The New Prog Beer Snob Thread

[spellbound]

It should be illegal to sell beer that has gone bad.

ND: New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA

I like Voodoo Ranger regular IPA. I am leery of NE IPAs because, while I have had a few good ones, most seem to leave a sweet aftertaste to their "juicyness." But that's just my personal preference for west coast IPAs and not a criticism of those who prefer the Northeast style. To each his own.

Other day I went to a local brewpub because it is the only place I know to get Alaskan Hopothermia on tap. They were out of it that day, so I tried one of their own brews, a double hop imperial west coast IPA. It wasn't bad, but it was unfiltered, which seemed to make it a bit chunky. I guess I'm accustomed to filtered beers, but I'm game to try any IPA. It had the highest IBU of any beer I've had, at 150, and 8.2% ABV. The doubled hops were Simcoe, Cascade and Summit. Very hoppy, pretty tasty.

[spellbound]

Has anyone encountered these new plastic monstrosities the hold six packs of beer together?



I struggled to get the cans out of the packaging and thought there must be something I don't know about them. Turns out, I'm not the only one:

The Story Behind Those Frustrating Craft Beer Six-Pack Holders

I use a church key to pry these things off the cans. The cans don't require a church key to open them.

[NogbadTheBad]

I like Voodoo Ranger regular IPA. I am leery of NE IPAs because, while I have had a few good ones, most seem to leave a sweet aftertaste to their "juicyness." But that's just my personal preference for west coast IPAs and not a criticism of those who prefer the Northeast style. To each his own.
.

I like both styles, for me variety is the important thing.

[SteveSly]

Has anyone encountered these new plastic monstrosities the hold six packs of beer together?
ck Holders[/URL]

I first saw one in Florida a few years ago, but now they are very common here in Michigan.

[spellbound]

I continue to try NE IPAs in hope of finding a favorite. They're not bad, just not what I'm used to after years of not knowing there was an alternative to west coast IPAs. I don't travel much. There is a local brewery that makes at least half their IPAs in the NE style. I tried one of theirs not long ago where the sweet aftertaste magically disappeared after a few seconds. Not bad at all. I, too, like variety.

In the fridge:

Negra Modelo dark beer (bottled)
Sierra Nevada Sierraveza lager* (canned-packaged in thin cardboard box)
Revision IPA (canned-packaged in plastic monstrosity)
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA (bottled)

No, I don't drink them all at once or all the time. But they're there when thirst arises. Bottles, cans, and packaging go in the recycle bin.

*anyone else wonder at many 'craft' brewers imitating Mexican lagers for nearly twice the price of the real thing?

[Dave (in MA)]

Has anyone encountered these new plastic monstrosities the hold six packs of beer together?

I like them, since they keep the top of the cans clean, they're NOT difficult to remove, and I reuse the caps as a lid to keep my opened soda clean when I'm doing work outside.

[Dave (in MA)]

Negra Modelo dark beer

Nice-tasting beer, but the fargin foil is damned near impossible to remove.

[Jerjo]

Currently in the main section of the beer fridge (excluding those that are aging)

Bells Two-Hearted IPA
Laughing Sun Feast Like a Sultan IPA
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Founders Backwoods Bastard Scotch Ale
Surly Furious IPA
Fulton Sweet Child of Vine IPA
New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy IPA
Bells Oberon Wheat Ale

[wideopenears]

I have always been a fan of "Old Peculier". It is pretty rare to find on tap unless it is an English Pub type of place, but if I happen to be in a place that has it I usually have one.

ditto. One of my all-time faves.

[moecurlythanu]

I first saw one in Florida a few years ago, but now they are very common here in Michigan.

They're widespread in Ohio, and most of the local brewers who can beer use them.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

just finished a double-blind evaluation of Milk/Sweet Stouts
excellent ones from Reno and Albuquerque

I keep getting an 'error' message when I try to upload the pic... anyone else experience this?

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

MILK-SWEET STOUT EVAL.jpg

hope this works

[SteveSly]

I continue to try NE IPAs in hope of finding a favorite. They're not bad, just not what I'm used to after years of not knowing there was an alternative to west coast IPAs. I don't travel much. There is a local brewery that makes at least half their IPAs in the NE style. I tried one of theirs not long ago where the sweet aftertaste magically disappeared after a few seconds. Not bad at all. I, too, like variety.

In the fridge:

Negra Modelo dark beer (bottled)
Sierra Nevada Sierraveza lager* (canned-packaged in thin cardboard box)
Revision IPA (canned-packaged in plastic monstrosity)
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA (bottled)

No, I don't drink them all at once or all the time. But they're there when thirst arises. Bottles, cans, and packaging go in the recycle bin.

*anyone else wonder at many 'craft' brewers imitating Mexican lagers for nearly twice the price of the real thing?

I have tried a lot of NEIPA's and Old Nation's M-43 is still my favorite although I don't know if it available outside of Michigan.

It does seem like Mexican Lagers is the latest fad around here too. Some of them are quite good though if you want a refreshing summer beer, but yea they are going to cost more than a Corona, or Tecate.

[proggy_jazzer]

Modelo Negra is my go-to beer for spicy food; thirst-quenching, not nuclear in ABV, and with a touch of sweetness that really compliments the spice. I love the story behind the style, that brewers fleeing Europe in the mid-20th century settled in Mexico and began brewing there. Haven't seen many imitators yet, but that's probably due to the fact that few of our local micros do lagers consistently.

[Lopez]

Has anyone encountered these new plastic monstrosities the hold six packs of beer together?

I haven't seen them on six-packs. Most of the local breweries who can sell their product as four-packs of 16-oz cans and they use that carrier contraption. Took a while to figure out how to pry a can loose, but it's second-nature now.

And don't believe that they are biodegradable. Once at a "green" food stand in upstate New York, I got a spoon made of the same plastic. The sign said they would degrade in a compost bin in 3 weeks. I put it in mine and 3 months later I dug it out completely unchanged.

[NogbadTheBad]

https://thehardtimes.net/culture/man...DWlTWtRRHVAJOQ

"Man Pretends to Thoughtfully Peruse Beer List Before Picking Based on Alcohol Content"

You know you've done it.

I do like the Old Nation's M-43 a lot though I'll still stick to Trillium & Tree House as my go to's.

[moecurlythanu]

Maine Lunch is probably my favorite NEIPA.

[polmico]

Haven't seen many imitators yet, but that's probably due to the fact that few of our local micros do lagers consistently.

Mexican lagers are my go to beer in the summer. Several local breweries feature them. And there a few really excellent ones on the national scene.

21st Amendment’s El Sully is particularly nice.

It’s a shame that your locals don’t produce lagers.

[spellbound]

Mexican beers are wonderful summertime thirst quenchers. I have heard that some contain adjuncts, but many are still made in the style taught by German and Austrian master brewers in the 19th century. Dos Equis Amber and Negra Modelo are not-so-heavy dark beers made in the Viennese style. Lighter beers are made in the German or Bohemian (Czech Pilsner) style. The best Mexican beer I had was 40 years ago, a brand called Superior. At the time, they made a great thirst quenching lager in a green bottle. A pitcher of that with a plate of Mexican food was heaven. Later, Superior exported an inferior beer in a brown bottle. Then it disappeared completely north of the border, though it may still be made in Mexico. My favorites among currently available Mexican lagers in no particular order are Bohemia, Pacifico, Negra Modelo, Sol, Carta Blanca, Estrella, Modelo Especial, Dos Equis, and Victoria. I haven't had a Tecate in years and can't recall the flavor. Corona, I never particularly cared for. Other Mexican beers I have not tried.

hope this works

The photo of the beers works, but the text on the paper is mostly illegible. It appears you were taste testing milk stouts, and one of the ones you ranked highest is Great Basin's Outlaw Milk Stout, a local stout in these parts of the Eastern Sierra, readily available on tap or in bottles. Would be interested to read your rankings, if you care to type them. 'Outlaw' used to be sold as an oatmeal stout. In recent years brewers have been labeling stouts that contain milk as milk stouts, probably because many people are either allergic to, or otherwise cannot tolerate milk.

"Homer no well function beer without."

[spellbound]

I haven't seen them on six-packs. Most of the local breweries who can sell their product as four-packs of 16-oz cans and they use that carrier contraption.

I have seen the four-packs of 16-oz cans from local breweries here. My frustration with the packaging likely stems from the inverse relationship between 'thirst' and 'patience and coordination.'

[SteveSly]

https://thehardtimes.net/culture/man...DWlTWtRRHVAJOQ

"Man Pretends to Thoughtfully Peruse Beer List Before Picking Based on Alcohol Content"

You know you've done it.

I do like the Old Nation's M-43 a lot though I'll still stick to Trillium & Tree House as my go to's.

Unfortunately I have not had either of those. Not available in my neck of the woods.

[SteveSly]

Maine Lunch is probably my favorite NEIPA.

Only had that once at a beer festival and agree it is very good.

[NogbadTheBad]

Their Dinner is better.

[moecurlythanu]

Their Dinner is better.

I didn't think so.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Mexican beers are wonderful summertime thirst quenchers. I have heard that some contain adjuncts, but many are still made in the style taught by German and Austrian master brewers in the 19th century. Dos Equis Amber and Negra Modelo are not-so-heavy dark beers made in the Viennese style. Lighter beers are made in the German or Bohemian (Czech Pilsner) style. The best Mexican beer I had was 40 years ago, a brand called Superior. At the time, they made a great thirst quenching lager in a green bottle. A pitcher of that with a plate of Mexican food was heaven. Later, Superior exported an inferior beer in a brown bottle. Then it disappeared completely north of the border, though it may still be made in Mexico. My favorites among currently available Mexican lagers in no particular order are Bohemia, Pacifico, Negra Modelo, Sol, Carta Blanca, Estrella, Modelo Especial, Dos Equis, and Victoria. I haven't had a Tecate in years and can't recall the flavor. Corona, I never particularly cared for. Other Mexican beers I have not tried.



The photo of the beers works, but the text on the paper is mostly illegible. It appears you were taste testing milk stouts, and one of the ones you ranked highest is Great Basin's Outlaw Milk Stout, a local stout in these parts of the Eastern Sierra, readily available on tap or in bottles. Would be interested to read your rankings, if you care to type them. 'Outlaw' used to be sold as an oatmeal stout. In recent years brewers have been labeling stouts that contain milk as milk stouts, probably because many people are either allergic to, or otherwise cannot tolerate milk.

"Homer no well function beer without."

yes, that was the winner of this preliminary round. It was the unanimous winner of the contest since both my wife and I had it in 1st, though the Milk Mustachio from Albuquerque was a unanimous, close 2nd place

the following is a description of the Double-Blind Beer Evaluation process:
1. Get perfectly clean pint glasses that are all the same or very similar to the touch
2. Line up the beers next to the pint glasses
3. With a sharpie, write the initials of the name of each beer on the bottom of the pint glass it will be poured into
4. Open the beers
5. With my wife out of the room, pour them slowly into the pint glass with their initials and take the bottles/cans away
6. Leave the room and have my wife switch the pint glasses around
7. Write the pint positions on a piece of paper (L, LC, C, RC, R)
8. Begin with one of us blindfolded, just analyzing and describing the aroma
9. After the aroma round, do the first tasting round then switch places and repeat 8 & 9
10. Switch places and repeat 9 for each taster but instead of describing the beers, just give them a rating from 1-10. We call this the lightning round.
11. Analyze all the comments and numbers and determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and write the names of the winners in their places on the notepad.

see if you can read them now
MILK-SWEET STOUT EVAL notes.jpg