Beer of the Day thread (and ci-derp)
08-21-2015, 04:10 PM
#1703
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Actually there is a lot of truth to this. My transformation came 10-15 years back when I joined a local brewing club and we sat down with a beer judge and drank samples from like a dozen different commercial examples of a particular beer style (hefeweizen). For each beer we discussed appearance, aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, etc.
Once I got used to noticing flavors and aromas from what I was drinking, my coffee and beer drinking evolved a lot over the next few years.
A lot of it also comes down to trying good examples of things so you can differentiate between good and bad and so you know what a non-flawed example of a style is like. If you drank starbucks all your life, you might have no conception that there is an entire world of coffee out there that isn't overroasted to the point of ruination. Similar story with beer.
Once I got used to noticing flavors and aromas from what I was drinking, my coffee and beer drinking evolved a lot over the next few years.
A lot of it also comes down to trying good examples of things so you can differentiate between good and bad and so you know what a non-flawed example of a style is like. If you drank starbucks all your life, you might have no conception that there is an entire world of coffee out there that isn't overroasted to the point of ruination. Similar story with beer.
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08-21-2015, 04:49 PM
#1704
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Beer of the Day thread
Vlad, since you like stouts, are Russian, and live in California, try Old Rasputin. It is one of my favorite Russian Imperial Stouts. It is thick and sweet to balance the high alcohol.
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08-21-2015, 05:02 PM
#1707
Vlad-
I too, enjoy me some big porters and stouts, though not exclusively. On of less frequent occasions when I'm in an IPA mood, I like to head for a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA. To my taste buds, they've got the best taste and smoothest balance going. I've even gotten my wife, a previously avid Bud Light fan, to switch to them as her go-to beer for pizza nights. Still can't get her to consider an imperial stout though.
Seeing as how you have access to BevMo, you should be able to source all kinds of good porters and stouts year round. Don't be afraid to look to the 22oz. bombers for the good stuff though. They seem very expensive at a glance, but when you consider the relative economy of their density in taste and ABV, they are often on par with cheaper six-packs.
An absolutely fantastic new stout that I've been enjoying lately is from Stone Brewery's Collaboration 2015 series. It's called Stone Farking Wheaton WOOTSTOUT version 3.0. ( Stone 2015 Collaborations - Stone Farking Wheaton w00tStout ) If you like a big stout, you'll love this one. I bought a bunch to cellar, but I they're so good I keep pulling just one more out for immediate gratification.
I agree with six too, the Old Rasputin is a decent stout that is readily available year round and usually at a non-astronomical price.
I too, enjoy me some big porters and stouts, though not exclusively. On of less frequent occasions when I'm in an IPA mood, I like to head for a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA. To my taste buds, they've got the best taste and smoothest balance going. I've even gotten my wife, a previously avid Bud Light fan, to switch to them as her go-to beer for pizza nights. Still can't get her to consider an imperial stout though.
Seeing as how you have access to BevMo, you should be able to source all kinds of good porters and stouts year round. Don't be afraid to look to the 22oz. bombers for the good stuff though. They seem very expensive at a glance, but when you consider the relative economy of their density in taste and ABV, they are often on par with cheaper six-packs.
An absolutely fantastic new stout that I've been enjoying lately is from Stone Brewery's Collaboration 2015 series. It's called Stone Farking Wheaton WOOTSTOUT version 3.0. ( Stone 2015 Collaborations - Stone Farking Wheaton w00tStout ) If you like a big stout, you'll love this one. I bought a bunch to cellar, but I they're so good I keep pulling just one more out for immediate gratification.
I agree with six too, the Old Rasputin is a decent stout that is readily available year round and usually at a non-astronomical price.
Last edited by good2go; 08-21-2015 at 05:20 PM.
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08-21-2015, 05:13 PM
#1708
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I already ranted on hoppy beer myself, so I won't go into that. But I will say that the local brewpub sells growlers at the beer store, so I just ignore the over-hopped and over-priced snob beers and drink what tastes good.
Rohrbach's scotch ale, cream ale and vanilla porter are new favorites.
Rohrbach's scotch ale, cream ale and vanilla porter are new favorites.
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08-21-2015, 05:34 PM
#1711
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So the wife (gentle soul that she is) brought home a 6 pack of Blue Heron Pale Ale last weekend from Mendocino Brewing Company. Blue Heron Pale Ale | Mendocino Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate I tell you what, either this is the worst pale ale I've ever had or there was something grossly wrong with the production batch. They claim its Cluster as the bittering hop, and for a pale, this is gross. Cluster belongs in in a porter or a stout in much smaller quantities and not in a pale ale. It was so bitter and unbalanced it made me illish and ruined my evening.
Maybe I'm just a lightweight with this kind of stuff, but I found it to be totally inappropriate bordering on undrinkable. I actually had a second bottle about 3 days later (with the same result) just to make sure I was not crazy. The other 4 went down the drain.
Vlad, search this thread re: "hops arms race" for my commentary on the ridiculousness.
Maybe I'm just a lightweight with this kind of stuff, but I found it to be totally inappropriate bordering on undrinkable. I actually had a second bottle about 3 days later (with the same result) just to make sure I was not crazy. The other 4 went down the drain.
Vlad, search this thread re: "hops arms race" for my commentary on the ridiculousness.
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08-21-2015, 05:43 PM
#1713
So the wife (gentle soul that she is) brought home a 6 pack of Blue Heron Pale Ale last weekend from Mendocino Brewing Company. Blue Heron Pale Ale | Mendocino Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate I tell you what, either this is the worst pale ale I've ever had or there was something grossly wrong with the production batch. They claim its Cluster as the bittering hop, and for a pale, this is gross. Cluster belongs in in a porter or a stout in much smaller quantities and not in a pale ale. It was so bitter and unbalanced it made me illish and ruined my evening.
Maybe I'm just a lightweight with this kind of stuff, but I found it to be totally inappropriate bordering on undrinkable. I actually had a second bottle about 3 days later (with the same result) just to make sure I was not crazy. The other 4 went down the drain.
Vlad, search this thread re: "hops arms race" for my commentary on the ridiculousness.
Maybe I'm just a lightweight with this kind of stuff, but I found it to be totally inappropriate bordering on undrinkable. I actually had a second bottle about 3 days later (with the same result) just to make sure I was not crazy. The other 4 went down the drain.
Vlad, search this thread re: "hops arms race" for my commentary on the ridiculousness.
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08-21-2015, 06:13 PM
#1718
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Origins are from when the East British India company sent beer to be transported to India. The IPAs were brewed with extra hops (they have an anti-bacterial quality) so they would survive the trip and were meant to be diluted once they arrived.
However, they came to enjoy the higher ABV and just drank it that way. Traditionally beers weren't nearly as strong as they are nowadays.
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