Let's talk Beer (1 Viewer)

[Ron-P]

Ron, Bristol Farms, has a nice selection also........Hey, I also forgot about Henry and Harry's Goathill Tavern. Would be a great place for you and I to try some of our favorites on tap!

Zen, any idea on a local BF in my area? Not sure where to locate one around here. Also, a trip to the Goathill is in order, it's been awhile (to say the least). Let's try and set one up....soon.
Enjoyed a little Compass Creek IPA at lunch today, sweet, very sweet and floral in nature. Little hoppy, but not by much. Clean finish. The downfall is that it is so sweet, after about 2 glasses, that's enough. Brewing in at 6.6% ABV.
Peace Out~

 

[Jared_B]

Jared, I prefer the Widmer Bros. Hefe to the Pyramid, Nice to see someone mention Pacifico which is far superior in the mexican pilsner category. You should have some great local breweries near you?

Pyramid, Red Hook, and Hales Ales are three local breweries that I've visited. There are more, but I believe these are the largest ones.

From what I've sampled so far, Red Hook is my favorite (having good food and being next door to 2 wineries helps too).

I'll give the Widmer a try, always looking for a good hefe. Maybe it's just me, but hefeweizen is a good summer time beer.

 

[Randy_Sh]

Quote:

Ah yes. I personal fav of mine as well. After leaving PA I appreciate the more relaxed laws of VA. I can pick a sixer of Victory Hop Devil IPA at Kroger's for $6 and change. Also have the Victory Prima Pils available. The same Kroger also has Duvel and Chimay for decent prices along with some local brews and some Rogue stuff.
I bought a 4 pack of Murphy's Irish stout in the carbo-cans this weekend and was disappointed with them. Didn't have as an impressive of a cascade as I thought. Tasted thin in my opinion. Not even close to the Bomber of Rouge Shakespeare Stout that I recently had. Yum. Awesome color, nice deep head, just the right "roasted" taste.
Ok one last thing, bought a six pack of the Sam Adams Light just for fun. Wasnt' nearly as bad as I expected, wasn't great either. Light copper color, fairly thin and quickly disapating head. Slightly bitter aftertaste. Pretty decent for something labeled LIGHT.
Later.
Randy

 

[Ron-P]

I will also say that the Widmer is a very good bottled hefeweizen. Much better than Pyramid (which tends to be very skunky).
The Widmer pours out with a cloudy body and a nice golden color. It has a very good wheat / malt balance with a slight sweetness. It finishes clean and crisp.
Peace Out~

 

[JayV]

BTW, how far do you have to drive for good beers? I know of some tasters in PA, who get some amazing brews out there.

There's a decent distributor here. As for bars, I usually go into the city for that (I moved out to the suburbs a couple years ago). The Standard Tap in Northern Liberties is my current favorite.

Sorry I missed the earlier discussion; it looks pretty interesting.

-j

 

[Lew Crippen]

There is a Central Market off the Tollway in North Dallas that has it in stock usually.

Thanks, Shane. I’m close to a Central Market at Lover’s and Greenville. I’ll check it out. If not I drive the Tollway every day.

 

[Zen Butler]

Zen, any idea on a local BF in my area?

Ron, Newport would be the closest

810 Avocado Ave. They fully support/carry all Stone Brewery Products among others, pretty decent selection, high prices.

 

[Greg_R]

Jared_B,
Check out Full Sail, Bridgeport, Widmer, Rogue, Portland Brewing & other NW breweries. Their product is found in most local grocery stores and isn't too expensive (in the NW). The Cascade Lakes brewery is located in Redmond and is probably worth checking out. If you ever make it down to Portland, check out Belmont Station. They have virtually every beer you could want in stock. There is also a place next door that has Chimay on tap...

 

[Greg_R]

Back in December I was at Portland's Winter Ale festival. Here's what they were serving:
Brewery - Beer name - Beer type
Alameda Brewhouse - Papa Noel's Ale - Olde Ale
Alaskan Brewing Co. - Alaskan Winter Ale - English Olde Ale
BridgePort Brewing Co. - BridgePort Ebenezer Ale - Winter Warmer
Caldera Brewing Co. - South Side Strong - Strong Ale
Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. - Santa's Little Helper - Christmas Ale
Deschutes Brewery - Jubelale - Winter Warmer
Fish Brewing Co. - Leavenworth Snowblind - Winter Warmer Strong Ale
Full Sail Brewing Co. - Wassail Winter Ale - Winter Ale
Golden Valley Brewery - Tannen Bomb - Winter Warmer
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. - Merry Marzen - German Style Lager
Lagunitas Brewing Co. - Brown Shugga - Strong Ale
MacTarnahan's Brewing - MacFrost - Dunkel Weiss-Bock
McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Brewery - Fireside Porter - Porter
Mt. Angel Brewing Co. - The Grinch - Dark Roasted Oatmeal Lager
Mt. Hood Brewing Co. - Old Battleaxe Barleywine - Barleywine
Orchard Street Brewery - Jingle Ale - Spiced Chirstmas Ale
Pyramid Breweries - Snow Cap Ale - Holiday Ale
Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub - Defroster Winter Ale - Scottish
Redhook Brewery - Winterhook - Robust Winter Ale
Rock Bottom Brewery - Blitzen - Belgian Trippel
Rogue Ales - Yellow Snow - American Pale Ale with Juniper Berries
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - Strong Ale
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. - Winternacht - Rich Roasted Ale
Here's what I had time to try (didn't have much time unfortunately!).
The Grinch - A thick, dark lager. Plenty of coffee flavor with a smooth finish. Recommended.
Blitzen - Very potent, very sweet beer with a fruity smell and finish. Alcohol is not disguised very well. Great for getting plowed but not for enjoying. Not recommended.
Jubelale - Lots of body with a nice bitterness... Plenty of caramel flavor with a slight fruitiness (esp. smell) as well. Recommended.
Yellow Snow - You know I had to try this one! This is a nicely balanced pale ale with the added feature of juniper berries. IMO, this lent more to the aroma vs. the taste (for this brew). Slightly recommended.
Brown Shugga - This barley wine is malty and not too as hoppy as other barley wines I've tried. You taste the alcohol in the finish but it's not overpowering. Recommended.
Tannen Bomb - This English strong ale has a nice smooth caramel malt flavor with just enough bite at the finish. Recommended.
Wassail Winter Ale - Well behaved English strong ale. Mild spicy flavor, not very malty & has a slight bite from the hops. Different than the other English ales at the festival... Recommended.

 

[Tim Glover]

Lew,

Thanks for the tip on Bohemia . I'll ask for it next time I go to On The Border.

 

[Mark Lee]

JayV, I do fondly remember my (admittedly limited) experience w/Stoudt brew, specifically the Stoudt Abbey Triple, which I tried a couple of times at the Waterfront Ale House in Manhattan. A smooth, deceivingly alcoholic (like triples are wont to be, I suppose) drink, with some interesting banana-ish notes on the finish.
Wonder why Rodenbach isn't being imported anymore? While it certainly is something of a niche product, it more or less has that niche all to itself, and would have some appeal to people such as wine drinkers (like myself) who find making the transition to beer sometimes difficult.
Lew, the Grand Cru Rodenbach is a bit over the top, even for me -- the tartness, the woodiness, the everything-ness that makes Rodenbach Rodenbach is super-amplified in the Grand Cru bottling. I actually prefer the regular version, and also enjoyed the "beginner's" bottling, the "Alexander" brew, which further amped up the fruity notes, cherries to be specific, if memory serves.
BTW, the NY Times food section has a little piece today on the Chimay brewery -- you might need to sign up for a (free) account on the Times website to read it, but here it is. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/15/in...pe/15CHIM.html

 

[Zen Butler]

for those who don't wnat to sign up to the NYT, here is the interesting Chimay article:

CHIMAY, Belgium, Jan. 10 — With his billowing white beard and black and white hooded habit, Dom Armand Veilleux, a Canadian-born monk in his mid-60's, more resembles a figure from Umberto Eco's novel of monastic mystery, "The Name of the Rose," than your average brewery executive.

Yet just across a snow-dusted garden from the room where he receives visitors, a microbrewery throbs, its six huge stainless steel vats fermenting more than 13,000 gallons of beer a day.

Only five years ago, the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Scourmont, where Dom Armand has been abbot for almost five years, turned out 15 percent less. But these days, Belgian Trappist beers — heavy brews, often dark and with as much as 9 percent alcohol — are surging in popularity, spreading blessings on the hilly farmland around Chimay, pop. 10,000, traditionally one of the poorer Belgian lands that snuggle against the French border.

Today the brewery that Scourmont controls, Bières de Chimay, with 72 employees, is the area's largest employer. Last year, Chimay generated revenues equivalent to $21 million, up from $17 million in 1995.

A new low-slung headquarters building was inaugurated last year a 20-minute drive from the abbey's gray stone buildings; the sales staff was increased to seven, from three, and 12 more workers were hired for bottling and brewing.

Recently, limits to production and sales that the abbey imposes were lifted slightly to accommodate increasing demand.

Still, Dom Armand insists with a chuckle, "We're not out to beat Interbrew," the big Belgian brewery that competes with the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Heineken for global dominance. "Quality has to be first — quality in the product, and in the working conditions, in relations among people."

Indeed, five years ago, the abbey's business affairs were separated out under the umbrella of two foundations that reinvest the profits in charitable works and the development of local business. To maintain control, the board of each business consists of three monks and two lay people.

"The brewery pays us rent, and all the profits are redistributed," said Dom Armand, a thoroughly modern monk who designed the abbey's Web site. "We own the brand name — Bières de Chimay — and they pay us a licensing fee."

Traditionally, Trappists support themselves by farming and light industry. They also produced and sold cheese and took in paying visitors at a small guesthouse. Over the years, the number of monks dwindled. Now, there are 22, including seven from affiliates in Africa.

At Scourmont, the monks began brewing beer in 1862, a dozen years after the abbey was founded. It is only one of six Belgian Trappist monasteries brewing beer, including the abbeys of Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren, Orval and Achel. But today, at Scourmont at least, none of the monks actually work in the brewery.

Instead, they spend their days in prayer, singing the liturgical office at set hours, and working, mainly organizing spiritual retreats for visitors. They also still toil on the 1,500 hilly acres that surround the abbey, raising cattle and grains (though not their own hops, which come from Germany and Washington State).

But while the monks may aspire to poverty, the product made at their abbey is pure luxury. A 750-milliliter bottle of Chimay can sell for $9 in New York, positioning it somewhere between beer and wine. "There's a certain cachet, more like wine," said Beth Rogers, the general manager of Markt, an upscale West Village restaurant that features Belgian Trappist beers. "We pair them with foods."

If Dom Armand is at pains to keep the brewery at arm's length from the monks' spiritual life, Philippe Henroz, the brewery's 37-year-old marketing director, does not shrink from bathing the product in a monastic glow.

"I take visitors across the garden and I ask them, `What do you hear? The birds? The wind? The rumble of the brewery machinery?' " he said. "It has something to do with the environment. Our objective is to show how we are different."

After quenching Belgium's thirst, the monks are now looking abroad. While Trappist beers account for little more than 1 percent of all Belgian beers, the brewery at Chimay is now shipping to France, Italy, Britain and Scandinavia, but above all to the United States, which is its second largest export market after neighboring France.

For Mr. Henroz and the brewery's other employees, the conundrum is to balance the global thirst for their beer and Dom Armand's abhorrence of empire building.

"It's not necessarily to put a limit on production," Mr. Henroz said, sipping a blond Chimay red label. "We don't want to risk the quality of the product, and the working environment."

He paused, then added, "But we will never say no to a client"

Awesome, that one of the best breweries in the world is finally getting some well deserved recognition.

 

[Shane Martin]

I recently tried a Bohemia at a local tex-mex restaurant and I really like this one as far as Mexican Brews go.
I would recommend this to folks.

 

[Ron-P]

Well, here it is...Monday. Didn't even have a chance to swing out and pick up some new brews to try. To sum up my weekend, it was Stone: Levitation Ale. I have really taken a liking to this beer, very, very nice. It was the perfect beer for a sunny and warm weekend.
But, I did try some Humboldt Brewing Co's Red Nectar Ale. It pours from the bottle a nice coppery red color with a nose that is sweet and fruity with a hint of caramel and honey. The body is a bit hoppy, with a nice malt balance but it is smooth and sweet with a clean finish. Nice brew, pouring in at 5.5%ABV. Not one I'd keep around as a staple in the beer fridge, but a good one for a hot summer day.
Peace Out~

 

[JordanS]

Corona Extra With Lime

 

[Zen Butler]

To sum up my weekend, it was Stone: Levitation Ale. I have really taken a liking to this beer, very, very nice. It was the perfect beer for a sunny and warm weekend.

It's amazing Ron, that you and I agree so heavily on certain IPA's, Porters and Stouts and completely disagree on this beer. I still can't get that dirty sock taste out of my mouth. I'll have to give this another shot maybe.

Nothing is more refreshing than a nice Hefeweizen in the summer

 

[Randy_Sh]

Bump.
Hey there CA guys. Stopped at my local Krogers Supermarket to pick up some Super Bowl beers and was pleased to find a couple of Stone products. Previously had only had the Arrogant Bastard Ale and that was bought at a Specialty Shop.
Picked up a 22 oz bottle of their standard IPA and a 22 oz bottle of their Smoked Porter. They were around $3.50-$3.75 a bottle.
Enjoyed the IPA-shared it with the wife. Really nice. Not overly hoppy, great coppery color. Had a Victory Hop Devil IPA earlier and kinda expected a similar hops kick. Definitely could have had another one of these.
Had the Porter last night after work. Really great deep dark color. Nice head. Nice roasted taste. Enjoyed this one as well, but probably wouldn't have had another. Pretty heavy in my opinion and just enough with the 22 oz bottle for a sitting.
That's all. Hopefully we'll start to see some other Stone offerings in the Richmond, VA area. Have been pleased thus far.
Randy.

 

[Andrej Dolenc]

Those of us in and around Washington DC have a new place for beer exploration. Aside from the guiness record holding Brickskeller (something like 1000 beers on the menu, though what they actually have on hand may or may not match that), the owners of that place opened up a new restaurant / bar called R.F.D. (Regional food & drink) with 30 taps of good stuff. Goodies such as Paulaner Hefeweizen. Drank a fair bit of Widmer hefe, but the real stuff from germany is quite a bit more intense. Some west coast goodies such as Redhook porter on slow pour (nitrogen). Mmmm tasty. Rogue shakespeare stout.

Then come the REALLY good ones from europe. Delerium Tremens, damn a belgian triple can be dangerously good on tap! Hoegarten (I believe that's the spelling), a belgian wit though it's from the netherlands. Lindemans Framboise for the non beer drinker.

I tell ya, DC is a great town for beer lovers!

Andrej

 

[PrinzII]

Since I am 92 miles from Brewtown, my faves include some of Plank Road's finest (E.g. MGD, MGD Light, Miller Lite), but my absolute fave is that South of the Border brew, Corona (One of these days, I'll check out Dos Equis).

 

[Zen Butler]

Randy, most Stone Brewery products are of the highest quality. Love the smoked porter. Very complex to say the least of a most misunderstood style of brew. I love their standard IPA, it's not over the top like many of their other exaggerated outings.
If you like hops, get Stone's Ruination IPA, but beware, I have yet to try a hoppier ale. A thread favorite nontheless, right Ron?
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