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OT: Beer Thread

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Ok, it's time to stock the poolside beer fridge for the summer. I don't really drink beer anymore, but I like to have something nice for guests. So what's a good, available, not ridiculously expensive hot day beer?
 
i'm in Belgium (again) this July. i have meetings booked at two guezeries and visiting another 2 (1 as a friend and 1 as a customer).
so...4 guezeries in 4 days, then two west flanders' breweries on a Saturday.
help...
 
Gm0ney said:
Ok, it's time to stock the poolside beer fridge for the summer. I don't really drink beer anymore, but I like to have something nice for guests. So what's a good, available, not ridiculously expensive hot day beer?
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Summer mixer packs are a pretty good way to go for some variety. Muskoka Summer Survival Pack, SteamWorks Mash Up and the Fernie Summer Craft Collection are all good.
 
nobody important said:
Flight #1 has been revealed. Gentlemen (and ladies), start your coolers!

https://www.liquormarts.ca/retail-m...June%201%2C%202017&%3Butm_campaign=SipNSavour

I'm especially looking forward to trying Bridge Brewing's take on the murky, juicy NE IPA style.
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We're just about at the end of Flight #1 and I figured I would share my impressions of the beers I've had.

4 Mile Brewing Cactus Grapefruit IPA: Wow! If you like grapefruit, stock up in the time left. I've had other beers that advertise themselves as such, but this is the first one where real grapefruit juice flavour and pith bitterness come through, not just hop character that is vaguely grapefruity.

Beau's Patersbier Belgian-Style Ale: Meh. Not sure what this is supposed to be. A low alcohol Belgian pale ale? Completely forgettable.

Bridge Brewing Side Cut North East IPA: My first "juicy", and I liked it. Murky, good tropical flavours, without the excessive bitterness of the west coast style. Can't say how it compares to some actual Noreasters, but it's what we got and worth picking up.

Farmery Robbie Scotch Ale: Another meh for me. Pleasant enough malty brew but not worth a second purchase. I can make beers like this in my sleep.

Nickel Brook Raspberry Uber Berliner Style Weiss: Very, very nice. Gotta pick up a few more of these. I had one of these from another brewery (forgot the name, with good reason) and it had a nasty artificial flavour to it. Nickel Brook's tastes like good, fresh Himbeer added in to a suitably tart base.

Spindrift Brewing Coastal Lager: Not a bad beer but too hop-focused for my liking. I mean, if you're going to the trouble of brewing a lager, let the malts speak.
 
nobody important said:
We're just about at the end of Flight #1 and I figured I would share my impressions of the beers I've had.

4 Mile Brewing Cactus Grapefruit IPA: Wow! If you like grapefruit, stock up in the time left. I've had other beers that advertise themselves as such, but this is the first one where real grapefruit juice flavour and pith bitterness come through, not just hop character that is vaguely grapefruity.

Beau's Patersbier Belgian-Style Ale: Meh. Not sure what this is supposed to be. A low alcohol Belgian pale ale? Completely forgettable.

Bridge Brewing Side Cut North East IPA: My first "juicy", and I liked it. Murky, good tropical flavours, without the excessive bitterness of the west coast style. Can't say how it compares to some actual Noreasters, but it's what we got and worth picking up.

Farmery Robbie Scotch Ale: Another meh for me. Pleasant enough malty brew but not worth a second purchase. I can make beers like this in my sleep.

Nickel Brook Raspberry Uber Berliner Style Weiss: Very, very nice. Gotta pick up a few more of these. I had one of these from another brewery (forgot the name, with good reason) and it had a nasty artificial flavour to it. Nickel Brook's tastes like good, fresh Himbeer added in to a suitably tart base.

Spindrift Brewing Coastal Lager: Not a bad beer but too hop-focused for my liking. I mean, if you're going to the trouble of brewing a lager, let the malts speak.
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i really liked the north east IPA. first serious attempt from what i've seen around here, tasted a lot more juicy than what i'm used to and actually hit some of the notes you'd expect (creamy mouthfeel, candied tropical fruits, creamsicle). the smell was probably juicier than the actual taste but it was still fairly well executed. not gonna be quite near treehouse etc. level yet but it's a step in the right direction.

also had the phillips white peach ale which was pretty nice. drinkable, fairly light, somewhat refreshing and a decent flavour and mouthfeel for 4%. the peach was subtle but it was natural tasting, didn't have that artificial note that some beers with added fruit ingredients get. there was a bit of that dank old sock taste to carry the peach flavour along.

only other one i had was the spindrift coastal lager which was pretty gross IMO. had a weird toasted nutty, slightly buttery aroma and flavour. also got an odd spice lingering from some kind of pale german/belgian malts or something, not really sure.. ended up pouring it down the drain.
 
portamoral said:
i really liked the north east IPA. first serious attempt from what i've seen around here, tasted a lot more juicy than what i'm used to and actually hit some of the notes you'd expect (creamy mouthfeel, candied tropical fruits, creamsicle). the smell was probably juicier than the actual taste but it was still fairly well executed. not gonna be quite near treehouse etc. level yet but it's a step in the right direction.

also had the phillips white peach ale which was pretty nice. drinkable, fairly light, somewhat refreshing and a decent flavour and mouthfeel for 4%. the peach was subtle but it was natural tasting, didn't have that artificial note that some beers with added fruit ingredients get. there was a bit of that dank old sock taste to carry the peach flavour along.

only other one i had was the spindrift coastal lager which was pretty gross IMO. had a weird toasted nutty, slightly buttery aroma and flavour. also got an odd spice lingering from some kind of pale german/belgian malts or something, not really sure.. ended up pouring it down the drain.
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Diacetyl? Not good.

Thanks for the reviews guys. For whatever reason I haven't been doing too much drinking over the past week or so and haven't really gotten into the 150 pack that NI recommended. Had the SK/PQ/NWT bottles and enjoyed the first two, spelt beer not so much. Didn't have to pour it down the drain but it was work to finish. Other two were quite drinkable and I think it was the SK bottle that mimicked what I drank a fair bit of in Cologne a few years ago so it was quite enjoyable.
 
buggs said:
Diacetyl? Not good.

Thanks for the reviews guys. For whatever reason I haven't been doing too much drinking over the past week or so and haven't really gotten into the 150 pack that NI recommended. Had the SK/PQ/NWT bottles and enjoyed the first two, spelt beer not so much. Didn't have to pour it down the drain but it was work to finish. Other two were quite drinkable and I think it was the SK bottle that mimicked what I drank a fair bit of in Cologne a few years ago so it was quite enjoyable.
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may very well have been diacetyl. never really tasted a beer that was confirmed to have it but i've noted that distinct buttery character on a few others in the past. may have just been the way the caramel-y malts and everything came together to form some kind of weird interaction that mimicked it too. tough to say
 
Smelling Salt said:
Anyone going to Flatlanders this weekend? Looking forward to it.
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Did Flatlanders last Friday night, great evening except for the lineup to go through only two metal detectors at front door of Bell-MTS place:rant: and the headache Saturday morning!
 
buggs said:
Diacetyl? Not good.

Thanks for the reviews guys. For whatever reason I haven't been doing too much drinking over the past week or so and haven't really gotten into the 150 pack that NI recommended. Had the SK/PQ/NWT bottles and enjoyed the first two, spelt beer not so much. Didn't have to pour it down the drain but it was work to finish. Other two were quite drinkable and I think it was the SK bottle that mimicked what I drank a fair bit of in Cologne a few years ago so it was quite enjoyable.
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Now that I think about it, I think it was the 150 pack that had that really off-putting Berliner Weisse from Alberta. They say on their web site it has vanilla and that might explain it. I can tolerate a lot of things in my beer but vanilla isn't one of them. Just say no to vanilla, brewers!

I expect a rebuttal from Hannu soon. :laugh:
 
portamoral said:
i really liked the north east IPA. first serious attempt from what i've seen around here, tasted a lot more juicy than what i'm used to and actually hit some of the notes you'd expect (creamy mouthfeel, candied tropical fruits, creamsicle). the smell was probably juicier than the actual taste but it was still fairly well executed. not gonna be quite near treehouse etc. level yet but it's a step in the right direction.

also had the phillips white peach ale which was pretty nice. drinkable, fairly light, somewhat refreshing and a decent flavour and mouthfeel for 4%. the peach was subtle but it was natural tasting, didn't have that artificial note that some beers with added fruit ingredients get. there was a bit of that dank old sock taste to carry the peach flavour along.

only other one i had was the spindrift coastal lager which was pretty gross IMO. had a weird toasted nutty, slightly buttery aroma and flavour. also got an odd spice lingering from some kind of pale german/belgian malts or something, not really sure.. ended up pouring it down the drain.
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I discovered by actually doing a little research (go figure) that the Collective Arts #2 IPA is also a NE IPA style. So picked up a couple of them today and will try one later. After I don't have to drive.

I've still got the White Peach Ale sitting in the beer fridge waiting to be sampled. I have to be in a particular frame of mind to want fruit beers, but now that you mention the dank old socks, I'm in. :laugh:

I expect the spicy character you get from the Spindrift is from their use of rye malt. Also not one of my favorite malts so maybe another reason I didn't care for it. Didn't get any diacetyl off it, though. Man, if you wanted diacetyl or just generally enjoy infected beers, you should have been around for the days of the River City brewpub after the owner pissed off his last brewer and took over production himself. What an ass clown that guy was.
 
Currently I am drinking a "drouthy neibor IPA" from the TWA Dogs series from Caledonia Brewery and Distillery in Victoria. 60 IBU. 4 hop varieties. A dry, piny, thin taste. Good pairing with my chili.

I LOVE the variety in Victoria and area breweries.
 
nobody important said:
I discovered by actually doing a little research (go figure) that the Collective Arts #2 IPA is also a NE IPA style. So picked up a couple of them today and will try one later. After I don't have to drive.

I've still got the White Peach Ale sitting in the beer fridge waiting to be sampled. I have to be in a particular frame of mind to want fruit beers, but now that you mention the dank old socks, I'm in. :laugh:

I expect the spicy character you get from the Spindrift is from their use of rye malt. Also not one of my favorite malts so maybe another reason I didn't care for it. Didn't get any diacetyl off it, though. Man, if you wanted diacetyl or just generally enjoy infected beers, you should have been around for the days of the River City brewpub after the owner pissed off his last brewer and took over production himself. What an ass clown that guy was.
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yep, had that one last night also! it's got a few different hops than the the side cut north east one that are more typically suited for the new england style (mainly mosaic, but also simcoe and waimea). the other had centennial, columbus and citra i believe? anyway, it wasn't quite as juicy and murky but still had a good amount of flavour with a slightly different offering of tropical fruit notes. probably a tad more bitter with some more malt backbone too. pretty good brew

lol.. sweaty old socks and cat urine are some of my favourite beer flavours :laugh:
 
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