Favorite beer of choice?

[scottbtdmb]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

Took it back, and got the 2009 edition. Hopefully this one treats me better.

Nice! Let me know how the 2009 works out. I am still holding out on it since I still have to finish all the west coast stuff I got from dmbsignguy. I did make an exception tonight for the Mad Elf though. That is disappointing that the 2008 didn't turn out good for you. I have heard mixed reviews on aging Anchor OSA. Some people claim that even though the alcohol level isn't high enough to meet aging requirements, some of the spices used in the ale act as antioxidants and prevent the beer from oxidizing. On the other side of the coin, I heard a review from one guy that cellared a 2005 at the proper temperature in a cool, dark place, but when he went to try it, it was skunked. I would have to say with the 2008 though, the store probably left it out on their shelves and the sun got to it. If I get around to it, I will pick up a 2008 bottle just for kicks and see how my experience with it is. Happy drinking.

-Scott

[geoffc]

Depending on the season and what's available, Skinny Dip, 2 Below or Spring Board (all New Belgium seasonals). I'd have to put Odell's 90 Shilling up there. Light beer I go Coors Light, Mexican beer I prefer Dos Equis Lager.

[Bron Yr Aur]

Went to the Blind Pig and their new brewery bar in Champaign, IL on Thursday. They just started serving their own brews on Tuesday. Tried their English bitter, which was quite good. Great to taste some super-fresh, extremely small-batch beer.

Also had:
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barleywine
Rogue Mogul Madness on cask

They were featuring Rogue beers, it was a good night. The Mogul Madness was fantastic.

[dmaul1114]

Haven't had the Mogul Madness....will have to keep my eye out for it. Chocolate Stout is damn good. I didn't care for the Old Crustacean though. Found it too bitter for a barleywine. Weyerbacher Old Heathen is probably my favorite. Hair of the Dog Fred is damn good as well.

[Beefsteak1138]

Mad Elf this evening.

[scottbtdmb]

Originally Posted by Beefsteak1138

Mad Elf this evening.

Sweet! I had a nice little cheese and beer pairing tonight. Started off the session with Monks Cafe Flemish Sour (Oud Bruin) paired up with some fontina. The earthy flavor of the cheese went perfect with this particular style. Monks Flemish Sour is pretty stellar, but nothing beats having it on tap at the restaurant! Anyhow, I also had a Harveys Christmas Ale, which was kind of a cross between a barleywine and a winter warmer. I decided to forego pairing with cheese and had a snickerdoodle cookie with it instead. Good times!

-Scott

[Bron Yr Aur]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Haven't had the Mogul Madness....will have to keep my eye out for it. Chocolate Stout is damn good. I didn't care for the Old Crustacean though. Found it too bitter for a barleywine. Weyerbacher Old Heathen is probably my favorite. Hair of the Dog Fred is damn good as well.

I didn't think Old Crustacean was overly bitter on tap. Plus, a barleywine like that should have a strong hop presence, IMO.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by scottbtdmb

Monks Flemish Sour is pretty stellar, but nothing beats having it on tap at the restaurant!

I couldn't bring myself to try it when I was there a couple weeks ago. So much other great stuff on tap, and I've hated every Flemish I've tried. Just not into sours.

Originally Posted by Bron Yr Aur

I didn't think Old Crustacean was overly bitter on tap. Plus, a barleywine like that should have a strong hop presence, IMO.

I had it in bottle. Just didn't dig it--too bitter for my liking. I like my barleywines to be sweet with some hoppiness--Old Heathen, Hair of the Dog Fred, Lagunitas Gnarlywine etc. Stone Old Guardian is the only hoppier one I've liked at all.

[Tiduwho]

Drinking the Big Bear Black Stout by Bear Republic right now.


It's a good stout. Good. That's what I'd rate it. Nothing too spectacular, but $5.99/22 oz, so I'm good.

[Semper454]

Maredsous makes really tasty stuff. Both the Blonde and the Triple are excellent beers.

[Emanu]

Originally Posted by Semper454

Maredsous makes really tasty stuff. Both the Blonde and the Triple are excellent beers.

Agreed, but I still prefer the 8 Brown, its one of my favorites.

[scottbtdmb]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

Drinking the Big Bear Black Stout by Bear Republic right now.


It's a good stout. Good. That's what I'd rate it. Nothing too spectacular, but $5.99/22 oz, so I'm good.

jm
Agreed. For the money, you really can't beat it. Brooklyn BCS is 10 bucks a 4 pk and Ten Fidy went up to 16.99 a 4 pk!!! Stout lovers get no love this winter!

[Semper454]

Originally Posted by Emanu

Agreed, but I still prefer the 8 Brown, its one of my favorites.

I'll try to check that out. The local pub has Blonde on tap and Triple in bottles. Not sure about the Brown.

[scottbtdmb]

St. Bernadus Christmas Ale on deck for tonight with some pumpkin pie! Anyone had the Bernie Xmas Ale yet?

-Scott

[Tiduwho]

Originally Posted by scottbtdmb

St. Bernadus Christmas Ale on deck for tonight with some pumpkin pie! Anyone had the Bernie Xmas Ale yet?

-Scott

Let me know how it goes, I've got one upstairs right now.

[scottbtdmb]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

Let me know how it goes, I've got one upstairs right now.

LOL, we should have an online tasting

[dahpissah]

Sea Dog Blueberry

[Emanu]

I was trying to find that St. Bernadus Christmas Ale, but could not, but I found some other great brew, and with 3 different Pannepot.
http://thebeerinme.com/e107_files/pu...0_img_0867.jpg

[DrinkNoH2O]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

Let me know how it goes, I've got one upstairs right now.

Originally Posted by scottbtdmb

St. Bernadus Christmas Ale on deck for tonight with some pumpkin pie! Anyone had the Bernie Xmas Ale yet?

-Scott

Originally Posted by Emanu

I was trying to find that St. Bernadus Christmas Ale, but could not, but I found some other great brew, and with 3 different Pannepot.
http://thebeerinme.com/e107_files/pu...0_img_0867.jpg

I wish my local store had St. Bernardus XMas Ale, still haven't gotten it in yet. I picked up a Delirium Noel but haven't tried it yet.

On the home brewing front my Amber Ale should be just about done bottle conditioning... I'll give it a taste tomorrow night. If all is well a case of it goes into the fridge to chill/settle for a couple days in preparation for Thanksgiving. Can't hardly wait. Tonight I'll probably move my Cream Stout from the primary fermenter to a secondary carboy to age a few more weeks. Should be tasty by Christmas.

[scottbtdmb]

I never thought I would say this, but I was a little disappointed in the St Bernadus Christmas Ale. From the aroma, I was expecting a nice fruity dark Belgian ale with some extreme spice notes. Instead, the ale was dominated by the malt, while the spices were subdued, and it had a bread-like aftertaste that I didn't care for. I wouldn't necessarily say that this ale was bad, but it is certainly not at the top of my list for Xmas Ales. Especially in the Belgian Dark category, Corsendonk Christmas Ale pawns St. Bernadus Christmas Ale!!!

[Tiduwho]

Originally Posted by scottbtdmb

I never thought I would say this, but I was a little disappointed in the St Bernadus Christmas Ale. From the aroma, I was expecting a nice fruity dark Belgian ale with some extreme spice notes. Instead, the ale was dominated by the malt, while the spices were subdued, and it had a bread-like aftertaste that I didn't care for. I wouldn't necessarily say that this ale was bad, but it is certainly not at the top of my list for Xmas Ales. Especially in the Belgian Dark category, Corsendonk Christmas Ale pawns St. Bernadus Christmas Ale!!!

Hmmm....really wish I could find that Corsendonk, but I've never even seen it.

That's a little disappointing to hear, however, I know that I usually like bread-like aftertastes. I'm all about the Southern Tier Pumking.

I guess I'll wait and see. I'm probably going to save it for Christmas.

[Foreverford05]

Originally Posted by DrinkNoH2O

I wish my local store had St. Bernardus XMas Ale, still haven't gotten it in yet. I picked up a Delirium Noel but haven't tried it yet.

On the home brewing front my Amber Ale should be just about done bottle conditioning... I'll give it a taste tomorrow night. If all is well a case of it goes into the fridge to chill/settle for a couple days in preparation for Thanksgiving. Can't hardly wait. Tonight I'll probably move my Cream Stout from the primary fermenter to a secondary carboy to age a few more weeks. Should be tasty by Christmas.

I wish my store had freakin anything!! Not too many popular crafts down Harrisonburg way, unless you hit up some local breweries. What are some of yal's favorite that might be National?

[scottbtdmb]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

Hmmm....really wish I could find that Corsendonk, but I've never even seen it.

That's a little disappointing to hear, however, I know that I usually like bread-like aftertastes. I'm all about the Southern Tier Pumking.

I guess I'll wait and see. I'm probably going to save it for Christmas.

Yeah, you may still enjoy the Bernie. I think it is all about personal preference, but overall, it is still a very well crafted brew. Tonight I am going to drink a Anderson Valley Winter Solstice. I have heard good things about it and Anderson Valley usually puts out quality beer (i.e. Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout) so I am excited.

-Scott

[scottbtdmb]

Just finished that Anderson Valley and must say that it is a damn good Winter Warmer! Lots of Christmas spicy goodness and a fair amount of hops as well to appease the hop heads. I would wholeheartedly recommend it. Also, forgot to mention in my last post, but I picked up my Thanksgiving beer lineup today. Here is what I decided on.

Parents Dinner:
Dinner - Rochefort 8
Dessert - Anderson Valley Winter Solstice

Girlfriends Parent's Dinner
Dinner - Ommegang Hennepin
Dessert - Southern Tier Mokah

I think this is pretty solid. The Hennepin (saison) is supposedly the generic beer that is recommend for pairing with Thanksgiving dinner so I definitely wanted to see if it lives up to it's hype in that regard. The Anderson Valley is recommend in Don Russell's "Christmas Beer" book as being a nice compliment to pumpkin pie, which is always bountiful at my parent's Thanksgiving! The Rochefort 8 is recommended by the Bros over at Beeradvocate because the high alcohol content cuts nicely through the starches and fats that are abundant in a Thanksgiving Dinner. Finally, the Mokah was my experimental idea to pair with the second dessert since I am a coffee fan and have found regular mokah to go well with desserts. This is going to be fun indeed. Anyone else figure out their beer lineup for Thanksgiving?

-Scott

[Emanu]

I had this excellent Belgian Stout, Podge Belgian Imperial Stout. look at that head. wonderfull...
http://i49.tinypic.com/20ku45t.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/28jjxcg.jpg

[hoggdogg]

I don’t discriminate- I drink it all.
I grew up in Oregon, so I appreciate a good microbrew… but I also have much love for my diluted friends in a can like Bud Light and Miller for an all weekend drinking excursion.

[dmaul1114]

Yeah, the Podge Stout is pretty damn good.

[breckbrew]

Found out the local Wegman's sells a pretty good selection of 6-packs (Hooray for legal loop-holes!). Picked up some Mad Elf and Bell's Kalamazoo Stout. I was looking for a chocolate stout, but they were out of Brooklyn and Fort Collins. They did have Young's Double Chocolate; I might grab that next time.

[Beefsteak1138]

Both excellent choices.

[dMATTb]

Beer of the Month clubs...

anyone done them? like/dislike? good ones/bad ones?