Beer reviews and recommendations

shizzle · Post by **shizzle** » Jul 13th, '07, 18:09

Smuttynose, mostly because I like the name, and it's a pretty decent beer! (for a brewhouse outta NH)

andyzee · Post by **andyzee** » Jul 13th, '07, 18:21

Getting back to my roots, finding some fine brews:

Atomic1 · Post by **Atomic1** » Jul 13th, '07, 18:55

Mister Moose wrote:
winter wrote:Have really enjoyed the Harpoon Summer Beer. Good but not strong hops, very smooth and a polish finish.

Should be served very cold and when it is its a very refreshing summer brew.
That's it!!!!!

Several years ago I remember reading a question,

"what single word in the English language changes both meaning and pronunciation when capitalized?

polish, Polish.

Couldn't remember it until now.

However I have no idea what a polish (or Polish) finish is.

Polish heritage ,born in Finland !

roark · Post by **roark** » Jul 13th, '07, 20:17

andyzee wrote:Getting back to my roots, finding some fine brews:

Was waiting for that, pretty good stuff. What's your recommendation for Baltic Porters? The only one I've had was Zwyiec (sic?), pretty tasty.

andyzee · Post by **andyzee** » Jul 13th, '07, 20:37

roark wrote:
andyzee wrote:Getting back to my roots, finding some fine brews:

Was waiting for that, pretty good stuff. What's your recommendation for Baltic Porters? The only one I've had was Zwyiec (sic?), pretty tasty.

Don't know the difference between a porter, lager, ale, malt, etc....

But like this beer as well:

andyzee · Post by **andyzee** » Jul 13th, '07, 20:42

In Utah, we'll have to give these a try:

Harpoon22 · Post by **Harpoon22** » Jul 14th, '07, 04:28

robrules wrote:
Harpoon22 wrote:
Bling Skier wrote:
robrules wrote:
Harpoon22 wrote:Mcneils beer from brattleboro...comes in the big bottles. My favorite.
If you would have said that they were great beers 5-10 years ago, I (and many a beer geek) would have agreed with you. In the last few years many other breweries have surpassed the once great McNeill's. Since Ray stopped showing up in the brewhouse to do what he did best, his beers have been in steady decline. With the admitted problems he had in his brewery this winter (infection leading to phenolic character in the beer), this was the nail in the coffin for most non-local fans of his beer. John Kimmich of the Alchemist is the new King of Beer in VT now - and quite possible all of New England and the Northeast.
brattleboro, eh?
bet ya he is a Hippy!

use to live on the other side of the rivah...you know the good side.

I still like Mcneils tho I don't get it anywhere near as much since my wife frowns on the size of the bottles. Sorry to hear about Ray, Too bad. I'll have to try the alchemist tho I've not seen it around here. (Rutlands beer selection is limited, all the BUD ya want). I like to try new beers, part of the fun of traveling. Hippy? They all had to grow up and get real jobs. The only ones left in VT are trust fund babies and a couple communes.
Rock Art has some good brew and so does trout River. I try and support VT brewers as much as I can, But damn, theres some good beer out there.
Alchemist is available only at the brewpub in Waterbury and is so worth the trip - food is really good too. Its my favorite brewpub and I've been to quite a few around the country - I used to drive up there for happy hour after snowboarding at K all day, then drive back to my ski house in K - it is that good.

I am sure you know about Green Mtn. boys. I always thought they carried the best selection in Rutland. VT is lacking selection for sure, but hopefully that will change if they ever pass the law that would allow beer over 8% abv to be sold outside of VT state liquor stores.

Rock Art does make solid beer for the most part - I've had some downright horrible stuff from them (belgian styles) but their regular lineup is solid even though it really doesn't appeal to my taste in beer. I will have to check out Trout River soon - the brewer (Shaun Hill) that recently left the Shed is brewing for them now, so maybe they have increased the quality - I liked his Saisons and other belgian styles and the ipa he made.

If you like lagers and bocks, the guy who brews at Flatbread in Burlington makes good beer. A new brewpub recently opened in Barre, but reports are that they are homebrewers who are not yet making good beer - but that can change with experience. The Thirsty Bull/Peavine Family Rest. never seemed to get off the ground - what a waste of a brewing system.

Green Mountain boys does have the best beer selection in town and it's on the way up the mountain for you travelers. I think I've tried every beer in there. I like the browns,porters and and altbier if yoou can ever find one. I'm still searching for that one perfect beer in the style I like. The closest was an altbier that harpoon made a number of years ago and haven't seen it since.
You sound like beer is serious business for you. I'm content with what I think is a good beer. I used to brew and think anyone who loves beer should try it once. It'll give you an appreciation how hard it is to make a truly fine beer consistantly. I just found that I liked drinking more than brewing and so many people do it so much better than me.
Do try Trout River and The alchemist sounds like a fun afternoon trip with friends (Rutlands boring this time of year). I'd be interested in what you think of Otter Creek and have you ever had Griitty's in Maine?

sickofyouskidiots · Post by **sickofyouskidiots** » Jul 14th, '07, 08:34

Harpoon makes one of the best IPA's around. Long Trail's version is delish too but harder to find these days.

skiladi · Post by **skiladi** » Jul 14th, '07, 09:09

sickofyouskidiots wrote:Harpoon makes one of the best IPA's around. Long Trail's version is delish too but harder to find these days.

Best first post ever. ; }

robrules · Post by **robrules** » Jul 14th, '07, 09:13

Harpoon22 wrote: Green Mountain boys does have the best beer selection in town and it's on the way up the mountain for you travelers. I think I've tried every beer in there. I like the browns,porters and and altbier if yoou can ever find one. I'm still searching for that one perfect beer in the style I like. The closest was an altbier that harpoon made a number of years ago and haven't seen it since.
You sound like beer is serious business for you. I'm content with what I think is a good beer. I used to brew and think anyone who loves beer should try it once. It'll give you an appreciation how hard it is to make a truly fine beer consistantly. I just found that I liked drinking more than brewing and so many people do it so much better than me.
Do try Trout River and The alchemist sounds like a fun afternoon trip with friends (Rutlands boring this time of year). I'd be interested in what you think of Otter Creek and have you ever had Griitty's in Maine?

LT ale, Doublebag, and OC Copper are all altbiers - and McNeill's used to make the best one in the country. Doublebag is one of the best examples of a Sticke altbier that is regularly made in the US - I think the bottles taste better than the draft. Probably impossible to find in VT and hard to find in good condition elsewhere, but Uerige altbier is the real deal from Dusseldorf, you can also find Schwelmer Alt and Frankenhiem in MA which are from the origin as well. Harpoon's version is really just a brown ale (a tasty one though) since it was made with their house yeast fermented at around 70F and used american hops I believe. True altbiers are fermented with a specialty yeast that allows it to be fermented in the high 50s or low 60s which gives it some lager characteristics - then it should be cold conditioned for at least 3-4 weeks to smooth it out - and German hops are a must.

Otter Creek used to be my favorite VT brewery until they started to dumb down their recipes a few years ago. Pale Ale was somewhat hoppy and crisp, and the Copper ale used to be so much hoppier -the porter is still good though. I also loved the Mud Bock and their Christmas ale that they used to make. They are making some good specialty beers though in 22oz. bottles - the brewmaster Steve Parks is a legend in his own right and has taught many brewers around the country how to brew. The wolaver's line is pretty decent as well - my wife loves the IPA and I think the Oatmeal Stout is the best organic beer out there.

I like to hit up Gritty's when I'm in Portland, but not something I seek out at home - I really like their pale ale and think that the butteryness that is left behind by the Ringwood yeast really works for this beer - most times beers with that yeast are hard to drink for me. Its rumored that LT and OC use this yeast, but I'm not so sure. LT either switched away from it or cleaned it up a few years ago making their beers much more crisp and easy to drink, and if OC is using it, they are doing a fine job with it. Magic Hat uses it and I think their beers are a mess.

The craft beer scene and how the people of VT, love their home state beer, reminds me of the Pacific Northwest where alot of people are into good beer and its a part of their culture.

kmudrick · Post by **kmudrick** » Jul 15th, '07, 07:29

lifeisgood wrote:... I definitely don't know what's up with the slice of lime in the Corona thing (I don't even like Corona, a slice of lime isn't going to help it).

I don't know if this is an urban myth or what, but I've heard the lime's sole purpose is to hide/cover up the fact that coronas get skunked so quickly. This would be due to the fact that the bottle is clear, which allows so much light in, and light skunks beers.

kmudrick · Post by **kmudrick** » Jul 15th, '07, 07:43

Mister Moose wrote:Who else has tried something new that was good?

New for the summer is Dogfish Head's Festina Peche. I find it to be the most refreshing beer I have had in ages, which I think goes well with this hot weather.

http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Seasona ... /index.htm

It is a berlinerweisse fermented with peaches. It is pretty tart.

Since it is summer I've been trying to stick with lower alcohol wheat beers (in the winter I'm usually going with imperial stouts and complex belgians.) My beer fridge is usually filled with Troeg's Nugget Nectar, Yards Saison (lighter than a typical saison), and Sly Fox Royal Weisse. They're all local PA brews, but I am fairly sure that all of them except Yards do legitimately get distributed in upstate NY at the least.

XtremeJibber2001 · Post by **XtremeJibber2001** » Jul 15th, '07, 08:06

Had one of these last night ... pretty good and ~12% alcohol.

Mister Moose · Post by **Mister Moose** » Jul 15th, '07, 14:01

If there's enough interest, maybe it would be fun to put together a beer tasting party this coming season.

One of the last parties I brought some Rogue Chocolate Stout, and it was universally praised.

Chocolate Stout was released for Valentine's Day in 2001 in a twenty-two ounce bottle for the US market. The label features a Roguester (Sebbie Buhler) on the label. The bottled of Chocolate Stout is available on a very limited basis in the US, so get it while you can!

Hedonistic! Ebony in color with a rich creamy head. The mellow flavor of oats, chocolate malts, and real chocolate are balanced perfectly with the right amount of hops for a bittersweet finish. Chocolate Stout is brewed with 10 ingredients: Northwest Harrington and Klages, Crystal 135-165 and Beeston Chocolate Malts, Cascade Hops, Rolled Oats and Roasted Barley, Natural Chocolate Flavor, Free Range Coastal Waters and PacMan Yeast. Chocolate Stout is available year-round only in the classic 22-ounce bottle and on draft.

Measurements: 15 degrees Plato, IBU 69, Apparent Attenuation 77, Lovibond 135 degrees.
No Chemicals, Additives, or Preservatives

Hopefully it isn't so rare around here, I bought it in Greenfield, MA. Maybe I can sic the G's on a few bottles.

Mister Moose · Post by **Mister Moose** » Jul 15th, '07, 14:32

New German Pope makes a few changes:

KillingtonZone.com

Beer reviews and recommendations

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