Beer I've just tasted...

[Nick Brown]

Let's have a thread for beer like the "what I'm drinking" whisky thread.

I'll start with Whitbread Celebration Ale - brewed in 1992 and sold at the time for £10 a bottle or £36 for 6. On ebay it still goes for around that, perhaps less.

I had four bottles left, 20 years and half the world later. Each one is bottle conditioned, sealed with a cork, then a champagne style wire cage and all dipped in brittle red wax. Not the wax that comes off in one piece, this stuff flakes everywhere, including in the glass.

So I opened the bottle not having tried any for about 10 years. It opened reasonably cleanly and I was met by a tremendous bovril aroma. Underneath that, there were flavours of coffee, dried fruit (stewed apples or, perhaps, dates). It's really rich, quite bitter, almost uncarbonated and very strong (estimates of about 12% in the bottle by now - bottled at 1098 OG).

[jsaliga]

I'm not much of a beer drinker but with a name like this I just had to try it. Quite good actually. Very strong malt, loads of hops. Slightly sweet at first then goes bitter, with a bitter and tangy finish.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

A few nights ago I tried a 24oz bottle of Sierra Nevada Torpedo. It's an American IPA.



I tried it based on the great reviews I read on this brew at Beer Advocate. I really do like hoppy IPAs and was looking forward to sampling this one.

It turned out to be pretty vile stuff. Bitter does not even begin to describe this ale. Very one dimensional. It's just a blast of ultra bitterness and nothing more. There is no barley in the flavor to balance things out. Very astringent on the palate. Not my thing and am really puzzled by all of the glowing reviews on BA. I could not even finish the bottle. Half of it went down the sink.

Ironically, this is not the most bitter IPA I have tried in terms of IBUs. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is an Imperial IPA with 90 IBUs and is an absolutely glorious brew (Sierra Nevada Torpedo has 65 IBUs).

Perhaps I had a bad bottle but I am not inclined to give it another chance.

--Jerome

[Mr Tattie Heid]

I was somewhat disappointed by the Torpedo, but didn't think it was bad. Liked Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye IPA much better, a surprise because I haven't really liked the rye beers I've tried. Unfortunately, it's a seasonal, and seems to be done for the year now.

I've never liked any Dogfish Head--their hop profile is not to my taste.

[jsaliga]

Choice is a wonderful thing.

--Jerome

[Mr Tattie Heid]

Choice is a wonderful thing.

--Jerome

True dat. I am at the moment enjoying a Goose Island IPA, very nice, although a bit too pricey at $10/6 to be an everyday beer for me.

[jsaliga]

Not familiar with Goose Island. I checked out their website and they seem to have a nice selection of brews. I have to look for them.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

Trying Rogue Chocolate Stout for the first time tonight. Excellent beer. At $8.99 for a 22 oz bomber it is expensive IMO, so I don't know if this will be a regular brew for me. But I really am enjoying it.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

This is my first go with Southern Tier Choklat Stout. Wow! This is probably the finest stout I have ever tasted. It is chocolatey to be sure, with nice roasted barley up front and some hoppy bitterness on the finish. A truely remarkable beer. It's a bruiser at 11% ABV, though, so be careful.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

I was surprised by this beer. This is a very hop forward ale and drinks more like an IPA than it does an American Red Ale. It's very good, however. You can pick up hints of malt sweetness but as it passes over the palate the hops take over.

--Jerome

[Mr Tattie Heid]

I am at this moment working on a bottle from the Berkshire Brewing Company, which is not in Berkshire County (not even close), but Franklin County, Massachusetts. They're not even in the foothills of the Berkshires, but smack in the middle of the valley, close by the banks of the Connecticut River. I never have heard an explanation of why they took that name; being a western Massachusetts native, I can't help thinking it's because the brewers are originally from eastern Massachusetts, and simply don't know any better. But I don't actually know that.

Oh yes, the beer: it's called Saint of Circumstance IPA (no explanation of what a "saint of circumstance" is, either), and it's billed as "Sour Mash Whiskey Barrel Aged IPA". The blurb on the back says "Aged 8 months in barrels from a well-known Tennessee distillery, we at Berkshire Brewing Company offer up this special brew as a treat to you, our loyal customers." Mr Picky trusts that he need not even bother to make the obvious misplaced-modifier joke. In any case, eight months seems to me to have been too much for this beer--the woody vanilla overwhelms on the nose and palate, and there simply isn't enough beer to stand up to it. Not only is the body rather thin (typical of the BBC products I've tried), but there isn't nearly enough hop buzz to qualify this as an IPA. No mention of the strength...doubt it's terribly high.

Not a bad beer, interesting, at least, but not successful in my opinion, and not worth the $9+ I paid for a 22oz bottle.

[jsaliga]

This was part of a recent order with Merwin for mostly whisky. They have a selection of some beer that I cannot get in my area. Old Rasputin got great scores on Beer Advocate, so I thought I would give it a try and put a four pack in my order. I'm glad I only ordered a four pack. It's a good beer with generous helpings of roasted barley and hops, but it doesn't strike me as a brew worthy of the world class rating it received on BA. Frankly, I have access to much better Imperial Stouts from Stone, Smuttynose, and several other craft brewers. I also prefer Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout over Old Rasputin.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

This was something of a surprise. It is very crisp and refreshing, with big citrus flavors. It is bottled like a champagne, but it is most definitely a beer. Heavily carbinated. Quite tasty.

--Jerome

[Mr Tattie Heid]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one whose desktop is full of crap....

[jsaliga]

Are you referring to the beer or my monitor?

If it's the latter you don't know the half of it. I have three 24" monitors configured in a 5760 x 1080 panoramic display. So I have a lot of desktop real estate to fill with crap.

--Jerome

[Aidan]

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/diageo-v-brewdog

[Mark C]

I'm not much of a beer drinker but with a name like this I just had to try it. Quite good actually. Very strong malt, loads of hops. Slightly sweet at first then goes bitter, with a bitter and tangy finish.

--Jerome

Just got this in the shop. Will need to try it but tried most of the other Stone beers and they're superb.

A few nights ago I tried a 24oz bottle of Sierra Nevada Torpedo. It's an American IPA.



I tried it based on the great reviews I read on this brew at Beer Advocate. I really do like hoppy IPAs and was looking forward to sampling this one.

It turned out to be pretty vile stuff. Bitter does not even begin to describe this ale. Very one dimensional. It's just a blast of ultra bitterness and nothing more. There is no barley in the flavor to balance things out. Very astringent on the palate. Not my thing and am really puzzled by all of the glowing reviews on BA. I could not even finish the bottle. Half of it went down the sink.

Ironically, this is not the most bitter IPA I have tried in terms of IBUs. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is an Imperial IPA with 90 IBUs and is an absolutely glorious brew (Sierra Nevada Torpedo has 65 IBUs).

Perhaps I had a bad bottle but I am not inclined to give it another chance.

--Jerome

And another we have in that I need to try!

[Mark C]

The hoppier the better for me. A couple of recent favourites:

Cali-Belgique from Stone.


Two Captains from Nogne.


Magic Rock 8 Ball.

[Mark C]

The shop's closed and there's a tasting going on in the back. Time for a beer!



Lovely pink grapefruit nose with grapefruit pith on the palate and finish. Right up my street!

[jsaliga]

Nice selection of beers, Marc. I have become a big fan of Stone Brewing. I tried the Vertical Epic 11 11 ale a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. The Stone Imperial Russian Stout should be hitting the streets soon and I will probably buy a case: a few to drink now and several to cellar.

Another excellent American Double IPA for you to try if you can get it is Southern Tier Unearthly.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

A personal favorite of mine and I always have it on hand.

--Jerome

[Mark C]

Nice selection of beers, Marc. I have become a big fan of Stone Brewing. I tried the Vertical Epic 11 11 ale a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. The Stone Imperial Russian Stout should be hitting the streets soon and I will probably buy a case: a few to drink now and several to cellar.

Another excellent American Double IPA for you to try if you can get it is Southern Tier Unearthly.

--Jerome

The Stone Smoked Porter is also incredible stuff. One to share with a friend. It's a big beer!

I've been wanting to try the Dogfish Head stuff for a while but can't get it here yet, I don't think. I'll ask our supplier.

[C57]

Too many beers to mentioon.
I live next to a pub now, and the landlord is always changing his beers.
He keeps three on at a time. One is a regular, always on (Mighty Oak's "Captain Bob").
The other two change 2 or 3 times in a week. Some come back, others never return.
He keeps beer well, so it's never bad beer, but some don't suit my taste.

Currently the end pump (the cheapest) is Cottage Brewery "Southern" which is 3.7% and very nice.
At lunchtime (no I wasn't there) the middle pump (the highest alcohol one is always on teh middle) changed to Shalford Brewery's "Levelly Black", a stout at 4.8%. That is the one I had tonight.
He has had this before - several times - and it always sells out in 2 or 3 days.

Given we have a population of 350, of whom we could estimate 90 or so are men, and maybe 30% come to the pub, you can get an idea of how people like this stuff.


OTOH, on the Bank Holiday weekend, he had a beer on the middle that went in one lunchtime!
I'm very lucky on the beer front these days, thanks to Derek.

[Mr Tattie Heid]

I suppose I shall have to visit the Flitch....

Just now am finishing off a bottle-conditioned IPA from AleSmith of San Diego. Very nice--not the hop-bludgeon most American IPA's are (which I love), still more hop-forward than a typical British IPA, but one I think we can appreciate from both sides of the pond. If I ever get to that lovely city again, I will be looking for AleSmith pump clips.

[C57]

I suppose I shall have to visit the Flitch....

We're looking to convert the garage to a proper spare room....