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i am drunk in 2009


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QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 09:53 PM)
I'm wishy washy on avery. i'm glad I tried it, wouldn't visit it, and likely wouldn't order it.

 

I'm becoming really interested in the triple ferm. beers. I first had them in belgium, and they were very bitter. But rogue put out some triple beers that were delicious. At first I found them to be a novelty but now I think it adds to the beer.

 

I'm assuming you mean abbey tripel style beers and not actually a 3x fermentation process. Probably some of the fruit and blended lambics would be the only Belgian beers with 3 different fermentations.

 

As for tripels and similar brews like Chimay White. . . I love them. I wouldn't call them bitter, and in fact i don't think there is a Belgian beer out there that's truly bitter from a hopping standpoint. Some earthiness from the particular yeast strains being used, maybe, if not hop bitterness?

 

Avery is still only a couple of years in the market here, and we don't get the whole line. I think the White Rascal is about as good a witbier as any American micro makes except Alagash. But I have been left wanting by some of their lineup.

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Yes, trippel is actually what I'm thinking.

 

There are most certainly bitter Belgium beers. Not Belgium style beers, but they make like 400 different beers over there. I must've tried about 25 in several days, not full pints, mind you. I had an 16.5% abv beer, it was nasty. Then I had a 14% abv that was truly fantastic. They say it's fermented three times, with the third happening in your brain. I would try Chimay if I ever strike it rich in science, like you, sir.

 

I wish I had the names of all the beers I tried in Belgium.

 

Perhaps my diction was off saying fermented three times as it was explained to me by a Belgian whose third language was english. though, I assumed beer language was universal. I meant to say the high ABV beers. Rogue put out a line, Dead Guy was at 8%, about what a trippel style beer is.

 

Belgian whites are about the most divine thing you can imagine with their french fries. When they told me that for lunch they'd get two pints and french fries i was amazed at how skinny they were. Thick cuts too. I'm hungry.

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I envy you having actually made the pilgrimage to the Disneyland of Beers!! It's very high up on my Life's To-Do List.

 

All in all, hop bitterness is really not a huge part of the flavor profile of any of the major Belgian styles I can think of. heck, for the lambics, they intentionally use stale, oxidized hops so as to impart the preservative qualities without imparting bitterness. To be sure, the beers are balanced, but the overall impression of the various styles ranges from sweet to sour to estery to earthy, lactic, horse sweat (!), phenolic, etc., but not a lot of alpha bitterness. Probably the only Belgian beer I can regularly get that has noble hop bittering as a key part of the flavor profile is that accursed Stella Artois. Not a terrible beer in and of itself, but why a Belgian brewer has to bother with a pilsner I don't understand (AB sale to InBev notwithstanding).

 

Now, there is a Belgian style called hommelbier that is Flemish for hop beer, and I wish I could get it regularly here. It's hoppier than most Belgian styles, but clocks in at only around 40 IBUs of bitterness and at 7.5% abv it doesn't come off as particularly hoppy. Then again, I have an American hophead perspective where the intense 120 IBUs of some of the double IPAs is considered happily hopped.

 

Back to the triple fermentation thing. . . like I said, traditional gueze lambic blends will be triple fermented - once in the primary fermentation vessels, then secondly in lambic's equivalent of krausening, where young and old lambics are blended, and finally in the bottle. Fruit lambics are essentially the same, but it is the addition of fruit that kick-starts the second fermentation.

 

Now, there may be some belgian Beers that are double- and triple-decocted, but that is on the brewing side of things and not the fermentation side. Decoction is removing a portion of mash from the mash tun, boiling it, and then returning it to the main mash to effect the temperature increase to convert malt starch to fermentable sugars. Several Belgian golden ales use a simple single decoction, and it gives the beer a bit more depth and maltiness. Double- and triple decoction is more common to Czech pils and Bavarian festbiers, and I don't know how widely the strategies are employed in Belgium. Anyway, maybe this is the triple whatsiz the barmaid was referring to?

 

 

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I'll go ahead and say yes. This is all fascinating. A reason to return, for sure. I remember now I got Leffe Blanche with the french fries. To which when I returned I had, from our fairly well stocked arena liquors, but its taste was certainly off. I had my snifter all ready - for disappointment.

 

Back to Breckenridge. They had this great special at the brewery where they had a Keg for free until it ran out. I got two pints out of that and then 2 more for $5 total. It was a wonderful night. The altitude makes 4 pints feel like 10.

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QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 11:08 PM)
Jim, What's the best IPA you've found?

 

Tough call, and it depends on if you are talking British, authentic American interpretation, or over-the-top American hophead interpretation. I'm going to assume we're talking over-the-top American.

 

I'm still honeymooning with the Stone IPAs, like I said. The oak aged versions hadd a nice twist. But my recent favorite monsetr IPA is Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. massive 120 IBUs of bittering, kept in check my a big malt flavor and an 18% abv whallop, but still a remarkably balanced and very drinkable high-octane beer.

 

For more daily session drinking, the aforementioned Dead Guy and Sierra Pale are longtime favorites, as are Anchor Liberty and Harpoon, which doesn't seem to travel well sometimes but is very nice if you get a bottle that hasn't been manhandled.

 

I miss Bert Grant's IPA quite a bit. That was a very good one.

 

How about you? What IPAs are currently curling your toes?

 

Didn't mean to hijack the drunk thread, btw, and I know I'm going to get chewed out for it by the drunks. :lolhitting

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"I'm still honeymooning with the Stone IPAs, like I said. The oak aged versions hadd a nice twist. But my recent favorite monsetr IPA is Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. massive 120 IBUs of bittering, kept in check my a big malt flavor and an 18% abv whallop, but still a remarkably balanced and very drinkable high-octane beer."

 

WTF. I think I know the bottle, I had noooo idea.

 

Yeah, not much. I like two-hearted ale by Bells and shlafly's imported IPA. Another good Shlafly is their scotch ale.

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imho, Dogfish Head should stick with their wonderful hoppy ales. I've been intrigued by things like Midas Touch and Raison D'Extra/Raison D'Etre, Immort Ale, and the various fruit things they've put out, but I think this brewery is at its best when it keeps things simple.

 

The 120 Minute is not a year-round beer like the 60 and the 90, so if you stumble across it be sure to grab it up. The 12 ounce bottles come in 4-packs, and you pay a pretty penny, but it's an outstanding beer that you will long for once it's gone (if you're into high alpha/high-octane).

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i f***ing always forget about this thread but not now mother f***ers i f***ing remembered and i f***ing am drunk and posting in this f***ing thread i wish i remembered it more often cuz it would be fun as f*** then f***ing s*** i love vodka f

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QUOTE (WHarris1 @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 04:56 AM)
i f***ing always forget about this thread but not now mother f***ers i f***ing remembered and i f***ing am drunk and posting in this f***ing thread i wish i remembered it more often cuz it would be fun as f*** then f***ing s*** i love vodka f

 

go fick yourself

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QUOTE (SnB @ Apr 3, 2009 -> 08:47 PM)
you're going to champaign? thought you didn't get in?

 

i graduated in may.

nah i got in on the second round of admissions or whatever, damn that sucks that would have been sweet as hell to meet up...i love it here so much

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QUOTE (WHarris1 @ Apr 3, 2009 -> 07:50 PM)
nah i got in on the second round of admissions or whatever, damn that sucks that would have been sweet as hell to meet up...i love it here so much

thatta boy.

 

i'll let you know next time i visit, should be soon.

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