Wamy-

Any north london pub reccommendations? Also, in a month or so might take a trip to http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk, will do a little TR if I do

Went home for christmas so have bought back a few local beers with me. Adnams Tally Ho! is what I'm most looking forward too:

http://adnams.co.uk/beer/the-beers/tally-ho-abv-c7-0
Tasting to follow!

Yeah lots. The Pineapple is a particularly nice one (great cheap Thai food too) but there are hundreds. WIll have a sit down with my cousin who lives there and get a decent list with some short reviews.

Adnams Tally Ho is excellent too. On a side note, the Adnams brewery in Southwold is an amazingly nice/interesting place where they still deliver the local beer by horse and cart. The mix of hops in the air and the salt of the sea is an incredible mix in such a quaint little down - def worth a visit if you are ever in the area imho.

Porter Ale question (from a non-Beer Connoisseur):

I recently made a braised short rib dish, of which the main liquid used in the reduction was a porter ale. (The recipe calls for a porter ale that is "smooth, balanced, smoky, not too bitter".)

I went with the Stone Smoked Porter - http://www.stonebrew.com/porter/

It turned out pretty well, but I can see it tasting even more delicious with a better choice beer.

Any recs (porter ale, or otherwise) for braising the short ribs in? I live in Los Angeles just FYI (as I know geography will potentially limit my options).

Thanks in advance,

Best,
-Al

My hometown = south east norfolk, have been to southwold many times! It is definately one of the nicest places in East Anglia. Next time I reccommend a trip to Aldeburgh too, just down the road with some great pubs.
If you're ever in Norfolk, Woodfordes (pretty close to Norwich) do brewery tours which are interesting. I also went for a tour of St Georges Distillery (near Attleborough/Thetford) over christmas which is another place worth a look if you're in the area!

I picked this up from Whole Foods today based on your recommendation. Not that impressed with anything but the artwork. Smells and tastes kind of like soap. 21A has disappointed me with everything but their IPA and Cascadian Dark Ale. The Watermelon beer is the single worst beer I've ever had.

I also bought a 4-pack of Shmaltz Lenny Bruce Bittersweet RIPA which is a Rye IPA at 10% ABV. This is a very good beer as long as it is served at cellar temp or warmer.

Stone Smoked Porter is a pretty good beer. You can also try Deschutes Black Butte, Anchor Porter, Alaskan Smoked Porter, or Avery New World. Those are all excellent beers imo. I've never braised ribs in beer but that seems like something worth trying. You can also check out stouts which are basically just higher ABV porters.

Finding a good beer to cook <whatever food> with is really a trial and error process.

There may be some delicious beers that you just don't like with certain foods. Case in point: I made a chili the other day with Raison D'Etre, and I really didn't love the flavor the beer imparted, even though I'm a fan of the beer.

Yes, your recipe may call for a smoky porter, but you never know when your recipe will be *just* right (for you) when you swap in some Guinness! [or just a smoky ale instead of a porter -- Schlenker La Marzen? Rogue Chipotle Ale?]

Nice post. Can you elaborate on the bolded please.

FWIW your results will vary with this beer a fair amount. I've had it be very spicy, mildly spicy but very smokey, or just sort of smokey. Taste it before using it in your food (if you do). Can't imagine buying a 22oz of it though, not sure I've ever seen it either unless its at one of their public houses.

Big +1 to whoever (might have been you) recommended Rogue's Hazelnut beer. Fantastic stuff. Up there with the Chocolate stout, Irish Ale, Brutal Bitter, and the Northwestern Ale.

lol oops. Yeah all sounds good my mum lives near Thetford so sure I can get out and have a look at some point.

Thanks for the recs - and if you're interested in braising your short ribs in a porter ale (or other beer) - I used the recipe in Molly Steven's book titled "All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking"

http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Brai.../dp/0393052303

I think it's a great cook book, with a ton of very good recipes - she also breaks down the science behind braising, which pots to use, optimal technique, best cuts etc.

Thanks guys, great stuff. BTW is this the Rogue's Hazelnut beer you're referring to, TSC?

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile...low&start=1080

(Beer Advocate refers to it as "Hazelnut Brown Nectar")

Either way, that looks awesome.

-Al

This thread is making me want to drink lots of beer.

Leffe Blonde is lovely if it'snot already been mentioned. Nice strong flavoursome Belgian pale ale.

Yes! If I was in the desert island draft and I could take anything it would probably be that.

We tend to think of aging as something that benefits wine but not beer. In fact, most of the wine produced in the world does not benefit from aging. Generally, only the best and most expensive subset does. The same applies to beer. Most beer just deteriorates with age.

The beers that can be aged tend to be darker and/or higher in alcoholic content and/or higher in residual sugar. Some may even have been exposed to oak during the brewing process (just as in wine, the tanins act as a preservative). An obvious example is Imperial Stout. Many stronger Belgians, lambics, and barleywines will also benefit from aging.

Google "aging beer" for some interesting articles.

TSC,

Oxidation is a common probably with older beer. Its basically oxydation-reduction reactions that occur when beer is exposed to oxygen after fermentation. These reactions can result in flavors like wet cardboard, soapiness, or sherry. Like other chemical reactions, how fast oxidation becomes apparent depends on temperature, so a beer kept cold will show effects later than one stored warm.

What DoTheMath was (probably) referring to was that many beers that "age well" develop the sherry-like notes of oxygenation and these flavors complement the intended flavors of the beer. That's typically big beers like barleywines and big porters, that type of thing. Just because a beer is "Big" in terms of bold flavors or ABV doesn't mean it will benefit from aging; a big IPA should be consumed fresh and probably won't be better after aging.

I've got a few bottles of Sierra's 2009 Bigfoot laying around that I plan to keep for a year or two, as well as some homebrew barleywines. I'm hoping to brew the same barleywine at about the same time every year and keep most of it for aging, in order to get my own take on how age effects beer.

Does anyone know a good place to order belgian beer glasses online?

And which style should I get if I get all different types of Belgians all the time?

Thanks

Hi, I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but couldn't find anywhere else. Is there a forum/ possibility of talk about home brewing beer?
Which is the best kit?
What barrels/atmosphere/etc. is required?

what does everyone think of the dogfishhead 120min? i guess it comes out in april (they make it 3 times a year) and i cant wait to get my hands on some

the brewers best kit is great if you arent making more than 5 gallons

not sure what you mean by barrels and atmosphere. the kit comes with buckets, a pot, and you just need to buy/save bottles as you go. as long as you can store it at around 68-72 degrees its fine. during the summer mine were fermenting at like 77 and still tasty


http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ is the tits imo.

I think it's horrendous, but some people like it. You should obviously try it though. I think the world wide stout is pretty cool, but after like 3oz pour I want nothing to do with it.

Just had a wicked sour from New Belgium...very surprised to like one of their beers this much. Le Terroir.

Also check out New Belgiums Dunkel Weiss, another shockingly good one. Both are reasonably priced too which is a nice bonus for these styles.

It's a bit heavy (for me) but the 60 minute is amazing.

The 90 minute is the best imo, and the 60 minute is very good too. My go to IPA is Stone Ruination, but have been drinking the Coronado Idiot IPA recently. It's friggin delicious.

on tap at lazy ox in los angeles.

90 minute is great, the 120 minute is super sweet, not sure a random blind taster would identify it as beer ... very good though. 60 minute is good but a notch below the 90.