Better Micro Brews

[dpurdy]

I tried a bottle of that Alaskan Winter Ale last night and found it to be nothing at all. Just a run of the mill, slightly sweeter than an IPA, ale. I didn't get the spruce tips or anything. One of the most disappointing Winter Ales I have ever tried.
Dennis

 

[monkeykoder]

Now you know where I'm coming from. I seriously think some companies just take one of their standard beers and add spices or other flavoring when they want a flavored beer this is just bad form it doesn't lend itself to a balance of flavors. This is why since I tried the few winter ales with spices I've avoided them like the plague I'd rather spend $10-$20 on a single 750ml bottle of some sort of Belgian than $9 on a sixer of spiced wrong beer.
That sweeter than normal taste actually comes from the spruce tips it should have an almost wintergreen flavor but not quite.

 

[monkeykoder]

"Sex is like expensive beer.....all the same. Some you just pay more for."
Actual quote from some guy on another forum.

 

[dpurdy]

Well that is a really sad or ignorant perspective. OF course. That is the statement of someone wanting others to know how sad life is for him.
Dennis

 

[monkeykoder]

But seriously this statement basically says he has never tried any beer not from the big three. I think anyone could tell the difference in quality between a bottle of even Fat Tire vs a bottle of Miller High Life.

 

[dpurdy]

Hey Monkeykoder, do you see Full Sail Ales down there? It is a brewery started in Hood River Oregon in the Columbia Gorge though I think they have put a brewery in Portland. It used to be pretty lame for micro brew but they got a better brew master some years ago and since then they have put out some outstanding special ales. On Christmas day I tried a beer from them called LTD. I wouldn't have bought it except the store I went to didn't have what I wanted and they had this I had never tried. I drank a bottle of it last night while home alone and could sit and consider it and realized it is a very good bottle of beer. I hadn't realized until I read the bottle that it is a Lager. And very strong at 6.4%. It is creamy smooth and delicious and does pack quite a kick.

 

[monkeykoder]

Yeah Full Sail is distributed down here but oddly enough I haven't tried any. Lately I've been sticking to New Belgium because I'm broke and they're pretty much the cheapest beer of a quality I'll drink.

 

[dpurdy]

Actually most the great ales from Full Sail are on tap only. Their winter brew is called Wreck the Halls and in the past has been top notch but this year is a relative disappointment. If all they have in your stores is IPA or Amber, don't bother with it.

 

[monkeykoder]

For the most part I think they usually have the pale ale but the local bev-mo usually has a lot more than that.

 

[cooltouch]

Man-O-man, once I saw this group's name, I knew I had to join. I'm a big fan of finely hand-crafted brew, and my figure shows it

I live in Houston, Texas, and we are fortunate to have St. Arnold here. I'm not all that familiar with their history, but they are Texas' oldest craft brewery and recently won two World Gold Medals for their brews. They still refer to themselves as a micro brewery, but they manage to keep the local grocery and liquor store shelves well stocked. My favorite is their Winter Stout, which is hard to find outside a well-stocked liquor store. Next is their Elissa IPA.

Up in Ft. Bragg California, well north of San Francisco, is the North Coast Brewing Company. Their Old Rasputin Stout is one of the best stouts I've ever tasted. Guiness? Fagedaboudit. They wish they could brew a stout as good. I discovered this elixir five years ago while visiting a friend who lives up thataway. Fortunately, Spec's, the best-stocked liquor store chain in Houston, carries it.

Actually, one of the best stouts I've had (can you tell I like stouts?) can't be bought anywhere. My nephew has a bud who's into zymurgy. Last year, this guy showed up at a party at my sister's house with a keg of his own dark brew that was just knock-your-socks-off spectacular. Made me want to try the brew-your-own thing using his recipe, it did.

I have a question for you guys -- Anheuser Busch has recently begun to offer a variety of "handcrafted" brews. This link shows what they offer:

http://www.michelob.com/public/agegate.aspx?ReturnUrl=/default.aspx

Most of them, I like a lot, especially the Pale Ale, the Irish Red, the Porter, and the Marzen. So, I'm thinking that growing breweries, such as Sam Adams, and successful micro breweries, such as St. Arnold, have been cutting into the Big Boys' sales to the point where they're beginning to sit up and take notice. So, do you think that, with this sort of move (a brilliant one, I think, btw), AB will be able to wrest market share away from the smaller micro breweries, or are the micro breweries fairly secure in the niches they've carved for themselves?

 

[cooltouch]

What, there's only two other members who post here anymore? Hehe, well the membership has just increased by 50%

 

[dpurdy]

Hey Cooltouch. Very good to have another beer drinker. I have had ales from that North Coast brewing including that stout. They are good and they come to the Oregon Brewer's fest in Portland in July. I like to drink stouts now and then though I am addicted to the hoppy IPAs of this area.
I don't know that I will be trying any Anheuser Busch pretend micro brews anytime soon. there are some other large breweries doing the same thing. Actually Anheuser Busch bought one of the top micro breweries here in Portland several years ago.. Widmere Brewing.
Don't you know though that one of the top selling beers in Portland is Pabst Blue Ribbon which used to be a Millwaukie original that got sold to some generic brewing company down there in Texas. PBRs baby. Cheap and the people here love it. Not me.
Dennis

 

[cooltouch]

Hey Dennis,

Nice to get your feedback. Like you, I prefer the hoppy brews, like IPAs, when I'm drinking light (as in color) beers.

Hehe, I used to drink PBR for quite a while. Found it when I lived in Califiornia, but haven't seen it since I moved to Texas 10 years ago. It's not so bad, about the same as Busch, I'd say. Better than lemonade, at any rate.

There's another smalll brewery here in Texas named Spoetzl. They brew Shiner brand, and their most popular seller is Shiner Bock. Me, I really don't care for most of their offerings, but I have to admit that their most recent, which they call Commemorator (in celebration of their 100th year in business) is quite good. It's an ale brewed in the German "slark" style, and tastes a lot like a stout, although it is amber in color. I'm sipping on one right now. By far their best, IMO. I hope they make it a regular addition to their lineup.

If you ever have the opportunity to try one of the "handcrafted" Michelob varieties, I'd be interested in your take on them. Really, they're pretty good. They give Sam Adams a run for their money, and I consider Sam Adams to be some of the best widely available brews around.

Best,

Michael

 

[monkeykoder]

New Belgium is probably the best of the widely distributed stuff. After having made the mistake of trying the Budweiser American Ale I will never try another big brewer knock off of a good beer I just can't do it anymore (that stuff actually had me close to vomiting on flavor alone)

 

[dpurdy]

I am pretty sure the convenience store on the corner will have the handcrafted Michelob beers. I might try one tonight but no way am I doing a 6 pack. Guilty till proven innocent.
Dennis

 

[cooltouch]

One of my mottos is "Life is too short to drink cheap beer" but I dunno if I'm in your guys league. I'm a beer drinker, and I drink what I like. I don't consider myself to be a connoisseur, but I can hardly get down straight American brews anymore. Hell, I don't even care for Heineken. Becks is better, and I like St. Pauli Girl a little better than Becks. Haven't tried New Belgium -- so far I haven't been a big fan of Belgian beers. Too light (as in flavor).

Best,

Michael

 

[dpurdy]

I am a bit of a beer snob with all the fantastic choices and haven't drank anything but a micro brew in years. But I do like to ask myself, when trying a sub standard beer, if this was the only beer in the world and drinking beer meant I had to drink this beer, would I drink it? My standard drops pretty low when I look at it like that. Actually I think there is a place in the world for coors light. But there is a place for a nice tall glass of ice water too.
Dennis

 

[dpurdy]

Bad luck. the only Michelob beer they had at the corner store was Ultra. They did have Budweiser American ale in the 22 oz bottle sitting up there along with the micro brews, but no way I am going to buy a beer that nearly made monkeykoder vomit. So the best I could do was to buy a Widmere Broken Halo IPA. Widmere was one of the original micro brews in Oregon and they are the one that sold out to Anheiser Busch. So I guess it is sort of a Michelob/budweiser. Though I think they have been hands off when it comes to brewing the beer. The real beer snobs would turn their noses up to Widmere Broken Halo on principles but in truth it is a delicious beer.
Widmere is widely marketed. As well as Bridgeport. Do you have them in Texas? I know they are in New York and can be found even in London. In fact Bridgeport was sold a few years ago to a group out of Texas somewhere. They came up with the marketing concept of "A great Friken Beer"

Dennis

 

[cooltouch]

Yup, I see Bridgeport here. I've tried their IPA and their Porter. I like both, but the porter gives me a noticeable hangover the next day if I've had more than a few. Broken Halo can be found here too at some of the better stocked grocery stores. I can't say that I've tried it yet. But now that I hear it's good, I'll have to give it a try. Do you ever see St. Arnold up there? If so, try their Elissa IPA. I'd be interested in reading what you think.

Best,

Michael


B

 

[dpurdy]

I think I messed up the Firken beer rather than friken beer. What ever it is Bridgeport has won world awards in Europe with their IPA but as you say it gives a good hang over. I used to hang out in the brewery quite a lot as they had their beers on draft with Nitro. Just down the street from where I live now is that Widmere Brewery with the Broken Halo IPA. They are 2 bucks a pint on monday night so I have drank an awful lot of them. They are most popular in the local pubs for their wheat beer.. Heffeweisen. I might be off in the spelling. really yummy mild beer that is usually served with lemon wedge. A chick beer. You can drink it all night without getting too drunk.

 

[dpurdy]

http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2009/01/beervana_john_foyston_goes_in.html
Here is a story that is in this mornings Oregonian news paper. This is why you guys need to make a trip to Portland sometime. Maybe in july when there is the outdoor brewer's festival on the river walk.

 

[cooltouch]

Portland's a pretty town. I've been there exactly once -- back in the mid-90s. Never knew about the microbrewery/brewpub density there. Yes, doing a pubcrawl there would be just about worth the trip, methinks. Here in Texas, the Baptists ran things for so many years that we still have pretty messed up liquor laws. Not as bad as they were, but . . . For instance, if one wants to open a brew pub, the brews sold there can be sold there only. The brew pub is not allowed to market them outside their business. It requires a separate location, hence a separate brewery, if one wants to market ones brews outside the pub. I dunno, maybe that's the way it is elsewhere too, but it seems pretty stupid to me.

Best,

Michael

 

[monkeykoder]

If you're thinking Belgian beers are light in flavor you must have only tried the wit bier. From New Belgium for a drinkable yet cheap (coming from a guy that regularly buys a $15 bottle of beer) and widely distributed beer you'd have to go with the Abbey Ale. If you want to give Belgian beer a serious try you'd have to pick up a bottle of Brothers Thelonious (an American version) or if you want to go all out I'd pick up a bottle of Westmalle preferably the Dubbel. Trippels tend to be lighter in color and a "lighter" flavor meaning they have just as much flavor but tending toward flavors you'd associate with lighter colored beers. Stay away from Wits and Blondes if you're looking for strong flavored beers. North Coast (the makers of Old Rasputin) has is the maker of Brothers Thelonious and it is a good beer, I'd stay away from Pranqster it just doesn't taste quite right to me. Belgian beers are hit and miss sometimes the good examples are quite a good experience the bad examples are hard to even get down. I'd have to say most Belgian beers are interesting and right now I'm trying to perfect a recipe for a Trippel (interestingly enough it is a VERY simple beer ingredient wise but has very complex flavor if done right).

 

[dpurdy]

Now I have a mission. Luckily there is a great beer store called New Seasons within walking distance and if anyone has those beers they do. I will go tonight. ;-)

 

[cooltouch]

The only Belgian beer I can specifically recall at the moment is Stella Artois. It was okay, to me, but nothing really special.

So, monkeykoder, sounds like you're into zymurgy. This is something I've been kicking around for a long time. We have a pretty active brewer's community here in Houston, but I've never attended any of their get-togethers.

One item I found interesting that I picked up from my nephew's friend -- the one who brewed the dark stuff I mentioned in an earlier post -- he told me that lots of folks are now using the old-style soft drink syrup containers that restaurants used to use. I worked in the restaurant biz way back when, and I remember having to change those things out. Seems like a decent setup for storing lightly pressurized contents, like beer. Have you ever tried using these?

Best,

Michael