What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[Bubba83]

I usually just have it in the fridge all day and then take it out and let it sit 10 mins to get to around the right temperature. Sometimes it's still a little too cold perhaps but I drink my beers really slowly to enjoy them so I generally get to experience how it opens up as it gets warmer.

 

It has been a winning strategy so far.

 

I am pulling for the Bruins tonight, hope they win.

[Bubba83]

Happy to see some pictures from Joe!

 

Heath/Matt, where's my DLD pics!?!?! I'm fiending!

 

Time to catch up on some beer pictures...

Please excuse the neighbors Bud Light can in the background of the last picture :[ Old Guardian while hoppy is really pretty insane... I loved it.

And now the first Old Guardian of the season for me, the 2009 version...

I must say, I really like this big hoppy red! And boy oh boy, I can't wait until Ten Fidy Season!

BevMos around here have finally started carrying Oskar Blues, woohooo!!!! Here's the lovely Gordon.

A bit sweeter/brown sugary than I remember it from last year, but still pretty bitter as well and generally pissed off. Good stuff!

And my uncle and I are both happy to see Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale in six packs this year.

We both found it very enjoyable. A nice change of pace for us... Maybe I'll even age a bottle of this.

Which is when I introduced him to Ballast Point's Sea Monster Imperial Stout.

Some good roastyness is there, though we get some lactic acid that gets a bit acrid. I found it pretty good but my uncle drain poured...

Took a chance on another six pack of El Toro Oatmeal Stout, and it was actually okay this time.

I liked it considerably more on tap, but I still think this is a really different IPA that is damn tasty.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the newest Bond Street release being stocked well at BevMo. Deschutes Red Chair IPA.

I have to admit, I liked it a little more than I remember but I still think this is probably the most overrated beer out there. I'm going to try aging a few this time around though.

We'd follow that up with our first 2009 Stone IRS of the season.

Actually a bit of a let down for us, we drank it right after a Correction Ale and it just didn't seem that incredibly hoppy. I hope the next one is better.

The first Hop Stoopid of the season for us.

I was hoping the smoke might mellow a bit with age but that just wasn't the case. Honestly, aging it just didn't change much for this particular beer. Still very good stuff though.

A 2007 vintage of Alaskan Smoked Porter.

Stunningly fresh tasting and incredibly hoppy.

Been absolutely loving the fresh 2009 Correction Ale from Lagunitas.

A decent doppelbock but I feel like the A- on BA makes this one a little overrated, it's nothing too special, not that complex.

A new german beer I hadn't yet had a chance to try. Weltenberger Kloster Asam Bock

[DerekRx]

Last month we headed down to Philly on Good Friday to catch the final home game of the season for the Philadelphia Phantoms before the team leaves Philly and their home, the Spectrum, is destroyed. Of course on the way we had to enjoy some beer stops!

It was a great game, a great season, and a great run for the Phantoms. Sadly they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Hershey Bears. Philly will definitely miss the Phantoms and the Spectrum

When all was said and done, they kicked the Bears back to Hershey and earned a spot in the playoffs

They fought hard, and a hat trick was even accomplished

Playing their rivals the Hershey Bears makes for some great fights!

Then they had the final ceremony for the building, bringing out lots of Phantom's past players and coaches, as well as the Calder Cup

First, some warm ups

Lots of memories in this old building

Let's go!

and their old home and home of the Phantoms, the Spectrum

The Wachovia Center, home of the Flyers and 76ers

The Linc, home of the Eagles

Finally we enter into the sports complex, here's the Cit, home of the World Champion Phillies

We both chose to go with Stoudt's Scrawny Dog, a really light and easy to drink stout

The bathroom was pretty cool though, with lots of famous beer quotes all over the place

The place reminded me of a Philadelphia version of San Fran's Toronado, but without the awesome beer selection

Next stop, The Grey Lodge Pub

More tart and funky fruit for me in the form of Kerasus from Alvinne

I went with Monk's Cafe's own Cuvee Kriek, made just for them by Cantillon. Tom went with St. Bernardus White Ale

We chose to sit at the back bar area, since there were seats there, and more beers we wanted

Next stop, Monk's Cafe. THE premier Belgian beer bar

Say hello to William Penn and Penn's Curse

Next up, battling the traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway to get into Philly

I went with the Hop Bomb, which is exactly what it sounds like it should be. Tom went with the Barrel Aged Milk Stout, really sweet, but tasty and easy to drink!

The current tap list (as of mid April)

First stop, KOP's Rock Bottom for a quick, cheap lunch

[ParkTrips]

haha let's all post at the same time why don't we?

 

First Spaten Dunkel enjoyed at Taco Mac Metropolis. Great German session sort of beer - easy to drink, kinda light on the body, good texture and a nice malty taste with a minor hop bite. Fairly new to the States!

 

Also enjoyed at Metro last week was Great Divide's Belgian IPA, Belgica. Hops were far too strong for my liking, I prefer these beers to be still malt/yeast/sweet dominated, not for the hops to be the dominating force

 

Next I went to the Brick Store on Thursday for some special Stone beers. This one is the Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, aka 11th anniversary. What a conglomeration: roasted malts, aggressive hops, some underlying sweetness.

 

Following Derek's lead without knowing it, I also grabbed a glass of Kerasus. It was ok. Pretty weak tart elements, pretty thin and watery, I likened it to Fanta

 

Finally, the second special keg from Stone - Vertical Epic 08.08.08! This one was much better than Belgica: lighter, citrusy hops that don't lose the sweet malt flavors. Good stuff!

 

Picked this one up at Publix on Friday... am I still supposed to say Hi Matt? It was good, creamy feel and nice roasty malts, but bring on La Folie!

 

And, finally, my beer from late last night, HaandBryggeriet Haandbakk. One of the highest rated bruin's on BA, and for good reason. Aroma is a bit weak, but the tart comes out much more in the taste. Flavors of vinegar, oak and sour cherry come out much stronger, with a nicely malted body and feel that is hard to beat, its my favorite to date. Take that, Red Poppy!

[Bubba83]

^ I'll have to try to pick up a Haandbakk, I was very impressed with Nissefar when I had it earlier this year, which is all I've had from Haandbryggeriet thus far.

 

Well, I didn't post everything last night cause I got tired and was at a good stopping point.

And then someone brought out another beer I forgot that I had wanted to try! Pisgah Valdez. I love me some coffee stouts and this one did not disappoint. This was probably the beer of the night for me, though Rasputin XI was up there as well.

Next up, Fantome La Dalmatienne. A really funky, spicy, tart Saison. It was pretty darn good!

Really thick and syrupy, with some dark fruit flavors, chocolate cocoa powder, and roastyness. I liked it better than the Dark Lord we tried, but it's still not one of my favorite Imperial Stouts.

And to wash that down, a beer I didn't think I would be able to try until a long time from now... Surly's Darkness Russian Imperial Stout.

Next up, what I brought: Upstream Brewing's Oak Aged Ebenezer Imperial Stout, from Omaha, NE. It was sour, like an oud bruin. Actually quite tasty, but I don't think the brewers intended the sour. Interesting nonetheless.

Oh, why hello there Mr. Rasputin. Happy 11th Birthday. This beer was awesome as advertised, a bigger rasputin with bourbon flavors that didn't complete overwhelm everything. Big thanks to bbothen's friend for bringing this one.

We followed that up with The Ugly American from East End Brewing Company in Pittsburgh, PA. A hoppy tripel. I really liked it too, lots and lots of ugly american hops!

Whadda you know? Almost no carbonation... It wasn't totally dead though. I liked it a lot better on tap, that's for sure.

First up, Brandy Barrel Angel's Share.

I remembered to get a picture of the Rose and Crown while it was still light out, yay me! The monthly BA meetup was this past wednesday.

Actually came off a little boozy this time... Not sure why, but the crazy hops are still there and some malty sweetness underneath.

Firestone Walker's Union Jack IPA.

Overall it turned out pretty decent. There's an off flavor up front, same one that was in my porter, that doesn't want to give way and let the malt shine. The malt that is back there is good though. Finishes too wet, with a weird aftertaste twang that may be from the tap water... I'm going to try distilled water next time and a new yeast strain. No more paying attention to the LHBS.

My Stout... Smelly sock stout?!

I've had a lot of bad luck with trying different breweries I haven't had before, but this was actually pretty good. Nothing was too special about it, it was just a well done IPA. There is a hoppy kick though it's not so complex, and it's pretty bitter with some nice malt underneath.

BevMo has also started carrying stuff from Pike up in Washington. I decided I'd give their IPA a shot.

A perfect spring seasonal in my opinion. Very enjoyable, with a lot of subtle malty characteristics that go in every which direction. A touch of hops rounds things out beautifully and just makes it an extremely fun/easy beer to drink.

First time for me, Deschutes Cinder Cone Red. Deschutes always has the most beautiful beer bottles.

And my first beer from Cantillon, Rose de Gambrinus. Incredibly sour, mouth puckering, lots of sherry vinegar and raspberries with a whole lot of funk to boot. Tasty! I'd say this tasting was quite successful!

Someone brought a Wake N Bake as well, which I was anxious to try since the one I had before was skunked. I was very impressed, not as good as Valdez, but still damn good.

[mcjaco]

am I still supposed to say Hi Matt?

 

For 1554? I don't think so.

 

^ I rank Surly Darkness barely better than Dark Lord. And I hate Dark Lord. Darkness was a total let down.

[ParkTrips]

Bubba if you can't find it, I've got a few bottles in the cellar. I've only seen it in stores here twice now

 

Today's beer adventures take me back to Decatur, back to the Bri..

 

.. err Raging Burrito! I decided to grab a quick lunch and went here. Great little burrito place that happens to carry some pretty good beer too. Here's the Sweetwater Dank Tank #3, a nice, grapefuit-heavy, hoppy, smooth malty DIPA. Sweetwater's "Dank Tank" one-off line has been better than Terrapin's Side Projects.. only down side is they are draft only =(

 

OK so I did end up going to grab a beer at the Pub.. but what is this super fruity wheat beer?

 

aaah.. Oberon!! So New Belgium last week, do we still say Hi Matt to Bells' arrival to Georgia? oh wait theyre in Chicago again, this game's no longer fun

 

And yup if you can make out the chalk board from the cell phone pic, the launch included a cask of Hopslam!

 

Gotta love a gravity pour of a beer like that... huge hop presence without being palate fatiguing.. in fact I want more! Makes the Sweetwater look bad, with its revved up pine kick and juicy citrus flavors to help balance it out. One of the best IPA's ever!

[mcjaco]

this game's no longer fun

 

LOL!

[Bubba83]

^^ I know huh, I wanna make fun of Matt without having a Leine's Sunset Wheat.

[65skylark]

Nice weather = Time for a good IPA

Pretty much no head and very little carbination, but it is such a great IPA it was still very enjoyable.

Blue Dot double IPA from Hair of the Dog.

[Maximo37]

I have no pictures or stories to share...

 

...other than the last beer I drank was last night about Midnight (before going to bed) while playing a heated game of Excite-bots on Wii (EXCELLENT GAME!!!) was a ShockTop!!! Delicious!!! Might have to grab me one now as I'm off from work until tomorrow...

[Bubba83]

I must admit, it has been quite a while since I've posted. Been pretty busy lately and just haven't had the time. Though I've still certainly had time for beer, as you will soon see if you read through my post :]

 

Also my package from Heath just came in so expect to see some goodness from his neck of the woods soonish.

 

How's everyone else doing? What have you been up to Derek? I miss you guys! This summer I am already taking some planned vacations, which uses most of my PTO. I am thinking next summer I will try to make a trip out to PA to hit the beer and coaster destinations.

We can't decide what we like better between this and Rasputin. It's damn close. We should be able to get Ten Fidy at BevMo next year now that we're getting Oskar Blues.

Also found some Ten Fidy at K&L. Shared some with my uncle. We like this beer a lot! It's almost like a smoother rasputin.

We thought it was a little better this year than last. Still not as good as regular harvest, but very enjoyable.

We had a Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere over at my uncles, was pretty fresh when we had it!

I found it to be an excellent example of a tripel. Can't wait to try the other beers I picked up from these guys.

Back at home, having another little sumpin' sumpin' I picked up from K&L in Redwood City (See what I did there???)

If you hadn't noticed, Mark has decided to give you all the bird in each of the pictures. I guess he's just trying to rub in the fact that we had a fresh growler of masala mama to share! While I thought it was really good, I thought the smell exceeded the flavor. Pliny is a lot better.

I liked this a lot better than the other examples of the style that I've had.

We also had a Wee Heavy from Alesmith, which surprisingly I hadn't had yet. The best example of a scotch ale I've had yet.

We followed that up with a Terrapin Side Project Dos Cocoas Chocolate Porter. The first few sips tasted good but the flavor faded pretty fast.

Followed that up with a Saint Arnold's Divine #5 Russian Imperial Stout. Also really good.

We started with a Bell's Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout, which I thought was pretty awesome.

Another Rose and Crown monthly tasting. This was actually last month's.

We had a sort of dead bottle at my uncle's so I thought maybe my tastes had changed, but this bottle was flippin awesome! Holy cow this is a great double IPA.

It's that time of year again. Time to get Stoopid!

It certainly is a damn fine pilsner. I'd give it the edge over Trumer Pils, it's a bit hoppier.

Also up in Redwood City at K&L Liquors, I was able to find some Victory! Here's Victory Pils!

We drank it while watching the Fifth Gear Stunt Special. They did a loop, in a car!

I was finally able to find Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, but I had to go up to Redwood City to find it. For sure one of my favorite beers.

I'll drink it, but I'm not really much of a fan.

Well we finally get Aprihop.

My uncle and I think it's awesome. It reminds me a lot of Kill Ugly Radio, which was one of my favorites. Light maltiness with a lot of floral hops.

What do you guys think of this beer? I'm assuming you all have access to it because Lagunitas distribution is pretty good?

I thought it was pretty good. I'm not usually much of a fan of fruity beers but it was nice.

I was able to get this at BevMo. New Belgium's Lips of Faith Dark Kriek.

It's because I decided to make an Old Rasputin Float! I used Breyer's Vanilla, it was quite good, but insanely rich.

Old Rasputin at the uncles. Wait a minute... Why is there so much head??!?!?

[brilinjo]

The man with a thousand faces

[mcjaco]

Masala Mamma? Did he get it that weekend, and fly in?

 

Our group has it annual beer barial this weekend. I will most certainly take some pictures, because the stuff we put in there last year was unbelievable.

[Bubba83]

^ He got it in a trade and brought it the same day it arrived. You always say you will take pictures of these awesome events you go to and post them, but you never do! That's right, I'm calling you out!

 

I hadn't finished posting everything to catch up last post... So I'm doing that now.

Last but certainly not least, the nightcap, St. Bernardus Abt 12 60th Anniversary. A bit different than the standard, with basically the same flavor but more complexity from what I could tell. What an epic beer tasting that night turned out to be. I contributed a Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale but felt totally outdone.

Just when we thought the night was over, Chris had brought a couple more epic beers. The elusive 2009 Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme. And holy crap, this is a lot better than Consecration in my opinion. It has an almost bourbonesque character in it to balance the cherry flavor, which works great. Not as much vinegary taste either.

Me pretty buzzed at this point trying to pick out the subtleties from the cedar in the 110K+OT. Mostly smokey qualities from the cedar.

And the feature beer from Cigar City, 110K+OT Impy Stout aged with Cedar. This was really good stuff. Also, I didn't take a picture of the Jal Alai IPA, the Maduro Brown, or the Espresso Maduo Brown because all the growlers looked the same as the Chaveta. But they were all solid beers.

Telegraph's Stock Porter. I didn't really care for it. It had belgian funk but almost no malty porter flavor at all.

Aces and Ates from Big Boss. This was supposed to be a coffee stout but was sour and weird. We don't think this was intended. Surprisingly drinkable despite being "off"

I guess only 150 bottles of this beer were sold, and Nick had picked it up after the Boonville Beer Fest. It's a really sour version of an amped up version of their Oatmeal Stout. Actually tasted quite good, aged 7 years in the port barrels.

Cigar City's Big Sound Scotch Ale. I prefered Wee Heavy to this guy, but this was a good scotch ale.

Telegraph Brewing in Santa Barbara's Reserve Wheat, which has brett. Very odd, but pretty dang good!

Mark is in the background looking sad that the Bourbon Barrel Aged 2009 Angel's Share bottle is so far away from him. I did like it better than the brandy barrel aged, more balanced. And, it had carbonation, wow!

Brooklyn's Local 1. A strong saison. Very very good too. Glad I had this even though I had never heard of it.

Sort of an overview shot with a bunch of bottles and Mark pouring some Maduro Brown.

Dinner has arrived, I got the pork ribs, and they were delicious.

Okay, let's break into the Cigar City. Chaveta Humidor, which is the Dark Mild aged on Cedar chips. Very smokey with tons of flavor for such a low ABV beer.

Now at Angelica's Bistro this past Friday night for a casual "Cigar City Tasting" More people showed up than I thought and people brought crazy good goodies. Here's Boulevard's Two Joker's Double Wit from their Smokestack series. It was a good way to start, pretty good but not that amazing.

I loved this stuff so much too! A really great sour that is on par with Consecration for me.

We were also lucky enough that someone decided to bring a Cascade Sour to share, in this case, Sang Royal.

He said it might not be that fresh since it had been a week but jee whiz, it had great head, and was incredibly fresh. Amazing hoppy flavor with none of the high alcohol side effects. What an amazing beer this parking violation is!

One of our BA buddies (Sandstone) was up in Santa Rosa for his anniversary and dropped by Russian River. Unfortunately he got a "Parking Violation" for parking in a loading zone while getting his growler filled, if you know what I mean, heheheh! Oh and if you're wondering why the growler has been signed with a sharpie, it's because he had Vinnie Cilurzo autograph it at the Toronado Belgian Beer Dinner the night after. Roger, you sir, are insane.

Back at Rose and Crown for a Stone Russian Imperial Stout Vertical on the weekend. 2005-2009 from left to right. The winner was 2005 in my opinion, with lots of fruity qualities.

It definitely made a good impression. Lots of fresh floral hoppiness, pine, grapefruit with a decent malty flavor underneath the jazz. Curious to see what Heath thinks of the Beer Valley that I sent him.

I found this beer randomly in Fremont as well at Cork N Bottle. Beer Valley's Leafer Madness Imperial IPA. My first beer from this company.

I'm pretty sure this is the weirdest IPA I have ever had. I spent the entire glass trying to decide if I liked it or not. It might take another to make a final verdict. I'm not even qualified to properly describe it so I won't try.

Full Sail's Slipknot, I couldn't seem to find this last year, but was able to get it at BevMo this year.

Still full of yeasty, earthy, peppery barnyard funk and not much else, which is just the way I like it every once in a while.

Revisiting Pranqster.

Incredibly roasty for a porter. Packs a ton of flavor for such a low alcohol beer. Tasty.

Revisiting the Firestone Walker's Reserve Porter.

I wasn't even trying to make this Bubba face, it just kinda happened because this is such a terrific beer.

I picked this guy up at the Cork N' Bottle in Fremont. This was actually a first for me too, Green Flashes Double Stout.

Done in the typical Deschutes style, it's an old school west coast IPA with a bunch of tasty malt character and very citrusy hops. I love their IPAs because they are so different.

Red Chair IPA from Deschutes, their latest Bond Street Release.

Since we had gone on a saturday night and the place was totally packed out, we sat at the bar area. At 7pm, the bluegrass music started, pretty cool!

For my second beer, even though they had other stuff I hadn't had yet on tap, I just couldn't pass up the Old Rasputin on Nitro. Wow, fantastic!

Our amazing pesto pizza with lots of other stuff on it has arrived, and it sure was delicious!

I started off with a Drake's 1500 Pale Ale while we waited for our pizza. This was new to me and INSANELY hoppy for a pale. Really good.

And these ones too!

This mom and pop joint definitely respects beer! Just look at these taps.

I finally went up to Mission Pizza in Fremont with my mom for dinner. It's just in a little strip mall but it's pretty big inside.

[mcjaco]

You always say you will take pictures of these awesome events you go to and post them, but you never do! That's right, I'm calling you out!

 

I know, I know. Last year's beer unburial, was the last day my camera worked. I think I took a whopping three pictures before it conked out. This year I really do want to take pictures, as we burried some awesome stuff last year.

[ParkTrips]

I'm jealous of all the great beers you guys can get locally, when I have to pay for shipping, I wish we got Cascade I'm sure I'd echo the comments on the Sang Royale, I've brought the Vine and the Kriek to recent tastings and they were both very good and well-received. Wait, scratch that, the Vine was superb. Awesome white grape flavors and balanced tartness, like a muscato or something. One of my favorite sours!

 

Anyways I've been drinking for the past week strait, hope to post pics sometime over the weekend, Saturday is going to be insane with 12 kegs in 12 hours plus some extras tossed in. We've had some awesome bootleg kegs from Founders, Pisgah, and Ballast Point and Cigar City still to come

[Bubba83]

^ Almost none of the beers we have in these tasting can be found locally. Most people are just avid traders or getting beer shipped to them. A decent amount of stuff can be found at City Beer/Healthy Spirits though up in SF.

[DiSab]

As sad as it is, my last one was a Milwaukee's Best Light, or Beast here. Pathetic, I know, but when it's under $5 for a 6-pack and I live on a budget, it's worth it.

[Hattuchili]

Hey guys,

finally after a long time I am back with a beer shot. Kevin, this is especially for you, since you were asking for it for so long.

 

So, on my trip to the Maldives, I tried Tiger beer, which is originally coming from Singapore. The taste was not bad at all. I also got a couple shots of it.

 

--Soren

Yep, I enjoyed it.

This looks even better, cold beer in the glass...

Cold beer and a glass...

[FlyingScooter]

What's everyone favorite IPA?

So far i've found Full Sails pretty good.

thanks

[Bubba83]

^^ Woot, hey Soren!

 

^ My favorite single IPA is probably Ballast Point Sculpin.

 

I'll try to post some more pics soon.

[DerekRx]

^I think Sculpin may be my favorite IPA now as well, having quite a few in the last couple of weeks.

 

As far as posting goes, I'll be venturing into new beer territories soon, so if I can remember the camera, I'll be sure to do an update when I get back.

[TatsuXtreme]

didn't have a camera, but last bear i drank was trader jose, last night. very tasty, but not as good as miller genuine draft.

[Bubba83]

^ Apparently you didn't read the first post of this thread. I'll quote it here:

 

"ADMIT EDIT: One simple rule about this thread:

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

 

Just wait a few more years. Until then, enter the world of drinking exquisite craft sodas.