I picked one up last time I was at the beer store, drank it tonight. I was expecting something more along the lines of a schwarzbier but this was more like a stout. Not too much alcohol in this one, but it's dark & thick like used motor oil. Pretty tasty.

 

You should not pay more than $6 for a 0.5L bottle. I can get them on draft for that price locally, too. You have at least one option in Houston that I was able to find where you can buy it. http://www.beerknurd.com/stores/houston/
Many of these places will sell you mix and match 6-packs to carry home with you, as well. Consult your local laws, etc.

I browsed through the inventory online at Spec's liquor store in Cypress. The prices are ridiculously high. What a rip.

More help:http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/65

If you like Aventinus, try the Fraziskaner Dunkel at some point. It is not as involved or complex, but a wonderful dark wheat beer. I think I posted something with a picture of the label previously. It has a fat friar guzzling some brew.

 

+1 on the Franziskaner Dunkel suggestion...

 

Tonight... Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo and Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. Both are pretty much awesome. Just saying...

 

I found Aventinus at Specs for 4.48 a bottle, boy do I feel shafted after paying $21 for 2 online. I'll also be enjoying Shiner Bohemian Black Lager tonight.

 

It is a journey. Sometimes the tolls are high, and sometimes they are low. I'm just glad you found some. I hope it is fresh and hasn't started skunking out from old age. That can be a problem sometimes on the special stuff.

Make conversation with other beer guys to find out where the good stuff is available locally. They typically love to offer advice, as evidenced by this thread.

I had the pleasure of finding Dunedin Brewery's Red Head red ale on tap at the World of Beer this afternoon. It is a rare find outside of the brew pub in Dunedin, Florida that makes it. Sure, you can find the bottles around town in a few places, but it is often not fresh and/or hasn't been stored refrigerated. On tap was nice. It has a nice frothy head that stays awhile, a little bit of aromatic bite that isn't just straight hops like so many. It has a tiny hint of sweetness, but not a lot of malty flavor. It tastes like a good red ale, not a brown, or a pale. Real reds are distinctive in flavor. Another one that is a true red in flavor is the Highland Gaelic Ale from North Carolina that I have mentioned before.


Drink up.

 

Sat down to a Samuel Smith's Yorkshire Stingo and Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale last night. Both were quite delicious... Granted neither of these two brewers have ever let me down before.

Review links:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/samuel-.../90838/103915/
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/stone-s.../96858/103915/

 

As a follow-up to the Spaten Optimator sampling (bottled) I had some Optimator tap over the weekend; it was at a fantastic tap house (now in SA) called "The Yard House". It is a chain, but it blows away BJs. Nicer atmosphere, and much, much more beer on tap. They claim to have the world largest selection of draft beer.
http://www.yardhouse.com/default.asp

No Aventinus though. Boooo.

Anyhow, the Optimator I had on tap at the Yard House was fantastic. The flavor was more balanced and more complex than what I tasted in the bottled Optimator. I have no doubt I could distinguish the two in a blind side-by-side taste test (draft versus bottled). It is now definitely one of my favorite brews, up there even closer to Aventinus (on tap).

 

Agreed fully on how a different serving source and make all the difference in a beer...

Edit: On another note going to one of our local brewery's brewpubs tonight for dinner and some brews. I will report back.

 

Sat down to two rarities last night... Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA and Dogfish Head World Wide Stout. Yummmmmmm. Also got to meet Claus from the Dogfish Head brewery and put in a shameless plug for being a chemist and being interested in a job at their lab. Haha! But onto pictures of the brews....

 

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest. Pic shows 2008 but I drank the 2010 version.



Hops are harvested in the fall, and it's fall in New Zealand, so they get the freshest hops they can from there and fly them in for brewing within a week of the hops being picked, so they can release a fresh hop ale in the spring here. FWIW I've never had a problem with the freshness of vacuum packed hops when I brew. What I'd like to have is a side-by-side tasting of two ales with the same exact recipe brewed in parallel with the only difference being whether the hops were a week old or had been vac packed for several months. I'm not familiar enough with the specific hops they used to say if it's the freshness or the cultivars, but anyway, hop heads will really like this beer. Probably a few more IBUs than an IPA, and a touch more mouthfeel. Great bitterness, great lingering hoppy finish.

 

The Southern Hemisphere isn't bad... I had it quite awhile back, but haven't gotten it since unfortunately.

 

I saw the Harvest on tap today but had a Paulaner from the tap instead.

I love Paulaner sometimes. It's so good.

 

I made another trip to the Yard House yesterday afternoon for a late lunch with my wife and daughter. They had this on tap, St. Bernardus Abt 12, a Belgian quadrupel.



This is an excellent beer! Very dark, very strong, but very pleasant to drink. Comes on sweet, smooth, and complex, and finishes with a bite. High alcohol content at 10% so I only had one. Later on I bought a large corked bottle of this (and a small bottle of Aventinus) at the local high-end grocery store so it will be interesting to see how it holds up in a bottle.

 

Werd... I picked up a bottle of the Abt 12 and Abt 8 yesterday myself. Haven't opened them up but will let you know when I do.

 

I haven't got to Barley's yet but I found something besides bud-light at a Wing eating place!


Highland Gaelic Ale


I liked it, went well with different flavored wings.

 

Ah yes... Highland makes pretty badass beers. They are semi-local as well being in Asheville, NC. Their brewery is an awesome hang out spot too.

 

I can't let this thread die... I've been beating up on some Belgian brews here lately. See images below. All were epic to say the least...

 

I have the Rochefort 6, 8, and 10 and well as SB Abt 12 in the fridge now. I'm debating whether to enjoy the Rocheforts individually or do a more extended tasting session.

Bought some of this. Atwater Voodoo Vator doppelbock.

It's very dark, can barely see through it, with a tan head. It doesn't taste much like your traditional German doppelbocks at all. Malty with some sweetness but it's lacking in mouthfeel and has enough of a darker malt flavor that if you didn't show me the bottle before I drank it, I'd assume it was a porter. I'm also highly suspicious of their claimed 9.5% ABV. It's "okay" in general but I expected a better doppelbock considering that (IIRC) it was over $10 for the 4-pk.

After that I had to drink another doppelbock to confirm that my taste buds weren't simply miscalibrated. Ayinger Celebrator.

That's more like it. This one is also on the darker end of doppelbocks, but it has a creamy head and the sweet bready and raisiney flavors that the other one lacked and that I kind of expect from a doppelbock. Good stuff, one of the standards in its category IMO. Try one if you haven't had it before.

 

I had Kirin over the weekend with my Ribeye steak.




I've always been a fan of Japanese beer. I also like Asahi Dry, no beer aftertaste.