# Let's talk Beer! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [August 10, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457 "2008-08-10T01:02:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/21 "2008-08-10T04:29:02Z")
Greatest beer in the universe? Either Three Floyd’s Alpha King or Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale. Unless I’m in a lighter, American wheat sort of mood (a style I used to hate). Then it’s either Three Floyd’s Gumballhead or Bell’s Oberon. Although I could probably stick Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA somewhere in there. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a good, clean American ale. Not my favorite (although their Celebration and Harvest ales are superlative, at the top of my charts), but its popularity gives me a chance of finding a beer I truly enjoy in most average bars. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/22 "2008-08-10T10:37:35Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I scoff at your local brews and brewpubs. Yes, I said scoff! I happen to live in the state with the greatest amount of micro-breweries and brewpubs per capita. Hell, I have three brewpubs/taprooms within walking distance of my apartment, and several more in less than an hour’s drive. And then there’s also the microbreweries. Within Burlington I have Switchback and Magic Hat, and the rest of the state has Otter Creek, Harpoon, Long Trail, Rock Art, Trout River, and several others, some of which are spin-offs are the aforementioned ones (like Wolaver’s and Woodchuck Cider.) Come up here and have a Switchback (because it’s the awesomest beer since awesome came to awesome-town.) I’d send you a bottle…but it’s not bottled. The brewmaster/owner is so concerned about quality over quantity/money, that he only makes kegs. [/QUOTE] ``` Catamount was at one time a favourite and readily obtainable down here in the flatlands then POOF they were gone. I understand Harpoon purchased the marque. Any comments on their ability to duplicate, and do they make the entire line? ``` ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/23 "2008-08-10T11:04:09Z")
[QUOTE=racer72] I conducted a Beer Madness contest in this forum a few months ago, Yuengling did very well fininshing in the top 4. I received a 6 pack of Pennsylvania’s best from a fellow doper a few weeks after the contest ended, I enjoyed it very much. [/QUOTE] I’m a fan of Vitamin Y, have toured the brewery a couple times and kept Lord Chesterfield Ale (really a lager) as house beer until they stopped putting it in half barrels. But I wouldn’t call it Pa.'s best. All their beers use corn and the taste bothers me after a few, excepting the Chesterfield which has a unique hop charge that masks it. One thing I admire about Yingles is their refusal to get into the Wheat Raspberry infested cookie mocha Russian chocolate hop Overload crap that most of the brewpubs and micros make. Coal miners made their name and they stayed true to down-to-earth products. Good beer isn’t hard to find, but Yards ale out of Philly I would put up against the much loved Sierra Nevada anytime. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/24 "2008-08-10T19:02:47Z")
[QUOTE=Carson O’Genic] Catamount was at one time a favourite and readily obtainable down here in the flatlands then POOF they were gone. I understand Harpoon purchased the marque. Any comments on their ability to duplicate, and do they make the entire line? [/QUOTE] I have no clue. I never really drank Catamount before, and I rarely saw it even then, and I don’t think I’ve seen it at all since it went under and Harpoon bought the name. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/25 "2008-08-10T19:08:20Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] Interesting, I have no idea where the brewery is and would likely not have heard of it if it hadn’t been for **racer72** ’s beer madness thread a while back. I’m traveling to Conn, NJ, NY soon, any one spot you’d recommend as being better than the others to give Yuengling a taste test? [/QUOTE] Yuengling is brewed in Pottsville, PA. So I’m not sure what to tell you. I have had it be good in NY, but I’ve had it not-so-good as well. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/26 "2008-08-10T19:21:57Z")
Actually, Anchor’s best beer is Liberty Ale. Love the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale as well. Might go buy a 6 today. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/27 "2008-08-10T19:39:06Z")
Magic Hat and Pyramid are merging, which is good news for everybody. No plans to change any brews, but now each coast will have access to some nice stuff that didn’t used to get that far. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/28 "2008-08-10T21:16:03Z")
I’m pretty much a fan of anything Bell’s ever made, but I LURVE Oberon and their Winter White. [http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/brands.html](http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/brands.html) I also dig Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale. Both of these are tough to find outside of the Midwest, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Key_Lime_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/29 "2008-08-10T21:22:53Z")
Abbey from New Belgium (brewers of Fat Tire) is a helluva good beer. ---
**Author:** ![unstrung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a698b9/32.png) [@unstrung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unstrung)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/30 "2008-08-10T21:42:36Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] I’ve read about _Yuengling_ on this site but can’t seem to find it around here [/QUOTE] When I lived in Boston, I found it extremely frustrating that one could not ever find Yuengling there. Now I’m in Florida, and it can be found at every single place that sells beer. I always thought of it as a Philadelphia beer, but someone listed the actual location of the brewery above (though I think Pottsville isn’t that far from Philly?). Anyway, my absolute favorite beers are often available only at the place they are brewed. For example, I’ve really been digging the stout that Tampa Brewing Company makes, but (AFAIK) you can only buy it at their place, not in any stores anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/31 "2008-08-10T22:23:40Z")
Spaten Optimator has recently captured my heart. I had it for the first time at the German pavilion at Epcot in Disney World, and it was incredible. A liter for $10 seemed a little pricey at first, but as soon as I tried it I knew I would have paid twice that. Tasty, tasty stuff. You do yourself a disservice if you drink it from the bottle – into a frosty stein, that’s the only way. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/32 "2008-08-11T01:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=unstrung] When I lived in Boston, I found it extremely frustrating that one could not ever find Yuengling there. Now I’m in Florida, and it can be found at every single place that sells beer. I always thought of it as a Philadelphia beer, but someone listed the actual location of the brewery above (though I think Pottsville isn’t that far from Philly?). Anyway, my absolute favorite beers are often available only at the place they are brewed. For example, I’ve really been digging the stout that Tampa Brewing Company makes, but (AFAIK) you can only buy it at their place, not in any stores anywhere. [/QUOTE] Yuengling bought the Stroh’s brewery in Tampa some years back to meet sales and increase visibility. I think they offer tours like the Pottsville plant but Tampa probably doesn’t have the lagering caves underneath. Pottsville is closer to Reading or Allentown than Philly. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/33 "2008-08-11T01:30:21Z")
Who’s had the revived Schlitz? Anybody who remembers the old beer, back when it was actually _good_? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/34 "2008-08-11T01:32:00Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] You rang? Of course, as a Californian, I am morally obligated to state, without question, that [Sierra Nevada Pale](http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/paleale.html) is the single greatest beer in the Universe. I’d say that anyway, but I think it’s in the California Constitution somewhere. [/QUOTE] **silenus** , **silenus** , **silenus** ; Sierra Nevada Pale is very good (and readily available) but in the area of pale ales it is beat out by [Stone Ruination IPA](http://www.stonebrew.com/ruin/) and [Samuel Smith’s India Ale](http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5_breweries/samsmith_india_ale.html) (what the latter lacks in the outrageous hops of the former it makes up in carmel goodness). Sierra Nevada is very good and readily available at most California venues, but I wouldn’t go placing it on the highest pedestal. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/35 "2008-08-11T01:40:28Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] Yuengling is brewed in Pottsville, PA. [/QUOTE] Awesome! my wife has family in Lancaster, she can go visit her family and I can go drink beer :we need a smiley to indicate hoisting a frothy mug of beer: ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/36 "2008-08-11T01:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] One of my all-times faves is [Innis & Gunn](http://www.innisandgunn.com/) a very smooth Scottish beer, very little aftertaste. It’s oak-aged and you can taste a bit of vanilla in it. [/QUOTE] I don´t get the little after taste bit here. I take an occasional pilgrimage to Edmonton to sample some Innis and Gunn and one of the things about that beer is that it does not require a whisky chaser, that flavour comes built in. Awesome beer, best not over over indulged in though. I would like to add a mention for some Fullers London Pride and would like a quite word in micro brewers ears. IPAs can, but don´t exclusivly have to, wrench ones tonge out and scrub it down with raw hops. Could you just make one that is not designed as a challange to drink. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/37 "2008-08-11T01:59:21Z")
**Stranger, Stranger, Stranger** …it’s so rare for you to be so wrong. **Ruination** is quite good. Superb, even. But for pure Cascady wonderfulness, you can’t be **SNPA**. I actually _prefer_ Stone’s less-hoppy brews. Their **Pale Ale** and regular **IPA** are stunning in their complexity, and don’t kill your palate for anything else that evening. I love my hop-monsters, believe me. But they don’t compare to the One Pure Quill that is **Sierra Nevada.** ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/38 "2008-08-11T02:19:45Z")
[QUOTE=NaturalBlondChap] I don´t get the little after taste bit here. I take an occasional pilgrimage to Edmonton to sample some Innis and Gunn and one of the things about that beer is that it does not require a whisky chaser, that flavour comes built in. Awesome beer, best not over over indulged in though. I would like to add a mention for some Fullers London Pride and would like a quite word in micro brewers ears. IPAs can, but don´t exclusivly have to, wrench ones tonge out and scrub it down with raw hops. Could you just make one that is not designed as a challange to drink. [/QUOTE] I just meant that it doesn’t have the same bitter aftertaste a lot of other robust beers have, I think the proper beer-tasting term is finish, IIRC. It has a smooth, oaky finish to me. I like your point about the IPAs, I was at a beer festival a few months ago and marveled at some of the people drinking these strong IPAs early on and then complaining about the ‘lack of taste’ in other beers later. I waited until near the end to taste most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/39 "2008-08-11T05:43:55Z")
Bud Ice is only $1.30 a quart, down ‘t’ gas station. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457/40 "2008-08-11T06:25:09Z")
[QUOTE=Soul] Spaten Optimator has recently captured my heart. I had it for the first time at the German pavilion at Epcot in Disney World, and it was incredible. A liter for $10 seemed a little pricey at first, but as soon as I tried it I knew I would have paid twice that. Tasty, tasty stuff. You do yourself a disservice if you drink it from the bottle – into a frosty stein, that’s the only way. [/QUOTE] This is probably my favorite beer, and I was pleased when my last trip to BevMo resulted in a Spaten maßkrug (yes, I can drink that much Optimator, when inclined) I’m a bit shocked you’re paying that much for a liter though - I get pint bottles for a little under $2. One of the first breweries to really get in on the US microbrew scene, Carver Brewing Co. in Durango, CO, produces a fantastic stout (I think it was the stout. I lost my book of [del]drunken scribblings[/del] tasting notes a few months ago). Truly fantastic. But you have to be in the area to get it, unfortunately. I am even now wistfully gazing at my pint glass from Carver’s. ETA: I just recently got around to trying Aventinus weizenbock. My, that’s yummy beer, but at more than $4/pint I back away a bit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-beer/459457.md?page=3)