hogan873

QUOTE (3E8 @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 09:57 AM) I will always suggest the Franziskaner Hefeweizen. I believe it was my #1 ranking for this list. There has never been another to taste even somewhat close to it for me. That is one of the better hefeweizens I've had. A couple others I found to be quite good: Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, Capital Kloster Weizen, and Prinzregent Luitpold Weissbier Hell.

QUOTE (G&T @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 08:33 AM) I have seen a couple of references to Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate ratings. Those ratings are driven by 2 things: alcohol content and hops. The two things normal drinkers find distasteful. It is a relic of the "extreme beer" movement that, I believe, is starting to die out. A wheat beer that gets a B rating is probably exceptional. I've found while reviewing beers at Rate Beer that my rating usually comes pretty close to the average score. I say usually because I tend to rate most beers a little higher than the average, but I sometimes run into a beer that I totally disagree with the average. I would say that the overall score ends up being fairly accurate provided there are a lot of reviews. Rate Beer for sure disregards reviews by reviewers with less than 10 reviews and any reviews that are seemingly not helpful (for example a review that is 5/5 and the comments say that anyone who doesn't like the beer is an idiot). What I like about Rate Beer is that the reviews are from other beer drinkers, not some guy in a lab sniffing the beer and taking a sip and swirling it around. I haven't poked around on Beer Advocate much, but it seems to be about the same. You're right about ABV and hops/bitterness (IBUs) turning away many normal beer drinkers. I'll admit that for a long time I couldn't get into the stronger beers and the brews with a high hop content. But, I have come to appreciate those beers more. I still don't consider myself a huge IPA fan, but I've had some that are fantastic. But if you don't like that grapefruit and pine bite, you're not going to like a good IPA. A good example of a very good IPA is the one brewed by Stone. It has a fairly high ABV of 6.9% and very high IBUs (70+). This is poured into a glass and you can immediately smell the grapefruit and pine. It's remarkably smooth and has a nice bitter bite at the end. If you're used to drinking Miller Lite or even Heineken, this beer would probably offend you.

I'm happy to see numbers 10 through 6. I've had them all, and in copious amounts. I'm a fan of most Sam Adams beers, and the Octoberfest and Winter Lager are two of my favorites of theirs. I've always thought that fall and winter are the best seasons for beer because you get the Octoberfests, Dunkels, Schwarzbiers, and darker beers with spices. Sam Adams' winter mix pack has a nice selection, including the Winter Lager, Old Fezziwig, and Holiday Porter. The addition of the White Ale this year confused me, since it used to be a spring beer. It may have confused me, but that didn't keep me from drinking them. To anyone out there who has never had Hoegaarden, find it and try it. If you like wheat beers or white ales, this is one of the better ones. I'm a big Blue Moon fan (more on that later), but I think Hoegaarden is a better beer. If you can find it on draft, it's devastatingly good. It's often served in the glass shown in the picture Jeremy uploaded. That glass is like a small trash can...lots of beer. Now let's talk about Blue Moon. I've been a fan for many years. I can remember taking it to a party nearly 15 years ago, and most people there had never heard of it. I think I turned some folks into Blue Moon fans that night. Looking at the Rate Beer and Beer Advocate ratings you wouldn't think it's a great beer. And maybe it's not as good as I think (or many others think for that matter), but I think it's that odd very well known and easily accessible beers that has a cult following. There aren't many bars or restaurants that don't have it on draft, and you can find it in any grocery store or mini mart. Coors Molson actually brews this beer, but they don't put that on the bottle. And that's done on purpose. There might be quite a few people who would be less inclined to purchase a beer called Coors Belgian White. About two years ago I was at a Buffalo Wild Wings, and they were advertising a Black and Blue (Guinness and Blue Moon). I shrugged my shoulders and said why not. Now that's pretty much the only beer I order there. Give it a try if you haven't yet. You might be surprised.

I like to frequent bottle shops in order to try new beers. Nearby I have a Cardinal Liquors that is okay and two Binny's, both of which have more singles than I can comprehend. Most of the beers I rate on Rate Beer I pick up singles of, but on occasion I can find a mix pack that has a few beers I haven't tried. The Two Hearted Ale was one that I found at Cardinal, and now it's a staple in my house. I've been disappointed quite a few times, as well. Most recently I picked up a Milk Stout made by a Chinese brewer. The Rate Beer average was decent, but I found it to be a drain pour. Sour and almost a spoiled taste. Maybe it was a bad bottle, but I'm not inclined to try again. All this talk of beer is making me thirsty. I wish I had tomorrow off so I could go pick up 6 or 8 new beers and sample them tonight. Instead I may have to settle for sampling only 3 or 4 tonight. I like reading other comments by posters here and seeing what everyone has to say about beer. As far as the Leinie's Summer Shandy, I'm not embarrassed to say that I enjoy it. To me, it's a perfect beer for a hot day after cutting the grass or playing ball with the kids. Unlike some of the other Leinie's offerings, I don't find it too sweet despite the fact that it's made with lemonade.

The Two Hearted Ale surprised me. I didn't know what to expect, but I was quite impressed. Wonderful aroma of sweet grapefruit and pine...very representative of an IPA. The flavor is remarkable smooth for an IPA and one with a 7% ABV. A sugared grapefruit entry fades to a nice pine bite. If you're an IPA fan, this one should be high on your list. I'm not a big fan of IPAs, but this one is one of my favorite beers overall. For the most part, all of Bell's beers are pretty good. When they started distributing Bells again to the Chicago area it was a big deal. I can see why. They make some good beers.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Dec 29, 2010 -> 10:20 AM) This list could have been more timely in the offing, and certainly that would have been nice but everybody's free time is scarce. And I don't begrudge you, Milkman, or anybody for thinking that this list topic is not a good one. Jeremy stressed at the outset that he's not a beer drinker so we knew going into this that it was going to be a bit different. I, obviously, think it is a great topic for listing and for general discussion, and I'm pleased to see I am not the only one. With literally thousands of beers of varying accessibility worldwide, of course consensus is going to be impossible. But I think that an enthusiastic discussion of the beers that did/didn't/should have made the list is going to more than make up for it. The list has already reconfirmed for me that there are plenty of beers I've not had the pleasure of sampling, and that is exciting. I give Jeremy a ton of credit for taking time to create these lists. The handful of beers I collected information on for the list took me longer than I would have expected. Sure the list could have made its appearance earlier, but I like the countdown to New Years. And we still have three months of off season in which to do other lists. I was really excited about a beer list, because I know there are so many I haven't tried. I blame Sam Adams and Pete's Wicked Ales for getting me into good beer. I started drinking beer 17 years ago, and they were a couple of the pioneers into "craft" beer. I say I blame them, but I should really thank them. I think that if it weren't for brewers like them we wouldn't have brewers like New Belgium, Dogfish Head, and Three Floyds today. I go into a Binny's and my brain overloads with the number of beers they carry...and that's only a small percentage of the beers of the world. I may get a chance to go to Italy for work next year, and I look forward to trying a slew of beers over there.

I don't think any of their beers made the list, but Flossmoor Station makes some great beers. Their restaurant, which is in the old Flossmoor train station, is fantastic. Very good food, reasonably priced. And they usually have about a dozen of their beers on tap. I've gotten their 12 beer sampler a few times. I think it's 12 3 oz samples for about $6 or so.

Sigh. I agree about Corona. But, as I mentioned before, I can respect others' opinions about beer. To me, Corona is strictly a summer beer...that someone else bought. The first time I tried Stella, I had purchased a Taste of Belgium mix pack. It had Stella, Leffe, and Hoegaarden (yum). I wasn't blown away by Stella, but I've since grown to appreciate it more. It's a beer that's is better on draft. Love Oberon. A delicious summer wheat ale with a little bit of spice to it.

Just cracked open a Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale. Very good. Actually reminds me a bit of Gumballhead.

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 03:59 PM) The list has been well worth the wait so far. I kind of fear what is still to come. The only ones I have tried from the list so far are Smithwicks, Red Stripe, and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. The only one that was on my list was Smithwicks. Cherry Wheat is a bad choice from the Sam Adams lineup, as they have much better beers. I'm sure there will be more Sam Adams beers on the list though. In my opinion, Sam Adams Black Lager is one of their best available year round. I've only tried it a few times, but the Latitude 48 IPA is quite good, too. Their Winter Lager is very good, but my favorite of their seasonals is the Octoberfest. That's just autumn in a pint glass.

I usually don't drink beer during the week. I tend to hold off until thr weekend, but this list and these discussions are making me lean towards having one tonight. I have about 3 or 4 in the fridge that I've never had before, so maybe I partake and rate it. Besides, there is a football game on tonight. I think it's a requirement to drink a beer while watching football.

I've enjoyed Sam Adams Cherry Wheat in the past, but I haven't had it in a few years. Unlike some other fruit beers, the cherry didn't dominate. Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss is a good example of fruit overpowering a beer. Way too sweet. The Cranberry Lambic, however, is damn near a drain pour for me. Last time I tried it I tasted almost a spoiled flavor. I haven't had it since. I've tried one Lindemans Kriek cherry lambic, and I thought it was quite good. Sweet, but not overpowering. Still not a beer I could drink a lot of.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 11:52 AM) If it's insanely good, why only a 3.9/5? I should have elaborated. The scoring is broken down by aroma, appearance, palate, flavor, and overall. Then the site gives a score on a scale of 0-5. The way it works out, even the beers with the absolute best average score are about 4.2 or so. The highest rating I've given a beer is 4.1...and I think that was Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.

New Belgium's 1554 is insanely good. I personally gave it a 3.9/5 on Rate Beer. It's so easy to drink and has fantastic flavors. Bittersweet chocolate and coffee. Spotted Cow is one of my favorites. I think one reason why I like it so much is that it's only available in Wisconsin. So, I don't spoil it by drinking it all the time. I'm in Wisconsin 4 or 5 times a year, mainly for my daughters' Irish Dancing, so I'll drink it on tap up there and take home a 12-pack. I'm counting down the days until I can partake...only 2 weeks from Friday.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 10:19 AM) For all of the people up north who have never tried, Shiner is a great, great beer. I've had Shiner's Bock, Hefeweizen, Blonde, and Black Lager. I thought they were al decent, but the Bock is one of my favorites. Smooth, easy to drink, and pretty tasty.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 09:28 AM) My understanding is that a Black & Tan is still the same Guiness and Bass, but that in Ireland they typically drink a Half 7 Half which is all Irish - Guiness and Harp. I've never heard of Smithwicks being used. You're right about a black and tan in the US. However: In the Republic of Ireland a Black and Tan is normally made from a half pint of Smithwick's topped off with Guinness. This version is also sometimes referred to as a "Blacksmith" or a "Light and Bitter". During the summer months stout drinkers may order a black and tan due to its lighter texture. Likewise ale drinkers may order a Smithwick's with a Guinness head. This is an ordinary pint of Smithwick's with the last inch or so topped off with Guinness. That was taken from Wikipedia. Before reading this, I was going by what someone told me (an owner of an Irish pub), and it made sense to me since Smithwicks and Guinness are both brewed by Guinness.

Smithwicks is good. Apparently a true black and tan is made with Smithwicks and Guinness...probably because they're both brewed by the same company. I've had black and tans made with Harp, Bass, and Smithwicks, and I'll say that it is pretty damn good with the Smithwicks. There are so many beers out there, and you can find pretty good selections at places like Binny's. But, it amazes me how many there are that I've never heard of. I've reviewed almost 400 beers at Rate Beer, and there are people on there that have reviewed over 5000. 5000 different beers? Wow.

This list is going to make me thirsty! Gumballhead is one of my favorites. It's the wheat beer of wheat beers. I reviewed it at Rate Beer and gave it a 3.7/5. Straw-colored with a fine white head. Powerful aroma of banana, bubblegum, and spice. Lively and spicy on the palate. Leads to a very tasty wheat beer. Malt, yeast, bubblegum, and pepper. Slightly bitter aftertaste. A delicious wheat beer. I agree about Red Stripe. What the hell? But, like knight said, you haven't seen anything. There are some odd choices on there. However, people have different tastes in beer. I've had people try a beer that I thought was fantastic and they did everything to keep from vomiting. I'm a beer snob, but I'll drink Miller Lite at a party, and in the summer I have no problem picking up a 6-pack of it for chuggers after cutting the grass.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 02:05 AM) Brian Bannister? Gulp. Maybe? Please no Bruce Chen. I actually think Freddy would be a good option. He's got decent stuff for 4-5 innings. I'd take Freddy, too. My concern is that he might actually get a decent amount of cash...maybe upwards of $4 or $5 million. However, I thought he would have signed by now. I'd be okay with Freddy for 1/$3 million.

Next list idea: Favorite and least favorite lists.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 10:24 AM) I gotta be honest. This was just a terrible list idea. We probably could've done 2 or 3 other lists in the time it's taken for this one. I agree that we could have done more lists, but I think once we get rolling we'll get some good conversations going. I won't complain about lists taking time. I worked with knightni and flasoxxjim on geting the info on the beers. It was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be.

It's gonna be good. There should be some good discussions generated by this list. I know that beer snobs like myself and Jim will have plenty to say.

For those with younger kids, I took my kids to see Tangled on Christmas Eve. They loved it, and I was actually entertained. We saw it in 3-D, and I would say it was worth it, but I know others who took in the 2-D and said it was good, too.

Merry Christmas to everyone here who loves the Sox as much as I do. Here's to you and yours.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 20, 2010 -> 02:18 PM) I can't like a deal in which we give a non-elite relief pitcher 3 guaranteed years. But I like it as far as 2011 goes. Just have to pray after that. I suppose it could turn into a Linebrink nightmare, but we can only hope that doesn't happen...and pretend we never heard of Scott Linebrink.