Beer!

I had a mint one last night.

Perennial's "17"; it's a chocolate mint stout.  It's pretty good but I don't really get all the hype.  This thing used to be hard to come by but apparently Perennial started making more of it each year and now it's more readily available.  Smart move because like I said, it's good but it's not worth going out of your way for.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25888/79705/

A chocolate mint stout? That doesn't sound very appetising. I'd still try one though.

It basically tastes like chocolate mint ice cream in beer form.

tohostudios wrote:

It basically tastes like chocolate mint ice cream in beer form.

Hence the reason I want to try it.

Yeah, i'm ok with that.

Shmaltz' "Klingon Imperial Porter"

It's decent enough but for something called "Imperial" I expected more body and ABV (only 7.3%).  I bought this on a whim at the beer store last weekend.  I like a lot of Shmaltz offerings so I had to give this one a try.  It's OK but I don't need to seek it out again.

I know they can be that low but I expect an Imperial to be at least 9%. Shmaltz is another i've heard of but we don't get.

I'm more of a wine girl than a beer girl but I do like a good IPA from time to time

Way back in the early pages of this topic you would see I use to HATE IPAs.  But somewhere along the line I've developed an appreciation for them.  Especially the double, triple and black IPAs. 

Of course I used to hate broccoli and green beans too; I guess tastes change.

Ever tried a Belgian ale?  I've found that people who consider themselves "wine people" generally like Belgians because the kind of hops used in Belgian ales have a distinctively "fruity" taste.  For instance, I work with a woman from India who is a huge wine afficianado.  At one of team "happy hours" the bar we went to didn't have any wine (it's a beer place) so I suggested she try a Chimay Belgian ale.  She loved it.  it's like a sweet white wine.

And Chimay is very high quality.

Chimay Blue...mmmmmmm 

Yeah the Belgians are pretty good. I like the fruitier tastes of some of them. The summertime ales are pretty too. I especially like the lemonade style beer

Had a new Schlafly release last night.  Coconut crème ale.  Man I had such high hopes for this one but alas it's pretty boring.  The coconut flavor is really weak.  I much prefer Osker Blue's "Death By Coconut".

Not a coconut fan but OB is always quality.

Opened the other bottle of Perennial 17 Mint Chocolate Stout. 

I don't think this year's version is as "cloying" as last year's.  It was almost syrupy sweet last year but this year's is lighter.  I still think there's too much mint and not enough chocolate but at least it's natural mint and doesn't taste like toothpaste.

I know it's not beer...but I want to run something by the drinkers here.

The last two times I've had rum I get a headache a few hours later. This last time it was pretty much migraine-level with attendant nausea. No sounds, no lights, no touching...just laying there until it passes. Not much rum, either. This has never happened to me with wine/beer. Anyone else have anything like this?

Yep.  I don't touch rum anymore; haven't had any in decades.  The worst hangovers I've ever had were from either rum or bourbon.
And as you said, not that much either.  But a rum "hangover" seems to hit me earlier than others; like maybe 6 hours after consuming.



The only "hard stuff" I can handle is gin and vodka.  Anything else is off limits.

So that's not unusual? Dang! I actually like rum (in stuff, at least).

Yeah, I was lying in bed sweating it out and just kept fantasizing about dumping it all down the drain.

It's a shame. I get it from the Islands...Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Thomas...I was looking forward to all the different kinds.

Man. Oh, well, I'm not having a night like last night again.

Yeah, it was on the same day. I only had one little bottle. I couldn't believe it.

I did some research on this a long time ago and I blamed it on something called "alcohol congeners"

Quote :

In the alcoholic beverages industry, congeners are substances, other than the desired type of alcohol, ethanol, produced during fermentation. These substances include small amounts of chemicals such as methanol and other alcohols (known as fusel alcohols), acetone, acetaldehyde, esters, tannins, and aldehydes (e.g. furfural). Congeners are responsible for most of the taste and aroma of distilled alcoholic beverages, and contribute to the taste of non-distilled drinks.^[1] It has been suggested that these substances contribute to the symptoms of a hangover.^[2][3] Congeners are also used by forensic toxicologists to determine what a person drank in a sub-discipline called alcohol congener analysis

Tequila is another one I can't get anywhere near.  Look what's at the bottom, the two hard liquors I can handle.

And if you notice, the alcohols get lighter as you go down to the bottom of that chart.

Yet for some reason liquers don't bother me.  My favorite is Jagermeister and that's really dark.  So it has to be something in the manufacturing process of hard liquor which again leads me back to the congeners theory.

Way back when, we used to drink 151 and my memories are of it coming back up. Can't hardly smell it these days without feeling queasy.

That's how I am with rum and whiskey.  As soon as I smell either one my throat starts constricting.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

I know it's not beer...but I want to run something by the drinkers here.

The last two times I've had rum I get a headache a few hours later. This last time it was pretty much migraine-level with attendant nausea. No sounds, no lights, no touching...just laying there until it passes. Not much rum, either. This has never happened to me with wine/beer. Anyone else have anything like this?

I can't drink any red wine without getting a headache. I drank Sangria for years without any problem, but any other red wine (I prefer the sweeter ones) and BAM! headache.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Anthrax is getting on board the band/beer wagon...



Wardance (5.5% abv) is brewed using a blend of both New York State and North American two-row malt barley and a blend of special malts to add color and depth of flavor. The hops are sourced through New York State and West Coast growers. A percent of the hops is added in the boil kettle and a percent post fermentation to create a unique flavor profile that balances the rich flavor and aroma of the specialty malts with the delicate aroma of the select hops. The result is a recognizable beer with a unique character that sets Wardance apart from other beers out in the market today.

I picked up 3 cans (Ugh!! Canned beer!!) of this last night. Didn't try it yet though. I'll save it for tonight.