what, no beer talk in the brewery?

[Arno]

It's funny how heineken, which is basically nothing more than dirty dishwater with some beer extracts , tastes awful in holland (and here) but much better in france (and other exports)

I remember, when I was a kid, my dad once asked for a typical english beer somewhere in a uk pub, and he got a freakin stella

and it wasn't half as good as the originals here

;D

 

[drummerguy]

My all time favourite is another Belgian called Brigand. Too bad it's very rarely available anywhere.

That's available in the USA.

 

[drummerguy]

I wish these were more widely available: http://www.flyingdogales.com/Default.aspx
I don't understand why a yankee would bother with "imports" when they have breweries like that. Snake Dog is my favourite of those, but I haven't had a chance to try them all yet.

i like a couple of the flying dog beers, but they're not exactly considered a top notch brewer here in the states, not bad but far from the best. We now have more micro breweries than any other country. some faves:
http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/
http://foundersbrewing.com/founders/home
http://www.rogue.com/
http://www.dogfish.com/
http://www.unibroue.com/english.cfm

I still enjoy some imports, like:
paulanor dopplebock
aventinus wheat doppelbock

 

[Kingston]

i like a couple of the flying dog beers, but they're not exactly considered a top notch brewer here in the states, not bad but far from the best. We now have more micro breweries than any other country. some faves:
http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/
http://foundersbrewing.com/founders/home
http://www.rogue.com/
http://www.dogfish.com/
http://www.unibroue.com/english.cfm

I'll try to keep some of that in mind. Admittedly that's a challenge after 3-4 pints.

Speaking of micro breweries, yesterday I tried to sample something equal to or better than Porterhouse Plain Porter (one of the best in the world), and the bartender recommended an American porter from here: http://www.anchorbrewing.com/

It wasn't bad, maybe a little too syrupy.

 

[MrZpliff]

hmmm...

Anyone here drink "John Smiths" ??? (that ones for the brits here)
I used to live about 5 miles from the Tadcaster brewery for that stuff... sunday lunch with a few pints of that (on hand pull... none of that CO2 nonsense) was bliss.

Here in the states, I've taken to drinking Lawenbrau (not sure if my spelling is right), and some of the Shiner Bocks... There's a particular Kolsh they make that is lovely.

Other than that... finding anything that I'd consider "good" beer has been very difficult.
For some reason, people think that Newcastle Brown is a good ale here...
Honestly.  ???

I "discovered" John Smith's Smooth Bitter when visiting London about 10 years ago. Great beer  

One of me favourites for the moment is Fullers Pale india Ale.
As it's Friday, it's rather warm (for the season that is) and the sun is shining I think I'm gonna sit myself down ooutside and have me one right now... Cheers  ;D

 

[Nishmaster]

Dogfish Head has some really great beers. Even the odd ones (Festina Peche) are quite delicious. I'm partial to the Dogfish Head 90 IPA myself, if that's the style I'm feeling. If I'm going for a wheat beer, Three Floyds Gumballhead is really, really good.

I'm rather partial to stouts, though. Obviously Guiness is a standby, and while I don't find it the most flavorful, it is very refreshing and very available. The local microbrew Two Brothers you can find here in Chicago (don't know about elsewhere) and they do a seasonal winter stout called Northwind Stout that is just over the top amazing if you're into a creamier, slightly sweeter stout with less bitterness. The Lagunitas Cappucino Stout is good as well, but I have to find I'm in the food for that hefty coffee bitterness. On the opposite end is the Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout which is very, very sweet, too much so for a full sit down, but fantastic for a half-glass after a meal.

I'm having trouble finding all year round stouts, though. Both the Left Hand Milk Stout and Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout are only ok at best. Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[drummerguy]

Speaking of micro breweries, yesterday I tried to sample something equal to or better than Porterhouse Plain Porter (one of the best in the world), and the bartender recommended an American porter from here: http://www.anchorbrewing.com/    It wasn't bad, maybe a little too syrupy.

anchor is a good brewery, my fave from them is liberty ale. the porter IS a bit wsweeet, but that's how porters are supposed to be. still i think it could use a little more roasted malts. northcoast makes great porters,.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Speaking of micro breweries, yesterday I tried to sample something equal to or better than Porterhouse Plain Porter (one of the best in the world), and the bartender recommended an American porter from here: http://www.anchorbrewing.com/    It wasn't bad, maybe a little too syrupy.

anchor is a good brewery, my fave from them is liberty ale. the porter IS a bit wsweeet, but that's how porters are supposed to be. still i think it could use a little more roasted malts. northcoast makes great porters,.

I don't know that Porters are supposed to be sweet. The derivation of porter is a mix of unfinished beer, for the porters to drink for free (waste not want not). So if porter is a blend of Stout and lighter ale, it could be dry or sweet, just like stouts. Most classic stouts are in fact pretty dry (not sweet).

If that anchor is the one famous for their "steam" beer (lager fermented at warmer temperatures), a shift to ale (I ASSume the porter is an ale), may be consistent with their warm lager process.

JR

 

[1954U1]

It's funny how heineken, which is basically nothing more than dirty dishwater with some beer extracts , tastes awful in holland (and here) but much better in france (and other exports)

Yes thats funny indeed.
Here in Italy e.g. the Peroni Nastro Azzurro is definitely on the medium-low quality side.
Heineken is not so bad.

Now Its some months I've discovered the Dab "original" [it has "crude" and "all natural" marked over],
its really good.

 

[ChrioN]

Hoegaarden is regarded as a bit of a "girls beer" here because it's so light and lemon soda like. Doesn't help they serve it in that massive ice mug so it looks like a cocktail.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in Finland, many attributes' considered girly. As in not manley.

 

[hobiesound]

i quite like hoegaarden and "wit" beer in general, but my all time favorite is "IJwit" (translated to english as Eggwhite) brewed in a small brewery located in an old windmill right here in amsterdam. It's quite a heavy white beer, at least in comparison to hoegaarden, and has a really nice full bodied flavour thats very sweet and lemony.

 

[mushy]

This summer I've been into Blue Point Toasted Lager. It tastes exactly like it sounds. Toasty yet crisp.

Mmmmmmmm....

 

[deuc224]

I like dogfish head. 60 min is ok, 90 min is good, 120 min is a great hoppy beer. Same goes for arrogant bastard, extremely hoppy. But my overall favorite has to be  number 2, julius ecter hefe dunkel, first place has to go to my true love, erdinger hefe dunkel...its really the best beer I've ever tasted.

 

[flaheu]

Big fan of Carolus triple, Duvel ,Orval, Chimay, Rochefort.....there are so many in our lovely "flat land"......hicup.....hicup .....I wish I could drink them all.....

 

[SSLtech]

Roddy, I just checked.

The 1664 bottles in my fridge all have "Imported From France" on them. The draught stuff has no such declaration anywhere, so I think you've hit the nail on the head!

-Keith

 

[CJ]

still my favorite
.

 

[producer4000]

still my favorite
.

I haven't seen that in years. A wonderful brew as I remember.

 

[peter purpose]

 

[Rochey]

I have been known to drink Turbo Shandy from time to time.

Shandy (otherwise known as "Radler" in Germany) is usually Lager and Lemonade (americans: think something like sprite... not the cloudy stuff y'all drink).
Very easy going in heat in summertime...

but as we brits don't really have a hot summer, drinking Shandy is considered a cowards way of drinking...

So, to sharpen it up a little, we replace lemonade with smirnoff Ice... suprisingly easy to drink

We've also thrown in Lager and Margarita into the same glass in 50/50 combinations... that also seems to be easy to drink. (especially here in Texas.)

There... I've just destroyed any beer snobbery credits I may have had.

/R

 

[JohnRoberts]

Strike one for being a lager lout. Strike two for mixing juice with beer... You're not out, but behind in the count. 8)

I recall back in the '70s (at Ft Riley KS) a popular drink at the nearby college town was to mix tomato juice with beer.. but since the beer was only 3.2% it was hardly beer to start with...  :

In the summer heat I've seen German weise bier served with a slice of lemon, perhaps that's where the lemonade mix idea came from.  I am generally opposed to fruit in my beer, but I had a tall glass on one 4th of July with a slice of lemon at a imitation Bier Garten in Buckhead. It hit the spot after running the Peachtree 10k.

JR