Sierra Nevada makes the best beers in America, IMO. My favorite is the Celebration Ale, but the Pale Ale keeps me going through the year. The Bigfoot Barleywine is great if you don’t have anywhere to be for about three days.
I think Killian’s and, to a lesser extent, Amber Bock are both very drinkable. They’re usually the “mid-priced” selections around here between the expensive imports/micros and the cheapo Wonder Bread domestics, and they’re what I’ll usually order if I’m out and planning to drink more than a few.
There is very little in the world better than a perfectly poured pint of Guinness. Fortunately, I live just across the street from a pub that produces just such a thing for a mere $3.50. But what do they sell more of than anything? Bud Light. Boggles the mind.
And, at the risk of pissing off a few folks–what’s the freaking big deal with Corona? How, exactly, does it differ from the standard American domestic? (Other than price, that is.) Is it the lime? I mean, they’ll put a lime in a bottle of Old Milwaukee for you if you ask. I guarantee you wouldn’t know the difference. (A friend of mine left about six bottles of Corona Light in my refrigerator about two months ago. In my refrigerator they will stay, too, until I need the room for some actual beer.) Now, Dos Equis Amber, with a lime and plenty of hot salsa and chips–now we’re talking.
Glad to see someone mention Celebration–fantastic stuff. Stunned that nobody mentioned Pilsener Urquell. The best lager by far (never been able to get a hold of the real Budweiser). Guinness, of course, and I’m also a big fan of Wild Goose IPA. Fresh Sam Adams is good, as is their Scotch Ale (and Boston Ale, for that matter).
I guess the better question is what beers are bad beers?
I don’t think the distinction is all that clear. All three of the breweries I mentioned in my earlier post to this thread are American, and they’re all fine breweries. Fritz Maytag, owner of Anchor, is credited with single-handedly revivng craft beer in America. Sierra Nevada has a stunning range of beers, and EVERY ONE of them is top-notch.
And, having travelled in Canada, I can say that not all Canadian beer is the nectar of the Gods, either. Yes, I have had quite a number of excellent pints in a variety of styles, but I’ve also had some pretty miserable swill.
Slythe, sorry if this tips over the edge into Great Debates territory, but a guy gets passionate about his beer. I’d mail you one as an apology if I could figure out how to upload it.
Doh! Just posted in the Bock thread, but to recap:
Lately I’ve fallen in love with hops. Lots of hops. Hops, hops, hops. IPA, ESB or more. There’s something out here on the west coast called Anderson Valley Brewing’s Hop Ottin IPA, which does the trick.
I am also very partial to strange Belgian things-- not so much the lambics as the difficult to describe, estery, coriander-hinted but not technically a witbier beers. The nice people who make the Guillotine and Delerium Tremens (from some suburb of Ghent) have a glorious new one out called Delerium Nocturne that I encountered in San Francisco . Yum yum.
Missbunny and Coldfire-- exactly. You know what I mean. Coldie-- last summer when I was in town I had some brews made by Het Ij Brewery and they were lovely. Why is the town run by Heineken when there are truly brilliant things around? When I’m in Belgium I drink a lot of De Koninck-- it’s not too spendy.
Slythe-- where you live do they sell the magnums of Fred? That’s a goodie for a celebration.
Oh, God. I just realized I could go on and on about beer. . . do I have a problem, do you think?
My favorite beer is from old Latrobe, Rolling Rock, preferably in cans, as for some reason I love really carbonated beer. So if American beer is horsepiss, than this is quarter horse piss, with Budweiser obviously being Clydesdale piss.
Ah, another man of good taste! Did you visit Brouwerij het IJ ? For those not in the know, it is a relatively new brewery (founded in the 60’s or 70’s, I think) that is located in a beautiful old wooden windmill (early 19th or late 18th century) in the old (commercially unused) Amsterdam harbour. Their beers are very nice indeed, and -as I’m sure MK will agree- very tricky as well
The town is run by Heineken because:
a) Heineken has its head office in Amsterdam (and its original brewery, which is more of a museum these days);
b) Heineken is the second largest brewery in the world and can dominate any town if they want to
De Koninck is pretty good, but rather mainstream. There’s an endless variety of obscure Belgian breweries that produce some wonderful beers in any category. As an alternative for De Koninck (“The King”, old spelling), I’d suggest a Houten Kop (“Wooden Head”) or a Bink (“cool guy”, sort of). Most Belgian bars with a more than average beer list will have them.
I forgot about Sierra Nevada. It was one of the first truly great beers I ever tasted. One of the reasons I decided I didn’t actually hate beer, I just did not care for the likes of Old Milwaukee, Piels and Black Label.
I tend to only drink SN on tap, though, since you can easily get a pint for $3, but for some reason the local liquor stores want upwards of $10 a six-pack for SN in bottles.
Slythe,
Of course, I didn’t know you were in Portland (I used to be there, in Eugene now, sigh). We are members of the secret special devotional confraternity of Hair of the Dog.
As you’re a Portlander, two other words: The Horsebrass. Yay.
Coldie-- I’m a girl, but that’s ok. No, I didn’t visit the brewery-- wasn’t sure how to get out there. I will be sure to look for those others on my next stint.
The Horsebrass? Damnstraight! Want to meet up some time for some bangers and shepherd’s pie? I’ve got to go back and replenish my supply of jellybabies, anyway.
If I may be so bold as to get in a word for a local (well, local to me anyway) beer.
Boulevard Brewing of Kansas City, MO makes a Pale Ale that I am very much a fan of. They also do an unfiltered wheat that makes for a very refreshing summertime beverage with a slice of lemon. Lessee…Bob’s '47, Nutcracker, Porter, and I’m told that they’re going to try a weissbier. I’ve also tried most of the others mentioned here, but I’ll still buy a six of Bully Pale over any of them.
Oh, I’m not so much a fan of the IPAs. Too “tart”. But I will second GLWasteful on Boulevard. Great “little” brewery. I think their best is the 10 penny, which is hard to find. They once had it on tap at Boardroom Barbeque. It could be seasonal, but unfortunately I don’t remember the season…<sigh>
I am vindicated! In the new (June) issue of Maxim magazine, Hair Of The Dog’s Fred beer is their “Buzz of the Month”. At 11.5% alcohol, it’s one of the strongest ales out there. Goes down like a velvet twenty-pound sledgehammer!
I have to go with Guinness Stout. It has ruined me for all other beers, except for maybe Blanche De Chamblis, which is a white beer (meaning that has sediment floating around in it due to the fact that it is refermented in the bottle). Very, very good. I am also partial to Warstiener or Tuborg, but first and formost I like my stout. (I’ve always wondered about those bubbles.)
11.5%, eh? And to think I was impressed by 211 (a malt liquor, alas). A shame I haven’t seen Fred’s at the seedy package store where they call me by name.
This is not true. While this IS an excellent white beer, the term “white beer” is a mistranslation from the German word “Weizen”, meaning “wheat”. The mistake is of course that it resembles the word “Weiß”, meaning “White”. It is mistranslated in every single language I know of (“Witbier” in Dutch, “Bière Blanche” in French, etc.), which is a little known fact outside Germany. So basically, it is wheat beer rather than “white” beer. The fact that it referments in the bottle is true for most “white” beers, but it is not a unique characteristic. Also, not only white beers have refermentation in the bottle.
On a side note: the word “wisdom tooth” is a mistranslation of the Dutch term “verstandskies”. Literally, it means “wisdom tooth”, at first glance. However, the term is actually “ver-standskies” (italics meaning emphasis), which would mean “molar positioned far back in the mouth”, or words to that effect. It is mistranslated into every language known to man (the reason being that when the term was first used [16th century], the Dutch were best in the world when it came to dental care), and most Dutch people don’t know the true meaning of the term either, thus mispronouncing it all the time. Wisdom tooth, dent de sagesse… funny when you realise it
Can you tell I love language trivia? Not as much as I love beer though
