The Beer Thread

[sweetcell]

i'd love to just sit, and watch you drink it.

Maybe they should videotape the event and upload a link here. Don't think that Sweets has a cat but I know he has a dog. Make sure there's some good cute and funny footage of the little furry baby. Who knows, it could go viral. If that happens, than maybe Sweets could start up his own micro-brew. Maybe he could then name the different brews after various forum members based on the type and their personalities. I'd love to know what a Walkie's Cat Mountain Top Brew would taste like or a Whole Yada Lovin'. We already know that a Mad James Ford Hoppin' Wild would be hoppy and very bitter.  Hutch's Backyard Brew would be au natural. Hey, that's a natural. The possibilities are endless! 

LOL, nice one jag   depending how many brews are served, the video could indeed be funny.  yup, no cat, one puppy.  i'm a cat person but the pup is pretty damn photogenic - probably make for more entertaining video.  she's a riot/mobile disaster-maker.  add hoominz on homebrew and... 

whole yada love - might have to use that one!  and yours would be "Jag's Foot-Staring Ale" (a take on shoegaze) made with all-natural ingredients - 0% government involvement... or so they claim.

of course . . . i just wanna see sweetcell naked.

i'm afraid i'd disappoint, walkies.  too much beer, not enough gym.

[i am gay and i like cats]

didn't you know . . . i love bigger guys!  hot!

oh, be careful about brewing beer . . . you might just be considered a terrorist if a protest comes to town.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/chicago-police-arrest-beat-nato-protesters-with-batons-arrest-other-protesters-who-were-in-possession-of-beer-making-equipment.html

[Jaguar]

... and yours would be "Jag's Foot-Staring Ale" (a take on shoegaze) made with all-natural ingredients - 0% government involvement... or so they claim.

It'll floor ya! 

Regarding, Walkie's link: I was going to say that being a home brew will definitely fit the bill. Then I saw that good ol' Walkie posted the link. (Very scary, actually!)

Regarding your other comment, Sweets: you could brew up a selection just for the Bear community (should do well at Blow-Off) called Sweetcell's Honeypot Sweet Bear. That would probably taste pretty good considering that I tend to like sweet beers.

[sweetcell]

oh, be careful about brewing beer . . . you might just be considered a terrorist if a protest comes to town.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/chicago-police-arrest-beat-nato-protesters-with-batons-arrest-other-protesters-who-were-in-possession-of-beer-making-equipment.html

not sure what to think of this story.  on the one hand it seems excessive on the part of police - can't help but suspect that this was done to intimidate protesters.  on the other hand, the story is misleading: they were not arrested because the had beer-making equipment.  they were under suspicion of plotting to use molotov cocktails - i.e., deadly force - against the police, so they were raided and police nabbed anything that looked like bomb-making equipment.  although there was a legitimate use for the bottles (beer-making), seizing them during a molotov-cocktail raid makes sense.

other links to the same story:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/05/18/arrested-protester-charges-mistreatment-after-police-raid-apartment/
http://www.suntimes.com/12616221-761/3-protesters-charged-with-conspiracy-to-commit-terrorism-lawyer.html

[BrettnotBritt]

Boulevard is coming to Maryland, DC, and Virginia in early June. Hallelujah! I love their Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale.

http://www.beerpulse.com/2012/05/boulevard-brewing-co-opening-new-markets-in-june-new-packages-coming-this-summer/

[sweetcell]

woohoo, nice to have a date on that.  i'm going to buy a bottle of Tank 7 tonight to celebrate (i'm currently on the road and it's available here).  i'd love to get my mitts on some Saison Brett.

[Darth Ed]

Random beer observations from the past month or so:

I went up to Philadelphia for the Van Gogh exhibit last month, and I stopped at one of the Iron Hill Brewery restaurants in the area afterward. Good thing I wasn't driving because I loved every beer they had there and I had four of them: Honey Do Wit, a barleywine, the dunkleweizen, and one other I can't recall. All excellent. If you're in the area, I'd recommend stopping in.
http://www.ironhillbrewery.com/media/monthly-releases.htm

I went to Duffy's before a 9:30 Club show a couple weeks ago, and I was very disappointed to discover that they no longer had Ommegang Witte on tap. They didn't have anything else on tap that seemed at all enticing. They also got rid of Shepherd's Pie from their menu. Most disappointing. I doubt I'll be stopping in there again anytime soon.

The Black Cat downstairs has Bell's Amber on tap; I tried it last night. It wasn't bad, but nothing to rave about. I had a similar reaction to Ommegang Rare Vos recently. Not bad, but it's not my favorite Ommegang by any stretch. I keep trying amber ales and being disappointed by them. I think I should throw in the towel and conclude that it's just not a style of beer that I like.

I've become a huge fan of Stillwater Artisanal. I've enjoyed all of theirs that I've tried.

[James Ford]

When it comes to amber ales, i've got two words: Nugget Nectar. And Hopback Amber.

Bell's Amber is indeed pretty middling. I do like Rare Vos, but indeed it may be Ommegang's weakest beer next to BPA.

[sweetcell]

tank 7: a really strong saison.  aroma of grapefruit, but smell is a little on the weak side overall as compared to the taste: spicy, fruity and has a mild yeast bite to it.  really intense.  several reviewers on BA described it as a great summer drink, but prefer my summer drinks to be a little more sessionable & hydrating.  this one is more of a sipper IMO.  a tasty one at that.

had dinner at the local tap-o-rama.  started off with a North Coast Le Merle saison (t'is the season of saisons?).  really nice, super dry with a lingering almost pungent aftertaste on the tongue.  second was a boulevard IPA - ok, even above average but nothing as good as their other offerings that i've had.  i looked it up on their website and they claim it's in neither the west coat nor the east coast style, instead it's a "midwest IPA".  i guess u i now know why i've never heard of midwestern-style IPAs... they've nothing particularly special.  good to know Boulevard isn't infallible. 

also bought a Stone's Cali-Belgo IPA and a Rahr's 2011 Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer... but those, my friends, are for another time.

[James Ford]

Please allow me to share the names of a few midwestern breweries that make some pretty decent IPA's.

Bell's
Founders
Three Floyds
Surly
Minneapolis Town Hall

That should get you started. 

  second was a boulevard IPA - ok, even above average but nothing as good as their other offerings that i've had.  i looked it up on their website and they claim it's in neither the west coat nor the east coast style, instead it's a "midwest IPA".  i guess u i now know why i've never heard of midwestern-style IPAs... they've nothing particularly special.  good to know Boulevard isn't infallible. 

also bought a Stone's Cali-Belgo IPA and a Rahr's 2011 Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer... but those, my friends, are for another time.

[sweetcell]

Please allow me to share the names of a few midwestern breweries that make some pretty decent IPA's.

Bell's
Founders
Three Floyds
Surly
Minneapolis Town Hall

That should get you started. 

  second was a boulevard IPA - ok, even above average but nothing as good as their other offerings that i've had.  i looked it up on their website and they claim it's in neither the west coat nor the east coast style, instead it's a "midwest IPA".  i guess u i now know why i've never heard of midwestern-style IPAs... they've nothing particularly special.  good to know Boulevard isn't infallible. 

also bought a Stone's Cali-Belgo IPA and a Rahr's 2011 Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer... but those, my friends, are for another time.

i agree with you entirely that the midwest makes some great IPAs, but looks like you missed my point: not midwestern IPAs, but midwestern-style ipa.  there is an established west-coast style, sharp and extra-hoppy (by overall IPA standards) and prominently features hops such as cascade & centennial, and the new kids on the block like amarillo, simcoe and citra.  there is an east-coast style of IPA, which is much closer to the english-style, slightly maltier, often darker in color and tends to feature "classic" hops such as fuggles, northern brewer, etc. 

i have never heard of midwestern-style ipa - what makes up that style?  the mash includes cheese curds?  dry-hopped with ruben sandwiches?

[James Ford]

Ok, I see your point, and agree with what you say about west coast vs. east coast. Though there will obviously be exceptions to the rule.

A google search have me this (The Boulevard offering they reviewed (same one you had?) is indeed sort of low on the totem poll.)

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2010/06/serious-beer-ipa-from-the-midwest-reviews.html



Many of these beers tend to be creamier and mellower than California or Pacific Northwest IPAs, without quite the resinous pop that's more common out west. It's a great style unto itself: The best of these beers are drinkable and balanced, rich and silky. They'll be friendly to food and they won't demolish your palate the way extremely hoppy brews will. (Be warned: there are still a handful of wildly hoppy beers in this roundup.)

Please allow me to share the names of a few midwestern breweries that make some pretty decent IPA's.

Bell's
Founders
Three Floyds
Surly
Minneapolis Town Hall

That should get you started. 

  second was a boulevard IPA - ok, even above average but nothing as good as their other offerings that i've had.  i looked it up on their website and they claim it's in neither the west coat nor the east coast style, instead it's a "midwest IPA".  i guess u i now know why i've never heard of midwestern-style IPAs... they've nothing particularly special.  good to know Boulevard isn't infallible. 

also bought a Stone's Cali-Belgo IPA and a Rahr's 2011 Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer... but those, my friends, are for another time.

i agree with you entirely that the midwest makes some great IPAs, but looks like you missed my point: not midwestern IPAs, but midwestern-style ipa.  there is an established west-coast style, sharp and extra-hoppy (by overall IPA standards) and prominently features hops such as cascade & centennial, and the new kids on the block like amarillo, simcoe and citra.  there is an east-coast style of IPA, which is much closer to the english-style, slightly maltier, often darker in color and tends to feature "classic" hops such as fuggles, northern brewer, etc. 

i have never heard of midwestern-style ipa - what makes up that style?  the mash includes cheese curds?  dry-hopped with ruben sandwiches?

[James Ford]

So we're (wife, four year old daughter, me)headed to Munich, Freiburg, Bruges/Gent, and Amsterdam for 13 days starting Saturday night. Thanks mileage program for the three free-ish tickets.

Chances are we've (read: I've) already researched it, but any recommendations regarding beers to try, places to drink/eat, non-beer places/things to visit, etc?

One thing I'm most looking forward to is hiking to the Andechs Monastary outside Munich and having some Andescher beer.

[sweetcell]

(The Boulevard offering they reviewed (same one you had?) is indeed sort of low on the totem poll.)

yup, that's the one i had, the double-wide.

nice find on the googles... maybe there is a midwestern style!

[sweetcell]

So we're (wife, four year old daughter, me)headed to Munich, Freiburg, Bruges/Gent, and Amsterdam for 13 days starting Saturday night. Thanks mileage program for the three free-ish tickets.

Chances are we've (read: I've) already researched it, but any recommendations regarding beers to try, places to drink/eat, non-beer places/things to visit, etc?

One thing I'm most looking forward to is hiking to the Andechs Monastary outside Munich and having some Andescher beer.

from gent, you're an hour away from Vleteren - home of the Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren, makers of Westvleteren 12.  i realize that's quite a trek to drag your two ladies on just to try a beer.  then again, it's been rated "best beer in the world" several times so it might be worth it.  if you do go, please bring back a bottle for me.  i must have something you'd be interested in trading for!