I don't know what it was, but I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't place the spices involved. I could taste a spicyness but couldn't figure out what it was.

I'm sure there are some better fruit beers out there, but I was pretty impressed with that one. It is certainly going to get me trying others.

I had ACE Pear Cider last night and was pretty impressed. It was only a sip as someone else had bought it, but I'll pick one up and get a review going soon.

While I was in St. Louis, I picked up some beers I normally can't get: Schlafly sampler (pale, hefe, coffee stout), Boulevard Porter (I've had this before, I think its their best beer), Goose Island Honker Ale, and Breckenridge Brewery Amber. I wanted to pick up some New Belgium brews, but all the store had was Fat Tire . Anyways, here's a x-post review of the Goose Island:

Its nothing like Schlafly Pale, or SNPA, or Flying Dog, or most any other APA... because its not the same style. Its an English pale. Hop profile is completely different. The citrusy, sometimes almost grassy flavors of APAs are pretty much nonexistent, replaced instead by more floral notes. Less hop bitterness comes through as well, I wouldn't be surprised to see the IBUs on this one markedly lower than a beer like SNPA. Its got a lovely malt backbone, as well. I really liked the one I had today, and would probably buy it regularly if I could get it down here, switching it up between that and Flying Dog. The color was maybe between SNPA and Flying Dog, although that's just going from memory. I was going to take a picture but the camera didn't have any batteries.

This thread hasn't been active recently, so I'll change that. I've got reviews for a couple of brown ales and my delayed promise of Schneider Aventinus. Sadly, I don't have pictures since my camera managed to land in New Jersey for the week.

The first brown ale is Green Flash Nut Brown Ale. It came in a stubby 12 oz. bottle. I got this one as part of a Christmas gift, which was a 4-month subscription to a beer-of-the-month club. The brewery is based in Vista, California and I can't I've seen it in these parts. It poured your typical dark brown color with some tan head. It had an aroma of nuts and a hint of coffee. Upon tasting I'm first greeted with some nutty sweetness, perhaps hazelnut, but not so sure. This was followed by an alcoholic taste. The finish was malty and I caught some coffee and chocolate on the way down. I really enjoyed this brew, slightly more than Brooklyn's version. and a half

The next brown ale is Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar. For $3.99 for 22 oz. how could you go wrong? This brew has the addition of hazelnut extract along with the typical beer ingredients. It had about the same appearance as the Green Flash when I poured it, but the aroma was somewhat lacking. I could barely sense the nutty presence, but maybe my nose wasn't all there that day. But the taste left nothing to the imagination. As soon as I took my first sip, I was greeted with a HUGE hazelnut flavor. It was very sweet and was the strongest flavor I've ever experienced when drinking a beer. After that hazelnut punch, some coffee tugged for attention at the back of my tongue. The finish was smooth and malty. On the back of the bottle, Rogue suggests serving this beer with either pork or beef. I'd have to disagree based on its overwhelming sweetness. It may be better suited for dessert. If the aroma had been more assertive, this would've gotten a solid four s. I happen to enjoy this level of sweetness, but I can definitely see people viewing it as potentially cloying. 3.75

Lastly is Schneider Aventinus. $3.59 for a 16.9 oz. bottle. It poured a reddish-amber with some thin white head. The aroma was filled with cloves and some banana. Unlike the Moonglow, this aroma stayed with the beer throughout my tasting. The taste echoed the aromas, again with cloves being the dominant flavor. There was a faint caramel taste as well, followed by alcohol. The finish was yeasty, similar to the Moonglow. I decided to have the Moonglow again for a comparison and this time I caught more cloves and spices in the aroma than before and the berriness is there only for the first whiff. I like both Aventinus and Moonglow a bunch but I'd go with the Aventinus simply because it doesn't undergo the same transformation when it gets warmer. I'll give it 4.25

I have a review, too. I took pics, but I'm too drukn and lazy to upload and post them. I'm reviewing the Smuttynose Robust (ROBUSTO?) Porter. I paid $1.95 for a 12 oz, and I don't know the ABV. It pours with little head, as I've come to expect from this style of beer. It smells nicely malty with a little bit of coffee. Tasting it, the malt and coffee flavors come through boldly with just the right amount of hops. It doesn't have the smoke flavor, but all in all, this is a solid beer for a reasonable price. I award it .

Short review from memory.

The Raison D'etre from Dogfish head. The box said "2000" on it. Not sure if it's just really old, or aged, or what. But goddamn it I was buying it while I was back east.

The box says it has flavors of beet sugar and raisins. I don't know what beet sugar is like, but the raisin flavor is definitely there. Frankly, this beer was awesome. A really nice, sweet, malt, that the raison flavor complimented nicely. Very, very smooth. Only major downside of the beer is anything more than two bottles is too much. Even by the end of the second it starts to get like that.

I give it a great .

also, my sister made some French canadian pork paste stuff (forget what it's called). Coupled with some bread to eat it on, and this beer... well that's just a great way to spend a night.

I saw the Raison D'etre last week at my beer store. It was $6 for a 12 oz bottle. They also had another one for $15 for 12 oz which was apparently jampacked with barley.

I wanted to pick up the Raison D'etre but as you confirmed I figured it would get old pretty quick.

My six-pack cost 10 bucks. Maybe cuz it was so old? Not sure.

A beer that gets old after 2 bottles isn't necessarily a bad thing. If I'm dropping 10 on a sixer, I sure don't want to plow through it in a day or two.

Kidcolin,

Raison d'Etre was my first foray in to "weird" beer, and it was my first beer from DFH. I very much agree with your review. Also, I pay $10 or $11 for a sixer, and I have no idea why blackize would be paying $6 for one bottle.

Blackize,

Are you sure you were buying the RDE? That's even more than I pay for the DFH 90 min IPA. Also, the $15 12 oz bottle must have been the World Wide Stout (I pay $10 for a 12 oz bottle, so your beer store must be even more overpriced than my beer store). It's an 18% ABV monster that's in the running for my favorite beer ever with the La Fin Du Monde from Unibroue. It's amazing, but you practically have to think of it more like drinking port than drinking beer. Also, I recommend you split the bottle with a good friend.

All,

This talk of beers that get to be too much after a bottle or two has got me thinking, what do you guys think is the best beer to get drunk on? Criteria are, in order of importance:

1. Tastes good ( and a half out of 5 minimum, I think. Natty Ice need not apply.)
2. Potent
3. Easy to drink adequate quantities of. We'll say that a sixer of 5% beer is the standard here, but if there's a 10% beer you can only drink 3 of before you don't want any more, that's equivalent.
4. Cheap. Might as well spend less, but it shouldn't be so cheap as to fail at the first two requirements.

My current pick would be Ommegang's Hennepin, which I reviewed this last summer. It's tasty in a subtle way. It's not a heavy malt, the hops aren't overpowering, and it's not too sweet, either. I could put this away almost like it was just Bud, and I'd very much regret it in the morning. It packs a hefty 7% ABV. It kinda fails at the cheap requirement, but it's not too bad, considering that it's almost twice as potent as most cheap beer.

What beer would you guys pick for this category?

This is my next purchase at BevMo.

Right now drinking some of deschute's seasonal ale, though perhaps out of season. It's a red ale. I expected it to be maltier, but it's pretty hoppy. I'll do a proper review later.

Wookie,

My standard "get drunk at a party beer" is something either like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, or Fat Tire. Not too expensive, decent enough alcohol content, and beers I enjoy quite a bit.

I've got no problem with some Miller High Life either.

No, that's probably the right season. Some breweries' seasonal ales are malty and spicy (Sam Adams Winter Lager, Red Hook Winter Hook, Harpoon Winter Warmer), and some are red and hoppy (Sierra Nevada Celebration, Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve). I was thrown by this, too.

Not bad choices.

My get drunk beers of choice would be Yuengling, St. Pauli Girl, Pilsner Urquell, or Stella Artois. The reason being they taste alright and go down smooth without being filling. Anything with much more flavor is too filling anything less is like budweiser and other crap.

I ended up getting trashed on Natty light a few nights recently since that's what my friends buy for their parties. Usually I bring my own beer, but I didnt have time to swing by the liquor store on my way there. I could barely choke the stuff down though.

Wookie,

Yep it was definitely RDE at $6 a bottle. It's weird because everything else there is pretty reasonably priced. There's only a handful of beers over 2 dollars a bottle with most falling into the 1.50-1.79 range. I have no idea why that one was priced so high though.

And yes the 15 dollar bottle was the World Wide Stout. I think it was really only 13.50 or something, but thats about $10 more than I want to spend on a 12 ouncer.

I havent had time to sort through this thread, so sorry if these have been talked about. I tried Young's Double Chocolate Stout the other day. Excellent IMO

Also working on a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, which is excellent if you are interested in something a little out of the ordinary.

Are you sure it wasn't this?

http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Limi...a/19/index.htm

blackize,

I've never had Yuengling, but everyone says it's the best cheap beer. I've also never tried St. Paulie. I whole-heartedly agree with Pilsner Urquell, and completely disagree with Stella. I hate Stella.

Sometimes I reach for some Tsing Tao as well.

That would make sense for the high price. That would also be a beer I want to try. It might be a sugar bomb, though. I don't think my beer store carries it, though .

kc,

I recently had Yuengling for the first time and was thoroughly unimpressed. Just another American lager. Brooklyn's lager, on the other hand, was the first impressive one of that style I've had in quite some time. Not a great brew, but above average, which is quite an accomplishment for that kind of beer.

I doubt it since the release date on that one is March 2007

I think Yuengling is in a very strange category. It's essentially an American lager as you said, but it's infinitely better than the other beers in the category(Bud, Coors, Busch). But then it doesn't really compare very well to a lot of microbrewed or imported stuff.

That's just for the new batch. Raison D'Extra has been around for a while.

ok, so I'm dating this girl, and she's not really a beer fan. clearly this is unacceptable, so I'm trying to get her to try different things. the other night, I get a Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, she gets a Hooegarden (I order it for her) and she claims she loves them both. these are pretty different beers - does this make sense to anyone? what do these beers have in common?

one thought is that they are both low in hoppiness, so it's bitterness she doesn't like.

another though is that she was just lying to me about liking them, but I don't think this is case.

any other thoughts? what do these beers have in common? what other styles might she like?

You're probably right that it's because they're both not bitter beers (and better than probably any other beers she's ever tried). Otherwise, it's been my experience that some people just claim to like anything that a friend likes. This is especially true with developing relationships. I mean, it may take a while before you really start hearing true opinions instead of white lies.

On another note, I prefer girls of the non-beerdrinking variety.

KB4Z,

Not only are they both not bitter, they're both on the sweeter side. What most people mean when they say "I don't like beer," is "I don't like pale American lagers." This is true of many beer lovers , although these sorts of people who say this also don't take to well to APAs, IPAs, ESBs, and other hoppy beers.

One thing you could try out to see if she's just BSing you is to give her a hoppy imperial stout, like Victory's Storm King, or a hoppy porter like Rogue's Mocha porter if you can find them in your area. I'd also see what she thinks of a barleywine, an imperial IPA (say, DFH 90), something red and hoppy like Sierra Nevada Celebration or Stone's Arrogant Bastard, and something a little more ordinary like Brooklyn Brown. If she loves all of these but still won't drink Bud, it's more likely she's full of it.

More serious recommendations that she's likely to enjoy are the entire gamut of beers from Unibroue, and everything from Ommegang except for the Hennepin. The Chimay line of Belgian beer is another one to check out. Allagash, from Maine, puts out the best Belgian white (same genre as Hoegaarden) I've ever had, and while I haven't tried much of the rest of their line up, I'd like to. For darker beers, you might try North Coast's Old Rasputin, Great Divide's Yeti, or Stone's Smoked Porter.

And if she doesn't like these, more great beer for you .

Really? IMO Bud tastes completely different from those beers you mentioned and not for the better.

Yeah, it does, but usually it's the bitter hop flavor that puts people off of beer. If you put the hop flavor in a different form, and she still likes it, she may just be saying she likes it because you do.