The Beer (Booze) Thread

[Yoda Twin]

The more beer I drink the more and more I begin to think that American breweries make the best beer. This one's got some hints of hickory in just the right proportions. Maybe my new favorite?

Quality wits are really, really rare I've found, wish we had a brewery here in Australia that could produce a wit that's worth buying, sadly that isn't the case. On tap, Hoegaarden is quite good, but the bottles I can buy down here just don't even compare.

[Border Patrol]

I would offer to send you some but then again it's probably cheaper for you to just hop on a plane and come get it yourself.

[James the Red]

Some guy went to North Korea and says that they have good beer. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/...orea-breweries

[Hobbes]

Proof that NK is best Korea, right there.

[Niles Crane]

So I'm now gainfully employed and I have a bit of spare cash to throw around in between desperately saving every last cent. I bought a bottle of Green Chartreuse today - which I've been wanting to try since I was 15 but the cheapest I've found it is at $70 - as well as a bottle of Tanqueray Gin. I quite like to have gin on its own with a bit of ice so I'm looking forward to it. I usually just get Gordon's and one day I'll invest in Hendrick's, probably.

[Inkie]

Got this Belgian place, 'Diable Rouge' very close to where I live:



Quite a noob on Belgian beers though. I've tried Maredsous, Guillotine and a few others, but if you guys could recommend some of your favourites, I'd appreciate it as they have a wide selection. Don't mind whether it's blonde, ambrée, brune, etc.

[Treize]

Dark:
-Westmalle Dubbel
-Gouden Carolus Classic
-Rochefort 10

Blonde:
-Westmalle Tripel
-Tripel Karmeliet
-Orval (a fresh bottle is more hoppy, an older one more dry; a unique style of beer this one)

[Yoda Twin]

So many classics among the big Belgiam beers, two of my favorites are:

- Saison Dupont, a classic saison, so drinkable and always a go to if I can grab it.

- Rodenbach Grand Cru, oh man is this a good sour, a textbook example of the Flemish Red Ale. If you aren't familiar with sours this a great entry into the amazing world of sours.

[Inkie]

Thanks for the advice dudes, I'll get back to you when I've made another trip over there

[Treize]

Saison Dupont is good too. Their Avec Les Bons Voeux is great too. But I think they only make that around the holiday season, not sure.

[trance]

Got this Belgian place, 'Diable Rouge' very close to where I live:



Quite a noob on Belgian beers though. I've tried Maredsous, Guillotine and a few others, but if you guys could recommend some of your favourites, I'd appreciate it as they have a wide selection. Don't mind whether it's blonde, ambrée, brune, etc.

I'm always impressed of the style they make continental beer/ale in. Fancy dark bottles, a little more expensive with a lot of taste (occasionally a bit too thick for my tastes), even the shops that specialize in them are usually quite fancy. Compare this to swedish/danish beer which is almost exclusively pilsner or pilsner-like, and the swedish beers are almost always sold in metal cans and feel quite cheap. At least the danes have a proper tradition of bottling in glass, and make "cleaner" tasting, real pilsner .

[Adar]

I am drinking this right now...


The popularity of Chimay have caused a huge pressure for them to also make the "Gold" version available. The "gold" version is a weak Chimay (4,8%) intended for the monks to consume at the monastery. It have been released to selected restaurants in Europe and Systembolaget is the only company allowed to sell this limited batch in a store.

The gold name is quite misleading as the ale is far from luxurious. I would rather say that it is a a refreshing Ale with some interesting characteristics (spicyness an carbonation) inherited from it's Belgian heritage.

[Inkie]

So, I tried out several of the ones you guys proposed and some others too. Didn't go near the sours they have in the store though

They were all pretty good, but my favourites have been two darks, firstly the St Feuillien Cuvée de Noel 2012, which was great - sweet and unctuous. Another would be the Bon Secours (brune), which also had a nice, thick, roasted sweetness and fruitiness to it. Yeah, I think I'm starting to become fond of Belgian darks, but I still want to give more triples a go.

I am drinking this right now...


The popularity of Chimay have caused a huge pressure for them to also make the "Gold" version available. The "gold" version is a weak Chimay (4,8%) intended for the monks to consume at the monastery. It have been released to selected restaurants in Europe and Systembolaget is the only company allowed to sell this limited batch in a store.

The gold name is quite misleading as the ale is far from luxurious. I would rather say that it is a a refreshing Ale with some interesting characteristics (spicyness an carbonation) inherited from it's Belgian heritage.

Yeah, tried it the other day. Pretty much agree with your assessment. I prefer the red Chimay, but too bad it's barely available compared to the blue one.

[pchalk]

Hi guys, been a long time since ive been online and ive had many beers since then (at times too many ).

I get in to more detail later but 2 of the more interesting beers:

Grønland Ice Cap Beer - Amber Lager
a little light for an amber, not to my taste really but how often do you get a beer from Greenland?

DuClaw - Sweet Baby Jesus
Its a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter and was absolutely amazed by the taste. Pretty much exactly like that sounds, like drinking a Reese's Cake

[Inkie]

DuClaw - Sweet Baby Jesus
Its a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter and was absolutely amazed by the taste. Pretty much exactly like that sounds, like drinking a Reese's Cake

That actually does sound delicious.

I hope you guys tried the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, btw. Strong character with some great banana and gingerbread hints.

[Treize]

I tried the new trappist beer, the Zundert. Pretty good. Quite hoppy for a trappist ale.

I have a bottle of Paulaner Salvator and a big bottle of Gouden Carolus Cuvée van de Keizer Blue (the more well known dark one, there is also a red one which is a strong blonde ale).
I also got a bottle of yeni rakı in Germany today, with a free glass. I lost my favourite ouzo glass so this will replace that one.

We also got stuff for the party tomorrow, German lager in 0.5 liter bottles (crate of 20 bottles), we also got a sixpack of 0.5 bottles of Czech Budweiser and a sixpack of Köstritzer schwarzbier. And a bottle of Liquor 43, Molinari Sambuca and Bols Blue Curaçao. The idea is to mix the latter two together to produce a shot that we call 'bouncy ball' here in the Netherlands.

[René Artois]

Lots of non-beer over Christmas but more recently Emelisse Imperial Russian Stout, and the Peated White Label Version made with peated whisky malt. Both great.

Tonight I had Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux, as well as Girardin Gueze Black label. Also fantastic. The former is insanely drinkable for 9.5%.

[abbews]

So, I have a bottle of Westvleteren12 in the basement...

Store it and let it age, or drink it?

[Treize]

Your call haha.

I still have 5 bottles of both the 12 and 8. Both are now around 1.5 years old.
I have added one bottle of Gouden Carolus Christmas to my stash to drink next year with a bottle of the 2014 release, atleast that's the plan.

[pchalk]

So, I have a bottle of Westvleteren12 in the basement...

Store it and let it age, or drink it?

this is why you should buy 2 bottles