Craft Beers

Like promised, here is a thread for discussing and recommending craft beers so myself, Reclis, and others can more easily track the topic in one thread and I won't feel bad that I am hijacking the general what booze do you like thread.

For those with smartphones or browser capable phones, something my gf and I like to do is look up beer reviews on the internet for beers we have not heard of - even when it is from a company we normally enjoy their output.  There are a number of quality sites out there, but www.beeradvocate.com is the one I find most reliable (as an aside, for any gin drinkers, my favorite site for that is theginisin.com).

Something else you could do is - if the bar you are going to publishes their draft list on their website (and actually maintains it), you can pre-game by looking up some beers to sample first - then you can avoid the situation I usually have, which is that I am asked for my order before I am done looking up what I want to sample and wind up with a staple for my first beer instead of finishing on a staple like I usually do (most often this happens at a bar called The Sharp Edge, which is my favorite haunt, they specialize in Belgians and crafts and I wind up drinking a lot of Grimbergens [deeeelish]).

Something I think I will start doing is trying to remember to keep a record of the beers I drink. For my own reference (geesh, did I try this one before, what did I think of it?) and also to be able to discuss them more intellegently with others. This week I have been visiting my gf's family in Allentown, PA and we have bought some cases of some interesting stuff. Beers tried so far this week: Yards Variety Pack: Yards is located in Philadelphia - so hooray for local quality beers. I tried 3 bottles from this one: Brawler - this was a British style ale. It claims on the bottle to be modeled after British bitters (and I love me a good bitter), but it did not come through to me that way. It had that wonderful creaminess that I adore from many beers from the UK (for a good example of readily available UK creamy pub ales that are widely imported to the US try Boddington's). It also had a medium hoppiness with pleasant floral tones that filled your mouth but did not overwhelm. I am not a big fan of super hoppy beers, but I like the medium and milder IPAs, and this was a nice mixture of styles that was reminiscent of this. I want to try this again sometime. The 1.5 I had was not enough (I split the last one with my gf, who also really liked it [she is a big time IPA and hoppy beer drinker, but our tastes do cross]). Yards India Pale Ale (IPA) - This was a nice quality IPA. Not too strong for me. Nice and flowery. Good aftertaste that lingered as it slowly left the mouth. It was bitter at first and left a sweetness as it went down and the floral notes were more noticeable. A solid beer. Not a favorite, but solid, and not one I would ever reject. Extra Special Ale - The bottle told the tale of this being the first beer that the Yards ever brewed and its local popularity caused them to start an actual brewery. There was nothing extra special about it to me. It was certainly better than most pale ales (I am not a pale ale fan), but it was not for me. It has a very slight hops flavor to it with some richer flavors that did not quite reach me. Maybe some mocha or chocolate. It was a bit too well balanced. We got a Sly Fox variety pack. I have not had any of these yet. However, I generally can recommend most beers from Sly Fox as being slightly above average to absolutely amazing depending on the particular brew. Two different beers from Oskar Blues Brewing Co. Their Old Chubb is a Scotch style ale and one of my absolute favorite beers in general, and you cannot go wrong with anything by them. We got cases of two different beers from them this time, which were new to me: Yella Pils - This failed to thrill me, but I suspect that its richness will impress someone who likes pilsners more than I do. Imperial Red - This was a lovely beer. Low alcohol content for an imperial (8.7%). There was no taste of the alcohol. The nose (smell) is rich, even from the can (all of their beers are in cans). It was a nice thick, red ale with an interesting yeast mix that tasted of sweet and sour cherries and some other notes I could not quite put a finger on. Well balanced. The aftertaste was a lovely sweet sticky feel that lingered. A good sipping beer. Not sure if it would work well warm - as the yeast fruit flavors might become overpowering.

I recently went here http://hopsonbirch.com/ and had the best winter warmer SanTan - Railslide. It was like Christmas in a glass :) I need to go back and try everything they have on tap.

Any of you folks on untappd.com? It's kind of like Facebook for beer. Look me up if you're on there (Dan Beers). If you are all a little interested in balls to the wall IPA's, I highly recommend Elysian beers (out of Seattle, WA). Not for the faint of heart, but for the true hopheads out there.

Everything Elysian makes is top notch - absolutely first class. You can never go wrong with anything they make.

I'm sapphireflame on untapped ^_^ I always forget to use it, though. I'm thrilled to see this thread! I'm very into belgian trippels and quads myself, as well as ciders. Haven't tried anything new recently, but I'm hoping to have time and money to change that soon.

Yay Sapphireflame! Consider us friends. I'll toast you in your honor next time I'm imbibing (which will likely be later today... no judgments lol)!!

Check my friend list--lmsprick is another good person to follow. In addition to being a fantastic gaming buddy and my kids' godmother, she's the East Coast rep for New Holland Brewery.

I unfortunately got to try some local craft beers by Cosmic Distributing here in Flagstaff, AZ. They were at Buffalo Wild Wings, giving out samples of their three beers. All I can think is that they did not sell much at this past weekend's Brewhaha event which I am really bummed that I missed. We like to give craft beers a shot, so I was kind of excited that BW3's was being cool and letting a local company sell beer in their establishment this evening. That didn't last long. We tried 3 of their beers, a porter, an Irish red and a "dumb blonde" The porter - wasn't bad as far as porters go. It was a little bit bitter and kind of a weird smoke flavor to it but with the right meal it would have been ok. They would do best to finesse this one a little and stick only to the porter. The Irish Red - Had a nice undertone but was a little one note and flat. It was just missing... something.... like carbonation and some maybe hops. Dumb blonde - ok I have nothing good to say about pilsners in general. I don't like them, but can tolerate them. But this one reminded me of a bad joke from the movie Desperado. Was looking for a Pabst Blue Ribbon to wash the taste out of my mouth! (ha ha) I recommend trying the porter with a nice steak and baked potato and leave the others to college students who don't know any better. All was not lost though as far as beers go. They had Snow Day on tap so I was a happy girl.

My favorite beer is actually Belgian - Chimay White or Chimay Blue. There is an awesome restaurant in Philly called Monk's that has a fabulous beer selection - the beer menu is probably 10 pages or more. The food is also delicious. If you ever visit the area you should definitely check it out. Locally, there are some good beers that come out of Troeg's Brewing Company in Hershey, PA - Dreamweaver and Troegenator Double Bock are the two I like. You can visit their brewery and get a tasting of nine of their beers for $5, I think it was 2oz or 3oz each.

I am on a diet, so I have been drinking a lot less beer. One a week. Because of that I have stuck to favorites recently. Last week I had Old Chubb by Oksar Blues, an excellent American version of a Scotch style beer. Nice and dark and creamy and sweet caramel. This week I had a Hobgoblin. My last one. Gotta buy more. Or maybe not. I might be tempted to drink them and gain back all of this weight I have been losing. ;) Two nights ago I had a sip of my gf's 4059' Porter by Saranac. This porter was well balanced. Very bubbly thick head. Plesant light coffee smell (not too strong - I am not a fan of beers that taste pretty much just like coffee [which is why my opinions of porters are very mixed]). The taste was light coffee and dark chocolate. Nothing complex, just all of the ingredients seemed to be the right amount. There was a bit of a light woody or bark taste in there, but that was about it. I would have loved to have had an entire bottle and not just a taste. The aftertaste lingered for quite a while and surprisingly kept the exact same balanced taste in my mouth. Solid example of a porter for those looking to try them out.

I'm not much into beer tasting and tracking, but find it interesting only because my step-son is a home brewer and even works for the American Homebrewers Association. He's made some cool stuff. I had a friend that made some awesome meads I liked. The live action role play crew I belonged to used to have a huge Halloween party where everyone had to bring a six pack of craft beer. One time we had a variety of about 110 you could find around the Northeast. So I'll be watching this thread more for what you all have to say. For a local beer to me on the light side, is Old Capitol, brewed in Kingston, NY. It's a light beer with a smooth taste. I can't say I'm much into beer, but definitely like a Guiness now and then, so this lighter beer was not bad.

Tried some more new beers this week. The other night I had a beer from a brewer in Madison, Wisconsin. Honey Weiss by Leinenkugel's. Other than having an amusing last name, we have had a variety pack of theirs around since New Year's Eve. Previously I had tried their vanilla porter, which was a solid porter. The honey wheat was decent. I am not a big pale ale person, but if you are, and you like honey, this would be a beer to try. The pale wheat portion was full and flavorful and made for a nice backdrop to make the honey flavor shine through. The nose was a strong, pleasant, honey smell. The taste, well, it was a lot of honey. A one trick pony this beer is, but as I said, if you like pale ales and honey, you will enjoy this beer. I cannot say I would go out of my way to purchase this beer, but if it was around it would certainly be an easy pick, and it would be a great refreshing summer ale. Tonight we went to the local Belgian and craft bar for the first time in a few weeks and had a couple of draughts. I ordered a local beer (from Millvale, PA [a town connected to Pittsburgh, PA]) called Simon Girty by Draai Laag Brewing Company. This beer was rather unique in its mix of styles. It was a very dark red and had a nice creamy head to it. The nose was a complex of sweet fruits with some very slightly sour or bitter tones to it, reminiscent of some yeast strain experiments along the lines of a Flanders Red style ale. In body it seemed to have a Belgian dark ale style build to it, with the nice creamy, rick, and heavy backdrop that I would expect from a Belgian dark (and 8% abv to go with it). The taste was complex, but interesting. On top of this very classic Belgian dark backdrop I could taste a variety of fruits interplaying. Definitely some strong citrus, maybe a hint of chocolate or cocoa powder, some interesting bitterness interplaying with yeast strains mimicking more complex fruits. The waiter described it as sour, like a Flanders, and I can see where people would think this, but that was not really my take on it. Instead, the souring yeast strains interacted with the darkness of the ale and the citrus to form an interweaving of bitter and sweet fruit tastes that made each sip have a different series of flavors stand out. This seemed like a complex enough beer to try warm, so I sipped it slowly over the meal and was rewarded with a nice new series of complex flavors as it warmed. I am not sure I would get this again if there were other interesting things to try, but I would be happy to try more of it in bottle form at home. Anyone who likes more complicated craft beers should give this a chance for the unique and still pleasant experience if nothing else. My gf got a Rogue Chocolate Stout. This is a world class beer, in my opinion. She graciously let me sample it a few times. Nice bubbly tall creamy head. The nose was a strong, rich, cocoa powder. The taste was like drinking hot chocolate chilled into beer form. If you like chocolate and you even sorta like beer, you will like this beer. Both of us could have drank these all night long and as long as it is on the menu it is going to be staple for us from now on.

It is beer week in Arizona. Here is a link to the events in case anyone else is around here to check it out. http://arizonabeerweek.com/

I have not been drinking any "new" beers recently. We have been slowly going through the second half of our Troeg's variety pack left over from New Year's Eve and finished the last Saranac Red IPA (also left over from a New Year's Eve variety pack), plus a 4 pack of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (recently purchased). I found 3 cans of Oscar Blue's Old Chub with the supermarket generic cream soda left over from New Year's Eve, and am super thrilled to drink those soon (I do like me some Scotch or Scotch-like candy tasting beers). However, here is the HUGE NEWS. BIG HUGE NEWS. It is so awesome I have been pretty much telling everyone I can think of who might remotely care about it. First, the link to the NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/garden/designing-an-ipa-specific-beer-glass.html?_r=1& There is a glass designed specifically for IPAs. It really revitalizes every IPA you put in it. It works well for some other beer types, too, but it is specifically designed for highly aromatic beers like IPAs are. Here are the high points: It is thinner glass so it keeps it colder longer - however, it also makes it delicate, so hand wash carefully. It has a bell shape that holds the body of the beer which tapers to a narrow opening (this makes cleaning a slight challenge, but you just use a non-abrasive sponge and do the best you can and it gets clean just fine). What this body shape does is that when you drink from it, your nostrils are brought over the beer so you can inhale the aromatics and enjoy the fuller quality of the IPA. Additionally, the shape of the mouth and body prevent the beer from going flat or airing out quickly (think wine glasses with narrow mouths and a wide belly for the same reason). The glass holds more than a bottle. WHich is nice, because you can pour it without the "I learned how to pour beer in college" tilted glass method and get a nice head on top without the glass overflowing and enjoy the beer more. The bottom of the glass has this narrow (hard to clean) wobbly looking stem that is supposed to (and does) "nucleate" the beer as you drink it. Essentially, the funny shape agitates the beer which makes it bubble, which allows it to retain a slight head for a very long time. It also stimulates the aromatics by agitating and mixing the beer more. The company who manufactures the glasses sells them for a LOT. HOWEVER, you can order then directly from Dogfish Head's website for $10 + shipping each. I bought 4 out of sheer curiosity (since my gf is a huge IPA fan and I knew they would arrive Valentine's Day week [day after, actually] to be a nice complementary gift to the home brewing kit I bought her). Now, I will admit that I had my doubts. But, the glasses looked neat and my gf wanted some Dogfish Head barware for some time(and a t-shirt, I also got her a t-shirt), and this seemed like a neat experiment. I am not a big IPA fan, but I do like them. However, these glasses have made me into a much bigger IPA fan. I am really shocked and pleasantly surprised that they really do work. I tried a number of IPAs which I have had a decent amount of as well as some newish ones and it works fabulously. Since they have the Dogfish Head label I bought a 4 pack of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPAs and they have never tasted so delicious - even on tap. It was so delicious that I had 2 in a row and then one with lunch the next day and then the last one after dinner. I could go on and on about how good these glasses are, but if you feel like trying them out, do so. Just for fun I had the Troeg's Java Bean porter in one today (ran out of IPAs). It is an ok light coffee flavored porter. Nice and rich and creamy like a porter should be. Worked out well in the new glass - the glass kept it colder longer and kept a nice head on it for a long time. I sipped it over 2 hours and it was still a little chilled and retained a head. This is not an aromatic beer - it smells like coffee - so no real comments on that feature of the glass. Sorry for the ramble, just thought I would share this find with everyone.

Tonight we enjoyed two unique beers. One is sadly no longer available. This is an imperial IPA crafted by the Allentown Brewing Co. of Allentown, PA. They own 2 brew houses, the Allentown and Bethlehem BrewWorks. I have yet to have a beer from them that was even mediocre, let alone bad. The beer in question is called NEARfest Apocolypse in 9/8 Imperial IPA. The beer was crafted in honor of the final NEARfest (North East Art Rock Festival) that had its final season in 2012. We had purchased some extra bottles last June and cracked two open tonight. The beer is sweet, with a nice citrus feel to it. It is crafted with 4 different hops and while strong (9.8%), there is absolutely no alcohol taste to it at all. It is very well balanced and it is hard for me to put my finger on anything specific besides the tones of citrus mimicked by the hops, but it is amongst the finest IPAs I have ever consumed. The other beer for tonight is Miles Davis's Bitches Brew by Dogfish Head. This is a 9% stout - one of the darkest stouts I have ever laid eyes on. Even the head was black. It is definitely unique. It is 2 parts standard Dogfish Head imperial stout mixed with 1 part imperial stout laced with honey and gesho root. At first I was unprepared for the strong root flavor of the gesho, but as I sipped it, I became used to this unique flavor and the rest of the flavors came out. There is a strong dark bitter chocolate stout in there, and the gesho mixed with honey makes it tast very much like molasses. One can also taste the strong dark malt flavors. There are some other interesting flavors laced in there, teasing you but mixing well. Maybe some cracked black pepper, maybe a bit of chili pepper. Something is definitely in there giving it that nice edge. The aftertaste is strong dark chocolate, bitter and sweet at the same time. It is thick - the honey I suppose does this. As a guy who adores very dark, rich stouts, I will say that this is one of the finest stouts it has ever been my pleasure to taste.

Found this cool link. I wish I had an ipad http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~jamieson/me/BeerMapper.html

Are any of you doing your own beer crafting? Not the cheapest beer but definitely worth it. For those who want a bigger bite. http://www.mrdistilling.com/frame/products.shtml Craft line from local distillery. Vodka, Whiskey good stuff and hand bottled.

Check out The Beer Diaries: http://www.thebeerdiaries.tv/ It's run by Dr. Greg Zeschuk (formerly co-owner of BioWare).