What Beers Did You Drink Today? Or Yesterday? (Part 1)

[Jim]

My mistake, the Hopotown is by Full Sail, not Pyramid.

[chromedome]

The missus and I had some rare time out together yesterday afternoon, so while we were rambling through the Old Strathcona neighbourhood we stopped into a pseudo-Irish pub for some wetting of the collective whistle. I had a Guinness (what else?), about the only thing I wanted at that point in the day; then I finished my wife's Keith's (a popular IPA from Nova Scotia).

Several hours later, around the neighbours' backyard fire, I enjoyed a Unibroue "Terrible;" a BIG bad-ass abbey-style brew weighing in at a whopping 10.5% alcohol, but with flavour and complexity enough to make it fly. Like many of Unibroue's beers there is bottle fermentation going on, so be careful when you open the champagne-style cork! They anticipate up to eight years' successful bottle aging with this product, if anyone has the patience to cellar 'em...

Unibroue is my favourite readily-available Canadian brewery.

[helenas]

Unibroue's beers are great: thanks for reminding - i'll pick some for dinner tonight.

[suzilightning]

johnnybird's ususal drink when in poughkeepsie is molson canadian light - least amount of alcohol and, when you weigh in at a whopping 120 lbs. you just have to watch how much you drink or you can get in a lot of trouble.

but, since he was home this weekend and working on my car, it was corona with lime and later, after dinner, with some lovely popped corn a tetley's

right now i'm working on a mcewan's ipa. lovely color, not tooo much of a head and almost hoppy enough to make me happy

[jeffc666]

Last night I had an Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide Brewing. Far too much green wood flavor for my liking. The original non-oaked version is far better.

[petite tête de chou]

This is fun.

Petite tête de chou, Alaskan summer ale as in Alaskan Brewing Company, as in who makes Alaskan Smoked Porter?!  Oh my what I would give...

JohnnyD, I am glad to hear you are keeping cool in the sweltering heat.

TongoRad, you know how to choose a line-up!  Thanks for describing the Three Philosphers; I like Ommegang beers, but that's a new one on me.

Jsolomon, stand proud.  Do not hang your head in shame!  Well, not for long, anyway.    Really I am interested in -- or perhaps nosey about -- what everybody's drinking, so I hope nobody will hold back!

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Yup, Alaskan Brewing Co. Good stuff!

[malarkey]

My boyfriend drank some Bridgeport IPA last night while I had my Miller Light

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Della you should have hit him over the head and taken his Bridgeport IPA.

Yesterday was Q day: While waiting for the food we consumed a bottle of Deus. A nice start to any day Then with the food (ribs!) came Deshutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, with desserts (9 layer caramel cake and chocolate cookies) with Guinness Stout.

Friday night: Cold fried chicken with 2004 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.

[john b]

Smithwick's and Harpoon Winter Warmer.

[Matsusaka Ushi]

Yesterday: Bitburger Pils, Unibroue Éphémère Apple, LindemansLambic Framboise

Today: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Bells Oberon, Paulaner Salvator Double Bock.

Ahhh... a good selection, if a bit odd. I enjoy variety!

[malarkey]

Today: Tuna salad (not just ANY tuna salad, this one has artichoke hearts, capers, kalamata olives, mayo and lots o' dill) with chips and Rogue's Morimoto Imperial Pilsner. DAMN this is a good beer. If you can find it where you are at, I highly encourage trying it.

(brewed with french pilsner malt, sterling hops, and czech pilsner yeast, it comes in at 8.8%) Here's Rogue's description: "Golden in color with a dry hop floral aroma and intense hop bitterness supported by a big malty backbone which culminates into a hedonistic mouthful."

;-)

[TongoRad]

chromedome:

Several hours later, around the neighbours' backyard fire, I enjoyed a Unibroue "Terrible;" a BIG bad-ass abbey-style brew weighing in at a whopping 10.5% alcohol, but with flavour and complexity enough to make it fly. Like many of Unibroue's beers there is bottle fermentation going on, so be careful when you open the champagne-style cork! They anticipate up to eight years' successful bottle aging with this product, if anyone has the patience to cellar 'em...

So far that has been my favorite of Unibroue's amazing lineup- well worth seeking out. I haven't had the pleasure of sampling the Ephemere Apple yet, though.

Matsusaka Ushi:

Yesterday: Bitburger Pils, Unibroue Éphémère Apple, LindemansLambic Framboise

Today: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Bells Oberon, Paulaner Salvator Double Bock.

Ahhh... a good selection, if a bit odd. I enjoy variety!

I tend to do the same thing, myself. Sometimes it takes forever to put a case together in the store. You also listed a few of my all time favorites up there- a good selection indeed.

[helenas]

Victory Storm King imperial stout, nice but nothing special so need to retest.

Another King: Three Floyds Alpha King pale ale: the king indeed, and a perfect match with edamame yuzu pesto and soba.

[Prepcook]

Susan treated me to a stout float for an after dinner treat. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (Limited Bottling Winter 03-04) and Breyers vanilla ice cream. The stout has aged out of all its bitterness. Really nice.

She posted it on Stout Floats vs. Proter Floats.

[jeffc666]

Victory Storm King imperial stout, nice but nothing special so need to retest.

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Storm King was very dissapointing this year. Just a shadow of its former glory. Not sure if it is due to the new brewery that Victory is using or what.

[Basilgirl]

Sierra Nevadas. Many.

[Matsusaka Ushi]

Paulaner Hefe-weizen, and a Pinkus Hefeweizen. Oh, and I'll sneak in the wine I'm saving to drink with dinner, a Laforet Bourgogne Pinot Nior.

[Susan in FL]

Victory Storm King imperial stout, nice but nothing special so need to retest.

Storm King was very dissapointing this year. Just a shadow of its former glory. Not sure if it is due to the new brewery that Victory is using or what.

I didn't know that Victory was using a new brewery. I went to the website and just saw a brief mention about it. Is it at the same location, and when did it open?

Today I had a Dogfish Head ApriHop, with Shawarma for lunch. I love that beer! I don't think I would realize that apricots are part of it, if I didn't know the beer. Suzi and other hopheads, I would recommend this one if you haven't already tasted it. Rich Pawlak turned me on to what a good match this beer is for Middle Eastern food.

We're having wine with dinner, too, M.U.

[BrentKulman]

Tonight, I made buttermilk dipped fried chicken in a cast iron skillet. First time I had made fried chichen in quite some time. While it was frying, I finished off a bottle of 2003 Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda, an Argentine wine that is quite possibly the best wine bargain I have ever come across - a 92 rated wine in Wine and Spirits magazine that can be purchased on the web for as little as $4.99 a bottle. (I know this is off topic, but I enjoy wine almost as much as beer - and to find a new grape [bonarda] that I like is pretty exciting.)

To get back on topic, I paired the chicken with an Alleycat Amber from Lost Coast - the pairing was fine but the beer was just so-so, slightly phenolic and lacking a good hop counter-balance to the caramel malt. Lost Coast's 8 Ball Stout, however, is magnificent and I will have to re-visit that sometime soon for the Stout thread.

Keep these beer threads coming, Susan. It's certainly impacting my evening libations. With almost 100 beer styles the possibilities are unlimited.

[TongoRad]

I had another Ommegang Three Philosophers ( their Quadruple blended with cherry lambic) tonight and took some notes this time. I think i'm going to follow it up with a choke cherry mead that I made a few years ago. Here's what I got-

Color is a cloudy yet rich copper/brown with a dense, albeit not so long lasting, tan head. The head easily resurrects itself with a little swirl of the glass.

Bouquet is luxuriously malty with a good helping of cherries and caramel. Hints of a spicy nature in the background suggest coriander and perhaps sweet orange peel. Overall very inviting- nothing even remotely out of place- and possibly this beer's best feature.

Flavors are dominated by the caramel first and cherries second- essentially following through on the nose. Mouthfeel is moderately full. A sharp whack of bitterness and acidity brings it all home, minimizing any cloying tendencies the beer might have. The finish is a lingering sensation of dried cherries. Alcohol (9.8%) is barely noticible.

A tremendous effort- very well concieved and executed. Any thoughts one might have of a gimmick concept should quickly disappear upon the first sniff of this wonderful brew.

[jsolomon]

Last night: Empyrean Ales (Lazlo's) Scottish Ale. Quite a restorative after a full day of work and an evening of cleaning and packing to move.

Good flavor, good mouthfeel. No flavors that really pop out at you, though. It's kind of like a subdued Boston Lager from Sam Adams. Pretty good with my fish and chips, even if they did undercook the fish the first time around.

They made it good, and I've never had complaints about Lazlo's.

[Mallet]

Beamish Stout, Propeller Porter (local), Clancy's Amber Ale. And ribs, lots of ribs (first real BBQ of the season!).

[gbredben]

Stegmaier Gold Medal. Great taste and outrageously cheap. $11.00 for a 24 pack case, 16 oz bottles. Great to enjoy for drinking and cooking.

[cdh]

Had a pint of O'Hara's Irish Stout the other night. Very unimpressive. Body too thin, a slight rusty metalic taste, and enough diacetyl to make it taste like movie theater popcorn.

Maybe just a bad keg, but very unimpressive.

[chromedome]

The London Style Porter mentioned by Mallet in his post is an unsung gem of Canadian brewing, taking home a silver medal from the 2002 World Beer Championships (beaten, IIRC, only by archetypal porter Old Growler). Highly recommended, if any of you are planning to visit Halifax...

[Mallet]

The London Style Porter mentioned by Mallet in his post is an unsung gem of Canadian brewing, taking home a silver medal from the 2002 World Beer Championships (beaten, IIRC, only by archetypal porter Old Growler).  Highly recommended, if any of you are planning to visit Halifax...

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Feeling homesick again? Seriously though, Propeller Porter truly is a fantastic beer.