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Epsilon - Do you have an awesome liquor store to buy beer at by you, or do you buy a lot online?
I don't buy online, but there's not exactly an "awesome" local store. Here's the rundown:
-In Florence where I live, we have a decent local shop (Micky Finn's) that carries a modest but good quality selection of six-packs and bombers, plus has a 6-tap growler fill station. There's also a grocery store (Harris Teeter) with a decent selection of microbrews (and the bonus there is everything is chilled so it's a good place to grab something at the spur of the moment or on the way to a party, at Micky Finn's only a limited selection of stuff is available cold).
-Florence has one really mediocre local brewpub. Their own beers are freaking awful (all of them are done to suit a lowest-common-denominator pallet, and taste like colored water) but they do have a 12 tap "guest tap" rotation that gets stocked with some really good beers, and their happy hour special ($1 off pints from 4-7) is a good after-work hit up.
-In Columbia, which is about an hour and a half away, there are several good shops, the best being Green's. There are two locations, the one off the freeway is really good with an 8-tap growler station and tons of good bottles; the other is close to the university and so carries a lot more crap beer (but also has a Belgian room). There's also a Total Wine in one of the major shopping areas with a very good selection.
-Occasionally I go to Charlotte and there are some really good spots there. I'm going to start getting into home brewing soon and some of my friends frequently make trips to Charlotte to hit up a brew supply store, then go shopping for beers as well, so I'll be partaking in those outings.
You being in Atlanta, I'm jealous of how much stuff there is locally (at least according to Beer Advocate), both in terms of shops and brewpubs (that place 5 Seasons or whatever it's called that you mentioned to me in the other thread). Plus if you want to drive to Athens there's that place 5 Points Bottle Shop that has something like 1500 different beers available.
I don't buy online, but there's not exactly an "awesome" local store. Here's the rundown:
-In Florence where I live, we have a decent local shop (Micky Finn's) that carries a modest but good quality selection of six-packs and bombers, plus has a 6-tap growler fill station. There's also a grocery store (Harris Teeter) with a decent selection of microbrews (and the bonus there is everything is chilled so it's a good place to grab something at the spur of the moment or on the way to a party, at Micky Finn's only a limited selection of stuff is available cold).
-Florence has one really mediocre local brewpub. Their own beers are freaking awful (all of them are done to suit a lowest-common-denominator pallet, and taste like colored water) but they do have a 12 tap "guest tap" rotation that gets stocked with some really good beers, and their happy hour special ($1 off pints from 4-7) is a good after-work hit up.
-In Columbia, which is about an hour and a half away, there are several good shops, the best being Green's. There are two locations, the one off the freeway is really good with an 8-tap growler station and tons of good bottles; the other is close to the university and so carries a lot more crap beer (but also has a Belgian room). There's also a Total Wine in one of the major shopping areas with a very good selection.
-Occasionally I go to Charlotte and there are some really good spots there. I'm going to start getting into home brewing soon and some of my friends frequently make trips to Charlotte to hit up a brew supply store, then go shopping for beers as well, so I'll be partaking in those outings.
You being in Atlanta, I'm jealous of how much stuff there is locally (at least according to Beer Advocate), both in terms of shops and brewpubs (that place 5 Seasons or whatever it's called that you mentioned to me in the other thread). Plus if you want to drive to Athens there's that place 5 Points Bottle Shop that has something like 1500 different beers available.
Gotcha... and man, that's a lot of effort you put in to get a good beer.
Check out www.midwestsupplies.com for home brewing kits. Might save you a drive, and their equipment is top notch. Just recently bought some wine making equipment from there.
Yeah, when I really look at it, they do have a ton of great beers here... Haven't heard of that place before, but might have to make a drive out there now to browse. Also, not sure if you've ever heard of it, but we have a bar chain out here called Taco Mac. The one I will go to on occasion has 100 beers on tap all year long (not sure how many change, but it's monthly that they do), and 300+ different bottled beers to choose from. I don't go there too often because it's more expensive than our regular hang, but it's a nice change of pace for sure. They also have some cool beer drinker incentive programs, where they log your beers on a "Passport" and you get free **** at milestones and stuff. Plus you can login online, or have them print a receipt at the bar, of every single beer you've had there.
A lot of brewers are trying to get into canning. A South Carolina brewery called Westbrook has been distributing some of their beers in cans since they started. Word is that Sierra Nevada is going to be canning beers at their new North Carolina brewing and distribution center.
Canning is definitely a good approach for IPAs and other styles where light contamination can affect the taste of the beer. Definitely not as important for darker beers such as stouts and porters (other than if you want to use a nitro widget which in my experience works a lot better with cans than bottles).
There is really nothing wrong with enjoying a macro beer.
Imagine going to a ballgame and drinking some chocolate stouts. Hah.
They had Foothills People's Porter at the Durham Bulls games a little while back. Frigin PERFECT beer for baseball. I'd love it if they had a stout or two as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoss75
One of my fav's, too.
I find craft beer in cans just taste better than the same beer in a bottle. Stays fresher.
Worst beer: Utica Club
As Epsilon mentioned, light contamination. You don't get that with cans. It's why I refuse to drink Heineken unless it's on tap, since they use green bottles the chances of you getting a skunked pack are significantly higher. Newcastle, on the other hand, is typically fine despite the bottle because of the style of beer. Their winter ale was pretty good too when I tried it this year.
i drink to get drunk...
my favorite is Pabst
my less favorite are the expensive ones.
and all the rest are weird if they're not just beer. (i hate flavors on my beer)
I hate beer in cans...the aluminum changes the flavor...but with certain types of beer it definitely is better. There's no reason for any beer to come in a bottle that isn't brown anymore. Heineken does it because of marketing, but the majority of bottled Heinekens I've had have been skunky.
When it comes down to it...if I have a choice between Moose Drool in a bottle or Moose Drool in a can (Big Sky was early on the microbrewery adding a canning line bandwagon a couple years ago...they only can Moose Drool, Scape Goat Pale Ale, and their IPA) I'm going with the bottle every single time unless it's for something like camping/fishing.
Still nothing beats a good beer on tap. Guinness is, far and away, my favorite of the macros...but even though they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to figure out how to retain that flavor and consistency it just never tastes that good in a bottle or a can. On tap that stuff is ****ing glorious.
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We had a skunked bottle of Sierra Nevada PA one time in a blind taste test. It was a bomber (or mini-bomber, or whatever you want to call one of those big Sierra bottles that isn't a real bomber size) that had probably been sitting on the grocery store's top shelf for quite a while (since most people they by Sierra's PA get six-packs or cases, not bombers). It was so bizzarre, tasted absolutely nothing like a fresh one.
It was still better than the Southern Tier Imperial IPA that made it into that taste test though.
i drink to get drunk...
my favorite is Pabst
my less favorite are the expensive ones.
and all the rest are weird if they're not just beer. (i hate flavors on my beer)
I learned to hate that stuff when the FIFA world cup was here in 2006. Outside the stadiums you got normal decent beer, but inside it was just the budweiser stuff because of **** sponsoring... ugh.
Ironically, my favourite beer is
Drinking it drafted in prague pubs, it was far and away the best beer I had ever tasted. As much as I'd like to claim it for Germany, I have to give the title for best beer brewers to the czechs. Staropramen and Pilsner Urquell are also just awesome.
As for the german beers, I think Pilseners are generally solid, not exceptional but I've also found few that I found really disgusting. Hefeweizen beers though are pretty much a german speciality.
The beer I drink most often though is Westheimer, just because it's our town brewery. The beer I hate most is Warsteiner, which is unfourtunate because it seems to be one of the more known german beers, at least in europe.
As for the flavoured beers, a few months ago I drank a ginger-flavoured beer... a buddy accidentally ordered it as he tried to order a vodka-cranberry mix . I didn't particularly enjoy it, let's put it that way...
Ginger would be a complicated flavor profile to incorporate successfully in a beer. It's one of those tastes that could easily overpower everything else and be really off-putting. Dogfish Head is a good example of a brewery that goes for some really unique flavor profiles, with decidedly mixed results.
I hate beer in cans...the aluminum changes the flavor...but with certain types of beer it definitely is better. There's no reason for any beer to come in a bottle that isn't brown anymore. Heineken does it because of marketing, but the majority of bottled Heinekens I've had have been skunky.
When it comes down to it...if I have a choice between Moose Drool in a bottle or Moose Drool in a can (Big Sky was early on the microbrewery adding a canning line bandwagon a couple years ago...they only can Moose Drool, Scape Goat Pale Ale, and their IPA) I'm going with the bottle every single time unless it's for something like camping/fishing.
Still nothing beats a good beer on tap. Guinness is, far and away, my favorite of the macros...but even though they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to figure out how to retain that flavor and consistency it just never tastes that good in a bottle or a can. On tap that stuff is ****ing glorious.
I think your mind might be playing some tricks on you with cans. Cans have a lining that keeps it from touching the aluminum. The exact same lining that is inside a keg for draught (aka a big f-in can).
If you are drinking the beer directly out of the can (a big no-no from a beer nerd perspective) then you may be tasting the rim of the can as your lips hit it, but even that might be a stretch.
In addition to the above mentioned light issues, cans also tend to have less oxidization issues due to bad seals, and they are easier on the environment (shipping weight, ease or recycling, etc).
Cans have a bum rap because of a bunch of myths that have been passed down over the years. If you really think about it the reality simply does not match the perception.
I think your mind might be playing some tricks on you with cans. Cans have a lining that keeps it from touching the aluminum. The exact same lining that is inside a keg for draught (aka a big f-in can).
If you are drinking the beer directly out of the can (a big no-no from a beer nerd perspective) then you may be tasting the rim of the can as your lips hit it, but even that might be a stretch.
In addition to the above mentioned light issues, cans also tend to have less oxidization issues due to bad seals, and they are easier on the environment (shipping weight, ease or recycling, etc).
Cans have a bum rap because of a bunch of myths that have been passed down over the years. If you really think about it the reality simply does not match the perception.
All this.
Getting in the can gets a bad rap. All and all getting in the can is a pretty good option.
People should just try it in the can. They might find they like it in the can.
Getting in the can gets a bad rap. All and all getting in the can is a pretty good option.
People should just try it in the can. They might find they like it in the can.
There's no doubt in my mind that Coke in a can tastes different than in a bottle. Way better in a glass bottle(not plastic).
Still nothing beats a good beer on tap. Guinness is, far and away, my favorite of the macros...but even though they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to figure out how to retain that flavor and consistency it just never tastes that good in a bottle or a can. On tap that stuff is ****ing glorious.
So true. It's that feeling (real, or imagined) of freshness that can't be replicated.
All of them are, of course, big, full-bodied, high ABV imperial stouts. Opinions from the group were all over the map. The Stone offering was almost universally disliked (it was overly sweet, and a surprising dud from such a typically great brewery), while the Southern Tier was often ranked either last or first (including being ranked first by some people who have had it on its own and disliked it considerably - we concluded that somehow being at the tail end of this flight of beers masked some of its poorer characteristics, like the sweetness). The Sweetwater Happy Ending seasonal (which changes slightly each year, I'm told) was easily the most sessionable of the bunch (as much as a high ABV Russian imperial can be ); it drank quite smoothly and didn't pack anywhere near the punch of the others despite being similar in alcohol content. The Thirsty Dog Siberian Night was clearly the most complex and fully flavored, but some people felt there was a bit to much bourbon barrel flavor (which I enjoyed).
My personal preference would be 2 > 1 > 3 > 4, with the 2nd easily in first and the last two being close to tied for the bottom.
My favourites change all the time. Right now I'm really liking Great Lakes Devil's Pale Ale and Mill St Tankhouse Ale. Been enjoying Muskoka Mad Tom IPA and Flying Monkeys Smashbomb IPA recently as well. Basically been drinking all Ontario brews lately.
Least favourite....Molson Ex, Mill St Coffee Porter, and Sapporo.
Old Stock Ale from North Coast Brewin Co. (Fort Bragg, CA), known for Old Rasputin Russian imperial stout and several other big-hitting beers. This one is no different, clocking in at a heavy 11.9% ABV. The bottle I had was actually aged one year before opening it. The aroma coming off the glass hits your nostrils like an overhand right straight to the face. The first sip tastes like you are drinking a good scotch whiskey, then it mellows out a bit but retains its bite and warmth through the whole glass. The flavor is very malty with the right amount of bitterness and some dark fruit accents. True to its name, it brings to mind images of drinking heavily fortified beer in some old castle in the Scottish highlands or something along those lines. Old ales/stock ales are a style I don't have a ton of experience with but after tackling this bad boy I'm looking to try more of them.
); it drank quite smoothly and didn't pack anywhere near the punch of the others despite being similar in alcohol content. The Thirsty Dog Siberian Night was clearly the most complex and fully flavored, but some people felt there was a bit to much bourbon barrel flavor (which I enjoyed).
Saskatchewan
