What's Everyone's Favorite Beer?

[Jinmyo]

Pilsner Urquell. Newscastle. Smithwick's. Presidente (Dominican pilsner). Asahi dry.

But only in summer.

I agree with both malachi's bastardity and elyse's statement above.

[elyse]

Oh Jin, you're a doll!

[Kenk]

My favorite is;

St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout from McAuslan breweries in Montreal.

Nice dark chocolate espresso full taste.

The head is a nice brown colour.

Makes Guinness taste like a light beer.

www.mcauslan.com/en/products/stastout.html

www.beeradvocate.com/top_beers.php?id=13

[ledervin]

Sierra pale ale...is the classic micro brew....easy to get...

Great hoppy beer: Hop Pocket Ale....mmmmmmmmhhhh smell that baby...

greatest pilsner/crap beer: Old Milwaukee

Always have some kind and shit beer in the fridge....but keep em seperated...

Another awesome new micro beer from N.J.: Hop Hazard: unlike some other beers with warning hop signs, this one stands true.

Acme Pale Ale: great more fruity beer out of california,

drink up'

[Rich Pawlak]

Sierra pale ale...is the classic micro brew....easy to get...

Great hoppy beer:  Hop Pocket Ale....mmmmmmmmhhhh smell that baby...

greatest pilsner/crap beer: Old Milwaukee

Always have some kind and shit beer in the fridge....but keep em seperated...

Another awesome new micro beer from N.J.: Hop Hazard: unlike some other beers with warning hop signs, this one stands true.

Acme Pale Ale: great more fruity beer out of california,

drink up'

Is ACME still around? I thouygh they went out of business a few years ago.. I used to love their beers, when I could find them.

[malachi]

ACME still exists. Our regional distributor carries the IPA, the Pale Ale and the Brown Ale.

[Foam Pants]

I used to be a big fan of Newcastle. Then, one day, I got an incredibly skunky bottle and I haven't been back. I adore Dundee Honey Brown. I have also had a lot of Rolling Rock. A friend calls it the Ham and Bean since the first wiff and mouthfull taste just like the dish.

Since moving, I have acquired a taste for Alaska ESB. I took my dad on a tour of the brewery last summer and we both ended up getting tipsy at the tasting bar. Embarrassed my mother and my boyfriend. I think it helped them bond.

[reddevil]

Belgian beers....particularly Hoegaarden.

If you like Hoegaarden, you should try La Chouffe Golden. ooo la la!

Will look out for that one. Recently tried Bruges Tarwebier. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Smooth, white and lovely.

[mogsob]

It's a hot Parisian evening, and I'm sipping a cool Kronenbourg...

With all the truly great beer brewed in France, it is a shame that this is your standard bearer. Sort of like Stella and Belgium.

Here's a question: why don't any of the great microbrewers in the States (e.g., Rogue) make bottle conditioned beers?

I think the best bottled beer to be had is Green King's Abbot Ale.

[theakston]

Here's a question:  why don't any of the great microbrewers in the States (e.g., Rogue) make bottle conditioned beers?

Actually a lot of them do. Several of the Victory ales are bottle conditioned (Golden Monkey, V10 / V12, Grand Cru). As are many Dogfish head ales, Allagash, Ommegang's ales, Bear Republic ales etc. to name but a few.

Even Sierra Nevada Pale has some bottle conditioning!

I think they are becoming more widespread now that people are getting more used to the idea of living beer as opposed to pasteurized filtered crap.

[paul o' vendange]

I could be wrong, but I believe all of Bell's beers are bottle conditioned. I don't think there's a filter in the plant.

I think they are becoming more widespread now that people are getting more used to the idea of living beer as opposed to pasteurized filtered crap.

I agree pasteurization leads to crap beer, but can't go so far as to say that filtration always does.

Many bottle conditioned beers are, to my taste, lousy with autolysis from improper cellaring, and the taste of rotten yeast guts doesn't add up to a great beer. And with a clean Quality Control SOP, a brewery can filter without pasteurization, yielding clean beer without cooking it. Goose Island for one, where I worked.

[elyse]

I will say that Brooklyn does NOT make my favorite weissbier.

[malachi]

Here's a question:  why don't any of the great microbrewers in the States (e.g., Rogue) make bottle conditioned beers?

One (at this point) needs to subdivide the so-called "microbreweries" in the US into a bunch of different categories. In the "old-school" category, you do (in fact) get few if any bottle-conditioned beers. Then you get the more recent main-steam micros which have some or many bottle conditioned beers (Victory and Stone are good examples). And there are the US micros that brew Belgian style beers (Allagash, New Belgium, Ommegang, etc.) who do entirely bottle conditioned beers due to the style. And finally there are a growing number of true "craft" breweries who pursue the super-high standards and tend to produce very small quantities of beers which are either true to their styles or truly experimental and thus are sometimes filtered, sometimes bottle-conditioned, sometimes cask-conditioned (Alesmith, Dogfish Head, Kalamazoo and Three Floyds are all examples).

Oh... and I believe that Rogue makes or has made a number of either unfiltered or bottle-conditioned ales including their Charlie 1981, Mo Ale, Imperial Stout, Brew 5000, Old Crustacean and their Kriek.

Edited July 1, 2003 by malachi (log)

[Brewery]

Recently introduced to "Delirium Tremens". It is tough to think of a better beer on tap.

Runners up: Belhaven Ale, Keo, Leffe, Liberty Ale, ect...

[Al_Dente]

I'm with you on the dedededelirium tremens. Belgian beers in general are fantastic. I also dig ANY Chimay.

Is it me, or do beers make you think more specifically of an experience having them than with wine-- especially in the country of their origin. I remember drinking monk-made in Belgium, bitters in a London pub, Guinness in a dirt floor pub in god-knows-where Ireland, and local German brews in Bavarian beer halls. Wine, on the other hand, is more internationally ubiquitous perhaps? I mean, I've had many memorable wine drinking experiences (and a few I don't remember so well), but I don't have that strong association with a place?

Is this making any sense? Sorry, I'm on my 3rd Anchor Steam....

[A Scottish Chef]

Stropramen, Gilde Pils and are favourites.

Al Dente is right, too. I like San Miguel from drinking them in midden pubs in Majorca. And Tuborg lager has enjoyable memories of getting drunk in Knockderry Castle.

But I'm not a snob about this - I'll happily get drunk drinking Tennents.

[jsolomon]

Definitely Spilker Ales Hopalleuia

Spilker Ales Nebraska

[PDC]

Favorite beer? Well, like you hear so often with food, I think the approach is to consume locally and in season. "In season" meaning IPA's in the spring and fall (and summer if not too hot), Weissbeers and pilsners in summer, Mai Bocks (or Oktoberfests, basically the same) in late spring and fall, Stouts in fall and winter, and Bocks and barleywines in winter. If you're not sure of what's "in season", consult your local brewpub. If it's of any quality whatsover you should be able to tell what's in season by what they have on tap.

Of course, there can be exceptions to the rule - like it's nice to have a good chocolate stout or barleywine with dessert year-round, or if I happen to be eating Southwestern food in the winter I'll still get an IPA with it, etc.

That said, in a pinch I'll get a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale when I'm in a restaurant in my hometown since that's pretty widely available in NYC. If not, Yuengling or Rolling Rock is just fine.

[Rich Pawlak]

My favorite beers are in a 3-way tie:

Victory Prima Pils

Victory Hop Devil

Sly Fox Perkiomen Pils

[Gonzo FreakPower]

I think there's too many to name them all:

Duvel

Westmalle, best on tap

Leffe (bruin or blond)

Grimbergen (dobbel en tripel)

Brugse Tripel

Straffe Hendrik (Brugge)

Palm, also best on tap

Corsendonk (bruin or blond)

Hoegaarden

Jupiler to stock the fridge (Leinenkugel's Original from WI is a great subsitute for anyone in the Midwest)

Maes Pils with steak and fries

Some American stuff does the job too:

Fat Tire Amber, Summit Alt Bier, Kona Longboard, Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock (tap only).

That's just a small taste of it. I can't remember all the great beers I've had.

[elizabethnathan]

Boont Amber from Anderson Valley California.

Fat Tire has only recently become widely available in the Bay Area. It's nice to see it on tap now.

[Sweet Willie]

XXXX Bitter from Australia, tops on my list, VERY tough to find in the US, if anyone does please email me, I'm tired of paying $30+ for a case of beer shipped from Oz.

When traveling, any bitter, keep them coming.

Guiness I like, most other heavy stouts I don't. Hoping to go to Ireland soon and try it "fresh".

Hot muggy summer days when I'm drinking many beers, I like mondelo especial, bohemian.

[tommyf]

My favorite beer has to be Cobra Beer. Has anyone here in the US tried it? Its a Czech recipe, Anglo-Indian beer. Really good flavors and not too gassy, meaning you don't get bloated. I haven't seen it in the US, but I beleive the company is going to release it over here soon. Do not confuse it with King Cobra which tastes like dead cat!

[dhalandrice]

Oh Kenk St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout is wonderful! Too bad I can't get it here. I must put in some love for Moosehead, a good standby Canadian mass-prod. My boyfriend recently introduced me to the beers of Omegang, from Cooperstown, NY - They only produce Belgian style ales. I have tried the Omegang Abbey ale and the Hennepin Farmhouse ale - but have yet to try their Rare Vos. The two were excellent, and I look forward to heading across the border to stock up again.

[fresco]

Oh Kenk  I must put in some love for Moosehead, a good standby Canadian mass-prod.

There must be something to the notion that if it's exotic, it's desirable. Moosehead is popular in places like Florida, but I can't actually recall seeing someone ordering one in Canada. And a Swedish friend says that when he returns to Sweden, he is under orders to bring as much Labatt Blue as he can carry. Blue is kind of Canada's Bud.