Drinking, Smoking, & Leisure
Medicine, health drinks for the heart, a warm, liquid blanket on an otherwise frozen evening, booze flows with culture. It is a mainstay of festive occasions, an imbibed sharing of experience from religious ritual to the welcoming of guests into our home. This group is a perpetual toast to the drinks that connect us. Whatever your preference–the subtle notes of peat in a well-balanced, single malt scotch; the complex, rich scent of truffles and plums in your favorite, well-aged Bordeaux; the layers of citrus and pine, bitterness and toasted toffee sweetness of that perfect IPA–let’s drink to the drinks, the fermented goodness, that we all love to share.
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Favorite Beers?
Until recently I wasn’t really a beer drinker. I’d go through a case ever 6 months or so. Usually Blue Moon or Yuengling.
Now I’ve discovered “craft” beer… it’s amazing.
Current favorites are Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, Weyerbacher Quad, and when splurging (so very rarely) Trappistes Rochefort 10.
So what are your favorites?
My absolute favorite is Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, but most of my everyday mainstays come from local breweries (of which my area has tons — I can walk to three). Lonerider’s Shotgun Betty is top of my local list. I’m in the time of year when I move to darker beers, so I’ve been leaning heavily on the Weihenstephaner and Franziskaner dunkelweizen, as well as the fantastic (and more mass-produced) 1554, which anyone should be able to find.
Steel String brewery, one of the ones I can walk to, has had some really exceptional small batch stuff lately that I’ve been enjoying as well.
My fave store bought beer is Schneider Weisse hefeweizen, Erdinger, and then Weihenstephaner. All are good but in my view, Schneider weisse is da bomb. I like several other beers, such as Samuel Smiths oatmeal stout, but a recurring theme is minimal hops and bitterness. I loathe IPAs and that has largely excluded me from the microbrew scene. Might as well take a swig of vinegar.
I’m a homebrewer as well. Best hefe I’ve found so far in a kit is hanks hefeweizen.
Those sound good Matt. Just looked them up. I’ll have to see if I can pick some up to try. I’m always on the lookout to try new stuff.
Chip, I find the same for myself. I really don’t care for bitterness at all. I think that’s probably what I turned me off to most beers previously. So many IPAs out there… I didn’t know there was so much variety. I think I may have found my home with Belgian Quads and English Barleywines… at least for now.
I LOVE stouts and porters. My favorite porter hands down is Green Man Porter out of Asheville, NC. I also dig Highland’s Oatmeal Stout and Terrapin Moo-Hoo.
How does highlands OS compare with samuel smith? Have you tried both?
Sam Smiths is a high bar for sure but Highlands holds very well compared to it. They have a nice line of beers.
If you are in the North Carolina area then my best recommendation is Natty Greene, no matter what style you go with they are fantastic.
I live in San Diego, which is a big hub for craft beer. I can throw rocks at two tasting rooms from my place, and can walk to about a dozen beer bars. I’ve never caught the bug, though, except to cultivate a topic of conversation. My favorite beers, when I’m in an occasional beer-drinking mood are PBR, Bud Light, Natty Ice, Keystone, etc., etc. Somehow, the bottom of the barrel feels like home.
As I write, I am drinking a Rogue Dead Guy. It is my favorite beer and I find just one very satisfying.
Dear lord. The world of craft beer is like Ice Cream for adults.
I go to the liquor store and I get giddy picking out a new flavor to try out of hundreds of choices.
I’ve found that I really like the dark stuff (the more malt the better!) and tend to dislike very hoppy things, though I’m told that’s an acquired taste. I’ve also had the chance to brew some of my own (brown ale) and it turned out okay!
I’ve also found that I like almost every Belgian ale I’ve tried.
When I was at the University of Georgia I would go to the Local Brewery, Terrapin, and I absolutely loved their selection.
My favorite all around beer (ESPECIALLY during the summer) is Terrapin’s Golden Ale.
My favorite beer when I’m in a Celebratory mood is their Liquid Bliss .
Also really high on my list (and rather expensive) is Innis and Gunn’s Oak Aged Ale.
And i will NEVER turn down a classic combo of Yeung ‘n’ Wings! (Yeungling and Buffalo Wings).
Some of my mainstays in no particular order:
I don’t know if anyone else has ever been to World of Beer, but its a great place to go just to try out new stuff since they have a massive selection from around the world and they track your consumption (if you want) so you have a record of what you’ve drank and how much you’ve drunk. They even give out tee-shirts when your consumption reaches extreme levels. DEFINITELY should try it out if you can.
GOD BLESS THE 21ST AMENDMENT!
It sounds like our preferences are very similar. I’ve noticed a few trends in my selection of favorites: Belgian, dark, few hops, and ABV of around 10%.
There are too many varieties to pick one favorite but since a few comments here are coming from people sort of new to beer I’ll share my favorite style by suggesting them to try a Belgian ale. Some of my recommendations are La Chouffe, Orval, Westmalle, Chimay, Konings, most any Trappist or Abby ale. The latter will be old recipes made by monks or under license from them.
Next up I suggest trying a wit. Especially in the summertime.
For everyone I will share one last note. Whenever I’m visiting a brewpub and they have a Maibock on tap I will always order one. I have never been let down, it isn’t the most popular style so I think whenever a brewer offers this style it means they have done it right and serve it because the like it not because it sells the best.
CHEERS!
I don’t drink any more, but I was very big into the craft beer movement. In my town (Minneapolis-St.Paul), a whole bunch of small breweries have started up in the past two-three years. I’ve found most of the beers mentioned above are unfamiliar to me (except Yuengling and Blue Moon), so I’m guessing this is a very local movement. All that said, I offer the following suggestions that maybe most of you can employ:
1) I like Sam Adams, I really do. I know they’re in a weird area between big brewer and craft brewer, but I find most of their products delicious. Or at least I did.
2) For some tasty beer that’s cheap, check out Trader Joe’s. They have a brand called Boatswain (I think) but the type is IPA & double IPA. They also have a chocolate stout and something called Heavy Lift Vessel. The HLV is delicious. Anyway, they’re all $3 per 1.5 litre bottle.
I like some of Sam Adams stuff, but not their Boston Lager. Just too hoppy for my liking. I’d love to check out that Trader Joes stuff, but I live in PA – one of the last bastions of prohibition, where alcohol is still state-controlled.
