TLDR Beer Club

[kidcolin]

I have a week off now, so I started it off by stopping at BevMo. I picked up a 22 oz'er of Racer 5 IPA, a 750 mL of Delerium Tremens, an 11.2 oz bubble neck bottle of Pirat (trippel from the same brewery as Duvel), and St Bernardus Abt 12.

I'm drinking the IPA now. Poured the whole thing in a big mug. It was my beverage of choice with 2 tacos: 1 carnitas and 1 chicken. IPAs + Mexican food might be my favorite beer food combo. My mexican place has great salsa, and it lingers in your mouth forever, giving the beer an extra kick.

I won't judge the beer because the food certainly affects the flavor, but I think Racer 5 is my favorite IPA. Bridgeport I'd probably pick up more often, because it comes in a convenient 6 pack, but this stuff is really good. The finish is incredible. Pick up a bottle and try some yourself.

[amawanda]

wow, what a lot of beer. i love the stuff and about 2 years ago started brewing my own at home. at first it was just to save money but i soon got into the many different styles and eventually joined a british beer club. i live in the uk so all the american brews are near impossible for me to get but on reading through the threads i noticed that there aren't many reviews of british ales. so, when i try something new i'll post. to kick things of from me, i'll just mention 2 of my favoutites. caledonian brewery's deuchars IPA i really like and was the champion beer of britain a few years back. not a very high og for an IPA but nice and bitter with a good amount of aroma hops. the other is theakstons brewery's old peculiar. a very easy to drink dark ale, not to bitter and a little bit sweet, my wifes favourite non belgiun beer.

[MrWookie]

Honestly, I don't review much UK beer because most styles of UK beer are well-imitated by US brewers, and they're generally cheaper. If you post some reviews of your favorites, I'd like to know which ones to be sure to try and compare to their US counterparts.

[amawanda]

yeah, from what i have read the US craft brewers and beer drinkers in general are more interested in variety than the brits. over here there has been a resurgence of craft brewing in recent years but the dominant style is english bitters. many young people have started getting interested in beers outside of the usual mass produced quasi-lagers which has seen a rise in the number of golden ales on the market, an easy to switch to style of beer. i do seek out the traditional old styles here but many aren't true to style (incorrect O.G.s mostly). still, the bitters are mostly very good... i have a Bishops Finger from the sheppard neame brewery (oldest british brewery) to drink later today. will try get a pic and review in then....

[amawanda]

ok... 2 british beers. bishops finger from shepherd neame and burton bitter from marstons.

bishops finger is great, malty, bitter and strong. what i like most about it is the bitterness. description on side of bottle says "rich fruit notes of gentle roasted malts.. with dry lingering finish." this is spot on. my only gripe is that its not bottle conditioned. would recommend this one.

burton bitter is poor, and lacked any punch. the side note says "exceptionally clean tasting beer, combining malty, biscuity flavours with a delicate hop character and finish". to me it was just thin and weak. maybe drinkable in a long session where the beer is secondry and having a good time first.

i took pictures but have no idea how to load them. this is the first forum i've ever joined and am a bit of a dunce with computers generally. i'll figure it out as i go along though...

bishops finger- good, worth trying
burton bitter- average session beer, would give it a miss

[mscags]

I've been in Spain for the last three months. If anyone is interested in any of the beers available here let me know and I can do some reviews. Some pretty widely available beers here are heineken, amstel, san miguel, cruzcampo, estrella damm, modelo negro, desperado, coronita (corona), cerveza (puke), skol, and im sure a few others that Im forgetting. For the most part there isnt a great selection though. Forewarning most of the beer over here tastes like [censored].

[RunDownHouse]

Tonight's review is Don de Dieu, and the review is from a mac, so no pictures. Wookie reviewed it earlier, saying,

"Alright, I've got another Unibroue review tonight. This time, it's the Don De Dieu. This beer pours a light gold color with a moderate head. It packs a solid 9% ABV. It smells slightly fruity, and slightly spicy. Taking a sip, it comes through very mild, but I'm reminded of the LFDM. It's quite sweet, a little fruity, and noticibly less spice than the other Unibroue beers I've had. It doesn't have the same sharpness to the flavor that some of the other beers had. The sweetness and some of the fruit lingers, but it's not as rich as some of the others I've enjoyed. Consequently, I think this might be a great one for MaxxDaddy to look up, since he seems to go for the milder beers. I'm going to award this beer . Like the Maudite, it's still a good beer, but it doesn't live up to the high standards of the other Unibroue beers."

So, on to my review.

First, I had no idea what style this beer was. It didn't say on the package that I could see, so I was left guessing. Given the complexity of their other beers, no idea if I could come close to nailing the style apart from some broad ranges.

It pours a nice golden color with vigourous head. I've got a tulip glass that is a bit above .3L to the rim, and I had to wait for the head to subside before pouring the whole bottle. On first smell, it smells... well, I can't really put my finger on it. Its definitely got some fruit, and it seems familiar, but other than that I can't quite pin it down. After the first sip or two, it hits me: this reminds me a lot of a sauvignon blanc that a friend described to me at a wine tasting. I'm not a big wine guy at all but that was my first, gut impression, and while I don't think I really pick up any of the green pepper flavor that's often found there, there is a definite sharpness or snap that I think is what made me think of it. I also pick up a good bit of apple and some peach. There's not much hop bitterness, flavor, or aroma that I can taste, but that's not too surprising given the style.

According to the web site, this is a triple wheat with 9%ABV, a style I'm not sure I'd ever really heard of. Generally, the only beers referred to as triples are belgians, so I guess this is a belgian where a good chunk of the grain bill has been replaced by wheat. In retrospect, I'd really like to try a bottle of this side-by-side with the La Fin du Monde so I could nail down the difference their grain bill makes.

But in the end, I really like this beer. Their slogan is "Drink Less, Not More" and the Don de Dieu lives up to it like their other beers on both taste and price ($11 for 4). Its not at all a beer for sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley, because of its high alcohol and complex flavor, but I'd love to see how it stands up to meals a sauvignon would typically be paired with.

***

After writing this review and then rereading Wookie's, I'm struck by how we both picked up on the fruit, both were reminded of the La Fin du Monde, and how we differed on the "sharpness." When I thought about sharpness wrt this beer, it was more along the lines of the snap a raw green pepper has, a sauvignon blanc, etc. I don't know what, specifically, Wookie was referring to, but I think it'd be great if he picked up another 4pack and gave it a go to see how or if his perceptions have changed.

Hint, hint.

[MrWookie]

Man, you guys are making sure I have quite a list next time I go shopping, eh? I can see doing a side by side.

I've got a couple reviews tonight, but I'm not going to bother w/ pics.

First up is the Anderson Valley ESB. I had it a few days ago, but I didn't review it. I paid $2.25 for a 12 oz bottle. It packs an unexpectedly high 6.8% ABV. The beer, though, wasn't all that good. It poured fairly light, and it was light on the head. The flavor was lightly malty, but the hoppiness was lighter than I expected. While the alcohol content was higher, the flavor wasn't that much better than Red Hook's ESB, IMHO. The AV Amber was a gem, but I wouldn't bother with the ESB. I give it [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

Second is the beer I had tonight, Victory's Hop Whallop. I paid $2.55 for a 12 oz bottle of this 8.5% beer. Not bad. I guess this is their double IPA offering. The beer pours a similar gold color. The head is light, but that's probably partially due to a mild pour. The carbonation was pretty good. The scent didn't have much to it, though. I expected more from the hops. The flavor, wow. Man, is this beer ever bitter. And that's really it. This beer is an extremely dry bitterness, without anything else to accompany it. There are none of the usual floral or citrusy flavors, and there's little maltiness or sweetness that comes through all the bitterness. I can't say I like this beer one bit. I'm going to give it [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Even people who really, really love hoppy, bitter beer shouldn't bother with this one. There are more flavorful offerings.

[RunDownHouse]

Also waiting to hear back from Scottie on how his Mr. Beer turned out. I got one coworker brewing and he bought a dedicated ferm fridge/kegerator within two months, I'd love to get someone else on the hook.

[MrWookie]

[ QUOTE ]
I've been in Spain for the last three months. If anyone is interested in any of the beers available here let me know and I can do some reviews. Some pretty widely available beers here are heineken, amstel, san miguel, cruzcampo, estrella damm, modelo negro, desperado, coronita (corona), cerveza (puke), skol, and im sure a few others that Im forgetting. For the most part there isnt a great selection though. Forewarning most of the beer over here tastes like [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

If there's anything unique or special in that list, I'd love to hear about it. If you're swimming in Bud imitators, you have my condolences. When you're back in the US (?), you may miss Spain greatly, but at least you will be able to enjoy a proper pint once again.