Beer snob thread!

[The Oi]

The first beer i ever had was a miller high life. I was in my grandpa and grandmas basement with my cousin. This was way back when i was 12ish? We snuck upstairs around midnight and got one and brought it down. Both had about half. It wasn't too bad then. To this day im pretty sure we threw the bottle in the woods. Do you all remember your first beer?

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[JustWine]

Had a beer tasting this morning going over Napa Smith Brews, which is a new micro brewery being introduced into the Cleveland-Akron area beginning this week. They have 3 signature brews: Pale Ale, Wheat, and Amber. All are very well done and made from high quality ingredients and packaging. They also put a little nitrous in each bottle which is a nice touch. They were all good and they did good job of making each style present like it is supposed to be w/o going way out in left or right field. They also have a seasonal Red Ale. The Red is their best seller. The Amber got the best response during the tasting, and deservingly so. I however like the wheat the most and found it the most drinkable. None are brews that are going to knock your sox off, but at the same time none will disappoint you if you’re looking to get your hands on a new beer in the market

 

[bcort]

So I got into trying some of these suggestions starting over Christmas break.

I liked 12 dogs of Christmas more than Great Lakes' Christmas Ale.

Not a fan of IPA's.

Thought Dortmunder was good, but a little pricey for it.

Sierra Nevada Kellerwies is pretty good.

My favorite so far has been Sea Dog's Bluepaw, which I got at a restaurant (haven't seen it in any stores).

I tried a different blueberry beer (Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale). It's alright, but definitely not as good as Sea Dog's.

Any other suggestions or must tries from you guys? I like a malty beer more than a hoppy beer. I'm a fan of Amber style beers. I'm intrigued with these fruit beers, but fear there's as many bad ones as good ones, if not more.

What should be the next style, brand, etc of beer I try?

 

[Randolphkeys]

Nice bump.

My favorite malty beer, even before moving to San Francisco, was Anchor Steam. If you dislike hops, give this stand-by a try.

 

[bcort]

Nice bump.

My favorite malty beer, even before moving to San Francisco, was Anchor Steam. If you dislike hops, give this stand-by a try.

Thanks, and I just looked, my local beer place has it! Definitely have to give it a go.

 

[The Oi]

Just tried Shock Top the other day. It's an Anheuser-Busch Belgian style wheat. It was pretty damn good for a big company American beer. It's worth trying, though it certainly doesn't have the advantage of being exotic, which is part of the fun for me in trying new imports. It's worth a try if you're into "buying American" I suppose. :chuckles:

When I was down in Miami last weekend, one of my buddies ordered a pitcher of Smithwick's for a group of us. What a horrible beer to get for a group of people. I guess some people like it but I thought it was just garbage. Maybe it's cause it was on draft, but God was it terrible.

cortell, glad to hear you dug the Bluepaw. I love that stuff.

 

[pr26]

Recently moved to DC, and last night tried Yuenling Black and Tan.

Wow. Great taste of a dark beer, but not bitter at the end. I'm in love.

 

[mixman]

Just tried Shock Top the other day. It's an Anheuser-Busch Belgian style wheat. It was pretty damn good for a big company American beer. It's worth trying, though it certainly doesn't have the advantage of being exotic, which is part of the fun for me in trying new imports. It's worth a try if you're into "buying American" I suppose. :chuckles:

Ah, love me some shock top. My only local distributor is an A-B distributor, so in my kegerator i normally rock a 1/6 barrel of Goose Island Honker's Ale and a 1/6 barrel of Shock-top. However, last time I went in they were offering 1/6 barrels of Landshark for 25 bucks!!!! Needless to say I picked one up. It's an ok stand in for Shock-top, but I still like the top more.

Favorite beer overall is probably Fat Tire, Hopefully it will be coming to Ohio soon, it made its way to Indiana last year, so there is hope!

For cheap beer I like Coors, I'm also a big fan of Blue Moon, any of the Great Lakes standards, Newcastle, and Sam Adams.

 

[BlueSeats626]

 

[JustWine]

Any other suggestions or must tries from you guys? I like a malty beer more than a hoppy beer. I'm a fan of Amber style beers. I'm intrigued with these fruit beers, but fear there's as many bad ones as good ones, if not more.

What should be the next style, brand, etc of beer I try?

Some really good lambics are Lindemans, Samuel Smith’s Organic beers, and the St. lous Frambois isn’t bad either (only one of that line I’ve tried).

On a Side note last week Brooklyn Black Ops hit the Cleveland Akron market last week. One of the hardest beers in the world to Aquire. It’s essentially their Black Chocolate Stout that has been aged in bourban barrels and then refermented with Champagne Yeast. 11.7% a/c and Brooklyn doesn’t even aknowledge they make it. It’s pricey but a must try if you can track one down. Only 10 cases in the market for the whole year.

 

[Brandname]

Oh man, can't believe I missed this thread before. I love good beer and wine more than just about anything in the world.

For those of you who are big IPA fans, I have one recommendation above all others:

Double Crooked Tree brewed by Dark Horse Brewery right here in Michigan. It's a big, bold double IPA, so if you don't like hops, don't buy it. It weighs in at a gigantic 12% ABV, but it's masked remarkably well. Just be careful with it. It's so well-masked I could see it being easy to go overboard with. But the flavor and hoppiness of this beer is just fantastic. This is a seasonal beer with its release coming very soon (sometime in February). Not sure if it gets all the way down to Ohio, but if it does be sure to pick up a pack. It's very expensive (I think I pay $10-$12 for a 4 bottle pack! Yikes!).

For another big double IPA, I would also recommend Bell's Hopslam. It's also a good weighted IPA (9-10% ABV), but the hops in it are much more citrusy in nature. Definitely a lot of citrus on the nose of this one, if that's your preferred type of hops. I would rank it slightly below the Double Crooked Tree, which is the best IPA I've ever had, but above most other IPAs I've had. For those of you who like Great Lakes Brewery, I feel these two are both significantly better than the Great Lakes IPA (although I haven't seen a double IPA from GLB... do they offer one?). This one is also seasonal (it's out right now), and it's also VERY VERY expensive (~$16.00 for a six pack. Sheesh).

In terms of Belgians, my favorite is the trappist Rochefort 10. Just a fantastic all around beer, with great carbonation, a bit of sweetness, and very little hops power. I find these beers are usually good for people looking to get into beer as well. You might not be able to get the full complexity if you're just getting into beer, but usually the taste is agreeable enough that you will want to come back for more. On the other hand, some people just do not like Belgians, at all.

The two best vacations I've ever taken in my life were to Napa Valley and Munich, Germany (imagine that). I've never been somewhere that is so absolutely obsessed with beer as Munich is, and the beer there is amazing. They have several major breweries that provide most of the beer (Hacker-Pschorr, Weihenstephaner, Paulaner, Warsteiner, Krombacher, etc), but they're all of exceptionally high quality. Weihenstephaner is the oldest brewery in the world (~1000 years old), and for weissbier, it is the beer of choice for my wife and I. Reasonably easy to get here in America too. A close second is Hacker-Pschorr. And third on my list would be Paulaner. If you can get your hands on any of those, they're all fantastic.

I'll make other posts as I think about what I like.

 

[johnnycake44022]

One I am enjoying right now is Two Brothers Domaine DuPage. Its from a brewery in IL but I have been buying it a Heinens (for those that live in Cleveland area). Here is a description from their website:

Domaine DuPage is a rural, northern France, amber colored
ale. This well balanced beer is full and sweet up front with
caramel, toasty, and fruity characters. The finish has a
gentle floral and spicy hop balance that cleanses the palate.

 

[Born 'N' Raised]

Any other suggestions or must tries from you guys? I like a malty beer more than a hoppy beer. I'm a fan of Amber style beers. I'm intrigued with these fruit beers, but fear there's as many bad ones as good ones, if not more.

What should be the next style, brand, etc of beer I try?

One that I've been drinking a lot lately is Birra Morretti. It's an Italian beer. It's nothing out of left field or unusual, just a real good flavor.

 

[JustWine]

Oh man, can't believe I missed this thread before. I love good beer and wine more than just about anything in the world.

For those of you who are big IPA fans, I have one recommendation above all others:

Double Crooked Tree brewed by Dark Horse Brewery right here in Michigan. It's a big, bold double IPA, so if you don't like hops, don't buy it. It weighs in at a gigantic 12% ABV, but it's masked remarkably well. Just be careful with it. It's so well-masked I could see it being easy to go overboard with. But the flavor and hoppiness of this beer is just fantastic. This is a seasonal beer with its release coming very soon (sometime in February). Not sure if it gets all the way down to Ohio, but if it does be sure to pick up a pack. It's very expensive (I think I pay $10-$12 for a 4 bottle pack! Yikes!).

For another big double IPA, I would also recommend Bell's Hopslam. It's also a good weighted IPA (9-10% ABV), but the hops in it are much more citrusy in nature. Definitely a lot of citrus on the nose of this one, if that's your preferred type of hops. I would rank it slightly below the Double Crooked Tree, which is the best IPA I've ever had, but above most other IPAs I've had. For those of you who like Great Lakes Brewery, I feel these two are both significantly better than the Great Lakes IPA (although I haven't seen a double IPA from GLB... do they offer one?). This one is also seasonal (it's out right now), and it's also VERY VERY expensive (~$16.00 for a six pack. Sheesh).

In terms of Belgians, my favorite is the trappist Rochefort 10. Just a fantastic all around beer, with great carbonation, a bit of sweetness, and very little hops power. I find these beers are usually good for people looking to get into beer as well. You might not be able to get the full complexity if you're just getting into beer, but usually the taste is agreeable enough that you will want to come back for more. On the other hand, some people just do not like Belgians, at all.

I can back up your claim that Hopslam and Rochfort 10 (AKA Blue Cap) are two amazing beers. Double Crooked Tree will have to go down on my must try list now since I respect your opinion after those bullseyes. One IPA that is an absolute must try is Ithaca Flower Power. It is definitely a hoppy ipa however the flavore profile of the hops and beer itself is very unique and blanced unbelievable well. It may be my favorite beer that’s under 10% a/c.

Other really good IPA's are Rogue Yellow Snow and Smuttynose IPA (which is brand new to the Ohio market). Rochfort 6 is also a very good beer, 8 also seems to create a lot of buzz. However, I feel 8 is a little overrated. 8 is still one of hell of beer now, I’m just being a real big snob here. Orval is also a must try trapiste and for someone who is a big fan of rochfort, Ayinger Celebrator is a must try.

 

[bob2the2nd]

Recently moved to DC, and last night tried Yuenling Black and Tan.

Wow. Great taste of a dark beer, but not bitter at the end. I'm in love.

i love this beer. the yuengling porter (black) is pretty good too. both of these beers are pretty much in my top 8. then with regards to price I put them into the top 3 or 4.