The Beer Thread

[Hungary Jack]

You can screw up with malts or hops pretty equally. I have had some beers so overloaded with bittering hops that I thought I was drinking acetone. And some beers are so sugared that they are unpalatable. I used to think 2 Bros Northwind Imperial Stout was the bomb, now I can only drink a bottle of it at one time.

BTW, has anyone here been lucky enough to taste Sweetwater Brewing Co IPA? I thought it was a wondrous beer the time I had some in Ashe-Vegas.

[Freed Roger]

Out of curiousity and risk of appearing as a beer snob - what genre of beer are you folks veering towards?

dark stouts? esb? pale ales? etc.

Lately my beers are amber ales.

[jim]

Out of curiousity and risk of appearing as a beer snob - what genre of beer are you folks veering towards?

dark stouts? esb? pale ales? etc.

Lately my beers are amber ales.

I don't like stouts at all, wheats there are a couple that I like but in general I don't like those, and not a fan of ambers. So I am veering toward all of those beers that aren't those.

Honestly though I can't tell the difference between an ale and a lager. I know I like Peroni, Pilsner Urqueil, and Budweiser. I know Bud is a lager, I have no idea what those first two are. With wine I can take one sip and tell you what it is, with beer I have no idea.

[G. Keenan]

Well I love a good IPA more than most other styles. I like most stouts, even the likes of espresso and cappuccino stouts and of course, Russian Imperial.

Come to think of it, anything with the word "ale" in it I'm probably going to like. My least favorite category is probably lager, though there are some exceptions and I admittedly drink it all the time in the form of Bud, PBR, etc.

[jim]

Well I love a good IPA more than most other styles. I like most stouts, even the likes of espresso and cappuccino stouts and of course, Russian Imperial.

Come to think of it, anything with the word "ale" in it I'm probably going to like. My least favorite category is probably lager, though there are some exceptions and I admittedly drink it all the time in the form of Bud, PBR, etc.

I honestly don't even know what an IPA is, although I've had a couple that I have liked. They are very "hoppy", is that true all the time?

edit ... to prove my point. Just went to the fridge and got out one of my new favorite beers .. a New Glarus Yokul. Had no clue what it was. It's a lager. I just finished a Budweiser, also a lager. They don't taste anything alike. Both good in their own ways, but not the same.

I Pinot Grigio has the same qualities as another Pinot Grigio, but lagers and ales and whatever else is out there don't.

[G. Keenan]

Well I love a good IPA more than most other styles. I like most stouts, even the likes of espresso and cappuccino stouts and of course, Russian Imperial.

Come to think of it, anything with the word "ale" in it I'm probably going to like. My least favorite category is probably lager, though there are some exceptions and I admittedly drink it all the time in the form of Bud, PBR, etc.

I honestly don't even know what an IPA is, although I've had a couple that I have liked. They are very "hoppy", is that true all the time?

It's a style of beer that stands for India Pale Ale. The story goes that it was a style of beer well suited to surviving the long voyage from England to India, hence the name. It is usually an amber colored ale that is quite hoppy, so more on the bitter side, though the best, in my opinion, manage to be hoppy with malty (sweet) or fruity notes that follow the bitterness and balance the beer.

So yes, it is almost always true that they are hoppy, and some of the ones craft breweries are cranking out now are crazy hoppy to show off, or something.

[Radbird]

Can you name the countries who consume the most beer per capita?

I missed 3, all in Europe.

[JL21]

Out of curiousity and risk of appearing as a beer snob - what genre of beer are you folks veering towards?

dark stouts? esb? pale ales? etc.

Lately my beers are amber ales.

I go crazy for brown ales of all brands/origins. If a stout is done right, I'm a huge fan. Same goes for a hefeweizen. I'd say that about 75% of stouts and hefeweizens are "meh" or worse... but the top 25% are incredible.

I like most IPA's for the hops value, which would seem to fly in the face of my last paragraph.

Honestly, I can appreciate most styles if they're done well.

[Radbird]

Beer is funny that way. I would say browns, reds, stouts, but not IPAs. But some of the best beers I've had have been IPAs. I've given up trying to categorize my tastes, rather just enjoy what's in front of me.

I've got a couple of these bad boys awaiting me for Game 5 tonight.

[Hungary Jack]

The spectrum of IPAs is quite broad. They can range from almost peaty with a bitter finish, to very floral with a mild finish. That is what makes them so cool.