Searched for this and found nothing, so I was more than happy to create this. Have been a huge craft beer fan for about two years (working in a liquor store definitely helps). This thread is for those of us that drink outside the box and enjoy a finely crafted brew with passion and thought put into it. In this thread please state what you are drinking and your thoughts, perhaps we will even implement a score system eventually! Maybe on a scale of 1-5, these are just my ideas for this very young idea. SOOOO here it goes!


Stone Brewing Co. 15 Year Anniversary, Escondidian Emperial Black IPA


Was a big fan of the 14th anniversary Emperial IPA, this is an excellent version of that. Not much information on the back besides a declaration from the Stone guys, but my guess is that this is aged in bourbon or some kind of spirit barrels due to the alcohol burn in the middle of the tasting. This lends to its 10.8 alcohol percentage. Great hop presentation on the nose, but would expect nothing less from the Stone guys. While the initial alcohol burn is prevalent it leaves with a great finish that almost reminds me of a porter.

For what they call an IPA this beer has some great qualities, and it's a great way to celebrate a 15th anniversary.

Rating: 5/5

 

None of you has lived till you drink portuguese beer.

 

Unfortunately I have only had what my store brings in, and a few local liquor stores. I have had the usual's from Germany and Mexico, but I have recently enjoyed a Zywiec Full, which is a pale lager. Figured if I was going to go out of my continental boundaries might as well hit on a heritage route.

Can you suggest some good breweries from Portugal? I would love to try them sometime if I can reach out to someone who has them.

 

The only beers worth drinking are European beers and micro brews. Gulden Draak is my favorite; at 10%, it'll knock you on your ass.

 

Completely agree with the micro-brew statement. At first I thought you were going to just say that European beers are the best, to which I would have rabbled, but you went my way in views   But yes micro-brews are amazing, and in fact they are growing momentum and strength. In the store that I work at I see a lot of people coming in and looking at micro-brews with curiosity and a sense of want. In a few years I will not be surprised if micro-brews come to rival the major companies. I saw a recent chart with the most popular breweries in America and Sierra Nevada trailed behind the big 3 (Miller, Coors, Anheuser Busch). So perhaps this a great sign of change.

Gulden Draak is on my to taste list. We just reorganized our European/Belgian Section so a lot of those beers are grouped together and more pronounced. I love that bottle and it's label, so that caught my eye and taste buds.

 

Currently I am forced to drink Red Bridge (an Anheuser Busch product) which is the only beer I know of besides obscure micro brews that is made from Sorghum and Gluten Free. It's really not that bad.

 

Does Root Beer count?

 

Redbridge is certainly the more popular gluten-free beer, but there is also New Grist, which is made by Lakefront Brewery, and St. Peters Sorghum Beer, which is made by ummm St. Peters. If you are looking for some alternatives try those out!

 

if there is an ABV on it then yes, if not, well then I hope it's at least Stewarts because that shit is delicious

 

August Schell Brewing Company: Since 1860

I've been drinking this lately. I'm a fan of Schell's brewery products.

 

Funny, I just picked up a bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale myself, it's made by Stone Brewing Co. too. I've never tried it before and am not much of a drinker to be honest, but I also ordered a bottle of Armida Winery's Poizin Zinfandel and I can't wait to pick it up. Think I'm gonna serve it up on halloween. I mostly drink Mike's Hard Lemonade if I drink anything, not big on drinking, so I don't know why I even bother.

 

I like arrogant bastard, but i am a fan of dark beer

smithwicks is also a good one im a fan of

 

BASS Ale is decent. I usually just end up with Sam Adams or Miller Lite though.

 

Awesome, A thread right up my ally 

My favorite beers now a days come from a small brewery up in Maine.

The Maine Beer Company. It's just 2 brothers doing what they love making great beer.
First is my Favorite The "Peeper Ale" - it's an unfiltered American Ale with a nice bronze color to it and a suprisingly smooth finish @6+% ABV it tastes more like a something in the 5% range.
Next they have the The "Zoe" - An unfiltered Amber Ale with lots of hops for hop lovers like myself. If I remember correctly this one is around 7%ABV and again is suprisingly smooth for a beer with a higher ABV.

Until recently these were only available in Maine. But have started showing up in some of the craft brew shops here in Massachusetts.

They have a couple other styles that I've yet to try and I believe all their brews are of the unfiltered variety. Would Highly recommend these to ANY beer lover!

Currently I'm drinking Sam Adams Octoberfest. My favorite brew from the Sam Adams line.

 

Awww yeah. I guess it is that time.

 

Arrogant Bastard = yummy yummy beer!

Haven't had a Bass in a long long time. Had 1 sip a while back and had an instant reminder of the time I drank about 20 of them at the bar and paid for it big time! 

 

MOst anything from Great Lakes here in the great state of Ohio.

Also recently had Heavy Seas Imperial Oktoberfest. Bueaitul amber color to it. Nice maltiness to it with nice hop flavors to balance it. I found that it was a bitttered a bit to agreesively for an Oktoberfest but overall it was not overly bitter. and 9%.

Not the most in depth review i know but i give it 4/5

 

I wasn't to impressed with the last october related beers last year. Had a Dogfish Head pumpkin ale and hated it, also tried the Jacks Pumpkin ale and wasn't to impressed. We have gotten a slew of them in my store so I'm going to give some a secod shot. Probably the River Horse Imperial Pumpkin (love the local guys), Smuttynose Pumpkin, and the Brooklyn Octoberfest. Got a lot on my to try list.

Anything you guys are looking forward to in the coming beer seasons?

 

Besides Sam Adams' Octoberfest? Not really. If I was going to get any Pumpkin Ale, it would be Buffalo Bill's though.

 

Had this stuff in Toronto and toured the brewery. Probably couldn't find it down here anywhere. Been way too long to really remember anything about the taste other than I really liked it!  



As far as anything else, nothing super fancy comes to mind... other than all the beers I drank while over in Germany... of which, I really can't remember any names off the top of my head. What a great review, huh?  

Edit: I like the idea of this thread! Hope to get some tips on good beers to try!