What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

DiSab · December 5, 2008

Currently downing a Miller Lite - my third in the last 30 minutes. w00t!!

Bubba83 · December 5, 2008

Philrad: I believe he has visited EBC and I maybe even remember him posting pictures of it in this thread a ways back perhaps. If you use the search function you should be able to find it.

Philrad71 · December 6, 2008

^ Ahhh...I did find Nicole's trip report. Thx!

emily>piers · December 6, 2008

Cobra Bite, the lime one. It was lush.

Tonights is just Brahma and Bud (not mixed together)

DiSab · December 7, 2008

I had a little bit of everything last night, though I don't remember what I drank. I just know it was too much, mainly because I blacked out and don't remember my walk home. And because of the fact that I'm still slightly hung over - nearly 24 hours after I was done drinking!

FlyerACE1 · December 7, 2008

I had a little bit of everything last night, though I don't remember what I drank. I just know it was too much, mainly because I blacked out and don't remember my walk home. And because of the fact that I'm still slightly hung over - nearly 24 hours after I was done drinking!

DiSab, while your contribution to the beer thread is appreciated, you will find that almost all of the contributers to this sticky thread respect beer and drink responsibly. I see from your profile that you're 21 so I can understand the thrill of getting drunk but if you read through the thread you'll see that we're less about "I downed 20 Miller Lites" and more about sharing our love for finely crafted micro and craft brews. So, perhaps think about that the next time you post. Thanks.

nay · December 7, 2008

I took a trip out towards the eastern end of Long Island yesterday to check out the Blue Point brewery, and also took part in the 5K race they had.

Also ended up doing some Christmas shopping on the way back. I wish I could say that these are all for me, but sadly, I'll have to part with some of them.

I decided to get a growler of the Winter Ale.

The selection of beer that you could purchase.

I tried everything, but especially loved the Winter Ale.

Here is some of what they offered inside at the bar.

I sampled both, and really enjoyed the toasted lager.

After running the 5K, we got to hang out in the back for a bit for food and beer (Golden Ale and Toasted Lager).

Blue Point Brewing Company in Patchogue, NY.

ParkTrips · December 7, 2008

How much did the Chocolate Bock cost you? I've seen it range greatly here... from $10 up to $16

nay · December 8, 2008

How much did the Chocolate Bock cost you? I've seen it range greatly here... from $10 up to $16

NY is expensive as usual so it was $15.99 here.

mcjaco · December 8, 2008

OK, I need to catch up here. Two weeks ago I headed up to Minneapolis to see my buddy and my god son. Abra and I decided to make a beer trip as well. We hit Great Dane in Madison, WI for lunch, and onece in Minneapolis, Rock Bottom, Minneapolis Town Hall and Cafe Thirtyeight. Kind of a re-cap of Derek and my trip back in June.

I don't have pics from Cafe 38, but I sampled the last of the Surly Cynic (we got the last two cans), and Surly Darkness. I was disappointed in Darkness. It was way too heavy in molasses, which made it an extermely sweet stout that just didn't do much for me. Kind of a shame, as I was really looking forward to it.

Of which I had two. It was a short but great trip. I picked up some goodies of which I'll share later this week.

Unlike me, Abra is a fan of IPAs.

We got Masala Mama. Of course!

Town Hall is in one of the oldest parts on Minneapolis. As such, the building has tons of 1800 charm.

It was nice to see the Dukes were in town.

Then it was off to Minneapolis Town Hall. Derek and I spent a good full day (over two days) here last time we visited.

I had the same......jeez, I need to post these sooner, or start taking notes.

Abra had the porter. And I honestly can't remember what it was.

Brandon sampled the Root Beer.

We swung into Rock Bottom.

The next day we headed into Minneapolis and used the walkways. It was 10 out.

It complimented my Cheddar burger with onions. Tsauce was made with....Black Earth Porter.

I tried the Black Earth Porter. which was nice. Lots of coffee and chocolate with a little hop.

With her wheat, is what she affectionately calls the greatest grilled cheese sandwich on the planet.

Abra had a Crop Circle Wheat. Which is honestly, one of the best wheats I've had.

Right down the street from the Capitol in Mad-town, WI.

First stop, Great Dane.

DerekRx · December 11, 2008

Last week Nicole and I ventured out west to do some California Dreamin on such a winter's day...errr week. Of course we couldn't help but stop off at a Pizza Port while out in SoCal.

and I'll leave this update with a picture of a very amazed and confused Nicole, not sure what beer to start with at the San Diego Strong Ale Fest being held between Pizza Port and the bottle shop, pics coming eventually.

Just a six pack shop, but they had some pretty impressive stuff. Lots of nice bombers of local SoCal goodies as well as some of the rare beers and even some Dogfish Head stuff from back East.

Next, time to check out Pizza Ports bottle shop located next door to the restaurant

Happy to be on the beach in December and not be freezing

I call this "my future retirement home"

To kill some time while in Carlsbad, we took a short walk to the beach

Since Hop Suey is 9% and I have an empty stomach, we had better grab some beer buddies to help sustain us for future consuming

and the rest of the place. I think it's my favorite because it's more open than the other locations

A look at the bar area

But there's one major beer I jump right for, Hop Suey, their double IPA. While I think I like the Hop 15 a little better, this one still rocked the house. Packed with pine resin and tropical citrus notes, great tongue puckering bitterness, though not much malt presence at all.

A look at their tap list, with lots of options I want to try

After getting over jet lag and spending some time at Disneyland, it was off to another Pizza Port a few days later, this time the Carlsbad location, my personal favorite

a brief look at the upstairs bar, though I was too tired to drink anything else.

To accompany the beer, the Pizza Carlsbad with some pesto, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomato, grilled chicken, and feta cheese. Yummy!

Lots of stuff that seemed to be pretty heavy, and I was a bit tired, so I stuck with the Warrior, a black IPA. Definite West Coast style here loaded with pine and citrus with some nice roastiness in the backbone. Nicole went with their Novemberfest, an award winning Oktoberfest.

This one is cool in that they have an upstairs and a downstairs. This would be the downstairs bar's tap list, not including guest taps

After waking up at 2am EST, flying to California, and doing a day at Knott's, the only way to really feel like we're in Cali is to hit up a Pizza Port, so we went to the closest one to the LA area, San Clemente

tastes as the name suggests. More of a summertime beer, but still drinkable in these cold days

More West Coast goodness before we leave, Eugene City's Honey Orange Wheat Ale

A little lighter and lower in ABV than some of the other RISs out there, but it had great flavor and was very drinkable. Definitely worth it when you want a RIS but don't want to break open a rare bottle

Before leaving PA though, time to enjoy some bottles of stuff, thus making room for more bottles to bring back. First up, Elysian's Dragonstooth Stout, a Russian Imperial

DerekRx · December 15, 2008

Continuing on, time for more Southern California beery goodness, starting with the San Diego Strong Ale Festival.

Not too much on tap that was exciting for me (especially not after all the awesomeness we had over the past couple of days) but I managed to find and enjoy some East End Fat Gary's Nut Brown. Nice to see some Pittsburgh stuff in the Philly suburbs.

The next day we sadly found ourselves back home in PA, drowning our sadness at The Drafting Room

Jimmy even brought some goodies from Arizona, like Four Peaks' 8th Street Ale, a really nice dry pale ale; while he enjoyed a Terrapin India Brown Ale that I brought for him to try

Another awesome Port brew with good syrupy chocolate notes mixed in with all the other RIS flavors

But it's cool, we met up with him the next day and he provided me with some Port goodness in the form of Santa's Little Helper

and some Swami's IPA to finish the evening. Too bad Jimmybo doesn't work there anymore

more alcohol soaking goodness, this time a Portzel

I started with some Yiga's Revenge IPA while Nicole went for the Offshore Coffee Porter

With a nice tap selection of pub brewed ales

A little less roomy than Carlsbad, but still fantastic

Still feeling good and being so close, Nicole wanted to check out the third and final Pizza Port down in Solana Beach. Who am I to say no!?

Before driving, better grab a pizza to help soak up all that alcohol. Bring on the artery clogging awesomeness of BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza!

Finally, I end with some Snowbound, a Winter Warmer from Left Hand out in Colorado.

As we wind down I grab one of the only offerings from The Bruery, Humulus Gold which had a little too much foam. Nicole represented the East Coast with some Storm King, which she's still not a fan of because of its hoppy edge

A look at the arrangement for getting beer. Basically it was all in one area and you stood in a particular line and said which number you wanted, no "I want some Hop Juice!" stuff, just tell em the number.

Then some Alpine Bad Boy and Rock Bottom San Diego's Bourbon Barrel Blitzen Barleywine from 2007

Nicole says "Gimme some Tovarish!" Solana Beach Pizza Ports Imperial Stout with Espresso

Coronado's Neptune's Nectar for me and some Brett Saison from Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City for Nicole

We've still got tickets left, more beer please!

I think it's time for some Salvation from Russian River

It's starting to get really crowded and harder to see with the sun now down

Nicole leaves the beer world for a little bit and goes for some Sunshine, an Apricot mead from Redstone Meadery

Finally I get to try some Black Butte XX from Deschutes, another winner from them

Then some Black Pearl from Maui, a rum barrel aged version of the Coconut Porter that was a little too rummy, and some Veritas 002 from Lost Abbey, still fantastic

Next on the agenda was Dark Lord, but they were already out of that from the VIP party. So, some Victory at Sea from Ballast Point for me and some Consecration from Russian River for Nicole.

as you can see, the place filled up pretty quickly, making it tough to get around

Our first stops after looking over the list in the bottle shop would be for Exponential Hoppiness from Alpine and some more Big Black Pumpkin from Flossmoor Station

Here's what all was included for $25

After killing some time and waiting for the VIP session to finish, we were finally allowed into the Strong Ale Festival in Pizza Port's parking lot at 4pm.

65skylark · December 15, 2008

^ Nice pics. Looks like it was a great trip.

I need to get caught up. I'll start by throwing up the pics from our trip out to Full Sail that didn't load right last time.

They have a Full Sail pub right here in Portland but be wanted to make a trip out of it and head down the Columia River Gorge to Hood River where the brewery is.

WOW! Now that is exactly my kind of stout. LOTS of coffee/espresso flavor with just enough chocolate. I was a bit concerned when I saw the "double chocolate" on the label but it was all good. This one just bumped Obsidion down a notch on my list of favorite stouts. Fantastic!

More pics on the way.........

Finally I get a chance to see what Founders Breakfast Stout is all about after seeing it several times in this thread.

Maybe just me but I thought it was a little watered down for a porter. But I have to admit, I haven't had that many porters, and the only one I have had on a regular basis is Black Butte, so maybe I'm just spoiled Still, it certainly wasn't bad at all.

Dead Reckoning porter.

Great holiday beer with lots of hoppiness as usual. Hard to go wrong here.

Next up, a beer enthusiast winter time staple. Celebration.

I'm not a huge fan of this style of beer but this one was better than average. Lots of orange and cinnamon flavor.

While at Deschutes I picked up a bottle of their 20th anniversary Wit.

It was pretty good. I didn't like it quite as well as other Imperial Stouts I have had but still very drinkable.

Continuing with the "gift from Derek" theme. Monster Mash Imperial Stout from Boaks.

I loves me a good IPA and this one did not disappoint.

Up next, a gift from Derek.

I wasn't expecting much from this one and it was actually very good.

Back at home I picked up the new winter brew from Widmer.

I picked up some goodies to bring home along with this growler of Wassail.

Nothing out if this world but still pretty good. Actually tasted a lot like Sierra Nevada Celebration.

Next up was Wreck The Halls. I figured I'd stay with a winter theme while I was here.

And Sandi had some shrimp on a stick.

Chad had the chowder.

Ellie had the humus plate.

Fish sandwich for me. It was freakin awesome.

Very good indead!

Started out with their Wassail on nitro.

Small but with a nice cozy feel to it.

An hour later and we're here.

And West back toward Portland.

Looking east toward Hood River.

Just a little windy up here.

Quick stop at the Vista House for some cool views of the gorge.

Entering the Columbia River Gorge on I-84 with Mt. Hood in the background. (blury, but you get the idea)

65skylark · December 15, 2008

Continuing on......

December 5th was my birthday so I decided to break out one of my bottles of '07 Abyss and do a vertical tasting. I also needed to make sure the '07 was still good as I had a package to prepare for shipping.

Very nice! I will be trying this one again.

And finally back at home I try out something new to me from Bridgeport. Hop Czar, an Imperial IPA.

And I'll finish up with my favorite beer here, Hamerhead Ale.

However, their artichoke dip is something special.

Just like almost all their beers, it was solid, but not really anything special.

The reason for this visit was to try their holiday brew, Kris Kringle.

This time we sat next to creepy flute player dude.

A few days later we find ourselves down the street at McMenamins.

You really wouldn't know this beer was 11% by the taste. By the time you're done drinking it, however, you've got a pretty good idea. Great beer.

Mad Elf. Mmmmm.....cherries.

Yeah, even better. The 2007 was great but the alcohol presence was more noticeable and took a bit away from the flavour. Just a bit though as it was still very good!

And now the 2008.

Still very good. Definitely ages well.

The Abyss, 2007. On tap I prefered the aged '07 over this years '08.

Bubba83 · December 16, 2008

^^ Awesome Trip Report Derek. I had no idea you were going to SD.

^ Those pictures bring back memories, I took those same pictures about 6-7 months ago. Your Deschutes pint glass sure looks familiar!

Good posts by everyone lately, nice to see Abra involved in the beer tasting pictures for once! I will post a few highlight beers I had at home first, then get to the interesting part on this 3,999th post of the beer thread.

And I'll wrap it up with a picture of Napa Smith's Bonfire Imperial Porter. Which wasn't bad but didn't meld that well, it used smoked malts I think. By the way, I mentioned Kegatron and HopDerek to see if anyone had heard of you guys and bbothen let me know he thinks he had traded with Kegatron aka Heath! We also had some Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA and a traded, pretty fresh, growler of Masala Mama IPA. And also some Boulevard Sixth Glass, a good Quad. An awesome time was had by all and I can't wait to do more with these guys in the future.

And here's a picture of me with about 1 ounce of Trappist Westvleteren 12, an awesome BA brought a small bottle of it. It's not much to take a picture of though, with no label. It was obviously outstanding and for sure the best Quad I have had to date. I loved how creamy it was and the flavor was magnificent.

I brought some Hop Trip for the gang, along with the Hop Head Red from Green Flash and Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. We just couldn't get to everything.

An Alesmith Yulesmith that had been aged 2 years, still really tasty with no signs of oxidization.

And the rest of the night we'd just pour small samples from bottles that were being passed around. I got to meet the local BA crowd which was really nice for me. Apparently they hope to have these meetups once a month. About 12 people there total probably. Here's Brewdog's Punk IPA, which was very light and hoppy.

Mike and I also ordered some shepphard's pie, which was pretty decent.

And my buddy J.T. would have the El Toro Oatmeal Stout, which he liked as well. I tried some of his and it was fantastic.

My buddy Mike started off with some North Coast Red Seal Ale, a Pale Ale, on tap, which he enjoyed very much.

So I'd start off with some Drake's Hopocalypse Double IPA on tap, which was outstanding. The malt backbone is incredible with layers of caramel, and the citrusy hops are good up front.

As you can see, everyone brought a lot of bottles so we wanted to make sure we gave the establishment some business for being gracious enough to host us.

Here's an overview shot of our table of BeerAdvocates as we arrived. We were encouraged to bring bottles to share and boy, I was blown away by what some people brought. I didn't know how hardcore these BA'ers would be and they were damn hardcore! Ny the way the guy in the grey sweatshirt on the left happens to be Pete from Pete's Wicked Ale.

My coworker friends like craft beer but are not advocates, so I brought them along to show them what beer can be and to expand their horizons.

The bar of choice is the Rose and Crown, an English pub through and through that also rotates some local goodness in the craft beer scene.

Sort of hard to see since it gets dark so early now and my flash isn't so strong, but this is the Sunnyvale Caltrain station. I'd take it to meet up with my coworkers on the train at their respective stops on my way to downtown Palo Alto for a south bay area BeerAdvocate meetup!

A really well done Barleywine. It has a little bit of hops but focuses on a heavy malt backbone with a great chewy mouthfeel and lots of caramel decadence. Perhaps not as much complexity as I'd have liked but still really good.

More special stuff from my dad's Birthday package. Upstream brewing's Batch 1000 Barleywine. Upstream is in Omaha (You may recall a Photo TR from me a long ways back of Upstream)

I had the Double Daddy before with great results but this was my first try of the single version. It's a very hoppy IPA with LOTS of pine. Good stuff.

Some local goodness from Speakeasy Ales. Big Daddy IPA.

Maybe not quite as great as I remember it being last year but still really solid.

Lagunitas Cappucino Stout is back in town.

I sort of expected more sourness from the Brett. There was actually very little sourness, if any. The funky taste was nice though and the malt came through beautifully. Also, another great beer to look at, and very tasty!

Back at home midweek I would enjoy something a little special from my dad. De Proef's Flemish Wild Ale, this is the Surly Bird, which is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Certainly tastes like bourbon, infact, it's pretty hard to get any other typical stout flavors. Still, I do like the bourbon flavor.

Goose Island is finally distributing a beer around here. 4 packs of Bourbon County Stout.

But the beer is the same, absolutely delicious. Probably my favorite winter seasonal.

The Jubelale season is upon us, though I must say I prefer last year's artwork.

It was just okay. Decent porter flavors but the mouthfeel seemed too watery and the flavor was pretty watery as well.

Kona's Pipeline Porter.

Deserving of the Bubba face, this beer was great on tap in Portland and did not dissapoint in the bottle either.

Over at the uncle's we had some Deschutes Green Lakes Organic Ale. The six packs of this stuff finally made it down here.

A beautiful beer to look at with a very creamy mouthfeel and a nice saison like funk. There are also some citrusy hops there to balance out the yeast and even some background pineapple. Tasty stuff for sure.

Starting out with La Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel. Been a long time coming for me to try this.

65skylark · December 17, 2008

Totally random beer thread comment, but The Abyss is currently sitting at number two ahead of Dark Lord on BA's top 100. I know I've never seen Dark Lord knocked out of the number two spot before.

mcjaco · December 17, 2008

bubba, that group sounds like fun. I get together with a bunch of beer geeks once a month at our local liquour store, of all places. The Beer Manager has become a good friend of mine, and we do a similiar thing.

I've been meaning to bring the camera and do a report, but once you start digging into the goodness everyone brings, you forget. This past Sunday we had Black Albert, which is selling for around $10 a 12 oz bottle, and around $20 a glass at the Map Room. Save your pennies if you find it. It's not very good.

Bubba83 · December 17, 2008

Mike and I went to Gordon Biersch in San Jose last night for dinner. Sometimes I wish I carried my point and shoot digicam in my car for unexpected stuff like that. I had the Winter Bock which was very tasty and somewhat Jubelale-ish. I followed that up with the Schwarzbier, which did not have all that much flavor. The Pecan Crusted Chicken was amazing, I love the food more than the beer at Gordon Biersch, which is pretty rare for me!

Juggler · December 17, 2008

Long time, no visit.

Had a few personal things to clear up recently so I've not been as active as usual on the old Internet. However things are improving and the delivery man has just arrived with a very interesting selection of ales.

and here's the few random others that looked interesting.

What is this we see before our eyes? Yes, it is indeed a selection of ales from the good ol' US of A. Here's the Stones selection.

The beer table. Now fully stocked with the recent delivery.

Crisp, clear and a wonderful taste enhanced by the addition of some late hopping using the Cascade hops. Leaves a fresh and slightly citrus taste in the mouth.

From the CAMRA Beer Club Christmas selection comes the 'Yellow Hammer' brewed by O'Hanlons.

Bubba83 · December 17, 2008

^ Nice pickups. Gonzo and Yeti are outstanding.

DerekRx · December 18, 2008

^^Welcome back, ole Chap! Nice to see you obtained some more great US brews.

Nice to see some discussions going on here too, besides just photos every so often. Bubba, I know the feeling about needing a camera at all times, we recently hit up Iron Hill and weren't expecting anything really worthwhile, but ended up getting to try all sorts of cool stuff, and no documentation.

As another year winds down, that means it's time for yet another Project IPA at Sly Fox in Phoenixville. Sadly, this is the last year for it, next year is all about different hops for Pale Ales.

last year's was more toned down and almost either Pale Ale or British IPA-like to me, but this year's is fantastic. Plenty of citrus, spicy hops, honey sweetness, and pine that I love with even some saltine cracker notes mixed in. I may have to break out another fresh hop ale tomorrow to keep this theme going while they're still fresh!

After hearing good things about this year's batch, I picked up a Founder's Harvest Ale as well

It can snow outside all it wants, I'm happy staying inside with this excellent fresh wet-hopped IPA

Since conjuring the Wizard brought on Winter to PA, better try to reverse the effects by breaking out the Sierra Nevada Chico Estate Harvest Wet Hop Ale that I got out in SoCal

A good winter sessional, but nothing that really stood out for me; caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, grapes, and a touch of citrus and grass. At least it didn't taste like butter like all the other beers I had from them.

For a break from IPAs for a bit, time to try Wizard's Winter from Middle Ages up in Syracuse, a winter warmer

Smells great but is more of a segway from Pale Ale to IPA, especially after what I've had lately

Fast forward a few days and we still want more IPAs. Time to enjoy some Hoptical Illusion from Blue Point

and with so much scariness it's time for the Nightmare on Bourbon Street, Rock Bottom's Czar's Nightmare RIS barrel aged and served on cask. Lots of vanilla, and more alcohol heat, but still excellent with roastiness, chocolate, and dark fruit.

Before we finish for the night, let's head back to Rock Bottom at King of Prussia, definitely one of the scariest places to be on a Friday night right before Christmas

Yakima's description

Like Yakima Twilight, a "double IPA" which we thought more bordered on being a barleywine, or even sorta a Black IPA

The board shows a lot of stuff is the same, but there are some new interests

But we're not done yet. Just down the road we find Victory and some new goodies for us to indulge in

all 11 different varieties of hops used singly and all together in the Odyssey 08 along with their staple IPA and Odyssey 07 and 08 on cask

For those who like to read, we salute you

Amarillo! Good for a pitcher split between all of us

Mission complete! And the winner is...

Time to try all 15 different IPAs

Luckily Deuane and Ffej got us a table, it was pretty slammin' at 1:30pm

Finally we are at Sly Fox for the last Project IPA Day

Pilsners aren't really my thing, but this had some good sweetness with a nice balance of lemon and grassy hops to accompany the pils malt. Easy to drink and sessionable, but could use a bit more carbonation.

Spezial Pilsner from Einhorn Brewing out in California

Much better than it was when barrel aged and called Black Pearl. A good porter with some coconut and vanilla notes, almost like an Almond Joy

May as well follow that up with Maui's CoCoNut Porter

A pretty solid IPA packing in the West Coast style, from a can none the less!

But before that, we gotta catch up with other stuff that was consumed, like Maui's Big Swell IPA

EDIT: Ooops, forgot to include this picture of us enjoying Victory's Vista Farms Harvest Ale while at the brewpub.

ParkTrips · December 18, 2008

It's not very good.

I guess it depends on what you mean - I thought it was a pretty good beer, despite being a stout, but certainly it isn't deserving of its ~top 20 accolades on BA. It just failed to live up to the hype to me, but I still enjoyed it

mcjaco · December 18, 2008

^ You hit the nail on the head. I felt the same way. I'm glad I didn't spend the $11 on a bottle. There's much better stouts out there for less.

Bubba83 · December 18, 2008

^ That's good to hear because I almost went to City Beer for Black Albert's release party there.

^^^ Nice posts Derek.

mcjaco · December 19, 2008

OK, since it's snowing and I can't get the car out of my garage, what better way to kill some time from a "work from home day" than with beer pictures!

Hopefully, this will get me all caught up on my archived photos.

This bad boy was way too strong on the cherry this time. And it was artificial tasting to boot. Oh well, there's more Bell's to try.....

One last Bell's. Their Cherry Stout, which I enjoyed last time I picked one up.

Nice to have Larry come to his senses.

And, of course, Bell's is back in Chicago. Ha ha. No more Bell's jokes!

I wish I had found this back in September. Nice maltiness, and flat out smooth to drink. It would of been excellent on a Indian Summer day.

Picked this little gem up on our last Minneapolis trip. Surly Lager / Oktoberfest.

Still good, but they lost the pumpkin taste and over did the spices. Speaking of which Matt of Southern Tier now lives in the area, and is hoping to start his own brewery.