Let's talk Beer (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

A new microbrewery opened a few miles from our house, and we checked it out last weekend. Canton Brew Works does not sell food, and they only had six different beers, but their brews were quite tasty. My wife and I shared a brown ale and stout, while some of our friends tried a couple of their lighter brews and IPA.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, for you guys that enjoyed Not Your Father's Root Beer there are a couple others out and I recommend you try Coney Island Hard Root Beer:

OK, so I would note again this is much more root beer than beer and like Not Your Father's it is sweet and like a soda. So, if you want something that has beer in it but tastes nothing like a beer then this will be perfect for you. I brought some to a party and a woman there that stated she "hated" beer gave one a try and could not believe how much she liked it. I would only drink these if you have a bit of a sweet tooth and due to that fact they are not a good session beer...unless you love sugar...but if you want a change of pace or love root beer you will really like this. I think this one is better than Not Your Father's and that's primarily due to it having more carbonation. Not Your Father's is a lot like drinking a flat very syrupy soda but the Coney Island holds the carbonation effect longer and is less syrupy. It's sort of just like a really good homemade root beer.


Personally, I can't really classify these as "beer" but they are quite an interesting specialty drink.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

A couple of nice finds while we were in Wyoming and Montana last week:

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Deschutes is actually brewed in Bend Oregon. I get their porter in my local grocery store when I'm in the mood for porter. http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/


Well, since you were in the neighborhood, did you visit Idaho? http://www.sockeyebrew.com/our-beer/natives/sockeye-powerhouse-porter/

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Dennis,

We were in Yellowstone for the week, flying in to the Bozeman, Montana airport. I saw on the label that the Black Butte Porter was brewed in Oregon, but it was being served in the lounge at Canyon Village in Yellowstone. I kept telling the bartenders they should have it on draft, and each one agreed.

Unfortunately, we did not get to visit your beautiful state of Idaho. It is still on our list for future vacations.

 

[schan1269]

Found another great brew...

Smuttynose brewery out of New Hampshire. Brewing since 1994.

Really old Brown Dog Ale.

Almost as potent as Dragon's Milk. But...nowhere near a stout.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Our local pub just began carrying a Milk Shake Stout on draft from Rochester Mills Brewery, located in Rochester, MI. It is quite tasty.

 

[DaveF]

Well, I would issue a warning on Not Your Father's Root Beer, if you have a sweet tooth you will dig it. If you actually wanted a beer...this ain't it. It is much more root beer than beer as it is loaded with sugar and tastes like an actual root beer. So, if you are in the mood for a root beer then by all means try this. If you want an actual beer go in a much different direction.


That's not at all to say it is bad but I thought I was drinking soda pop when I drank it...and honestly I'm no fan of pop.

I was forced given one to try this week by friends. I'm not a beer drinker, and prefer sweet, mixed drinks. This 'root beer' is an odd beverage. And halfway through, it's cloyingly sweet. There's a licorice flavor -- and I like licorice -- that becomes overpowering.

 

[Sam Posten]

These need to be outlawed they are so goood:

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I am not a fan of the hard root beers, but that it because regular root beer gives me a migraine headache for some reason. My wife really liked the Coney Island Hard Root Beer, but just the smell turned my stomach.


I tried a sample of Backwoods Bastard from Founders a couple of nights ago. At 11.5%, it packs a potent punch.

 

[Dr Griffin]

Samuel Adams have Chocolate Bock back in the Winter Pack this year after being unobtainable in my area last year. It's one of the best tasting chocolate beers IMO.

 

[ChristopherG]

One of the local craft breweries in our area is Heavy Seas. They are celebrating 20 years in the local beer scene and have introduced a tweaked up version of their very first beer "Winter Storm" called "20 Year Storm". It's an imperial ESB aged in bourbon barrels. Fantastic. And at 10 ABV one must be careful. Get some.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Samuel Adams have Chocolate Bock back in the Winter Pack this year after being unobtainable in my area last year. It's one of the best tasting chocolate beers IMO.

Sounds similar to a local brew called Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale from Atwater Brewery in downtown Detroit. I still have a couple in our beer fridge -- I drank one last weekend.

 

[bmasters9]

Samuel Adams have Chocolate Bock back in the Winter Pack this year after being unobtainable in my area last year. It's one of the best tasting chocolate beers IMO.

Speaking of Samuel Adams, I have tried several varieties of that brand-- Winter Lager, Boston Lager, Light-- and my favorite of those is Light, because it has the flavor of Sam Adams, without being too strong.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I tried a sample of Sam Adams Nitro Coffee Stout tonight. Both my wife and I really like coffee stouts, and this held its own against some of our favorite local microbrew versions of this type. Well worth a try if you like this sort of thing.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

 

[Stan]

Trader Joe's has a lot of really good IPAs, and not just for drinking. I use them a lot for beer bread recipes, also batter for fish n' chips.

Beer in bread makes nice, dense loaves. You won't get a light, airy yeast style bread, much more hearty and rustic.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

One of our local restaurants is carrying Old Rasputin Imperial Stout by North Coast Brewing Company, located in California. It reminds me a lot of Founders Imperial Stout, which is a favorite of mine from Founders in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

We visited Founders brewery over the Christmas holiday. If any of you are in southwestern Michigan, it's well worth checking out. They are located in downtown Grand Rapids, which is a fun city to spend some time in, and they have quite a few tasty brews. We even found some of their beers being sold in South Carolina during our visit there in April.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

 

[John Sparks]

Speaking of Samuel Adams, I have tried several varieties of that brand-- Winter Lager, Boston Lager, Light-- and my favorite of those is Light, because it has the flavor of Sam Adams, without being too strong.

I'm in the same boat. I just wish my grocery store carried it. They carry almost every damn flavor but that. I'd have to drive a ways to BevMo to get it.