TLDR Beer Club

[SL__72]

Nice review.

[EMc]

MrWookie,

Im probably gonna head to Beers of the World this weekend. Can I get some recommendations here. So far my "advanced" beer tasting has been limited to Harpoon IPA (it was alright, I didnt like the finish), Harpoon Ale, and Harpoon Unfiltered Wheat (it needed a hint of fruit).

[MrWookie]

Hmmm, there are a whole lot of things I could recommend you. Pretty much everything I've tried here I got at BotW. Here are some greatest hits in some categories you might be thinking about. The beers are all American unless specified.

Safe, solid, cheap: Brooklyn Brown

Intro to unusual flavors in beer w/o breaking the bank: Ommegang Abbey Ale (Belgian style), Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre, Allagash Belgian White, Julius Echter Hefeweissbier (Germany)

Balla Imports: Chimay Blue (Belgium), Unibroue La Fin du Monde and Trois Postoles (Canada), Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier (Germany)

Hops!: Ithaca Cascazilla, Dogfish Head 60 min IPA, Dogfish Head 90 min IPA, Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Stone Oak Aged Bastard (balla).

Dark!: Stone Smoked Porter, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, J. W. Dundee's Porter (local, and v. cheap), Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (v. balla).

If you're looking for an improvement of the Harpoon UFO, then check out the Belgian whites an the German Hefe's. They're much improved.

[SL__72]

I had the Chimay Blue on Friday and it was, in fact, balla.

[MrWookie]

Tonight's beer review is North Coast's Red Seal Ale. I paid $8.98 for a sixer. It packs 5.5% ABV.



The beer pours a golden color with a hint of red. I guess when I purchased something named RED Seal, I was expecting, oh, I dunno, a red beer. This looks more like an APA.



It smells like an APA, too. The hopping is mild, and so is the malt. Taking a sip, this is an easy drinking beer, but it's not too exciting. The hops are kinda flat, and there's not too much to the malt. I'd definitely reach for Flying Dog's or DFH's pale ales over this one. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I'm kinda sad I picked up a sixer. This was a surprising let down from North Coast.

[MaxxDaddy]

Today I got an eagerly anticipated package in the mail containing beers that I otherwise couldn't obtain here in the New York area. The one I tried tonight is from Bells Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is their Kalamazoo Stout. I took pictures, but my USB cable has gone missing [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

The cool thing about Bells is that they print a batch number on the back of their bottles and you can look up the batch number on their website to see when it was bottled. Mine was batch 7289, bottled on March 9, 2006. Poured pitch black with some thin tan head. Aroma is of coffee and nuts, but not in that brown ale way; the coffee was the more assertive aroma. The taste brings the same flavors plus some chocolate and I thought I may have caught some licorice in there. I love the very malty front followed by the coffee and bitter chocolate finish. Just the right amount of lingering for me. I really enjoyed the nuttiness this one had. The palate was moderate to sligtly watery, but that's ok. This isn’t supposed to be an impy or anything. Too bad this was the only bottle I got. Apparently they distribute to Pennsylvania, so maybe I'll be able to pick up more when I go to Philly this weekend. This beats out Rogue Shakespeare as my favorite stout. 4.25 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[mosuavea]

Wookie,

I'm a fellow WNYer in Amherst right outside of Buffalo and just stumbled onto this thread.

Couple buddies of mine went to Belgium in the fall for a beer tasting trip and found quite a few of the beers they loved there here at a place right around the corner from my apartment. They had an awesome time there FWIW, too bad I couldn't make the trip when they went.

Ive never been much of a beer enthusiast but this thread coupled with all that I hear from them has me looking to expand a bit. Aside from some of the Ellicotville Brewing Company samplings I have had when going skiing down there and various Sam Adams offerings and occasional New Castle I am definitely a n00b. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Swinging in to a place today after work to see what kind of selection they have although most, if not all of my buddies recommendations have already been reviewed here (DFH 90, Arrogant Bastard, GD Yeti) among others.

Great thread though, will post my thoughts when I have a few different beers under my belt.

[MrWookie]

Sounds great. Good to have you on board [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

[RunDownHouse]

[ QUOTE ]
Swinging in to a place today after work to see what kind of selection they have although most, if not all of my buddies recommendations have already been reviewed here

[/ QUOTE ]
I just thought I'd point out that simply because someone has written a blurb about a beer in this thread doesn't mean that you can't try it and write your own thoughts. We all have different palettes, and your tastes may be aligned closer to someone else's, which spurs them to try a beer they otherwise wouldn't have. If you're making a point to go out and drink some beer outside your normal target, go ahead and post your thoughts; it won't hurt, and it certainly could help.

[mosuavea]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Swinging in to a place today after work to see what kind of selection they have although most, if not all of my buddies recommendations have already been reviewed here

[/ QUOTE ]
I just thought I'd point out that simply because someone has written a blurb about a beer in this thread doesn't mean that you can't try it and write your own thoughts. We all have different palettes, and your tastes may be aligned closer to someone else's, which spurs them to try a beer they otherwise wouldn't have. If you're making a point to go out and drink some beer outside your normal target, go ahead and post your thoughts; it won't hurt, and it certainly could help.

[/ QUOTE ]

Will do!

This is what I came back fromt he store with. Not sure which to start with but from what I read from this thread and heard from my buddies, all are pretty good.