Beer!!

[DRKWNG]

PSA:  There are plenty brands of decaf that are just as tasty as the real thing. 

[eltristo]

My last Glissade is going down, and I like it a lot better than when I started them.  Cold is a necessity - if it sits around for even 15 minutes it gets too hoppy for me.

[MadDuck]

My last Glissade is going down, and I like it a lot better than when I started them.  Cold is a necessity - if it sits around for even 15 minutes it gets too hoppy for me.

That explains why you don't go so much for Sierra Nevada, as they tend to be hoppier than most other brews.  I have to look it up but there is some sort of hop index that brewers use. I do know that the Glissade is one of the least hoppy beers that they offer.

[MadDuck]

That explains why you don't go so much for Sierra Nevada.  I have to look it up but there is some sort of hop index that brewers use. I do know that the Glissade is one of the least hoppy beers that they offer.

Wrong again!! But I'm used to it.    The index of which I speak is called the IBU index or the International Bitterness Unit index and in general the more hoppy the beer the more bitter it is. In actual IBU's the Glissade exceeds the standard S.N. Pale Ale which surprises me as I would say the Pale Ale is hoppier but in fact that may be due to other factors. The Glissade is a bock and has a creamier texture to my taste and that is why I think it's less bitter when in actuality it isn't.  So what.... it's all good....

[eltristo]

Aha! 

Yeah, I like the creaminess, and I don't HATE hoppy, though bitter isn't my thing.  Hoppy can change depending on the hops used.  Jen knows more about types of hops than I do, which is both sad and awesome...

[Speed 3 Pilot]

Drank some Orion beer today...

[eltristo]

Drank some Orion beer today...

Ah, Orion.   My first experience with it was at Genghis Khan Mongorian BBQ in Kadena.  Consumed with many bowls of food and many other Orions, it was pretty good.   

[MadDuck]

Jen knows more about types of hops than I do, which is both sad and awesome...

I wouldn't focus on the sad part much, although I think I get what you mean.  I think it's awesome that she knows about hops, the different ones, etc., etc. !!

You might try some of the 30th Anniversary Sierra Nevada brew that's out now. Not so bitter, not that hoppy and quite smooth. At least the Charlie, Fred & Ken's Imperial Helles Bock we had last night. Not that it made me do handstands but I think I'll go out and get a couple more before they disappear. 

[eltristo]

I saw that at my local sellerator last weekend - guess I should swing back in and give it a shot.

[MadDuck]

I'm going to do a back to back taste test between a Hair of the Dog Adam and a North Coast Rasputin tomorrow night.  Had an Adam last week & somehow it didn't seem all that notable, but then I might have had too many others previous to it so I thought I'd give it another shot. 

[eltristo]

Last night:  Mad River Brewing Co. Serious Madness Black Ale.     Creamy and chocolatey to round out the bitterness.  Good stuff though.

[MadDuck]

Last night:  Mad River Brewing Co. Serious Madness Black Ale.    Creamy and chocolatey to round out the bitterness.  Good stuff though.

I've been looking at that stuff on the shelves so I suppose I shall try some.  Did the taste test last night and my first impression of the Hair of the Dog Adam wasn't that far off. It's a bit syrupy and dense with lots of chocolate/coffee type flavors. Definitely a good, distinctive beer but it doesn't grab me like the Old Rasputin or the Flying Dog Imperial Porter. I still think the Hair of the Dog Fred is better than the Adam but that's why we have different tastes.

[MadDuck]

OK --- last night I had one Mad River Brewing Co. Steelhead Extra Stout. Pretty doggone good stuff. Definitely better than the Rogue offerings I've tried and at the same price. Not a beer for the faint of taste. I'll try more of it tomorrow night. It's not quite up there with my two regular fav's but it's the best second I've found. I just had to try the Stout first cause it got the highest style points at RateBeer of all the Mad Rivers. Such a whore I am.     I'll get the Black Ale next week cause it's the one Tristan liked and it's seasonal, which means it might not be on the shelves much longer.

[DRKWNG]

All the different pumpkin ales have hit the shelves here.  DAMN there are a ton of craft breweries all up and down the east coast!!

[eltristo]

I'm not much of a pumpkin ale fan, though I'm not much of a pumpkin-flavored-thing-that-isn't-pumpkin fan either.  Have you had anything you liked?