Do you know when it was brewed? I've made a few cherry stouts that ended up tasting like Nyquil at first, but after settling a few months in the bottle, they turn out delicious.

would anyone have recommendations for someone (me) living in the new england area who drinks mostly DFH 90 and stone ruination? i realize these are consistently rated very highly, but i feel like i'm missing out on a lot of other stuff. i've tried looking for the racer 5, not much luck. i'm also a fan of dead guy ale and arrogant bastard, but would rather something i havent had yet.

Fat Tire Amber Ale is my liquid crack . . .

how about Smuttynose IPA, from NH?

yea, thats decent, ive only had it at the portsmouth brewery though. probably doesnt stand out enough to buy on its own, and if when i go back there i'm probably going to drink their russian imperial exclusively.

i was looking on beeradvocate.com for suggestions and saw that a seemingly trashy liquor store about 10 minutes from me has an amazing craft beer selection and is rated as tops in the area. never even been inside. maybe ill write up a review from something this week.

I can get this at my local gas station, good stuff

Dont want to read through hundreds of replies, but basically what are some great 6 packs Available at Safeway/Albertsons type store that I should pick up? thanks

on my way home from work i stopped to grab something to drink with dinner, and noticed a new area of the store, where you make your own six pack from a rack of singles. most of it was generic bud/corona/heineken types, but there were some good beers mixed in as well (and for $7.50 it was a steal). i ended up with sierra nevada celebration ale, red hook ipa, southhampton brewery ipa, ipswich ipa, endurance brewing company "glacier gold", and offshore brewery ipa. grabbed a 22oz stone ruination ipa (on sale for 5 bucks, had to) and finally got a hold of racer 5. should be a good couple days.

southhampton makes some good belgians as well.

I'm gonna have to try Fat Tire, as it looks like a lot of people seem to like it (and I see it in about every place I go that sells beer).

I personally haven't tried too much, but I'm looking experiment more, but so far my favorites are Newcastle, Killian's Irish Red, Amber Bock and Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss. Any lesser known beers that are similar in taste to any of these that you could recommend?

Ipswich IPA is basically my standard. Their Oatmeal Stout is pretty damned good, too.

Bought Old Rasputin the other day ($6.50 for a 4-pack from Bevmo). It's my first Imperial Stout and I was eager to try it. Just finished my 2nd bottle. Really dark beer, so dark I can't identify a change in color when I hold up the glass to the brightest of lights. Took a sip and I must say this is a strong beer. But the after taste is where it's at. The after taste is roasty. Tasty toasted nuts, coffee beans, and slight traces of chocolate. But the taste after the aftertaste was bitter bitter bitter. Not ready for this beer yet. I'm sure I'll grow into it. When I first started drinking I thought Coors was bitter.

In anycase I'll stick to Newcastles and Stone IPA.

Edit: Never thought I would get drunk after two bottles of beer.

Drinking some Hair of The Dog, Adam, right now. Man, these bottle conditioned beers are foamy. Anyway, this is certainly not a noob beer, but man, once the taste settles its finner than a mother ****er. The label says "the flavors in this beer have been compared to chocolate, smoke, leather, and figs." All of those tastes fit. The "style" listed is hearty old world ale. I have no clue what that means. Seems like a imperial stout, mixed with an amber(!?) taste.

Have you tried anything from Berkshire Brewing Company? I would highly recommend the Russian Imperial stout and the Lost Sailor IPA.

Just tried the chocolate stout from Rougue Brewery. Wouldn't be a beer I would drink daily, but I absolutely loved it. The chocolate taste is very prevalent in the head and much more subtle in the actual beer. Definitely one of my favorite stouts and ranks right up there with Samuel Smith's offerings, although I am not well versed there, Belgians and Hefeweizens are my specialty.

FWIW, my favorite beer - St Bernardus witbeer - is sold in 4-packs at a local supermarket here (I'm in NYC).

If you can get other Leinenkugel's beers, try their Red, Creamy Dark and Big Butt. Shiner Bock is also very good.

If you live in Minnesota, try Surly Bender (drink this from a cold glass), Lake Superior Oatmeal Stout and Lake Superior Mesabi Red. Surly Bender in a frosty glass has become my favorite beer. It only comes in cans because its unpasturized and they say that the light coming from bottles can ruin an unpasturized beer.

I like Fat Tire and the others you mention, especially Newcastle.

If you can get other Leinenkugel's beers, try their Red, Creamy Dark and Big Butt. Shiner Bock is also very good.

If you live in Minnesota, try Surly Bender (drink this from a cold glass), Lake Superior Oatmeal Stout and Lake Superior Mesabi Red. Surly Bender in a frosty glass has become my favorite beer. It only comes in cans because its unpasturized and they say that the light coming from bottles can ruin an unpasturized beer.

I'm going to Prague next week...hope to drink some good beer/visit a cool beer hall or 2. anyone have any recs?

Picked up some rogue american amber tonight, was pretty smooth and tasted good in my mouth, but had a little more bitter after taste than I expected from the smell and initial taste. The place i went to had dead guy and mocha porter as well so i thought this would be a good initial impression of this brewery.

I was hoping to try something with a higher abv but being in iowa i think my options are pretty limited. Anyone have any suggestions for a guy who loves killians and fat tire and is turning 21 in 22 hours?

I noticed some sam smith and flying dog brews, but not much that has been mentioned in this thread outside of your supermarket beers.

Try New Belgian's Abbey Ale. It's 7.8 percent and a Belgian style ale. Not bad, but I say that because it's very modest on flavor compared to the much stronger Imperial Stouts and Belgian trippel's that I've grown accustomed to. From somebody who's trying to graduate from some soft amber's and Killians, it might be a good start. Plus, if you have access to Fat Tire, you should have access to this since their both from the same brewery.

If you can get it, try Hoegaarden. It's a white ale that is easy to drink but full of flavor. It's only 4.9 though.

Schells Maifest - Blonde Dopplebock


This is one of my absolute favorite spring seasonals. Long lasting white foamy head with a malty aroma. Beginning of taste has an expected malt presence and a little bit of a sour finish. The alcohol is hard to detect.

Since I am lucky enough to live in Minneapolis, I attended a beer tasting put on by a fifth-generation Schell at a local bar. One of the people helping out told us that this beer is Schell's strongest and one of the colleges local to the brewery has an increased rate of vomiting in the spring, though I'm not sure how those statistics are obtained...

The beers we tasted were the Pilsner, Dark, Stout (brand new, off the line that morning), Firebrick, Maifest, the anniversary 1878 Einbecker Dopplebock and their pale ale. I think the only ones worth anything are the Maifest, the Einbecker and the Stout. The dark is apparently only some two row barley and caramel malt to give it color and only lightly hopped. The intent there (I think) is to give an easy to drink, light flavored beer a dark color, so that people who want to try a "dark" beer can go to this one without being too far out of their normal tastes.

Firestone Union Jack IPA is now available at BevMo. I've never been a fan of Firestone's other beers, but the Union Jack is legit. Not quite on the same level as Racer5, bet definitely worth checking out. Very hoppy and packs a 7.5% alc

I am having Liberty Ale right now. Does not taste good.

I'm a big fan of Anchor Steam beer. Their Liberty Ale is alright for a change, but nothing special. I wouldn't recommend it. The Christmas Ale is something else, though. I bought two twelve packs for New Years and almost no one liked it. It has a honey/raisin flavor that I don't appreciate all too much.