What Beers Are You Drinking These Days?

[Gillman]

Thanks and I'll say this, Anchor Steam is still the one to beat in SF.

I had it on draft at Tommy's Joynt (Geary and Van Ness, old-style bar with a vaguely Swiss or German motif now obscured by time and Americanisation).

Anchor Steam's flavour is best expressed on draft but the bottled one is good too especially I imagine in the Bay Area. Good to hear the San Francisco Brewing Company is still going strong, it is one of the early brewpubs in the U.S.

Gary

[jeff]

The SF brewing co was indeed going strong, though the building is aging and has the strange odor of decades of grease and lacquer The pulled-pork sandwich they served was even better than the beer :yum: We stopped in for lunch and a couple beers and then ran into the North Beach Jazz Festival just a little up the road in Washington Square. Sat in the lawn and listened to some good music. It was a really good day!

[robbyvirus]

Thanks and I'll say this, Anchor Steam is still the one to beat in SF.

I had it on draft at Tommy's Joynt (Geary and Van Ness, old-style bar with a vaguely Swiss or German motif now obscured by time and Americanisation).

Yes, Tommy's Joynt is still going strong. It's been there forever. A great place to go for a cold beer, and a heaping plate of sliced turkey and overcooked vegetables. A true San Francisco tradition!

[TimmyBoston]

I had some Bass Ale tonight. I had forgotten how much I like it.

[gothbat]

As always I've been drinking some of my favorite Belgian saison ale from Fantome. Unfortunately the store by me doesn't seem to be getting it in any more though and all they really have left is the Strange Ghost variety which I like but not nearly as much as others from this line. Some pics below. The first is the Strange Ghost I’ll drink tonight next to the Grolsch that I’m going to have with the steamers I’m about to cook up, next is Fantome Babillard which is the first Fantome I tried, unfortunately they don’t make it anymore. The label is the reason I tried it, the guy on it looks like me in weekend mode. Finally we have the Fantome I should be drinking now, Ete (which I assume means summer). Gonna have to talk to the beer guy next time I’m at the store.

[TnSquire]

I like High Life. How can you not like the Champagne of Beers?

[Ambernecter]

Nelson Mandela is Cockney slang for Stella (Artois) larger.

When I was in the British Army (Airborne) there was a T shirt that had a cartoon barmaid wearing a T Shirt saying "Free Nelson Mandela." The soldier in the cartoon said "I'll have 2 pints of Nelson Mandela please."

Not particularly funny, but years later when he was freed from jail the cartoon changed to the barmaid's T shirt saying "Nelson Mandela is free!"

The soldier of course ordered the 2 pints of Free Nelson Mandela - Genius!

I do drink Stella when out on the town and at 5% it is also lovingly referred to as "wifebeater!" I don't have a wife and do not condone domestic violence btw. As my father always tells me Stella is a huge export out of Belgium but none of the Belgians drink it!

[Gillman]

They used to drink it, when it had more taste. When I first went to Belgium 20 years ago Stella Artois was a tasty beer. It had a flowery hop nose and taste. Today it is much more bland. I think it was weakened in flavour (not abv) to appeal to a broader market. The strategy seems to have worked.

Gary

[Nebraska]

We have a semi-local small brewery (Spilker) that was putting out some mighty fine beers. They had "growlers" half gallon jugs that you brought back each time and exchanged for a new one.

My all time favorite was "Hopeluia" an unbelievably hoppy beer. For some insane reason they decided to put a stop to the growlers and put it in cans. Yuk.

[ratcheer]

They used to drink it, when it had more taste. When I first went to Belgium 20 years ago Stella Artois was a tasty beer. It had a flowery hop nose and taste. Today it is much more bland. I think it was weakened in flavour (not abv) to appeal to a broader market. The strategy seems to have worked.

Gary

The mass American brewers had been pursuing that strategy for about the past 30 years, but they finally went too far and are now gradually putting the flavor back - according to a Wall Street Journal article I read a few weeks ago.

Tim

[CrispyCritter]

As my father always tells me Stella is a huge export out of Belgium but none of the Belgians drink it!

LOL! Sort of like the word on the street that few Australians drink Foster's.

Funny thing is, my sister absolutely loves Stella Artois - and she first encountered it when she was in England.

As for me, my favorite Belgian beer is Chimay Blue Label. However, it's not something that I drink often.

[Gillman]

Well, the good part is such beers provide a bridge to more flavourful ones (for those who continue). I saw the other day some people drinking draft Hoegaarden, which used to be a tiny brewery in Belgium and now is owned by InBev (formerly Interbrew) and internationally distributed. I never thought this would ever happen, so mass taste is (slowly) changing and as Tim says there is a swing back to products with flavour. The microbrewery renaissance showed that. I always felt if, say Budweiser and Michelob were brewed to something approaching their original American specs people would welcome the change. I think the part of the beer world that wants a bland taste would stick with a light beer or one of the mass market imports (say Corona).

Gary

[TimmyBoston]

Lately, I've been drinking Anchor Porter. I like it as much as any beer I've been drinking lately. It has a chocolate creaminess that blends really well with food. Has anyone had any of the other Anchor products? Do you have a recommendations?

Also I picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head's 120 minute IPA, I haven't opened it, has anyone had it so I know what to expect?, other than a helluva lotta hops, I do know that much. Also any glassware recommendations? I've had the 90 minute from a snifter, but it's too sweet IMO, but from another glass it's resplendent. But the it has a 90 ibu rating as opposed to the 120's 120 ibu rating, so that glass may work very well and the alcohol is 20%.

Thanks much.

[jeff]

Lately, I've been drinking Anchor Porter. I like it as much as any beer I've been drinking lately. It has a chocolate creaminess that blends really well with food. Has anyone had any of the other Anchor products? Do you have a recommendations?

Also I picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head's 120 minute IPA, I haven't opened it, has anyone had it so I know what to expect?, other than a helluva lotta hops, I do know that much. Also any glassware recommendations? I've had the 90 minute from a snifter, but it's too sweet IMO, but from another glass it's resplendent. But the it has a 90 ibu rating as opposed to the 120's 120 ibu rating, so that glass may work very well and the alcohol is 20%.

Thanks much.

I picked up a sixer of Anchor's Liberty Ale for the first time. I'm really enjoying it. Crisp with just the right balance of hops and malt for me. FWIW, I think the dogfish head IPAs have become sweeter over the last couple years. I have not had the 120, but the 60 and 90 are too sweet for me anymore and the hops are very understated for an american-style IPA, IMHO. Maybe you'll have better luck with the 120.

[Gillman]

Liberty Ale was the first modern craft American IPA. Fritz Maytag used a large amount of North West hops to reproduce an old British IPA beer and created something different and much emulated by later brewers.

I like this kind of beer style when served well-chilled. I remember trying emerging examples in California in the early years of the craft brew renaissance. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was one, still very much around and there are many others. I still associate the taste with windy ocean-side cafes (an orangey, grapefruit-like taste).

By the way, Fritz Maytag was kind enough to reply to a note I sent Anchor about the Hostalings single malt whiskey (made from all-malted rye). He said no juniper or other flavorings were added and the flavors in the whiskey are solely the result of its extended maturation in non-charred oak.

The original Dutch genever, a low-proof distillate made from a mainly-rye mash, had (and some still does) a marked juniper taste. However this is because juniper was added. I am now wondering if pot still rye whiskey which is long aged in non-charred wood typically acquires a juniper-like scent. If it does, this may explain why juniper was added to young rye spirit (to emulate the effects of long aging). Until the Hostalings was made available, no one knew what low-proof rye whisky long aged in non-charred wood would taste like. (Lot 40 is a partial exception, and indeed it bears some resemblances to Hostalings but does not really taste juniper-like). Now we know and it may shed light on the early development of genever gin. Sorry to interpolate this note about whiskey in a beer thread but Anchor is the link!

Gary

[MTBottle]

Today, I went to the liquor store and come home with a few microbrews. I bought an Anchor Porter, Dogfish Head Brewery 60-minute IPA, Dogfish 120-minute IPA, and a Stone Ruination IPA. As you can probably tell I am a huge fan of IPA's. What beers are you all drinking, out there these days? I love beer and I love whiskey, but I'm curous about the beers you are enjoying. Maybe I can get some good tips.

Those are some of my favorites, especially the 120. My current inventory of beers (and I'd recommend any one of them) are:

Victory Prima Pils, and Old Horizontal

Weyerbacher Heresy, and Double Simcoe IPA

Dogfish Immort Ale, and 90 Minute IPA

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006

Thomas Hardy 2004

Dominion Oak Barrel Stout, and Ale

Great Lakes Locktender Lager

Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale

Mark

[nor02lei]

Those are some of my favorites, especially the 120. My current inventory of beers (and I'd recommend any one of them) are:

Victory Prima Pils, and Old Horizontal

Weyerbacher Heresy, and Double Simcoe IPA

Dogfish Immort Ale, and 90 Minute IPA

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006

Thomas Hardy 2004

Dominion Oak Barrel Stout, and Ale

Great Lakes Locktender Lager

Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale

Mark

Mark,

The 2006 Bigfoot did hit Sweden 2 weeks ago. 720 bottles all together and only sold in our 3 biggest cities for about 5 USD a peas. Its not an easy task to be an American beer freak in Sweden.

Leif

[MTBottle]

Mark,

The 2006 Bigfoot did hit Sweden 2 weeks ago. 720 bottles all together and only sold in our 3 biggest cities for about 5 USD a peas. Its not an easy task to be an American beer freak in Sweden.

Leif

Leif, If you like Bigfoot and haven't tried the 2006 yet, try to buy some, I think it's the best one I've tasted since the first one I tried in 1999. That price isn't too bad...the couple of times I was fortunate enough to find it on tap here in Pennsylvania, I paid about $5 a glass. But the few cases I've have cellared were a much better price...about $40 per case of 24 bottles.

Mark

[chasking]

My homebrewing club recently brewed up a bourbon porter. We used a porter kit from Northern Brewer and added about 500 ml of Maker's Mark to the fermenter. Damn, it's good! Except that it could have used a little more bourbon! When we cracked open the first bottles, I splashed in a little more Maker's and the result was really quite tasty. The beer and whiskey flavors melded well and complemented each other.

We quickly resolved to brew another batch---I'm hoping to try a rye-based bourbon this time. Although the Maker's Mark was certainly good, I think this is a use in which a lower-tier bourbon would be just fine---the harshness generally associated with such spirits would be dissipated in the beer, but the bourbon character would still come through. The subtleties of a higher-end bourbon would also, I would think, get lost mixed with a robust beer like a porter. So, I'm going to lobby for Ten High.

Anybody else made bourbon-spiked beer? What bourbon(s) did you use?

[barturtle]

Interesting thought, though I don't brew. I would have never thought of adding the bourbon at the start of the ferment. The higher initial alcohol content seems like it would lead to a sweeter brew as the yeast would die off before the sugars had all been reduced to the normal level.

Thinking back to the orange-bourbon thread, how would this work in a belgian style wheat beer?

[Sijan]

Drank a fair amount of Shiner Bock when I was on my Texas tour. Was pretty good for what it is - basically available like a macro brew in most places in TX.

Drank a lot of Fat Tire on my trip, and was also very pleasantly surprised by New Belgium's 1554 Black Ale. Very good stuff - definitely a favorite of mine.

I also tried Yeti Imperial Stout and despite the online raves was not to thrilled by it - way too hoppy for a stout IMO. The flavors just didn't mesh well at all.

Had a few Lambic beers with my girlfriend at the Alamo Draft House - that's about the only beer she'll drink. They were the standard brand - Framboise, or whatever it is. Peach & Raspberry. Liked them both, the nose of the raspberry was great, but I think I could drink more of the peach.

[nor02lei]

Leif, If you like Bigfoot and haven't tried the 2006 yet, try to buy some, I think it's the best one I've tasted since the first one I tried in 1999. That price isn't too bad...the couple of times I was fortunate enough to find it on tap here in Pennsylvania, I paid about $5 a glass. But the few cases I've have cellared were a much better price...about $40 per case of 24 bottles.

Mark

Mark,

Believe it or not I have had Bigfoot on tap in Sweden as well. Not in any bar though but at Stockholm whisky and beer festival. 40 buck for 24 bottles seems like real nice price for a beer of that calibre.

Leif

[Powertrip]

Out here in San Francisco I drink a lot of Anchor Steam. All their beers are great...Anchor Steam, Liberty Ale, Anchor Small Beer, Anchor Bock. I also drink cheap Mexican beer in cans, like Tecate or Modelo...great for a hot day.

Anchor Steam. Always been one of my favorites! Thank goodness they import it to Canada!

[Powertrip]

Oh oh...people I just tried a real gooder. Lip smacking good.

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout.

It is so delicate and suttle yet covers the palate in flavor. Get out there and try it...yikes its good!

[Barrel_Proof]

Enjoying a 90 Minute Imperial IPA tonight, in honor of Bobby's birthday.