is a [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] beer. It's a solid offering, one worth checking out if you're into brown ales and looking for something new, or if you have some thematic event that calls for a solid beer and would appreciate the humor. L'Chaim!

Skjonne · #**156** 09-13-2006, 04:14 AM

Brooklyn is your favorite brown ale?

I'm surprised. Oh yes, Brooklyn makes nothing but good quality beers, but bar the Black Chocolate Stout they're rather "standard" beers IMO.

Have you tried Rogue's HazelNut Brown Nectar and Avery's Ellie's Brown Ale?

MrWookie · #**157** 09-13-2006, 10:07 AM

I've tried the Ellie Brown. I was underwhelmed.

Hoya · #**158** 09-13-2006, 11:16 AM

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I've tried the Ellie Brown. I was underwhelmed.

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Same.

I finally tracked down some Jolly Pumpkin (got the Calabaza Blanca, which wouldn't have been my first choice). I'll try to review w/ pictures later this week.

ethan · #**159** 09-14-2006, 03:41 AM

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I'm glad you got to try the DFH IPAs. I agree with your assessment of the 90 completely. I actually don't really dig the super mega hop bombs, when it's just straight up hop flavor. However, the 90 has an intense, complex, but more balanced flavor and good malt.

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It's also very good on tap as I found out this weekend. Same goes for the Stone 10th anniversary IPA. Avery Brewing's "The Beast" (15% abv), The Taps Fish House & Brewery in Brea, CA makes a very good Russian Imperial Stout. Still not as good as the Alesmith Speedway Stout, which unfortunately wasn't available.

Thanks, Stone.

milesdyson · #**160** 09-14-2006, 02:25 PM

i tried the 120 minute "ipa." it taste like malty sugar syrup.

i didnt try "the beast."

i probably used 4 tabs for drake's denogginizer and then i got about 4 free beers at the end of the first session.

overall, awesome day. too bad the rest of escondido is pretty much dead, and we couldnt get a taxi to save our lives.