Man it was good! I like everything I've tried from Great Divide. Titan IPA has become a regular as has Hercules Double IPA. I also had a Red Rocket Ale from Bear Republic (who I also like alot). That was very good as well.

Try the St. Bernadus Apt 12 that I mentioned above. If you need help finding a beer store, try this: Beer Advocate's Beerfly for Massachusetts

I found a place in Boston that definitely has the St Bernadus. Bauer Wine & Spirits. Not sure what area of Boston/Massachusetts you are at though.

Definitely need to give me a review on the Hazelnut Brown and the 120...very curious on both.

Tonight, I'm trying a couple of Hefe-Weizens...

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb

and

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse

will report back...

Ive had the Franziskaner. Its an excellent hefe. About as good as Weihenstephaner. Havent tried the Paulaner.

Will report back in a bit on the Rogue,

Liked both a lot, but if pressed, I'd go with the Paulaner...Franziskaner was just a tiny bit more carbonated than I'd like ideally. Still, both were very nice.

bump for the upcoming weekend...

Had the Rogue Hazelnut Brown the other night...very nice dessert beer.

Saw both Sierra Nevada Celebration and Anchor Steam Christmas and will be going to grab those later.

The Rogue HB nectar was good, but Im not a big fan of Brown Ales, so it isnt something I will be buying again.

I just tried a Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout last night (9.5%ABV). It had a little too much alcohol in the taste. Its a great example of the Imperial Stout style, but Ill stick with Rogues Shakespeare when I want a good stout. Ive yet to try anything 9% or over that I like alot.

Also tried the Allagash Dubble Reserve the other night. It was pretty good for an American made Dubbel. Had a sweet nuttiness that reminded me a bit of a Chimay Blue, but a lighter version. It went well with spaghetti and hot italian sausage.

Tonight Ill pop the cork on the Ommegang Abbey Ale. Im getting scared to crack open the Dogfish head 120minute IPA. The 21% cant be good. Pretty much bought it just so I could say I tried it. Im not anticipating liking it much.

Also tried a Flying Dog Brewery's Snake Dog IPA.

Average as far as American IPAs go, IMO. Glad I only bought a single and not a 6 pack. 5.8% just doesnt cut it for me anymore. I seem to like the 6-8% ABV range. Anything less is just too watery.

I had some Deschuttes Jubelale last night. Damn good winter seasonal. It was malted a lot more than I generally like, but it was also well hopped and blended nicely. This surpirsed me a little, because the Deschuttes standards aren't big hopped beers. This one is. Not huge, but it has a bite. It reminded me of a porter with a kick, which is a good thing. Definitely recommended.

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/BrewPub/OnTap/5811.aspx

[quote=Wingnut,Nov 18 2005, 02:32 PM]
[quote=Winston Smith,Nov 18 2005, 02:24 PM]Im getting scared to crack open the Dogfish head 120minute IPA. The 21% cant be good. Pretty much bought it just so I could say I tried it. Im not anticipating liking it much.

[/quote]

Well, by all means, save yourself the agony and send it my way!

Seriously, if you like the 90, I think you'll like the 120. If not, ummm, see above.

Well, I found both of these today at a package store in the middle of nowhere, well almost nowhere. I was shocked. I picked up a 6er of the SN and plan to try the other one later on. More importantly, I found a halfway decent beer store 5 minutes from work. Not as good as some of the ones 20-30 minutes from home, but a big improvement over the local ones.

you can't be a true beer snob unless you move to Portland, OR. 2nd most breweries in the world except Munich, the home of micro and craft brewing. [scottish]If its not from Oregon, its crap.[/scottish]

Oregon is home to some really good beers. The northwest, as a whole, is a jackpot when it comes to quality brewing.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, and was very impressed by my recent trip to Portland. However, California is the cradle of the beer world. Three of my four favorite breweries (Stone, North Coast, Sierra Nevada) are there. The fourth is in Delaware, which seems weird to me.

Don't forget Anderson Valley, Mendocino, Lagunitas, Firestone, San Andreas, Marin County, Elk Grove, Humbolt, Lost Coast, and many many more . . .

Which brewery in Delaware?

I must reiterate one thing:

Rogue's Chocolate Stout is beyond words. Its hard to believe its beer. Its so good its stupid.

Seek it out if you can. This stuff blows the doors off of Youngs Double Chocolate Stout by a country mile.

I forgot I had 2 bombers of this in the back of my fridge. Saw them tonight and did mach 5 into the kitchen for a bottle opener and a beer glass.

Every beer lover (and especially stout lovers) needs to try this at least once.

Always liked Flying Dog..

What American IPAs would you recommend, if any..?

jw, get your mitts on some Dominion brew from AshBURN when you trek down to the Northern Virginia area..

Great Divide's Titan IPA (6.8%), and Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA (6%). 2 of my favorites. Insane hops, but well rounded and balanced.

Toss in DFH's Aprihop as well (7%). Its a great IPA brewed with apricots - but it doesnt taste like apricots, the fruit lends just enough to smooth it out and give it a sweet background. Insanely smooth.

Boulder Beer's Mojo IPA (6.8%) isnt bad either, it has a real fruity kick.

If you like BIG IPAs, with BIG alcohol, give Great Divide's Hercules Double IPA and Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA a shot. Both 9%+ ABV. Both excellent exapmples of Double IPAs.

Nice, DFH is definitely available around here.. Great Divide and Boulder will probably be harder to come by, but I appreciate the recommendations

If you can get to the brewery, it's worth the trip to get the "real" oak barrel stout or some cask conditioned tuppers.


If you're still in VA, and ever get down to Richmond, there are a few places that carry Great Divide's stuff. And I'll second the recommendation. I have one or the other in the fridge/pantry almost all the time. Also love Racer 5 from Bear Republic.

Tried Ommegang Abbey Ale last night. Drank a 750ml. Started out easy but got difficult to finish. Not because of taste, I think I just wasnt in the driinking mood.

Not a bad beer, but Ill stick with Chimay Blue.

Am drinking a Snake Dog IPA right now, and its a bit better than I remember the other night. A little too floral for my taste, but not really a bad IPA.

Yeah I was in the Ashburn area yesterday..

I'm in Richmond here and there.. DC has a place called the Brickskeller that supposedly has the most beers of any bar in the world. I'll put GD and Racer 5 in my queue next time

And you didn't stop by Old Dominion! I bought a growler from them because I wanted to bring home the real oak barrel stout. Wish I was close enough to get refills.

If you're in the Richmond area, look for Once upon a Vine or Wine and Beer WestPark. Two very good beer stores. As far as a beer bar, Capital Ale House is tough to beat, but I've never been to the Brickseller. They also let you buy beer to carry out.

Finally found some '05 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale!

I bet you can get Stone beers where you live though, FatMax, so theres a trade off.

Id kill for some Stone IPA, Ruination, and Arrogant Bastard. Ive been wanting gto try them for quite a while, but cant get em here in Florida. I CAN get a bunch of DFH though.

FatMax, check your PMs in about 5 minutes.

Still waiting for PM ...

Set it up. I can get Stone everywhere along with pretty much every known West Coast brew.

Craftyerown

Two problems:

1) I'm an idiot.
2) I'm lazy.

I lived less than a mile and a half from Old Dominion for 4 years. Never went there.

neither one of these delimmas have set me back. You'll be very happy you tried later on...trust me.

Abita Amber - not their best work. The Turbo Dog is much, much better.

Just did a taste test with Celebration ale and Sweetwater Festive Ale. Festive All kicks ###!

According to beeradvocate.com .....

Sweetwater Festive Ale: 3.96/5 - 37 reviews
Sierra Celebration Ale: 4.19/5 - 628 reviews

One of my fav's.

I did a beer exchange with Jefferson the Caregiver for Dogfish. I sent him back some of my favs. well worth the time and effort. Only cost me $15 to send 4 twelve ounce bottles.

I'm starting to think that the recipe for any micro brewer's Holiday Ale is to take a known standard, hop the #### out of it, add a few spices, and redistribute with a different label. This, of course, is a very good thing. GB big hops.

What did you send him the represent the left coast?

Sounds like Hop Heaven

1. Sawtooth Ale - lefthand brewery, longmont co
2. 90 Shilling - Ft Collins Co -

I sent him these two because I brought them back from vegas where I had a buddy og mind bring them out to me. They were two of my favorites while I was living in CO. I passed them on because I knew he would like them.

The next two were

1. Drake's IPA - Great America Beer Festival 2002 Gold Medal Winner!
Brewed with extra hops and malt in the English tradition, but with West Coast
style. This deep golden India Pale Ale is artfully balanced with a fresh, powerful aroma and a luscious finish. It's made for those who really love beer!

2. I forgot the last one?

WTF?

Huh. I've never heard of any of those beers. Just looked up Drakes on BA. It isn't a heavily reviewed beer, so it is probably not widely distributed. It did get some good reviews, so I'll keep my eye open for it.

Perhaps we could get a beer exchange going here...start posting what you have and what you want, sort of like they have on BA...

Maybe it's good I don't live there. They'd have to kick me out every night. And at about $6 for a refill, my growler would never sit empty on a shelf.

That's because those 37 people drinking Festive Ale were hammered after the first one and misvoted.

FatMax and I are putting together a Dogfish Head/Stone swap.

Id love to get some other swaps going after this one. Its the best way to try beers you cant get locally.

I'd like in on some Stone outside of Arrogant Bastard and Stone IPA. Somebody with access to it, PM me and let me know what you might want.


Also, I'm having my first Hercules Double IPA. 9.1% alcohol and 85 IBU's of pure beer goodness.

So what are you having for Thanksgiving?

For me, it's La Fin Du Monde. First time having it, and a big