What Beer are you drinking spring 2011

[cigarnv]

Founders Centennial.... very nice IPA.. well balanced, decent hops and malt.

[unclebunk]

Way too many bottles of Goose Island Honkers Ale last night. But it sure was fun when they were going down the hatch!

[DeanSheen]

Last night started right after dinner on the porch:

Session Red - Full Sail

Racer 5 - Bear Republic

Yeti Oak Aged Chocolate Stout - Great Divide

All good beers but that Yeti was really fun. The Oak and Chocolate bitterness took turns on the finish. That beer turned out really nice.

[craigthom]

Another "Best Beers" list:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/05/13/best-beers-summer/

The Best Beers of Summer

By Richard Goldsmith

Published May 13, 2011

| FoxNews.com

I have not tried any of them and don't know how available they are locally, other than

Dogfish Head products which I see all over.

The guy who wrote the article needs to look at a map. Of Three Floyds he wrote "Living in the middle of Indiana...". Munster is in the northwest corner of the state and is pretty much a southern suburb of Chicago.

[DeanSheen]

I just got back from a tasting event at a local distributor. It was mostly wine but there were about 25 different beers there to try so I spent a couple hours and picked through a few. I skipped all the Christian Moerlein as I’m not a big fan of their beers. I re-learned that I do not like Victory and out of the locals from Medina and Youngstown I would skip the Medina brewer (Bed Head) and probably try the Youngstown brewer (Rust Belt) again. My favorite were the West Coast (Rogue) followed by the Belgian (Ommegang), no surprise there based on what was on offer.

I typed up my tasting notes on this rainy day while enjoying a Jever and hoping that the Tribe would start. As for the reviews, you get what you pay for. My shorthand notes are as follows:

NG = Not Good, G = Good, B = Buy

Chatoe Rogue - OREgasmic – G,B, bomber, brewery grown hops. . Nice price at 5.99 retail.

Chatoe Rogue –First growth Creek Ale – G,B, bomber, made with cherries like a kriek, made with Rogues own first growth hops and barley, label has gps location of fields on it, mild cherry flavor, not real sour, a good summer beer. Nice price at 5.99 retail.

Ommegang + La Chouffe, Gnomegang – G, B, bomber, good stuff, banana, a Saision in mouth feel but different on the nose.

Ommegang – BPA – OK, like a light, less sweet Saision

Brooklyn Brewing – Summer Ale – OK, in cans, would work well in a pinch in the summer with the heat.

Rust Belt Brewing (Youngstown) – Rust Belt Stout – OK, not bad on entry, good first taste, quick and bitter finish.

Brouwerij Timmermans - Bourgone de Flanders

– OK, not real sour, a gateway for the style, watered down Duchesse de Bourgogne, no funk

Brouwerij Timmermans – Framboise – NG, raspberry, sweetened with sugar, flat, no finish, I prefer unsweetened of the style plus I like straight Gueze so sweetened Lambic style is not my thing.

Anderson Valley- Summer Solstice - NG ,In cans, flavored, nasty.

Mount Carmel - Springtime (Cincinnati)– NG,thin

Victory – Summer Love – NG, nose is of sweat and finish is of mildly sulpherous well water, stay away. Easily the worst thing I tried today.

Victory – Headwaters Pale Ale – NG, bland

Lagerheads Brewing Company and Smokehouse (Medina) – Bed Head Red - NG, thin, bland.

[smokinjoe]

I just got back from a tasting event at a local distributor. It was mostly wine but there were about 25 different beers there to try so I spent a couple hours and picked through a few. I skipped all the Christian Moerlein as I’m not a big fan of their beers. I re-learned that I do not like Victory and out of the locals from Medina and Youngstown I would skip the Medina brewer (Bed Head) and probably try the Youngstown brewer (Rust Belt) again. My favorite were the West Coast (Rogue) followed by the Belgian (Ommegang), no surprise there based on what was on offer.

I typed up my tasting notes on this rainy day while enjoying a Jever and hoping that the Tribe would start. As for the reviews, you get what you pay for. My shorthand notes are as follows:

NG = Not Good, G = Good, B = Buy

Chatoe Rogue - OREgasmic – G,B, bomber, brewery grown hops. . Nice price at 5.99 retail.

Chatoe Rogue –First growth Creek Ale – G,B, bomber, made with cherries like a kriek, made with Rogues own first growth hops and barley, label has gps location of fields on it, mild cherry flavor, not real sour, a good summer beer. Nice price at 5.99 retail.

Ommegang + La Chouffe, Gnomegang – G, B, bomber, good stuff, banana, a Saision in mouth feel but different on the nose.

Ommegang – BPA – OK, like a light, less sweet Saision

Brooklyn Brewing – Summer Ale – OK, in cans, would work well in a pinch in the summer with the heat.

Rust Belt Brewing (Youngstown) – Rust Belt Stout – OK, not bad on entry, good first taste, quick and bitter finish.

Brouwerij Timmermans - Bourgone de Flanders

– OK, not real sour, a gateway for the style, watered down Duchesse de Bourgogne, no funk

Brouwerij Timmermans – Framboise – NG, raspberry, sweetened with sugar, flat, no finish, I prefer unsweetened of the style plus I like straight Gueze so sweetened Lambic style is not my thing.

Anderson Valley- Summer Solstice - NG ,In cans, flavored, nasty.

Mount Carmel - Springtime (Cincinnati)– NG,thin

Victory – Summer Love – NG, nose is of sweat and finish is of mildly sulpherous well water, stay away. Easily the worst thing I tried today.

Victory – Headwaters Pale Ale – NG, bland

Lagerheads Brewing Company and Smokehouse (Medina) – Bed Head Red - NG, thin, bland.

[edo]

Brooklyn Lager. It says "pre-prohibition style" on the label.

I don't drink much beer these days, but this stuff is really tasty. This is the second time I've had it, and it really hits the spot. There was an international festival in Miyazaki yesterday. The American tent was selling this (and Anchor Steam) for about $5 a bottle, and donating all the proceeds to tsunami relief.

[unclebunk]

Brooklyn Lager. It says "pre-prohibition style" on the label.

I don't drink much beer these days, but this stuff is really tasty. This is the second time I've had it, and it really hits the spot. There was an international festival in Miyazaki yesterday. The American tent was selling this (and Anchor Steam) for about $5 a bottle, and donating all the proceeds to tsunami relief.

I've always enjoyed Brooklyn Lager and particularly like its malty character. If you get the chance, Brooklyn Brewery has other fine beers and its worth seeking out their Brown Ale and East India Pale Ale.

[moose]

Finished off the last of some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, really good stuff, had it on sale for <$1 per, so I picked it up a couple weeks back, really enjoyed them, had a lot more hope character than I'm used to for a pale ale, and not as cloyingly sweet as the last few pale ale's I've had have been. Will have to pick up some more soon, really went down well. Now I'm working on a Heineken, and I now remember why I hadn't had one in a while; really just not my kinda beer, just has that unique funk to it that I'm not always in the mood for.

[jcg9779]

You do mention in your original post that it isn't overly hoppy - it could have tasted bland to me because, even though I knew it wasn't too hoppy, I was still expecting that IPA profile to come through. I did buy two bombers at $2.99 each, so the price isn't too bad and I'll give the second one a try sometime in the next week. Maybe I'll have a different opinion now that I know what to expect.

[cigarnv]

Bell's Best Brown Ale.... IMO one of the better brown's..

[OscarV]

I had some crap beer today.

I met Josh AKA Josh as per his SB.com screen name, in Ypsilanti for bottle swapping and lunch.

We went to a place that had Schell's Firebrick Ale on tap.

I orderd it because I sell it to the bar.

It sucked, at first I thought it tasted like ginger ale but as it went down it tasted like seltzer, it looked like Killian's.

OK, so I am a pimp, I sell it to the bars for the cash.

I got my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

[ebo]

Great Lakes Bock and some Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

[moose]

Had a couple Hop Czar's from Bridgeport earlier, they were good, but I expected a little more hoppiness from them, especially because right next to them was the Bridgeport IPA, if this Hop Czar is their double IPA then their regular IPA maybe mighty bland. I come off as passing judgment I'm sure, but its just what I picked up on my initial sampling. I will revisit it later, but I was expecting a lot more hop notes and a little bit more bitterness.

In other news, I am still trying to soldier through a case of Heinekens, that I just can't seem to finish, just not my kinda beer.

[stevegoz]

Oh, there was beer. Had some Robert the Bruce and Gumballhead at the Three Floyds brewpub over dinner. Then returned home for a beer buffet that included some Tyranena Rocky's Revenge and Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' and Brown Shugga, then dessert in the form of Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Southern Tier Choklat Stout and Goose Island's Big John Stout.

[craigthom]

Finished off the last of some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, really good stuff, had it on sale for <$1 per, so I picked it up a couple weeks back, really enjoyed them, had a lot more hope character than I'm used to for a pale ale, and not as cloyingly sweet as the last few pale ale's I've had have been. Will have to pick up some more soon, really went down well. Now I'm working on a Heineken, and I now remember why I hadn't had one in a while; really just not my kinda beer, just has that unique funk to it that I'm not always in the mood for.

[craigthom]

Oh, there was beer. Had some Robert the Bruce and Gumballhead at the Three Floyds brewpub over dinner. Then returned home for a beer buffet that included some Tyranena Rocky's Revenge and Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' and Brown Shugga, then dessert in the form of Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Southern Tier Choklat Stout and Goose Island's Big John Stout.

[cigarnv]

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pil's.... not a great beer as it is quite light but very enjoyable on a warm spring afternoon....

[Gillman]

King Street, an Imperial Stout from Intuition Brewing in Jacksonville, FL. Sampled on draft in St. Augustine and a titan of a beer. It has a rich, authentic, strong London porter flavour. In my opinion, a fine porter or stout doesn't need coffee or chocolate; if made well, as this one is, it is sort of built into the taste (in a natural way). Not sure of the ABV on this one but it's up there.

Also, Jose Marti Porter (8% ABV) from Cigar City in Tampa, another rich, well-balanced strong porter.

There are old British roots in north Florida, does this explain the brewing of porters of such savour and authenticity?

Gary

[HP12]

Had a De Struise Black Damnation II - Mocha Bomb on tap the other day. Wow, talk about an exceptional beer! Went back the next day and killed their last 8-9 oz pour.

[jcg9779]

Founders Centennial today while grilling some burgers.

[stevegoz]

The night I first stopped by the Three Floyds brewpub I got a laugh when they asked why I can come there and I said "I was just driving by". I don't think anybody accidentally stumbles upon that place, especially at night.

No indeed -- but it's still easier to identify than the Two Brothers Tap House, which has no use for a sign. I don't know anyone who has found that place on first blush except on Hop Juice Fest day.:smiley_acbt:

[sutton]

The last of four bottles of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. One bottle had an overwhelming barnyard nose, similar to what you'd find in brett-infected red wine. The others had a nice vanilla, caramel nose and same notes on the finish.

____________

Mark

[unclebunk]

SNPA is still the standard by which American Pale Ales are measured. If you can get it on tap from a fresh keg the balance is almost magical.

The company has grown into one of the largest breweries in the country (still pretty far behind A-B, Miller, and Coors), but they still put the beer first, and they haven't stopped experimenting. I love those guys.

Haven't had a SNPA in quite a while but it used to be a real favorite, so I picked up a six pack today and look forward to revisiting it tonight. I think you hit on something really important when describing SNPA: balance! So many PA's and IPA's these days are so ridiculously out of whack that I find myself having trouble enjoying them. I like my hops as much as the next guy but any damned fool can over-hop a beer. So what? Give me a beer that blends hop qualities to achieve the correct balance of bitterness, floral aroma and fruitiness and I'll choose that any day of the week over most of the other "double IPA's" that are so common nowadays.

[jcg9779]

Double Dog Double Pale Ale tonight.