What beer are you drinking? Winter 12/13

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Originally Posted by stevegoz

Binny's had bombers of the Hop Henge Experimental, a very nice IIPA. So far I've enjoyed that as well as Mirror Pond (nice enough, but not wowed -- I've become a hop head!), Chainbreaker White IPA (more of a weiss than an IPA to me; pretty tasty) and the Red Chair NWPA, a seasonal APA that hit all of the right notes.

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I know what you mean about becoming a hop head. I generally seek out the bolder hopped beers too but it's nice to see that Deschutes didn't follow the American trend of turning all pale ales into IPA's. My initial reaction to Mirror Pond was slight disappointment because my expectation was that it would have a more pronounced hop influence. But as I drank it down I really started to warm up to it and by the end of two bottles I was really impressed. I passed on the Chainbreaker because I feared it would be more of a weiss as you confirmed. (Not that I don't enjoy weissbier but that's more of a summer drink for me.) I regret not getting the Red Chair NWPA but will do so next time. Any sign of their ESB or IPA?

Hop head here too! Dogfish Head 60 and 90 Minute IPA are two of my favorite expressions of what American IPAs and Double/Imperial IPAs can taste like without tasting like they put a few aspirin in there. Double Dog and Brewdog Hardcore IPA do it well too. There are many other good ones as well. Just can't remember them all.

Edit: I really have to start paying attention to my spelling more! ...coddled by technology too much...

The local wing joint had one of my favorites on tap tonight, Allagash Curieux. Silky and smooth with every sip.

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Originally Posted by unclebunk

Any sign of their ESB or IPA?

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AFAIK Deschutes is only doing the four beers in six packs we discussed up-thread during this initial Chicago-area release. In fact, the Hop Henge doesn't even seem to have accompanied its lower ABV brethren to a lot of stores. Not sure what the longer term plans are, but I assume we should get their full line of standards plus some seasonals and experiments.

I just can't get into Deschutes. I have determined I don't like their yeast strain. The smell of dirty lake water stands out in all of their beers to me. The one exception to this is their sour brown ale called "the Dissident." The Abyss is drinkable but it is only a shadow of what it used to be. Maybe I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the horrible infection the abyss had a few years ago. Mirror Mirror, which was a Stranahan's barrel aged barley wine, was also good but that was 3 or 4 years ago.

A little Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from a can tonight.

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Originally Posted by BradleyC

I just can't get into Deschutes. I have determined I don't like their yeast strain. The smell of dirty lake water stands out in all of their beers to me. The one exception to this is their sour brown ale called "the Dissident." The Abyss is drinkable but it is only a shadow of what it used to be. Maybe I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the horrible infection the abyss had a few years ago. Mirror Mirror, which was a Stranahan's barrel aged barley wine, was also good but that was 3 or 4 years ago.

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Hmm. I'm not getting dirty lake water at all in any of the ones I tried, Bradley. You should call your plumber. It sounds like your septic tank is kicking back through your kitchen faucet when you're washing your beer glasses.:lol:

3F Zombie Dust while watching some great football.

Stumbled across a Taybeh Dark in the back of the fridge. Left over from a trip to Israel, it is a West Bank made beer in the German style. Just a smidge past the printed "expiration" date on the bottle! Been in the fridge for quite a while so perhaps not as fresh as it could be but at least it had been kept cold the whole time.

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Had a nice head and didn't seem to be any the worse for time. A nice dark bock style beer.

Road trip to Ypsilanti yesterday to enjoy some draught Bell's Hopslam at Sidetrack, also had one of America's greatest burgers.
Can't wait for Founder's Double Trouble to hit the market.