What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[N'at Man]

I tried a Weyerbacher Blasphemy Quad I picked up in Wildwood from Tom (can we just call him LivesNearDorneyDude ?). Quite complex, a little sweet and very alcoholic. For comparison's sake, I liked it better than Victory Golden Monkey Tripel.

I'm really not good at taking these self beer portraits.

Blasphemy!

[mcjaco]

Well the wife is in Philly, mass transit crapped out on me this morning, so I spent the day at the movies. After seeing Spiderman 3, I needed to drink.

You can't go wrong with this fine brew!

Speaking of Pale Ales.....

It's OK, nothing I'd write home about. I'll take the Pale Ale any day.

Barley. As in Gnarls barley?

[ParkTrips]

my first beer thread contribution... I wish it was something better. I went to a beer store yesterday so hopefully some better stuff is to come.

Just a Guinness... eh, ok. I've had better and I've had way worse.

[mcjaco]

Yay! We have a Joe post!

[DerekRx]

Wow, first Tim, then Matt does 2 posts in less than a week, AND Joe does his first beer thread post, how awesome! What's next, Adam and Tom return!?

 

Joe, welcome to the world of drinking good beers. May I suggest looking for some Terrapin Brewing beers, or perhaps Atlanta Brewing Co stuff in your area. I also believe Victory is now distributed down there, and you can probably get some good stuff from the Carolina area.

 

As for me, I'm just planning on my return trip to New York by drinking some of their native stuff tonight.

"Hi Matt, nice to see you posting again!":)

I'll continue the New York stuff tomorrow, I've had about all I can handle from Southern Tier for one night. Time for good stuff to end this evening, in the form of Bells Two Hearted IPA

Yeah, one of the weakest IPAs I've ever had. No real hoppy flavor, no real flavor whatsoever. Southern Tier should be renamed Bottom Tier because that's where their beers rank

First up, the original "tree bark and chemicals", Southern Tier IPA!

[ParkTrips]

Joe, welcome to the world of drinking good beers. May I suggest looking for some Terrapin Brewing beers, or perhaps Atlanta Brewing Co stuff in your area. I also believe Victory is now distributed down there, and you can probably get some good stuff from the Carolina area.

Thanks!

 

The stores out here in the country don't have much selection. My county didn't allow liquor stores till recently, and GA didn't allow high-gravity beers till a couple years ago, so the market is just taking off. I can at least get Terrapin out here. I understand that there are some better stores across town, I'm just not a devoted enough drinker to trek simply for beer... yet when I'm over there I'll definitely try to stock up

[Nodders]

I wasn't going to, but I was passing the shop & thought "what the heck"!

Nice & malty with a zesty bite. Very refreshing at 4.2%.

I fancied a bit of blonde tonight ..... Fuller's Discovery Blonde Beer!

[Bubba83]

Argh, I'm sick! I haven't gotten a new supply of beer yet either... But my mom and I did go to this Southwestern Grill type place a couple nights ago that made some awesome blue corn crispy shelled crab tacos. The place also had a nice beer selection in bottles that you could pick up at the register, so I decided to grab a Lagunitas Censored to go.

 

Places like this are kinda nice because you can try a single instead of having to get a whole sixer. $2.95 is steep but not THAT bad compared to the markup for single bottles of beers at other restaurants, and it's a lot better than a six pack price of $7.99

I am really a fan of this Russian Imperial Stout. It's nice and bitter for the style, and has some great flavors with a nice alcohol profile. It's also one of the cheaper Russian Imperial Stouts available.

To finish up two nights ago I had another Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. 9% ABV.

Very tasty, and fairly complex. My first Lagunitas beer was a winner... I'll try and pick up some more stuff from them soon. Check out my shirt!

Lagunitas Censored aka The Kronic. It's labeled a copper ale, and it's considered a hoppy amber ale. It tasted basically like a cross between a red ale and an ESB to me.

[Bubba83]

I also wanted to ask a question to you guys. I plan to buy some six packs and 4-packs the next time I go to BevMo. Since I will only be trying 1 of each multi-pack in the next couple weeks, I would love to be able to re-visit these beers months down the line.

 

Derek and Heath always seem to be experts at this, and I was wondering what it takes to ensure freshness over periods of time. Also, how am I to know how long certain beers will keep compared to other beers? What does it take to cellar a beer? I really don't have any dark/cool places in my house, so what else could be suggested?

 

Some beers I know I like just make more sense to buy in multi-packs, so I am hoping to be able to cellar to enhance my beer drinking abilities!

[DerekRx]

Most IPAs shouldn't be aged, the hops start getting funky after a while. Stouts though can be, as can Belgians. The higher the abv, the better your chances that it'll still be good down the line. Usually just find a place that is between 45 and 65F and that is cellar conditions. Also, try not to get beers that are already chilled if you can.

 

Back to the New York theme tonight in preparation for the weekend.

Lite, fruity, and very summery. This one actually tastes like blueberries, but not as strong as Sea Dog's Blueberry Wheat

Finally, we'll end the night on a summery high note, Ellicottville's Blue Berry wheat

It may taste extraordinary to Matt and his poor tastebuds, but this is the face of a guy drinking a not-even-up-to-par-with-ordinary ale

After mowing, it's time for more greatness from Southern Tier, Phin and Matt's Extraordinary Ale, a "pale ale"

6 months later it's still a pretty tasty stout, lots of great coffee and chocolate flavors with some good bitter hop bites

First day of Summer, let's break out some Winter, in the form of Mendicino's Winter Ale, brewed up in Saratoga Springs, NY as well as out on the West Coast

[mcjaco]

^ But did the pale ale taste like blueberries? I would only make a beer if it tasted like blueberries. That's a promise.

 

Last night I was teased yet again by Bell's. A player on my softball team managed to scroonge up every last bottle in the Chicagoland area, and then drank them in front of me. Are you sending people I socialize notes?

[Nodders]

Still on the blonde theme ..... Adnam's Explorer.

Apparently it's best served chilled, but it's just fine at room temperature!

Light & refreshing with a grapefruit burst & an ABV of 5.5%.

[Bubba83]

^ That's a blonde? How come every beer picture you take seems to look the same color to me?

 

I shook the sick bug pretty quick, turned out to be a mild cold, and was back at BevMo earlier today, this time with my Uncle. We decided to drink some more beers and create fire tonight after an awesome teriyaki chicken skewered BBQ that my mom and I hosted tonight for my Uncle and Grandma, who live right across the street.

 

We bought quite a bit of stuff in this trip between the two of us. We even watched the American Brew DVD that came complimentary with my order of BA's magazine subscription on his big plasma in the garage tonight as we sat by the fire.

 

A very enjoyable night splitting bombers 2-3 ways amongst people and just having a grand time watching the tube and building fire. Before American Brew we caught a show about Snow Leopards on PBS, very sweet stuff there, but would have been better in Hi-Def.

 

Side note: I don't really have anywhere in my house that stays at proper cellar temperatures, and out here we don't really have basements. We don't even have A/C so every spot in the house has been 75 on the low side through the summer months. We do however have underground crawl space that is sort of dirty, and I think this is probably around 60-65 degrees and might just work for cellaring... What do you guys think?

 

Double Side note: I'm quite excited about the brews I picked up at BevMo today, and I can't wait to share them one by one with you all!

 

Triple Side Note: It's been like over a week since I've seen a Heath post, is everything okay???

My uncle loves Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout (as do i) so he wanted to try this stuff, as predicted, we both still like Samuel Smith's a great deal amount more...

To end the night, Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout from Anderson Valley. 5.7% ABV. Yeah, I've had this before.

This is the best English Pale Ale I've had yet. They call the beer juicy on the label, and I'd have to second that. It's hard to describe, quite juicy and succulent hop juice types of flavors indeed!

Wychwood's Fidler's Elbow. Hi friends from across the pond, yeah, our selection over here is quite good... A nice english pale ale at 5.2% ABV

I had to try it just for history sake. Yeah, I didn't like it much, the beer it reminds me most of is Coors light, so basically, a glass of carbonated water...

Ahhh Schlitz, a classic that we found in a sixer today at BevMo. Something my Uncle and his friends all remember drinking as they were growing up.

Obligatory fire picture. Yeah, pretty much any saturday night that it cools off you can expect a fire at my Uncle's on the driveway.

It is obviously good if you liked Guinness, just a bit more bitter, with excellent flavor as it warms...

Guinness Extra Stout. 6% ABV. My uncle picked this one up cause he had not tried it before, but I tried this not so long ago...

Some of the awesome salt and pepper kettle cooked chips we picked up at BevMo. It was too hard to get a picture without one of my Uncle's friends hands in the bag, so there you have it.

It's a pretty good doppelbock that definitely smells german before you even taste it. Has some sweet qualities especially as it warms.

We started the night by sharing a Spaten Optimator, a doppelbock import from Germany... 7.2% ABV

[Hattuchili]

Oh yes, I had my first Beck´s beer from my hometown after more then 16 month. It was so good... hehe

Beck´s beer

[Rugged One]

Rest assured Bubba, I'm still alive and drinking beer. Just not so much during the week anymore, as I shed a few unwanted pounds. But it's still all bets are off on the weekends, as you will see from these pics from yesterday.

Lots to choose from but I decide to end the day with something new. The Donnybrook Stout. A dry Irish Stout weighing in at a whopping 3.7% ABV. Good stuff. The nice roasty notes and low alcohol made this way too sessionable. We better get out of here while I can still walk. Until next time.

Where the heck is everyone? It's 6:30 on a Saturday night and the place isn't crowded at all. Ah, everyone must be at the beach! It's probably a good thing that we didn't go to Rehoboth Beach and Dogfish Head today after all.

Last stop. Victory.

I finish up with the always awesome Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale. Just a fantastic West Coast IPA.

Screw SI, this is the swimsuit issue that I want to read!

Time to try the 13th and it's a winner. A nice big Pils that weight in at a hefty 7.8%. Not quite as hoppy as I had heard from others but still very good.

Kim also showcases our always delicous pile of nachos that we always get here. Trust me, nothing soaks up beer better than nachos. Nothing.

I've always wanted to try one of their excellent looking Bloody Marys but naturally, I'm always obligated to drink beer when I'm here. Thankfully, Kim came to the rescue and got one so that I could try it. And it was just as good as it looked. Woot!

...I have to try some of the 2 year old 11th Anniversary. And it's on cask too! Wow, this American IPA has really held up well. I was burping hops the whole way through.

That's right, last Thursday, their 13th Anniversary Beer from Troegs just went on tap. But before we get to that...

Like we really ever actually need a reason to visit the Drafting Room but this time, it's because something special just went on draft.

Next stop and our main reason for coming out this way. A return to the Drafting Room. In full summer mode too, with shaded tables out front.

Being sour, Kim of course loves it.

Instead I opted for the latest seasonal from Dogfish Head. The Festina Peche. A Weissbeer with some great peach and sour notes.

Capone's also had some decent stuff on tap too. They still had the remnants on from their Allagash promo from a couple of nights ago.

I could literally drop a couple of hundred bucks in this place on all the great beer that they have but I stopped at just three bottles. Grand total- $36. See why I stopped at just three? Good beer ain't cheap folks.

There was a few bottles of special stuff that I was looking to pick up, so our next stop was our favorite PA place to buy beer. Capone's in Norristown.

This was only our first stop of the day, so I quit after having a Fat Dog Imperial Stout. Wow, I had forgotten how great this is and is a nice compliment to the other locally brewed (and much hoppier) Victory Storm King. We had a great time at Stoudts, chatting with some other beer fans, and we swear we will be back sooner than later.

...the Smooth Hoperator. This is quite unique, as it's a highly hopped Doppelbock. And it works fantastically! I think I just found a new local favorite.

Lots of nice stuff on tap that I haven't had in way too long. We'll start with something new that recently came out for their 20th Anniversary Celebration...

Back to Stoudts in Adamstown, PA. Allthough it's only like 50 minutes away (and like 10 from Derek's) this is the first time that we've been here in almost a year and a half.

[DerekRx]

Friday I took the day off of work to head up to Albany to attend my cousin's graduation from high school. Of course, since I was driving, I was also determined to make the "lunch stop" be at a microbrewery on the way. Thanks to Yankee Brew News, I found one only 2 miles from the New York Thruway in New Paltz, a place that Elissa would definitely approve of, because the place was called the Gilded Otter Brewing Company! Onto the pics:

and hey, Elissa, someone wants to know when he can head out to Cali?

The place was really nice with great service and good beer, and is really easy to find, covering its own block outside of town with plenty of parking, and this cute sign in the front to prepare you

This was pretty cool, the storage board for all the beers they brew currently not on tap.

The bar can definitely handle a good crowd, it makes a giant J shape, meaning lots of seating for all

Just to show how much blueberries are added in, just look at the color compared to the Three Pines IPA

Hey Matt, this Back Porch Summer Lager has your name all over it, it's LOADED with blueberries!

The Stone House Cream Stout was really milky with some good coffee bitterness as well

and the Hefeweizen was loaded with banana flavoring with some clove for extra goodness

The Rail Trail Pale Ale was pretty darn tasty, lots of good citrus notes

As for Nan, she went with the New Paltz Crimson Lager, the red ale.

Of course, since I was driving, I could only have 1 beer, so I wised up and ordered the sampler. Lots of variety including a pilsner, red ale, pale ale, ipa, hefe, stout, summer beer, and an alt.

The tanks be located right inside the entrance of the place

Cool random outdoorsy theming throughout the place (including the Fat Tire bike?!?!)

The entire thing is home to Gilded Otter Brewing

Big building just passed the village center of New Paltz, right on the river

[DerekRx]

After a fun(?) day at SFNE, Nicole and I decided to take the 30 minute drive north to Amherst to visit the #1 rated place to have a beer in America, the Moan and Dove. In short, I'm glad we went....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...because now I don't have to go back anytime soon. The atmosphere wasn't that great, the bottle list wasn't as amazing as I was expecting, the prices weren't good at all, and even the draft list had very few things that I hadn't tried or couldn't get at any other place I've been to.

 

Having been to the #2 ranked Publick House in Boston, I didn't think it was that great, but we were there when it was really crowded, and even then they had some good beers on tap that I either hadn't had before, or could really enjoy and haven't had for quite some time. But Moan and Dove was empty and still wasn't impressive. Plus it's out in the middle of nowhere. For me, I'll stick with O'Brien's Pub in San Diego or one of Virginia's Capital Ale Houses, Pizza Ports, or even D's Sixpack and Dogs when I'm not hanging out at Selin's Grove Brewing Company or The Drafting Room or Victory. The Moan and Dove just didn't cut it for me.

I got the Mahr's Weisse, really creamy with good banana and clove flavorings. Best beer I'll have at the Moan and Dove for quite some time, as I don't intend to revisit anytime soon.

Definitely not as nice looking as the Capital Ale Houses

The tap list, most of which I either had before, have at home in bottles, could get on tap near home, or had no desire to drink.

Finally made it to the #1 Ranked place to have a beer in America, the Moan and Dove in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Sure beats drinking in the overrated middle of nowhere, Massachusetts

Instead of paying $10 for this $5 bottle of Lindemans Pomme at Moan and Dove, we broke out the bottle that Nicole brought with her from her purchase a few weeks ago in Niagara Falls when we got home

[DerekRx]

and finally, tonight:

I must say, this new Sam Adam's glass really does work!

While it's nice to get away, it sure feels good to return home, where HopDevil always welcomes

[N'at Man]

This weekend BACT "Pittsborg" and NJ visited Northwestern PA. We stayed at the BACT headquarters in Conneaut Lake and took a day trip up to Erie to visit Waldameer Park along with a trip to feed the carp at Pymatuning Spillway. We also had an exclusive BACT cruise on Conneaut Lake. We visited The Brewerie at Union Square in Erie. I was surprised how cool this place was. It's in a restored train station and it's big. They had good beer too.

Adam & Ellen enjoy a beer on the cruise. Since the park was not open we took advantage of the relaxed rules which allowed us to bring drinks aboard.

Here I am on the exclusive BACT cruise on Conneaut Lake on the Kaylee Belle enjoying a Sam Adams Summer Ale.

Adam enjoys the Brewerie Honey Maibock. It was very good although we wanted to try the Hop Ness Monster which ran out.

Brewerie was great. The building has kept all of the train station features but integrated them into the brewpub.

Before we went to Waldameer we had lunch at The Brewerie at Union Station in Erie, PA.

On both evenings we enjoyed some drinks around the campfire in Conneaut Lake, PA.

We started on Friday at Compadres restaurant in Meadville, PA. Margaritas and Dos Equis beer.

[Hattuchili]

and finally, tonight:

 

HopDevil, what an awesome beer. Derek, thanks again to let me taste on on the last TPR party. It is so bad and sad that I can not get it here in Germany. But maybe that is one of a few reasons to come back...

 

--Soren

[mcjaco]

Yay blueberries!!!!

 

I have HUGE news tonight. I can't wait to post some pics. Mu ha ha ha ha!

[Yellow Jacket]

Time for another update from the Southern front.

I've been taking photos and then forgetting to post them.

So these will span a few weeks.

Cheers!

The photo is blurry but dessert was perfect. Chocolate and Stout...it just doesn't get any better than this!

After restoring my tastebuds with the local brew it was time to finish the evening with a couple of winners from Victory.

Time to go back to my cooler and redeem the Pale Ales for the evening with a Sweetwater 420

The random beer from the host's cooler--Cottonwood Brewing's Low Country Pale Ale. I drank it; but I'm glad I don't have the rest of the six pack.

The next day was World Juggling Day and time for a party. We did a little bit of juggling and then a lot of beer drinking. The juggling tends to go down hill after the drinking commences so we hung out and watched videos of really good jugglers. I started with a Sweetwater Road Trip and then tried the Tap Room 21 Moes Back Room Pale Ale. It didn't really deserve the smile in the photo but it wasn't as bad as...

This is a nice IPA.

Sticking with the hoppy theme... next up is Loose Cannon Hops^3 Ale from Clipper City's Heavy Seas line.

A beer with the hops to stand up to a spicy dinner

Quesadilla time

Would you please finish the beer and go fix dinner!

Road Trip...a new seasonal from Sweetwater. The label states: "Like all good Road Trips, this one started out planned as a pilsner and along the way blew a tire and we used an Ale yeast as the spare." I normally go for darker ales but the result is a nice light Summertime brew with a little bite in the middle and a nice clean finish.

[DerekRx]

Nice to see some Southern stuff in the thread, as well as the always wonderful Victory goodness. I've yet to get to a Sweetwater, hopefully sometime soon that will be amended.

 

After Saturday's debacle known as the Moan and Dove, I decided to head to one of the other top 50 places to have a beer in America, which also happened to be only 30 minutes from work, and just recently celebrating their 13th Anniversary, off to the Drafting Room we go!

To accompany my fondue and to finish I was going to have the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale, but they were having problems with it being too foamy, so I went with the Sly Fox Chinook IPA. A really nice strong hop flavor to it, but I should have gotten the 12th Anniversary Brown Ale while I still had the chance, as I'll have this one again in like 6 months. $10 plus tip for the whole night, gotta love happy hour prices!! This could happen to be a more than usual thing...

Since I switched seats so some dude could play the poker machine thing, he bought my next round. Next up would be the newly released 13th Anniversary Imperial Pilsner also brewed by Troegs, nice hoppy notes at 7+%. No merch was made for this one, good thing we picked up the 12th Ann. stuff when we did!

and so, the 11th Anniversary IPA on cask would be my first selection for the night, recipe by TDR, brewed by Troegs, and still holding up wonderfully after 2 years

Just as good a selection as the Moan and Dove, and even better, they've got Lindeman's on tap AND a hand pump, spurting out their own 11th Anniversary IPA

Lots of stuff on tap, most of which I've had before, but wouldn't mind going back for more

A very rare occurance, me at TDR on a Monday night. But after missing Thursday's Anniversary Party because of mowing and pre-trip arrangements, I knew I had to get here soon

[mcjaco]

These are pictures dating back a few days, and from this evening. Saturday, I took a quick trip over to the local alcohol distribution center to grab a sixer of singles. Yeah right, like that ever works. While perusing the singles shelves, I notice Fat Tire 12 ounce bottles. I nearly pooped my pants! We've only had bombers for the last 18 months. So I ran, yes I actually ran, over to the Fat Tire stack to see both bomber cases and 12 ounce six pack cases! Then whay do my eyes spy sitting quaintly on the floor? New Belgium Skinny Dip! Holy Mother of Pearl! We've got more New Belgium!

 

To make it a short story, Chicago is now receiving 6 of New Belgium's product line, and my local place will be receiving it in the next two to three weeks! Yay me! In even bigger news, Stone is beginning to distribute to Wisconsin. Looks like I'll be making Bell's and Stone runs in the near future!

Joygasm!

Yeehaw!

It's like drinking oranges and honey! Yum!

Blue Moon's Summer Ale.

Perfect for a hot day!

Local brewers, Two Brothers and their Anniversary brew, Monarch. I lovely wit.

Delish!

Sunset Wheat (Blueberries!) and Creawy Dark = Creamy Sunset! Mmmmm!

[ParkTrips]

Nice to see some Southern stuff in the thread, as well as the always wonderful Victory goodness. I've yet to get to a Sweetwater, hopefully sometime soon that will be amended.

I've got some bottles of their IPA I'd be willing to send you if you'd like...

 

anyways, excuse the camera-phone quality as my home computer still doesn't work so its a lot easier to do it this way... tonight's beer was Salvation from Avery Brewing. It's a Belgian at a fairly strong 9.0%, stronger than most of the stuff I've had to date. I kinda have mixed feelings on this one, for the most part its pretty good but you can REALLY taste the alcohol (I've had beers with a higher ABV that you couldn't even taste, what gives?) for a while which sucks because after it wears off it leaves a pretty good taste. Damn I'm sure their are nerdy beer terms to describe that better but I'm, as the guy at the beer store even said, "just a newbie"

but overall I approve!

mmm 22oz of Belgian by way of Colorado joy