OT: The Beer Thread

[Ben Grimm]

I grew up 75 miles from Milwaukee and I'm old, so I know bad brew. I'll list mine from worst to "best" . Some of them may not exist anymore. Hopefully some of you will post at least 1 bad brew.

1. Icehouse
2. Keystone Premium
3. Michelob Ultra
4. Milwaukee's Best Premium - We call it Milwaukee's Worst.
5. Natural Ice
6. Sleeman Clear
7. Meister Brau

Click to read more...

 

[Row I Goon]

Most “commercial” brew is akin to making love in a canoe…..

 

[Dr Pepper]

Boneshaker.

Hoppiest beer on the ****ing planet. Never again.

 

[RosensRug]

Murphys Irish Stout

 

[GAGLine]

Since Covid began, I've become a beer snob. It's not about individual beers anymore. I've tried so many different ones, it's impossible to keep track. I'm more focused now on beer styles.

IPAs are probably my least favorite overall, though I do enjoy some of the less hoppy ones. I like sours, but I want a little sweetness with the sour. Anything that tastes like prune juice or wine is a definite no for me. I also avoid anything that says it was aged in a bourbon barrel or has a very high alcohol percentage. I don't want beer that tastes like liquor.

Last weekend we went to a new place in Pearl River. I had a Rogue Dead Guy ale and it was delicious. It's a German Maibock style beer, though it's very similar to ambers like Smithwicks and Bass.

 

[Taluss]

First one that pops out to me is Guinness in a can. Its horrible. Like very bad

On draft though, especially in Irelend its incredible. Depending on the bar in NYC they are hit or miss

 

[Boris Zubov]

Since Covid began, I've become a beer snob. It's not about individual beers anymore. I've tried so many different ones, it's impossible to keep track. I'm more focused now on beer styles.

IPAs are probably my least favorite overall, though I do enjoy some of the less hoppy ones. I like sours, but I want a little sweetness with the sour. Anything that tastes like prune juice or wine is a definite no for me. I also avoid anything that says it was aged in a bourbon barrel or has a very high alcohol percentage. I don't want beer that tastes like liquor.

Last weekend we went to a new place in Pearl River. I had a Rogue Dead Guy ale and it was delicious. It's a German Maibock style beer, though it's very similar to ambers like Smithwicks and Bass.

I've been to several Oregon breweries & Rogue is one of my favorites. Deschutes & Crux are also high on my list. I love that Amber style beer which is much more prevalent out west.

Moving back here it's such a culture shock that most people in New England prefer their beer to taste like juice. I do not get the overall beer culture of the north east, but there are several local breweries in Connecticut who buck the trend & brew a lot of traditional style beers as well.

 

[Barnaby]

I won’t say it’s the worst, but love Peroni as a draft. It’s not the same in a bottle. I drink a lot of Jai Alai by Cugar City.

Worst? I would say Natty Light offhand. I’m sure I’ve probably had something worse along the way. I avoid the real sweet stuff like blueberry etc…

I've been to several Oregon breweries & Rogue is one of my favorites. Deschutes & Crux are also high on my list. I love that Amber style beer which is much more prevalent out west.

Moving back here it's such a culture shock that most people in New England prefer their beer to taste like juice. I do not get the overall beer culture of the north east, but there are several local breweries in Connecticut who buck the trend & brew a lot of traditional style beers as well.

Rogue makes some good beer.

Ballast Point in CA is a cool brewery to check out in person. Lots of Breweries on LI, but the only beer I drink frequently is the Montauk wave chaser.

 

[Boris Zubov]

When I was in college back in the late 80s, someone bought a case of Utica Club bottles for about $4 at the distributor. To compare, a case of 24 Bud bottles was about $16 back then. If anyone ever offers you a Utica Club, kindly refuse.

I won’t say it’s the worst, but love Peroni as a draft. It’s not the same in a bottle. I drink a lot of Jai Alai by Cugar City.

Worst? I would say Natty Light offhand. I’m sure I’ve probably had something worse along the way. I avoid the real sweet stuff like blueberry etc…


Rogue makes some good beer.

Ballast Point in CA is a cool brewery to check out in person. Lots of Breweries on LI, but the only beer I drink frequently is the Montauk wave chaser.

Been to Ballast Point & was a bigger fan before they sold out to Constellation. Karl Strauss in So Cal has a similar vibe & is family owned.

 

[LokiDog]

All of the ice beer I drank in college was horrible. Keystone, natty ice, bud ice. I’ve also tried some sours and experimental beers that just didn’t do it for me. Orange creamsicle milkshake IPA? Usually no good. A couple of breweries pull off those types of beers once in a while, but 90% of times they’re just bad. Tart cherry sour aged in merlot barrels? Nope.

I’m a beer snob. My favorites are malty high ABV fall & winter seasonals. English and American “strong ales”. Scotch ales. Winter warmers. ESBs. Some porters. Used to love imperial and barrel aged stouts but have mellowed on them, still enjoy occasionally. I do like barrel aged ales and enjoy tripels and some Belgian strongs. I’ll drink IPAs but they’re my least favorite style besides generally not being a fan of Pilsners and light lagers. Too light. I also like rauchbiers, black ales, rye ales and other random varieties you don’t see as much of.

 

[LokiDog]

I've been to several Oregon breweries & Rogue is one of my favorites. Deschutes & Crux are also high on my list. I love that Amber style beer which is much more prevalent out west.

Moving back here it's such a culture shock that most people in New England prefer their beer to taste like juice. I do not get the overall beer culture of the north east, but there are several local breweries in Connecticut who buck the trend & brew a lot of traditional style beers as well.

This is a new thing and I f***ing hate it. It’s all either juice bomb crazy hazy pine cone explosion citrus IPA or legitimately looks like orange juice and tastes close enough to it.

 

[Boris Zubov]

All of the ice beer I drank in college was horrible. Keystone, natty ice, bud ice. I’ve also tried some sours and experimental beers that just didn’t do it for me. Orange creamsicle milkshake IPA? Usually no good. A couple of breweries pull off those types of beers once in a while, but a lot of times they’re just bad. Tart cherry sour aged in merlot barrels? Nope.

I’m a beer snob. My favorites are malty high ABV fall & winter seasonals. English and American “strong ales”. Scotch ales. Winter warmers. ESBs. Some porters. Used to love imperial and barrel aged stouts but have mellowed on them, still enjoy occasionally. I do like barrel aged ales and enjoy tripels and some Belgian strongs. I’ll drink IPAs but they’re my least favorite style besides generally not being a fan of Pilsners and light lagers. Too light. I also like rauchbiers, black ales, rye ales and other random varieties you don’t see as much of.

Crux from Bend Oregon makes an amazing barrel aged scottish ale if you can get your hands on one.

Some great Winter Seasonals I picked up last week. One was better than the next. I plan to fatten up this winter on all 3.

Two Roads Holiday Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Brooklyn Holiday IPA

 

[FUZfan]

Balashi. Brewed in Aruba.

Tastes like funky cheese

 

[LokiDog]

Crux from Bend Oregon makes an amazing barrel aged scottish ale if you can get your hands on one.

Some great Winter Seasonals I picked up last week. One was better than the next. I plan to fatten up this winter on all 3.

Two Roads Holiday Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Brooklyn Holiday IPA

I’ve had the Two Roads and Breckenrige and will inevitably be drinking them again this season. Haven’t done the Brooklyn but maybe I should give it a shot. IPA usually rank lower for me but I enjoy about 40-50% of them and holiday seasonal may do it for me. Have to keep my eye out for the Crux - that sounds exactly like my kind of brew.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I’ve had the Two Roads and Breckenrige and will inevitably be drinking them again this season. Haven’t done the Brooklyn but maybe I should give it a shot. IPA usually rank lower for me but I enjoy about 40-50% of them and holiday seasonal may do it for me. Have to keep my eye out for the Crux - that sounds exactly like my kind of brew.

It's a malty, balanced IPA. Not very hop forward at all. Reminds me very much of a beer called Cinder Cone from Deschutes Brewing.

 

[GAGLine]

This is a new thing and I f***ing hate it. It’s all either juice bomb crazy hazy pine cone explosion citrus IPA or legitimately looks like orange juice and tastes close enough to it.

Bolero does a lot of that type of stuff. A lot of times when we go to breweries, we'll do flights or smaller glasses so we can get a taste without committing to a full 16 ounces. And even at home, we'll often open a beer and pass it around for everyone to get a taste. There are a lot of beers I've enjoyed enough to drink a few ounces, but couldn't imagine drinking multiple cans of. The really sweet ones tend to be like that.

A very interesting beer, and one I really like, is Paprika ale from Seven Tribesmen in Wayne, NJ. It's an amber, with that spicy paprika flavor at the end. It probably sounds crazy, but it's really good.

My friend and I went to Asheville, NC, last year to check out the breweries. Another friend was supposed to go but got Covid. We're planning to go again this year. Lots of great places down there. Green Man, Twin Leaf, Burial, among others. White Labs has a thing where they make beer pairs, where each beer in the pair is slightly different. I forget exactly what they did, maybe a different hop or something, but otherwise they were the same. It was interesting to taste them side by side and note the subtle differences.

 

[LokiDog]

Bolero does a lot of that type of stuff. A lot of times when we go to breweries, we'll do flights or smaller glasses so we can get a taste without committing to a full 16 ounces. And even at home, we'll often open a beer and pass it around for everyone to get a taste. There are a lot of beers I've enjoyed enough to drink a few ounces, but couldn't imagine drinking multiple cans of. The really sweet ones tend to be like that.

A very interesting beer, and one I really like, is Paprika ale from Seven Tribesmen in Wayne, NJ. It's an amber, with that spicy paprika flavor at the end. It probably sounds crazy, but it's really good.

My friend and I went to Asheville, NC, last year to check out the breweries. Another friend was supposed to go but got Covid. We're planning to go again this year. Lots of great places down there. Green Man, Twin Leaf, Burial, among others. White Labs has a thing where they make beer pairs, where each beer in the pair is slightly different. I forget exactly what they did, maybe a different hop or something, but otherwise they were the same. It was interesting to taste them side by side and note the subtle differences.

My wife and I do the exact same thing at breweries and occasionally at home with some sweeter beers we’ve decided to grab a can of here or there. I’ve been wanting to check out Seven Tribesmen, if I do I’d definitely try the paprika ale.

 

[ElLeetch]

My friend and I went to Asheville, NC, last year to check out the breweries. Another friend was supposed to go but got Covid. We're planning to go again this year. Lots of great places down there. Green Man, Twin Leaf, Burial, among others.

Because of the old weird booze laws down here, you have more breweries than bars (you really dont have the "old man" or "corner bars" here in NC like you do in the northeast).

So you wind up with like 30 breweries in Asheville, 50 in Charlotte, and like 30 Raleigh. 150 or so in the state.

In Asheville (aka, Brooklyn in the Mountains), i prefer Highland (Gaelic Ale is great there), Zebulon (lots of sours and farmhouses), and Wicked Weed (Pernicious), and Wedge (just a cool vibe spot).

 

[GAGLine]

In Asheville (aka, Brooklyn in the Mountains), i prefer Highland (Gaelic Ale is great there), Zebulon (lots of sours and farmhouses), and Wicked Weed (Pernicious), and Wedge (just a cool vibe spot).

We went to Wicked Weed (and Funkatorium) and Wedge. We went to Wedge the first night we were there and then never got back to that area. We want to explore around there more next time, and I'll make sure we hit up Highland. Zebulon might be tough, as it's actually outside Asheville (Weaverville) and has limited hours.

Twin Leaf was my favorite of the ones we tried. Everything I had there I enjoyed.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Bolero does a lot of that type of stuff. A lot of times when we go to breweries, we'll do flights or smaller glasses so we can get a taste without committing to a full 16 ounces. And even at home, we'll often open a beer and pass it around for everyone to get a taste. There are a lot of beers I've enjoyed enough to drink a few ounces, but couldn't imagine drinking multiple cans of. The really sweet ones tend to be like that.

A very interesting beer, and one I really like, is Paprika ale from Seven Tribesmen in Wayne, NJ. It's an amber, with that spicy paprika flavor at the end. It probably sounds crazy, but it's really good.

My friend and I went to Asheville, NC, last year to check out the breweries. Another friend was supposed to go but got Covid. We're planning to go again this year. Lots of great places down there. Green Man, Twin Leaf, Burial, among others. White Labs has a thing where they make beer pairs, where each beer in the pair is slightly different. I forget exactly what they did, maybe a different hop or something, but otherwise they were the same. It was interesting to taste them side by side and note the subtle differences.

If you are in the NJ area try Brix City in Little Ferry and Five Dimes in Westwood. A buddy of mine I used to play hockey with opened Brix City and they've done really well.

They can brew anything but are known for their hazy IPAs, juicy's and use a lot of lactose in milkshakes.
TAPROOM MENU | brixcitybrewing

There are a few of them that are really good but I agree with Loki. Sometimes all of the juice and lactose is just too much for me, personally. I really dont want to drink more than one.

Im more of a straight Belgium and crisp pilsner guy. Straight beer. Five Dimes has a lot of those, but they do have a really nice IPA too.

Five Dimes Brewery

www.fivedimesbrewery.com

So many good breweries in the area. Troeg's is another thats a good visit if you go out towards Hershey. Cool place.

Worst beer? Natty's, Meister Brau. And I really hate a lot of the standard tap beers in most bars. Just nasty

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Amstel light. Every time I tried to drink it I would get immediate heartburn.

 

[GAGLine]

If you are in the NJ area try Brix City in Little Ferry and Five Dimes in Westwood. A buddy of mine I used to play hockey with opened Brix City and they've done really well.

They can brew anything but are known for their hazy IPAs, juicy's and use a lot of lactose in milkshakes. TAPROOM MENU | brixcitybrewing

I've been to Brix City several times. Good place, good beer. I live in Emerson (right next to Westwood) and haven't been to Five Dimes yet. Some of my friends have and they weren't impressed with the beers. I'm seeing their beer in stores now too, so I guess I'll have to try it at some point.

 

[GAGLine]

We went to Wicked Weed (and Funkatorium) and Wedge. We went to Wedge the first night we were there and then never got back to that area. We want to explore around there more next time, and I'll make sure we hit up Highland. Zebulon might be tough, as it's actually outside Asheville (Weaverville) and has limited hours.

Twin Leaf was my favorite of the ones we tried. Everything I had there I enjoyed.

I take it back. We did go to Highland. I forgot the name, but looking at the pictures, we were definitely there. I think we hit up like 18 places in all. It's hard to remember all the names, lol.

 

[aufheben]

f*** heroin, selling Bud Light should be illegal .

Also those random 16oz malt liquor cans you find in bodegas, lol.

 

[Leonardo87]

I stick to only craft beer now, can't drink any of the commercial stuff. I find a lot of local breweries have good stuff.