What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[mcjaco]

Great flavor, reminds me of being in Germany

 

And by that you mean, passed out on a table, right?

 

Tomorrow, the wife and I are off to Leinenkugel's on our way to Minneapolis to visit friends. We tried to get into the Summit Tour, but they're booked through December! Oh, well. I guess the next trip. I'll have pictures when I get back. As well, as some photos from Camp Snoopy...wiiii!

[FlyerACE1]

Last week I was taking a beervintory and noticed that I was fresh out of IPA's. Time to remedy that...

Ellen really likes it too. We have ourselves a hit. The Root Beer was aweful but this was great! Wish we had more.

Gotta say, I actually really enjoyed this one. What's amazing is that you can really taste all three flavors- honey, ginger and a touch of lemon zest.

I also discovered we had three of the four Sam Adams Brewer Patriot collection left to try. Here we have the Traditional Ginger Honey Ale.

Never fear...Stone IPA is here! Happy again!

Here's my "no IPA" face.

Lots of great beer but not an IPA to be found (aside from the Weyerbacher Eleven I discovered later).

[DerekRx]

Today I consider myself one of the luckiest beerpunks out there. One of the rare breed of awesome beers is made only so often, and distribution is scattered, meaning that getting a good brew from San Diego out here in Pennsylvania is sometimes tough, especially in a Yuengling originating town! But when by chance I called my local beer mart hoping to find the rare Oaked Arrogant Bastard by Stone, I wasn't too shocked to hear they didn't have any (as I know there were problems with it in its new bottle vs PAs stupid liquor laws). But what shocked me even more was when the place called me back a few hours later and told me they had gotten 2 cases in and would hold one for me! And so, without hesitation, I left work early, faced the torrential downpours and tornado warnings that unleashed hell upon earth just so I could taste this ultra rare beer.

 

Stone's regular Arrogant Bastard is a strong ale. Once every so often they come out with 2 variations, the Double Bastard and the Oaked Bastard. The latter is made with oak wood chips, and it is terrific! With a smell of hops and oak, you want to immediately dive into the beer, but be cautious, for its 7.2% ABV may change your mind after a few. The taste is something amazing, not much different than the Arrogant Bastard, but this one packs an odd flow. First up, vanilla. Just as your tastebuds are taken away by the bean, you get hit from out of nowhere with a nice strong hop essence that won't go away easily. Out of all the new beers I've had this year, this one is definitely among the top 10.

Oh yeah, that's amazing! Vanilla hints followed by a tidal wave of hops. Yum!

The smell is of oak chips and hops. Not your average Arrogant Bastard

After letting the beer chill for a bit, its only appropriate to drink the OAB out of a Stone glass

As plain as the case is, the 6 pack holder isn't. And who would have thought you'd ever see the Arrogant Bastard on a 6 pack! "You're still not worthy" says the handle

For once I'm happy that PA won't sell 6 packs easily!

But I still love him like a son (even though I have no children)

Unlike most Stone products, the Oaked Bastard comes pretty plain

[Rugged One]

^ It's funny how I had you check out Beer Mart as a backup. And they actually came through! Can't wait for some vanilla oakiness this weekend.

 

Luckily Derek helped brighten up an otherwise sad beer day for me. For those of you who may actually enjoy reading them, you know that we head down to DuClaw in Baltimore every month for their beer release. Unfortunately, there won't be a trip report for this month thanks to the torrential rain we had in the area this afternoon. We got has far south as Hunt Valley, MD and said screw it. Flash flooding and car wrecks everywhere. And we missed a good one too. Probably the best release of the year. The Devil's Milk Barleywine. Oh well. Hopefully we won't get stuck in a snowstorm on the way down for the Black Jack Stout release next month.

 

The good news was that I at least got to get to my beer place and pick up some new stuff. Including some of this years batch of Mad Elf...

It seemed pretty on par with last years release. The cherry really seemed more pronounced than I remembered and it hides it's 11% ABV really, really well.

The Mad Elf by Troegs. Complete with new package redesign.

[thecoasterkid]

Okay...so I'm pretty new to the whole trying new beer thing...but last friday I went to an amazing bar in Toronto called the Bier Markt (if you're in the area...be sure to make a stop) and I was able to start my adventures in beer sampling.

 

At the Bier Markt I only tried a couple of beers (I had to drive home), the first one being Warsteiner Premium Lager from Germany, and my second was Steigl from Austria. I immediately fell in love with both. Warsteiner reminds me alot of my old favourite Moosehead (this now takes my #1) but is a little bit smoother and has a better finish. Stiegl was also very nice, although I would consider it to be more of a sipping beer than a "drink it fast to get hammered" type deal. It left me with a very "wheaty" taste. I need some more beer education, but I guess it's a hoppy taste.

 

Anyways, I was ecstatic today when I found that my local LCBO store carried Warsteiner in 6 pack bottles...and that they were actually on sale! Of course I bought a pack right away and drank one tonight while working on some homework.

 

Unfortunately my camera is currently under repair...so I'll have to post a picture I found on the web.

 

Shawn "anyone else been to the Bier Markt?" Goode

Mmmmmmm...Warsteiner.

[N'at Man]

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up I figured I'll have some time to sample some beers while away from work. So I finally got around to checking out the beer cave at D's SixPax & Dogz, Regent Square, Pittsburgh. The reviews were good as far as selection goes but not for price. I found that the selection was certainly good for this area and I'm guessing the pricing was improved from paying $4.50 for anything in the room if you get six to scanning each bottle and still getting the discount. That way I could mix beers of different price ranges and sizes and get an accurate price. So rather than paying around $26 my total was $19.75. For me that's reasonable to get some variety in a state where you usually are stuck buying cases of beer. But the next time I'm up north I'll have to try 3 Sons in Wexford to see how they compare.

 

I'll start sampling these later but here's what I bought. The first four in the picture are highly rated on Beer Advocate. The last two also have good ratings but were more of a buy based on some curiosity peaked while I was in Germany.

 

From left to right we have:

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Victory Storm King Stout

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Lager

 

I'm not much of a pale ale fan so I opted to try the Dogfish Indian Brown just to get a taste of what they have to offer. I didn't want to give up on Oktoberfest season just yet so I picked the last bottle of Hacker-Pschorr. The good thing is not many Oktoberfest beers remained so the stock is pretty fresh. I was hoping to find a Paulaner too but this will do.

Mix and match 6 pack from D's

[J.R.]

Hey, we went to D's SixPax & Dogz today too, except it was for weiners and beer and not to visit the overpriced beer cave. While it's nice to be able to get mixed six-packs in this state, there's no way I'd pay that much. The nice thing about D's is that you can try any of the beers they sell along with your food. They've got a large cooler to pick from as well as 14 choices on tap.

 

Tonight I tried a draft Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale. Pretty tasty. Dave had the Hop Devil and a Bass Ale. If you find something you like at D's, you can usually head half a block south to the McBroom Beer Store and get a case of it. They have a very impressive (for PA) selection of cases.

 

 

Janna

[mcjaco]

My wife and I headed up to Minneapolis this past weekend to visit friends. Originally, we intended on hitting Leinenkugel's and Summit, but Summit's tours were booked through December. Capital Brewing in Madison, makes an awesome amber ale, but their tours didn't start until 4 PM, which didn't fit our schedule.

 

In any case we swung into Chippewa Falls, WI to check Leinenkugel's out. We were greeted with a great little town, a fabulous building for the swag and tours, and a great tour. We were the only two on the hour long tour, which gave us a lot more time looking at things and asking questions. Leinie's has never been on of my favorites, but the tour was well worth it, and the incredible history behind the brewery is awesome.

Berryweiss, screams foofoo. But oh so tasty.

The wife gives my Creamy a thumbs up.....that came out wrong....

Me likes the Creamy Dark. Very smooth.

The wife samples Sunset Wheat. Leinie's Seasonal that went mainstream.

I've always loved Leinie's Taps.

SWAG!!!

You're greeted with a great rustic fireplace.

Welcome to Leinie's Lodge. Home of great swag and free samples!

[Crazyman9]

I DON'T REMEMBER LMAO

[DerekRx]

Lots happened this past weekend, enough to make its own thread!

 

Check it out when you have a minute or two:

Photo TR: BACT Attacks the Beer Fest

[DerekRx]

I said I was going to take a day or two off from drinking so my liver can recover, but I think its fine and can handle 1 beer. After all, I didn't get totally wasted this weekend!

The extra time means extra alcohol taste, and lots of citrus at the end. Still a worthy beer

This Thunderhead is getting pretty old, better drink it quickly!

[PhishyBrewer]

Yup... still drinking the same old stuff out here. Nothing new to report.

[DerekRx]

Its time for more Pyramid goodness. First up, the Amber Weizen.

A pretty good winter ale, very malty with some nice hop hints. Not too much other spices though, not like others I've had in the last few days

Next up, Snow Cap!

oooh, Ambery

I miss Pyramid

[FlyerACE1]

Derek, you're crazy! My stomach is still recovering from Beer Fest weekend so no new beers to post about. We'll probably be bringing some brews we picked up last weekend to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. Whatever we bring, it'll probably be the first beer since the Fest. Hmmm...maybe we should bring something STRONG!! We'll need it.

 

By the way, loved the PTR on Fest weekend. I hope to add some photos of my own to it soon.

[mr_teisco_delrey]

I just pulled into my driveway with the Goose Island Pub Pack. Good weekend on tap (no pun). Currently having an IPA. Very hoppy. Life is good. Happy Thanksgiving TPR beer thread!

[DerekRx]

To celebrate Thanksdrinking eve, I decided to have 3 pretty good brews, one of them I've never had before. The other two I've had for a while and decided to finish them off before they went skunky.

Of course, I'm not big into pils as they're too weak for me, but its the best of them!

Finally (at least for this update) Victory's Prima Pils, probably the best pilsner I've had.

Still as hoppy as ever, but since this has been in my basement for over 8 months, its starting to get funky.

Next up, the always hoppy Alpha King by Three Floyds out there by Chi-town

Pretty decent stuff. Tasted like a Belgian pale, semi-sweet and a little hoppy

First up, the new for me Avery Karma, a Belgian Pale Ale

[DerekRx]

So its Thanksgiving, a good day as any to enjoy a nice beer with your meal, especially if its a good fall beer...like Pumpkinhead!

Definitely good stuff, way different from Oaked Bastard. Malty and sweet like caramel with a bitter hop finish. Yum!

To celebrate nowhere to go, I decided to break open the 2006 Double Bastard today

Nice and light, good because I'll be filling up on everything else!

The whole meal, with pumpkin pie to drink

[DerekRx]

Even though I had to work 1/2 a day today, it still ended up beerific! I always get Black Friday and Good Friday confused, and with the amount of good beers I had today, its no wonder why!

A whole bunch of good beers is definitely worth saying thanks to!

And the night shall end with another HopDevil

Though Grandma would prefer sticking to the Lions Head Pilsner as it was a bit too sweet for her, as sweet as she is

For a beer brewed out of Adamstown, PA its a pretty darn good Belgian! WOW

Next in line for my liver of goodness, the Stoudts Triple

It didn't make things feel more summery, but it sure tasted pretty nice and apricotty

While we're drinking outside, lets break out a #9 by Magic Hat

With a wee cherry taste and some nice spices, this is definitely a good Christmas ale

Finaly, since tis holiday season, lets break out a bottle of Mad Elf by Troegs

Ah, truly my favorite stout, and with its hoppy aftertones, there's good reason

Next in line, let there be King! Storm King that is

Suddenly family becomes more tolerable

Followed that up almost immediately with a HopDevil, an old favorite

With great flavor and alcohol, there's no wonder why its #2 behind Selins Grove

Getting home from work, I found all the family here. Time to start off drinking early with the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin

[DerekRx]

I made it home safely tonight, but I've got another major update "on a whim". Picture the Beerphone ringing and Beerman answering a call from Commissioner Heathface, and we've got an area to secure....an area called the suburbs of Philly.

 

And since I made it home, you know the mission was a success!

 

PLENTY of good drinks were had. Stay tuned!

[DerekRx]

Another nice holiday weekend of seeing family and having plans suddenly ended sooner than expected. Apparently Heath and Kim's plans changed too and so we decided to head back to the Drafting Room before Double IPA month came to a close. From there we just happened to end up back at Victory and then after a stop for some rare cases at the Beer Yard down near Philly, we decided to check out some nearby Philly beer places. And now, last night's beer adventures in photo format.

And a Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale for me. Yum!

One more for the road, a New Holland Poet for Heath; a watery stout

Now this is a nice mirror!

A description of the beer

I tried the Southern Tier Unearthly. Once again, Southern Tier fails. Low on the hops, heavy on the alcohol, with very little masking of it

Next up for drinking, Heath got the Rogue I2PA, one of the first double IPAs out there

And Kim got an awesome salmon sandwich with Old Bay fries

Heath went all drunken ruben

Of course we couldn't just drink and not get some good food. Me, a ranch chicken wrap in a jalapeno tortilla

Heath couldn't resist one more Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale, and I can't blame him

Going a little Adam for a sec, here's the description

My first beer was the Rogue Hop Heaven from John's Private Locker Stock

Plenty of awesome stuff on tap today!

The timing was perfect and we managed to sit in the actual Drafting room

Our first stop, back to the Drafting Room in Exton. This one doesn't look like a banquet hall

[DerekRx]

Onward to Victory!

I've never seen this before! A Stone Variety pack with all those awesome things!

Its just a little place, but the owner is quite knowledgeable and has a really nice rare selection

Next up, the Beer Yard. Don't you wish every Starbucks had a beer distributor in the back?!

I like Victory's Christmas tree, reminds me of my house!

I wonder if Nicole would like this for Christmas

For Halloween next year Heath is thinking about going as Tom

mmmmm, good!

And HopDevil suggests himself. He's a little bit arrogant

Next up for Heath, a Storm King on tap

Just chilling at Victory, one of our homes away from home

Its description

As for me, I tried the new Scarlet Fire Rauchbier. Holy smoked summer sausage, definitely an Adam beer!

Heath went with the Hop Wallop since we didn't get it last time. Much better stuff than the Unearthly! It actually has flavor

Somewhere back there is a Yeti drinking some HopDevil

Sitting right in front of my tap

The HopDevil proudly presents....awesome beer!

They just finished building this drunk shelter, I guess for when you're waiting on your taxi. Or it could be for smokers, since Victory is now smoke free!

Another great time to head to Victory is a Saturday around 4pm

[DerekRx]

After obtaining our brews at the Beer Yard, we decided we were close enough for me to get us to a small chain in the area, Iron Hill. We didn't really care for the place, it was crowded yet there were plenty of tables opened, with a 35 minute wait. The place was a little bit too posh too and had next to no lighting. Oh yeah, and the beers we tried were pretty meh. The place reminded me of Triumph Brewing, all hype. Luckily we found a little gem down the road.

mmmm, soup

The place is called "Quotations" because they have quotes written all over the place

Heath scored a K9 Cruiser, Flying Dog's winter ale.

Quite tasty stuff, sure beat Iron Hill!

They kicked the Hoptical, but they still had it in bottles for me

Right across the street is Quotations. A nice beer bar the guy from Beer Yard told us to seek out

Time to walk where its cold, good thing I bought a HopDevil winter cap!

Heath went Russian Imperial Stout on us. It wasn't too bad, but didn't really have a wow factor to it

I finally decided on the Ironbound, their pale ale. It tasted a bit like dirt.

What am I doing?? Trying to read the beer list in the dark corners of the bar

Cool bar area

In nearby Media we found Iron Hill, at least one of them

[Rugged One]

Nice pics from last nights festivities Derek! Thanks for the update to let us know you made it home OK.

 

I think the highlight for me yesterday was The Beeryard. Very cool place. Sorta small but they had a some really unique stuff. And they make their own variety cases too! That along warrants future visits.

 

Went with a new to me IPA tonight. The Two-Hearted Ale from the much hyped Bell's (formerly Kalamazoo) Brewing. And well, lets just say I look forward to trying more from them!

Lots of good stuff going on with this one. Decent (but not overpowering hops), nice citrus undertones, and a sweet malt backbone to even things out equals a very solid IPA!

[FlyerACE1]

Nice reports everyone. Derek and Heath, glad to see you guys had another beer adventure this weekend. As for me, no pictures but after several days of resting my stomach and liver, I had the following:

For Thanksgiving it was a Stone IPA, Bell's Two Hearted (excellent IPA! very solid) and a Purple Haze. On Saturday we went to the Willimantic Brewing Company while visiting my sister-in-law. There I had a very good Pushing The Envelope IPA and a Rail Mail Rye (my favorite there). I picked up a growler of it to try at CCL next weekend. Finally, tonight Ellen and I made our way back to Egan & Son's in Montclair. They had bottles of Blue Point's Hoptical Illusion which I thought was an appropriate name (may have had the illusion of hops but I found it very weak) and one of their own Watertown Wheat beers (which I enjoy).

 

Looking forward to Hershey, Troegs and ABC next weekend!

[okinawaboy11]

Mod Edit: Read the F'N rules!

 

No underage consumption allowed. You have been warned.