I drank the last of the Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre last night (I don’t go through beer very quickly these days), which means the fridge is nearly empty, and it’s time for a beer run. Which, of course, is a great excuse for a filler-iffic audience participation question:
What sort of beer should I buy?
Not that you could tell from my behavior last weekend, but I’m not a big fan of pilsner or light lagers– if I’m only having a few, I prefer a heartier, darker beer. Belgian beers and IPA’s are great. Fruit flavors are right out.
So what should I get?
Speaking as a complete and total beer geek I suggest Trois Pistole based on your described beer tastes. It’s a bit pricey and high on the alcohol content, but it’s a fantastic beer.
newcastle
Samuel Adams’ Utopias,
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“Samuel Adams” Utopias 34,600 hits
For when your soul is thirsty.
As sad as I am to be beaten to it by mlf, my recommendation is always Newcastle Brown Ale. It’s dark, easily drinkable, and quite tasty. Definitely my favorite beer, but I haven’t tried many microbrews.
The Sam Adams family also has some good choices, I recently got a sampler of some of the more difficult-to-find brews (living in Ca there’s not much here past regular, light, and Boston Lager), and some of those were quite good, I remember liking the Irish Red in particular.
Don’t look at me, all I drink is Ommegang.
Unfortunately, my local liquor outlet just stopped carrying my favorite beer (Old Speckled Hen), so I’m going to be stocking up on that this weekend. If you can find it, that would fit your bill: it’s a British import, so you might be able to locate it in Delaware.
I’m a fan of “think globally, drink locally”, so anything I’d recommend is often based on where you live.
MD – Clipper City.
VA – Dominion.
DC – both of those should be available, among others.
For the wider-range items that can end up on upscale store shelves?
hmm…I go in and out of moods, often switching to European (mostly British) brands as I tire of the “typical American IPA” (with its overloaded sweet Pacific North West hops, beer that reminds you you’ve got tonsils).
From the Brits, ignore Bass. Fullers ESB is a good standard, and for the unique, try Old Speckled Hen (draft cans if you can find them). Boddingtons has a good flavor but its actually very hard to get an ale can in America that is a “typical bitter” from the UK. Ruddles comes close but still isn’t quite there. Scottish, the best you can get here in the states is Belhaven. If you can find it in the cans, better than the bottles. The brits are weird like that.
From the states, I can always recommend Stone Brewing (North County, San Diego – makers of Arrogant Bastard) and Rogue Brewing (Oregon, makers of Dead Guy Ale – their Kells Irish Lager is good).
Otter Creek (NY) has been good of late.
i don’t know if it’s available where you shop; but, I really like Carolina Brewing Company’s Carolina Pale Ale.
Best of draft, of course, but from a bottle to a glass is fine. very fine.
spaten optimator
very drinkable doppelbock that disguises its 7.2% alcohol level quite well.
Chimay.
If you can locate it, either Kalamazoo Stout or Two-Hearted Ale from Bell’s Brewery (Michigan).
do what I do, walk into the store, look at all the pretty labels, and choose the one that you’ve never tried before. then repeat.
and if you save the label off of at least one bottle each, you can keep track more graphically. (or eventually set up a dart board for future choices…)
I like a range of beers but one name you can’t beat is “Arrogant Bastard Ale” – a very hoppy amber ale but balanced. The commercial line is “This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth”
A few of my favorite beers- Lagunitas Maximus IPA,Gonzo Imperial Porter, and Bell’s Hopslam.
Also, Dogfish Head just came out with a new Ipa, Burton Raton, tatsy stuff.
Raisin d’Etre is also my normal beer of choice, so the first answer is “more of that.” The second answer though, as noted briefly by andrew above, is Chimay Grande Reserve. It’s tricky to find in the small (250 ml?) bottles, but the more common big bottles keep well once opened for a day or two. And it’s just glorious :).
[If any readers are in DE or close, the Iron Hill brewery in Wilmington makes some remarkable beer, and you can get growlers to go, but I have never found it elsewhere.]
If you want some hops in your beer, skip the Newcastle Brown — it’s decent for malt content but has almost no detectable hops.
Locally, your beverage center is probably now carrying the very nice IPA from Brown’s Brewing Company in Troy — definitely worth trying. Davidson’s IPA, from Glens Falls is also very good.
More Raisin D’Etre! Great beer!
Since you like IPAs, and you’ve expressed a fondness for Dogfish Head, you should try their 60 or 90-minute IPA.
I concur with all the recommendations for Stone Brewery. You’ll have to check out Stone Breweries’ selection of craft beers. Their Arrogant Bastard Ale is fantastic, and so are their other selections, such as Ruination IPA.
If it’s a darker, heavier beer you’re after I recommend Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout. Fantastic stuff.
I second the recommendations to skip Newcastle or Bass. They’re decent but rather generic beers — good for when they’re the sole import stocked in a bar. Sam Adams is kind of in that category for me. I drink them often, with pleasure — but just when that’s all that’s available.
Some of the smaller imports mentioned (Speckled Hen, Chimay) are very good beers, but I’d second the recommendation to buy local microbrews if possible. They’ll be rather cheaper and just as good overall.
For midwest microbrews, I enjoy (among others) Bell’s Amber, Upland Pale Ale and Bad Elmer Porter, and Goose Island Hex Nut Brown and Oatmeal Stout. I’d snap one up if you see it but I’m sure there’s upstate stuff that’s just as good. I know Saranac isn’t bad, though I think the above are a notch better.
If you get out west, check out Fat Tire… it’s pretty much perfection. But I don’t believe they distribute at all in the east.
My dark beer of choice is (British import, but not hard to find) Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout—very well balanced. Their Imperial Stout is also good.
I would have recommended Ommegang, but their abbey ale is actually pretty flowery.
Full Sail makes just about the best IPA on the planet. And I’m with you on liking darker beers, but don’t throw out the whole pilsner category. The world’s first pilsner – Pilsner Urquel, is as fine a beer as the world will ever know. That and Guinness (fresh guinness, preferably ordered at a pub in ireland, although that’s not often an option for me) are the top of the art form in my book.
I’m glad to see all the Dogfish fans; they make great beer. I don’t think anyone mentioned Arbor Brewing. They’re a little operation in MI. I don’t know if they distribute as far as Schenectady, although my cousin managed to get some in Maryland.
I knew the head brewer for Dogfish in college; if anyone was destined for their job… and yes, he makes great beer.
Damn you for getting me thinking about beer when work is only half over! That said, my revenge is that you’ll probably have troubles finding most of my recommendations.
For more “generic” beers I’d recommend Alexander Keith’s IPA, Kokanee Gold, Rickard’s Red and Molson Dry (but it’s even hard to find in Canada now).
Anarchist Amber Ale and Naramata Nut Ale from The Cannery are both excellent.
The Back Hand Of God stout from Crannog Ales is good.
Instead of Newsie Brown, I’d recommend Hobgoblin.
I’ll certainly second Matt’s recommendation for Pilser Urquell, plus I’ll toss in Czechvar, Topvar and Warsteiner. (The Warsteiner Dunkel is great!)
Grasshopper is Big Rock’s most popular brew and is a good one.
Boddingtons and Guinness are always great, but I like Kilkenney as well.
Anyway, I’m going to go cry in my iced tea…
I second the Spaten Optimator and Trois Pistoles recommendations.
As a habitant of Canada I say stay far away from Kokanee, and Molson (shudder), not a fan of Keith’s either but Rickard’s is okay.
If you can get it there (although I highly doubt it) I’d recommend Wellington SPA or Creemore Springs.
Warsteiner. I just wish I didn’t have to drive 20 miles out of my way to get it. Which is why I sam drinking a Michelob Lager right now. Damn these gas prices. rb
IPA recommendations:
Hop Slam
Dreadnaught
However, if you like IPA’s, but want to deviate slightly towards something heavier I highly recommend:
BORIS the Crusher
Other:
Two Hearted and Oberon are two great beers out of Bell’s that are perfect for warm spring/summer weather.
I used to live in Munich, and the best Starkbier I can reliably find (in California anyway) is Schneider Aventinus.
I also like Koestritzer, a black beer from central Germany, now owned by Bitburger.
Only available in draft, but it’s the best beer I’ve ever tasted: Mac N Jack’s African Amber.
Anything by Victory is always a good decision. I like the Victory mix pack, with Hopdevil and Golden Monkey.
Chad, be careful if Dan Kleppner is at Union. We had a dinner for him, with some nice wine, and we had some beers too. One was a belgian, Chimay I think. Dan took one sip and said “hmmm, must be a penance drink…..”. Red wine thereafter.
Besides the ones mentioned, you might try John Courage; all the Newcastle’s are pretty good. So you must be a Guiness guy? Sierra Nevada makes good stuff too.
Since you like IPAs, and you’ve expressed a fondness for Dogfish Head, you should try their 60 or 90-minute IPA.
There’s also a 120-minute IPA, although that may be only available in Rehoboth.
Having spent the last six years on the West Coast, most of my selections may not be available, but Acme Pale Ale seems to be nationwide, Firestone’s Double Ale is always good, and the standard to fall back on is Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale. And you can’t really go wrong with a Sam Smith’s.
Alaskan Amber.
Dark Staropramen.
More Raisin D’Etre! Great beer!
First I thought that you guys are talking about an actual raisin beer with a clever pun in its name, but sadly it appears to be a typo 🙂
I second the recommendation of Arrogant Bastard; that’s some good stuff. Stone IPA is also good, and of course Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an excellent choice–they make a good porter too. Unfortunately, Four Peaks doesn’t sell their beer outside of Arizona, or I’d tell you to pick up some Kiltlifter or Hopknot.
Windy (#35) –
– no typo. The packaging notes “made with green raisins, hops, and a sense of purpose” :-).
Err… ok, so on Googling the brewery’s site does indeed have this titled “Raison.” Hang on.
{FX: running to garage. jingling of sixpack. running back}
Dammit. “Raison.” I must have shifted universes again.