The Beer Thread • Page 7

That tap list sounds incredible.

 

A little late to the party, but for those wondering, porter and stout fall on a spectrum of brown/dark beers starting with British (dark) mild, through brown ales, then porters, and finally stouts. They generally get darker, roastier (think coffee), and (to an extent) stronger as you move along, though there is some overlap in characteristics as you get to the extreme end of one style and the starting end of the next.

As for hefeweizen vs. wheat beer, all hefeweizens are wheat beers, but not all wheat beers are hefeweizens.

"Hefe" is German for yeast and "weizen" is German for wheat, and hefeweizen generally refers to a style of unfiltered (they still have the yeast in them) German wheat beer fermented with specific strains of yeast that produce banana, bubblegum, and clove like flavors. There are American hefeweizens that don't have those strong flavors, and are much cleaner, but they're actually not that common these days.

Other wheat beers can be almost anywhere on the beer spectrum as long as they're made with a significant portion of wheat. Goses are wheat beers, as are Belgian witbiers like Hoegaarden (though those are made with unsalted rather than malted wheat) but so are Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Sumpin, Three Floyds Gumballhead, Bells Oberon, and Blue Moon.

 

Also, for anyone looking for an entry point into a new beer style, I highly recommend looking at the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines.

They're a little dense, but you can stick to the "Overall Impression" and "Style Comparison" sections to start, and then the "Commercial Examples", which are the beers that experts have decided currently best represent each style.

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf

 

You're going to be a fun addition to this thread, thanks for the info!

 

The one I've had on this list ... Lagunitas does some good stuff.

 

I'm drinking the Otra Vez I mentioned earlier in the thread and it's damn good. Totally relevant to the gose/sour discussion earlier as well. Very tart, the cactus and grapefruit add really great bitter and fruity notes.

 

am I the only that completey detests beligan ales? Maybe I've just had bad ones up till now, but there is the weird aftertaste that reminds me of skunky beer mixed with a vienna sausagey taste.

Picked up some Arrogant Bastard and 60 Minute IPAs for this weekend

 

I LOVE love good belgians, and even as a style they are extremely varied so you may have had some bad ones? I have a brewery near me that only does belgians, but cool twists on it. They have one with vanilla and pistachio and another with hibiscus. Both are fantastic, as are much of their offerings. It's a style to keep on your mind, promise!

 

It's KBS week here in Grand Rapids next week. Hopefully I can get out and get a draft of this stuff somewhere.

 

This week is Tampa Bay Beer Week here and most of the good stuff has been happening while I'm at work. Got out a couple nights and had some Funky Buddha stuff, a couple special Cigar City beers, and some sours from Green Bench, but I'm hoping to get to Cycle. I'll be in St. Pete for a concert tonight with some people, but I'm hoping I can sneak by there. Cycle is definitely my favorite brewery down here at the moment.

 

@KidLightning very good posts, thanks for the education!

Okay I'm going to ask what is probably a stupid question, but I'm leaning so go easy. (I just found out what bomber bottles are, and what Imperial mean). What is KBS and CBS?

 

Kentucky Breakfast Stout and Canadian Breakfast Stout. Both highly acclaimed (and very rare) beers from Founders here in Grand Rapids. They don't brew much of either, so it's always an event when they come out.

 

Ah okay thank you! Can you only get those in the GR area?

 

KBS gets distributed every year "across the Founders distribution footprint," but in very limited quantities. CBS isn't even on their calendar right now for 2016.

 

They don't do CBS every year though, correct? I know they did last year and sent it around a bit more than I've ever heard in the past, but it was only on draft. It was good, but I was a little underwhelmed after all they hype I've heard for years.

 

Ha, thanks! Hope that wasn't sarcastic

They definitely do. If you can find it, try their CitruSinensis Pale Ale that's out right now, made with blood orange juice. It's super flavorful and very drinkable, especially for 8%. And Three Floyds Gumballhead is fairly similar to Sumpin' Sumpin', both hoppy wheat beers, but different hops.

That is a really good beer, I was very impressed. I wasn't expecting Sierra Nevada to be so good at sours. Their hefeweizen, Kellerweiss, is excellent too and very underrated.

Sounds like you've had some bad belgians, or if not brewed poorly, then they're old and/or stored poorly. I've had some bad goses that have that vienna sausage/hot dog flavor from too many phenolics and too much salt. Not a pleasant experience.

I'd recommend Chimay (Cinq Cents, or "white" is my favorite from them), Duvel, Orval, and Rochefort for some good belgians. If you want some domestic breweries that make good belgian styles, then you can't go wrong with Allagash or Ommegang, and Goose Island Matilda and Sofie are both excellent beers. I'd try Sofie first, and then move on to Matilda if you like it.

Happy to help! The 3 things I geek out on are beer, music, and running.

 

I have never seen or tried CBS.

 

Holy shit, Warpigs in Copenhagen is incredible.

 

I want to like beer but my body has trouble tolerating anything carbonated and I also tend to not love the flavor. Tried a sour a few weeks ago that Steve was drinking and it was drinkable. Hoping I can start getting into some of the fruitier beers so everyone can shut up about me being "a wasted beer personality"

 

The place we're going tonight has a pretty good tap list, saw a few sours on there as well. Not sure if you want to dive in with a full glass, but you can certainly try whatever I get!

 

I only have one life. I'm gonna dive head first into fruity bread water

 

I agree, I was pretty weary of Sierra Nevada doing a gose, but boy is it tasty! From the Sierra Nevada typical mixed packs the Kellerweiss is definitely my favorite. Don't love it, but it's better than the pale, Kolsch and Nooner!

 

That's the spirit!!!

Here's a bit of a preview
Bottle Logic Berlinear Equation with Blueberries (I had this last week and it's very good!)
Artifex Unicorn Juice - American Wheat with Passion Fruit (the name alone makes me want)

 

Hmmmm I mean, I feel like I can't not try a beer called Artifex Unicorn Juice

 

and passion fruit is a gift from god anyway