Oh my… something tells me even if I drink it and find it good (because of the sweetness), it’ll have me out in no time. One Negra Modelo (or Maltzbier, or Guinness, or two Xingus) is all I need to be tipsy.
Which is why I don’t drink that much. But I do like those that taste good. 
Oh yeah, Samichlaus done gone make yew feel goooooooood. I couldn’t stand the sweetness but I was feeling very little pain after that bottle.
I was in New Orleans last weekend and put away a few TurboDogs. Not bad at all.
You just blew your credibility, my friend. Are you aware of how many different beers Sam Adams makes? Their winterfest is a great spiced variety. Their Oktoberfest is a good example of the style. Old Fezziwig is one of the best barleywines around. They make excellent Scotch ale, honey porter, cream stout.
On par with Henry Weinhard’s? You have no idea what you’re talking about.
I have to agree with you. Their taddy porter, oatmeal stout, and nut brown ale are always reliably excellent.
Not to get repetitive, but color does not imply strength. Guinness has less alcohol than Bud Lite. Negra Modelo is about the same ABV as Corona. On the other hand, there are some nice light-colored IPAs with alcohol contents of 8% and higher.
…and sometimes, over 20% ABV.
I know that. But all of them have lower ABV’s than Samichlauss. We’re talking about dark beers here, and I wanted to make clear that drinking any type of alcoholic beverage made me tipsy easily.
I don’t like dark beers because of their strength, I like them because of their taste. They tend to be sweeter and be more flavorful for me.
With Samichlauss, judging by the percent, I’ll probably be out after 4 oz.
Nut brown ales are hard to find, and nothing for me has come close to a pint I had once at a local brewpub (it nearly brought tears to my eyes, tasted like fresh-roasted pecans smell, absolutely amazing). The Sam Smith nut brown is the best I can get on a regular basis.
In fact, on the rare occasions I make hamburgers at home, a splash of their Nut Brown is the only adulteration besides salt & pepper that I add to the meat. I think it adds a nice deep flavor to the burger, and then I have a lovely big bottle of beer to polish off.
Holy malt schedule, Batman! An IPA with 21% ABV? What the heck kind of yeast(s) do they use for that? Even the champagne yeasts used in most barleywines won’t take it that far!
I like using a couple of bottles in a batch of chili. It adds a marvelous flavor. Adding water to chili is such a waste!
May I present the greatest beer in the world!!!
(Seriously, it is my favorite…)
Westmalle Dubbel
It is a Belgian Trappist beer that you can find at higher-end beer import shops. They don’t sell it on tap anywhere in the world (except I think at the monastery) so you have to get it in bottles. Like drinking sweet, nutty nectar of the gods… it is brewed by monks, so maybe they have a direct line to the big man, or something.
It is nothing like the Bridgeport Black Strap Stout you mentioned in the OP, but it is a really good dark beer, so I figured I’d throw it out there since you are starting to explore the dark side.
More info:
Wikipedia
RateBeer.com
You’ve got your facts a little confused here.
Guinness Original, also sold as Guinness Extra Stout, has different alcohol contents in different distributorships. In the US, Guinness Extra Stout and Coors original both have 5.0% ABV. In Europe, that brand is ~4.2%
What most of us call Guinness, however, is Guinness Draught, which is what you buy in a bar, or in a can or bottle with a “Widget” (the extra stout is bottled with carbon dioxide only, no widget, and I’ve never seen it on tap). That stuff is also ~4.2% ABV. According to guinness.com, Draught Guinness should be served at 6°C (42.8°F).
I don’t know where the OP is, but Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing one of a few stouts I’ve ever liked (good for me, but possibly renders my opinion useless).
Bullshit, unless you’re using a really, really, really big notchmaking machine. They’re not my favorite but that’s just a needless insult.
Found it at my nice neighborhood store. They knew it by name and pointed it out to me. Told them someone had recommended it to me.
Treat for tonight. 
If you’re looking for a good dark lager, I’d recommend Kostritzer Schwarzbier.
Also, one of my new favorites is The Kidd, a schwarzbier by the Fort Collins Brewery. Love it. Nice and balanced with a good smokiness. Yes, sirree.
According to the Systembolaget website, Guinness Draught is 4.2% ABV while Guinness Extra Stout is 5.0%. I won’t vouch for other countries in Europe and/or the EU, but as far as Sweden is concerned your assertion doesn’t seem to be true.
Let me know how that went for you!
Maltzbier is actually sweeter… and it’s lower in alcohol, so you don’t get the kick of alcohol until the aftertaste. This one is definitely strong, I have to sip it.
But I do like it… I just have to sip it veery slowly. I may end up having to save some for tomorrow.
Funny you should mention dark beers. We hosted a tasting for some friends as part of a birthday celebration today (Both my wife and I turn 60 in April, so had a “120th birthday” party today.
Among the beers we tasted today:
Deschutes The Abyss Russian Imperial Stout Oregon ABV 11.0%
Supreme Champion, 2007 International Beer Challenge, Third highest-rated beer in the world on Beer Advocate (#1 and #2 are Trappist Westvleteren 12 Quadrupel (Quad) / 10.20% ABV
Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren) and Pliny The Younger. American Double / Imperial IPA / 11.00% ABV, Russian River Brewing Company)
I’ve had this before and it is simply amazing. Only something like 400 barrels made per year. Check the Beer Advocate site for details
Deschutes Black Butte Porter American Porter Oregon ABV 5.5%
Rogue Mocha Porter American Porter Oregon ABV 5.3%
Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar American Brown Ale Oregon ABV 6.2%
Dieu de Ciel Peche Mortel Imperial Coffee Stout Canada ABV 9.5%
Peche Mortel translates as “mortal sin” intense espresso flavor, 14th highest rated beer in the world on Beer Advocate
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock Germany ABV 6.7%
“The mother of all doppelbocks”
Sinebrychoff Porter Baltic Porter Finland ABV 7.2%
“A most excellent brew, god like qualities. Hard to find and few like this are made in the Baltic Porter Style. A ‘treat yourself’ brew”
Castle Eggenberg Samichlaus Doppelbock Austria ABV 14.0%
This brew is made only once a year on Dec 6 (Saint Nicholas’s Day), and aged 10 months before bottling. One of world’s rarest. It’s sweet, but with a killer kick/
I don’t know if Beer Lao, from Laos, is available in the OP’s market, but it’s popular in Thailand, and they’ve come out with a dark version that I’ve heard is also good. I’ve not tried the dark myself, but the regular is very good. (That’s Beer Lao, not to be confused with crappy Leo beer from Thailand.) I believe the regular Beer Lao is in some US markets.
That may have been my problem when I had one… I didn’t sip it. I should have known better, since I do the same with their Urbock 23. But I’m glad you liked it!
You might find this thread from a year or so back worth a peak. I was asking nearly the same questions you were, so there’s a lot of overlap, but there’s some stuff that’s new too.
Since that thread, I’ve picked up a couple other beers I like, so I’ll throw them out here. I’m not an expert, even remotely, but a recommendation is a recommendation, no?
Sometime last year, my favorite shop recommended to me Arcadia Ales’ Cocoa Loco. It rapidly became my new favorite. When I had to spend a couple of months in New Mexico, I was very disappointed to be unable to get it there. Getting back to Chicago, my favorite shop was in the process of discontinuing it. I found it at a different store, and now end up doing most of my beer & liquor purchasing there, because I can get this beer there. I don’t like the place nearly as much as the old place, and still do all of my wine purchasing there, but I like this beer well enough to go a bit out of my way, to a less “good” place to get it. All of that said, I suspect this review is about right, and that it’s a solid “B” beer. Every now and again, it hits me just wrong, which is a disappointment, and it seems to have a sort of narrow temperature range for tastiness. (Though not as narrow as my previous favorite, linked in the OP of the other thread, the Brooklyn Brewery Double Chocolate Stout.)
Last semester, one of my lab mates introduced me to Bell’s Double Cream Stout, and I really enjoyed it (and it was warm, even!). In the previous thread it’d been recommended, but I was told we couldn’t get it here in Chicago. I guess that changed while I was in New Mexico. I haven’t had it again, so that may have been a fluke, but I doubt it.
Omniscient recommended the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, and I’ll back up that recommendation, but with a story/caveat (because it makes me giggle). My roommate formerly loved it, and bought a four pack, but after her first couple sips she offered me the bottle. She’s not sure she likes it anymore. I really enjoyed it out of the bottle, but it was too much for me in a wide-mouthed glass (the smell/taste were overwhelming) as they recommend it be served. I gave a bottle to my boyfriend when he came out to visit. His response upon a few sips was, “I don’t think I’m manly enough for that beer.” He is manly enough, but it’s really intense.
Finally, lieu’s recommendation of Chimay is something you should check out too, but don’t be surprised if you’re not a fan. I didn’t like the beige labeled at all, the red was okay, and the blue labeled was decently good. I don’t know what makes a beer “dark” or not, so if you’d asked me, I wouldn’t have called any of them a dark beer, but maybe they are. However, I would bypass all of their beers in favor of their CHEESE. It’s incredibly good. I think I’ve only had the “Grand Classic”, but it was awesome.
Anyway, I hope some of these recommendations help you (one way or another), and I hope you enjoy figuring it all out as much as I have!
According to realbeer.com, Guinness Draught is 4.0%ABV and 125 calories, while Coors Original is 5.0%ABV and 148 calories.
Beer100 pegs Coors at 4.91%/149, but doesn’t list Guinness. Wiki Answers gives Guinness as 4.2%.