Greatest Beer Thread Ever!

[TheGrinch]

Drinking some of my faves right now for the Superbowl:

Bell's Smitten Golden Rye Ale - Lightly hopped like a drinkable pale ale, and that spicy crisp rye makes this divinely drinkable for my day-time beer at around 5%

Lagunitas Sucks - screw Hypeslam, err I mean Hopslam, that you have to take off work to get down here (though I do have a few bottles should the mood strike me, one of the perks of my job). This beer is so much. Tons of flavor hops, gives it a tropical, citrusy explosion of flavor, but kept the bitterness dialed back.

Stone Enjoy By 2/14/14 - goes down like water and just amazingly good DIPA. Gotta really like your hops for this one, but the best part is guaranteed to be ultra fresh.

Great Divide Espresso Yeti - the most under-appreciated imperial stout series on the planet. The standard for the style. I forgot how much I liked this version. Chocolate is still my favorite, but this is worth breaking open a second bottle to give me a pick me up as the beers go down.

Also got my homebrew that turned out just incredible. Did an Imp IPA with tons of different dank, citrus and tropical hop varieties and actual orange added. So delicious it might inspire me to pursue my brewpub dream again.

 

[Todd]

Drinking some of my faves right now for the Superbowl:

Bell's Smitten Golden Rye Ale - Lightly hopped like a drinkable pale ale, and that spicy crisp rye makes this divinely drinkable for my day-time beer at around 5%

Lagunitas Sucks - screw Hypeslam, err I mean Hopslam, that you have to take off work to get down here (though I do have a few bottles should the mood strike me, one of the perks of my job). This beer is so much. Tons of flavor hops, gives it a tropical, citrusy explosion of flavor, but kept the bitterness dialed back.

Stone Enjoy By 2/14/14 - goes down like water and just amazingly good DIPA. Gotta really like your hops for this one, but the best part is guaranteed to be ultra fresh.

Great Divide Espresso Yeti - the most under-appreciated imperial stout series on the planet. The standard for the style. I forgot how much I liked this version. Chocolate is still my favorite, but this is worth breaking open a second bottle to give me a pick me up as the beers go down.

Also got my homebrew that turned out just incredible. Did an Imp IPA with tons of different dank, citrus and tropical hop varieties and actual orange added. So delicious it might inspire me to pursue my brewpub dream again.

I have only tried Lagunitas Sucks. It is spectacular. I have never tried Hopslam, but my Homebrew store had a waiting list for it. Bells usually has very good products, but I'll keep in mind that it's possibly overated.

I am not a big fan of Stone's beers. It's not that they are bad beers, but I just don't like their hop profiles.

 

[Todd]

Founder's Brewery: Backwoods Bastard

10.2% ABV

This ^ was very nice. Had this a few weeks ago. After trying though, I think I prefer mye Wee Heavy's without the Bourbon barrell flavor. I actually like the Dirty Bastard better overall. My favorite scottish ale (wee heavy) is Skull Splitter

 

[fr33]

I've had pretty much every Alaskan Brewing variety but not this one until tonight.

If you're ever in Juneau visit the brewery. They have a tasting bar and tour and it's free.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

CNET: Official 'Star Trek' beer lets you drink like a Klingon

Drink like a Klingon warrior.

harpen the bat'leth, a Klingon-inspired beer is coming to our little corner of the galaxy. Warnog gets the official "Star Trek" blessing and comes from Tin Man Brewing Company in Indiana in partnership with the Federation of Beer, a company that already released a product called Vulcan Ale. The beer will be a Dunkelweizen style with rye. Expect banana and clove flavors, which doesn't actually sound like something a Klingon would drink. A real Klingon would probably be more into blood and steel flavors, something that tastes like more like victory and less like wheat.
Vulcan Ale has only been available in Canada, meaning Klingon Warnog will be the first official "Trek" beer available in the US. It should fuel many a "Star Trek" drinking game where you have to take a sip every time Captain Kirk violates the Prime Directive, Spock says "Fascinating," and Sulu takes the con.

 

[cajuncocoa]

It's baaaaaaack!!

 

[Todd]

Here's one not for the faint of heart. Dogfish Head WorldWide Stout

It's 18% ABV. Tastes like a Port wine.

Drink.....SLOOOOWLY

The beer in this picture has a head. I don't know how they kept a head that big with a beer of this strength. I can assure you that this thing has so much Alcohol that I did not have a head for long. And not much of one at that.

 

[Matthew5]

Here's one not for the faint of heart. Dogfish Head WorldWide Stout

It's 18% ABV. Tastes like a Port wine.

Dad gum!

 

[eduardo89]

Tried this beer this week in St Lucia, it's pretty damn good

 

[eduardo89]

dooble post

 

[fr33]

Alaskan Brewing's Double IPA is so damn good. Probably the best of theirs that I've had. The wife bought me a 4 pack last weekend. http://www.alaskanbeer.com/our-brew/year-round-beers/hopothermia.html

Also, the "Game of Thrones" red ale is the absolute worst beer I've ever had. Blech! 2 sips and I poured it out. http://www.ommegang.com/got/fire_and_blood.php

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I love hopps. I can drink massively hoppy beer all night long. IPAs will give me a migraine before I drink half a bottle. every. single. time. Someone says to me, "you must be allergic to hopps." No, I don't drink anything BUT hoppy beer. Usually a lager and occasionally an ale. But just as soon as I put an IPA to my lips it feels like someone is sledgehammering my skull. I don't get it.

 

[Todd]

I love hopps. I can drink massively hoppy beer all night long. IPAs will give me a migraine before I drink half a bottle. every. single. time. Someone says to me, "you must be allergic to hopps." No, I don't drink anything BUT hoppy beer. Usually a lager and occasionally an ale. But just as soon as I put an IPA to my lips it feels like someone is sledgehammering my skull. I don't get it.

Some beers are known as "headache beers". Sierra Nevada beers do that to some. I made a homebrewed IPA recently that sometimes gives me a headache. I don't know for sure, but I say it's certain types of the yeast that cause an allergy and not the hops. All beer have hops and yeast, but yeast is a living thing. So that's what I think, but I am no expert. Try drinking alot of water prior to having one and see if it's dehydration which could be another issue.

 

[francisco]

Some beers are known as "headache beers"...

It's from so-called "fusel oils" which are actually higher alcohols (more complex than ethanol) made in small quantities by yeast.

(As a point of reference, Bourbon has more fusel oils than other distilled spirits which is why some people get worse hangovers when they drink Bourbon).

Every yeast strain has its own individual metabolic profile and makes, in addition to bulk quantities of ethanol, a different complement of literally thousands of compounds, most in truly minute quantities, which collectively contribute to a beer's flavor profile. Human taste buds can detect some compounds in the parts-per-billion range! (Material bills and processing methodologies also obviously make their own contributions to flavor). Each Brewer jealously guards his own strain of yeast. Some unfortunately tend to make higher levels of certain undesirable compounds in addition to their desirable notes.

I'm a retired professional Brewer and trained beer taster.

To me, IMHO as a result of the above, Miller products often taste oxidized ("stale", papery/cardboard note) even when they are not in fact actually oxidized.

Coors products are noted in the industry for having higher levels than competitor's beer of banana note (isoamyl acetate)--generally considered a positive if not excessive--but also too much "green apple" note from acetaldehyde. When really high, acetaldehyde aroma is reminiscent of latex paint. Actually, acetaldehyde is formed in your body when you metabolize alcohol and is probably the biggest factor in making hangover symptoms.

Compared to the above, Anheuser-Busch beers are notable for having a more prominent red apple "fruity/estery" (ethyl acetate) note, generally considered desireable.

So you can do your own taste test with a trio of the above easily obtainable mass-market beers, to see if you can pick up the flavor notes discussed.

...Sierra Nevada beers do that to some.

Surprising for me to hear that as again IMHO Sierra Nevada along with Deschutes make the highest quality craft beers.

 

[green73]

After consulting my spreadsheet and factoring in the usual statistics, this is still not the greatest beer thread ever, but it has moved up to 92nd place.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Some beers are known as "headache beers". Sierra Nevada beers do that to some. I made a homebrewed IPA recently that sometimes gives me a headache. I don't know for sure, but I say it's certain types of the yeast that cause an allergy and not the hops. All beer have hops and yeast, but yeast is a living thing. So that's what I think, but I am no expert. Try drinking alot of water prior to having one and see if it's dehydration which could be another issue.

I can assure you it's not dehydration. One of the first things I ever learned as a Marine was that extreme hydration is the secret to no hangovers. When you are getting fall-down drunk nearly every weekend and come to PT on Monday still-not-quite finished with the dizzies, this is an important skill to have. I don't generally get into alcohol until my molars are floating.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

It's from so-called "fusel oils" which are actually higher alcohols (more complex than ethanol) made in small quantities by yeast.

(As a point of reference, Bourbon has more fusel oils than other distilled spirits which is why some people get worse hangovers when they drink Bourbon).

That can't be it. I drink the hell out of some bourbon. Bourbon is my drink of choice in all circumstances. Never had such an issue. It's only ever IPA's specifically that do it. Even did it to me blind (in a Stein, no label, I did not know it was an IPA), so it has to be something specific to IPAs.

ETA: And it's not ALL IPAs; only the vast vast majority of them. I hate the migraines too much to do he experiments and chart out which ones do and which ones don't.

 

[francisco]

That can't be it. I drink the hell out of some bourbon. Bourbon is my drink of choice in all circumstances. Never had such an issue. It's only ever IPA's specifically that do it. Even did it to me blind (in a Stein, no label, I did not know it was an IPA), so it has to be something specific to IPAs.

ETA: And it's not ALL IPAs; only the vast vast majority of them. I hate the migraines too much to do he experiments and chart out which ones do and which ones don't.

It may be hops for you. IPA's are very heavily hopped. (The style evolved to make beers that could stand long hot ship journeys to India without spoiling. Hops have a characteristic of suppressing the growth of beer-spoiling bacteria, which is how they came to become incorporated in beer in the first place).

There is a "headfeel" syndrome that only some people experience (people like yeast each have their own genetically-endowed metabolic profiles) that some in the industry believe is connected to hops. The syndrome is not well-understood or well-investigated. Others dispute that the phenomenon is real.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

It may be hops for you. IPA's are very heavily hopped.

Definitely not hops either. I love Victory Prima Pils, Anchor California Lager, I have tried Westbrook Brewing Covert Hops once and loved it, with no ill effect. My favorite beer in the world is Sam Adams Boston Lager, and I can drink myself stupid on the stuff with no migraine at all.

ETA - in fact, the reason I tried IPAs in the first place is because hops are my favorite part of beer. I love love love hoppy beer. One downside (for me!) of the IPA craze is that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to find a hoppy beer that is NOT an IPA. In my case, really loving hoppy beer but IPAs give me migraines, that sucks.

 

[francisco]

Definitely not hops either. I love Victory Prima Pils, Anchor California Lager, I have tried Westbrook Brewing Covert Hops once and loved it, with no ill effect. My favorite beer in the world is Sam Adams Boston Lager, and I can drink myself stupid on the stuff with no migraine at all.

ETA - in fact, the reason I tried IPAs in the first place is because hops are my favorite part of beer. I love love love hoppy beer. One downside (for me!) of the IPA craze is that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to find a hoppy beer that is NOT an IPA. In my case, really loving hoppy beer but IPAs give me migraines, that sucks.

It's an interesting situation, and might fun for a Brewer to try to do some detective work.


Is the phenomenon repeatable, in the sense that some brands of IPA ALWAYS give you a headache, and others brands NEVER do?

If so, which ones? (Obviously, the key is to figure out what is different about the headache-inducing beers).

Are there some ALES that are not IPAs, that ALWAYS give you a headache, and any non-IPA Ales that never do? If so, which ones?

What about Lager beers? At least 3 of the 4 of the beers that you mention above, that don’t give you a headache, are all Lagers; but I don’t think any of them are as highly hopped as a true IPA, either. Sam Adams Boston Lager has about 35 BU (Bittering Units) and a typical IPA is in the 50+ BU range.

There is a technique called dry-hopping (where hops are added to the fermentor and/or a lagering tank; in addition to and different from the normal practice of boiling the hops in the Brewkettle) that may be used in some Ales, including but not limited to some IPAs. This expensive technique is also used in some Lagers. I'm wondering if dry-hopped beers might be implicated in your headache syndrome.

Or, it might have something to do with the variety of hops used in a particular beer. Some hops varieties have low bittering power (alpha acids) but particular aroma qualities, like Hallertau, Tettnang or Saaz. Other “High-alpha” hops yield higher BUs but are not really noted for superior aroma, like Bullion or Brewer's Gold. Hoppy beers tend to use High-alpha hops because that’s the only practical/economic way to make a high BU beer. Is it the high-alpha hop varieties that are causing the headaches?

A lot of American craft beers (particularly Pale Ales) use a lot of Cascade variety hops which have a PINEY (some say citrus) note that you would probably recognize. If you relate to that, are beers with a distinct PINEY/CITRUS hop note the ones that give you a headache?

Other than hops, it is conceivable that it is something about ALE YEAST that causes your headaches. But: note that although in a traditional sense ALES are different from lager beers in that they use a different type of yeast, are fermented at higher temperatures for a shorter period and are not aged, in the USA there is no legal distinction and any beer can be called an Ale even if it is not made in the traditional Ale manner, even if it is made with lager yeast. So, just because something is called an Ale, doesn’t mean it really is one…

Does Sierra Nevada Pale Ale give you a headache? That Ale is in fact a true Ale made in the traditional manner, is moderately hopped (about 35 BU, about the same as Sam Adams Lager) and includes some Cascade hops. I think it is dry hopped (in addition to the normal Brewkettle hopping) but I am not sure and would have to research.

Does Heineken (a Lager) give you a headache? It is only moderately hopped (20-25 BU as a guess based on taste) but they use only high-alpha hops, they don’t believe that hop aroma is important. (Of course, being packaged in green bottles, it is also susceptible to being lightstruck—having an unmistakably skunky aroma-- and normally is so, a possible confounding factor. From a technical perspective, it’s a much crappier beer than it is given credit for. When they put it in cans, they actually have to deliberately expose to light first so it doesn’t taste different than their beer in bottles).

Side note: any beer packaged in clear bottles is either lightstuck/skunky, or is made with isomerized hop extract instead of whole hops to prevent that from occurring).

Does Budweiser (a Lager) give you a headache? In contrast to Heineken they believe aroma is all-important, and don’t allow the use of high-alpha hops. (Yes, that increases costs for them). Of course, nowadays like other mass-market beers Budweiser is only lightly hopped, about 12 BU.

What about Guinness Stout, one of the greatest (if not absolutely the greatest IMO) of all beers, with a higher BU of about 40, lots of it from high-alpha varieties?

Another note: in general, the biggest difference about IPAs compared to other Ales, is that they are much more highly hopped.