What Beer Are You Drinking? - Spring 2012

[unclebunk]

I've been on a Stout kick, lately. Great Lakes Blackout Stout, Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, Mackeson Stout, and good old reliable Guiness Extra Stout.

Stout in this heat? Yikes! Man, I haven't had Mackeson Stout in years and would love to get my hands on some. Now that you mention it, I've got a case of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout in the basement waiting for the return of cool weather. Maybe I'll crack one tonight and pour a nice single malt and pretend it's December for a night!

[bucky1]

Thanks to a fellow SBer's recommendation that I swing by the brewery on a recent trip to Chicago, I've been enjoying Three Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf and Dreadnaught the last few nights. Very nice.

[Gillman]

Just on the point of stout and summer, many like an iced stout at this time of year. It is drunk that way in the Caribbean, to which strong stout has been exported since the late 1700's at least, and parts of Asia where ditto the English sent it out to their colonists and troops there. The habit of drinking it remained long after the British went home. Certainly, thick very strong beers probably won't appeal to most at this time of year but Guinness FES is quite sharp and not heavy really, I'd give it a go and it sounds great with a good malt or Irish!

Gary

[unclebunk]

Just on the point of stout and summer, many like an iced stout at this time of year. It is drunk that way in the Caribbean, to which strong stout has been exported since the late 1700's at least, and parts of Asia where ditto the English sent it out to their colonists and troops there. The habit of drinking it remained long after the British went home. Certainly, thick very strong beers probably won't appeal to most at this time of year but Guinness FES is quite sharp and not heavy really, I'd give it a go and it sounds great with a good malt or Irish!

Gary

Thanks for the info, Gary. Will give it a whirl soon, though today's 108 temp is probably not the time to reach for a Guinness. But when the heat dips back into the 80's later in the week I'll get one nice and cold and pour myself a Powers Gold to accompany it. Sounds good to me!

[Gillman]

Powers is one of the best values in whiskey today, not just Irish whiskey, but whiskey in general. It has a high percentage of pure pot still (I think 70-80%) and I actually prefer it to the current Green Spot or Redbreasts, say, the small amount of grain whiskey seems to "set" the palate. Top stuff.

Gary

[unclebunk]

Powers is one of the best values in whiskey today, not just Irish whiskey, but whiskey in general. It has a high percentage of pure pot still (I think 70-80%) and I actually prefer it to the current Green Spot or Redbreasts, say, the small amount of grain whiskey seems to "set" the palate. Top stuff.

Gary

Amen to that. And dirt cheap too at $18 from my favorite discount liquor store.

[unclebunk]

Yesterday afternoon I went with the cheap stuff--Schlitz! I was in the mood for something cold and quenching and the Schlitz was lurking in the back of the beer fridge from the night of the All-Star game. Not bad at all, though I couldn't possibly tell you if it tastes of the Schlitz from years ago. Sometimes it's nice to have a beer that you don't have to think about too much. I might give Old Style a spin this weekend and will definitely be hitting the Miller High Life tomorrow night at the blues bar.

[smokinjoe]

I'm so with you on this, Hank. I recently picked up a 12 pack of Budweiser (I'll admit, I got it for July 4 because of the cool patriotic Red, White, and Blue Flag can decor. ), and enjoyed every last one of them. Sometimes, just drinking a simple beer can be a nice diversion.

[Gillman]

You guys should try Beck's, now brewed in the U.S. and much better as a result IMO (fresher, and I suspect not as intensively pasteurized). It has a rich clean taste that is satisfying and veers into but is not quite craft beer territory. Mine was from a green bottle taken from the back of the store refrigeration area and it was zero affected by light.

Gary

[unclebunk]

Remember the days when Beck's and Heineken were pretty much the only two premium import lagers people bought, long before micros and craft beers burst on the scene? Even Pilsner Urquell wasn't common back then, whereas the other two were always on hand when you wanted to step up a bit from your favorite local brew. Of course there were others (Grolsch, Lowenbrau, etc.) but over time I burned out on Beck's and Heineken and never came back to then. I like your suggestion though and a good bottle of Beck's might be just what the doctor ordered on hot day here in Chicago. I'm curious to see how it tastes after all these years, particularly if the flavor has improved as you noted. Thanks again!