Whatcha drinking?

mori · Post by **mori** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:27 pm

Jag wrote:
Alefroth wrote:
Jag wrote:I don't drink anymore (mostly) so my first foray into this thread is to ask what I should buy my company facilities guy who went above and beyond helping outfit me for my move. Looking to spend around $20-$40 and need a man's drink. Is Johnny Walker Black still the standard drink for real men?

Real men drink single malt

Seriously though, if he likes Scotch, JW Black should be fine.

Ale
I don't know if he drinks scotch. He's an older guy (60s), former cop, former army.

You can buy a pretty good single malt scotch for under $40. My favorite is Highland Park 12yr. Just under your limit. Also a lot of good Bourbons and American whiskeys will fit in your budget. Moonshine is big right now and legal stuff can be bought in most better stores. The stuff I have seen runs from $20 to $30 per mason jar.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:48 pm

Carpet_pissr wrote:Anyone try or a fan of the Whole Foods beers? We just had one open near my house, but I have yet to check them out. And maybe the beers available differ by store? Not sure:

It warms my black heart to see that that list is a full 37.5% MI beers that I have known and loved...

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 7:02 pm

At 32 and 64oz those are likely growlers not glasses.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 7:04 pm

Madmarcus wrote:At 32 and 64oz those are likely growlers not glasses.

You're just not thinking grand enough!

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:23 pm

mori wrote:You can buy a pretty good single malt scotch for under $40. My favorite is Highland Park 12yr. Just under your limit.

Tonight, I was supposed to find out how good of a single malt scotch you can get for just under $1200 a bottle. A friend was having a little poker night and was opening a bottle of Laphroaig 30yr for us to drink. He is the greatest friend ever.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:35 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:
Madmarcus wrote:At 32 and 64oz those are likely growlers not glasses.
You're just not thinking grand enough!

After 64 oz of the Imperial IPA I wouldn't be thinking.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:29 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:
Madmarcus wrote:At 32 and 64oz those are likely growlers not glasses.
You're just not thinking grand enough!

Behold!

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:48 pm

Just got back from Parlor City (which has 64 beers on tap). Had Founders Dirty Bastard, Ommegang Biere D’Hougoumont, North Coast Brother Thelonius, Rogue Chatoe 19 Original Colonies Mead, and Toppling Goliath Murph's Irish Red. All were quite good. I had one other that isn't on their list but it was excellent as well. It was a christmas ale but not really (not full of spices). Now I'm hom having a New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red. If you like Sam Adams Cherry Wheat even a tiny little bit you should try this beer. It is fantastic and tastes like cherries sent from heaven.

mori · Post by **mori** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:49 pm

I did not think New Glarus was brewing Belgian Red this year because the drought caused a cherry shortage and they brewed a substitute. Is it an older bottle? I prefer New Glarus Enigma. This is the beer that Belgian Red should inspire to be.

I have been drinking rather weak offerings. Hate to waste calories on things like Tonka Preservation IPA and RJ Rockers Bellringer. I had to drink Strongbow Cider to get the taste out of my mouth. I think I actually like Strongbow now.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:54 am

When I go to a place with a good draft selection, I'm always torn between wanting to sample as much as possible vs. wanting to drink beers that I know I like. I only go out once a week, so draft beer is a treat. My wife drinks 1.75 glasses of wine for every beer that I suck down, so I have to limit myself to 2 or 3 (there's also that driving home thing...3 beers is my legal limit). Plus, I prefer to stick with the same style of beer in a session, so while I might try 3 different IPAs, I usually won't jump from a lager to a seasonal to an IPA.

I need a beer buddy. Winos get drunk too fast.

On topic: I'm drinking Celebration tonight. It's starting to get hard to find. I've got a case and a half in stock, but two of my three regular packies are out with no promise of getting more.

Have you noticed that Sam Adams stopped packaging Latitude IPA in 12s? I have. I wonder if it's going to be a seasonal thing with them, or if it just didn't sell well enough. I like Latitude at 12-pack prices, but it's not worth 6-pack prices.

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:00 am

The Belgian Red is from earlier in the year (summer) so it could be last years batch. I think it's great but not something I'd drink as a session beer.

Kraken wrote:When I go to a place with a good draft selection, I'm always torn between wanting to sample as much as possible vs. wanting to drink beers that I know I like. I only go out once a week, so draft beer is a treat. My wife drinks 1.75 glasses of wine for every beer that I suck down, so I have to limit myself to 2 or 3 (there's also that driving home thing...3 beers is my legal limit). Plus, I prefer to stick with the same style of beer in a session, so while I might try 3 different IPAs, I usually won't jump from a lager to a seasonal to an IPA.

I am torn between sampling new and something I like. So I start with something I like and end the same way. Parlor City has flights so that makes it easy to sandwich tries between likes. My wife is pregnant so I don't have to worry about who is driving for at least another year.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:18 am

EvilHomer3k wrote:
I am torn between sampling new and something I like. So I start with something I like and end the same way. Parlor City has flights so that makes it easy to sandwich tries between likes. My wife is pregnant so I don't have to worry about who is driving for at least another year.

Nice. My wife plans to quit drinking for a few months starting next week (she does that every now and then), so that'll give me some opportunities to (over) indulge...as long as she doesn't mind sitting there sober while I have that fourth beer.

I still need a drinking buddy. Maybe I should draft Kelric. He must be getting into the ditch-the-girlfriend phase by now.

When I do mix beers, I try to start mild and malty and end hoppy and happy, but that trajectory also depends on what I'm going to drink when I get home.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 6:53 pm

I need a driving buddy. While generally my wife will drive home I know that she likes good beer also so I limit myself to 2 max when she is around so that she won't have to sit around while I try more beers. In an evening out we never get to try more than 3 beers!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 6:59 pm

The beer club that I go to for sampling limits your credit towards the 200 goal to only three per day anyway. They really don't want the liability. Besides, after about three, you're not really getting much data out of the beer anyway.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:52 pm

Heading down to the brewery now for some Royal Tenenbaum Christmas Ale.

Ale

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:55 pm

That's three between us not three for me. As far as really tasting them goes you're absolutely correct but sometimes I'd like to not worry about getting home so that we could try 5 or so between us.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:22 am

A couple Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stouts, a Mt. Dew + black rum, and some sparkling wine at midnight.

Toe · Post by **Toe** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 10:19 am

I have been drinking some chimay blue lately. It is pretty good.

Anyone had it and know of similar style of beer I could try?

mori · Post by **mori** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:40 pm

Toe wrote:I have been drinking some chimay blue lately. It is pretty good.

Anyone had it and know of similar style of beer I could try?

Chimay brews some fine beers. Not sure where you live so I will suggest some beers that get a very wide distribution. Unibroue from Quebec brews similar beers like Maudite and Trois Pistoles. I have seen their gift sets around that will give a nice sampling of their offerings. From Belgium there is Gouden Carolus Classic, Delirium Nocturnum, and Rocherfort 8.

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Wed Jan 09, 2013 3:33 am

Chimay Blue is a belgian strong ale. Rochefort 10 is an absolutely fantastic beer. Another good choice is St. Bernardus 12. Not quite as good at the R10 but still a great beer. Ommegang makes their Reserve XV which is in the same style and North Coast Brother Thelonius is a good one as well. I recently had some Golden Draak and Scaldis Noel and both of them were pretty good. I had Koeningshoeven/La Trappe Quadrupel a long time ago and remember it being really, really good. One of my first experiences with a BSA.

Basically, look for a Belgian dark Trappists ale (such as a Trapists quadruple). I think the dark is important as I have had some lights that tasted nothing at all like Chimay (even some tripels). Some belgians have a very wheat beer like sour to them that I find to be terrible (example New Belgiums Tripel - I was so disappointed).

If you can get your hands on it Westvleteren 12 is the best in that particular category. It is extremely difficult to find as the monks who make it only make enough to sustain their abby. Consequently, it is not usually available outside of Belgium.

Anyway, I love this category of beer

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:48 am

I recently bought a box of Sam Adam's spring seasonals and have been pleasantly surprised so far. Don't get me wrong I hate hoppy stuff and their Double Agent IPL is one of the hoppiest things I've ever tasted but their Alpine Spring is a welcome addition to my fridge shelf. The Irish Red was also what I want in a Red so we're good there too.

Is there a way to enjoy Porters? Their Maple Pecan Porter sounded good but comes off terribly.

I'm trying the White Lantern tonight, hope it's nice.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:55 am

I've started drinking Heavy Sea's Loose Cannon. Good local brewry.

When I want something stronger I've turned to Marker's Mark

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:01 pm

tru1cy wrote:When I want something stronger I've turned to Marker's Mark

I find the sweetness of this bourbon to be particularly appealing. Though I always mix it with something, like cherry coke.

I've also taken a strong liking to Grand Marnier for the same reason. I can drink it neat or with a splash but I also prefer this in cherry coke (while the bartenders look at me in surprise at this request, when they try it they realize what they've been missing...).

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 5:02 pm

I've wanted to try Alpine Spring but don't really want to pay for one. Is it a pale yellow lager?

Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye is my favorite spring seasonal so far. I noticed that Wachusett has their Quinn's Amber Ale out; haven't tried it yet this year, but that's another seasonal fave.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 5:05 pm

I tried RumChata (horchata with rum) over Christmas and holy bejeebus is that good. I'd only recommend it if you like really sweet liquors, and if you don't mind the whopping 140 calories per ounce.

mori · Post by **mori** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 7:03 pm

Gavin wrote:Is there a way to enjoy Porters? Their Maple Pecan Porter sounded good but comes off terribly.

I would suggest an English porter such as Fuller's London Porter (be sure to check bottle dates, I believe they put a best by date on the neck of the bottle).

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:02 pm

I would say bocks (or doppelbocks for that matter) aren't what I normally prefer, but this isn't too bad.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:25 pm

So apparently my city has a law or something that beers over 10% can only be sold as 8oz drafts. I have run into the policy twice in the last couple months, one with an Imperial Porter and the other for an IPA I think. Two different bars.

Is this normal anywhere else?

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:25 pm

Sixpoint's spring seasonal, Harbinger, is a really tasty saison. Not sure if it's available retail; I've only seen it on tap so far.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:30 pm

Scuzz wrote:So apparently my city has a law or something that beers over 10% can only be sold as 8oz drafts. I have run into the policy twice in the last couple months, one with an Imperial Porter and the other for an IPA I think. Two different bars.

Is this normal anywhere else?

I don't know if it's the law, but it's customary around here to serve strong beers in 10- or 12-oz glasses. Some places limit the number you can have.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:19 pm

I enjoyed some Kane Head High IPA tonight.

What the hell, New Jerseyites? Why have you been hiding this from me and keeping it all for yourselves? That's got to be one of the best IPAs I've had. This needs to get distributed to Chicago post haste.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:23 pm

We actually have. Up until last September brewery laws in NJ were ridiculous. Maybe now some of our local beers can actually be sampled outside of a 150 mile radius.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:38 pm

Friday I'm going with some coworkers to a place called World of Beers. They apparently have an extensive beer selection, and it is BYOF (bring your own food -- you can even order delivery from area restaurants). In the meantime, I've been enjoying Sierra's Ruthless Rye...a cost-effective continuation of my 2-year rye ale kick.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:43 pm

Here's a short review/preview of World of Beers that happened to be in today's paper. In a nutshell, it's a shotgun approach...not that there's anything wrong with that.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:02 pm

Last night was a 5-bottler. Started off with a Batch 91406 from Budweiser's Project Twelve, which didn't suck. Of course, it's a one-shot, so I'll never see it again.

After that, it was four Shiner Blacks.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 8:34 am

Kraken wrote:Here's a short review/preview of World of Beers that happened to be in today's paper. In a nutshell, it's a shotgun approach...not that there's anything wrong with that.

They were supposed to move into a landmark building in my old 'hood last year, but it never happened. So I moved close to the one in Naperville, I just never got around to going to it yet. During my formative years, I used to frequent a bar called The Weinkeller that at the time (early-mid 80's) claimed the world's largest beer selection with a constantly changing 500+. This was pre-microbrew days, so it was probably a more impressive effort than World of Beer. We had a rule whenever we went there, we'd typically have 3 beers, and 2 had to be something new. I tried thousands from all corners of the globe before the place burned down. But by then I was firmly established on the path of always trying something new...a tradition I carry on to this day.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:46 am

There an International Beer Festival coming up, but having looked into their website a bit, it looks more like international peewater fest with maybe a few standouts.

But the search did tip me to the existence of the Craft Beer Festival in June, which so happens to be stumbling distance from my house too.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:48 pm

Shiner's FM966 Farmhouse Ale, the spring seasonal. Pretty good stuff. I suppose it's too much to hope that it will be as popular as the Wild Hare was and stick around past the change in season.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:41 pm

World of Beer was fun, but the choices for non-beer drinkers are almost non-existent. They have a handful of wines, but in the soft drink category, only Coke, Diet Coke, and water. That is really inexcusable...they would be more useful to me if they could better keep the designated drivers and pregnant wives happy.

I had a double-IPA from NY (don't remember the name), some Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale, and some Two Brothers Pale Ale, all on tap. The double was served in a small glass, which is why I moved to the other, more pedestrian PAs. For snacks I ran across the parking lot to a fast-food falafel joint and brought back some fresh-made potato chips, hummus, and pita bread. Only my wife and I were interested in eating though. It was fun, and when we left it was pretty packed.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:21 pm

Saint Saltan from Magic Hat, a Gose beer - the first I've ever had (to the best of my knowledge).

It's strange because going in, there's no taste at all. But there's a lingering...something that I can't quite place (label suggests coriander for JeffV?) but I swear I can pick up the salt. I love wheat beers and this is quite enjoyable.