BEER

[Lady Revel]

*LR pops open a Pabst Blue Ribbon*

mmmmmmmmmmm

Thanks, Cail!

Cheers!

[Cail]

Like I said, nothing wrong with PBR.

[sgt.null]

my aunt used to drink Schaefer, nasty stuff.
Lone Star is horrible and gritty. ugh!

[Lady Revel]

My Da used to drink Schaefer!!!!!

*fondly remembers snagging a couple of Schaefer's to drink with her friends, and her Da pretending not to notice*

[Rincewind]

i used to dislike the taste of beer, its mainly an aquired taste

[sgt.null]

Lady Revel : it was a different time, but when I was around 4 my grandfather came over the house (this is in 72) and he sat drinking his beer, he would hand me the empty bottles to me to dump in the trash. well i drank what little was in the bottom. he noticed and started leaving a bit more, until i got a bit tipsy. instead of laying down i went on a talking jag (i never talked that much, my parents worried there was a problem in fact) at last i did fall asleep, standing up, leaning against the chair.

to all: it is just something that happened, there is no deeper meaning. i do not advocate this for anyone. nor am i feeling badly that it happened, it was a different time. thanks.

[The Laughing Man]

My Da used to drink Schaefer!!!!!

*fondly remembers snagging a couple of Schaefer's to drink with her friends, and her Da pretending not to notice*

Genny Cream Ale? how about Fort Schuyler? Utica Club?

[Lady Revel]

Genny Cream Ale! Mmmmmmmmmm

*rubs her tummy*

[sgt.null]

www.portsmouthbrewery.com/htmlpages.por ... rlist.html

nothing tastes as good as home!

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

nothing tastes as good as home!

Except when it's crud... I tried the Fordham's Cail was talking about - I forget which I had, but it was the kind of beer that would have been great if they'd used about half as much water. Also tried a selection from a brewery up around Bar Harbor, Maine - dreadful stuff. I I ever move up there, I won't be bragging about that.

My favorites: Killian's Red, Okocim, Zywiec and Perla (the last three are all Polish - Okocim is the best). I can be persuaded to purchase Yingling if there is nothing else around, but it is generally too sharpand bitter for my taste. There is a Sam Adams beer that comes out around the holidays that I also like... come to think of it, they should have that in stores by now. Other than that, I basically drink what's offered. Won't buy mass-produced domestics, though. No taste to them.

[Sunbaneglasses]

Do they still make Sterling?The stuff in the barrel shaped bottle,it was my fave during my college stint,cheap and pretty damn good for the price,I have not seen it in a while.

[sgt.null]

The Mass. Bay Brewing Co. of Boston, MA, has signed a purchase and sale agreement to buy the former Catamount Brewing Company facility located in Windsor, Vermont. Mass. Bay, the maker of the Harpoon brands, has said it will brew Catamount brands at the Windsor brewery, as well as its own beers. "We're happy to become part of the Vermont brewing community," said Mass. Bay CEO Rich Doyle. "They're good guys making good beer." Windsor town administrator John Schempf told the Claremont, N.H. Eagle Times that the officials with Harpoon Brewery planned to sign the deal with Chittenden Bank. The bank took over the closed Windsor brewery in April after Catamount failed to fulfill a loan obligation. "Naturally, we're excited to have a brewery back in town," said Windsor's John Schempf. "They'll be in town this week to discuss water and sewer rates and tax stabilization." Mass. Bay, which brewed over 60,000 barrels in 1999, had reached the practical capacity of its Boston, Massachusetts brewery. "All of us at Harpoon have a great deal of admiration and respect for the Catamount Brewery and the pioneering role it played in New England craft brewing," said Dan Kenary, Harpoon co-founder and president. "We plan to continue brewing and selling Catamount and at the same time expand Harpoon's brewing operations to meet the growing demand of our New England consumers." Kenary said that the company hopes to reach a final purchase agreement by early July. "We are encouraged by the reception we have received in Windsor," Kenary said, "and look forward to continued progress towards an agreement." Windsor's economic development consultant Jill Michaels said the talks between the brewer and the bank appeared to have progressed to the point of sale. "Everybody involved was feeling very good about it," Michaels said. "They seem to be really nice folks." Catamount Brewery, Vermont's first microbrewery, closed its doors in April after six months of speculation about the future of the company. The brewery, which started producing beer in 1984, had trouble recovering from a multi-million dollar move from its White River Junction home to the Windsor site in 1997. The expansion took place at a time when the microbrew marketplace was becoming saturated with different brands and when growth in the sector leveled off. At its peak in 1998, Catamount Brewery produced almost 22,000 barrels of beer with a staff of 35 people.
Harpoon Brewery, founded in 1986, is the second largest brewery in New England. The company has 45 employees and produces nine brands, with distribution over all of New England and as far south as Georgia.

[Zarathustra]

A question about the "light" factor. When my refrigerator door is closed, its light is off. No sun can get in there, either.
The beer bottles are packaged in cardboard that blocks light, shipped in trucks that block light (I have yet to see a clear case or delivery truck) wink.gif
And sold in indoor distributors.

During that time, how much light can possibly cause that chemical reaction? Is it instantaneous? Why does warm bud in a can taste just as crappy as warm bud in a bottle? Why does warm Heineken in a can taste just as crappy as warm Heineken in a bottle?

I'm confused why you think it is unlikely that beer is exposed to light. It sits on shelves in the light. Don't you ever see bottled beer in the store? If you can see it, then there is light hitting it. I'm not sure how long it takes, but a week should do it. Maybe less. Do you think it is unlikely that beer can be exposed to light for a week before you buy it? I'm not making this up. Check out any homebrewer forum. If you can't taste the skunk in Heineken, I don't know what to say. Try again, maybe? Pay more attention, maybe? Compare it side-by-side to the canned version. There is a world of difference, at least to me. But I've made it a habit of noticing these things. For instance, I can taste the difference between Cascade and Chinook hops, or between black malt, chocolate malt, and roasted barely.

As to your final two questions, perhaps it's just because Heineken and Bud are crappy beers.

On the temperature issue, not all beers are designed to be drank at the same temperature. Lagers/pilsners are supposed to be drank cooler than stouts and porters. They are intentionally light on the flavor. But ice cold beer is a relatively new phenomenon, coinciding with the mass production of stale, yellow, fizzy, piss-tasting crap that is sold today.

Before prohibition, beer was largely a local product. After prohibition ended, thousands of small local breweries were shut down or bought out. Corporate beer started appearing--and character/uniqueness became secondary to sales. Corportate breweries tried to brew the blandest stuff that would appeal to the most people. And since many of the men were off to war at this time (WWI? WWII?), women were their target market. So the beverage that so many men today consume and consider "masculine," is actually a pale (literally) imitation of Real Ale, an imitation that was tweaked to appeal to women.

Today's mass produced beer is forced carbonated instead of bottled conditioned--a process which produces natural carbonation through a secondary fermentation. The head that forms is much more creamy and delicious, because it has much smaller bubbles. With bottle-conditioned beer, you actually WANT a head on it, instead of trying to pour it carefully to avoid this.

Also, mass produced beer has been filtered, removing the yeast. This literally kills the beer, stopping all fermentation. However, Real Ale has not been filtered, so the yeast continue to condition the beer, allowing it to age like a fine wine. Many beer enthusiasts collect bottles of their favorite brew from year to year, aging them up to a decade so that they can perform what is called a vertical tasting: sampling the same beer from sequential years to see the differences between batches, and the characteristics imparted by aging.

[High Lord Tolkien]

I had my first Guinness a few weeks ago.
Pretty good.

Malik23, I've been experimenting with temp after reading your posts.
I used to think "colder the better" but you're right, the darker richer beers do taste a little better cool.

[Cail]

Looking forward to several Guinni (Guinnesses?) this afternoon.

[Brinn]

Very cool post Malik. Thanks for the beer education!

[Sunbaneglasses]

Looking forward to several Guinni (Guinnesses?) this afternoon.

If I drink more than 2 or 3 I get the bubble gut the next morning.I had a good oatmeal stout from a brew pub in Chatanooga Tennessee a few weeks ago,I think the place was called The Big River Grille and Brewery.

[sgt.null]

I love Sam Adams on tap. it's what I usually order at a restaurant if they have no imported.

[aTOMiC]

Back when I was inclined to have one on occasion I seemed to like Michelob the best. I tried others and on one very forgettable occasion got completely sick on Mickey's Big Mouth though I think that might have been a Malt Liquor. Only the resident experts can say.

[drew]

Canadian Beer:


Personally Molson Candian is my favorite.
-Alexander Keiths is right up there.
-Moosehead is all it's forms I find pretty gross.
-Labbat Blue I'll drink if there's nother else around...but Labbat Maximum Ice -whoobaby 7% alc.--drink half a 2-4 and you feel it!!
-Sleeman's makes some good stuff (Sleemans cream ale rocks)
-Kokani is fantastic; I just feel guilty drinking it since it's from the west coast.

Like Null, I started out with beer quite young-I always liked the taste. There's a picture of me at about three-or four years old trying to get some out of the bottom of a steien.
When I was older (10 maybe) my old man would let me drink the neck of one or two he was having.

As far as On-Tap goes...Only if I'm sharing a pitcher with some guys will I ever order draft (blech!)