What beer makes you believe in God?

[thomsonmi]

I don't get what people taste in Corona.  That is one beer I cannot stand.  Give me a Dos Equis anyday.

 

Let me throw in here that I cannot stand Heinekin, Corona, Rolling Rock or any of these off colored glassed beers. They suck for a reason. I struggle thru drinking Miller Lite and Bud Lite but not like those. At least Miller and Bud know how to package their beer.

 

The only major industry beer I really enjoy is Guinness. Guinness just makes you feel good. It has magical powers.

[KevHead0881]

Only 62 days until Christmas in Denver...

 

http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/index.htm

 

Oh, thats the big one. They have to hold it in the middle of the f***ing playoffs?

[Texsox]

Yeah, the Mexicans seem to think Corona is holy juice....

 

Actually they wonder why we drink so much of it. The reverse would be Mexicans going crazy for Budweiser.

 

Of the cheap, common, Mexican beers, Sol is my favorite.

[thomsonmi]

Of the cheap, common, Mexican beers, Sol is my favorite.

 

My favorite is Tecate.

[KevHead0881]

My favorite is Tecate.

 

Call me crazy, but I prefer Dos Equis. Oh, I'm sorry...I mean "Dos XX".

[ilsox7]

Actually they wonder why we drink so much of it. The reverse would be Mexicans going crazy for Budweiser.

 

Of the cheap, common, Mexican beers, Sol is my favorite.

 

Negro Modelo here.

[FlaSoxxJim]

ilsox7, it's good to see another Belgian enthusiast.

 

I too adore gueze, and I can't get it to save my life on this side of the state. Not even Lindeman's, which is odd because we get all their other lambics and all of the rest of the Merchant do Vin line.

 

Do you do your gueze straigt, or do you add table sugar and make a nice faro out of it? I do both.

 

With the Rochefort, I think it comes down to whether you like the flavor profile that the Rochefort yeast produces. Since I encounter it very infrequently it's always a nice change of pace for me. I've brewed Abbey style ales with the Rochefort yeast and they have come out really well.

 

Orval is great, and so different from any of the other Trappst beers. Agreed that Westmalle is somewhat lesser than the others, which is lucky for me because I can't get it.

[thomsonmi]

Negro Modelo and Dos Equis are also good.

[SoxFan1]

My favorite is Tecate.

That seems to be the consensus #2 of Mexicans, actually no:

 

1) Corona

 

2) Corona Light

 

3 Tecate

 

4) XX

 

5) Sol

[Kid Gleason]

Never tried Alimony Ale. Another reason to be bummed in my beer drinking exploits.

 

Every year one of my buddies or myself usually do a beer tasting. Last year was my buddy Larry's turn. He finished off his basement, complete with a full bar and a kegerator. A local bar supplied a free keg of Delirium Noel, and had a keg of Great Lakes Burning River tapped, and then he dropped about $600 on fine beers. Needless to say, it was a lovely experience.

 

Coming up this year we will be heading to one of his friends houses who has his own Oktoberfest every year. The one rule is that everybody must bring a beer. BUT he awards prizes for beer brought in different categories. He also supplies german foods and treats for the occasion, all of it home made. This year he is expecting around 100-1000 people.

[thomsonmi]

For beer drinking in Chicago I highly recommend the Map Room.

 

http://www.maproom.com/

 

I had a Rogue Double IPA there last year that was absolutely fantastic.

 

Currently on tap there...

 

The Map Room -- On Tap

 

Current Tap Selections as of 7:30 p.m., July 15, 2005

 

Achouffe McChouffe 8.5% abv

Spicy, floral, Belgian strong dark ale.

 

Anchor Liberty Ale 6% abv

Classic dry-hopped pale ale, our beer of the month at $3/pint!

 

Anchor Steam 4.9% abv

California amber ale brewed via a unique brewing process.

 

Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale 5.8% abv

Coppery, well-balanced American ale from California.

 

Ayinger Bräu-Weisse 5.1% abv

An aristocratic wheat beer with a Champagne sparkle and a beautifully sustained head.

 

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye 7.5% abv, 90+ IBU

A strong American IPA made with 20% rye malt.

 

Bear Republic Racer 5 7% abv, 69 IBU

West coast IPA brewed with floral Cascade and Columbus hops.

 

Bell's Two Hearted Ale 6%

A thirst-quenching, full-bodied IPA.

 

Capital Wild Rice

Lightly sweet, crisp, refreshing spiced lager from Madison, WI.

 

De Dolle Oerbier 7.5% abv

Amazing strong dark ale from Belgium.

 

De Koninck 5% abv

A classic Belgian session ale.

 

Delirium Tremens 9% abv

A delicious Belgian golden ale -- too many, and you'll see pink elephants!

 

Dupont Saison 6.5% abv

The classic Belgian farmhouse ale.

 

Great Lakes Eliot Ness 6.2%, 35 IBU

Amber, malty, Vienna-style lager from Cleveland.

 

Lindemans Framboise 4% abv

A sweet raspberry lambic from Belgium.

 

Maredsous 8 8% abv

Rich and caramelly abbey dubbel from Belgium.

 

North Coast Red Seal 5.5% abv, 45 IBU

A perfectly balanced American amber ale.

 

North Coast Old Rasputin 8.9% abv, 75 IBU

Kick-ass Russian Imperial Stout.

 

Poperings Hommelbier (Brouwerij va Eecke) 7.5% abv

A hoppy (by Belgian standards) brew from Belgium's famed hop-growing region.

 

Reissdorf Kölsch 4.8% abv

Crisp, refreshing golden German ale.

 

Stiegl Pils 4.9% abv

A continental pilsner from Salzburg, Austria.

 

Three Floyds Alpha King 6% abv, 66 IBU

Classic dry-hopped American pale ale.

 

Three Floyds Gumballhead 4.8% abv

This summertime American wheat is quite "hopped up".

 

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly 5% abv

A Belgian-style white ale from Quebec.

 

Victory Prima Pils 5.3% abv

Hoppy and herbal well-balanced pilsner from Pennsylvania.

 

Young's Ram Rod 5% abv

Pale brown, fruity, hoppy, vinous - a great example of a medium-strong beer from England.

[ilsox7]

The Map Room is indeed terrific. Been there numerous times in the last 2 months since I moved back to Chicago. Hopleaf is also sposed to be great, but I haven't been up there yet.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Juggs, you asked about the Berghoff beers...

 

Get ready, this is a twisted tale of contract brewing. In the 1980s when Huber Brewing Company got the contract to do Berghoff's beers, they basically brewed their Augsburger products and put the Berghoff label on them. For the time, these were really good beers, but of course they were adjunct beers that used corn as part of the grist rather than going all malt. That of course made them lesser imitations of the German beers they were trying to emulate, because you're never going to get the body, flavor and mouthfeel of a Reinheitsgabot beer in an adjunct brew.

 

Well, Huber sold the Augsburger label to Stroh (which then sold to Pabst), but they kept making the Berghoff products with teh same recipes.

 

Now here is the recent part that someone else might be able to help me with. Pabst still owns the Auggie brand but they stopped making the product several years ago. In 2003, the Point brewery licensed the name from Pabst and started brewing Auggie products again. This time around, though, they went back to an all malt formulation more in line with the Germal lagers they were inspired by. I have yet to try any of the new generation Augsburger offerings, so I cannot evaluate the beers themselves (anyone?). Huber is still making the Berghoff beers. As far as I know, they are still brewing the adjunct products using the 80s recipes. Again, can any other beer sleuths confirm or deny? Thanks.

[thomsonmi]

From http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-001949.php

 

Augsburger returns

Stevens Point puts German-style lager back on shelves in Wisconsin

 

June 19, 2003 - The Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin has revived the Augsburger beer brand. The brewery purchased the rights to brew and sell the Augsburger from Pabst.

 

Augsburger Golden and Augsburger Dark beers hit store shelves this week. The German-style lagers will cost more than the traditional Point brands, and be brewed to original German-style lager recipes, said to Stevens Point brewer John Zappa.

 

"We modified the formula to use 100 percent barley malt hops, water and yeast," he said. "The result is more of a smooth, flavorful, well-balanced lager." The packaging will be updated slightly, but will resemble the original label, said Joe Martino, the brewery's operating partner.

 

Pabst will continue to own the Augsburger brands, but Stevens Point will brew them. "We pay them a licensing fee, but we control the development, production and marketing," Martino said. "For all intents and purposes, Augsburger will become a Point brand."

 

The brewery will market Augsburger in select Wisconsin cities to start.

 

Augsburger was originally produced by the Monarch Brewing Co. from 1959 to 1967, and then was brewed by the Potosi Brewing Co. Huber, located in Monroe, bought the brand in 1971 and made the beer until Stroh bought the label in the late 1980s. When Pabst bought Stroh, Pabst retained ownership of the Augsburger label, and Miller brewed the beer for a short time before the brand was dropped.

[SoxFan1]

Beer heads.....

[FlaSoxxJim]

The Map Room is indeed terrific.  Been there numerous times in the last 2 months since I moved back to Chicago.  Hopleaf is also sposed to be great, but I haven't been up there yet.

It's been a couple years since a Hop Leaf visit, but yes, I like the place. Map Room is great. Clark Street Alehouse was always my favorite because it was stumbling distance from a great resteraunt my friend used to own called Mangos (closed), and a couple good Tapas joints. Also two doors down from the Clark St. Blue Chicago.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Beer heads.....

You say that as if it were a bad thing

[ilsox7]

It's been a couple years since a Hop Leaf visit, but yes, I like the place.  Map Room is great.  Clark Street Alehouse was always my favorite because it was stumbling distance from a great resteraunt my friend used to own called Mangos (closed), and a couple good Tapas joints.  Also two doors down from the Clark St. Blue Chicago.

 

I haven't been to Clark Street Alehouse yet, but it's close enough to me that I will be going there soon (within the next 2 weeks). I've heard good things about it.

 

Another thing I like about Map Room and Hopleaf (from what I hear) is they usually have St. Bernardus Abt. 12 on tap. Very, very nice. Though there is some debate as to whether it's better coming aged from a bottle.

[Steff]

I didn't even know there were that many different kinds of beer..

 

 

Drunks.. :lol

[ilsox7]

I didn't even know there were that many different kinds of beer..

Drunks.. :lol

 

One for every minute of the year. And that's just Belgians!

 

[Guest JimH]

Mexican: Bohemia, and actually it's a Mexican ale and it is really good.

 

Canadian: Moosehead on draft, love the real Molson Export while in Canada,

there's a great beer from Quebec called Blanche de Chambly, they

have it draft at The Map Room, 2100 or so N. Hoyne.

 

Pennsylvania: Rolling Rock on draft at Brickhouse Pizza in downtown Naperville

on Sat. nites for $1.50. Anything by Yuenglings.

 

Others: Little Kings Cream Ale, hard to find these days. Genesee Cream Ale

from Rochester NY as a substitute, not as good as Little Kings.

 

For those imported pub pour beers that you can get at grocery stores

in a pressurized can, Guiness does a good job, also try Abbot Ale, that

stuff is great.

 

Used to love Falstaff as a refrigerator beer, it's ceased production and

there is precious little to be found any more.

 

Goose Island makes a damn good IPA.

 

Another great lawnmower beer is Huber, from Monroe WI.

 

Any August Schell Brewery product from New Ulm MN, they've been

brewing since 1861. They now make Grain Belt too. Underrated.

 

By the way, a great beer bar near the ballpark is the Skylark at 22nd

and Halsted. They have Two Brothers beers and the very hard to find

Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing in San Francisco on tap, plus the

requisite PBR on tap for $2.

 

To me, the trick to good beer is its freshness. I have even trained my lovely bride to read the freshness codes on beer cases, she can read Miller's pull dates, Rolling Rock freshness dates, etc. I love tap beer and will always order that when out vs. bottled beer. It pays to know the places where they keep the tap lines very clean. 1st Base at 32nd and Normal does not do a good job at this. Skylark does, Map Room, Goose Island of course, and Southport City Saloon on the 2500 N. block of Southport, try the house beer on tap, it's Huber.

 

Last week, my wife bought a case of Busch beer, not my favorite but Dominicks had it on sale and it was during our very hot weather. The "born on date" showed it was produced 6 days prior ... unheard of to get it that fresh ... and let me tell you it was damn good. When we buy bottles or cans, we get it from a high traffic store, and usually that's a big grocery store. I am convinced that so many people do not like the unique beers because when they tried it, it was old and stale.

[ilsox7]

The Blanche de Chamblay is brewed by Unibroue...and they make at least 10 very, very good beers. The first time I actually had something from them was while in Brussels!

 

Two Brothers is also very good..especially their Weiss.

 

Another World Class beer (readily available at The Map Room) is the Celebrator by Ayinger. It is the best Dopplebock I have ever had. And very, very, very easy to drink. It's a world class beer and an easy "intro" beer to people getting into the weird, messed up world of Beer Geekdom.

 

And in general, fresh beer is better. However, there is some stuff (mostly Belgian) that actually ages better and is worth holding onto for a few years.

[southsider2k5]

One Beer I did forget that you basically cam only get in Texas is Shider Boch. mmmmmmmm.

[thomsonmi]

Good posts guys.

 

I agree with the freshness point. There's a pretty famous brewery out here called New Belgium Brewery which forces retailers to keep track of these things and pull beers after a limited amount of time. Their Fat Tire is like Budweiser out here in terms of how wide spread it is.

 

I did a tour with Kevhead of the brewery when the White Sox were out here. They are incredibly hi-tech and they give away free tasters after the tour.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I haven't been to Clark Street Alehouse yet, but it's close enough to me that I will be going there soon (within the next 2 weeks).  I've heard good things about it. 

 

Another thing I like about Map Room and Hopleaf (from what I hear) is they usually have St. Bernardus Abt. 12 on tap.  Very, very nice.  Though there is some debate as to whether it's better coming aged from a bottle.

I don't think there is any dispute. Give me the bottle. I have a couple stashed away and I think they are calling me from my home 50 miles away.