Quick review. Bison Brewery (Berkeley, CA): Gingerbread Ale. The bottle says ale brewed with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Pours near-black, like a stout. Good amount of head, but not much retention.
Nose: sorta like the bottle says. Ginger plus roasted malts.
Taste/mouthfeel: kinda meh. Mouthfeel is very thin, too much carbonation. Almost like a soda. Tastes a little like a weak stout with some ginger flavor added. As the beer progresses, I find it to have a not-so-pleasant bittersweet flavor in the back of my mouth.

Not a bad idea for a brew, but not very well executed. It isn't bad, just nothing special. and 0.5.

Brag: picked up 4 bottles of YuleSmith today.

I did pick up one non-standard beer from Great Lakes, their Nosferatu stock ale. I wasn't sure what this would involve, as it was just marketed as "the ale with bite." It's 8%, though, so it could be something interesting. IIRC, it's around $9 for a four pack. As it turns out, it's a reddish brown hoppy ale whose closest peer is either Stone's Arrogant Bastard or an American barley wine. It's very hoppy, and drier than the Bastard. I don't think the hops are quite as flavorful as the Bastard, though. I like this, but I think I prefer the Bastard. This is still pretty good, though. and a half .

Has anyone had the Sierra Nevada Weizenbock? I tried it the other night on tap. I was caught off guard, because it was unlike any other Weizenbock I've had. The Weizenbocks from Schneider, Sam Adams, Weihenstephaner, and Victory have all been medium to dark brown, cloudy, fairly heady beers. This was a cloudy gold without much head at all. Looking online, this does seem to be strong enough for a weizenbock: 7.4% ABV. The smell and flavor wasn't like the other weizenbocks, either. Instead of apples, wood, and a darker malt, this was more similar to the Brooklyn Hopfen Weisse: a strong, hoppy hefeweizen. It wasn't as hoppy, and it wasn't quite as flavorful, but it was still very tasty, as I love traditional hefes, and the slight kick of American hops was welcome. I was somewhat torn on what to rate it, but I'll be generous and give it a solid rating. Look this one up, guys. I'm sure you west coasters can find it.

sweet, manchester winter ales fest opens tomorrow. huge beat that the other alcoholics that i know can only go on the saturday where i'm not there, but w/e, should be fun

brief trip report:

easy enough to locate, place is no more than a couple of minutes walk from one of the main stations in town. fest is located in a largish building spread over two levels, so it never really threatened to get crowded at all and i could always find a seat on demand. food had longish queues but looked ok, if pricey. one good thing they do is they have half pint tankards that have a third pint measure on so you can get lots of different beers in without getting absolutely annihilated. as for the beers:

sharps doom bar (4.0%) - 7, fairly standard well balanced bitter.
sarah hughes ruby mild (6.0%) - 9, very dark and fruity, exceptionally well balanced, superb
nethergate prioty mild (3.5%) - 6, dark, heavy, smoky, too overpowering
bryncelyn holly hop (3.9%) - 6.5, noticable initial sourness, gives way to solid light hoppiness. out of place.
hesket newmarket old carrock (6.0%) - 7, sharp bitter taste, touch malty but becomes sweet later
wells & young's winter warmer (5.0%) - 7, slightly sweet with a subtle nutty flavour
kelham island pride of sheffield (4.0%) - 6.5, light and hoppy
jw lees john willies (4.5%) - 6, asked for something else entirely (from leeds brewery, numpty behind bar missed the d so this was on the house), ok but bland and watery
beartown black bear (5.0%) - 8, dark and heavy, but really fruity, great strong mild
spire darkside of the moon (4.3%) - 6.5, deep and smoky but with lots of subtle flavours.

pisser that i can't make more days of it really

I tried the Eel River Triple Exultation ale tonight. I got a 22 ouncer on sale for just under $5. It's a 9.7% ABV beer, and because it had "triple" in the title, I naturally figured it'd be a Belgian tripel. I was rather surprised when it poured a medium brown instead of the usual gold. It had a goodly head on it, but not the massive head of some tripels. Well, it didn't really taste like a tripel, either, but it was still delicious. It was more like what it looked like than what it was named: a rich, delicious, strong brown ale. There was some fruitiness in the flavor and aroma, but not as much as a true tripel. I think it was a pretty good buy, though. I'd give it .

I also tried the imperial stout from these guys a while back, but I neglected to post the review. It didn't really warrant it. The imperial stout was on sale for the same price, but it was a hair stronger. It wasn't as good, though. I liked the Brooklyn BCS better. Eel River's was only about a beer, and for an imperial stout, that's on the low end of the style.

sick post bump, but I love spotted cow. getting a little wood just thinking of it. i live on the east coast and you can't get it here except for the wisconsin alumni bar on manhattan's upper east side (can't remember bar name), but they actually have a dude drive to wisco to fill a truck with it to sell in the bar.

LOBOTOMY BOCK

Brewed in the mojave desert. It's a bock at rates in at 10.8 percent alcohol.

This is the first beer that strong that does not have that crappy too much alcohol flavor.

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Dark tasty best dark beer i've ever had.

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Check out the other flavor beers they have if something peaks your intrest i'll bring some to vegas if your ever on vacation

http://www.mojave-red.com/amnesia.asp

What are some other strong beers you've had that you thought tasted too much like alcohol?

It's been a while since I've had anything 10%+. IIRC, Piraat was a pretty strong beer. Very good though.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/156/

I need a few great recs for some awesome Belgian (or other) beers I can find in Minnesota. Need not mention anything from Bell's as I have a sixer in my fridge at all times.

Also, if I feel like typing a bunch, I'll post a TR from Surly Brewing (Tied with Bell's for the best beer in the Midwest imo), and Summit Brewing, went on two tours last weekend. Two awesome experiences.

Tough to say. I have seen Ommegang beer (NY) when I was in a grocery store in WA, so you might be able to find that, and I know Unibroue (QC) distributes to WA, too. Both of those are outstanding breweries that put out only Belgian-style beer. You'd probably be happy with just about anything you got from either. Still, different states have different laws, so they might not distribute to MN in spite of their beer making it across the continent. The hard part is not finding a good beer. The hard part is finding a good distributor near you.

Also, we love trip reports.

This week at work we're brewing up a single 10bbl batch of 100% rye. After it ferments out, a micro distillery that is just starting up is going to send a truck to pick it up and distill it. I don't know that brewday will be anything TR-worthy (outside of people who care about the esoterics of all that rye in the mash), but I'll definitely keep up with what happens to it when the distillers get their hands on it. Should be a fun Beer/Liquor thread crossover.

I've tried almost ever Unibroue brew and admit they're some of my favorites. As far as Ommengang goes, I have tried the Hennepin. I've seen their brews around, I'll give them a shot.

This thread is massive. Forgive me for not reading the whole thing. I'm looking for a recommendation. I love a full bodied Belgian ale as much as the next guy, but sometimes a beer like that is too much. Sometimes I just want a cool, crisp, clean, refreshing beer. Something you'd drink on a hot summer day, maybe bbq-ing up some burgers.

Surprisingly, I would recommend Landshark Lager or a good old Modelo Especial. Although, I have been really enjoying Bell's Pale Ale, even though it's Winter, I could see myself cooling off in July with one.

Massive is an understatement. This is my first time in this thread, but for cool, crisp, clean, & refreshing on a summer day, I think Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat is perfect.



Very similar to this beer is a Belgian White - Hoegaarden which is currently one of my beers of choice when I am looking for refreshment in a beer...truely fantastic.

How could I forget Hoegaarden! There's a 6 sitting in my fridge as I type this. That's a fantastic refreshing beer.

Also, I've always like Pacifico with a lime.

I went to my local liquor store on my way home from work last night to pick up a sixer of Hoegaarden.

I have been in that store at least twice a week for the past year. Same guy behind the counter, same me, and usually the exact same beer (Paulaner Original Munich, Paulaner Salvator, or Hoegaarden).

I tried paying with my credit card, was asked for my ID (realized I left it at a bowling alley on Friday), and was refused the sale.

The jerk and his store lost a customer...he knows me by NAME!

I hate that ****, and I've worked behind the counter selling the same stuff. I would never card regulars that were CLEARLY over 21, it's not really rude, but it's inconvenient, and it's not giving a reg his recognition.

I still get carded by some of the workers at the store I've been going to at least once/week for the last 6 months. Some of them don't bother, some of them do, I don't understand how you don't recognize a face after 6 months of exposure.

If you want to stick in the world of Belgians, a good Belgian Blonde would do well, or a wit. For a good, easy-to-find blonde try Duvel, and for wits Hoegaarden is decent, and Allagash's White is an interesting, sortakinda American spin but still pretty classic. If you want a little more fruit and a little less spice, a Bavarian Hefeweizen is great. Paulaner Hefe, Weihenstephaner Hefe... basically any hefe from Germany - and in a brown bottle - will set you up nicely.

Hell, tons of continental lagers are great on a summer day. Pilsners will often have a soft sort of breadiness to them, followed by a whipcrack of spicy, floral hops. Pilsner Urquell, Budvar, Staropramen are all Czech Pilsners that go this route. German Pilsners will be a bit heavier handed with the hops, so if you're eating something with a bit of heat or spice, you might want to look at Paulaner, Spaten, or Lowenbrau Pils. And although not many US breweries make them (other than BMC, ha!), the Pils brewed in the US tend to be more Americanized, with higher alcohol content and higher hop levels. North Coast brews a Pilsner that I thought was way too bitter at first, but it really grew on me over the course of a week or so.

For other US-brewed beers, keep an eye out for a Rye Pale Ale. The use of rye really dries out the finish in the beer and keeps you reaching for just one more sip. Terrapin makes my favorite RyePA. If you're actually looking for pairing with food as well as quenching thirst, you might want something with a little more malt character to it. American Ambers and even Browns will match their carmelized malt sugars with the carmelization you're getting off the grill and will generally have the hop smack to stay snappy and refreshing. That goes double if you get one brewed on the West Coast, which will generally be hopped pretty highly.

Going to pick some up on my way home. Thanks for the recommendation.

Duvel is a spendy beer to be tipping back on a Summer day while grilling. Albeit delicious.

I read a review that it is "hoppy". How hoppy? I am not a huge hops fan. A bit is ok, but to put it in perspective, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is just about pushing it on the hops meter.