What beer are you drinking? Winter 12/13

[squire]

I can't tell the imports apart either, except when compared to the domestics.

[MyOldKyDram]

Trying an Avery Maharaja for the first time. Really nice.

[AaronWF]

I happened to walk into the Twisted Spoke the other night for some take-out dinner and asked the bartender what bourbon barrel-aged beer they had. He drew a blank for a minute then quickly recovered and brought out a pitcher of beer from the cellar-temp fridge. This is what they had:

Against the Grain/De Molen collaboration Bo & Luke

This is a smoked imperial stout aged in Pappy 23 barrels. BOOM! Poured from a pitcher into basically a large rocks glass, there was barely any carbonation, looked like black coffee and smelled like vanilla bourbon coffee. The smoked aspect is just perfectly placed, nicely emphasized and integrated, and moves out of the way just in time for the deeply oaked vanilla to bring a sweet, boozy kick to the chocolately malt. It was damn near perfect and completely ruined me to any other beer for the rest of the night.

I compare all BBA stouts to BCBS, and with the exception of a few fleeting tastes at FoBAB (barrel-aged Ten Fidy, yes please!), nothing has come close until this stuff. It's a big beer, but not so big that I didn't go back for seconds, and time permitting, would probably have gone back for thirds, fourths... fifths? I shouldn't even have written this out because now I'm jonesing big time!

[MyOldKyDram]

AtG puts out some really nice stuff and yeah, the Bo and Luke is awesome.

[Clavius]

Back to the Sierra Nevada 2012 Celebration Ale. I'll run out of this eventually...

[P&MLiquorsEric]

We routinely have 2 ATG beers on tap for growler fills at my store. I know those guys well. They rarely brew the same beer twice. Bo&Luke is unbelievable, truly a world class barrel aged beer.

I had a dark horse plead the fifth imperial stout. Would love to try the barrel aged version.

[johnm13]

3F dreddnaught. Very good

[HighInTheMtns]

We routinely have 2 ATG beers on tap for growler fills at my store. I know those guys well. They rarely brew the same beer twice. Bo&Luke is unbelievable, truly a world class barrel aged beer.

I had a dark horse plead the fifth imperial stout. Would love to try the barrel aged version.

If you manage to have some of the Bo & Luke on tap during Sampler weekend I would definitely make the trip over from Bardstown, I imagine that a couple growlers of that would go over pretty well at the cookout.

[MyOldKyDram]

Oh good idea. It's routinely available in Lex, so I'll keep an eye out as well.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Will see what I can do when next batch is released. Since its a colab with de molen, much if it heads overseas. Not to mention its a beer they would prefer to see served by the drink. If I did get it on tap, it would be a 1/6bbl and I would have to limit it to 1 fill per person.

[HighInTheMtns]

Will see what I can do when next batch is released. Since its a colab with de molen, much if it heads overseas. Not to mention its a beer they would prefer to see served by the drink. If I did get it on tap, it would be a 1/6bbl and I would have to limit it to 1 fill per person.

Hmmmmmm.... maybe you could just bring the 1/6bbl keg to the Sampler cookout ;-) No better folks to drink it by the drink than the SB.com crowd, after all.

Edited March 20, 2013 by HighInTheMtns

[stevegoz]

Went to a fantastic tasting Tuesday eve at a local gourmet market -- they had a tap takeover featuring six beers from Chicago's three-year-old Revolution Brewing Company. They offered a nice flight of all six (4 ounces or so of each), which were the Moby The Great White Ale (a nice new wit); Samadhi Double IPA; Mean Gene, a BBA version of their Eugene Porter; Bean Gene, a BBA version of their Eugene Porter with coffee; Straight Jacket, a BBA version of their Institutionalized barleywine; and the Third-Year, a barleywine aged in rum barrels. I pretty much preferred them in the order listed, though Bean Gene may have been the overall winner for the evening. The Genes may have also been the first barrel-aged porters to really wow me.

I love drinking local!

[stiffchainey]

I stand corrected. My beer experience is from the American craft scene and mostly Belgians on the import side. German styles tend to get the cold shoulder in favor of hybrid styles. To relate it to wine, the German/English styles are old world where most American craft breweries are firmly new world.

I know. I have tasted different craft beers, as it is getting popular here in Germany, too. They had beers with nut or coffee flavour. Not my thing. Why? When I want to drink a beer, I want to drink a beer, that tastes like beer. I mean, I do not dislike this stuff, and after all, there was a big craft scene in Germany before the Purity Law (Beer with herbs and fruits had a long tradition here), but you are totally right, most Germans and most german breweries are conservative as hell, and I like it this way. The hybrid styles are not for my, beer and bourbon-wise I am totally oldschool.

PS: We do have a lot of small breweries with an own recipe of brewing beer, (like this one directly in my hometown: http://www.siegburger-brauhaus.de/), which you could label "craft beer", but they would never label themselves like this.

Edited March 20, 2013 by stiffchainey

[squire]

Sven you're fortunate to live in a place with such a tradition of highest quality brewing.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

I know. I have tasted different craft beers, as it is getting popular here in Germany, too. They had beers with nut or coffee flavour. Not my thing. Why? When I want to drink a beer, I want to drink a beer, that tastes like beer. I mean, I do not dislike this stuff, and after all, there was a big craft scene in Germany before the Purity Law (Beer with herbs and fruits had a long tradition here), but you are totally right, most Germans and most german breweries are conservative as hell, and I like it this way. The hybrid styles are not for my, beer and bourbon-wise I am totally oldschool.

PS: We do have a lot of small breweries with an own recipe of brewing beer, (like this one directly in my hometown: http://www.siegburger-brauhaus.de/), which you could label "craft beer", but they would never label themselves like this.

The history of beers in the US vs Germany are quite different. The big boys have ruled american brewing for 75 years. They have done everything to keep beer boring (and have been successful until the last 15 years).

My understanding is that beer in germany is still very regional. You drink what is made close to you even if what is made close is very similar to what is made on the other side of the country. From afar I picture a huge "tastes great vs less filling" commercial except with more players than just Bud/Miller.

I still enjoy my bourbon neat and the way it was when it came out of the barrel. I am not a fan of the different finishes and methods of quicker aging (staves etc). I also rarely drink the same bourbon two nights in a row. But i love innovation in beer.

I guess thats why I am such a big fan of Against the Grain since they rarely brew the same beer twice. They stay within some set "styles" (Session, malt, hop, dark, smoke plus whim and experimental). There are some places that get quite gimmicky and call it innovation (Dogfish Im looking at you)..

[stevegoz]

I guess thats why I am such a big fan of Against the Grain since they rarely brew the same beer twice. They stay within some set "styles" (Session, malt, hop, dark, smoke plus whim and experimental). There are some places that get quite gimmicky and call it innovation (Dogfish Im looking at you)..

There seem to be two competing mindsets among beer enthusiasts. There's a camp that has an idealized version of a particular beer style in mind and then judges a specific beer according to how well it matches the criteria for this style. And there's another that's more interested in just how far off the range a brewery can take a beer -- not necessarily through gimmickry, though there's certainly some of that, but just through using particular hop and malt varieties in different proportions to head toward "extreme" territory.

The former seems to me more about craft (trying to "nail" a particular style) while the ladder seems more about art (going off into some interesting and, yes, potentially offputting places). I certainly appreciate the craft, but I'm definitely more intrigued by the art.

[stiffchainey]

The history of beers in the US vs Germany are quite different. The big boys have ruled american brewing for 75 years. They have done everything to keep beer boring (and have been successful until the last 15 years).

My understanding is that beer in germany is still very regional. You drink what is made close to you even if what is made close is very similar to what is made on the other side of the country. From afar I picture a huge "tastes great vs less filling" commercial except with more players than just Bud/Miller.

I still enjoy my bourbon neat and the way it was when it came out of the barrel. I am not a fan of the different finishes and methods of quicker aging (staves etc). I also rarely drink the same bourbon two nights in a row. But i love innovation in beer.

I guess thats why I am such a big fan of Against the Grain since they rarely brew the same beer twice. They stay within some set "styles" (Session, malt, hop, dark, smoke plus whim and experimental). There are some places that get quite gimmicky and call it innovation (Dogfish Im looking at you)..

I'm not one of these dudes that stay just by there national beers. I really like to taste different stuff. I love polish, cech beers, belgian beers, spanish, and the US stuff too, but it is very hard to get here. In Germany you can buy beers (in a good supermarket) from all regions. The wheat-beers from Bavaria are common nationwide, just for an example. But, yes, there are some specials that are brewed just regionally, and they stay regionally, mostly. Like the breweries in small towns, like in the link I posted in the answer before: It is a city of 35 000 population and has a brewery that produces 5 different beers. I'm not against craft beer. I understand "craft beer" more as a movement against big mainstream breweries, different styles, even very old styles of beer. I just can't understand these experiments. Why has a beer to taste like coffee? I just don't get it ;-)

My knowledge about bourbon isn't very deep, I have to admit. It is hard to find a decent store that sells more than OGD, and all books about the theme are written in english, which is hard to read. Plus bourbon isn't big in Germany, they all drink Single Malts because they think it is super-individualistic and fancy. But I do have a certain idea about drinking bourbon, and I think this has to be ( I admit this quite frankly) very cliche. It's almost like a mindset, and I do think more about the choice of bourbon, than I think about beer.

This is the main reason, why I'm here on this site: Learn about different things, gettin' knowledge, stay opend minded. Great!

[unclebunk]

Kölsch has a lot of variations. Reißdorf, Peters and Mühlen are more on the sweeter side, whereas Gaffel, Gilden, Sion are more on the stronger side (taste-wise). I mean, there are so much different Kölsch-brands, and they do taste differently. I mean, yes, you can actually distinguish a Kölsch from an Alt, but I personally can distinguish the different brands from each other. Plus, it is a big difference, if you drink from tap or "Pittermännche" (which is a 5 liter ceg), or from a bottle. Really a big difference! You need to drink it from the original 0.2 l "Stangen", the small glasses. This is the real thing.

PS: My fave Kölsch is Peters. Sold in small 0.33 l bottles, really good stuff. But here is a brewery in Cologne, like a micro-brewery, and they do Kölsch the really traditional style, plus the kitchen is original "rheinisch", lots of very delicious stuff. If you ever visit Cologne, this is a must see:

http://www.paeffgen-koelsch.de/

It is right in the old red light district, easy access.

The first Kolsch I ever had was Reissdorf and I still love it. A German friend gave me a set of the small glasses too which I still use all the time. They are quite unusual by American standards and very nice for beer drinking. I honestly don't see many German-made Kolsch beers on the American market but hope to try Peters some day.

[thiemb]

Starting off the night with some Dogfish Head 90 minute IIPA with dinner.

[DaveOfAtl]

In an IPA mood myself. 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA. Great beer and one of the best looking cans I've seen.

[HP12]

Keeping the IPA train rolling...Nugget Nectar tonight. Malty, citrus, sweet bitter goodness.

[HighInTheMtns]

I'll join in. A Uinta Hop Notch IPA, newly available in cans. Straight from the brewery and very fresh. May every beer be available in cans someday.

[black mamba]

I'm usually in an IPA mood, my favorites being Sam Adams Lattitude 48 and, if I'm going all out, Southern Tier's Unearthly Pale Ale.

[smokinjoe]

Tradition dictates Mrssmokinjoe and I head out for lunch on the opening Thursday of the NCAA tourney. So sitting here watching NCAA's and working my first Mother Earth Dk Cloud Dunkle. Mich ST and Valpo tied 8-8. Love this opening weekend!

[P&MLiquorsEric]

I think I will bring home a Struise Pannepot tonight. Might follow it up with a Great Lakes Alchemy Hour...