Belgium was a great beer time for me, as a lot of places have their own stuff and there is a WIDE selection to choose from.
I fondly remember Girandine and uh, Chimay? or something.
In Honduras, Port Royal and Barena aren’t bad. You can drink Imperial if you have a deatwish.
What is it with the czechs and Terry Pratchett? Every book store I’ve been to has a large collection of him(in context). I swear, he’s like catnip to them. I would like a cider though. Do you remember the name of the shop?
“Cider Club”, run out of the Talpress bookshop on Reznicka, just south of Wenceslas Square: http://www.ciderclub.com/
I’ve never even seen a bottle of that, let alone tasted it! And I’ve searched across many states and provinces.
I’ve seen one. A friend bought it (it cost $8.00 for a single 12-oz) and we shared it out into liqueur glasses. That was a really excellent way to drink it, because it had such a strong flavor (not to mention the alcoholic strength) that a couple of ounces was enough to satisfy.
Like I said, I’m blessed (cursed) with a great liquor store in my area. They only carry it in singletons, I guess there’s not much call for 50$ six-packs. I have to gather some folks to drink it, at 40 proof I don’t think 12 ounces all at once would be appreciated.
H.
I tried to drink a whole bottle of Sam Adams Triple Bock, once… I imagine 120 Minute IPA would be like that, only worse (in terms of the hammer-like qualities).
Mmm, I remember the Sam triple as well, very tasty. I imagine the 120 is going to be a different beast, hops-wise.
Also, right now trying the Great Divide Porter, report soon. Porter happens to be my personal favorite style of beer, so I’m hopeful.
H.
So far, my favorite porter has been Bell’s. I tried Founder’s Porter, and though it was good, I like the taste profile of Bell’s better. The local microbrewery has a great porter as well.
This one isn’t doing much for me. A really nice flavor at first, but then it peters out into a dull taste, like Guinness. I expect a porter to have some good chocolate finish to it and a fullness that doesn’t leave the tongue for a bit. This is closer to a true stout.
H.
I really miss Dogwood Stout. By far the best stout I ever had in a bottle.
Agreed. I was merely referring to the triple bock’s considerable strength (17.5% ABV), which really packed a wallop if you tried to drink the whole darn bottle.
Speaking of Dogfish Head products, I noticed the other night that my local beverage shop/gas station has the Red & White Ale in stock. Anyone hear anything on that? Apparently, it’s a wit bier aged in oak pinot noir barrels…
I may give it a shot, but for $10 a bottle, it had better be a heck of a lot more interesting than Pangaea was.
I really enjoy Allagash beers, everything from the smooth, easy white to the very heavy quad. Yummy. I had a beer-tasting party a while back and picked up some good beer ideas from that (including Maudite and La Fin du Monde, also by Unibroue, which I preferred).
My recent beer discovery was Oggi’s, a local microbrew. They’re a small chain of pizza joints in Southern California with some damn fine beer on tap that they brew themselves. You have to come here to get that though.
I have a question. First off, a bit of info on me. I’m 25, and i’ve never drank any kind of alcohol. Mainly cause as a kid my parents threatened bodily harm. They never drank, and neither did any of my friends while in high school.
I don’t see a problem with drinking, I just never have. I’ve been sort of curious lately. So the question is, what are the reasons you drink, and if i were to look for something to start on, what would you recommend. Just sort of curious.
You drink because you can’t stop worrying about how you’re going to pay the mortgage because the haze of alcohol makes your children’s whining less grating on the eardrums, and because your wife actually looks kinda nice after that third Bud.
I drink because it tastes good.
As a bachelor, I have the benefit of being able to drink because it feels good. Considering that you have yet to break the seal, I’d hold back until you have a weekend+ to get in touch with your lizard brain. Figuring out what’s behind the social mask is one of life’s best and most humbling/haunting experiences.
I digress. I have romantic feelings when it comes to the burning of brain cells.
My first suggestion for when you start is that you don’t count out beer. Unless you really dig yeast, your first beer will be a let down. Eventually, beer begins to taste good. Your first beer drinks shouldn’t be microbrews or anything rotgut cheap. If drinking beer is your goal, you’re better off with the much-maligned American beers (Bud, Miller, etc) because they are easy to consume.
If you want to surprise yourself with a drunk, drink vodka with a nice mixer. Code Red will take you down smiling if you mix it with vodka. Be careful not to mix Gatorade with liquor, though. It’ll do the job, but Gatorade goes to the head quicker than most drinks. It has electrolytes.
Man, I had a bottle of Otter Creek’s Russian Imperial Stout while I watched Battlestar Galactica last night, and now my head feels like I spent an hour in the ring with Ivan Drago. It’s quite tasty, though.
Fortunately, it’s passing. I never really ever get hung over, but I can definitely tell when I should’ve had a glass or two of water before bed.
As for 0racle’s questions, I drink (well, beer, anyway) because, for the most part, I enjoy the taste. If I can’t find one that I like, I’m not compelled to drink for the sake of drinking. For instance, if I’m at a restaurant or a party and the only choices are Coors Light or water, I’ll choose water.
On its own, a good beer is a far more interesting beverage than a soft drink. It’s amazing how they can wring so many differences in taste, bouquet, color, and body out of (usually) just four ingredients. The right beer can accompany a dish just as well, if not better, than wine. It’s all about complementary flavors.
After a while, you even begin to appreciate the nuances different hops offer. Some may be sharp and acidic, others may be light and floral, some taste like grapefruit, some taste like pine resin, some just taste like hops. I’m partial to Hallertau and Cascade hops, but also enjoy Fuggles and Kent Goldings.
Damn it, this is starting to get too beer-snobby.
Anyway, my first was Alexander Keith’s (so-called) India Pale Ale (which it so isn’t). It was a wonderful introduction because it was neither overwhelming nor overly bland. It had some character, but it didn’t stray too far from the safe harbor of mass-produced ales.
Do not buy any beer in clear or green glass! It’s far more likely to have gone skunky, because neither clear nor green glass are as good at blocking UV light as brown glass.
Thanks for the replies. I’ll say the thing I’m most curious about is the taste. I’ve smelled some beers because I’ve worked at a gas station and dropped a bottle or two in the cooler and the smell wasn’t so inviting. I’ve also smelled it on other people who have been drunk, and that smell wasn’t so great either.
I think if I were to break into the drinking scene, it would be because I liked the taste of something, not so much as to get drunk (although who knows how I’ll feel about that once I feel my first buzz).
So again thanks for the responses, and keep em coming. This decision will probably be a while for me. Especially since I think the idea of taking a full weekend + to do it is a smart idea and I dunno when I’ll get another of those anytime soon.
My recommendation would be to go to a brewpub, and ask for a sampler. That will let you check out a few different types of beer, and perhaps give you some immediate feedback on what you like/don’t like.
Also, keep in mind that if the waitress is cute, this also gives you a great opportunity to flirt by asking her advice on what to try…