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Beer/Ale/Lager Appreciation Thread


MacabreEternal

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Rochefort 10 is one of my very favorite beers, I place it at the top of the heap along with Schneider Aventinus. I haven't had many of the others that you mentioned, but the selection in my area is somewhat limited. I try new beers whenever I can though, I try to get something I've never had before whenever I see one available. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
Rochefort 8 and 10 really are incredible beers. That's pretty cool if you can easily get hold of them. I have to use a website called Beers of Europe if I ever want anything that exciting! Ever had any Deliriums? I'll check out Schneider Aventinus as well. I don't believe I've ever tried a Weizen Bock. What's Mike's Hard Blood Orange?
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Since Duvel bought Ommegang (an upstate NY Belgian-style brewery) a few years ago, Ommegang's quality and QC have improved. One of the few cases where I'm glad the big boys stepped in. I heard Ommegang was going to go under because of a problem with their yeast. Rumors. Mike's Hard is like Smirnoff Ice or any of those - cheap malt liquor with citrus flavoring and sugar added. I can't stand the stuff. I haven't liked flavored beers in about ten years. I'll make an exception for certain beers made with darker flavors like coffee, cocoa, vanilla bean - also some barrel aged and smoked beers are among my favorites. But berry beers, sweet-tasting ciders, anything with cheap flavoring added to cover up shit alcohol, that stuff can all take a running jump.

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Mike's Hard is like Smirnoff Ice or any of those - cheap malt liquor with citrus flavoring and sugar added. I can't stand the stuff. I haven't liked flavored beers in about ten years. I'll make an exception for certain beers made with darker flavors like coffee, cocoa, vanilla bean - also some barrel aged and smoked beers are among my favorites. But berry beers, sweet-tasting ciders, anything with cheap flavoring added to cover up shit alcohol, that stuff can all take a running jump.
I couldn't agree more. The only thing I like that remotely falls into that category is the odd Belgian lambic. I get really pissed off with cider getting a bad rep because of all the crappy Strongbow, Bulmer's etc. Proper English cider (made FROM- not 'with' handpicked apples) can be truly delicious. I don't know how widely available these are in your country, but look out for almost anything by Thatcher's, Weston's or Sheppy's... or anything that seems to resemble craft cider.. Generally any vintage cider above 6% ABV is pretty much guaranteed to be good!
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Re: Beer/Ale/Lager Appreciation Thread

Rochefort 8 and 10 really are incredible beers. That's pretty cool if you can easily get hold of them. I have to use a website called Beers of Europe if I ever want anything that exciting! Ever had any Deliriums? I'll check out Schneider Aventinus as well. I don't believe I've ever tried a Weizen Bock. What's Mike's Hard Blood Orange?
I've only had Delirium Tremens, but I really enjoy it. Most Belgian beers are top shelf awesome beers, but Rochefort and Westmalle are my favorites. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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I've had some decent cider - Crispin's and Doc's are ok here. But I haven't seen those others you listed. We may not get them. I'll look around. I've never had a cider with real body or a lot of flavor - they always seem sugary and weak. They usually wind up giving me a headache. I enjoy some funky, beer-like wines, and the occasional mead. Good mead is as excellent as it is rare.

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I've only had Delirium Tremens, but I really enjoy it. Most Belgian beers are top shelf awesome beers, but Rochefort and Westmalle are my favorites. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
Delirium Tremens is their most well-known one and indeed delicious. I just prefer their 'Delirium Nocturnum', though, being a dark beer fan. Definitely check it out when you can! I love their fruit one, 'Delirium Red', as well. I will get some 'Delirium Noel' in for Christmas as well; pretty excited to try that. I really love Rochefort and also really enjoyed Westmalle, but found it to be a pretty typical Belgian Tripel; not particularly unique or special. Still a very solid brew, though. Can't complain too much about a generic tripel as it's such an awesome style!
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I notice that the preferred beers of most beer fans tend to be pretty high in their ABV. On most beer sites the top rated beers seem to be Belgian Tripels/Quads, Imperial Stouts and double IPAs. I find that beers with a high ABV tend to be richer, fuller bodied and generally more flavoursome. I wonder if you guys also enjoy the odd weaker beer? If so, which ones are your favourites? I ask because I'm currently drinking a Darwin's Origin by the Salopian brewery based in Shrewsbury. At 4.3%, this is a much lower ABV than I generally drink, but this is a lovely brew! Very hoppy and spicy, as well as pretty rich and full-bodied, which I have rarely found in a beer of this sort of ABV before!

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There's been a resurgence in the popularity of "session ales" over the past couple of years. I've had extremely flavorful beers down around 4% or even a bit lower. Evil Twin makes a low-gravity beer that I haven't tried - pricey, especially for something that "weak" - but some of my favorites over here are Founder's All Day IPA and Carton Boat Beer. Maine Beer is probably my favorite East Coast brewery and their Hop Session ale is excellent. Marzen (Oktoberfest) style beers usually tend to be under or around 5% as well, and they can have quite a lot of body. I don't think we get Salopian. I will have to keep an eye out. As a homebrewer, I've learned that very subtle changes can make a big difference in the final product. Important to remember that a lot of what we perceive as malt "character" is residual sugar - in other words, the stuff that didn't ferment. If you over-ferment a beer, you'll have higher alcohol, at the expense of body and flavor. Not really a good thing. Matter of fact I rarely drink high-alcohol beers anymore because I want to be able to have more than three or four without falling asleep or falling down the stairs. I still enjoy Belgians but I fell out of love - I've been on an IPA appreciation kick for a while now.

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That's interesting. My experience is definitely quite similar to BAN's, though. Higher ABV beers to generally seem to be more flavoursome to me. It was just a nice surprise to find a weaker beer that can also hold its own. I do tend to favour beers over 5.5%, though. The higher the better! I guess my other reason for favouring the heavy-hitters is that, unlike other beer drinkers, I don't like guzzling down pints and pints of sessionable beer. I'd rather have a smaller quantity and volume of stronger ones. The same effect, without that awful bloated feel or the dreaded 'beer belly'!

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I can't really add much to this thread. I'm not a big fan beer, and I don't really drink alcohol much at all. I'm not a big drinker overall. I've personally found the hops fad to have gone a bit overboard. Triple IPA's and what have you. Tastes like my grandmothers 70 year old bottle of perfume. If I am drinking beer, typically I prefer maltier. All that said, I /do/ like ciders and if I'm going to drink that's one that I reach for. None of that Wyders' crap though! Though I shamefully admit whenever i'm in Scotland, I get a half pint of Strongbow for sentimental reasons. But in terms of beer, there's one that I love. When I was in France a few years back, I tried a beer called Kronenbourg Blanc. It was one of the most wonderfully light, citrusy, refreshing beers I've had - ever. I think it's a white beer? But I'm not certain. I have yet to find it available in the states. There's the 1664 but to me its nothing close. Kronenbourg Blanc - Brasseries Kronenbourg - Strasbourg, France - BeerAdvocate

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The reason why high-alcohol beers tend to have sweetness is because of the overbearing amount of malt that's used to make them. The higher the alcohol content, the quicker the yeast die off - there are special strains of yeast specifically bred to tolerate more alcohol. It's a constant arms race. Over-fermentation is not a flaw I've experienced in commercially available brews, but I've seen it as a homebrewer. Gives me more appreciation for even just sort of decent beer. It's not easy to do!

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I'm drinking a cider now, actually, called 'Thorn Brook Strong Artisan Cider', which is lovely. Not very sweet, but not too dry at the expense of the proper apple taste. The subtle sweetness is just a natural bittersweet apple kind of sweetness. I'd like to try that beer. Kronenbourg 1664 is the only generic non-craft lager I'd say I'm particularly a fan of. I had the other Kronenbourg in France: the 4.2% version sold often in red and white boxes, I think? Basically the 'Bud Lite' of France. :P Would be pretty interested in their wit bier, though.

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I'm drinking a cider now, actually, called 'Thorn Brook Strong Artisan Cider', which is lovely. Not very sweet, but not too dry at the expense of the proper apple taste. The subtle sweetness is just a natural bittersweet apple kind of sweetness. I'd like to try that beer. Kronenbourg 1664 is the only generic non-craft lager I'd say I'm particularly a fan of. I had the other Kronenbourg in France: the 4.2% version sold often in red and white boxes, I think? Basically the 'Bud Lite' of France. :P Would be pretty interested in their wit bier, though.
yes I've also heard people say it's the Bud of france. All I can say is on a hot summer day, it was PERFECT. It was all I drank while I was there. Plus those crazy frogs look at you like you're possessed if you don't drink alcohol with breakfast lunch and dinner.
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Re: Beer/Ale/Lager Appreciation Thread

You can keep that 21st Amendment stuff' date=' but I'll take your Lagunitas and Speakeasy. And since it's so awful, I'll happily drink all your Stone and Green Flash as well.:D[/quote'] Send some my way, if you can get it past the Mormon border guard. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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Re: Beer/Ale/Lager Appreciation Thread

If you're talking about Bud' date=' Miller, Pabst, Genesee, etc. you're not far off.[/quote'] I don't consider any of those beer any more than I consider would consider various mallcore bands to be metal. They have a few characteristics that could technically qualify them, but they're after something completely different in spirit. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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