Beer in the new era

NYCers, get thee to DBGB, where the food is so-so, the decor worse, but there are twenty-something beers on tap and you can request draft tastings (the guy next to me got four ~6 oz pours for the price of 2 ~15 oz pours).

Had a really good (if not especially rare) Captain Lawrence Fresh Chester Pale Ale.

woah i just went to (lol)yelp to check what dbgb is and noticed the first review praising the $7 hot dog as cheap. wowsers. "spicy and gourmey." hmmmm.

last night i was at the internet radio station's anniversary party, which included free beer provided by the assosciated restaurant--little frankies pale ale by sixpoint. a nice IPA, really nice color--cloudy orange. mmm. i think my problem was that i drank the first three much too fast and got pretty hammered; didn't expect the beer to be as strong as it was.

had a couple bottles of Black Dog Ale tonight, by the Spanish Peaks Brewery. I liked it. I don't have anything compelling to say aside from that--an American amber ale with a nice malty nose, very drinkable. Now I am at my mom's house drinking Dogfish Head 60 min.

I am currently having stir-fry with my first can of Sapporo Reserve. Which tastes like a maltier version of Sapporo.

So, cold Japanese beer for me. Sumimasen!!!!!!!

yum that sounds good.

any other homebrewers up in this thread? We had a long day yesterday brewing one batch (rosemary red) and bottling two others (oatmeal stout, standard red).

I went to a party last weekend that had a bunch of that Trader Joe's lager, it was quite a nice surprise. Simpler Times, I think it's called?

I like the TJ brand! Pretty good!

lol, drinking a sam adams cherry wheat (last beer we had left from a party). Not as bad as I thought, but definitely would not drink another.

Is Simpler Times a TJ brand? I thought it was someone else's. I tried a sixer in cans and wasn't really impressed, tho it is $3 per 6 so the price is right.

I had a couple of the TJ's Hofbrau bocks tonight, which I think is my favorite of theirs. I'm assuming it's brewed by Gordon Biersch because the caps have the same design, except for the initials (GB vs TJ), and both list San Jose as the location of the brewery.

woah i just went to (lol)yelp to check what dbgb is and noticed the first review praising the $7 hot dog as cheap. wowsers. "spicy and gourmey." hmmmm.

Yeah, that hot dog is really not worth $7. Not even worth half that. The food was seriously disappointing to me (not quite as bad as DB Bistro Moderne, but only because it was cheaper), but the beer list was very good.

i'm visiting my family for the week, gonna hit the liquor store this afternoon and see what nifty microbrews i can find that may not get distribution in NY (or at least, not at the bodegas nearby.) will report back.

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i've been drinking Narragansett all summer. hell, i'm drinkin one now

herb, providence dude?

WMass. 'Gansett's taking over. now I need some of those Utz Crab Chips

fuckin crab chips rule.

newport storm amber ale... meh.

lol, drinking a sam adams cherry wheat (last beer we had left from a party). Not as bad as I thought, but definitely would not drink another.

― the kid is crying because did sharks died? (Hurting 2), Monday, July 20, 2009 11:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

This tastes like cough syrup.

Glad to finally be able to find/drink Yuengling again.

the newport storm stuff is nothing special imo.

treated myself to a 4 pack of bear republic hop rod rye today. good stuff!

best local brew remains harpoon ipa imo

i like the bear republic rye!

agreed on harpoon; had one with lunch and it was sweet.

drinking a peak organic pale ale right now, highly recommended

oh cool i see that around a lot; will buy

soooooooo good

the only time I drink 'gansetts is when I'm broke at as220

this is vv good:

http://www.kegliquors.com/gayant_la_divine.jpg

la divine st landelin. it's 8.5% i think, not too strong, reminiscent of a mellower allagash curieux.

I had both Harpoon and Peak IPAs at a bar a few days ago. First time I'd seen Harpoon in the Midwest -- would definitely drink again. Peak was a little too ... earthy or something.

One of my favorite American IPAs (I rate it a bit higher than both Harpoon and Lagunitas, two reliable go-to IPAs) is Bell's Two Hearted Ale. Wonderfully hoppy, fresh, complex and fragrant, but with enough malt to keep things from getting overly bitter. Haven't seen it in NYC, but definitely worth keeping your eyes out for.

Which reminds me that, last time I was in Minneapolis, I picked up some four-packs of Surly Furious IPA, Cynic Ale, and Bender on the advice of Beer Advocate (and the store's owner). Way, way disappointed. Maybe my head couldn't tell my palate to get over the awful energy-drink packaging, but all three were dull, flat, and bland. The Cynic was especially disappointing because I love that style and was quite intrigued to get it in a can rather than, say, a big bottle of Saison Dupont, but it was so unpleasant I couldn't finish it.

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as a MPLS/STPL native, i am so confused by how people can happily choke down surly brews. they are swill.

probably already expressed this sentiment upthread somewhere but it bears repeating.

two-hearted is one of my favorite beers, period. prob my favorite IPA

I've enjoyed Surly Bender and Coffee Bender. I was actually trying to find if there's anywhere in Chicago that sells Surly in six-packs, since I am going to a (don't ask) Minnesota-themed party on Saturday. Guess I'll have to settle for Summit.

Peak was a little too ... earthy or something.

there's a peak organic IPA and a peak organic pale ale, I've never had teh IPA but pale ale is delish

gonna keep an eye out for two hearted

I actually had surly bender for the first time this past weekend and I definitely enjoyed it. Wasn't superlative or nothing, but a good solid dark beer.

probably already expressed this sentiment upthread somewhere but it bears repeating.

Ah, yes. I now see your sentiment upthread. I also see your rec for the Summit Red Ale -- which I also remember enjoying very much on the same trip.

surly brews. they are swill.

Polite disagreement. When I'm in the mood for a HUGE blast (lol energy drink can) of piney, citrusy hops, Furious fills the bill for me perfectly. Not much of fan of their other styles though, tbh.

Liking the Summit Red Ale a lot too.

i've been in a rut w/ beer lately. need something new, i think. tend to be 4 types of beer:

1. beers i love but that i've tried hundreds of times already. could always go w/ these but i like variety
2. beers i have tried that aren't very good
3. beers i have not tried but don't look very good or come from breweries that i've been burned on before
4. beers that look awesome but are only sold for >$9 for a 22 oz bottle. i could go w/ these i suppose but it doesn't help my weeknights when i only want to have one glass of beer (and don't want to drop $$ just for that)

what i really want are beers that a.) look great b.) are sold in six-packs c.) are not more than say, $10/six (which is even a bit much)

d.) that i have not tried before

yeah dudes, ive tried to get into the surly stuff (friend of a friend is part owner, which makes me even more of a dick i suppose) but they just all have some weird overpowering something going on that gets in the way of what is in there that i might appreciate i guess. feel the same way about laguinitas, some parallel there that i cant quite put my finger on, but i think its whatever gives stuff that grass clipping vibe i get sometimes. to each their own tho.

jaymc, it might be worth trying to track down the red ale if you want to dodge the boring old (although still awesome to be fair) pale ale summit.

Oh yeah, Peak Organic Pale Ale is great great great. I was really surprised since it looked like such a generic yuppie-appeal beer.

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Well, I don't drink a lot of Summit (it's not quite as ubiquitous down here), so I don't think of any of their beers as "boring old" -- but it looks like one of the big booze emporiums has the red ale, so maybe I'll give it a shot.

Two especially embarrassingly marketed but very good beers I've had lately -- Blue Point's Hoptical Illusion and Rastafar-rye Ale.

Best new-to-me beer I've had recently was from Tyranena (small brewery in Lake Mills, Wisconsin I don't think has been mentioned upthread.)

They do limited edition seasonals called "Brewers Gone Wild" (again with the CA-RAY-ZY!!! marketing) and the one I had was called Scurvy IPA. Brewed with orange zest, although it's not at all fruity; it just added to the citrusy zing of the hops.

oh hey ive had that! pretty good, i think they had it at the muddy pig in Saint Paul. (btw if out of towners are looking to do some quality beer drinking in the twin cities, the muddy pig is where its at.)

When I'm in the mood for a HUGE blast (lol energy drink can) of piney, citrusy hops, Furious fills the bill for me perfectly.

Hmm. That's exactly what disappointed me about it -- to me, it had no fresh, citrusy hop flavor at all. Piney like a car scent thingy, yes. Piney like a pine forest, no. I just wonder whether the perversity of the idea of drinking good beer/ale out of a can is what turns some people on to Surly.

Two especially embarrassingly marketed but very good beers I've had lately -- Blue Point's Hoptical Illusion and Rastafar-rye Ale.

I had the Hoptical Illusion recently too but wasn't a huge fan. I remember it being on the heavy side for an IPA...

Hoptical Illusion has a really atrocious label, yes, but I remember it being totally drinkable.

btw had a few more newport storm hurricane amber ale's last night, and i decided that the scent is v v similar to this stuff:
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