The Official Beer Appreciation Thread

[darksabre]

 

So? How many was it?

 

About 15, if you want to be able to carry it to the bench :P

[LTS]

The full monty of what we consumed Saturday.. (there were multiples of some).

 

]

[Claude_Verret]

The full monty of what we consumed Saturday.. (there were multiples of some).

 

]

 

Impressive! Firestone Walker Double Jack... I forgot about that one and plain old Union Jack IPA in my list of favorites IPAs. Pliny the Elder is still the best DIPA, but Double Jack is close. The West coast breweries are way out in front with the IPAs.

[Braedon]

 

The West coast breweries are way out in front with the IPAs.

 

This reminded me of a blog entry I read about West Coast Vs American IPA. Not much substance in the main article but good discussion amongst the replies. Mainly:

 

"1) no caramel malts 2) unbalanced (really, no desire to be balanced), leaning heavily toward hops, both of these contributing to 3) a drier ipa than non-wcipas."

 

Full article-

http://beervana.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-is-this-mysterious-ipa-of-which.html?m=1

 

 

[Weave]

This reminded me of a blog entry I read about West Coast Vs American IPA. Not much substance in the main article but good discussion amongst the replies. Mainly:

 

"1) no caramel malts 2) unbalanced (really, no desire to be balanced), leaning heavily toward hops, both of these contributing to 3) a drier ipa than non-wcipas."

 

Full article-

http://beervana.blog...-which.html?m=1

 

This is why I prefer east coast IPA's to west coast. I do like west coast DIPA's better though. The added malt sweetness makes them better balanced and more enjoyable to me.

Edited February 11, 2013 by weave

[Claude_Verret]

This reminded me of a blog entry I read about West Coast Vs American IPA. Not much substance in the main article but good discussion amongst the replies. Mainly:

 

"1) no caramel malts 2) unbalanced (really, no desire to be balanced), leaning heavily toward hops, both of these contributing to 3) a drier ipa than non-wcipas."

 

Full article-

http://beervana.blog...-which.html?m=1

 

This is what I've always noted as the main difference, non West coast IPA's tend to use too much of the caramel (crystal) malts in their grain bill. In general the resulting residual caramel sweetness tends to just mesh poorly with citrusy American hops IMO.

 

This is why I prefer east coast IPA's to west coast. I do like west coast DIPA's better though. The added malt sweetness makes them better balanced and more enjoyable to me.

This is what I've always noted as the main difference, non West coast IPA's tend to use too much of the caramel (crystal) malts in their grain bill. In general the resulting residual caramel sweetness tends to just mesh poorly with citrusy American hops IMO.

 

Ha! And that's why beer is such a fantastically simple, yet complex beverage.

[Weave]

This is what I've always noted as the main difference, non West coast IPA's tend to use too much of the caramel (crystal) malts in their grain bill. In general the resulting residual caramel sweetness tends to just mesh poorly with citrusy American hops IMO.

 

 

 

 

Ha! And that's why beer is such a fantastically simple, yet complex beverage.

 

No. You're wrong !! :P

[Guest Sloth]

Im an American and I only drink American beer. Give me a Sam Adams and Im good to go.

[Braedon]

Isnt it more than the amount of hops but also the type? I thought East coast use English hops where as WCIPAs use Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, etc...

[Weave]

Isnt it more than the amount of hops but also the type? I thought East coast use English hops where as WCIPAs use Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, etc...

 

Not universally. West coast breweries were the 1st to use massive doses of hops like Cascades, Centennial, et al, but plenty (if not most) of the east coast breweries are using those same hops. Usually the east coast styles tend to be less dry, giving the impression of less bitterness.

 

And IMO as time marches on there are fewer and fewer taste distinctions one can make and classify as "east coast IPA" and "west coast IPA".

[LGR4GM]

we mixed pumpkin beers together this weekend to help kill the kegs left at the local bar...

[Braedon]

Not universally. West coast breweries were the 1st to use massive doses of hops like Cascades, Centennial, et al, but plenty (if not most) of the east coast breweries are using those same hops. Usually the east coast styles tend to be less dry, giving the impression of less bitterness.

 

And IMO as time marches on there are fewer and fewer taste distinctions one can make and classify as "east coast IPA" and "west coast IPA".

 

It'll end with the AleSmith and Cigar City brewmasters (pictured below) being caught in the crossfire of a tragic pale ale rivalry. So sad.

 

Edited February 11, 2013 by Braedon

[MattPie]

Im an American and I only drink American beer. Give me a Sam Adams and Im good to go.

 

FWIW, in the big picture above and the beers we've been discussing, the vast majority of the beers are American Microbrews.

 

Cracked open a bottle of Dogfish Lady-dog's Brew to celebrate the wife moving in. Such a great beer if you like stout/porter styles.

 

Last Friday stopped off for dinner at Victory. Sad to say, the food is somewhat declining. What they serve is generally very good, but the menu keeps getting smaller and smaller. Very sad. A few years ago they'd have a split standard and seasonal menu with lots of interesting and somewhat innovative stuff on it (mustard-sage ice cream on a savory waffle with escargot (for $10)), but it's more like a normal pub menu these days. Hopefully it's a winter thing.

 

As for beer, I tried Hop Devil on nitro pour. Hop Devil on draft (or bottle): Good. Hop Devil on hand-pump: great. Hop Devil on nitro: disappointing. On hand pump, if becomes really creamy, the hops mellow out a bit, and the floral/pine comes out. On nitro, it seems to lose the complexity of the hops and was just kinda bitter. Oh well, it was fun. Wife had Scarlet Fire, their Rauschbier (smoked malts). I had a 100 Horse Ale for my second, which is OK. It's a winter ale brewed with chestnuts. I'll put it this way, it's a nice beer but if it disappeared I wouldn't miss it.

Edited February 12, 2013 by MattPie

[Weave]

It'll end with the AleSmith and Cigar City brewmasters (pictured below) being caught in the crossfire of a tragic pale ale rivalry. So sad.

 

 

This post did not get the LOL's it deserved.

[Eleven]

This post did not get the LOL's it deserved.

 

Indeed. That was superb.

[Claude_Verret]

FWIW, in the big picture above and the beers we've been discussing, the vast majority of the beers are American Microbrews.

 

Cracked open a bottle of Dogfish Lady-dog's Brew to celebrate the wife moving in. Such a great beer if you like stout/porter styles.

 

Last Friday stopped off for dinner at Victory. Sad to say, the food is somewhat declining. What they serve is generally very good, but the menu keeps getting smaller and smaller. Very sad. A few years ago they'd have a split standard and seasonal menu with lots of interesting and somewhat innovative stuff on it (mustard-sage ice cream on a savory waffle with escargot (for $10)), but it's more like a normal pub menu these days. Hopefully it's a winter thing.

 

As for beer, I tried Hop Devil on nitro pour. Hop Devil on draft (or bottle): Good. Hop Devil on hand-pump: great. Hop Devil on nitro: disappointing. On hand pump, if becomes really creamy, the hops mellow out a bit, and the floral/pine comes out. On nitro, it seems to lose the complexity of the hops and was just kinda bitter. Oh well, it was fun. Wife had Scarlet Fire, their Rauschbier (smoked malts). I had a 100 Horse Ale for my second, which is OK. It's a winter ale brewed with chestnuts. I'll put it this way, it's a nice beer but if it disappeared I wouldn't miss it.

 

Interesting. I love doing these types of beer experimentation like you did with the different forms of Hop Devil. I loved when Sam Adams did their "deconstructed" versions of their Latitude 48 IPA, with single hopped versions of the five different hop types used in the full version Lat 48 IPA.

 

I also love smoked beers. I've brewed numerous versions of smoked porter over the years. My friend just brewed at Grodziskie, an old polish style that's brewed with oak smoked wheat malt. It's a very sessionable beer, clocking in at around 3-4% abv, I have to say that I enjoyed it so much that it's on my list to brew soon. Very refreshing, yet complex and you can drink more than a few and still see straight.

 

Here's a good read on the style

 

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/08/beer-styles-grodziski-gratzer-polish-smoked-wheat-beer-history.html

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

It'll end with the AleSmith and Cigar City brewmasters (pictured below) being caught in the crossfire of a tragic pale ale rivalry. So sad.

 

 

Looks more like a Stout and Porter rivalry...but who am I to judge?

[LTS]

This post did not get the LOL's it deserved.

 

In my defense.. the link for the pic didn't work when i first saw the post.. that is pretty good stuff.

[Claude_Verret]

This post did not get the LOL's it deserved.

 

Yes it did....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:nana: it was pretty damn funny.

[MattPie]

Interesting. I love doing these types of beer experimentation like you did with the different forms of Hop Devil. I loved when Sam Adams did their "deconstructed" versions of their Latitude 48 IPA, with single hopped versions of the five different hop types used in the full version Lat 48 IPA.

 

Yeah, that series was really cool. Victory (I'm really not trying to sound like a fanboi here) did something similar as well but on draft, so you could get a flight of the components and then a pint of the finished product.

 

I really think that if I were going to put serious thought into a kegerator/bar set up for my house, I'd be looking for a hand pump solution. Every beer I'd had both on hand pump and standard draft has been far better on pump.

 

I also love smoked beers. I've brewed numerous versions of smoked porter over the years. My friend just brewed at Grodziskie, an old polish style that's brewed with oak smoked wheat malt. It's a very sessionable beer, clocking in at around 3-4% abv, I have to say that I enjoyed it so much that it's on my list to brew soon. Very refreshing, yet complex and you can drink more than a few and still see straight.

 

Very cool. I like them a lot as well. Victory did a smoked Hefe awhile back (Scarlet Sunrise). That was an absolutely incredible beer. Tons of complexity and changes. It must have had some issue though, I haven't seen it back since then. Now there's a beer I do miss.

[LTS]

Yeah, that series was really cool. Victory (I'm really not trying to sound like a fanboi here) did something similar as well but on draft, so you could get a flight of the components and then a pint of the finished product.

 

I really think that if I were going to put serious thought into a kegerator/bar set up for my house, I'd be looking for a hand pump solution. Every beer I'd had both on hand pump and standard draft has been far better on pump.

 

 

The problem is that you can't get the beer that would work in a hand pump situation. What you are talking about is cask conditioned ale and those are far and few between. You can't take a keg of beer and make it cask conditioned. The carbonation in the beer is through natural secondary stage fermentation. The released CO2 is absorbed into the beer because it cannot escape the container (unlike your typical primary stage fermentation which allows gas to escape.

 

Regardless of the brewery the normal beers are all sitting in tanks that are 32-38 degrees and have CO2 being infused into the beer during the trip into the brite tank. This creates a fast carbonation sequence and is also why the beer has to remain at a certain temperature (until serving) and under pressure (CO2 delivery systems).

 

You could theoretically create cask condition beers with homebrew but nothing from a commercial brewery that was not siphoned into the casks PRIOR to filtration and carbonation would work properly nor taste the same.

 

Scarlet Sunrise was a great beer, but it's not going to be a popular style to most. Smoked beers in and of themselves turn a lot of people off and in many cases I think it's well deserved. It's tough to make a quality smoke beer and so people usually end up drinking a crappy one and being turned off to the style.

[Claude_Verret]

The problem is that you can't get the beer that would work in a hand pump situation. What you are talking about is cask conditioned ale and those are far and few between. You can't take a keg of beer and make it cask conditioned. The carbonation in the beer is through natural secondary stage fermentation. The released CO2 is absorbed into the beer because it cannot escape the container (unlike your typical primary stage fermentation which allows gas to escape.

 

Regardless of the brewery the normal beers are all sitting in tanks that are 32-38 degrees and have CO2 being infused into the beer during the trip into the brite tank. This creates a fast carbonation sequence and is also why the beer has to remain at a certain temperature (until serving) and under pressure (CO2 delivery systems).

 

You could theoretically create cask condition beers with homebrew but nothing from a commercial brewery that was not siphoned into the casks PRIOR to filtration and carbonation would work properly nor taste the same.

 

Scarlet Sunrise was a great beer, but it's not going to be a popular style to most. Smoked beers in and of themselves turn a lot of people off and in many cases I think it's well deserved. It's tough to make a quality smoke beer and so people usually end up drinking a crappy one and being turned off to the style.

 

I know a few people that do serve their homebrew on cask, the problem is that beer served on cask has to be consumed rather quickly. Since air is being introduced to replace the lost volume in the cask/keg, you can quickly oxidize the beer and/or introduce microorganisms that will spoil it.

[Braedon]

A new "Beer Bar" just opened up here, called The Brass Tap. It's the first franchise of 3 locations down in Tampa. 60 on tap and 200 on bottle. INSANE!!!!

 

Drank a Lost Coast Indica IPA, hoppy but the body is lighter. Also did a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, at Claude's suggestion. Nutty, flirts with you on bitterness but ends up really smooth. Thats a damn fine beer. Too bad I have to drive home, would like to hit a few more of those.

[LTS]

I know a few people that do serve their homebrew on cask, the problem is that beer served on cask has to be consumed rather quickly. Since air is being introduced to replace the lost volume in the cask/keg, you can quickly oxidize the beer and/or introduce microorganisms that will spoil it.

 

I've thought about it.. just never decided to do it.. although I brew in 12-15 gallon batches so taking about 2.5 gallons for a smaller cask wouldn't be too bad.

[Claude_Verret]

Well this could have just as easily gone in the Awesome or What are you eating/drinking threads but here is probably best. I went to a New Belgium beer pairing dinner last night at a local high end mexican restaurant. It was a five course meal and it was awesome...

 

Tortilla soup with Fat Tire

salad with Shift lager

braised pork belly with Ranger IPA. This was absolutely fantastic.

hickory smoked filet with 1554 belgian black ale. I'm a big smoked meat fan, but this was almost too much smoke for me even.

churros with Abbey ale.

 

I know New Belgium isn't in NY yet, but I asked the rep if and when they plan to expand distribution there. They are building a new brewery in Asheville scheduled to open in 2015, so after that it's likely they will be able to expand to other states, NY included. In the meantime, if you find yourself travelling to a state that carries New Belgium beers, do yourself a favor and try one. The Ranger IPA and Shift pale lager are my faves.