Mmmm, beer...

Talk about your favorite liquor, ask questions, and share stories all about booze!

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Geek_on_call
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Geek_on_call »

XANDER: What have we learned about beer?
BUFFY: FOAMY!!!
XANDER: Good. As long as we have that straight.
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txmystic
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by txmystic »

Julie wrote: Ya know...I've never really liked Fireman's #4 for some reason. Blue Moon I can generally enjoy. The best experience I ever had with Blue Moon was at a Sherlock's in Austin. It tasted different than any other time I've had it, and it was yummy. There were hints of vanilla or something complementing the orange...it was awesome. :)
I'm down with you on the experience of Blue Moon on draft...served properly it can indeed be yummy! As for firemans #4, I think back to the first time my family and I were dining at a neo-hipster joint in the SoLa district of Austin called Olivia (yes kids, Austin is starting to New Yorkify its trendy parts...so sad). The food was so awesome and I saw the barkeep pouring a perfect honey-colored pint of something that turned out to be fireman's 4. The pairing of the beer with my food elevated it to almost transcendence, so every time I drink one, I get echoes of the experience. Try it with like a charcuterie with cheese and something really savory like braised mushrooms. You won't regret it.

BTW, happy 30th. Try not to get too down on being over the hill, it only makes the entire decade go faster!! Enjoy it...
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by MrFireDragon »

Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World coming soon, anyone going?
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Julie
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Julie »

txmystic wrote:BTW, happy 30th. Try not to get too down on being over the hill, it only makes the entire decade go faster!! Enjoy it...
I refuse to be "down" about my age. :) Every year I'm still kicking is worth pride and celebration. :)

And I'm all for good beer/food pairings. My husband doesn't like doing that, so I don't always get to enjoy good beers with good matching foods. Any other pairing recommendations from the peanut gallery? :)
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bmonk
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by bmonk »

My dad always enjoys beer and chocolate. I assume it's an acquired taste.
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Jabberwonky
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Jabberwonky »

bmonk wrote:My dad always enjoys beer and chocolate. I assume it's an acquired taste.
Not as bad as you might think. A Bostonian I used to work with talked me into a Heineken and a piece of chocolate cake. Works very well together...
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alj_ws
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by alj_ws »

Julie wrote:
txmystic wrote:BTW, happy 30th. Try not to get too down on being over the hill, it only makes the entire decade go faster!! Enjoy it...
I refuse to be "down" about my age. :) Every year I'm still kicking is worth pride and celebration. :)

And I'm all for good beer/food pairings. My husband doesn't like doing that, so I don't always get to enjoy good beers with good matching foods. Any other pairing recommendations from the peanut gallery? :)
crêpes works very well with dark porter or stout. The traditionnal drink in that pairing is cider or mead, but I prefer beer, especially with galettes (salted not sugared, & oat not wheat flour).
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DinkyInky
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by DinkyInky »

Only two beers I can stomach are Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss and Creamy Dark, and the second is only if I have a really rich dessert to go with it.

Guinness tasted like tin foil(this was from the tap at Clancy's--Irish Bar). The only way I was able to finish it was to add a double shot of Black Bush(and I felt bad about abusing a decent whiskey).

The last time someone "gifted" me Guinness, I used it to marinade a bunch of sausages before grilling.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

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Lupine
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Lupine »

Some pilsners and lagers are pretty good, but I can't stand most American lagers. What I really like are brown and dark ales, porters and stouts. My favorite brewer is Anchor Brewing, in San Francisco. Anchor is ~160 years old, but is also the first modern micro-brewery and the inspiration for many of the modern craft brewers today, including Sam Adams, New Belgium, Mendocino Brewing, Pyramid, etc. Anchor is famous for its Steam Beer, a fabulous beer made with lager yeast, but brewed at high temps, like an ale. They also make a wonderful porter, a very good barley-wine and an amazing small beer, along with a number seasonal brews of various types. Their annual Xmas Ale is different every year and is always good.

A few others I really enjoy are Gordon Birsch's Pilsner and Marzen, Deschutes Brewing's Black Butte Porter, Rogue's Dead Man Ale, etc. For lighter brews I like hefeweizens, Blue Moon and Pyramid, especially.
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DinkyInky
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by DinkyInky »

Julie wrote:
txmystic wrote:BTW, happy 30th. Try not to get too down on being over the hill, it only makes the entire decade go faster!! Enjoy it...
I refuse to be "down" about my age. :) Every year I'm still kicking is worth pride and celebration. :)
Kids.

I remember my 30th. My siblings teased me in typical warped humour fashion.
Julie wrote:And I'm all for good beer/food pairings. My husband doesn't like doing that, so I don't always get to enjoy good beers with good matching foods. Any other pairing recommendations from the peanut gallery? :)
I was talked into one called, "Blackened Voodoo". I've had it before, as in Before Katrina, when it was bottled in New Orleans, and had it not too long ago. Flavour changed very little from then. It's one of those like or don't like ones. It's...interesting. Kinda like chocolate caramel, but the overpowering yeasty flavour had me reaching for my kahlua to made it drinkable for me. If the flavour were a straight liquor, I'd be in sooo much trouble, because it was tasty. I'm just not so much into that liquid bread aftertaste.

As I said, I'm not one for beer, but those two Leinenkugel's are decent. It's that heavy bread flavour I don't like. All beer has it, just some more than others.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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Julie
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Julie »

Okay...so I must share something my husband and one of his friends did a little more than a week ago. :) We were at our favorite pub and noticed that one of the rotators they had was called Ghost Face Killah. Naturally, we were highly amused, and having never heard of it before, my husband decided that he and his friend should try it at some point in the evening. Another friend of our took a closer look at the rotator board to see if we could learn more about it, and noticed that the board simply said "no refunds." This, of course, only piqued their curiosity further. So when my husband and his friend were nicely past the "intoxicated" line, they ordered one, against the recommendations of our worthless waitress (worthless because she was not attentive and couldn't tell us a thing about the beer other than "no one finishes it" and "I hear it's not good"). I read the label when she brought them two bottles. Here's what it said:
Six kinds of hot chili peppers go into this fiery-ass beer including the infamous ghost pepper, serrano, jalepeno, habenero, fresno & anaheim also lend their rich flavors to make for a taste-sizzling good time. Keep away from children and the tepid of tongue.
My husband and his friend were drunk enough to think it would still be funny to drink this beer and call their attempt "Man vs. Beer" in honor of a Travel Channel show we enjoy. I kid you not...less than a minute after the first drink, they were both stone cold sober. :lol: They soldiered through their drinks anyhow because, as they put it, there were no refunds on the beer, and their manhoods were on the line. I think my favorite point in the evening was when my husband was looking at the beer very sadly and muttered, "I need to pee, but I'm afraid of how it will feel."

I strongly recommend this beer as an alternative to Doc Brown's Wake-Up Juice...and you should only share it with friends or family if they are the forgiving sort. :)
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Dave
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Dave »

Julie wrote: I think my favorite point in the evening was when my husband was looking at the beer very sadly and muttered, "I need to pee, but I'm afraid of how it will feel."
Wow. This would be quite the beverage to go with the "World's Hottest Hamburger" served at the Prince of Wales pub in San Mateo, California. This thing has a thick layer of red relish on top, which is nearly pure stewed habanero and/or savina pepper. You have to sign a waiver before they'll serve you one. If you finish one, they'll give you another for free, if you should happen to want it. And, about six hours after eating it, "You will have a religious experience" in the words of the guy who lured me there.

One bottle of Ghost Face Killah on top of that, would probably have been enough to trigger a case of spontaneous human combustion.
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NOTDilbert
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by NOTDilbert »

I have made meade (in the SCA), and the best-recieved version was almost non-alchoholic; it was a 'fresh' meade, made to be drunk only a day after making. Made with lemon zest, a cinamon stick and (of course) honey, it was naturally carbonated with only a fraction of a percent alchy. Very nice on a summers day, you could drink it without brain freeze! (Putting the brew on ice suppressed/killed the yeast providing the carbonation.) Lemony without being lemonade.

The worst part (other than waiting a day to drink) was clarifying. The spices, honey and water had an egg white whipped into them and stirred thoroughly, then boiled. The egg whites made a 'rocky' head, trapping the powdered spices and any clouding agents, and had to be keeled (scooped off the top of the boil) as it formed. It forms FAST. Done properly it leaves a lovely clear yellow-brown liquid, cooled to room temp and then seeded with bottom-fermenting yeast. 24 hours later, Drink!
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Julie
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Julie »

NOTDilbert wrote:I have made meade (in the SCA), and the best-recieved version was almost non-alchoholic; it was a 'fresh' meade, made to be drunk only a day after making. Made with lemon zest, a cinamon stick and (of course) honey, it was naturally carbonated with only a fraction of a percent alchy. Very nice on a summers day, you could drink it without brain freeze! (Putting the brew on ice suppressed/killed the yeast providing the carbonation.) Lemony without being lemonade.

The worst part (other than waiting a day to drink) was clarifying. The spices, honey and water had an egg white whipped into them and stirred thoroughly, then boiled. The egg whites made a 'rocky' head, trapping the powdered spices and any clouding agents, and had to be keeled (scooped off the top of the boil) as it formed. It forms FAST. Done properly it leaves a lovely clear yellow-brown liquid, cooled to room temp and then seeded with bottom-fermenting yeast. 24 hours later, Drink!
Sounds tasty! I wish I had brewing capabilities sometimes. :) (I know that home brews are possible, but it won't happen in my apartment with a 3 month old puppy.)
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Dave
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Dave »

Julie wrote:Sounds tasty! I wish I had brewing capabilities sometimes. :) (I know that home brews are possible, but it won't happen in my apartment with a 3 month old puppy.)
So, some added sobriety at home is the heir of the dog?

(Yes, I'm dreadfully ashamed about that. But, I never let shame deter me from puns before, and I'm not about to start now.)

(Drops a golden retriever in the Pun Jar)
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bmonk
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by bmonk »

Dave wrote:
Julie wrote:Sounds tasty! I wish I had brewing capabilities sometimes. :) (I know that home brews are possible, but it won't happen in my apartment with a 3 month old puppy.)
So, some added sobriety at home is the heir of the dog?

(Yes, I'm dreadfully ashamed about that. But, I never let shame deter me from puns before, and I'm not about to start now.)

(Drops a golden retriever in the Pun Jar)
Maybe they need to do their home brewing at the experimental facility? That way they can have some beer lab tests.

(Drops in a Labrador Retriever to keep the other dog company.)
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Julie
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by Julie »

Dave wrote:
Julie wrote:Sounds tasty! I wish I had brewing capabilities sometimes. :) (I know that home brews are possible, but it won't happen in my apartment with a 3 month old puppy.)
So, some added sobriety at home is the heir of the dog?

(Yes, I'm dreadfully ashamed about that. But, I never let shame deter me from puns before, and I'm not about to start now.)

(Drops a golden retriever in the Pun Jar)
bmonk wrote:Maybe they need to do their home brewing at the experimental facility? That way they can have some beer lab tests.

(Drops in a Labrador Retriever to keep the other dog company.)
Not too much sobriety, but she gets into everything...and I wouldn't want to see what happened if she got into a home-brew-in-progress. :P

And I'm really amused by the offerings both of you made. My parents have two puppies (sisters from the same litter)...well kind of puppies...they're almost 2 years old. Anyhow, one is a pure-bred golden retriever (Melody). The other is half golden, half black lab (Jazz). They are inseparable, so they would need to be in the pun jar together.
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NOTDilbert
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by NOTDilbert »

Never had a beer dog, but I had a roommate that had a couple of Malamutes who would gladly slurp up any wine you put down for them (we didn't do this often; it irritated their bladders, apparently....) :roll:
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by MerchManDan »

After a few brews, I know the feeling. :?
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Re: Mmmm, beer...

Post by DinkyInky »

As some of you I am sure have guessed, I live in Indiana. Recently, it started to get that frosty feeling(*drops a snowman collectors ornament and Righteous Brothers vinyl in the pun jar*) outside.

I'm rather fond of hot chocolate, and have made it the old fashioned way with chocolate, simple syrup, cocoa powder and heavy cream over a double boiler until nice and frothy. Last Winter, I made a nice Mug of "Hot Chocolate" with a bar of Lindt's Pepero Chocolate. It got me thinking of I think it was Julie talking about Ghost Killer beer.

I am so tempted to go get a bottle and mix it with a shot of chocolate liqueur and make a sort of a "Hot Chocolate" beer.

Somebody stop me please?
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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