A Beer related thread.

[lcfd42]

After all of the intrest in the wine and whiskey thread, I felt it be only approprate to discuss beer. The ins-outs and qualities of beers from around the world; as well as our small town microbreweries. Let us know what you like, and what you like to keep on hand in the fridge. Also what purpose you may have for a particular style.
I hope this tread will enlighten those who enjoy this beverage, and give others an opportunity to find out about items the may have not known about.

[Leftygolfer]

I like beer. I am simple and cheap. I buy Miller Lite cans and keep some in my fridge all the time. If I am out I like Blue Moon.

If anyone is every in Cincinnati there is a micro brewery downtown called RockBottom. They have good beer from the watery stuff I like to dark heavy beers. Get the samplier and then pick your favorite of those. I work a block from there so we go there after work at times.

[wubskis]

Currently I have a serious soft spot for the Japanese beers Kirin Ichiban and Asahi.

I'd say my 'stock' beer for drinking pints at a bar would be Becks Vier. It's so much more delicious than its 5% brother. Or father, however you want the analogy to play out~

[Bobz007]

Anyone try to brew their own beer? I've been reading online and am interested in trying it over the winter.

[ADKBrew]

Let me start by saying that I love beer the same way people are passionate about wine or scotch ... or Golf.

I brew my own beer and have been doing so off and on for 15 years now. I do this so I can experiment with different styles and tweak them to my liking and just a fun process. I originally started to brew because I did not like the mass offerings 15 years ago before the craft brew explosion that we have seen.

Most people believe that beer is pretty much BMC (Bud, Miller, Coors) offerings and if this is the case they are completely missing out. As someone who loves beer, try different brews, there are 100’s of different styles that will range in flavors of Malty, Hoppy (Bitterness), Fruity, Sour, Chocolate, Nutty just to name a few.

In my opinion Beer actually works better in pairing with foods than wine ever can, but that is because it is what I am accustomed to and have many years of trying to match things. Again, most people know beer as a watery yellow liquid that have been muted over the years as these corporations try to make things cheaper, there is a time for those beers but again just so many more options … and don’t get me started on this whole light beer thing.

Also the idea that a dark beer is heavy is a large misconception. They sure can be but there are styles of dark brews that are very subtle. All matters on the grains and the amount of roast they have.

All I can say is try them. Go in with an open mind; see if your local beer stores will allow you to mix beers into a 6 pack or if you have a local brewpub, go out and get a sampler. These are great ways to experiment.

For me tonight I will be grabbing a growler of Browns (Great Local Brew Pub) Oatmeal Stout as well as their Porter. Nice beers for the cold weather!

[Amoretti]

Anyone try to brew their own beer? I've been reading online and am interested in trying it over the winter.

Yeah. My buddy has been doing it for years, and I'm usually along for the process. It's pretty easy, assuming you have all of the proper equipment. The only bad part is the waiting. We brewed a batch on Monday and it probably won't be completely ready to drink till February.

We've found that the longer you let the beer sit and ferment, the better it tastes. One of our biggest problems was having that "skunked" beer taste. If you let it sit in the fermenter for long enough, we found that the yeast goes into survival mode and starts eating all of the bacteria that causes that skunked taste. As for my taste in beer, I can't get enough of the bittery hoppy pale ales. I've tried just about everything, with an open mind at that. It's the IPAs and EIPAs that win it for me. EDIT: That said, I'll drink anything. My staple, however, is Yuengling. It's the least expensive full flavored beer that can be had just about anywhere, so it's almost always my weekend beer of choice.

[ADKBrew]

We brewed a batch on Monday and it probably won't be completely ready to drink till February.

This can be true, it all matters on the style that you are brewing. If your brewing a basic ale it can be ready to drink in 3 (pushing it) to 4 weeks. 1 week in the Primary Fermenter, 1 in the secondary and 2 weeks in bottles to build carbonation. The amount of time can be further reduced if you keg your own beer because then you can force carbonate.

Larger beers are going to take more time more time, more sugars for the yeast to breakdown and also some of these beers you will want to let them sit in bottles to allow for them to properly age.

[Amoretti]

This can be true, it all matters on the style that you are brewing. If your brewing a basic ale it can be ready to drink in 3 (pushing it) to 4 weeks. 1 week in the Primary Fermenter, 1 in the secondary and 2 weeks in bottles to build carbonation. The amount of time can be further reduced if you keg your own beer because then you can force carbonate.

This brew is a darker roasted lager, with some cascade hops thrown in during the boil. We do keg the beer though, and force carbonate it with CO2.

[ADKBrew]

We've found that the longer you let the beer sit and ferment, the better it tastes. One of our biggest problems was having that "skunked" beer taste. If you let it sit in the fermenter for long enough, we found that the yeast goes into survival mode and starts eating all of the bacteria that causes that skunked taste.

The key to this is science ... when you brew a beer you should be aiming for you OG (Original Gravity) and you will be able to get this with hydrometer or refractometer. Based on the style of beer you will have an idea what the FG (Final Gravity) should be. Once you hit this FG that is when you should get it out of the fermenter.

Also on the skunked taste and other off tastes you can experience a lot of that can be due to pour sanitization and sterilisation ... this is the key to making good beer.

[ADKBrew]

This brew is a darker roasted lager

Ah, Nice! Lagers are a little more tricky as the temp is key! And since the temp is nice and low those yeast need to have more time to do the magic!

Probably more like a Schwarzbier? Fantastic style! Let me know how it comes out ... one of my favorites.

[Fourputt]

My favorite ales right now are Alaskan Amber (Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, Alaska) and Buffalo Gold (Boulder Brewing Co). The Alaskan is available in other areas, but I'm not sure about the Buffalo Gold. I also like Easy Street Wheat (Odell Brewing), more like an ale than other wheat beers...not so citrusey (is that a word?).

Colorado has some great micro breweries. I have a brew pub (Hops Brewing Co. - great handcrafted beers) right across the park out my back door, about a 10 minute walk. Another brew pub I go to often is CB & Potts. I love their Colorado Blonde, regularly fill my growlers with it. Breckenridge Brewery also has a couple of locations in Denver as well as the main one in the ski town of Breckenridge. Their Avalanche is one of my favorites, as is their seasonal Summerbright. I could go on for another 3000 words.... Colorado was quite early into the whole brewpub scene (I first had Buffalo Gold some 17 years ago) and has many which are well established companies now. I know that Fat Tire and Blue Moon (New Belgium Brewing Co) are available in many other parts of the country.


Denver also hosts the annual Great American Beer Festival (you can Google it for more info) at the Denver Convention Center every summer. It usually sells out well before the opening day.

[Amoretti]

My favorite ales right now are Alaskan Amber (Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, Alaska) and Buffalo Gold (Boulder Brewing Co). The Alaskan is available in other areas, but I'm not sure about the Buffalo Gold. I also like Easy Street Wheat (Odell Brewing), more like an ale than other wheat beers...not so citrusey (is that a word?).

Oscar Blues makes one of my favorite Pale Ales.

[finitesoup]

Living in Europe, I'm currently loving Leffe Blonde

Highly recommended, as are basically all of the Belgian beers I have tried.

[lcfd42]

That said, I'll drink anything. My staple, however, is Yuengling. It's the least expensive full flavored beer that can be had just about anywhere, so it's almost always my weekend beer of choice.

I agree with that, Yuengling is a good staple beer, and a good one a its price.

[joepro23]

My friends and I brewed beer a couple times this year. Interestingly, the first time the beer turned out great and was a belgian-style beer similar to blue moon. It was also strong (around 7%) but had a smooth taste. The second time we tried for a winter lager but it skunked somehow. Not sure what went wrong.

As far as my go-to beers...I am a big fan of anything from Brooklyn Brewery, Magic Hat, Wachusett Brewery (MA), and Ommegang. If you live near a brewery you should take a tour because they are a lot of fun. At Wachusett we even got to sample some new beers they were experimenting with. Overall, I'm not too picky though and I'll crack open some Busch Light if the occasion calls for some cheap beer.

[Da Bears]

In my fridge right now I have mixed twelves of Boulder Brewing Co. and Flying Dog. I always have Miller Light aluminum pint bottles on hand too. I am really liking the Singletrack copper ale by Boulder as well as their Sundance amber ale. As for the Flying Dog beers: I like the amber lager, porter and classic pale ale but will definitely stay away from the golden wheat in the future. Next week I plan to pick up some other mixed twelves, maybe some Fat Tire or Boulevard. Cheers!

[Amoretti]

As for the Flying Dog beers: I like the amber lager, porter and classic pale ale but will definitely stay away from the golden wheat in the future. Cheers!

Their classic pale ale is great. Any particular reason you're staying away from the wheat?

Personally for me, the taste of wheat beer is fine. For whatever reason though, it always ends up giving me a horrible hangover, and I'm not really the type to complain about hangovers. Even if i just have a few wheat beers, I end up with a pounding headache the next day. It's pretty strange, really.

[HotSauce]

My favorite ales right now are Alaskan Amber (Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, Alaska) and Buffalo Gold (Boulder Brewing Co). The Alaskan is available in other areas, but I'm not sure about the Buffalo Gold. I also like Easy Street Wheat (Odell Brewing), more like an ale than other wheat beers...not so citrusey (is that a word?).

I had the Alaskan at a Hotel in Montana on a ski trip. I absolutely loved it.

Atlanta is home to Sweet Water Brewing. They have a pretty awesome lineup consisting of 420, Blue, Hummer, Road Trip, Motor Boat and a few others. 420 and Hummer are two of my favorite beers. If you can get your paws on them, you'll love them.