Beer

[Adam West]

For those of you who like it...favorites?

I used to drink your typical American Lagers from the big three...Anheuser, Miller, and Coors.

I have tried foreign brews which are far superior to the big three but found that micro breweries in the U.S. have some really good brews.

I stopped drinking beer for the most part and turned to half decent wine. Then I found Dogfish Head...close to my home. The brews aren't cheap but for me it's quality over quantity. Personal fave is Raison D'Etre. The alcohol content is 7 or 8% which almost twice that of a typical lager and a six pack runs about $8.99 in these parts. For me at least, having one or two of these is worth paying a premium to the normal stuff.

There is a brewery in Maryland (right across the street from where I work) called Flying Dogs. I have tried a few of them and they are ok but don't blow me away like Dogfish. There is also a local pub that makes one brew so popular that they bottle and sell it. It is really good but again doesn't compare to DFH.

What are the faves in your area?

[Hector]

Many microbreweries in the USA are as good as any beers around the world.

San Francisco's Anchor Steam brewery rules...

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/261438204/ANCHOR_STEAM_BEER.jpg

Anchor Steam - Anchor Steam Beer (http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/)

Just read the reviews...

Anchor Steam Brewery (http://maps.google.com/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=anchor+steam&fb=1&gl=us&hq=anchor+steam&hnear=Oakland,+CA&cid=10910794900346796466&dtab=2&ei=gbRoTeyeMpL4swPekdWmBA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD8QqgUwAQ)



Whole Foods has one the best selection of both domestic and foreign beers in the USA...

http://thefullpint.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/whole-foods.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1117/874501925_b6297fd9d2.jpg

http://ny.racked.com/uploads/2007_08_whole%20foods%20beer.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/2170179258_014a4f1f1c.jpg

http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/sauganash/files/2010/04/spec1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MjsvpbmhT3I/SH2ZT_ZUu3I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/dMMP1yBKb2o/s400/wfbeer3.jpg

http://bierstein.com/images/beerjoints/wholefoodsbowery.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/3167849663_b740b4052b.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/bar-photos/photos/85/DSC_0108.JPG

:drool: :drool: :drool:

[vintage spideyfan]

My favorite out of the local varities...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e49/zman1981/Bellsoberon.jpg

As far as national brands go, I would have to say Sam Adams and their tasty offerings.

[alex]

Oh Hec, I would be in heavan seeing all those differant types of beer. Ive recently started going for the "micro brews" as well. Slightly more expensive, but far superior in taste. My favourite at the moment is a dark beer, with natural honey added,absolutly amazing.

[Hector]

My favorite out of the local varities...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e49/zman1981/Bellsoberon.jpg

As far as national brands go, I would have to say Sam Adams and their tasty offerings.

Sam Adams rules...

:yes:

[Hector]

Oh Hec, I would be in heavan seeing all those differant types of beer. Ive recently started going for the "micro brews" as well. Slightly more expensive, but far superior in taste. My favourite at the moment is a dark beer, with natural honey added,absolutly amazing.

Candy store for adults...

:smiley1: :biggrin:

[Hector]

BTW...Beerfest is one of the greatest movies ever made...

http://mymoviebanners.com/pics/beerfest/beerfest-2.jpg

http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/beerfest_das_boot.jpg

:biggrin:

[Hector]

Here in my hometown of Oakland...we have a mini-Oktoberfest called Oaktoberfest...it's right in my neighborhood (two blocks away)...I attend every October...nothing but great German-based beers from local breweries...it's a blast...me and my buds (and neighbors) always have a great time...lots of great food too...

Here's a youtube feed of pictures of the event...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ7_VaG_ZXo

It's scheduled once again...

Oaktoberfest Home (http://dimondmerchantsassociation.club.officelive.com/default.aspx)

Come on down!

:biggrin:

[The Bat]

I'm all Irish Baby...Guinness ON TAP!!:drool_y: I also like other Stouts & Porters. We have some great Micro Brew Pubs here in Maine, that brew some good Beer...and have decent food too.:grin: They are my favorite places to hang out...and sometimes they have a great "Rock-A-Billy" Band playing.

[wilbs518]

Spaten Opitimator
Guinness

[Mr.Krusher]

I only allow the FINEST to touch my lips:

Natural Ice
Olde English
Ballantine Ale
Colt 45

:smiley1:

Seriously though, I enjoy all types of beer, ale, and lager, and Hector's pictures are like my version of Wonka's factory, but I'm not overly 'fussy'. I'm more of a 'Scotch snob' I suppose..

Great quote, this is Gorilla Monsoon speaking of Andre -

"Andre was a connoisseur of fine wines and blended whiskeys, but if that wasnt around he'd drink any wine...or beer...or.."

:ape:

[Mikey]

I quit drinking a few years ago but I always liked Milwaukee's Best Light ... which is a Miller economy brand.

Sometimes I'd treat myself to a Yuengling :grin:

[Brad]

Friend of Bill W since May 12, 2002, so no more real beer for me. I do on occasion like to have an O'Doul's Amber once and awhile.
:grin:

Before then I mainly drank Bud Ice or Beck's Dark. I actually like a thick, full bodied beer the best. After my first wife left I would wake up to a couple Buds, drink a quart of Ice House for lunch, then come home to drink about 6 more Buds before finishing with a half of a bottle of Smirnoff's Silver Label.
:yeah:

I also used to be known as the nut job who would drink Everclear straight! Used to pull up to High School and park next to the only other Brad in our class. RIP Brad R. He died in a drunk driving accident a year after we graduated when I was at SIU. He wasn't the driver as the driver lived. I would reach under the seat to pull out my bottle for a couple wake-me-up swigs before class. You would think that was a sign but since I was a binge drinker who never had a DUI, lost a job, etc. it took another 14 years before it finally became evident that I am an alcoholic. I was an unsocial drinker as I mostly drank by myself at home.
:ugh_y: :googly:

[Adam West]

The part of Maryland that I live in does not allow alcohol to be sold in grocery stores. It is such an odd concept for me since I see it as a food product. They sell cigarettes and scratch off lottery tickets but no alcohol whatsover. You have to go to a beer/liquor store for that. Even stranger was the county in Maryland where I grew up (I no longer reside in that county). No alcohol in grocery stores...beer/wine had their own stores...and if you wanted something stronger, you had to go to the county run liquor store. They also sold beer but then you had to purchase it by the case and they were only allowed to sell it warm. Very strange rules.

[Adam West]

Brad,

Glad to hear you have been able to acknowledge the issue and take measures to stop. My sister's husband is an alcoholic who will not stop. Like you, he is fully functional. He has never missed a day on the job, doesn't drink on the job, etc. He doesn't even seem to get angry or irritable either. I actually didn't half believe my sister when she said he drinks a 750ML bottle of rum every day until I saw it first hand. He has been doing it for so long, he doesn't even seem to be impaired. My sister also said he drinks alone and although he's not a nasty abusive husband (even when he is drinking), my sister has said it is definitely taking a toll on her marriage. She is basically left in full charge of the kids in the evening while he sits downstairs half the night on the computer swigging back rum. I really do worry a lot about the long term effects of drinking that quantity day in and day out and hope he will stop before the damage is irrreversible.

[Brad]

Brad,
She is basically left in full charge of the kids in the evening while he sits downstairs half the night on the computer swigging back rum.

Substitute Vodka for Gin and that was me.
:yeah:

And I don't know why but in AA I met more Gin or Vodka drinkers then anything else by far. And I lost three friends, two of them were very close friends, to the disease. They were in AA and sober but for some reason had not cleared through the wreckage of their lives enough and they all killed themselves.
:ugh_y:

[Nostalgiabuff]

Beerfest IS a great flick.
I prefer Euro brews.....usually have Heinekin on tap at home but occasionally switchout with Hoffbrau or Paulaner. Have also developed a atesed for an Austrian beer called Spiegl. Good tasing Lager

[wayne foundation 07]

Molson and all its forms and varities:juggleyes_y:

[Meule]

Many microbreweries in the USA are as good as any beers around the world.


:rotfl:
You wish

[Meule]

Beerfest IS a great flick.
I prefer Euro brews.....usually have Heinekin on tap at home but occasionally switchout with Hoffbrau or Paulaner. Have also developed a atesed for an Austrian beer called Spiegl. Good tasing Lager

Heineken isn't beer :no:
Palm is a delicious Belgian beer tho
http://blogimages.seniorennet.be/marcel2006/437860-c0d94820dc3f02ad234b05fc42456698.jpg

[SeattleEd]

Many microbreweries in the USA are as good as any beers around the world.


Being in the NW and being exposed to so many beers from around the world, I would agree wholeheartedly.

Right now my fav is Rouge Ales from Newport, OR.

I do half of this:
http://www.rogue.com/images/beer/chocolate-stout-label.jpg

and half of this:
http://www.rogue.com/images/beer/chipotle-ale-label.jpg

to get spicy sweet NorthWest style Black and Tan. Taste much better at the brewery.

[Hector]

:rotfl:
You wish

I was waiting when where you going to make an entrance here.

Listen...making beer is not nuclear fusion...if you have knowledgeable brewers (with the same ingredients, recipes, equipment, etc...)...you can make the same bloody thing.

America is a land of immigrants from all over the world...we have and make anything just as good.

Yeah...giant breweries like Budweiser and Coors are there to make cheap beer for the masses....and that's probably the types of American beers you have tried.

But I guarantee you...if you go to...for example...to San Francisco' Anchor Steam brewery...you'd be impressed.

Just like I keep saying Mexico is the creator of chocolate...yet you say Belgium makes the world's best chocolate (have you even tasted Mexican chocolate?)...so in turn...you started making beer way earlier than America...but we can't make good beer either...just you?

If Mexico started with chocolate...and Belgium improved it...then why not America can do the same with beer?

I'm sorry...but you are just going by our cheap imported bottled beers...but you have not tried our really good micro-breweries (which most are not even imported)...and guess what...we have a bunch of really good chocolate-makers...many of them having learned the art in Belgium and other countries (or they immigrated here).

My two cents.

[Hector]

Being in the NW and being exposed to so many beers from around the world, I would agree wholeheartedly.



Exactly.

Never been to Belgium (my sister has, she lived right next door in France for a couple of years, but she's not a beer drinker...so she couldn't tell me, lol)...but I did go to England, Ireland, and Germany way back in the early 90s...and yes...their beers were awesome...but our really good micro-breweries are just as good...I really did not see any beer superiority over the others...all of them were just excellent beers, period.

[megomania]

Hoegaarden
Newcastle
Bitburger
Lowenbrau

[Iron Mego]

Chimay.

[The Bat]

Many microbreweries in the USA are as good as any beers around the world.

It's true, and there's a good reason for it. An Englishman came over here to "New England"...and taught all these Micro-Breweries the proper way to make Beer.:wink:

[Duncan]

Guinness draught. I keep trying other brews, but I always go back to Guinness.

[Adam West]

It's really too bad that some out of this world microbrew beer can not be sampled by those outside the country much less many parts of the U.S. I'll go back to Dogfish which is my favorite local beer. They can not keep up with demand and they have high quality standards so much of the country doesn't have access to it or very limited access. Most of it is unpasteurized. It also does not adhere to the strict German laws regarding the only ingredients that can go into beer and be called such and probably disallowed to be imported if they had the ability. There is a really good documentary called "Beer Wars"...if you have Netflix on the internet...it is there and I highly recommend it. I have seen some of the other brews mentioned in local stores and will give them a try.

[kingdom warrior]

I was waiting when where you going to make an entrance here.

Listen...making beer is not nuclear fusion...if you have knowledgeable brewers (with the same ingredients, recipes, equipment, etc...)...you can make the same bloody thing.

America is a land of immigrants from all over the world...we have and make anything just as good.

Yeah...giant breweries like Budweiser and Coors are there to make cheap beer for the masses....and that's probably the types of American beers you have tried.

But I guarantee you...if you go to...for example...to San Francisco' Anchor Steam brewery...you'd be impressed.

Just like I keep saying Mexico is the creator of chocolate...yet you say Belgium makes the world's best chocolate (have you even tasted Mexican chocolate?)...so in turn...you started making beer way earlier than America...but we can't make good beer either...just you?

If Mexico started with chocolate...and Belgium improved it...then why not America can do the same with beer?

I'm sorry...but you are just going by our cheap imported bottled beers...but you have not tried our really good micro-breweries (which most are not even imported)...and guess what...we have a bunch of really good chocolate-makers...many of them having learned the art in Belgium and other countries (or they immigrated here).

My two cents.

Yo know If i was a TV producer I'd make a show called "That Beer show" I'd have you and Thomas circle the globe going to all types of Breweries and micro breweries and pubs all around the world looking for that great beer....sorta like Bourdain's show but all about the Beer and good food that goes with it and you guys can argue about what sucks and what's good......:smiley1::grin:

[megomania]

Yo know If i was a TV producer I'd make a show called "That Beer show" I'd have you and Thomas circle the globe going to all types of Breweries and micro breweries and pubs all around the world looking for that great beer....sorta like Bourdain's show but all about the Beer and good food that goes with it and you guys can argue about what sucks and what's good......:smiley1::grin:

It's called "Drinking Made Easy" on HDNet...one of the episodes I have yet to watch on TiVo they are in Hector's back yard...San Fran.

[kingdom warrior]

It's called "Drinking Made Easy" on HDNet...one of the episodes I have yet to watch on TiVo they are in Hector's back yard...San Fran.

really? gotta check that out........:smiley1:


I don't there's something cool about a Belgium a Mexican and mego figures walking into a bar....stop me if you've heard that one before......lol :smiley1:

[jwyblejr]

It's called "Drinking Made Easy" on HDNet...one of the episodes I have yet to watch on TiVo they are in Hector's back yard...San Fran.

There's also The Thirsty Traveler and Three Sheets. Can't remember their networks though.

[Hector]

It's called "Drinking Made Easy" on HDNet...one of the episodes I have yet to watch on TiVo they are in Hector's back yard...San Fran.

Yes, I watch it all the time...it's a GREAT show indeed.

In one of the episodes...he went to the Czech Republic...that country happens to be the number one beer consumption capital of the world BY FAR...and he was AMAZED how much the Czechs drink beer (and other spirits)...they put Germans, Irish, Belgians, Americans, Australians, Spaniards, Mexicans, and everybody else to shame...bunch of alcoholics...lol.

Drinking Made Easy is a GREAT show...lol...

:biggrin:

[Hector]

Yo know If i was a TV producer I'd make a show called "That Beer show" I'd have you and Thomas circle the globe going to all types of Breweries and micro breweries and pubs all around the world looking for that great beer....sorta like Bourdain's show but all about the Beer and good food that goes with it and you guys can argue about what sucks and what's good......:smiley1::grin:

They beat us to the punch...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQMLKdUJIQo

:smiley1:

[Hector]

I'd have to admit Belgium beats Mexico in beer BY MILES...because Mexicans (whose breweries were founded by German immigrants) tend to prefer only Pale Lagers and Pale Pilsners...Mexico's best bottled beer is Negra Modelo...is a 5.3% abv Vienna lager-style beer...so not really a wide selection there.

Mexican microbreweries fail in comparison to its American counterparts as well.

Where Mexico is king of course...is tequila...no one on the planet comes close.

[Meule]

I was waiting when where you going to make an entrance here.

Listen...making beer is not nuclear fusion...if you have knowledgeable brewers (with the same ingredients, recipes, equipment, etc...)...you can make the same bloody thing.

America is a land of immigrants from all over the world...we have and make anything just as good.

Yeah...giant breweries like Budweiser and Coors are there to make cheap beer for the masses....and that's probably the types of American beers you have tried.

But I guarantee you...if you go to...for example...to San Francisco' Anchor Steam brewery...you'd be impressed.

Just like I keep saying Mexico is the creator of chocolate...yet you say Belgium makes the world's best chocolate (have you even tasted Mexican chocolate?)...so in turn...you started making beer way earlier than America...but we can't make good beer either...just you?

If Mexico started with chocolate...and Belgium improved it...then why not America can do the same with beer?

I'm sorry...but you are just going by our cheap imported bottled beers...but you have not tried our really good micro-breweries (which most are not even imported)...and guess what...we have a bunch of really good chocolate-makers...many of them having learned the art in Belgium and other countries (or they immigrated here).

My two cents.

Relax Hec :wink_y:

[Meule]

Yo know If i was a TV producer I'd make a show called "That Beer show" I'd have you and Thomas circle the globe going to all types of Breweries and micro breweries and pubs all around the world looking for that great beer....sorta like Bourdain's show but all about the Beer and good food that goes with it and you guys can argue about what sucks and what's good......:smiley1::grin:

I'm in :grin:

[Hector]

Relax Hec :wink_y:

I'm sorry...it's my Latino passion...

:silly: :biggrin:

[Adam West]

I'd have to admit Belgium beats Mexico in beer BY MILES...because Mexicans (whose breweries were founded by German immigrants) tend to prefer only Pale Lagers and Pale Pilsners...Mexico's best bottled beer is Negra Modelo...is a 5.3% abv Vienna lager-style beer...so not really a wide selection there.

Mexican microbreweries fail in comparison to its American counterparts as well.

Where Mexico is king of course...is tequila...no one on the planet comes close.

It could be due to the general weather and climate. Kind of difficult to enjoy a heavy stout when it's really hot outside. Something on the lighter side tastes better in hot weather. Also food varieties. I would think a lager or pilsner style beer would go better with food with hot peppers. I did see one epsiode of Brewmasters with a beer called Chica which I think was more Central American but fermented by chewing corn and spitting it into the mash. Apparently the saliva acted like a yeast. Seemed kind of strange and gross but the fermentation process supposedly removes the saliva germs and most who have tried it say it's pretty darn good.

[Meule]

I'm sorry...it's my Latino passion...

:silly: :biggrin:

I know all too well Belgian beers aren't the only good ones (most are tho :smiley1: ), but you make it so easy sometimes :silly: