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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Beer Thread

Michigan has some great brewerys.

Every summer there is an event where a whole tour bus full of people meet up in Detroit and take a trip from Detorit west down Interstate 94 and they stop at a bunch of the brew pubs locate in the cities along the way. It starts at about 11:00 am and I think stops at between 6 and 10 different pubs for about an hour each.

It sounds like a lot of fun, I have always wanted to do it but never have.
 
In reference to a post in a different thread about mixing beers by Budgie, here are two I suggest.

The Germans have 2 interesting concoctions that work REALLY well for buz maintainance or if you will be driving after drinking.

Ratler Mas (close enough):
Half of the tankard (size of your choice) filled with a seven up or fizy citrus' kind of soda, the other half filled with a blond or light colored pilsner or lager.

Cola Wiezzen:
Grand Pilsner glass contains .25 ml of coke or cola like carbonated sugar water, and the other half contains .25 ml of dark (dunkel) wiessbeer.

Both drinks hold a buzz while not allowing you to get more drunk, because sooner or later you will get either full, or spend so much time running to the mens room, there is no more time for drinking.

I once tried to get drunk on the Cola Wiezzen and paid the price. After 6 liters, I barely had a buzz. I then reported to the motorpool where I was trapped in a Brit Het (tank carrying truck) for 5 hours with no restroom break. Needless to say, I never repeated that little circus performance again! :D

Both drinks are tastey!
 
Duke Of Dystopia said:
Ratler Mas (close enough):
Half of the tankard (size of your choice) filled with a seven up or fizy citrus' kind of soda, the other half filled with a blond or light colored pilsner or lager.
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You may also want to try the Radler's closely related English brother called a 'Shandy' which is a 50/50 mix of a light lager and ginger ale. I find it to be a pleasant way to dispose of a quantity of cheap american lagers.
 
@ Meister

I will answere your question about the Pilsner here cause I thought it was better suited to this thread and the info will stick around longer than my PUB thread.

All pilsners are not created equal. One of the main secrets to beer IS THE WATER!

Pilsner Urquell is a north german veriety of Pilsner. This means that all things being equal, the Pilsner Urquell will have a much more bitter profile to the beer. This is caused by the hardness of the water. The water is about as hard as Lake Michigan water. The suspended minerals in the water interact with the hops and yeast to create this effect of greater bitterness. Lessening the hops in a batch of PU will only create a lager that is two sweet without the balancing bitterness and aroma it should have.

British water is even HARDER than north german water, which is why they have no notable pilsners but Pale Ales and Bitters do work for them.

Now, the cicker that makes the two types distinct.

The water used for brewing around Pilsen in the Check republic, is almost perfectly soft, meaning it is as close to distilled water as nature can provide. This means that there are no disolved minerals in the water to interact with the hops. This creates a beer where there is no noticable bitterness perception like an IPA but you get the FULL effect of the hops for aroma. Check lagers tend to be sweet rather than thier counterparts in Germany wich can be bitter.

I personaly prefer the check variants before I go for the German verieties.

Consequently, the Bavarian breweries clustered around Munich have NEVER been able to brew Pilsners. Fortunatly, they have equally tasty varients every bit as worthy to drink! :b:
 
Duke Of Dystopia said:
@
The water used for brewing around Pilsen in the Check republic, is almost perfectly soft, meaning it is as close to distilled water as nature can provide. This means that there are no disolved minerals in the water to interact with the hops. This creates a beer where there is no noticable bitterness perception like an IPA but you get the FULL effect of the hops for aroma. Check lagers tend to be sweet rather than thier counterparts in Germany wich can be bitter.
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I never really thought of PU as being particularly bitter. I did some checking (as opposed to Czeching) and found you are correct and that sure enough PU comes in around 40 IBU's. Czechovar comes in around 32.

Other Cyburbians will be amused to learn that Dod is actually serving Budweiser! That's right, Czechovar is marketed in North America under that name only because in Czechoslovakia it is named 'Budver' (Czech for 'Budweiser') and there are some trademark issues out there as a result. Yes, our anemic American Budweiser +o( traces its lineage to this brewery - kinda sad when you compare the two, huh?
I still think you should serve some Belgian ales, though. :b: :b: :b:
 
Maister said:
.......

Other Cyburbians will be amused to learn that Dod is actually serving Budweiser! That's right, Czechovar is marketed in North America under that name only because in Czechoslovakia it is named 'Budver' (Czech for 'Budweiser') and there are some trademark issues out there as a result. Yes, our anemic American Budweiser +o( traces its lineage to this brewery - kinda sad when you compare the two, huh?

I still think you should serve some Belgian ales, though. :b: :b: :b:
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I have a longstanding disagreement/beef with most brewpubs. THEY ARE INCREADIBLY BORING, DULL, AND ARROGANTLY STUCK ON THEMSELVES. So after I got over my snooty period (age 24 to 26) I always swore when I owned my own pub that "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DRINK, AS LONG AS YOU DRINK IT IN MY PUB" :-}

Budvar is the parent/seminal creator of the entire style of the family known as Pilsner. I have some REALLY neat lead crystal Budvar glass' I acquired while in Germany. If anyone ever shows up for a Budvar, I will have to break them out to drink with! :-}

I love the Belgian lambics. But they are damn expensive, even buying them in the liquor store. :-c

I am open to suggestions though! :b:
 
JNA said:
Has anybody participated in / organized a HASHING ?
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Duke Of Dystopia said:
What the HELL is that? 8-!
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Hash House Harriers, a local chapter of an international social group of mostly working professionals who describe themselves as "a drinking group with a running problem."

Google - Hash House Harriers
 
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Duke Of Dystopia said:
I love the Belgian lambics. But they are damn expensive, even buying them in the liquor store. :-c

I am open to suggestions though! :b:
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I bought a four-pack of Duvel on Saturday and gave $11.00 plus tax. But, man is that good. (Anybody else notice that the finish tastes a little like Wrigley's Juicy Fruit?)

Also had my first Leinenkugel's Red and Bells Amber Ale. You guys keep turning me on to new beers and my beer budget is going to go to h3ll. But that is good stuff.

Duke: do you have to carry a little extra insurance since you are going to have drunks going down 29 stairs? :-C :-D
 
Gedunker said:
I bought a four-pack of Duvel on Saturday and gave $11.00 plus tax. But, man is that good. (Anybody else notice that the finish tastes a little like Wrigley's Juicy Fruit?)

Also had my first Leinenkugel's Red and Bells Amber Ale. You guys keep turning me on to new beers and my beer budget is going to go to h3ll. But that is good stuff.

Duke: do you have to carry a little extra insurance since you are going to have drunks going down 29 stairs? :-C :-D
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I think so. How much I need to carry is also spelled out in my rental lease. Looks not to be as bad as you might think though. :b:
 
Gedunker said:
I bought a four-pack of Duvel on Saturday and gave $11.00 plus tax. But, man is that good. (Anybody else notice that the finish tastes a little like Wrigley's Juicy Fruit?)
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I like Duvel - even at $11 per 4-pack!
I was completely underwhelmed by a Belgian abbey ale I tried recently called 'Affligem'. It cost $12.50 for a 6-pack and I felt rooked after tasting the first bottle. :eek:|
 
- Breweries

From Pilgrim brew masters to early commercial ventures to today's monolithic corporations, we'll imbibe American beer's long history, focusing on the commercial brewing industry that developed in the 19th century and continues to today. We'll also taste social experiments from the past, like the Temperance Movement and Prohibition, to see how they left scars on the industry and continue to influence sobriety today.

- Saloons

From a ladle and tin cup in an 1850s mining camp and Civil War tent saloons to Prohibition-era speakeasies, we investigate the history of the American saloon, and go behind-the-scenes at Billy Bob's, a 3-acre Texan saloon, and a Los Angeles sports bar with a computerized liquor-dispensing system. We see what it took to create the elaborate carved bars, the purpose of the brass foot-rail, the impact of refrigerated railroad cars on beer supply, and the transformational power of the bottle cap.

- Distilleries

From water and grain...to mash...still...vat...barrel and bottle--the distilling of alcoholic spirits is a big business and near-sacred religion. Its acolytes eye the color, swirl the glass, inhale the bouquet, sip, then ponder their ambrosia. What's your pleasure? Bourbon, Scotch, Rum, Gin, Vodka, or Tequila? We trace the history of distilling from the one-man/one-still tradition to the Voldstead Act of 1920 that devastated American distilleries to the mega-sales and high-volume distillery of today.

From the AP Wire, August 9, 2004

Trio Dreams Up Idea to Keep Kegs Cold
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN

CLEVELAND -- A trio of college fraternity buddies hopes to make it big with an idea that might appeal to a party host

More of article at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationw...10681.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
 
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Ok adjusting the topic a bit. I have noticed the lack of good beer at Festivals, fairs, concerts, and other big local or regional events. My choices where Bud, Bud light, MGD, or Miller Lite...
UNTIL I moved to the Zoo

Now it is Bells, Arcadia, or one of several other regional brews.

Do your local or regional events have good beer or crappy domestics? More so, do you find that in particular areas of the country you can get better beer?

*Note there is a bar in the UP that I go to, when I am there... they don’t carry anything that is not painted a NASCAR car.
 
Festivals=Lousy Beers

MS:

Here in Colorado, all of the "summer festivals" I've attended have the standard mediocre offerings: Bud-Curs-Miller despite the fact that our state is a virtual utopian embarrassment of riches for good beer - New Belgium, O'Dells, Avery, Breckinridge, Wynkoop, et.al.

I've chastized the managment of one of them - "The Taste of Colorado" - a big Labor Day food-centered fest in downtown Denver. They claim to represent local proprietors except when it comes to the beer taps. Ultimately, it's a function of economics; the big brewers have larger promotional budgets which crowd out the smaller craft brewers.

At least we have the Colorado Brewer's Festival, the Pikes Peak Brewfest, and the grandaddy of them all, the Great American Brewfest to make up for the deficit!
 
Advising BEK to put a hot pepper in his beer got me to thinking about wierd beer. There is (or at least was) a beer called 'Cave Creek Chili Beer', which came in clear bottles. Floating inside each bottle was a jalapeno pepper. It wasn't world class beer but it had a great 'kick'. Ever since tasting it, I have scoured the four corners of the globe to find other hot pepper beers. I've also brewed my own.....today's beer related question. What is the strangest beer you've ever tried (brewed from manioc root? Pumpkin spice? Imported from Madagascar? Packaged in aluminum bottles?.....)
 
The most interesting beer I've tried recently is this German Smoked Beer. It's like liquid bacon...yummy.

This is a quote from the website:

The connoisseur drinks it slowly with relish, but steadily and purposefully. He knows, that the second "Seidla" (half-liter) tastes better than the first, and the third even better than the second. He drinks during the morning pint and during the afternoon break. He drinks it in the evenings, drinks it alone and with company, especially with company, as "Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier" makes one talkative and exuberant. It brings together the local with the stranger, as it is common in Franconia to share your table with others.
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Tranplanner said:
The most interesting beer I've tried recently is this German Smoked Beer. It's like liquid bacon...yummy.

This is a quote from the website:
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I would love to sample a commercially produced rauchbier - I never have, although I have made many gallons of my own and sampled other homebrewer's wares.
 
From the AP Wire:
Beer in Moderation Could Be Good for You

TORONTO -- Beer, a health food? That's what some Canadian researchers report.

A study from the University of Western Ontario finds a brew could be good for you. The researchers say beer has antioxidant boosters that could help fight cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

But the key is moderation. The researchers found three beers would have the opposite effect.

The study was funded by beermakers Guinness and Labatt. But the university says the financial support had no influence on the outcome. ( ;-) :r: )
 
I just remembered another interesting beer I've had recently. A "scotch" beer. Yes, beer brewed with a hint of single malt scotch. It's an acquired taste...

Church Key brewing, near Peterborough Ontario makes it.
 
GeogPlanner said:
Get ready kids to put a lil' pep into your beer. B to the E is what all the cool kids are drinking.
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Anheuser-Busch said each can 6.6 percent alcohol by volume, 54 milligrams of caffeine and 203 calories.

Mike was right Bells Java Stout Beer is very similar however the amount of caffine is not know, the amount of alcohol is much more 7.5%
 
I know you guys would rather drink it than read about it;
thought you might be interested in this book, found this in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Book review:

Travels With Barley subtitled: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America.
In Search of the Perfect Beer Joint (print headline)

Qoute from the article:
"But, oh, the high points. If Wells (author) fails to find the perfect beer joint, he finds some good contenders - say, the Casino in LaCrosse, Wis..."

"Travels With Barley"
By Ken Wells
Published by Wall Street Journal Books, 304 pages, $24
 
I've never been a real beer connoisseur before but reading this thread, and hanging out with a few people who are has inspired me to have a go at it. So in my quest to become a better beer drinker I made my way to the local by-the-bottle shop (actually it's a Chicago style hot dog joint with a huge selection of national micro-brews, but that's beside the point) and brought home 12 beers that I'd never partaken of before. Here's the report from from the past couple of nights.

He'Brew Genesis Ale: A hoppy tasting, and kosher, New York brewed amber that was very smooth. Good stuff

He'Brew Messiah Bold: A dark and malty brew that I really, really liked. I'll probably end up getting a six pack of this latter on.

Blue Moon Pumpkin Brew: Smooth beer that was creamy without being too sweet. A nice seasonal flavor that my wife really liked this one.

Rogue Honey Cream Ale: There weren't any price tags on the by-the-bottle beers so I was a little suprised to find out at the register that this one was $6.00 a bottle. The price alone made me expect a lot from this beer and upon tasting I found it to be a decent medium body brew with a good but not overpowering honey taste. Was it good? Sure. Was it $36.00 a six-pack good? No way.

Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale: Although not bad I was kind of dissapointed by this seasonal brew. It was a little light and had way too much allspice flavor for my taste. Not near as smooth as the Blue Moon.

Well five beers down and so far the He'Brew Messiah Brew is my favorite. I've never had a kosher beer before
but if that's what makes the difference in taste than I may have to start buying everything at the kosher shops in town. L'Chaim!

The November beer odyssey continues....
 
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I had it a long time ago but forgot just how good it was. Tried two last week... Danish beer called 'Tuborg'. Man, was it good and not too expensive.
 
A slow day here in Current Planning has allowed me to finally read this thread.
Here in Colo. (I don't know if they have been mentioned before) we have a lot of micros. There have been many coming out, and some of them are good, a lot are nothing really to write home about. New Belgium brews are decent and the brewery tours offer samples and growlers. (In fact this weekend may proved a good time to go up and get some more Blue Paddle)

A lot of Cyburbians have been knocking light beer. While months ago I would've been offended, I have since been drinking non-light beer and not looking back. I still maintain that a cold Coors Light is good after working outside in the summer, in college we would drink "C" Light or Keystone, because it was easier to slam a bunch if your were just going to get blotto.
My roommate's band played a club in Fort Collins, Colo. where they sold the local micros on tap, but also Hamms at a buck a can. I turned me into a Hamms drinker when I'm low on cash and I still insist that Hamms is the best cheap beer out there.
We also used to drink Olympia when they had the grenade 11.5 oz. bottles, but those have not been sold in Colo. for 2 years. :-( :-@
I think that is all I have to say right now....
Bottoms up, Cyburbia! :b:
 
I was listening to a story on NPR a week or so ago on beer in america and the growth of micro-brews. This one guy was talking about all his favorite beers and he responded to one questions by saying something like "Oh yeah I like a lot of beer and I have had a lot of beer boing this job, but what is my favorite? Well it is the next beer of course?"
 
This coming weekend I will have ca$h in my pocket, no children, no functions and no chance of seeing BA. My new phone has digital photo capability. HMMMMM !!! Somebody stop me before I kill another case. I foresee waking up in Queen B's backyard, that is if she'll let me. :a:
 
Budgie said:
This coming weekend I will have ca$h in my pocket, no children, no functions and no chance of seeing BA. My new phone has digital photo capability. HMMMMM !!! Somebody stop me before I kill another case. I foresee waking up in Queen B's backyard, that is if she'll let me. :a:
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Hmmmm...I am publishing a new magazine called "Better Alleys and Winos" and was wondering if you would be willing to contribute to a column which we could title "Budgie's Korner". It would feature lots of advice on conducting a successful binge ("....after you've killed off that 12 pack of warm Old Milwaukees you might want to stumble over to an old friend's place to crash/keep awake. We recomend waiting until after 2 a.m. but before 6 a.m......." or "...you say you've stained your trenchcoat while beefing red wine - don't despair, cold vinegar works miracles even days later...."). ;-)
 
Maister said:
"Budgie's Korner".
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Just for you I will chronicle this weekends activities. OH Crikey, I just forgot that I'm supposed to be taking a green bean casarole to the church Thanksgiving day lunch. HMMM, this will take some careful planning and impeckable execution.
 
Maister said:
Hmmmm...I am publishing a new magazine called "Better Alleys and Winos" and was wondering if you would be willing to contribute to a column which we could title "Budgie's Korner".
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"Have an important speech to give? Feeling a little nervous? Learn how Vodka can save the day without anybody knowing you've been putting some hair on the cat";)
 
biscuit said:
Blue Moon Pumpkin Brew: Smooth beer that was creamy without being too sweet. A nice seasonal flavor that my wife really liked this one.

Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale: Although not bad I was kind of dissapointed by this seasonal brew. It was a little light and had way too much allspice flavor for my taste. Not near as smooth as the Blue Moon.
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I agree with both of these assessments. Dogfish Head makes some of the best, most original beer in the country but the Punkin was quite a disappointment. If you haven't tried Raison D'Etre, Immort Ale, or the 90 Minute Pale, be sure to check them out.

The Blue Moon pumpkin was great this year. Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee makes Pumpkin Lager ever year and they mix up the recipe each season...this year was the first season that It wasn't very good, so I am glad that Blue Moon's was so good.

I brewed some Brown ale this weekend, so I am hoping I have a nice batch for Christmas.
 
A friend brought me some Molson Export from CT. (I guess they import it there). I had it for the first time in Vancouver and thought it was pretty good. I had two last night and the opinion is still the same.

Is Export a cheap Molson or what is the difference/marketing strategy?
 
zmanPLAN said:
A friend brought me some Molson Export from CT. (I guess they import it there). I had it for the first time in Vancouver and thought it was pretty good. I had two last night and the opinion is still the same.

Is Export a cheap Molson or what is the difference/marketing strategy?
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Export is Molson's "ale". It's an old man beer. I'm not sure what you mean by "difference" - it's meant to be different from what, Canadian? (Canadian is a lager).

If you think it's good, then American beer must be really crappy ;-)
 
zmanPLAN said:
A friend brought me some Molson Export from CT. (I guess they import it there). I had it for the first time in Vancouver and thought it was pretty good. I had two last night and the opinion is still the same.

Is Export a cheap Molson or what is the difference/marketing strategy?
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historically, the title 'export ale' meant the ale was brewed with exclusive intent to market it across international boundaries. Because many English colonies and commonwealth adopted the practice of taxing locally marketed brew based on its alcohol content, but exempted ales exported across international lines from this tax, the implication is supposed to be that an export ale is stronger.
 
Tranplanner said:
Export is Molson's "ale". It's an old man beer. I'm not sure what you mean by "difference" - it's meant to be different from what, Canadian? (Canadian is a lager).

If you think it's good, then American beer must be really crappy ;-)
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Well, I kind of figured out it is a little different than Canadian. But Canadian is WAY different down here then up in the Great White North. (Meaning, it is better up there). Also I have Canadian in a can at my apartment so the taste is more different still. (Sort of the first thing I grabbed at the beer store after a LONG planning commission meeting).

I think the appeal with Export is that you can't get it here in Colorado. And I assocaited it with good times. Because I first tried it while partying in Vancouver.
 
Places that have your favorite brew

So this week, I will be going home to the UP, and tomorrow night, I will be lucky if I can find a bar that will have something other than a general domestic. No micro brews, no foreign brews, only beer that has a NASCAR associated with it. They don't even have Killian's :-c :-@ :-{

Do you have one place that you will go to on a regular occasion for one type of beer, and are there places that you don’t enjoy or will not go because they do not have your type of beer?
 
Mexican week....

This week was Mexican week:

Negro Modelo - Best when very fresh...one of my favorite.....
 
michaelskis said:
......[snip].... Do you have one place that you will go to on a regular occasion for one type of beer...[snip]....
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Right here 2 blocks from the beach.
:8: Who's gonna drive you home, tonight....
You can't go on thinkin' nothin's wrong :8:
 
Ray McCoy said:
The cruise line said it was okay to bring alcohol aboard as long as you consume it in your cabin and not in the public areas of the ship. Two five gallon kegs in duffel bags at the luggage drop off for eleven days at sea seems reasonable. They didn’t say it had to be in bottles or cans. They didn’t specify any limits. What’s the problem?

Apparently the dog in charge of luggage inspection uses the same signal for narcotics, explosives, and cats. The duffel bag with one of the kegs had doubled as a cat bed while waiting to be packed for the trip. Maybe the dog didn’t like cat fur without the rest of the cat and maybe the guy on the other end of the leash copped an attitude....
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Read the rest...http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article1220301.shtml
 
michaelskis said:
Has anyone had any good Holiday Beers?
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I think it qualifies as a holiday beer: Bell's White Winter Ale. Had it yesterday and thought it was an excellent accompaniment to wrapping presents while watching football ;)
 
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