TLDR Beer Club

[MaxxDaddy]

I should really get my hands on some more smoked porter for the next few months. Really solid stuff at an affordable price. That and Rogue Shakespeare Stout.

As it is that time of year, what are some other good porters i can get my hands on in New York?

Edit: removed some false information regarding a rumor about Weyerbacher's Insanity being pulled from their lineup. Though they have pulled their Raspberry Imperial Stout.

[MrWookie]

Is Weyerbacher any good? I was sorely disappointed with their Quadrupel and never tried any others.

[MaxxDaddy]

To be honest, I have no idea. I only recently bought their two imperial stouts, Old Heathen and Heresy (oak-aged) to do a comparison. Oddly enough, the Old Heathen comes in a 12 oz. bottle, while the Heresy is in a 22 ouncer. I figured I may need a friend to help me try them out, otherwise I may not remember tasting them.

The label for Insanity is one of my favorites:

[absoludicrous]

Giving the Arrogant Bastard a shot, as well as the Stone Smoked Porter.

I've never had anything like the Arrogant Ale, as wookie would say, it's a "hop bomb". What unique about it, is I get a huge rush of hops in the beginning, and then it just mellows out and finishes clean. I really like it. I paid $3.29 for a 22oz bottle at Bevmo, not bad at all.

Stone Smoked, next...

[MrWookie]

It's Macrobrew night!

Recently it seems that the largest American breweries have become somewhat concerned with losing market share to the smaller craft brewers. They're right to be worried. The average microbrew is so much tastier than the bulk of the beer that's sold only by marketing that they're having trouble keeping up with commercials alone. Consequently, we've seen the emergence of products like Blue Moon, which is put out by Coors. It's marketed like a craft brew that just happens to be in pretty much every grocery store's beer selection (in states where this is how it works). Quite honestly, Blue Moon is a pretty respectable beer. It doesn't hold up to the best whites from Belgium, or Allagash's that I reviewed here, but really, I can't complain. While I'm not going to give it a full review, it's about a [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] beer.

Anyway, onto the matter at hand. Last time I was at Beers of the World, I picked up a few pseudo-craft beers that are being put out by the major US breweries to see how they stack up. There might even be some real bargains in this genre. The first one I'm going to review is the Winterfest Ale from Coors. I paid $1.55 for a 12 oz bottle. I'm not sure of the 6 pack price, but this is cheaper than any other craft brew beer at BotW, so it's definitely inexpensive beer.





The beer pours a pleasantly non-urine-colored golden red, and it has a decent head on it. Taking a whiff, it unfortunately doesn't smell like much. I was ready for disappointment, but on taking a sip, it's much better than my nose lead me to believe. It's not a particularly deep beer, but it's got a decent malt. It doesn't have much in the way of hops, but the malt lingers longer and more pleasantly than I expected. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's nothing exceptional, but for this price, you can do a lot worse. If this was what was being served at a college party, I'd be pretty stoked. Overall, I'd have to say it was a pretty good effort from Coors.

Second is Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale from Anheuser Busch. This beer also cost me $1.55 for a 12 oz. This one in particular caught my eye thanks to Magic Hat's Jinx, where the bourbon aging really added to the beer. I doubt this one will fare as well, but I'm curious how it will compare.





It pours an almost identical color. It might be just a hair lighter. It smells a fair bit different, and a fair bit more. I smell the wood, and the malt much more. On tasting it, though, an entirely new flavor comes through, and comes through strongly. The second thing on the label that I forgot to mention is that apparently this was aged with vanilla beans as well. I had no idea what that would mean, but now I know. I get a beer that, well, tastes very strongly of vanilla. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It's unlike any beer I've ever had. On the traditional side, I'd say the malt is a little bit more flavorful than the Coors offering, but I can't decide if the vanilla flavor is a bonus or a detriment. I finished it, though. I'm going to award this beer a tentative [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], which would be its rating if you like vanilla. Anheuser Busch has succeeded in doing something unique, I suppose. If you don't like vanilla, though, stay away.

For my final beer, I got a bottle of JW Dundee's Porter. Technically, this is brewed by the High Falls Brewery in my homeland, Rochester, NY. However, according to RDH, High Falls was recently bought by Anheuser Busch, so I'm considering them for this. High Falls is mostly known for their cheap plonk beer Genny and Genny Lite (after the Gennessee River, which runs through Rochester. They're essentially Bud and Bud Lite), and JW Dundee's Honey Brown, but their line has been expanding since the buy out. I guess that's where the porter comes in. It's a little more expensive, though. I paid a whopping one dollar and fifty NINE cents for a 12 oz of this beer, so I'm expecting a super premium brew.





The beer pours a nice porter color, dark brown, but not too dark, and with a good head. It smells, well, quite good. I smell wood, smoke, hops, coffee, and a little bit of the nuttiness, all the typical flavors of a good porter. It tastes pretty good, too. It's not quite as deep or rich as the Rogue or the Stone, but it's got a nice flavor to it. Everything I smelled comes through in the flavor nicely. Nothing dominates disproportionately. It lingers pretty well, too. I'm going to award this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. This may not be the best porter I've ever had, but damn if it isn't one of the best values in beer. If you gave this to me blind and then told me it was from Anheuser Busch, I'd probably fall out of my chair. Nicely done, and I recommend this beer to any dark beer lover who's looking to drink well on the cheap.

Also, thumbs up on the new image sizes? I was thinking that 640x480 was a little too large.

[kidcolin]

[ QUOTE ]
OMG wookie those prices are terrible [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

this must be due to distance from the brewery, but i pay $3.49 for AB and $4.99 for the double AB. at one store the normal is $2.99 i believe. fwiw i haven't tried the oaked version yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

I'm glad you reviewed the Oaked Bastard, as I've been eyeing it but didn't feel like spending the extra bucks if it was basically the same as the original. I'll give it a shot.

I'll have a review of Anderson Valley's Winter Solstice Brew soon.

[milesdyson]

(not my picture)

I've said it earlier, but I haven't gotten very serious about Belgian beers. I am mostly a fan of American double IPAs, strong ales, imperial stouts, and other "big" beers. I have tried a few Belgian ales, such as Avery's The Reverend and Don de Dieu and I wasn't a huge fan, but I was still open to trying more. So, yesterday I went to the local shop (Hollingsheads in Orange, CA) and asked for a Belgian that a hoppy kind of guy would like. I was recommended the Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel.

I don't know what to say about the aroma because I don't have much experience with Belgians. It smells good though. The thing you will notice with this beer is the tremendous head it packs. You can pour as gently as you want, but you're going to get an inch of whipped cream foam on the top, and it's going to form dry, fluffy peaks after setting a while. It really is the most magnificent head I've ever seen on any beer. After about 3 minutes, I was left with a large marshmallow-size canister of foam floating in the center of my glass.

The lacing is also incredible. Tiny, glistening dried bubbles will coat the sides of your glass. Hold it up to the light and you go blind - it's sick.

This beer has the sweet, "creamy" Belgian flavors going on for sure. I really don't know what words to use to describe it, but it's the whole sweet, slightly spicy, tangy, golden flavor. The best thing about it is the hops that the bottle well-advertizes (Tomahawk, Amarillo, and Saaz hops). Don't ask me which one came through the most or whatever - I have no idea. All I know is that the additional hops this beer carries made it clearly the best Belgian I've ever had.

This beer was a bit pricy at $9.99 for a 750ml, but it's 9% ABV and quite delicious. I really recommend this to both Belgian beer lovers and also anyone who is trying to think of which IPA you should drink next... try this out, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Four [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]s yo

[jph0424]

I had the Rochefort 10 last week and I can not get it out of my head. It was just an amazing beer. Unfortunately at $7+ for ONE 11.2 oz bottle, it is not cheap. I also really like St. Bernardus 12 (slightly less than the Rochefort 10). Other beers I have been very pleased with: DFH 90, DFH Indian Brown Ale, Rogue Chocolate and Shakespeare Stout, Westmalle Tripel, and St. Bernardus 8.

I also have a bottle of DFH 120 minute which I am aging a bit but am looking forward to. It is 22% ABV so if I am able to write after it I will review it.

[RunDownHouse]

8/05/06:

[ QUOTE ]
I plan to do a Tour de Ommegang

[/ QUOTE ]

So, Wook, where is it?

I'm on vacation and so was finally able to pick up some Ommegang. Since the night before I was at a Belgian Beer bar (PM me if you're in NYC and want the address, its got a ton of Belgians on tap), I decided to get the Hennepin saison instead of a more traditional Belgian. I was a bit surprised at how light and hoppy it was, but I have so little experience with saisons that I didn't know what to expect. In any case, it was great, and maybe around $8 for a 750mL of 7.7%. I thought I'd read your review, which you surely had done... only to come up empty!

EDIT: I also got my hands on some Magic Hat and decided on a sixer of the #9 "Not Quite Pale Ale." So after the Hennepin I crack one of those and pour it. First thought: "Wow, that's a really dark pale ale. Really." Then I taste: "Jeez, real malty. Hops are there but not what I'm used to at all." Then I take another look at the bottle. Someone slipped a Magic Hat Jinx - their seasonal "strong autumnal" - into my sixer of pale! No wonder I was thrown off.

[MrWookie]

RDH,

Heh. I think you got a good deal. I've found the #9 to be a decent but uninspiring beer, but I gave the Jinx a solid review in this thread. Also, I have done a review of the Hennepin on 8/8/06. I gave it [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I've also reviewed their Witte, the Rare Vos, and the Three Philosophers. I don't have them all nicely tied together in a single post, but they're there. I never did review their namesake abbey ale, but there's a review on the front page of it, and I think that's the only beer of theirs that I haven't covered.

Miles,

Belgianbeerlover did a review of that beer as well. I haven't tried it yet, but I was already curious about a beer that blends an IPA and a tripel. With a couple of enthusiastic reviews, I'll have to pick it up some time. I may wait until the spring, though. I'm still in the middle of my stout and porter kick. Speaking of which...

All,

Are there any porters or stouts or their imperial counterparts that I haven't reviewed yet, but you're curious about, or think I should try? There's absolutely no way I can get through all the American microbrews at Beers of the World, so suggestions to help me pick one beer I've never heard of over another are welcome. Heck, even if you've just heard about a brewery that I haven't touched on here that you'd like me to review from, I'll take it.