Best Beer Post #2

[warbirdlover]

Let's try again. Seen the last thread I've tried Bodington's Pub Ale (now owned by Anheiser Busch) and liked it real well.

I normally like Miller Lite. It's great.

I just tried some of the Heineken Premium Lite and really like that also.

We're getting all kinds of strange beers and ales in the store like Blue Moon and alot of Mexican beers. I haven't tried Guiness as it looks kind of strong and bitter(?).

So what's your absolute favorite beer. What should I try next?

 

[VtDivot]

Stella Artois

 

[Bubble Head]

Canterbury ale. The pub owner made it in his basement. Pity he didn't export it.

Out of a bottle or in the US on draft: If you can see through a glass of it, don't waste your time. If it is darker than a moonless night, it is over cooked.

Personally I like any medium ale. I have tried too many good ones to pick a favorite.

 

[FKA19]

Stella Artois

ill second that. stella is the smoothest/fullest beer out there.

 

[Sean]

I'm a bit of a beer snob so bear with me as a lot of these may be unfamiliar:

Any of the Trappist breweries (Westmalle, Westvleteren, Chimay, Rochefort, Orval and Achel)
Corsendonk
Duvel
Kwak
De Ranke XX Bitter
Any of the Chouffe brewery products
Cantillon Lambic (unflavored)
Wostyntje (and ale brwwed with mustard seed)
Tripel Karmeleit

To name just a few...

In my opinion the best beewrs in the world come from Belgium. All the above are Belgians (Stella don;t count! Mass-produced like Bud).

Of American producers there are a relative few I like and mostly those are real heavy barleywines and Belgian-styles from the likes of Ommegang, Unibroue (Actually Canadian), Stones and Allagash.

REAL beer is just heads and tails better than the mass produced stuff or even American microbrews (In my opinion anyway)

If you enjoy Bud, please don't take that as insulting/condescending, that's certainly not my aim, I am just passionate about beer

Here's one of my latest beer reviews for an example:

+

Beer: Westmalle Trappist Ale, dubbel
Style: Trappist Ale, Dubbel
Label Info: 7.0% ABV
Brewery: Trappist Monestary of Westmalle
================================================== =========================
Glassware: Chalice

Pour: Dark Mahogany color, lots of carbonation. One finger head, slowly disipating to a thick ring.

Nose: FUNK! We gots da funk! LOL, I love the smell of a nice funky belgian beer. Malt. Mocha Maybe a little yeast.

Taste: First thought was "COCOA", definate chocolate notes. Malt. Malt. Malt. Surprisingly some bitter hops come through. Maybe not hops but maybe more a bitter chocolate? Raisins/prunes and other dark fruits. Burnt notes (A good thing in this case, charred wood I guess) A strange creaminess. When I drink and inhale through ym nose at the same time bananas and tropical fruit stand out... Damn, man. Good stuff. Kind of and astringent mouthfeel.

Finish: Bitter, dry. Not sure if it's hops or this bitter chocolate flavor... Definate malt notes as well.

Overall: The nose was nice but I would have never suspected how good the flavors were by smelling it. Fully 3 dimensional brew, complex, earthy. Malt heavy but balanced with a touch of bitterness. Damn this is good, lemme finish the chalice... Oh man!

Rating: 5/6 Beer Mugs. Great, borderline classic. Go try it.



=======================


If anyone ever has a question about beer, you know where to find me

 

[warbirdlover]

Great post Sean. Now if I could find any of those Belgium beers....

 

[VtDivot]

Great post Sean. Now if I could find any of those Belgium beers....

You can find Stella anywhere

It's much better on tap, but then again all beer is.

 

[warbirdlover]

Back in the olden days (60's and 70's) good old Old Style on tap. Best American beer ever made. Of course it's all but disappeared now and not the same as back then.

One of you beer experts explain major differences between:

Belgium beer
German beer
UK beers
Mexican beers
Asian(?) beers
US beers
Canadian beers

Any others I stupidly left out...

 

[spankdoggie]

"Big Daddy" Ale (yes, that is 6.5% on the left side of the picture below)...

I woudn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 30 though... This is my favorite local San Francisco beverage (look at the label)... link to homepage: Speakeasy Beers

 

[VtDivot]

Back in the olden days (60's and 70's) good old Old Style on tap. Best American beer ever made. Of course it's all but disappeared now and not the same as back then.

One of you beer experts explain major differences between:

Belgium beer
German beer
UK beers
Mexican beers
Asian(?) beers
US beers
Canadian beers

Any others I stupidly left out...

I can tell you that most mexican and other caribbean beers are very light lagers (the major ones anyways - Banks, Piton, Sol, Presidente, Carib etc) I love them all. Port Royal is a Honduran beer and also very good.

I'm not as knowledgeable when it comes to European (non UK dark beers). I know I like the lighter ones - Stella (Belgium), Becks (Germany), Heineken (Netherlands), and that Czech one that I always forget the name.

 

[spankdoggie]

"Eye of the Hawk" is really good (9% alcohol content on the current label, though not on the website) link: Mendocino Brewing Company - Eye of the Hawk Select Ale

It has been called "The Harley-Davidson of beers."

But for a good "after work" beer, I prefer a nice Red Tail Ale... link: Mendocino Brewing Company - Red Tail Ale

Those are just a couple of the local San Francisco area beers...

I wouldn't recommend these beers for youngsters under 30... :laugh:

spank

 

[EnglishGolfer]

Since we did this last time I've discovered a new favourite, Mythos. The only problem is that I'm yet to see it sold anywhere outside of a Greece or a Greek restaurant which is rather frustrating.

 

[ualtim]

You have already had the best in Boddingtons. Still my favorite beer.

If you want to try something a little lighter than Boddingtons, I would recommend Brahma beer from Brazil. Its almost a bit citrusy (no need to add a lemon or lime wedge like most Mexican beers) and is an excellent warm/hot weather beer. Very smooth with a great taste that is very refreshing when your sweating your a$$ off in the heat of summer down here in Florida. My favorite pool side beer.

 

[Sean]

Back in the olden days (60's and 70's) good old Old Style on tap. Best American beer ever made. Of course it's all but disappeared now and not the same as back then.

One of you beer experts explain major differences between:

Belgium beer
German beer
UK beers
Mexican beers
Asian(?) beers
US beers
Canadian beers

Any others I stupidly left out...

US, Canadian, Mexican and Asian beers: Tend towards mass-production and cost rather than taste and quality (taste and quality are subjective of course) The big names from each country (Bud/Molson/Dos Equis, Sapporo) make beers to appeal to as broad a taste as possible and too offend as feww as possible. Virtually no hops or malt are used, instead they brew with mostly tasteless adjunvcts like corn and rice.

Of course yuou also have 'Micro/Craft' beer in the US which make some nice products but moslty don't stray too far from the Lager/Pilsner ilk of the mass production boys. The one major variant being the American IPA, a heavily hopped beer with a noticeably bitter aftertaste. There are some very nice IPA's out there but they dont suit my palate, I prefer malty beers.

There are some well done craft brews out there, Stones, Ommegang, Allagash and Unibroue for example but I persoanlly dont like too many others.

Ever notice how they market their beers as 'Ice Cold'? That's because cold hides flavor. Warm american style lagers are horrible to behold.

Examples: Bud, Miller, Dogfishhead, Blue Moon, Ommegang

UK beer: The lighter beers tend towards a creamier texture (Boddingtons for example) and the brewers do a better jpb at getting flavor in their stuff. I'm npot super familiar with the UK but they make some excellent "barleywine" style ales, like JW Lees Harvest Aleand Thomas Hardy Ale. Very strong, thick velvety beers, almost like port.

German beer: Known for well crafted Pilsners and Lagers. I always seem to notice the beers are very yeasty. They take the beer serious but seem like they tend towarda and american-ized ideal with brewing, ie less flavor, lower price.

Belgian Beer: Admittedly, I am biased.... The best beers in the world.

Who else has been brewing this long? Pioneers of virtually every brewing style on the planet.

Tend towards heavy malt (sweetness) rather than hops like most other countries. Tend to have high alcahol content (8% and up vs. a usual 4-5% in US beers) Most of the beers I enjoy are double-digit % alcohol. Bursting with flavor and never lacking balance. EXpensive? Yes. Personally I drink far fewer beers but enjoy it a lot more than when I drank American beer. Drink less, drink better.

"TRAPPIST" ales are some of the best, trappist means it is brewed in a monestary by the monks themselves. There are 6 Trappist brewers left. Nobody whos not a monk may touch the beer or ingredients until it is bottled or they lose the Trpappist lable.


Overall:

While the US has some good breweries producing some decent belgian styles, barleywines and others, for my hard earned money I can't turn my back on hundred of years of Belgian brewing. Easily the best dollar for dollar value out there.


The above is just one man's opinion (mine) not an aboslute truth.

Drink what you like, enjoy what you drink and allow others to do the same

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Spaten Oktoberfest
Theakston's Old Peculiar
Stoudt's American Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada IPA
Guinness

Not available in my area but may be my favorites if it were:
New Belgium Fat Tire
and I will add Shiner Bock to the list after my recent trip to Houston. I actually liked it better than Fat Tire side by side.

My local staple that is acceptable and probably the lightest I will drink and darkest my wife will drink.
Yuengling Lager