G&T Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 03:42 PM) Legends here at U of I is dangerous on Tuesday nights, $2 all drafts. Some I have had: Woodchuck Cider (delicious) 312 (my favorite beer on campus) Magic Hat Guiness Blue Moon I guzzle down 312 and Woodchuck. I don't care for Woodchuck, but 312 is pretty good. I happen to like Magic Hat (I'm assuming that's #9), which has grown on me since moving here where it's sorta local (Vermont). For $2, that's pretty damn good. I miss college deals. BTW, I don't get the Guiness love. I understand the history, but it just doesn't taste that good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 04:33 PM) BTW, I don't get the Guiness love. I understand the history, but it just doesn't taste that good. BLASPHEMY!! If I had to, I could drink nothing but Guinness for the rest of my life and be pretty happy. Try the Woodchuck Pear Cider if you run across it. I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigruss Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 03:33 PM) I don't care for Woodchuck, but 312 is pretty good. I happen to like Magic Hat (I'm assuming that's #9), which has grown on me since moving here where it's sorta local (Vermont). For $2, that's pretty damn good. I miss college deals. BTW, I don't get the Guiness love. I understand the history, but it just doesn't taste that good. Im telling you, its deadly to have those drinks at those prices, where I actually enjoy drinking the beer and not doing so for other reasons. Guiness definitely has a taste that is very distinct, and many people either love it or hate it. Personally, I was shocked when I first had it, but its starting to grow on me. I dont think I would choose it to be the last beer I would ever drink but its a very good beer to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 04:37 PM) BLASPHEMY!! If I had to, I could drink nothing but Guinness for the rest of my life and be pretty happy. Try the Woodchuck Pear Cider if you run across it. I'm pretty sure you'll like it. I think my hate of Guiness revolves the believe that "it's like motor oil" or "it's too filling" or "it's too strong (alcoholic)". So it's people I guess. I know that makes me a jackass and a beer snob, but that's one that bothers me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 04:42 PM) Im telling you, its deadly to have those drinks at those prices, where I actually enjoy drinking the beer and not doing so for other reasons. Guiness definitely has a taste that is very distinct, and many people either love it or hate it. Personally, I was shocked when I first had it, but its starting to grow on me. I dont think I would choose it to be the last beer I would ever drink but its a very good beer to me. I just find Guiness watery and boring. Of course, to me if you make a stout, throw some coffee or oatmeal or lactose in there and I'll be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 04:45 PM) I think my hate of Guiness revolves the believe that "it's like motor oil" or "it's too filling" or "it's too strong (alcoholic)". So it's people I guess. I know that makes me a jackass and a beer snob, but that's one that bothers me. Beer snob for disliking Guinness? Hardly. Jackass? For sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 04:54 PM) Beer snob for disliking Guinness? Hardly. Jackass? For sure. Oh believe me, no green is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 i really dislike cider ales. Too sweet for me. Again, bored with the beer here. Chopp every night. Get by on Xingu. but then again the women are beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Try the Woodchuck Granny Smith cider, that is far from too sweet. Their Dark and Dry also has an attenuated sweetness and quite a bit of character. Magner's is not particularly sweet either, compared to others. Crisp, light, refreshing, but by no means cloying. Back to beer. . . I picked up about a half-dozen interesting new beers this evening. First and foremost among them is the Sierra Estate Harvest which I'll probably split with the Mrs. tomorrow. Also got Summit's festbier, Wolaver's organic Pumpkin ale, and Stone Epic Vertical Belgian-style stout (which I just had on draft earlier this week and enjoyed). Right now I'm sipping my first beer from a relatively new Scottish brewery called Brew Dog, — Punk IPA Postmodern Classic Pale Ale. Liking it so far, and I think I'm even tasting some simcoe in the hop profile. Very American for a UK brewer, but based on the name that's obviously the point. I'll contemplate this one a little more and then give as rundown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 For the longest time I thought Vertical Epics were IPA's, which I don't care for. Turns out they are Belgians, which I love. That's a lot of beers that I didn't try and are now retired. Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 09:44 PM) For the longest time I thought Vertical Epics were IPA's, which I don't care for. Turns out they are Belgians, which I love. That's a lot of beers that I didn't try and are now retired. Damn. I meant Vertical Epic, not Epic Vertical. And this is the 09/09/09, so far from retired, this one just hit the streets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Well, the intriguing flavor hops I was tasting in the Punk IPA were not simcoes after all, but it was bugging me because I knew it was a similar tasting hop variety I had just tasted in something else recently. It has New Zealand hops in it so I thought it might be the same hops I was tasting in the Sierra Southern Hemisphere Harvest, but they turned out to be a different variety (or at least a different name). Then I finally went to the Brew Dog website and I see that there are chinook hops in the mix and that's what I'm tasting. Chinooks are a textbook "high alpha" hop that has been popular for several years that usually is used as a bittering hop because of its high bittering potential (more bitterness per bushel basically). But when it is used as a late addition hop, it really adds some intriguing notes to hoppy pale ales, and I think that's the predominant hop flavor I got out of this one. I'm entirely unfamiliar with teh other two hop varieties (Ahtanum, Nelson Sauvin), but they all play nice in this beer which is a noce moderately hopped, moderate strength (6%) modern pale ale. The exclusive of Maris Otter pale malt is about the only thing that is solidly UK about this one and it has an excellent light malt flavor. The complete lack of any caramel malt leaves this beer notably paler than typical red-hued British ales that often also use Maris Otter as the bulk of the grain bill. I think this could have benefited from a bit of caramel or crystal malt, but maybe that's just me wanting this UK ale to taste a little more like a UK ale. Taken on it's own as a modern interpretation of a classic style, it's well made and drinkable. I'll certainly try the other offerings from this newly available brewery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Is there a better meal to drink with than breakfast? The answer is "no." Unfortunately society frowns on morning drinking which is why we have brunch. I made some rich, delicious french toast and matched with a Victory Moonglow. Awesome. I also recommend Eggs Benedict and a some banana matched with Hennepin or Hoegaarden or some other Belgian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Found another great beer that sits high on my list. Sprecher Black Bavarian. Absolutely delicious and easy to drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Sprecher's stuff is usually quality, i wish I got it down here. Saturday the wife and I split the highly-anticipated Sierra Estate Harvest Ale. It was very good, solidly west coast, very drinkable, but it wasn't life-changing. Fresh hop flavor and hop bitterness was front-and-center as expected, but surprisingly light on hop aroma. This being a beer to showcase fresh-from-the-vine hops (basically unheard of as hoops are usually dried before use), I expected sackloads of late-addition hops and a hop nose to knowck me off my feet. It wasn't there. As I said, a very good beer, and happy I had a chance to try it, but I was ready for a religious experience and it didn't happen. On the plus side, my beer merchant is blowing out the 24 oz bottles of the Sierra Southern Hemisphere Harverst Ale for $2.99 a bottle! Time to stock up on that one while there's some to be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Oct 26, 2009 -> 11:00 AM) Sprecher's stuff is usually quality, i wish I got it down here. Saturday the wife and I split the highly-anticipated Sierra Estate Harvest Ale. It was very good, solidly west coast, very drinkable, but it wasn't life-changing. Fresh hop flavor and hop bitterness was front-and-center as expected, but surprisingly light on hop aroma. This being a beer to showcase fresh-from-the-vine hops (basically unheard of as hoops are usually dried before use), I expected sackloads of late-addition hops and a hop nose to knowck me off my feet. It wasn't there. As I said, a very good beer, and happy I had a chance to try it, but I was ready for a religious experience and it didn't happen. On the plus side, my beer merchant is blowing out the 24 oz bottles of the Sierra Southern Hemisphere Harverst Ale for $2.99 a bottle! Time to stock up on that one while there's some to be had. Are those beers from Sierra Nevada? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 QUOTE (hogan873 @ Oct 26, 2009 -> 01:02 PM) Are those beers from Sierra Nevada? yep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 You're lucky to have a beer store that will actually put bottles on sale. I unfortunately have a store that will sit on beers forever and never reduce the price. Why that is, I'll never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 10:27 AM) You're lucky to have a beer store that will actually put bottles on sale. I unfortunately have a store that will sit on beers forever and never reduce the price. Why that is, I'll never know. Waste of good beer, and the store shoots itself in the foot that way. We've talked about it before, but I actively avoid shops that have consistently sold me beer that has been past it's prime or otherwise manhandled somewhere along the line. My current shop, on the other hand, is obsessive about stock rotation so you know what's sitting on the shelves will be worth drinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 10:32 AM) Waste of good beer, and the store shoots itself in the foot that way. We've talked about it before, but I actively avoid shops that have consistently sold me beer that has been past it's prime or otherwise manhandled somewhere along the line. My current shop, on the other hand, is obsessive about stock rotation so you know what's sitting on the shelves will be worth drinking. It's easier to get away with in a small market where there are fewer options. The shops are getting better about getting the old bottles out but I don't see sales. So my guess is that more people are buying the old beer or the distributors buy it back or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHizzle85 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Wait, Sprecher's makes actual beer as well? A friend of mine is a HUGE fan of their root beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 01:54 PM) Wait, Sprecher's makes actual beer as well? A friend of mine is a HUGE fan of their root beer. Indeed they do. I've only had a couple several years ago, but I remember their Bavarian black beer being quite good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 (edited) Getting into the spirit as I catch up on watching Mad Men. Enjoying an Old Fashioned, Don Draper style with Old Overholt rye instead of bourbon, couple of dashes of bitters, a little sugar, and orange and lemon slices and a cherry for garnish. Drinking Grand-dad's cocktails tonight and liking it. Edited November 5, 2009 by FlaSoxxJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I got totally excited watching Season 3 Episode 3 where Don jumps back behind the bar at a Derby Day party to mix his own, and he grabs up a bottle of Old Overholt! Finished out the evening firmly back in Tiki Territory with a drink from the long-gone Kon Tiki chain called a Guatemalan Cooler. It's one of a handful of old cocktails that tries to make the odd combination of coconut cream sweatness and lime juice tartness work well together, and so far this is the only one that really pulls it off. There is ironically no Guatemalan rum in this drink, which calls for a PR gold and a Jamaican gold that I subbed El Dorado 5-year for to conserve the Appleton 12-year. Really an excellent drink, but I may have to sub Ron Botran 8-year just for the sake of putting a Guatemalan rum in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I will be heading to Flossmoor Station on Saturday. This place is great as the food is superb, and they have a nice kids menu. So, I get to enjoy their wonderful beer, and the family enjoys themselves, too. Plus, the wife can drive us home... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.