What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[Mr Pete]

Another stranger of theses parts has returned, I too had a small delivery on Tuesday for Christmas and have only got chance to start them tonight.

 

Only one for this evening, as I am up at 4am in the morning. So it has to be the Russian Imperial Stout.

OMFG, WOW! How much flavour! So much coffee aftertaste it's unbelievable, cannot wait to get started on the Bastard ales.

The Stone's Imperial

Just a small selection

[Philrad71]

Decided to head out to the EBC (Ellicottville Brewing Co.) this afternoon for some lunch and to pick up some reserve brews before another snowstorm settles in tomorrow...

Ahhhh...cuddled up back at home with some Pantius Droppus! Now I will be warm for the rest of the weekend!

Hey, it's just like being at a Bills game! Perhaps he/she should not have had that 30th Miller Lite?

Two Brothers hoppiness on left vs. the E'ville Blizzard! If I had to pick between the two, it would have been extremely difficult!!

Michael went with a German Stein for the first and a Two Brothers Pale Ale for the 2nd.

Guess he liked it! Kidding...this was just a pose - he sipped it the way most gentlemen would a pale ale!

Dad opted for the 8.5% Hey Guy Rye Ale in a bottle. I don't think he was anticipating it to be 22 oz!!!

The E'ville Blizzard! A medium bocked ale with some mildly hoppy overtones. Very tasty!

Food time - pastrami rueben with a pound of garlic fries! Couldn't get through half of it because I wanted to save room for...

Description

I went with the 11th annual German Stein...

Beer selection: Side B.

Beer selection: Side A.

I was expecting the place to be packed with skiiers being that we just got whalloped with a sneauxstorm the day before - as you can see, it wasn't real busy.

Sil-ver and copper, sil-ver and copper...

Why, hello there!

[DerekRx]

Merry Christmas TPR Beer Thread!

More cherries and honey with good Belgian candy and alcohol warmth. At 11%, it's a nice nightcap. Happy Holidays!

Finally, we end the holiday with Troegs' Mad Elf

Nice notes of Christmas spices, honey, cherries and berries with solid gingerbread cookie maltiness

Time for Great Lakes Christmas Ale, another Winter Warmer

another fine ale from Deschutes, nutmeg and sweet malts with a good hop bitterness

Another gift from Justin, Deschutes' Jubelale 2008

Wow, lots of hoppiness in here, something a hop lover will enjoy, but it really lost its Helles style

Time for another new release from Southern Tier, Krampus, an Imperial Helles Lager

A little weird for a Scotch Ale, but after a while you get used to the Christmas-y twist

Moving to the Christmas theme, first up Bell's Christmas Ale, a new release from them

A really sour and tart summertime brew with some peach nectar flavors

With a Discovery Channel show on about how beer is made, may as well break one of its featured brewers with Dogfish Head's Festina Peche

This was a great pale ale with lots of fresh hoppy flavors. Very easy to drink and quite sessionable. Thanks Justin!

Finishing off last week's Harvest theme, some Hop Trip from Deschutes.

[Jeroentjah]

[L]

xD

me on the left, drinkin' WARSTEINER

[DiSab]

Last week I was in Boston for my service fraternity's National Convention. While there, me and a few of my friends decided to visit the Sam Adams Brewery. Never having been to a brewery before, I didn't know what to expect. For one, I was expecting the brewery to be much larger than the single-room brewhouse that it was. Regardless, though, I had a lot of fun and was glad I went. Plus, free beer doesn't hurt. On to the pictures.

This one was different. I actually liked it, though some of the people I was with didn't. I would say I woudn't drink it all the time, but it would be nice to have every now and then. It was decent.

Finally, we tried one of the experimental beers they brew from time to time. This one was called the ESB, or Extra Special Bitter. This will likely never again see the light of day, and will never be bottled for sale. So I got to try a beer that no one else will ever drink. Pretty cool.

I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was one of the more unique beers I have had the pleasure to drink. Hopefully I'll get a few more before it goes out of season. Too bad this one can't be brewed year-round.

Next is the Winter Lager, one of Sam Adams' seasonal beers.

Finished. Bring on Round 2!

At first I wasn't too enthusiastic about this beer. But after a while, I learned to appreciate the beer. Delicious.

First up, the famous Boston Lager.

The vessel to be used to deliver the deliciousness to the mouth.

Yum.

NOTED!!

Some of the giant vats (can't remember the technical term...) in the brewhouse.

The Doorway to Heaven.

Oh yeah!

[Bubba83]

I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Thanks for keepin' the beer thread truckin' Derek. Nice to see the guys from across the pond chipping in as well, sure has been a while. Abyss actually made it down here pretty good this year Justin, I was able to purchase a good number of bottles.

 

I also went down to Whole Foods nearby yesterday after work after reading some chatter on beeradvocate about them having a very limited number of Firestone 12. I arrived at 6:15pm and to my delight they had exactly 1 left, and I am now the proud owner! It's exciting that Whole Foods and BevMo are starting to get the stuff that is a little rarer near me it seems.

 

These pictures are kind of old. Like before christmas old but I am gonna post them anyway, hopefully I will remember about the beers!

I enjoyed this quite a bit actually. The malt backbone is light but has a toasyness to it and the spices are done in a complimentary way instead of an overbearing way. Also, mace was used in this beer, yeah the stuff the hot girls carry in their purse! How can you dislike a beer made with Mace?

Moylan's White Christmas Spiced Winter Lager. Kind of a light one for winter, so I wasn't sure what I'd think.

El Toro Oatmeal Stout. Picked up a sixer at BevMo Sunnyvale but it was skunked. Unfortunately BevMo doesn't take care of their beers so well lately and I've had some bad luck on the ones that are old inventory. The whole six pack is skunked =[

I had heard good things about this beer and overall it delivered. High bitterness with some pine and citrus, but I'd say the malt backbone is more amber in flavor and color than red. I think I prefer Red Rocket Ale because the super sweetness of their malt backbone balances things out a little better, but still, darn tasty!

Green Flash's Hop Head Red, finally available to us Northern Californians.

For a company who has never really impressed me, this was actually pulled off quite nicely. Tasted very similar to "We're only in it for the money" by Lagunitas

Marin Brewing's Tripel Dipsea.

Quite good. Not quite an Imperial Stout, lacking in flavor and body a little to be a big beer but the coffee flavor is nice and it's enjoyable.

Redhook's Double Black. Stout brewed with Starbucks coffee.

[silverstreak]

I havent drank in awhile but i'll share with you this picture i took. Lets just say its a belated Christmas photo for all of you drinkers! ENJOY!

A green bottle Christmas tree.

[Anfronee]

The last beer I had was a Fat Tire. It was amazing. I don't have a picture. I guess that is an excuse to go get another 'pick 6'.

[65skylark]

So many pictures, so little time...........

[Bubba83]

Hey guys, let's get this show back on the road!

 

Bringing a lot of pics from the last couple weeks. Including some pictures from the second BeerAdvocate South Bay Area Meetup and some rarer beers I've all of the sudden been able to find at the local Whole Foods.

 

I told Heath I was brewing my Stout soon but it never happened, I am planning to brew this weekend since no football will be on TV. I will throw up pics of that next week.

My mouth was like Drrrr, what just happened?!?!? Tongue numbing and tingling, the sensation is awesome. The malt is actually a little bit there too, way in the background to extreme pine tree punches to the mouth.

And then last night it was time to bring out the big dude. Pliny the Elder. Smells so awesome.

The hop profile makes my face crooked. It's a lot like Pliny, the flavor is almost identical, it's just played down a little in all aspects. Pine pine and more pine with a side of bitter grapefruit and lemony accents. No malt here to speak of. Oh also, very impressed at how the bottles hold up to the tap version!

Monday night I popped open the first full serving of Blind Pig I've ever had.

And then I'd follow that up with a Stillwater Impy Stout. Pretty decent, a little one note though on the chocolate/roasty end.

First up, Frostbyte, a winter warmer. Actually very well done too. Enjoyed it a lot.

We'd have a zombie movie night and play Left 4 Dead at my coworked friends apartment on friday. And while in Campbell, we'd hit up Rock Bottom. Not a great Rock Bottom for beer but they had a couple I wanted to try anyway.

They are also selling 4 packs of St. Bernardus Abt 12 there for $19.99, seems like a decent value to me!

My chopping block after the Whole Foods run the day I was clued in to Whole Foods all of the sudden having Russian River stuff. Well priced too at $3.99 each for pliny/pig w/ white cane and $5.99 for Damnation. You're jealous!

Which brings us to the last beer of the night. Short's Mystery Stout. This was actually a rebottled portion from a growler that "bring" got in a trade. He even added a little priming sugar since it had gone somewhat flat. The priming sugar did its job too, bringing a decent head. Though I only had a small sample, the stuff was amazing, definitely up in the top 5 Imp Stouts for me. Strong roasted coffee flavor but it drinks VERY easy and is fairly light and bubbly considering the ABV.

A bit of an overview shot of some more bottles. Newport Storm '06 was some weird American Strong Ale that was alright. To the right of that, Three Floyd's Dark Lord! This was definitely a treat, I need to raise my game as far as what I bring! I don't know if I'd put Dark Lord in my top 10, but there is nice vinous fruit flavor to be enjoyed. Complex and very good but I tend to like more roasty/coffee flavored Imp Stouts.

Next up was some Green Flash Le Freak that one of my coworkers brought (as per my suggestion) They just started carrying this at the local BevMo, it was the best Belgian IPA I've had so far.

I arrived a bit late, and they showed me the empty can of Surly Furious they had just finished. This made me Furious! But they opened a Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout and all was good again. Great Impy Stout. At first we thought it might be a little overcarbonated but it mellowed down pretty quick. Good well rounded flavors I'd expect.

One of the plusses of having it at the Rose and Crown again, Bear Republic's Double Rocket Ale on tap. The double version of Red Rocket Ale. This stuff was awesome! Pretty much how you'd imagine it, deeper malt flavor, well balanced but very intense.

Back at the Rose and Crown for the monthly BA Meetup. Only six people total this time and I didn't take as many pictures. Still a great night though.

We were both very impressed. It exceeded my expectations which I had lowered because of the re-visitation. It's just an IPA that tastes like no other, tough to describe unless you've had it. It's almost mouth puckeringly bitter, but malt is there too. Great stuff.

And I brought some Inversion IPA over to introduce to my uncle. It had been at least a year since the last time I had one of these guys.

After a bit of a hiatus this one is always pleasant to revisit. All around very solid.

Staple beer of the uncle, and a damn fine Porter. Deschutes Black Butte.

I expected over the top hops but it didn't deliver that. It was also too thin in mouth feel and the malt backbone didn't have much flavor either. Dissapointing.

First up at the Uncle's a couple weekends ago. Marin Brewing's Hoppy Holidaze.

[ParkTrips]

^ Maybe thats good for you but St Bernardus gift packs (6,8,12,Tripel + Glass) are less than $15 here, and the 4-pack of the quad is about the same price

 

Since you posted I will have to follow through and post pics later tonight. I've had some really great beers lately!

[65skylark]

I don't know if I'd put Dark Lord in my top 10, but there is nice vinous fruit flavor to be enjoyed. Complex and very good but I tend to like more roasty/coffee flavored Imp Stouts.

 

That is pretty much EXACTLY how I felt about it. A great RIS, but a little more fruity than I would personally like. Not quite in my top ten either.

[mcjaco]

^ It's all about the intrigue of it.

 

I have a ton of pictures from Christmas I'll get up tonight. I just haven't been home.

 

This past Sunday we met with our local beer group. One of the local brew masters here, which is highly regarded, was bitching about BA. He's had some real idiot members come into the restaurant lately.

[freefall-nlc]

Nörten- Hardenberger Pils xD

 

...where the beer comes from *lol*

[ParkTrips]

As I promised, even if its just a few cell phone pics. I don't know where my camera is..

Finally, t IJ Natte, a Belgian pale from Amsterdam. These t IJ beers are very old, but this is the first one I've had that was past its prime. Most of the flavor seems to have died.

A gift from Scott - Bourbon County Stout. This one is DEFINITELY in my top 10. Amazing. Loads of sweet, thick chocolate flavor, and a powerful bourbon presence to knock me on my feet while begging for more. A perfect winter night beer.

Next Terrapin's Dos Cocoas.. Side Project #4, a chocolate porter. Smooth roasted cocoa flavor, neither strong nor heavy bodied, a very drinkable beer

Amazing beer! This may be in my top 10 if I ever were to create such a list. Intense combination of barleywine sweetness and Islay malts, the best kind of beer with the best kind of scotch, who can argue?

Next.. JW Lees 05 Harvest Ale aged in Lagavulin whisky casks

Chocolately, yes. A nice dry and semi bitter taste. Amazing beer worth the high price? no.

First, Sam Adams Chocolate Bock, for the amazing deal of $14.

[DerekRx]

Nice to see some activity again around these parts. I've decided to cut back on taking photos and posting, though will still do so when I visit a place I haven't yet been to or to show some sort of event we ventured to. Here's just some new stuff I tried lately before clearing out the camera.

This should look different in a couple of months, can't wait to go back!

Just a few of the samples we tried, this would be their staple selection. They also had 2 brewpub exclusives on, a Pumpernickel porter and a Sahti that we destroyed before we ever thought about taking pictures.

I had no idea I was a hop variety!

I'll end this with a little lunch stop last week

Sweet and malty though it could use more hop presence.

Firestone's Double Barrel Ale, an amber ale

A solid RIS, though I thought it wasn't nearly as good as it was first rated, though nice to see it being distributed more now. Great flavors though and smooth.

Finally got a hold of Black Albert

I liked it better when it was free

Just a little something I picked up last year, moderately enjoying it at Busch Gardens

Good roasty notes and sweetness with a nice piney finish.

Another gift from Justin, Full Sail's Wassail, another winter warmer

I thought of it more as a Winter Warmer, lots of spices and caramel/molasses in there to mix with the coffee and chocolate, but still great for this time of year

Weyerbacher Delta, one of their latest small batch series brews, a supposed Imperial Stout

Pretty light and fruity. Not like the other West Coast IPAs, but pretty enjoyable

Full Sail IPA, thanks Justin!

[Speeddeamon128]

New Year's Eve Bud Light Lime.

[Bubba83]

^ As posted in the first post of this topic:

 

ADMIT EDIT: One simple rule about this thread:

"If you are posting about drinking and you are underage, your account will be banned."

 

You may want to edit your post quick!

[gisco]

^Banned is such a harsh word, more like a 24 hour timeout!

[mush619]

At Old Chicago last night, I enjoyed a Goose Island 312 and a Goose Island Honkers Pale Ale.

[Philrad71]

Last Saturday, me and a couple of my friends ventured down the street to the Southern Tier Brewery for a tour and some samplings. As usual, they did not disappoint with healthy glasses of IPA, Porter, Chautauqua Brew, Phin & Matt's, etc, and mentioned that this time next year, they will be moving into their new home across the street which will be situated in a bigger, better facility!

 

Of note, they let us sample a batch of their new Back Burner Imperial Barley Wine style ale right out of the vat! A very strong ale with a slightly acidic taste - 10% abv.

[Bubba83]

^ Dude we need some photos! I would very much like to see Southern Tier.

[mcjaco]

^ Just a FYI: Matt has left Southern Tier. He's actually working with one of my buddies at his home brew store up the street now. He's trying t oget himself established around here.

[DerekRx]

Last week I had to go out to Denver to do some work type stuff, so while in my free time I was able to check out just some of the beer scene there. I would have loved to head up to Fort Collins and Boulder and such, but just didn't have the time or the energy, seeing how our hotel and work area was about 30 minutes south of Denver, and getting to the city was enough work in itself.

and to end my trip to Denver, some Mojo IPA. Good stuff, but just a little too unbalanced and harshly dry and bitter in the finish.

First up, Planet Porter. A very drinkable porter with nice chocolate, roasted malt, and light coffee/grassy hop finish

With a full list of their stuff on tap!

Being right next to the security check point, we chose Boulder

But unlike Philly, Denver isn't lacking beer bars and has the likes of a Rock Bottom, New Belgium Hub, and a Boulder Tap House

Finally, after being in Colorado for 3 days I can finally see the mountains! Of course, that's because I'm done with my work visit and have to head back to the airport

The steak was freaking huge though, and very tasty! Sadly, working for 11 hours and having to wake up early the next morning for more work before catching a plane left me pretty tired, so I called it a night after that and decided to save the other places for next time.

Saving lots of room for later, I only tried the Pale Ale. It was ok, but a bit too grainy for my liking

Rock Bottom owned Denver Chophouse and Brewery is just a block from Wynkoop and not too far from Coors Field, the other Breckenridge Brewpub, and Falling Rock Taphouse. Sounds like a good place to start to me!

The next night we were going to go to Breckenridge Brewing and BBQ for dinner, but decided to go elsewhere instead

but that's ok, 2 Below is what I wanted anyway!

back at the hotel we discover the Fat Tire is gone.

and to eat with all that, the artichoke and parmesan dip

and the Patty's Chili Beer, one of the few I had here previously, still retains its title as my favorite chili beer. Just enough spice but still very beer-like

On tap since the Democratic National Convention held in Denver last year, Obamanator Maibock was really enjoyable with a nice hoppy presence

Monkey's Fist IPA was my favorite from there, a good citrus and pine kick with a nice caramel and biscuit backbone

the Wixa Weiss smelled awesomely banana-y, but its taste was a little more mellow

Too much for me to drink, but I can manage some samples of the more interesting stuff

A good amount of variety on tap

next up, dinner at one of the first brewpubs I ever went to, Wynkoop

here's a better view

from the bar you can see into the brewery

Yeti makes for a good Imperial Stout but not such a good Sci-Fi Channel movie

I believe I'll have a sample of everything, thank you!

But plenty of taps of their sweet nectars

Pretty cozy little place with not a whole lot of room, but also no food besides chips.

The following day after work, time to head into Denver. First stop, Great Divide's tap room

Fat Tire is still a pretty darn good beer in my book. Maybe not as awesome as it once was to me, but still very flavorful and easy to drink. Nancy sticks with Cosmopolitans

These taps here mean we're now in Colorado. Time for some New Belgium goodies at the hotel bar

with plenty of time to kill, may as well follow it up with some Hop Wallop

First up, the first Hop Devil of the year for me

First stop, the Philly airport, which has since taken a big beer hit with 1 Jet Rock and my favorite Philly bar, Independence Brewpub, being closed and converted into wine bars! Luckily the 1 Jet Rock is still opened, and conveniently right next to my gate

[Bubba83]

^ Nice Photo TR Derek. I am glad I have some insider info on Denver now because I'm going to the GABF with a few friends this year and we'll definitely check out the places around town when we're not at the fest. Not sure how we'll fit into the Great Divide taproom along with the other thousands of people who will want to be there, but we can make it work!

 

Where else should I hit when I go?

 

Here's some pics I've been saving up!

I enjoy this IPA as a change of pace, it's got a lot of butterscotch and caramel malt backbone with a nice citrusy/pine hop kick, similar to Drake's IPA but a little more edgy and untamed.

And tonight, I'm currently enjoying a Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA.

This is my taken aback face. Wow, this stuff is good! I'd put it right up there with Franziskaner's Hefe or maybe even a little above it. Everything is here that you'd expect. The whole thing could be a little more pronounced, but it's damn good and very refreshing.

Last night I had a Kapuziner Weissbier, which is a German import that I've heard good things about. Been a while since I've had the Weizen glass out.

It doesn't hold a candle to Rasputin. Rasputin beat it out in every department. I love you for making this beer North Coast!

I was kind of curious how it held up to Mr. Rasputin, so I tried a Rasputin next.

It's a bit hoppy and a little thin. Quite bubbly as well and has some decent chocolate flavors with a hint of coffee. A well made impy stout but nothing great.

Lagunitas' latest Frank Zappa release: Ruben and the Jets. An Imperial Stout.

A little better than I thought it would be. It's quite similar to Anchor Steam in my opinion, and very easy to drink. Great session beer.

The next night we'd finally try some Anchor Small Beer. My first Small Beer ever in fact.

I really love this stuff. Belgian IPAs are growing on me as a style. There is a great balance of yeast, over the top west coast hops, and sweet tropical fruits from the underlying malt in this badboy.

Sharing a bottle of the incredibly unfiltered Le Freak at my Uncle's.

Their tripel had a longer name but I forgot it. I thought it was just alright, a lot of the flavor reminded me of apple juice, but it had some belgiany yeast flavor there too. Extremely drinkable though and not very dry.

My food came, a cheeseburger with really great fries. Burger was decent too.

I would start the night with their Red Ale. A very hoppy red ale that needed more underlying malty sweetness. But the hop flavor that was there was spicy/citrusy and nice.

A picture of it from the back, there's a nice patio out there for better weather.

Last week my mom and I went to dinner at the Firehouse grill and brewery in downtown Sunnyvale. Same brewer and location as the now closed Stoddard's Grill and Brewery I worked at.

Easily one of my favorite seasonals, I love ESBs and this hoppy variation works great. I don't know if I prefer this or 2 Below.

With the way the weather has been around here lately, it made sense to have an Early Spring Beer!

I still think it's better enjoyed indoors so it can warm a bit, but it was still very good.

Revisiting a favorite that is finally easy to get at Whole Foods near us. One of my Uncle's all time favorite beers.

I think it's becoming a bit underrated because it's so readily available. Oh well, I'll keep drinking it just as much I'm sure.

The Rasputin has been tasting extra good lately, not sure why!

He liked the pine but wished he could taste the malt. I don't think this is one of his favorites.

Sharing some Pliny with my Uncle, it's his first time!

Nice stuff. I don't think I'll ever go a season without at least one of these bottles.

The arrogance is on the back. "blatantly masturbatory and malicious ad campaigns"

At the uncles, our bottle of Double Bastard for the season.