I fell in love with beer a long time ago. For a long time I was your typical Bud/Miller/ macro brew fanatic. I never appreciated the good stuff. One day, by chance, I bought a six-pack of Stone (stonebrew.com) IPA. Ever since then (about a year now) I've been Hop crazy. I can't get enough. The hoppier the better. I've tried literally hundreds of IPA's and strong pale ales and found one that I think overpowers them all. Victory Brewing Company's 'Hop Wallop'. I feel myself getting burned out on the hops but, before that happens I'm determined to duplicate this awesome IPA and brew a batch of my own. I've discovered that they use German Malt and American Hops. A lot of brewers use a concoction of exotic hops but the American variety are the strongest and most bitter, which is what I like. A funny side note is that there is a variety of hops called 'Fuggles' which produce a flowery, bright beer. Shipyard Brewing Company's IPA uses Fuggles and the beer is light and flavorful and almost tastes like flowers. It's really good but, for my tastes, the bitter American hops are best. Does anyone else pay so much attention to beer as I have been lately? What are your favorites? Have you tried brewing it yourself? What have you made that you really like? This is a new forum and it's all about beer. Tell us all your likes and dislikes and what you've found that we all should try.
I started drinking Stella a lot , like months before the surgery. I doubt i can drink any now. I was going to brew my own Absinthe Aquvit. I just never did it. I would like to try your brew when you make it. go easy on the yeast, I hate thick beer
Yeah man, thick is no good. What I'm going for is a super-high alcohol content, super bitter, super hoppy pale ale. Think of a cool, refreshing glass of water or iced tea that totally fucks you up while tasting great all at the same time. That's my goal. Fuglybrau is what I should call it.
Finally! A beer forum! Why the fuck didn't I think of this?!? A: Probably because of the beer. Seriously, though, I haven't tried many IPA's (*for the typical Budweiser party drinker, this stands for "India Pale Ale" - thought I'd throw that out for all the piss-ant newbies out there), and I generally prefer a darker ale, even stout. For a while, Guinness was my favorite, but I found something that blew it out of the water (which surprised me)... "Old Rasputin - Russian Imperial Stout." Fucking great. Like Guinness, but smoother, heartier, and just damn good. And I thought Guinness was a meal in itself. There's a local microbrewery here in the city, roughly 10 minutes away from where I live, and they put out some pretty good stuff. I think it's called "The Yellow Dog Brewing Co." I could be wrong. Or drunk. Maybe someday we can have a 'ship someone a local beer' rally. Just a drunken thought.
And for the record, a Hurricane in a 40oz bottle tastes worlds better than the aluminum-clad 24oz can. Also, I've noticed that some of the beer industry is trying to merge the 'energy drink' crowd with the drunks. Sparks is an example, but most recently, I happened upon a 9.9% drink in a 23.5oz can called 'Joose' (or something to that effect) - it claimed to be loaded with ginseng, guarana, taurine (caffeine, essentially), and a shitload of ethanol. I tried it, and I won't lie, after a couple, I finally got around to (drunkenly) replace my second toilet with a water-saving "dual flush" Caroma brand toilet that has been sitting in my living room for the past month. Imagine my surprise the next morning when the damn thing didn't leak.
I tried a bottle of Iron City beer this week, which is brewed in Pittsburg (I think.) It was OK, about a 7 on a 10 point scale. I also tried some Blue Moon Draught recently. It was OK as well, I would give it a 7. I haven't had the perfect 10 yet. The closest I ever came to a 10 was back when I was a kid. There was a store on the corner that sold draught beer. They would fill up an empty gallon milk jug for $3.00. The legal age was 19 back then, so nobody really checked ID's. I don't know what the actual brand was, but the beer had a wonderful flavor and would kick your a** in a hurry. I suspect it was so good just because it was fresh and was cold draught. Maybe it was just because I was 17.
Blue moon is a wheat, it has a wonderful taste, but it will fill you up fast. Fuglybrau's motto: "man this shit will fuck you up!"
Ever pushing the envelope, I found a new gem in the 'Negro' section of my local beer aisle... "Schlitz High Gravity V.S.L" What the hell that stands for is beyond me, but it caught my eye as blazingly advertising an 8.5% alcohol content. So, I bought two, and I'll give a full account on one of them when I try it on a fresh palette.
We got a local 'pub' and I will try their stuff from time to time, the last two I remember, one was called 'dog fish head pale' (which tasted strangely what I would think a pail full of dead dog and fish heads would taste like) and one referred to as 'smiddix' its dark but good. I later learned that it stood for smith and something, but I was drunk and forgot. We need to plan a fugly trip to Canada, if you want to get some good beer. Some of the best beer, with a crazy high alcohol content, I have ever drank was in Ontario. Their Coors lite is even good. Weird.
I got turned on to Bohemia and Fat Tire when I was at Fort Bliss, TX. Then, after a couple of weeks in New Orlean, Abita Amber was my beer of choice. I still like Amber Boch draft but I can't handle the really thick, black beers. I think phatboy likes them thick and black, don'tcha phatty?
Actually Im into the lighter ones. Sorry. :biggrin: I was suprised that I liked the smidex. I dont think I will ever drink another guiness again unless Im in europe. I had to google it, but its actually Smithwicks. I dont like the beers I have to chew to get down.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithwick's Hmmm..... I might have to check it out. Who's up for a road trip?
If you do get up to Canada give Alexander Keith's I.P.A a try, it has been brewed in Nova Scotia for about 200yrs.Its about all I drink and is available pretty well across country now.
I am trying to get up there again within a year. I will have to give it a try. Im not sure where taj and kingfisher are on the IPA list, I think they are brewed by AB in the states.
As far as Impreial Stouts go, Oskar blues Brewery makes one called Ted Fiddy. It's black as night. I swear to God, I drank one from a glass and the damn thing is permanently stained. The funny thing about Oskar Blues is that they only sell their beers in cans. It's funny to get such an awesome beer in a can and not a bottle. If you can find the Ten Fiddy and you like stouts, it's definitely worth the price.
Fat Tire is really popular out in Colorado. We went and looked at the brewery but chose to take the tour at O'Dells instead. Fat tire didn't impress me much but O'Dells (which is a much smaller and much more 'local' brewery) produces some incredible stuff. The O'Dells IPA is one of my all time favorites. I'd like too find out what kind of hops they use. I don't think they're all the American variety because it's got a definite flowery taste. While we were there they showed us 'hop pellets' which I think they use more than the actual flowers. Colorado is famous for it's water and O'Dells actually adds salt to it to achieve the balance they need for their beer. I thought that was interesting.
Another thing. If you're ever in Ft. Collins CO and you get to tour O'Dells, try the Nitro IPA. It's their regular IPA, only carbonated with nitrous-oxide. Imagine a bitter, awesomely flavorful Guinness and you you'll be close.
If AB means Anheiser Bush, don't even waste your money. It'll be pasteurized into oblivion and virtually tasteless. I think that the big brewers have to contend with consistency and shipping over thousands of miles and what happens is that they practically kill any flavor with all the stringent sanitary requirements. There's a subtle difference to real and natural beer that makes all the difference.
