The Beer Thread

[James Ford]

I'm vegetarian so don't go to BBQ's.

With a young child, we generally limit activities to no more than a few hours. So the idea of being anywhere from noon to midnight is a foreign one.

Still, if in such a situation, I generally drink lots of water. I see beer as more of a food or something to complement food, rather than a source of a buzz.

That said, the last time I was at Brennser and Sweetcell's houses, I couldn't help but have a buzz.

sweetcell/jimmyford,

I get the impression you guys don't generally drink more than a couple beers.

What do you do if you go to a BBQ, music festival, event that starts at say noon and it's a party that goes until midnight? You're obviously not crushing 8% beers all day, so what do you do?

[James Ford]

Sounds like a group with really discerning taste buds, for sure bro.

I bet a case of Heady Topper probably would have sat untouched as well.

I honestly don't drink any of the aforementioned beers (I may have had Tecate 10+ years ago), but I'm thinking your little story probably isn't the best barometer of the quality one beer as compared to another.

Although it's probably a better indicator than the ratings on Beer Adovocate or Ratebeer right?  

Why are we talking about beer in the loltomicfront thread?

Best Mexican beers that don't require limes.

Modelo
Tecate
Pacifico
Dos Equis

I love drinking multiple of any of those on a really hot day or at a bbq.

negro modelo is the only mexican beer that i can stand.  it almost passes for a dunkel.  unlike every other mexican beer, it has a little taste.

any beer that is only drinkable with a lime in it is not a good beer and should not be drunk.  add lime to water and drink that instead.

I went to a party in PA a while back.  And you have to get cases of beer. So some guy insisted one of the cases was Modelo.  Half way through the party all the other beer was gone but the Modelo was still there as everyone refused to drink it so we had to go back to the Beer store and get more beer.  Next day Modelo was still there. 

And water won't get you buzzed.   And it is like saying there is no reason to put a ton of hops into a beer to make it taste good.  Same principal. 

If you have no one at a party with 50 or so people and no one is willing to drink the beer due to the taste than yeah it would be more valid than a bunch of pretentious people on Beer Advocate.  After a few hours into a party people are liable to drink just about anything. 

And people had been playing flip cup during those few hours. 

[Yada]

I'm vegetarian so don't go to BBQ's.

With a young child, we generally limit activities to no more than a few hours. So the idea of being anywhere from noon to midnight is a foreign one.

Still, if in such a situation, I generally drink lots of water. I see beer as more of a food or something to complement food, rather than a source of a buzz.

That said, the last time I was at Brennser and Sweetcell's houses, I couldn't help but have a buzz.

sweetcell/jimmyford,

I get the impression you guys don't generally drink more than a couple beers.

What do you do if you go to a BBQ, music festival, event that starts at say noon and it's a party that goes until midnight? You're obviously not crushing 8% beers all day, so what do you do?

fair enough!

[atomicfront]

I'm vegetarian so don't go to BBQ's.

With a young child, we generally limit activities to no more than a few hours. So the idea of being anywhere from noon to midnight is a foreign one.

Still, if in such a situation, I generally drink lots of water. I see beer as more of a food or something to complement food, rather than a source of a buzz.

That said, the last time I was at Brennser and Sweetcell's houses, I couldn't help but have a buzz.

sweetcell/jimmyford,

I get the impression you guys don't generally drink more than a couple beers.

What do you do if you go to a BBQ, music festival, event that starts at say noon and it's a party that goes until midnight? You're obviously not crushing 8% beers all day, so what do you do?

fair enough!

I think James problem is he is drinking Beer like it is wine.  He thinks everyone else should do the same.  I like to spend six hours with friends out having a good time I don't want to have 10 nine percent beers and end up blacking out and not knowing what I did the next day. 

I think if you look at the biggest beer drinking nations you also will have the worst cuisine nations as well. German, Irish, English, Czech, US and Austria aren't really known for their food.  Belgium would be the one exception. 

If I want to drink with good food I will drink wine.  When I was in Portugal people drank wine all day long.  If you didn't order wine with your lunch they would look at you were nuts.  But guess what they had the best food I ever tasted. 

[sweetcell]

sweetcell/jimmyford,

I get the impression you guys don't generally drink more than a couple beers.

What do you do if you go to a BBQ, music festival, event that starts at say noon and it's a party that goes until midnight? You're obviously not crushing 8% beers all day, so what do you do?

if i'm at an all-day festival you're right, i'll avoid the 8% beers and have the more manageable 5%'ers.  there are plenty of tasty pale ales, IPAs, stouts, etc. that are both flavorful and refreshing.

if i'm looking for a buzz, and hydration (or dehydration) isn't a majar concern - like a show at a club - i'd typically rather drink fewer 8% beers than more 5% beers. 

and depending on the situation, i've been known to drink more than a couple of beers

[sweetcell]

When I was in Portugal people drank wine all day long.  If you didn't order wine with your lunch they would look at you were nuts.  But guess what they had the best food I ever tasted. 

i was in portugal last august, and they had, on the whole, some of the most disappointing food i've ever had while traveling.  the missus and i are small "f" foodies, and we had a hell of a time finding really great food.  it was quite the disappointment since food is one of the things we look forward to when we travel.  the missus speaks portuguese so we thought we had an "in" to finding the good stuff, but we couldn't get any recommendations that panned out be they from books, online, or from locals.  we did have one amazing meal in the port-producing region, at a really high-end organic restaurant (and paid a lot for the food - worth it).  the wine was good and we had amazing port... but overall the food was mediocre.  to put this back on topic: the beer was boring to horrible.

[atomicfront]

When I was in Portugal people drank wine all day long.  If you didn't order wine with your lunch they would look at you were nuts.  But guess what they had the best food I ever tasted. 

i was in portugal last august, and they had, on the whole, some of the most disappointing food i've ever had while traveling.  the missus and i are small "f" foodies, and we had a hell of a time finding really great food.  it was quite the disappointment since food is one of the things we look forward to when we travel.  the missus speaks portuguese so we thought we had an "in" to finding the good stuff, but we couldn't get any recommendations that panned out be they from books, online, or from locals.  we did have one amazing meal in the port-producing region, at a really high-end organic restaurant (and paid a lot for the food - worth it).  the wine was good and we had amazing port... but overall the food was mediocre.  to put this back on topic: the beer was boring to horrible.

Best seafood I have ever eaten.  The Oysters I had were like twice as big as the biggest I ever had before.  Grilled Sardines were delicious.  The Pastries in Belem in Lisbon were out of this world. 

[James Ford]

Never been to Portugal, but liked the food in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Granada, even with vegetarian+seafood restriction.

How does the Portuguese food compare to Spanish food?

[i am gay and i like cats]

negra modelo . . . especially on draft, on a hot summer day, when you finally have a day off, is very nice.

[Stillwater]

Never been to Portugal, but liked the food in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Granada, even with vegetarian+seafood restriction.

How does the Portuguese food compare to Spanish food?

Far less creativity... lots more cod.  I traveled to the Azores and had great food while I was there.  But in general, I don't think the Portuguese are known to have world-class cuisine, generally. Wine, Bread, Cod, Pork.  They do those right, though.

I did 2.5 weeks in Spain last year and the one meal that stood out was the one at our hotel restaurant in Barcelona - Cram Hotel.  Amazing.  Otherwise the food was merely great throughout the entire trip.  Beer? Not so much.

[James Ford]

We found a good Belgian beer bar in Barcelona around the corner from our hotel the last time we were there. Although I don't think we used it, ratebeer.com is always helpful for locating those kind of things.

http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/Country/Cities/barcelona/183.htm

Never been to Portugal, but liked the food in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Granada, even with vegetarian+seafood restriction.

How does the Portuguese food compare to Spanish food?

Far less creativity... lots more cod.  I traveled to the Azores and had great food while I was there.  But in general, I don't think the Portuguese are known to have world-class cuisine, generally. Wine, Bread, Cod, Pork.  They do those right, though.

I did 2.5 weeks in Spain last year and the one meal that stood out was the one at our hotel restaurant in Barcelona - Cram Hotel.  Amazing.  Otherwise the food was merely great throughout the entire trip.  Beer? Not so much.

[James Ford]

At Churchkey Wed:


Wednesday, June 26 at 6 PM:

 The Ultimate De Struise Tap Takeover: 17 Rare Drafts + Meet Founders Urbain Cotteau & Philippe Driessens!

 ChurchKey is proud to present nearly 20 De Struise brews on draft next Wednesday night, June 26th!
 
 This is by far the most De Struise kegs ever tapped simultaneously in our region, and this massive tap takeover will serve as a fitting welcome party for our old friends Urbain Cotteau & Philippe Driessens, the founders of de Struise from West Flanders, Belgium! This is a can't miss opportunity to taste some of the most impressive Belgian-brewed craft ales in the world, and to hang out with two of the coolest guys in the business. For this very special event, we will be pouring two brand-new De Struise ales, Weltmerz (Session Sour of 3% abv) and Ypres (Flanders Oud Bruin), the fresh batch of De Struise-3 Floyds collaboration Shark Pants, Bourbon Barrel-Aged XXX Rye Tripel, as well as some old favorites like Cuvee Delphine, Black Albert, Pannepot Reserva 2010 and Sint Amatus!

 There is no admission fee for this event and all De Struise drafts will be priced individually in 4 oz. pours and by the glass.

 Oh...and word has it that the De Struise team will also be conspiring with our very own Bluejacket for some future collaborations while in town ...

 The De Struise Tap Takeover List!
 De Struise Weltmerz
 De Struise Ypres
 De Struise & 3 Floyds Shark Pants
 De Struise Bourbon Barrel-Aged XXX Rye Tripel
 De Struise Cuvee Delphine
 De Struise Black Albert
 De Struise Pannepot Reserva 2010
 De Struise Sint Amatus
 De Struise Pannepeut
 De Struise X
 De Struise XX
 De Struise XXX Rye Tripel
 De Struise XXXX
 De Struise AA Blond
 De Struise Rosse
 De Struise Witte
 De Struise Roste Jeanne

 About De Struise:
 De Struise Brouwers (DSB) is a microbrewery located in Oostvleteren, Belgium. Owners of a nearby ostrich-raising farm in Lo-Reninge with accommodations for vacationers, Urbain Coutteau and Philippe Driessens developed an interest in making distinctive regional beers to serve to their guests. In 2001 they began doing so with help from local wine maker Carlo Grootaert, and this project eventually developed into its own independent commercial concern. Upon its inception in 2003, Struise produced beers at the Caulier brewery in northern Hainaut. Since 2006, they have been made at the Deca brewing facility in Woesten-Vleteren in West Flanders. Today, Struise?s own microbrewery and tasting room is currently open & operational located in a renovated school building in Oostvleteren, Belgium.

[James Ford]

At Churchkey Monday:


ChurchKey is honored to be among a cadre of craft beer bars competing in the 2013 Stone Most Bitter Bar contest, and we are throwing a huge Stone bash on Monday night, June 24th, to launch our candidacy!

 We will be featuring a number of hopped-up Stone brews from June 21st until June 30th, all in the name of being crowned the Stone Most Bitter bar champion, but--on Monday the 24th--we will go all out and feature a bevy of bittered brews, many of which we will be pouring for the very first time!

 So come out and support CK and Stone, and get your hands on some incredible new IPAs released specifically for participating Bitter Bar contestants, like Ruination: Tropical Heat Edition (brewed w/ Mango and Habanero peppers) and Stone IPA Double Dry-Hopped with El Dorado & Target hops! We will also be featuring a super-fresh keg of Ruinten, the re-brewed batch of Ruination 10th Anniversary (which happened to be one of the absolute most outstanding Imperial IPAs of 2012)!

 No admission fee! All Stone drafts priced individually by the glass and in 4 oz. taster pours!

 The Stone Most Bitter Bar Event Draft List!
 Stone Ruination: Tropical Heat Edition
 Stone IPA Double Dry-Hopped with El Dorado & Target
 Stone Ruinten
 Stone IPA
 Stone Ruination
 Stone Cali-Belgique
 Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

[sweetcell]

currently drinking an Avery Salvation.  verdict: this is a great "intro to belgian beers" beer.  not too dry, not too strong on the esters, some spice but not too much, etc.

At Churchkey Wed:


Wednesday, June 26 at 6 PM:

 The Ultimate De Struise Tap Takeover: 17 Rare Drafts + Meet Founders Urbain Cotteau & Philippe Driessens!

i'm headed to philly on wednesday for NHC, otherwise i'd be soooooo all over this.

i am so excited about NHC.  3 days of seminars, meeting brewers, vendor expos, geeking out with other beer geeks... and drinking a lot of amazing beer, both homemade and commercial.  summer camp for beer dorks

[Stillwater]

We found a good Belgian beer bar in Barcelona around the corner from our hotel the last time we were there. Although I don't think we used it, ratebeer.com is always helpful for locating those kind of things.

http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/Country/Cities/barcelona/183.htm

Never been to Portugal, but liked the food in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Granada, even with vegetarian+seafood restriction.

How does the Portuguese food compare to Spanish food?

Far less creativity... lots more cod.  I traveled to the Azores and had great food while I was there.  But in general, I don't think the Portuguese are known to have world-class cuisine, generally. Wine, Bread, Cod, Pork.  They do those right, though.

I did 2.5 weeks in Spain last year and the one meal that stood out was the one at our hotel restaurant in Barcelona - Cram Hotel.  Amazing.  Otherwise the food was merely great throughout the entire trip.  Beer? Not so much.

Now that you mention it, we did find a place in Seville with a good list. Mostly All Belgian and German.  It was a gem in the midst of 2.5 weeks of Cruzcampo and San Miguel.

Its called Cerveceria Internacional after looking it up.