What beer ya drinkin'?

[aphronesis]

Fifty/Fifty Eclipse Imperial Stout Aged in Woodford Reseve Barrels, 2015 Edition (brewed with honey), 11.9%.

Boozy and more bitter than previous releases of these runs. Some chocolate and wood, minimal vanilla and too young for the honey to appear. Should be great by the winter. Fifty/fifty is a little pricey for what you get, but cheaper in the Mikkeller bottle shop than many NY stores.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Went to a real ale pub close to where I live the other day, tried a pint of Titanic - Plum Porter which was absolutely gorgeous. A dark and strong ale but a slightly sweet and 'jammy' aftertaste, I loved it.

Safe to say I had a few too many but could not resist!

 

[aphronesis]

Re:

Went to a real ale pub close to where I live the other day, tried a pint of Titanic - Plum Porter which was absolutely gorgeous. A dark and strong ale but a slightly sweet and 'jammy' aftertaste, I loved it.

Safe to say I had a few too many but could not resist!

Nice

 

[sniper]

I don't often (make that rarely) fall for commercials, but this Zywiec (Polish beer) commercial just hits all the right buttons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i7NEdRQ44s
starring one of my fav actors ever, Jeff Bridges, and a great song from Alt-J (full version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRWUoDpo2fo)

Any Poles here who can point me towards some really exquisite Polish beer?

 

[jmdirt]

These guys make great beer! I just bought a sixer of this:
http://www.sockeyebrew.com/our-beer/natives/sockeye-hell-diver-pale-ale/
smooth, refreshing, tastier than most pale ales, good level of hoppiness.

If you buy it at the brewery, its $1 a can!! While I'm there I have one from the tap too!

 

[Red Rick]

Bavaria 8.6 extreme. Good stuff, though it only seems to come in 500cc cans for some reason. Real coma beer according to some

 

[aphronesis]

Vivienne by Secret Engine (gypsy brewers); dark saison, burnt caramel/ruby color, full body, tart, tangy and punchy, faint coffee strained through warm, bright stone fruits, slight grain scratch as it goes down. 11.2%

 

[AlexNYC]

I'm so happy I found this thread, craft beers being one my favorite things in the world.

Approximately 2 weeks ago, I came back from a visit to the Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware. While there, I bought a growler of Midas Touch, which is what I'm drinking right now. It is not one of my favorite Dogfish Head brews, but the sample I tried while at the brewery tasted so much better than the bottle that I decided to get the growler. A good beer for brunch I think.

 

[aphronesis]

Yeah, not their best effort. How many lines do they have for growlers? Is it the brewery tap room or an adjacent pub?

 

[AlexNYC]

Re:

Yeah, not their best effort. How many lines do they have for growlers? Is it the brewery tap room or an adjacent pub?

Hmm, I'm not sure about the number of lines. I got the growler at their tap room. I also went to their brew pub, which is a few miles away from the brewery; I believe they also fill growlers there.

All in all, a really good place to visit despite it being in the middle of redneck country -- I was surprised by the number of confederate flags I saw in houses. We stopped by on our way back from Washington DC and it was more than worth it.

 

[aphronesis]

I made that commute for awhile, but never had time to stop. Have you been to Other Half and Threes?

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

I'd love to try some more of the American craft beers, but 'alas, they're not so easy to find on this side of the pond.

In Belgium they're not to be found, but to be fair Belgium has enough breweries of its own. I'm pretty sure you can literally keep on discovering new beers all your life just in Belgium. They've no need of foreign beers at all. In the Netherlands somehow American beers seem to be on the rise. I found some stuff from Anchor brewery the other day (the IPA and the Go West IPA), which was actually quite nice! I think the American beer culture is actually somehow influential on this side of the great pond, because lots of Dutch and Belgian breweries seem to be making IPA's these days, whereas a few years ago I didn't even know what an IPA was, despite regularly trying all sorts of new beers. Sometimes they'll just say a beer has more hop, rather than calling it an IPA, but it's more or less the same thing in practice. IPA are actually somehow quite mainstream in the Netherlands now, whereas up till recently in my mind it was some obscure anglo-saxon thing.

Anyway, if I ever go to the States or if any of you guys know where to get some American craft beers in Belgium or the Netherlands, I'll be happy to take your advice

 

[aphronesis]

Mikkeller bottle shop in Copenhagen has a good selection. There's a place in Paris near monument with some UK/US bottles--several places in Paris actually. I could dig out the address if you ever went. There has to be someplace in Amsterdam, but I haven't been in a while. I'll check.

 

[AlexNYC]

Re:

I made that commute for awhile, but never had time to stop. Have you been to Other Half and Threes?

I haven't been to either, but have them on my list of beer and food places to visit in Brooklyn, they look great! Have you tried any of their brews?

 

[AlexNYC]

Re:

I'd love to try some more of the American craft beers, but 'alas, they're not so easy to find on this side of the pond.

In Belgium they're not to be found, but to be fair Belgium has enough breweries of its own. I'm pretty sure you can literally keep on discovering new beers all your life just in Belgium. They've no need of foreign beers at all. In the Netherlands somehow American beers seem to be on the rise. I found some stuff from Anchor brewery the other day (the IPA and the Go West IPA), which was actually quite nice! I think the American beer culture is actually somehow influential on this side of the great pond, because lots of Dutch and Belgian breweries seem to be making IPA's these days, whereas a few years ago I didn't even know what an IPA was, despite regularly trying all sorts of new beers. Sometimes they'll just say a beer has more hop, rather than calling it an IPA, but it's more or less the same thing in practice. IPA are actually somehow quite mainstream in the Netherlands now, whereas up till recently in my mind it was some obscure anglo-saxon thing.

Anyway, if I ever go to the States or if any of you guys know where to get some American craft beers in Belgium or the Netherlands, I'll be happy to take your advice

Believe it or not, American craft beers are sometimes just as difficult to find in the US. This is due to prohibition era federal laws that make it illegal for the brewers to also own their distribution network, and which force brewers to rely on a few large companies that are able to distribute nationally. So, e.g., a small brewer in Colorado that wants to sell in New York would have to somehow convince one of these carriers to take their product all the way to New York; this is often not possible because the product quantities are too small to be profitable to the carrier. Many craft breweries now work together to overcome this huge handicap, but distribution is still a major problem.

If you're familiar with Belgian beer, you'll feel right at home with American craft brews, which have been largely influenced by Belgians. In fact, one of my current Belgian-style favorites is actually made in the US, Allagash Curieux, which is basically a tripel aged in bourbon barrels. Even styles such as American IPAs have a marked Belgian influence in many instances. E.g., the founder of Hill Farmstead Brewery, where some really great American IPAs are made, trained in Belgium for a few years before founding his own brewery.

As you've noticed, cross pollination is now happening, which is why you're now able to find IPAs in the Netherlands and Belgium; no doubt with their own original notes.

 

[aphronesis]

Yeah Alex, I've tried both and they're both good visits. Other Half especially does good dipa's and similar big things. Try anything like that if you see it. Some of the guys from there work at Covenhoven in Crown Heights, which has a good tap and bottle selection (carry out if desired) if you're dining in the area.

@Maaaaarten:
To Øl, Omnipollo and Mikkeller (following on what Alex said) are all Scandinavian brewers doing great contemporary stuff inspired by the American craft beer wave. I know they contract brew and collaborate in Belgium, so some things should be available there.

 

[sienna]

Anything that tastes like beer, is cold and is free.

 

[aphronesis]

Sixpoint Quadrupel Take, Quad style, 10.5%: punchy, nutty, dark fruit, blended/cut with sour beer (by the brewer) to offset the typical cloying sweet.

 

[kwikki]

Spoilt for choice...

But the winner is...

 

[aphronesis]

In bottles taken al fresco at some free-wheeling multi-media performance event (so that may shift the assessment) Evil Twin, Molotov Cocktail, Double/Triple IPa, 13%. Hides it well, good malt (not thin and buried), the usual pine, citrus and and bit of mango/papaya. Way beyond most people making Brett disasters.

Far more balanced than the Molotov Heavy (17%) which is just fleeting rowdiness in a syrup bottle.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Just this one... while I'm cleaning the house.

 

[sir fly]

Appropriate choice these days, Tricycle Rider.


Something new in neighbouring supermarket. Just to see what it's like.

 

[aphronesis]

Cuvee Alex le Rouge. Russiam Imp. Stout brews with pepper, tea and bourbon vanilla. All soft and velvety. Passing pepper bite up front, lingering tea as a backbone at the finish. 10.%

 

[kwikki]

Cuvee Alex le Rouge. Russiam Imp. Stout brews with pepper, tea and bourbon vanilla. All soft and velvety. Passing pepper bite up front, lingering tea as a backbone at the finish. 10.%

Would you ever dare talk like that in a bar?

 

[aphronesis]

Oh, good. More stalkers.

Yeah, I do. You may not get to the cities often. No need to drink crap ale all your life

Anyway, Omnipollo Noa Pecan Mud Cake, Imp. Stout 11% brewed with pecans. Smooth and rich. Seek it.