Beer!

chewie wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

Thanks, I will keep that one in mind next beer run.

Bought another one last weekend that I'm trying for the first time tonight.  You might be interested in this one DB.  It's a Belgian quadrupel (yes, that's how it's spelled) with chocolate and coffee added.  I'm finding it quite tasty but at 11% ABV it's definitely a sipper.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/212/175025/

YES! That is sold in my area! Guess I'll be getting a bottle of that.

It's definitely worth trying.  Sort of an odd combination; I'm not really used to Belgian quads with chocolate/coffee flavors.  But once you get used to it it really is quite an enjoyable brew IMO.

Sam Adams Oktoberfest is excellent. I just had one on tap the other day when we went out to eat.

007 wrote:

Sam Adams Oktoberfest is excellent. I just had one on tap the other day when we went out to eat.

Agreed. It's what I've been drinking since it came out.

My three favorite Sam beers are the Octoberfest, the Black Lager and something that's only available in their winter variety pack that's called Fezziwig's Ale.

007, Aaron_D, and Toho, I knew I liked you three for a reason.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of pumpkin beers I hadn't tried before.

Elysian Dark O' the Moon Pumpkin Stout
Elysian The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale

I like both but I like the stout better. It's got the pumpkin flavor but also still has the stout backbone. The other one is good but a little too "pumpkin-y" for me; it reminds me of Southern Tier's Pumking.

For me Schlafly still rules the heap of pumpkin beers.

Kasteel Barista Belgian Quad

Still a strange but tasty mix of flavors

Was in Milwaukee last weekend to go to Packers game. We stayed at the Brewhouse Inn and Suites which was formerly one of the Pabst factories turned into a cool hotel. Anyhow, had a PBR - not so good.

Had and Old Tankard Ale. Ughh!! Worst alcohol ever!

HAHAHAHA!

Yep. Sounds like a Pabst brewhaus to me.

Surprisingly, BeerAdvocate gives that Old Tankard a rating of 85-Very Good.

I would have bailed as soon as I saw Pabst had anything to do with it.

At the recommendation of a friend I'm trying Midas Touch beer for the first time and it's ok. Has a grape, honey taste to it. He said it would give me an out-of-body kind of high and at 9% a bottle I'm sure it'll accomplish something but after one bottle it doesn't seem to have what Spaten Optimator does.

Never heard of that one. 

Speaking of high ABV beers, I went to my favorite beer store today to pick up my reserved allocation - a case of 24 - of Founder's Backwoods Bastard (it's a barrel-aged scotch ale that weighs in around 11.2%).

Naturally while I was there I had to scope out what else they had on the shelves.  I almost bought a stout that was over 17% ABV but it was just too pricey at 17.99 for a 12oz bottle.  But I'm really curious about how it tastes.  I've had beers with alcohol content that high before and sometimes they're great and the ABV is well hidden and other times it's like doing a shot.

I paid 22 bucks for 4 of Midas Touch which apparently the recipe was found in an ancient Egyptian tomb. In all honesty I'd rather stick to Spaten Optimator and mead. I wanna try that Backwoods Bastard. What's the price on that?

14.99 for a four-pack


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/35036/

BTW, I also age these and most other high ABV beers.  Put them away in a cool, dark place for a year and a lot of the alcohol edge mellows out and the flavors blend together better.

I just popped the top on one of last year's Backwoods Bastards that I've been aging and it's so much smoother than the fresh stuff.

But good luck finding it.  I finally decided to become a "VIP member" at the beer store (it's free, I don't know why I hesitated) so I was able to pre-register to get an entire case of BB this year.  Last year I just happened to luck into about 1/2 a case that some other VIP member never picked up.

akeldama wrote:

I paid 22 bucks for 4 of Midas Touch which apparently the recipe was found in an ancient Egyptian tomb. In all honesty I'd rather stick to Spaten Optimator and mead. I wanna try that Backwoods Bastard. What's the price on that?

I tried that, this year I think, based on an article I read about the people who make these ancient meads/ales/beers. It was okay, the story was more interesting and it was cool just thinking about it while drinking it.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

akeldama wrote:

I paid 22 bucks for 4 of Midas Touch which apparently the recipe was found in an ancient Egyptian tomb. In all honesty I'd rather stick to Spaten Optimator and mead. I wanna try that Backwoods Bastard. What's the price on that?

I tried that, this year I think, based on an article I read about the people who make these ancient meads/ales/beers. It was okay, the story was more interesting and it was cool just thinking about it while drinking it.

I have to agree with you. It gave me a different buzz that wasn't bad but not what I particularly wanted. My wife even said I had a different buzz but what made it worse was it gave me the same kind of headache light beer does. I'll never try it again.

DallasBlack wrote:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/430/99058/

Finally found a pumpkin beer I like.

Had this one again on Halloween and at first it wasn't as good as the first time, but once it warmed up it was as I remembered it. Apparently this one isn't one to drink real cold.

Not beer, but I also had a hard orange soda. Not bad and better than a hard cherry soda I tried that tasted like a sweet cherry cough syrup.

How was the Buffalo Sweat? I had a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout that wasn't too bad the other day. I didn't see the pumpkin ale, or I would of tried it.

It's good but you'd never know it's barrel-aged; there's none of the "heaviness" that BBA beers usually have.  It's sweet and thin but tastes exactly like the flavors advertised lead you to believe.  I like it but I wish it had more "oomph".  I like it better than regular Buffalo Sweat although I like that stout too; it's a good basic stout for people who think they don't like stouts because the style is too heavy.

Tonight it's bourbon-barrel aged Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

North Coast's "Old Rasputin" RIS is one of my favorites so last week when I was at my beer store and saw they had a BBA version I decided to try it.  It's pricey but worth it.  The BBA makes this almost a completely different tasting beer.  Unlike the beer in my previous post the barrel aging of this beer makes all the difference.  And in addition to the taste change it also ups the ABV from the 9% of the regular version to 12% for this one.

Definitely a sipper.

This weekend I'll be finishing off some leftovers that I've accumulated over the past few weeks -- a couple of Travelers Pumpkin Ales plus assorted stuff from the Yuengling, Coors and Old Milwaukee (!) families.

Fat Freddy wrote:

This weekend I'll be finishing off some leftovers that I've accumulated over the past few weeks -- a couple of Travelers Pumpkin Ales plus assorted stuff from the Yuengling, Coors and Old Milwaukee (!) families.

I was so disappointed in that Travelers Pumpkin when I tried it last year.

Ive been drinking lots of Alaskan amber and Icy bay since coming back from the bristol bay area. Couldn't believe one Alaskan IPA on the flight was the same cost as a sixer back home haha.

Stender wrote:

Ive been drinking lots of Alaskan amber and Icy bay since coming back from the bristol bay area. Couldn't believe one Alaskan IPA on the flight was the same cost as a sixer back home haha.

Concert venue beer prices on flights.  


Well, it's officially the holiday season in our household as the wife picked up our first Holiday seasonal last night, Shriner Holiday Cheer. Can't say I'm really a fan of it.  It wasn't has heavy or spiced as most Christmas Ales, but the infused peaches made it a little too sweet for me.  

"It's the most...wonderful time...of the year..."