state your beer, drinkers

[JSebbe]

UGH the grand cru is one of the few beers i detest. i was so excited to try it the first time i did and i did make myself finish the bottle but never again. to me, it tasted like vinegar.

boo, lambic is epic and superior.

@Hang the DJ, try the 8th, I rank 8 as first, then 10, last 6th.

also a great beer:

[mojinho]

boo, lambic is epic and superior.

no don't get me wrong, i like some lambics. that wasn't the first one i'd had, either. it's that particular one that i thought was horrible. anyone tried Cantillon?

[totally epic]

Yes, it's much better than Lindemans.

[chronoaug]

I went to a great small beer bar in gainesville, stubbies, last night with a friend. About 300 beers with proper glassware and a friendly knowledgeable lady working.

-I had a Vichtenaar (sour ale by the same company and similar to duchesse de burgnone).

-Old Rasputin Imperial Stout was on tap so i wanted to give it a try after seeing the pic Alf posted last page. I'm normally not a big fan of the super heavy stouts but i did enjoy it.

-Ommegang Three Philosophers i split with a friend and was absolutely lovely. I need to get another one of those soon. One of my new favorite beers. A US brewed belgian style ale with 2%cherry lambic. Fruity, but not overly so and was balanced out with a more earthy flavor.

They have a challenge where if you try every beer on their main menu (250ish) over time. I wish i was going to be in gainesville long enough to give it a try.

[mojinho]

wow that place sounds great.

[High Monika]

-

Edited April 22, 2015 by Hang the DJ

[mojinho]

i've only had Lindemann's fruit flavors . . . the vinegar one i didn't like was Rodenbach Grand Cru.

[englandmj7]

I want to drink beer poured directly out of a wooden cask.

Unfortunately, I may need to go to the German/Belgian countryside to do so........

This picture makes me thirsty.

That is all.

[chronoaug]

wow that place sounds great.

If you're ever in gainesville, i'll buy you a beer there. I saw a "now hiring" sign there too. I imagine it'd just be for washing the glassware, stocking, cleaning and trash but i think i might ask the lady about it next time i'm there. Even if it's only twice a week, it seems like a nice place to work.

[Thorns]

I still want to try fort but i gotta find a friend to split it with me. You didn't drink the whole thing did you? if so, fucking 750 ml at 18% must have been a fun night

Sometimes you need a fun night!

[mojinho]

hey too bad i don't live in g-ville i would totally be up for washinng dishes at a low-key place like that. the customers are probably less lame than a regular bar.

[YoungPunch]

Alright, I got a bottle of 2008 stone IRS.

Its a very good stout beer. Deep black color, rich chocolate/ cofee taste, and a bit of hoppy bitterness. Smooth and easy to drink at 10.8% ABV. I will buy a couple more bottles to cellar for 6 months to a year and see how well it ages!

[alf]

-Old Rasputin Imperial Stout was on tap so i wanted to give it a try after seeing the pic Alf posted last page. I'm normally not a big fan of the super heavy stouts but i did enjoy it.

-Ommegang Three Philosophers i split with a friend and was absolutely lovely. I need to get another one of those soon. One of my new favorite beers. A US brewed belgian style ale with 2%cherry lambic. Fruity, but not overly so and was balanced out with a more earthy flavor.

right on. i'll have to try that three philosophers cherry lambic, it was right next to the old rasputin last time i went to the store but I passed on it at the time.

[mojinho]

man you guys are raving about this Rasputin stout, i'm going to have to get my hands on some next time i'm in the US

[High Monika]

-

Edited April 22, 2015 by Hang the DJ

[kiya]

also a great beer:

This Thomas Hardy Ale is unreal and a must for anybody into the rarer stuff... If you see this in a store it's normally a good idea to buy at least a few bottles because you won't see it around often. It's also a prime candidate for a beer that'll age well, cellar this sucker for a few years and it'll be a whole 'nother beast.

The only downfall is the price, it's extremely pricey for a beer that's in a small 8.5oz bottle..

[mojinho]

Oh I was just saying that no matter what brand a lambic can be unpleasant.

To correct my last post, I had the Rochefot 12. I had the Rochefort 8 tonight and I must say, it's fucking brilliant. Worth it for sure and better than the 12.

yeah of the Rochefort 8/10/12, the 12 is bordering on undrinkable, it's just too fucking strong. i like the 8 too.

[theetruscan]

I want to drink beer poured directly out of a wooden cask.

Unfortunately, I may need to go to the German/Belgian countryside to do so........

This picture makes me thirsty.

That is all.

You can definitely get ale from a cask in the US. Lots of brewpubs have a rotating cask ale as do a fair number of the more obsessive beer bars.

i've only had Lindemann's fruit flavors . . . the vinegar one i didn't like was Rodenbach Grand Cru.

Lindemann's is not, as I understand it, lambic. It's the wine cooler of the beer world. Lambics are made with the mashed fruit put in at the start and fermented with the beer, Lindemann's (I believe) puts the fruit in at the end and thus you get the crazy sweet nonsense they have going on.

[mojinho]

Lindemann's is not, as I understand it, lambic. It's the wine cooler of the beer world. Lambics are made with the mashed fruit put in at the start and fermented with the beer, Lindemann's (I believe) puts the fruit in at the end and thus you get the crazy sweet nonsense they have going on.

this is an interesting topic. i did some research. i am by no means an expert but i think you've oversimplified the process: lambic by definition doesn't necessarily have to have fruit flavors, only fruit lambics have to. what i was able to find out from the Cantillon brewery website, in their very detailed description of how they make their Kriek (cherry lambic), was that they take some half-mature lambic and then add the fruit. then the beer matures more before it's ready to drink.

i consider Cantillon information pretty reliable as they are a well-respected, family-run brewery.

from the Lindemann's website:

Because of the limited availability of the "Schaerbeekse Cherries", just as to brew a less sour and more fruity Lambic beer, Lindemans farm brewery developed an unique natural method using pure cherry juice from unfrozen cherries. This straight cherry juice is blended with selected Lambic of different ages.

Wikipedia has lots of info on lambic but none about when fruit is added. it does, however, mention how many fruit lambics are considered "lower quality" by beer enthusiasts, though it does not mention why. I suspect this is because many lambics are sweetened, whereas hardcore lambic-drinkers prefer the extremely sour, unsweetened (yet still fruit-flavored) varieties. but i don't think it has to do with when the fruit is added: it's the addition of sugar that makes a lambic sweet, not when the fruit is added.

[englandmj7]

You can definitely get ale from a cask in the US. Lots of brewpubs have a rotating cask ale as do a fair number of the more obsessive beer bars.

A wooden cask though.

Southern California. Show me. Want.

[ahk1979]

Picked up some beer when I was in Buffallo for the Sabres/Habs game on Friday. Here are a few that I got. Sorry for the shit pics.

Also had a bottle of this at a bar. Maybe the best Stout that I have had!

[chronoaug]

Just throw the dogfish head festina peche in the garbage now. I'm saving you the time it takes to open, pour, taste, and recoil in horror.

Enjoy the rest of them though.

[theetruscan]

Now here's the sticky part, and the reason I hedged before in terming all these beers lambic. As in any community of passionate devotees, serious debate rages over what constitutes authentic lambic beer. This debate focuses on the most popular style, which has penetrated the beer market right down to the deli level. I'm speaking of the sweet fruit lambic beers, which often depart from the traditional methods by adding fruit juice or syrup to the brew, resulting in a sweet, sometimes cloying beer.

In making these sweet beers, some brewers are said to use prepared yeasts rather than practicing spontaneous fermentation — the benchmark of a lambic beer. Other questions arise, over which breweries pasteurize and filter their beers, also no-no's, and which actually blend only a small percentage of lambic into conventionally produced beer, rather than only using lambic beer. The vagueness of the Belgian beer regulations allows brewers to take these shortcuts, says Tim Webb, author of "Good Beer Guide to Belgium" (Gardners Books, 2005).

To raise a glass, say, of the De Troch Apricot Chapeau, a sweet but delicious beer, is to enter a hornets' nest of tenaciously opinionated beer lovers who question whether these beers qualify as lambic. De Troch, for example, uses fruit juice to flavor its brew. Although Mr. Forder questioned the level of its sweetness, we found it tremendously appealing, with a spicy, nutty fruit flavor.

As much as we liked the apricot beer, both the Van Honsebrouck St. Louis Framboise and De Troch's Kriek Chapeau had more of a lambic character to them, with a tart core offering a counterpoint to the sweetness of the fruit. And the Cassis from Lindemans, makers of a popular framboise and kriek, which you can sometimes find in corner delis, had a balance to it that we did not find in its other sweet fruit beers.

Is there a place for these sweet brews? Of course. They can be delicious.

Should they be called lambics? I will say only that the sweet brews don't approach the complexity or character of the dry lambics, although they can certainly be enjoyed for what they are. If you think that sounds like somebody trying to avoid an internecine beer dispute, well, with such powers of perception you are clearly worthy of appreciating the nuances of a fine gueuze.

Eric Asimov of the times, will hunt down Michael Jackson's opinion soon.

[mojinho]

Eric Asimov of the times, will hunt down Michael Jackson's opinion soon.

very interesting post. but even after we've both done our homework, i still can't tell what's lambic and what isn't. seems like Belgium needs to clear up their beer regs a little bit before anyone knows for sure.

i don't have the michael jackson book but if you find his opinion somewhere would be interesting to know.

[culturalmulatto]

My favorite beer of choice is my own.

Home brewed Nut Brown Ale.

(*Not really. For beers it is certainly better than the miller lites of the world but will get shitted on by rogue, dogfish, three philosophers, even brooklyn lager. Its just kinda cool to be drinking beer you made yourself.)

[shoreman1782]

Just throw the dogfish head festina peche in the garbage now. I'm saving you the time it takes to open, pour, taste, and recoil in horror.

Agreed, I love DFH generally, but occasionally their experiments go wrong.

Really enjoying Victory Prima Pils recently. Not rare or super special or new, but a very clean, drinkable beer with a good amount of hops. I think I figure this out every 6 months or so when I buy a couple 6-packs of this stuff.

Also in the fridge: Fuller's London Pride (nostalgia for time in London) and a couple La Fin du Monde for when I need something richer.

[chronoaug]

I've never really had a lambic before but wanted to give it a try since you all were just talking about them. Can anyone reccomend a few good ones?

[JohnnyLaw]

Chrono,

If you can get your hands on some, give Boon Oude Gueuze Mariage Parfait a try. Or actually anything by Boon. Cantillon makes excellent lambics but they're pretty intense for a first try.

In areas where choice is limited (i.e. Quebec), the only available lambic is Mort Subite, which is frowned upon by purists because it's sweetened and filtered. Their gueuze is still tasty though, just not really authentic. Could be a good place to start because it's very sweet and mild by lambic standards.

[englandmj7]

Also in the fridge: Fuller's London Pride (nostalgia for time in London)

Love London Pride. So damn good.

Speaking of British beers, I really need to get over to the UK to one of Samuel Smith's pubs.

[ahk1979]

Chrono,

If you can get your hands on some, give Boon Oude Gueuze Mariage Parfait a try. Or actually anything by Boon. Cantillon makes excellent lambics but they're pretty intense for a first try.

In areas where choice is limited (i.e. Quebec), the only available lambic is Mort Subite, which is frowned upon by purists because it's sweetened and filtered. Their gueuze is still tasty though, just not really authentic. Could be a good place to start because it's very sweet and mild by lambic standards.

people from quebec should not complain about beer choice try living in ontario!