THE BEER THREAD(?)----->!!!

[CBA]

Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale
Blue Moon - Belgium White and Honey Moon
Magic Hat - Circus Boy

Yeah Tom. One of my favourite seasonal beers is Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale. I always get a six-pack of that and carve a pumpkin every Smell-O-Weiner. That beer gets some shit where I live and I have no idea why. If someone said PUMPKIN BEER to you, Buffalo Bill's is EXACTLY what it should taste like.

As far as Franziskaner Hefeweizen... yeah, it's good, but it doesn't have that clove finish that Weinstephaner has. But both are leagues above Hacker-Pschorr (sp)... that shit tastes like MEAT. From more than one independent opinion.

And as far as metrosexuals and microbrews (my favourite metal album, btw), I guess all I can say is CRRAAABBB PEOPLE CRRAAABBB PEOPLE.

I tend to think of microbrews the same way I think of "boutique" effects and their makers like Tom. It's the fuckin' GOOD shit.

Plus, welp, how can I help but drink what tastes good?

Keep the favourites comin', Gleep Glop!

C

[culturejam]

But both are leagues above Hacker-Pschorr (sp)... that shit tastes like MEAT.

If you're tasting that kind of flavor, you're getting really old beer. Wheat beers have a ton of yeast in the bottle (obviously), and if left to sit long enough, the dormant yeast begins to break down through a process called autolysis. This process creates some very nasty-tasting compounds, and can make beer taste meaty or rubbery. Autolysis seems to happen far more often and is more noticeable in beers with lower amounts of alcohol (such as a typical German hefeweiss). Any bottle-conditioned beer (not filtered and refermented in the bottle), such as wheat beers and most Belgian beers, can suffer from this.

Hacker-Pschorr's hefe is a fine example of the style, and is quite tasty when reasonably fresh. I've had good and bad bottles of it here in the States. It all depends on the age of the beer at the time of consumption.

Long story short: get your Hacker-Pschorr at a different store.

Sorry to be such a nerd, but I've done a ton of research (and writing) on the topic of beer.

[tuffteef]

i love drinking beer

but only if its cold and only with food for some reason lol

[jrmy]

I just remembered another good peat-smoked scottish ale, that might be a bit more available. It's called Kilt Tilter, by Middle Ages Brewing, which I've seen around New England a lot.

Excellent! Another for the list!

[nad]

Beer.

Lately I've really been enjoying Fat Weasel Pale Ale, it goes so god damn good with the hot weather. Last beer run I made involved Deschutes Inversion IPA and the always traditional Red Nectar. Thankfully it was for a BBQ that was home to a vast array of fellow microbrewfags so I got shitfaced on excellent grog, which enabled me to play maldrums all night long.

BBQ + IPA =

My biggest experiments with beer these days involve making chili with it. The greatest combination so far was using a Reaper Mortality Stout, which made the entire experience unreal. Any mean ale seems to work really good though, stuff from Mendocino Brew is a pretty regular tenant in my fridge so that always works. Anderson Valley makes periodic appearances and never disappoints either. Guinness is fucking awful in chili, that was the only failure. Not that I was terribly surprised, but that's all we had in the fridge, and I'm such a beersnob that I look at that swill the way most snobs view Buttweiper.

Beer.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

the brewmaster's table is an excellent read, for all you beer nerds out there...
i am a huge beer nerd, but i can never remember names of the beers. so i just always end up trying random stuff!

[magiclawnchair]

hey C

darkhorse brewery is somewhere in michigan...

they had some awesome stouts this winter! the blueberry stout was awesome and the smoke stout was good too. i love their crooked tree ipa and their raspberry ale is pretty good.

i like great lakes brewery's stuff as well. Edmund Fitzgerald porter is excellent.

all the dogfishhead beers i have tried are great but the 60 minute ipa goes down like beer!

[spacelordmother]

Beer.

Lately I've really been enjoying Fat Weasel Pale Ale, it goes so god damn good with the hot weather. Last beer run I made involved Deschutes Inversion IPA and the always traditional Red Nectar. Thankfully it was for a BBQ that was home to a vast array of fellow microbrewfags so I got shitfaced on excellent grog, which enabled me to play maldrums all night long.

BBQ + IPA =

My biggest experiments with beer these days involve making chili with it. The greatest combination so far was using a Reaper Mortality Stout, which made the entire experience unreal. Any mean ale seems to work really good though, stuff from Mendocino Brew is a pretty regular tenant in my fridge so that always works. Anderson Valley makes periodic appearances and never disappoints either. Guinness is fucking awful in chili, that was the only failure. Not that I was terribly surprised, but that's all we had in the fridge, and I'm such a beersnob that I look at that swill the way most snobs view Buttweiper.

Beer.

EXCELLENT use of Marquee.

How could I forget La Chouffe?!!? Golden Ale and a Gnomeratron FTW!!

[McSpunckle]

I'll tell ya what isn't any good: Natural Ice (Fuck you, I'm not saying natty), Cult 45, or Budweiser. I don't care if it's easy to drink and gets you drunk, it's gross.

[Mudfuzz]

Really I'm not much of a beer person... But! This I like!

The only thing is everyone I know goes "so you like Guinness, try this"
And I do, but for me they don't have that Guinnessness that like

[Nychthemeron]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn1hNN78D70[/youtube]

Only Guinness can be an awesome enough beer to be made into an amplifier.

[culturejam]

My hefeweizen has noticeably changed in flavor from holy shit this is awesome to meh but no meat flavors.I'm confused as i've read bottle conditioned beer can last years but also read it can have a shelf life shorter than commercial beer.

Any beer is going to go through flavor changes over time; bottle-conditioned beers especially so.

Wheat beers are best when very fresh (young). So I'd say you'd get maximum "classic hefe" flavor after the beers have bottled for 6 weeks to about 6 months. They're still good after that, but some of the punch begins to fall off after about 6 months. They'll stay good (ie - not stale) for probably 18-24 months, assuming the temp is constant and doesn't get too warm. In a refrigerated environment, they can last quite a bit longer.

Higher-alcohol beers have greater long-term stability, especially if they were brewed with a lot of hops (which is a natural preservative). A barley wine, for example, might last 7 or 8 years (or longer) if properly maintained. Some people prefer the smoothness of an aged barley wine, but I like em fresh and ragged around the edges.

I made a Belgian-style dubel about 5 years ago (right before Xmas), and it turned out great. I drank the whole batch relatively quickly, and I regretted not stashing a few away to see what it would taste like after extended aging. So the next Xmas I was at my mother-in-laws house, and I realized that the prior year I'd left a bottle of it in the back of her fridge. Bonus! I honestly expected that the flavors would have degraded quite a bit, but I was surprised when I tasted it and it was fantastic. The refrigeration had really helped keep the beer tasting very fresh, even a year later.


So my advice to you, maz, is to drink any wheat beers relatively quickly after brewing. They are ready to drink — and they peak flavor-wise — much earlier than other styles. It's a great style for instant gratification, and it is probably my #1 recommendation for a first-time brewer.

[Teej212]

well since im just a high schooler im pretty limited to drinking only beer that tastes like carbonated urine.

[culturejam]

well since im just a high schooler im pretty limited to drinking only beer that tastes like carbonated urine.

Nonsense!

Back in high school, I recall that most of the time we were stuck with BMC (Bud/Miller/Coors). But we tried our best to score the good stuff. I remember one day we had a cooler full of the goods to take to the beach: Sam Adams, St. Pauli Girl, and Moosehead.

Okay, so those are stellar by my standards these days, but they are all better than macro-swill.

[Teej212]

eh, its ok. i dont even like drinking that much...i would much rather smoke weed