Official Beer Review and Reflection Thread

[FatguyRacer]

Hubby bought it, and we ended up using it for brining chicken.   Not a drinking beer for me.

How'd that work out? Sounds delish.

[Buckethead]

The Tripel is pretty good.

The 4 is exquisite. When you can find it. A whole different beast.

I've not had their Grand Cru. Yet.

[95Monster]

I'm not much of a beer snob so my tastes are pretty commercial but here goes...

Since I live in SoCal where it's warm all year and we eat a lot of mexican food, I consume more Pacifico and Tecate than anything else.  In a bar: Guinness.  In a restaurant: Pacifico.  Fancy restaurant: Chimay.  Home working on bike: Stella or Pilsner Urquel.  At the parent's back East:  Michelob, Heineken.

But the Yuengling above brought back memories of DC/ NVA.

[FatguyRacer]

The Tripel is pretty good.

The 4 is exquisite. When you can find it. A whole different beast.

I've not had their Grand Cru. Yet.

There's a new store near my office that is like beer Mecca. They have all the Allagash brews. In fact I missed the tasting a month ago. I shoulda gone. Last week was a special on casks of St. Bernadus Apt 12. Missed that too. 

I've only had Rodenback Grand Cru. Good stuff.

[Duc Stamp]

I picked up 2 bottles of Dogfishhead 120IPA a couple weeks back. Vintage 2007. wow. We split the bottle 3 ways and that was about a perfect portion. And at $13 for a 12oz bottle, it's worth every penny. just not very often 

No way man.  12 oz is the perfect serving!  (and only 450 calories!)

I did a verticle tasting with April's release and a vintage '06 a few weeks ago.  My friend and I each had half of each.  Our mistake was starting with the vintage as it was so much more flavorful than the recent release (I didn't think it was possible to get much more flavor but it did).

[cmorgan47]

that stuff is great, but best about 2-3 years old.  the amount of hops they use is just ridiculous and theres a ton of malt as well. one of the few beers that really takes a while to finish.

agreed on serving size.  12oz and you feel fine.

[lauramonster]

How'd that work out? Sounds delish.

The beer is a great tenderizer.  Add salt  and water and wallah!!!!  The turkey or chicken is tender yet juicy!!! 
(Got the idea from Cook's Magazine - brining a bird). 

Also like Bemish + Bisquick for a beer batter fish fry!!  Needs a dark flavorful beer to add flavor!

Let me know the next time you're coming to Philly - and we'll cook some up for you!

[DCXCV]

An old favorite when I lived in the northeast.

Old Brown Dog has been cited as a classic example of the "American Brown Ale" style of beer. Compared to a typical English Brown Ale, Old Brown Dog is fuller-bodied and more strongly hopped.
Old Brown Dog has been around for many years. It was first brewed in 1988 at the Northampton Brewery.

[Howie]

An old favorite when I lived in the northeast.

Old Brown Dog has been cited as a classic example of the "American Brown Ale" style of beer. Compared to a typical English Brown Ale, Old Brown Dog is fuller-bodied and more strongly hopped.
Old Brown Dog has been around for many years. It was first brewed in 1988 at the Northampton Brewery.

I have some in the fridge now.  How could a beer from from a beer called Smuttynose be bad?  If you likke IPAs try the Smuttynose IPA.

[nkryptit]

My first homebrew!  I just put a Nut Brown Ale in the fermenter 3 days ago.  Got lots of bubbles the first day or so, now not much.  Waiting for day 7 before we check it out...I think we're going to try and get some kegging equipment and force carbonate, I want this beer ASAP.  Any suggestions/tips?

[cmorgan47]

get the kegging equipment.  takes about 2 weeks off the end, though the finished product is a bit more refined if allowed to naturally carbonate in bottles.

the kegs will have a dip tube... basically a straw that pulls beer off the bottom.... cut about an inch off of this as hops and yeast will continue to settle and if the dip tube reaches the bottom, you get some sludge in the beer.

best tip i ever got was from a local brewer.  buy the oxygen kit.  or make one.  i thought it was a gimmic, but it not only reduces the fermentation time, but also makes for a cleaner, more fully fermented beer.   basically, you have a stainless steel aerator--like for a fish tank--and an oxygen tank (like from home depot).  as soon as you put the wort and yeast in the fermenter, hit it with oxygen a few times for about 30 seconds each.  you will have an explosive fermentation (literally, it blew the stopper out the first time i did it) and be able to rack the beer in about 3-5 days and keg in 2-3 weeks.

[vwboomer]

More important than adding oxygen is adding a ton of yeast. I use an aerator with a filter on it and usually let it go for about half hour, and pitch yeast. This last batch I made (Imperial Red) I aerated 5 minutes, and pitched a 3/4 gallon starter. Took off immediately, and fermentation was done in about 30 hours.

get the kegging equipment.  takes about 2 weeks off the end, though the finished product is a bit more refined if allowed to naturally carbonate in bottles.

the kegs will have a dip tube... basically a straw that pulls beer off the bottom.... cut about an inch off of this as hops and yeast will continue to settle and if the dip tube reaches the bottom, you get some sludge in the beer.

best tip i ever got was from a local brewer.  buy the oxygen kit.  or make one.  i thought it was a gimmic, but it not only reduces the fermentation time, but also makes for a cleaner, more fully fermented beer.   basically, you have a stainless steel aerator--like for a fish tank--and an oxygen tank (like from home depot).  as soon as you put the wort and yeast in the fermenter, hit it with oxygen a few times for about 30 seconds each.  you will have an explosive fermentation (literally, it blew the stopper out the first time i did it) and be able to rack the beer in about 3-5 days and keg in 2-3 weeks.

[cmorgan47]

i did the starters for a while too and they worked well, but eventually laziness got the best of me. 
with the O2 and either the test tubes or smack packs, always had good luck.


the quicker you get the fermentation done, the quicker you can rack.
the quicker you can rack, the cleaner the beer will be... and you'll be drinking it sooner.

[edit]
i do still either use a starter or 2 tubes of yeast if i'm doing a 10gallon batch

[scienceiscool]

My favorite stout:
Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Stout (aka Wake-n-Bake) - out of Athens GA.  All their beers are good, but this one kicks some serious ass.


Currently in the fridge, a really awesome belgian:

[nkryptit]

Mmmmm...Hefeweizen...My favorite kind of brew....This is a good one too...Not my favorite, but a good light and sweet taste, no bite at all, and very smooth in texture...  I like it... 7 out of 10.