What Beers Are You Drinking These Days?

[CrispyCritter]

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout.

That sounds downright scary, especially for a chocoholic like me.

Note that, as far as stout goes, I prefer Murphy's to Guiness.

[Joeluka]

That sounds downright scary, especially for a chocoholic like me.

Note that, as far as stout goes, I prefer Murphy's to Guiness.

Those are good stouts but you should try Victory's Storm King Stout, North Coast's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, and any of Rouge's Stouts. They will jsut warm you right up.

[Big Chipper]

Anchor Old Foghorn barleywine ale...good, good stuff!

[cowdery]

If one must drink a pilsner, there is only one (at least, only one that is readily available at Jewel): Pilsner Urquell.

[Gillman]

I recommend the canned version which arrives very fresh in North America. The best-by date (on underside of can) by my interpretation is 9 months after production. We get them here as early as two months after production. That is pretty fresh. The product takes to the canning very well. When fresh it never has a hint of any faults. Although I know people who swear by the bottled one I am always slightly mistrustful of the green bottle. In my experience they are susceptible to being light-struck (a fault in which light causes a photosynthetical reaction in the hops and an off-flavor occurs). Fresh Urquel in the bottle won't generally have the fault but I prefer the canned one. Urquel is available on draft too but I'd rather have a fresh can (less chance of a mishandled keg or poor draught service). Very fine beer which has a micro brewery-like taste, the spiciness of Saaz hops and the sweetness of Czech malting barley are in perfect union.

Gary

[ratcheer]

If one must drink a pilsner, there is only one (at least, only one that is readily available at Jewel): Pilsner Urquell.

That used to be one of my favorites, too. It is so expensive here, now, that I can no longer bear to buy it.

Supposedly, it has been brewed using the same continuous yeast culture for over 1300 years, which has been carefully protected through many major wars and other upheavals.

Tim

[Powertrip]

That sounds downright scary, especially for a chocoholic like me.

Tell me about it. I'm not a big fan of sugary beers but this was delicious cocca and that's it, the sugar was nominal.

[Powertrip]

Anchor Old Foghorn barleywine ale...good, good stuff!

I'm starting to really enjoy barleywine beers. A local one made by Alley Cat here in Canada is quite good as well....want to try and taste as many as I can!

[Gillman]

Brewing does go back millenia in the Bohemian and other German-influenced Central and Eastern lands (of course in England too, etc.).

However the creation of Czech pilsener beer can be dated quite precisely to the 1840's - pils beer is a newb in the beer world, that is.

Bohemians wanted to improve their beer and the malting barley which was at its core. A German brewer was brought to Pilsen to help brew an improved beer. He came up uniquely with a light-kilned malt and the light-coloured Czech pils was born. Before that the beers were dark in color, as they were in Munich until the 1920's when the rage for Pilsener and its derivatives (which went around the world not least in the U.S.) impelled the Bavarians to develop a Helles (light-coloured) beer.

That is as far as the color goes. Lager beer is (dark or light) bottom-fermented and that style of beer was known for hundreds of years before Pilsener was invented (i.e., Urquel is a light-colored offshoot of dark, bottom-fermented lager). Its use was facilitated by storing the beer in cold caves in Germany and by brewing in the colder parts of the year.

With the onset of mechanical refrigeration in the later 1800's, this gave lager beer a huge push. It enabled its methodical, reliable production. Well, Pasteur helped too, also later in the 1800's.

The styles of Czech beer that existed before Pilsener were probably dark lagers (they still survive there, after a fashion) and top-fermented wheat beers, which may also survive here and there in the East but did better in Germany and Belgium and have resurged in recent decades. Probably too the old ambient-brewed and stored top-fermented ales were common in parts of the German east. Those ales had the fruity tang of a top-ferment beer, and they still do. Victorian England stuck with the old ales but the Germans (mostly, not entirely) ditched them for the new improved lager beer of which the star was pioneered in Germanic-influenced Bohemia.

It's as if someone decided today to invent a new and improved bourbon and it took off like a rocket - that is what Urquel beer was like in the 1840's..

Gary

[barturtle]

This time period (1840s) also happens to correlate quite nicely with the advent of pressed glass(1827). It would take a few years for the process to become widespread. The old dark and sometimes murky looking ales, while tasting fine, were always hidden in a stein.

The spead of cheap glass mugs and glasses suddenly showed how ugly these beers were. The new pilsner absolutely sparkled in the glass.

[barturtle]

Right now as I type this,I am sitting in Rogue's southern-most public house, in San Francisco, enjoying a Santa's on draft.

[SBOmarc]

Fat Tire, Heineken Light, New Castle and Stella Artois.

[T47]

Elysian Brewery ESB, called The Wise. This is the best bottled beer I have had. I also had their ISP The Immortal, which I enjoyed but did not find it as remarkable.

This is their web site.

[melting]

Samuel Adams winter lager, what else really living here near Boston Massachusets. Mixed in is some Wachusett Country Ale done up by a brewer one town over from me. It's a little expensive at $24.99 a case but it supports the local guys.

Chris

[ratcheer]

Tonight, I had a Pete's Wicked Ale. Very tasty!

Tim

[Joeluka]

Brooklyn's Monster Ale and Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. I also spent some time with Stone's Double Bastard Ale and their "Oaked" Arrogant Bastard (they put the OAB in sixers this year:bigeyes: )

[cowdery]

Stella (a new favorite) and Pilsner Urquell (an old one). Despite the admitted appeal of ales, I seem to have a soft spot for well-hopped pilsners.

[jeff]

Leslie and I were in Chicago this past weekend and had a few beers at Rock Bottom and Goose Island. Both were nice with good food, but Rock Bottom has the better beer. Their winter beer is dark and very hoppy (and very good) and the oatmeal stout is exceptional. They have several bourbon-aged beers, a stout, a brown, a porter and a coffee porter. I tasted the porter and, while good, I think they over did it just a touch with the bourbon barrel. Highly recommeneded.

[Whiskey Willie]

With winter coming on, the stock on Bell's Kalamazoo Stout is in, as well as the ole stand-by Samuel Adams Boston Ale.

[nor02lei]

I drink Oppigårdens winter ale. It is from a microbrewery 40 km from my home. They only brew this beer for Christmas. It is a small business and the owner still work part time at his regular work.

Leif

[OscarV]

Grolsch

It was such an expceptional day today, weather wise that is, lots of sun and above normal temps, so I felt like a beer.

I picked up a 6 pack of Grolsch. I like to pour it in a glass and smell.

It is filling, but I have room today.

[ratcheer]

Grolsch

It was such an expceptional day today, weather wise that is, lots of sun and above normal temps, so I felt like a beer.

I picked up a 6 pack of Grolsch. I like to pour it in a glass and smell.

It is filling, but I have room today.

I used to buy Grolsch, back in the day. Does it still have that complex stopper with wire thing? I haven't had it in a long time, but I remember always enjoying it.

Tim

[SBOmarc]

"Oil Can" Foster's...and some brats with cabbage.

[cowdery]

I like Grolsch too, probably my favorite Dutch beer and what I generally will drink when there (what I smoke is another matter). It wasn't that long ago that the "complex stopper with wire" thing was the only way Grolsch came, but now I more generally see it with normal caps. However, Binny's and a few other places have the biggies (what are they, 1 L, I guess?) and they still have the thingie.

[smokinjoe]

Loaded up today for the Holidays today with: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Celabrator Doppelbock, Sweetwater 420 Ale, and Good ol Budweiser. The first three are awesome brews that I've been drinking regularly for the last month or so. I'm a regular Bud drinker, but I become even more attached to them during the Holidays, because I can't resist the special Holiday packaging on the carton. A harbinger of the Season for me, is the several years old Clydesdales tromping through the snow TV commercial. Which reminds me, I don't recall seeing the equally as old, good and similar Miller Holiday commercial. Is it still shown?

Cheers!

JOE