mmmmmmmmmm Taddy Porter

Grolsch. mmmmmmm. cool bottle too.

Very big fan of Michelob's Amber Bock

and Dos Equis Amber

http://www.arrogantbastard.com/

Something like 8% alcohol content, pretty good taste



They have it on tap at a local bar

http://www.arrogantbastard.com/animated/index.html - cartoon

Based on the list of beers that you like, you will absolutely hate this one, called Aldaris Porteris.

It is a nice porter from Latvia. I've only found it in one liquor store, but I'll gladly give it both the and the !

You are very ugly, mon! This beer will make you beautiful!

Hooray beer!

Note to self: I need to try this stuff.

john courage amber (lager)... my group killed a keg this past weekend - golf/draft/poker/beer. started thusday- beer was gone saturday night. but while it lasted it was mighty fine!!! find it on tap if you can. bottles taste good, but tap is SWEET!

and not a lager - whitbred - english ale.... btw, also a great race.....

Based on your list, I'd also concur with the Anchor (Steam especially or even Liberty Ale) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recommendations. You also might like something from New Belgium like the Sunshine Wheat. Avoid the abomination that is Fat Tire.

Whoever recommended the Chimay Red is a genius, although I prefer the white. Some of the guys in this thread don't know their butt from a hole in the ground when it comes to beer.

Abita Turbo Dogs are tasty.
Samuel Smith's are all excellent.
I think you will like the Pilsner Urquell's and the Sierra Nevada Pale Ales as well.
To me the SIerra Nevad's are smoother but, both are very good.

If you wish to spend less money I love Shiner Bock's.

Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr go down like water on a hot summer night.

I thought he was a big fan of lagers

Samuel Adams (with the blue label) is a lager. Samuel Adams Boston Ale (red label) is an ale.

Brooklyn lager is certainly different than Sam lager, but similar enough to warrant a recommendation to someone who likes Sam LAGER.

BTW Samuel Adams Lager is, by far, the biggest selling beer in the Sam Adams portfolio.

While Chimay rouge (and the cinq cents and grand reserve) are by any definition "great" brews, a guy that likes Corona, Killians and Heineken might not be prepared for these monsters. Chimay=definitely not a cookout/beach/ballgame brew.

Sierra Nevada pale ale (if you can get it out east), Bass Ale, and Newcastle are all in the top tier category of beers, as far as I'm concerned.

Ok so a few updates:

Tried Sierra Nevada. Not bad but nothing spectacular imo. I wasn't a huge fan of the aftertaste. I could definitely drink this, but would never choose it over Sam Adams.

Tried Pilsner Urquell. Very good, I was pleasantly surprised. Goes down very easy imo. I might try this one again in the near future.

Thats all for now. Keep the suggestions coming.

Then it's not the beer I'm thinking of.

Exactly. And Brooklyn Lager is ten times the beer Sam Adams is.

Not suprised that you weren't a big fan of the Sierra Nevada. Its a pretty hoppy ale and tastes nothing like a good lager. The aftertaste is the hops.

As for the Pilsner Urquell, when its good its real good. Unfortunately I have run into some consistancy problems with the beer though. But a good Pilsner Urquell on a hot day is tough to beat.

Hey JWVDCW:

Looking at your list, I'd propose Pulaner Hefeweizen. If you are looking for something a tad bit heavier: My favorites (not yet mentioned) come from the Ayinger Brewery in Munich: Killer brews across the board! I especially like their dark wheat beer (Ur-Weisse) = extraordinarily yummy.

Other beers that turn any day into heaven include their: Altbairisch Dunkel ABD (Old Bavarian Dark Beer,) Celebrator Dopplebock (double bock,) Bräu ­Weisse (yeast wheat). Lunch is only 1 hr and 37 minutes away!

When I worked in a specialty wine/whisky/beer shop, the staff was incredibly knowlegeable about the product-and great customers themselves. When a fresh delivery of Pilsner Urquell arrived, we would all set some aside for ourselves.

On the question of "skunky" Samuel Smiths...I have to say I have had some less than stellar examples. Consider that it usually sits in a wholesalers warehouse for a long time. There it may or may not be in a temp controlled room. If not, it could be sitting in 90-100 degree temps for months at a time. Then, once delivered to a store, it might sit in a storage room for months again. Maybe temp controlled, maybe not. Or, maybe it got shoved in and out of the cooler a few times. All in all, a tough journey before you get it.

The best way to buy beer is to find it from a store that sells a lot of that particular type. It only takes one or two regular customers to keep fresh product moving through a shop. Usually, something like Samuel Smith isn't offered or purchased in huge quantities, so maybe just a case or two at a time are on hand in a store. Chances are better that it will be fresh.

And some brews just hold up better than others. One of my great laments is that Kolsch is too delicate to transport and "hold" well. So to get a decent example of Kolsch, you pretty much have to go to Cologne. My guess is that, in general, lagers (pilseners) are more delicate and don't hold up as well as ales. Mass brews have an advantage here: beers like corona, heineken, bass, etc. sell better than smaller brews like Hoegaarden, Weihenstephaner and Ipswich, so there is, unfortunately, a better chance that the superior brew just isn't fresh any more. Then someone comes along to finally give it a shot, it tastes like ### and they are left with a bad impression.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Duvel
Delirium Tremens
Delirium Nocturne
Sam Smiths Oatmeal Stout
Guinness is Good For YOU

You are correct, sorry. They ARE both Lagers, I would never have guessed that. The Sam Lager tastes more like a Brown Ale than a lager. At least I think so.

It's obvious he's a Pilsner fan.

Try Tupper's Pils (made in VA), Brooklyn Pilsner.

It's so nice to finally get someone to agree with me.

If I could get quality Sam Smiths on a consistent basis, it would probably be all I drank.

Well, let me check that. The only import I would drink.

Here in the Detroit area, we have mass quantities of quality Bell's from Kalamazoo Brewing Co, and the best microbrewpub in existence, Dragonmead.

They claim to have the most beers on tap anywhere in the world, based on variety from a single producer and location. Dragonmead

Edit to add this week's menu:

[quote=tangfoot,Sep 16 2004, 03:43 PM] [QUOTE=roadeyes,Sep 16 2004, 12:01 PM]

Here in the Detroit area, we have mass quantities of quality Bell's from Kalamazoo Brewing Co, and the best microbrewpub in existence, Dragonmead.

They claim to have the most beers on tap anywhere in the world, based on variety from a single producer and location. Dragonmead

[/quote]
I don't even understand that tag line about their beers on tap.

This place has the most beers anywhere.....The Brickskeller in DC.

Yes, but every beer in Dragonmead is brewed ON PREMISE.

They only sell what they make themselves.

Good call. May be a bit hoppy for his tastes, but man that is some good stuff. I like the Hop Pocket Ale as well.

Jesus, you guys can even make beer metro.

First off don't believe everything you hear / read. Below are the facts.

http://www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm

I am just saying if you intend to drink heavily go for the best alcohol kick per carb/calorie. I did some calculations and found out Miller Lite is tops in this category - it has more alcohol then more then a few non-light beers and when you compare it to something like Sierra Nevada, let's just say I do not drink Sierra Nevada anymore - Sam Adams is even worse. Here are the stats:

Miller Lite has .7 carbs per % alcohol content
Sierra Nevada has 2.2 carbs per % alcohol content
Sam Adams Lager, Ale and Cream Stout respectively have 3.8, 4.0, 5.1 carbs per % alcohol content

I got hooked on Miller Lite since my neighborhood bar had $2 pints all day and all night - I liked the taste to boot, so the efficiency of the beer was a big PLUS.

The difference per 12 oz of Sam Adams Lager vs. Miller Lite in alcohol content is 4.75% vs. 4.5% (SA has 0.25% more alcohol)
The difference in calories is 160 for Sam Adams vs. 96 for Miller Lite (SA has 67% more calories)
The difference in carbs is 18g for Sam Adams vs. 3.2g for Miller Lite (SA has 462% more carbs!!!!)

I think it's funny how the commercials say the difference between this beer and that beer are a handful of peanuts, yeah well what's the difference when I drink 20 beers in one night? O.K., now what's the difference when I do that 4 times a week? That's 80 handfuls of peanuts. Morons

If you like beer, I'd suggest you move to Belgium :

http://www.belgianstyle.com/mmguide/

80 beers/week.

That was at my peak when I was closer to jwcxyz's age - 6PM - Midnight twice during the week and then you have your weekends...

guys please don't kill me on this one as I'm a pretty young guy(24) and don't know all that much:

but what exactly is the difference between pilsners/ales/lagers/etc? I mean, I know that they have a distinct taste but what exactly makes a beer what it is?

Yikes.... A good question.... Start Here

Mostly, it's the way the are brewed. Ales are top fermented and don't require lengthy cold aging. Lagers (Pilsener is a type of lager-from the Czech town of Pilsen) are bottom fermented and require longer aging than ales. Of course there are many exceptions to the rule and many shortcuts occur. Also, the level of hops, the way the hops are added, the type of hops, the malt-even the water all affect the brew. Generally, lagers are lighter in color and ales are darker.

Just by looking at the responses to your initial question, many people equate heavy darker brews with a higher quality, even a higher alcohol content. But a really good lager or Pilsener is a thing of beauty. I think lagers get a bad rap because many of the mass produced (Bud, Miller, Coors etc.) are lagers in origin.

Look at it this way: a typical beer drinkers growth might go something like this-

underage-drink whatever you can get.

college-drink whatever is cheapest-usually a bad lager with adjuncts (rice, corn)

early adult-start "discovering" quality brews, but still consumed in vast quantities

30 plus- discover and search out best possible brews of all types. consumption drops

mid-late 30's- gut develops rapidly, tolerance drops. many return to less expensive brews

40+unless you become a serious zymologist, you'll take what you can get and not really worry about it.

But the best way to learn about beer is to try as many different types as you can. And try to remember something about them for future reference.

Natty Ice will #### you up

And ale can ferment in the hall closet, while you have to use a fridge to ferment your lagers.

Right now I would like a strawberry blonde.

Had a couple of Anchor Steams and Brooklyn Lagers tonight. Not bad. Not great, but better than the run of the mill beer. Next up is a couple of Oktoberfest's...Lowenbrau and Spaten.

As far as strong for my taste, I don't like porters much. Going to have to revisit stouts. Haven't tried either in a long time. Right now, Scottish Ales are my preference. A friend of mine keeps pushing Belgian Ales. And since Rouge Dead guy is a Maibock (sort of), maybe I should try more of those.

So little time, so many beers!!

Another update:

I wasn't sure if the Sierra Nevada I got on tap was the Pale Ale or not...are they the same thing or is the Pale Ale different? The reason I couldn't check is because we were sitting in the restaurant section of the bar, so I had no barender to ask.

Anyway, I picked up two 6-packs the other day and one 12 pack:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: Once again, I wasn't all that impressed. Thats not to say that I didn't enjoy it, but I can't see why I would ever choose it over my current favorite, Sam Adams.

Sam Adams Brewmaster Collection: I was totally confused as to how or if this was different than regular Sam Adams, as it didn't really say anything on the label. Anyway, I ended up liking a lot, but was kinda drunk by the time I had got to that(had already finished many of the other two beers), so I can't really give a great discription on the taste. I know I definitely liked it though. Is it different than regular Sam? How so? Anyone else tried this?

Pilsner Urquell: I loved this on tap, so I expected a lot. Not quite as good out of the bottle, but then again, what is? I definitely enjoyed it...weirdly enough, I feel a little drunk after only drinking a few of these. Maybe it was just my mood at the time, but I definitely 'felt' these more than other beers.

Anyway, I'll post some more when I try out others. So far, I've probably added Pilsner Urquell to my 'regular' list.

Stella Artois- tastes better in general than Heineken and definately doesn't have the skunky aftertaste

Dogfish Head IPA- Best IPA I've ever had

Magic Hat Fat Angel

Paulaner Hefeveizen

Two words: Red Stripe.

End of message.

Has anyone mentioned Kilkenny Stout yet???

Its a bit like Guiness but smoother.... a nice drop

Bought a 6 pack of Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat the other day. I've tried most of their line of beers, and although some of them aren't great, overall I love their line of beers.

I'm going to the store in a few hours, and I might decide to try something new out. I'll report back later.

Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Seriously, it's super cheap but tastes pretty good. Plus you get that entire 70's construction worker ambiance with it.

can you get me a 6 of Tecate?


I don't fee llike going anywhere right now.

PBR is a seriously good brew. Seriously.
Great tradition and heritage.
Way cool. Ask Dennis Hopper.
Awesome in the bar bottles-especially a fresh batch. Poured into a tall frosted pilsener glass on a hot day-mm,mmm, mmmm.
Excellent choice with pizza, burritos, Thai....
And to boot-about as cheap as it gets.

Ok, tried two new ones:

Saranac Pale Ale: Not terrible. But I'm not a huge fan of the taste. Kinda hard for me to describe the taste....it goes down easily, but its a little bitter imo. Nothing special.

Sam Adam's Octoberfest: I really have to stop getting Sam when I try other beers, as it really sets the bar too high. This was the first time I've had Octoberfest, and I think I may like it even more than the regular! Absolutely amazing.

As always, I'll report back when I try something new.


Update of beers that you all have recommended that I have tried and liked a lot: Pilsner Urquell.

Tried another recomendation...

Newcastle Brown Ale: Goes down pretty easy. I can see why some might say it has a bad aftertaste, but I actually liked it the aftertaste. In short, theres nothing really bad I can say about it, but theres nothing that really distinguishes it in my book either. Average. I'd have it if a friend had bought it, but I probably won't buy it myself in the future.

This is another shining example of a beer that is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT on tap.

Pickup a Murphy's Scotch Ale (big can with a widget) and report back.

Another good Brown Ale is Brooklyn Brown Ale.