Sent from my BlackBerry...

Sitting at the local taproom now. Thus far I've had a Rogue John John Dead Guy, Terrapin Capt'n Kruckles Black IPA, and Bear Republic Rebellion. More to come potentially....

Add one more to the list... Bear Republic End '09.

Had a new one for me last night at the house... Laughing Dog Brewery Alpha Dog Imperial IPA. The amount of head on this beer was ABSURB! I am usually a fan of Imperial IPA's, but this one had a note that I couldn't quite pick up on. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't really THAT enjoyable either. Just hope their Dogfather brew is better as I might consume it this evening to give them another chance...

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/laughin...ial-ipa/98213/

Having good glassware = win. Using the wrong "good" glass for your beer = FAIL :giggle:

True... However, I don't think there is anything short of a 3L Chimay Goblet that could contain the head on this one.

Haha, nice, what temperature was it at?

First beer of the night tonight: Tournay Noire (black)

Attachment 198284

Poured about as gently as possible, Belgians like their head to say the least. I won't even drink a beer if it doesn't have ungodly amounts of head anymore (unless it's a sour in which case they're supposed to have little to none at all.) IOW, Belgium/Germany have turned me into a beer snob, yes.

Not exactly sure what temperature it was at... If I had to guess I would say ~55 °F (13 °C) when it was poured. Give or take a few degrees...

Figured maybe you were drinking it a little warmer than you should've been given all the head, you probably could've gone a few degrees cooler, but it must've just been a really carbonated brew.

Indeed sir... I checked the reviews on RB.com to verify others had the same experience and it appears to happen to quite a few of them. Still not bad though...

Sent my taste-buds on a tour of the Chimay Brewery last night... Sampled all three brews (in 11.2 oz bottles, of course). Thoroughly enjoyed all three (Blue, Red, and Tripel). If you haven't tried them, I suggest you do. You owe it to your taste-buds.

Puss. 750's FTW.

EDIT:

Since this has become an all around beer thread I figured where better to do this: I got a growler of Barrel Aged Speedway Select from Ale Smith in San Diego over here and can't drink enough of it to kill the growler before it goes bad. Therefore I "hand bottled" a few in German flip top bottles (boiled the bottles/tops/seals/etc.. to make sure it gets a good tight/sanitary seal so the beer stays as fresh as possible.) I've got a couple of these .3L bottles left if anyone would like to try one of the best Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts in the world, shoot me a PM and we'll work something out.

Good idea posting it up here... BTW, if I had done the 750's of all three I wouldn't really remember what the last one tasted like. Haha! :p

Added another one to the list last night... Southern Tier Oak Aged Imperial Un-Earthly IPA. Pretty badass beer. Drank it while replacing the foglight bulbs on my Audi. :D

Ratebeer.com link: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/souther...earthly/99535/

Which is why I started the post off with "Puss" :giggle:

I'm surprised noone has taken me up on the offer here yet, guess everyone stopped reading this thread?

Har Harrrr... It does seem that way actually about participation in the thread dropping off. BTW, for people who haven't tried that beer he is offering it is totally worth it.

Been thinking about this recently... Who all would be down if we setup a Miataturbo.net local beer exchange program? For example, I would ship you a selection of brews made in my general location that are not available to the masses in exchange for some of yours? Good idea, bad idea? I'm sure when KPLAFIN gets back to the States he will be down...

Almost forgot... Last night sat down to a Rogue John John Dead Guy Aged in Whiskey Barrels Ale (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/rogue-j...uy-ale/105497/). If you like Rogue Dead Guy, you will enjoy this one. Similar in appearence to Dead Guy, but you get just a hint of Oak as an after-taste. The second one was a Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/great-d...l-stout/37652/). All I can say about this one is HOLY Imperial Stout Batman! Went down pretty smooth and tasted great. I'm not usually a huge fan of Imperial Stouts, but this one thoroughly surprised me. In a good way...

Beer of the day;

211 Steel Reserve, LOL or CrazyHorse.

Shit, I'm down now, before I get back. Local German beer anyone?

I just found a shopping list that might be helpful.
Interesting list. Some of these establishments are local to a few of you guys.
http://www.worldbeercup.org/winners.html

Yes KPLAFIN, I would be interested. I'd like to share a few. You would have to do it only a couple at a time to avoid having too expensive a shipment get intercepted. And I don't think some forms of package shipment allow liquids.

Another link for those of you who strive for the best:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratebeerbest...ers_012010.asp

I ship beer back on a semi-regular basis already, APO shipping is cheap, I just put "collectible glassware" of something of the sort on all my packages, not lieing but also allows me to ship the beer. Anything in particular you're interested in from over here sixshooter?

A lot of people will put marinade sauces as the description...

Let me study on it a bit.

BTW - Did you ever get your stinkin' passport?

:vash:

I've had plenty of fun without it so far though. I'm waiting on word back from West Point as I may be accepted there and leave here in late-June/early July, if that's the case I won't be bothering with it, if not, GOD HELP EUROPE!

assuming this thread ever returns to the subject of beer - shouts out to the staff of the Carlsberg brewery in debmark, who recently went on strike because management proposed to reduce their daily free beer allowance to only one bottle, to be consumed ONLY during lunch.

This message brought to you by the icy cold Carlsberg currently washing down my throat after a long day shifting about 2 tonnes of decking timber by hand.

I'm sorry, I'm confused by your post.... you said "assuming this thread ever returns to the subject of beer" and then proceeded to talk about piss in a bottle... interesting.

Harsh... Didn't really have much time for beer this weekend unfortunately. Only had a Weyerbacher Insanity, Terrapin Rye, and Dale's Pale Ale on the weekend. Was busy selling guns the rest of the time. :D Also, this thread has been all about beer in one way, shape, or form... I are confused...

Hmmmm - an interesting comment considering the US brought us Millers and Bud....... :laugh::bowrofl:

Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout

So I made it to BJ's this evening.

The Hefeweizen is really, really good. Very tasty, with good bouquet and nice color. My wife even liked it. Out of all the wheat beers I have tried it is up there. No citrus added.

I also tried the porter which matched the menu description, but I did not like it. Too much disconnect between the initial palate and the aftertaste, kind of like smokeouse almonds in reverse. Initially sweet with some body, followed by a strong but thin smokey aftertaste. Good, but gimmicky. It was OK, but I enjoyed the hefe much more. Next time I'll try the Imperial.

I was disappointed as I thought they brewed the beer onsite but I do not see how it is possible. There is not enough room for the equipment even if it is kept out of site, which most brew pubs do not do. They show it off to the clientèle. The food is pretty good, but overall the place has a chain feel to it. They had a decent selection of beer on tap (other than their own) and some good bottled Belgian. $6 for a bottled Piraat is a decent price no?

Lion's head pilsner from the lion brewery in Wilkes barre, PA. Drank it all weekend. Anyone else drink this $13 a case delight?

Had one of my local brewery brews this evening... Thomas Creek Class Five IPA. Pretty good. Aroma is definitely hop heavy, but the flavor is hop light. Kinda odd that the hops didn't show up the party. However drinkability is very good for this one. For a true hop-head (like myself) it is not a bad IPA, but if you have never really liked IPAs, it is worth a shot due to its non-bitter flavor. BTW Brian, this one is in your welcome home package as well...

Just in case you didn't already know, BJ's is a chain. They're all over the place, kind of like Gordon Biersch. Not all of their beers are brewed at all locations, and I think I remember hearing (back when I lived in Houston) that none of the BJ's in TX brewed in significant quantity. Actually I just looked and their website says "Our breweries are located in Southern California, Northern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado." So there you go. Most of their stuff I've had won't knock your socks off but it's pretty decent.

Pretty good I'd say. Last time I bought a bottle at a restaurant it was $9.

I was looking at what I thought might be a cool thread, then I did a double take as I looked at the under-the-hood pic, barfed in my mouth and then grabbed something cold to wash it down.

http://i42.tinypic.com/if68i1.jpg

Good 'ole American Red Label.

I got the second job to buy Miata parts, not drink $4 beers. Don't hate.

How about "don't respect"

Meh, we all have to make sacrifices... But not when it comes to beer. At least in my case (no pun intended).

Having an Evil 8 from Blue Mountain Brewery as I type this, very impressed with the Belgian Dubbel style beer considering it's from Virginia. Up next, Dark Hollow Artisinal Ale form the same brewery.

Ended up going home after an all-you-can-eat wing night and having a Harpoon Leviathan IPA. I will be honest... This is not for a non-IPA lover. Nice crisp hoppy smell to the beer and has quite a bitter note to it. I've had more bitter, but this one is up there.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/harpoon...ial-ipa/92922/

This thread is full of win, and a perfect way for me to expand my horizons. Keep them coming.

I went on a tour of the Spoetzl brewery last weekend. Sampled the first keg of Shiner Somkehaus. It was, well, smokey. Not the first time around, but after I had tried some of their other offerings and came back to it.

picked up a half litre of weihenstephaner hefe weisse dunkel last night. man that goes down easy.

That used to be one of my favorite beers until I got introduced to IPA's... BTW, I am down for trading some of my local brewed stuff to anyone willing to send some of their local brewed beer to me. Just hit me up...

http://www.blueridgebrewing.com/ This is growler only...
http://www.thomascreekbeer.com/ Can find all but their Vanilla Cream Ale...
http://www.rjrockers.com/verify.asp Can actually get two of their limited releases right now...

One of the best Hefe's around, very good stuff especially for the $$ (at least over here, I dunno how much its inflated over in the states.

It's actually not that bad on price over here either... Looking at around $5-6 for a .5 L offering.

DAMMMMMMNNNNN, that's steep, I can get a case of 24 for about $20 at the Class VI on post. They're about $1.25 bought individually.

that is steep. I think I overpayed at 3.79 for a 500.

Yeah... We don't have many good beer selection stores up here, so the ones we DO have set their prices high. Kinda sucks...

Tonight thus far.... Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot Ale. If you haven't tried this one and have the luck you should. It is a Limited release so finding it might be hard. Nice Hoppy, citrus, and pine aroma. Outstanding flavor. You find and buy now... You won't regret it.

Next one that I am currently consuming is a Laughing Dog The Dogfather Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. Yes, this beer is pretty much awesome... If you like Imperial Stouts (yes, the black ones) you will LOVE this one. Just be forewarned as the head on this one is MASSIVE! But it does give off a nice aroma.

Imperial Stouts FTW. I just had an 'Old Rasputin'. It was good. The Sam Adams Imperial Stout is pretty darn good too IMHO.

All my favorite beers look like motor oil.

I had the Samuel Adams Imperial Stout awhile back... It was okay. You should try the Dogfather... If needed I can try to get you one. Let me know and we can work something out.

I am lucky around here, the front range has a lot of wine&cheese types and that means some darn good beer too :)

I will take a look around for Dog Father. There is this place called Tipsys not far from me thats seriously almost as big as a Sams Club or Costco.

I will let you know if I cant find any though, thanks!

Let me know ASAP if you can or not as I doubt it will be in stock much longer around here. Can only find it at one location in town currently.

Here are the pics of the brews from last night:

Heh, I just now got the wilco tango foxrot WTF thing. Awesome. I need to stop huffing paint fumes.

I will check the local mega store soon, good to know its not around much anymore.

I had the pleasure of being exposed to Fort Collins Brewery's Retro Red after work yesterday. It was very smooth for a red ale and had a thick, dense head, and didn't express the overhopped bitterness that sometimes accompanies American microbrew ales. Too many American reds taste like an IPA instead of a traditional red, but this one did not disappoint. It was slightly sweet and lightly malty but its smoothness made it so easy to drink quickly that one could easily get carried away.

I appreciate exuberant hops, but in their proper place, and not everyplace and this ale didn't overdo it. Variety is the spice of life.

I recommend trying this one if you like English/Irish/Scottish reds.

http://www.shawncope.com/beer/wp-con..._retro_red.jpg

I think I'm going to make tonight a Russian River night. Have a "Damnation" and a "Suplication" both calling my name, I may even be tempted to crack open my "Temptation" from them as well. :giggle:

Ft. Collins is blessed with some damned fine beer. :bigtu: Went to school there.

Guinness Black Lager, a new beer from them available only in Northern Ireland and Malaysia (yea weird I konw) anyway, that's what is kicking this wonderful Friday night in Baumholder, Germany off for this guy.

Sitting at Southend Brewery & Smokehouse in Charleston, SC currently... Having a sampler of all of their selection. Blonde Light, Blonde, Wheat Ale, Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Stout, and Seasonal. Needless to say, not that impressed. Sigh...

Got home yesterday afternoon and actually drank some good beer. Sat down to a Coast Hopart IPA, Terrapin Side Project Volume 10: Capt'n Krunkles Black IPA, and a Mendocino Spring Seasonal Bock Beer Lager. All three were pretty good and worth a shot. Unless you are not an IPA fan, then just stick to the Mendocino. Haha!

the fiancee picked up a sixer of these the other day to cool my heated self:

http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/clien...int-bottle.png

not bad limited edition lager from full sail. i was grilling and do not like to grill without a beer in my hand and she hopped the back fence and picked me up some beerzz. she is a good woman.

Over the weekend I checked out several gallons of some homebrew heffeweisen I made. At least it looked like heffeweisen. It smelled terrible, and was highly flammable.














Oh wait, that was not beer, it was varnished gas that had been sitting for several months :giggle:
No kidding though it looked just like a lighter heffeweisen. Blonde, and very cloudy.