In the spirit of the recent "popping of the cap," I felt that a craft beer thread was called for. Besides, there is already a "the wine thread," and good beer also deserves a place. This thread will be for discussing and learning about the world of quality beer (and no I don't mean Killian's).


To begin, I am celebrating today's happenings with a bottle of Stoudt's Triple, and it is good.

8/3/2005 10:30:05 PM

The World Beer Festival is on Oct. 8th.

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/wbf/

Yay.

8/3/2005 11:02:03 PM

The best beer I've ever had.


http://www.kaiserbier.at

8/3/2005 11:43:22 PM

Make sure you try Brooklyn Brewing company.

The brown is very, very good.


Also, its been around since before the recent proceedings, but Duck Rabbit Brewery out of Farmville NC has probably been my favorite company for the past year.

their amber and milk stouts... delicious.

8/4/2005 8:17:07 AM

^Their milk stout is ok. It still dosen't compare to Left Hand Brewing's milk stout.

8/4/2005 10:37:33 AM

^ Lefthand's milk stout is my favorite beer. I haven't tried any of their others because I can't pass up the stout. Too bad The Flying Saucer and Peace Street Market are the only places I can find it at.

[Edited on August 4, 2005 at 7:52 PM. Reason : Its less than $7 a 6pk also]

8/4/2005 7:52:00 PM

tonight i am gonna be drinking something from my reserve stock

-stone double bastard
-avery the beast 2004
-stone imperial stout 2004
-old rasputin imperial stout
-lefthand imperial stout 2003
-duvel
-victory storm king stout 2003
- st bernardus abt 12
-abbaye de rocs brune
- dfh old school barleywine 2003
-north coast old stock
-dfh wws 2003

damn im getting low on the good shit, please to get the new beers to nc soon


or some of my homebrewed 11.2% whiskey barrel imperial stout or my blue ribbon winning broken oar imperial ipa (12%)

[Edited on August 4, 2005 at 8:30 PM. Reason : homebrew]

8/4/2005 8:27:36 PM

nice list you've got there

reminds me that I need to take inventory

And speaking of Duck-Rabbit, I am expecting a nice imperial stout from them before too long.

[Edited on August 4, 2005 at 8:36 PM. Reason : a]

8/4/2005 8:34:24 PM

I'd say my favorite beer is Leffe Brun. It's good, but I have no idea where I can get it in around here. Heck, almost all Belgian beers are good. For something different a Kriek is good - a cherry flavored beer.

darkone - I wouldn't even go with a Kaiser as my favorite German beer. I'm going to have to go with Bitgurger Pils on that one.

For something different weissbiers are always good.

8/4/2005 11:54:54 PM

kriek is more than a cherry flavored beer. kriek is a lambic beer in which cherries are added. lambic beers a made from usually from halt matled barley and halt unmalted wheat, and old stale hops. they are fermented with wild yeast ( brettanomyces ) and and bacteria such as pediococcus and lactobacillus. these wild yeasnt and bacteria cause the beer to spoil and sour while giving these beers there funky, sour, acidic, barnyard, horse blanket, complexity.

if you have only tied lindeman's kriek i suggest you try another such as cantillion kriek, boon kriek, or belle vue kriek, you will find that they are much different than lindeman's.

8/5/2005 12:25:30 AM

Quote :

"cantillion kriek"

I saw this at either Peace Street or Total Wine on Capital, forget which one.
Both have a selection of Cantillon...been meaning to try it, as well as their Gueze.

Quote :

"horse blanket"

That descriptor kills me every time. Mmm, horse blanket.


[Edited on August 5, 2005 at 12:36 AM. Reason : a]

8/5/2005 12:32:34 AM

Quote :

"duvel"

I need to holler at some of that.

8/5/2005 9:19:24 AM

justin you sound like such a beer snob


[Edited on August 5, 2005 at 12:22 PM. Reason : that beer you described sounds nasty though]

8/5/2005 12:20:13 PM

Quote :

"darkone - I wouldn't even go with a Kaiser as my favorite German beer. I'm going to have to go with Bitgurger Pils on that one."

It's not German, it's Austrian. I've had a lot of beer from all over this planet and the Kaiser Dopplemaltz is still my favorate. By the way, you can drink your pilsner and die. I need a beer with some weight to it.

I'll will agree with you about the Belgian beer though. I've been itching for a Hoeggarden Grand Cruz. You can't get it in this state because of the alcohol content. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not even sure you can get it in this country. I haven't seen any since I was in Brussles last summer.

8/5/2005 12:26:38 PM

I don't think you can get that Hoegaarden Crand Cru in the states either, but Allagash Brewing in Maine makes one that is supposed to be really good. Hopefully we'll be getting some in a couple months.

[Edited on August 5, 2005 at 1:26 PM. Reason : h]

8/5/2005 1:25:58 PM

Quote :

"justin you sound like such a beer snob"

imagine that...

8/5/2005 1:59:02 PM

rasputin imperial is jesus

8/5/2005 4:33:11 PM

lambic beers are very much like champagne, especially geuze, very tart and acidic.

oud beersel geuze is quite nice, very complex. i think its better than cantillion geuze.


i havent been able to find hoegaarden forbidden fruit in the US either.


if i am not mistaken allagash grand cru is now bottled under the name allagash summer ale.


i like to consider myself more of a beer geek.


ps the double bastard was very nice last night.

8/5/2005 5:48:53 PM

Are there any stores to buy an Imperial Stout yet?

8/5/2005 5:55:49 PM

Strata - the only kriek I've had is the belle vue. Never had a lindeman's. Sorry I didn't get the intricacies of the kriek just right - I enjoy my beer, but I haven't gotten to the point of fully understanding everything about it yet.

darkone, sorry about that - I just got back from 7 weeks in Europe, mostly in Northern France/Belgium and then I spent sometime in Germany and Austria, but Germany and Austria run together in my memory. Pils can be damn good beer when it's less than a day old. I'd recommend you try a Bitburger sometime if you haven't - although it is of course at its best when you're in Bitburge, Germany.

8/5/2005 5:56:20 PM

^ The Bitburger is probably good in Bitburg the same way Guinness is good in Temple Bar, Dublin. There's nothing like drinking a beer in it's home. I can hardly drink Guinness in the US any more. It just doesn't have the same depth of flavor over here. In the US it's just flat. Of course, none of the bars around here seem to know how to pull a proper Guinness pint anyway. Some try, but they can't seem to get it right.

8/5/2005 6:05:57 PM

Quote :

"Are there any stores to buy an Imperial Stout yet?"

No, the bill isn't law yet, and all the beers and their labels have to go through ABC approval. Should be able to find something by the end of the month or early September; of course depending on whether any of the breweries that import here/will import here have an IS available now.

On a side note, I am smoking some ribs in the smoker now and have an Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (a German smoked beer) to go with them...should be good.

8/5/2005 6:39:40 PM

mSm did you get to try and saisons or biere de gardes while in n. france / belgium?
and sorry i just think of cherry beer more like sam adams cherry wheat and was just curious if you knew what you were drinking. wasnt trying to be an ass, but it is a little bit of a peave of mine when people talk about beer incorrectly for ex when people say thaqt guiness has so much alcohol but its really only 4.2% and that is so heavy but it has such a low final gravity that its really not. also guiness has sour wort added to it to give it that "guiness twang"


i would give my left nut to visit the westvletren monestary right when they release a new batch. and probably rochefort too.

8/5/2005 6:52:30 PM

Goddamn I can't wait untill they get here

8/5/2005 8:08:43 PM

matt, i already got one in my collection, have you had it, its awesome.

stone doesnt currently distrubute in nc to my knowledge, but they do in VA

8/5/2005 8:10:41 PM

someone is bringing me one from WI in a couple weeks, been dying to try it but I'll probably throw it in the cellar 'till winter

How is it compared to, say, that Old Rasputin?

^^I just noticed that the bottle says early summer 2005 release, so they may never get here this year. Plus they have to find a distributor to pick them up here first.
http://www.stonebrew.com/guestbook/email/new_areas.html

Quote :

"if i am not mistaken allagash grand cru is now bottled under the name allagash summer ale"

I hope not, I had one of those a few weeks ago (from Total Wine) and was dissappointed...I am pretty sure their Summer Ale is a Belgian Pale Ale anyways instead of a Belgian Strong. If you do make it out to Total Wine or somewhere else that carries it and want to try it, I'd suggest a single instead of a sixer.

...picked up a bottle of Fuller's 1845 (didn't realize it is 6.3%) at the local store tonight...

[Edited on August 5, 2005 at 8:50 PM. Reason : ;]

8/5/2005 8:22:17 PM

Yeah, I know they won't be here soon. Problably next year when they're done with their new brewery.

8/5/2005 8:49:15 PM

Got ya, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

8/5/2005 8:51:13 PM

you are right...i was mistaken, its allagash special reserve that is now bottled as allagash summer ale.

8/5/2005 9:11:43 PM

Oh yeah, this question was for you.

Quote :

"How is it compared to, say, that Old Rasputin? "

8/5/2005 9:29:29 PM

in my opinion, stones imperial stout is better than old rasputin. but old rasputin is a great beer.

have you ever had rogue imperial stout? that is probably the thickest beer i have ever tasted. the mouthfeel reminded me of pancake syrup, well not that thick but pretty thick

8/6/2005 2:49:36 AM

Stone Imperial Russian (Screw them, its still a russian) Stout is the best beer I've ever had. It is heads above the Rasputian. It has so many more levels of flavor.

The Double Bastard and the Arrogant bastard are also high up on my list.

8/6/2005 8:37:05 PM

Stone Imperial Russian Stout is the 2nd best beer I've ever had, the first being Speedway Stout. I'd recommend you age it about a year though.

8/6/2005 9:48:36 PM

Stone won their petition or whatever to the government about allowing them to use the name Russian for their RIS, so the name should be back next year

never had it, but soon...

[Edited on August 6, 2005 at 10:34 PM. Reason : well not really soon, it's actually going to sit in the cellar]

8/6/2005 10:27:36 PM

Just got off the phone with my "connection" in the north. Have a nice little shipment coming in this week.

New Glarus - Belgian Red
Raspberry Tart
Sour Brown
IIPA
Triple
Fish Brewing - Fish Tale Anniversary Barleywine
Old Woody
Bell's - Two Hearted IPA
Sparkling Ale
Cherry Stout
Java Stout
Founders - Breakfast Stout
Great Lakes - Black Out Stout
Great Divide - Oak Aged Yeti Imperial

Yeah I am slightly more excited than usual. Gotta stock up for the winter.

Anyone drinking anything interesting tonight?

[Edited on August 8, 2005 at 6:15 PM. Reason : ;]

8/8/2005 5:52:12 PM

dogfish head 90 minute
great divide hercules stouts

must haves

8/8/2005 6:10:09 PM

yeah that 90 is where it's at, can't wait till I can get it on the regular

8/8/2005 6:14:03 PM

correction

hercules the delicious IPA that Great Divide puts out,

their stout the oak aged yet is another must have

8/8/2005 6:14:16 PM

this question doesn't apply to the recent events, but i'm looking for a beer i had in jamaica, and was wondering if anyone had ever seen it around here...

REAL ROCK, brewed in jamaica.

8/8/2005 6:27:46 PM

that's ok, the current events only inspired me to make this thread...they have nothing to do with its purpose, other than the fact that there will be more beers to discuss

I've never seen Real Rock around here. It was the only alternative to Red Stripe when I was in Jamaica and made for a decent beach beer, which they both are, though different of course.

[Edited on August 8, 2005 at 6:37 PM. Reason : ;]

8/8/2005 6:32:35 PM

about to break out my last Dogfish Head 90 Minute...so yeah they need to get here soon


I am enjoying all these good beer threads on the front page

[Edited on August 8, 2005 at 9:38 PM. Reason : ;]

8/8/2005 9:36:51 PM

i've been spoiled w/ the 90 minutes b/c i've been in dc all summer and the whole foods is 100 yards from my place. Thought I was going to have to bring back a serious stash, thank god for hb392. Hopefully Peace st and whole foods are already placing their orders in w/ dogfish head

8/9/2005 9:41:33 AM

Quote :

"...picked up a bottle of Fuller's 1845 (didn't realize it is 6.3%) at the local store tonight..."

What "local store"? Where are you guys getting all these beers from?

8/9/2005 2:47:54 PM

well that was in Fayetteville, but the 1845 is pretty widespread

Peace Street Market has the best selection as of now...but many of the beers we've been talking about aren't available here yet.

[Edited on August 9, 2005 at 2:53 PM. Reason : ;]

8/9/2005 2:52:33 PM

There were already some in the 6-6.5 range floating around before. I don't know if it was a loophole or what, but they were already out there.

The new law doesn't really go into effect until midnight sunday night/monday morning, and then the breweries will have to be brewing them or a distributor will have to be bringing them to the stores. Don't expet them to be widely available for a while, but they WILL be available soon.

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=339797
A link to my thread on crafts if anyone wants to look at it. I guess we can just keep this one going, I don't care.

tryon distributing
http://www.tryondist.com/01053018195455/

is said to be ready to start distributing these:

Rogue- I2PA, Imperial Pils, Old Crustacean
DFH- 90 min, IBA, Midas Touch, Rasin D'etre
Chimay- Red, White, Blue
Meantime- IPA, London Porter
Allagash- Dubbel, Trippel, Barrel Aged series
Maredsous- 8, 10
St. Bernardus stuff
Flying Dog- Imperial Porter, whatever the name of that Barleywine is
Brooklyn- Monster, East IPA

"some as early as august 15," according to my thread on beerinator
http://www.beerinator.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=878&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

also

Quote :

"Others from Brooklyn will be Black Cocolate Stout (BCS) and our variety 12 pack (very limited in winter) which has 2 of the following beers: Lager, Brown, EIPA (6.9%), Monster (11.8%), BCS (8.5%), and Winter Ale (7.2%) (bottles only avail in this pack and Europe) Just an FYI on the price of the 12 pk, it will be in the $19.99 range."

[Edited on August 9, 2005 at 3:03 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2005 2:56:04 PM

nice tryon link, thanks (edit: I thought it listed the new beers but thanks anyway

Quote :

"Midas Touch"

That would be great I've been wanting to try that for a couple months...nice story behind it.
http://www.dogfish.com/beer/midastouch.cfm

[Edited on August 9, 2005 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ;]

8/9/2005 2:58:41 PM

What is the hoppiest beer you guys have had? I really like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale but would like to try others.

8/9/2005 3:11:58 PM

oh man, midas touch is such a cool idea

Quote :

"His golden touch may have conferred fabulous wealth on King Midas, but he nearly starved to death when even his food and drink were converted into the precious metal. The well-known legend is based on an actual ruler of the ancient kingdom of Phrygia in central Turkey around 700 B.C. Under a huge mound at the capital of Gordion, a University of Pennsylvania Museum expedition in 1957 excavated an intact burial chamber which likely belonged to King Midas himself. The body of a 60-year-old male was laid out in state on a thick pile of purple and blue-dyed textiles inside a unique log coffin. Most remarkably, the tomb held the largest Iron Age drinking set ever found--157 vessels, including a ram-headed and lion-headed situla--for preparing, serving, drinking and libating a special beverage at the funerary feast of the king. The secrets of the beverage were revealed by the new methods of Molecular Archaeology. Dr. Patrick McGovern of the Museum discovered that the residues inside the vessels belonged to a "Phrygian cocktail," which combined grape wine, barley beer and honey mead. Starting with the ancient chemical evidence, Dogfish Head Brewery "re-created" a marvelous golden elixir, truly touched by King Midas. Here are just some of the comments made about Midas Touch by world-renown beer expert, Michael Jackson... "A wonderfully complex beer, a wonderfully delicate beer, a dangerous thing" "a great drink to welcome people to a party... fill your bath full of ice, put some bottles of Midas Touch on there a serve it in champagne flutes." "not some freak of nature, not some gimmick, it's something to be taken very seriously..." "It used to be wine... but King Midas touch it and turned it to gold" CHEERS!"

http://www.dogfish.com/beer/midastouch.cfm

8/9/2005 3:19:57 PM

^^personally?, oh man let me think

the SNPA is pretty hoppy but some brewers go wild with the hops
the Mash House Hoppy Hour IPA is big on the hops
the Dogfish Head 60 and 90 minutes are hoppy
the recently bottled Edenton Big Boss IPA is really hoppy
New River Pale Ale isn't as hoppy as the others I listed but is very good

all of those except the 90 are available in Raleigh now

[Edited on August 9, 2005 at 3:28 PM. Reason : ;]

8/9/2005 3:24:32 PM

had the mida touch at a bar last week ($11/bottle). Not for everyone, but def. worth trying

8/9/2005 3:46:19 PM