Thread: The recommend-a-beer thread

YUM!

so they had a mini beer tasting at bevmo yesterday (fridays 4-7 at the valencia store) the firestone rep was there. Seven beers $3.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company - Our Pale Ales

we went through the DBA, pale 31, and union jack. I wasnt a fan of the DBA. the pale 31 was much better, more hops, very smooth but had some good taste to it. out of these three beers the union jack IPA was my favorite.

the firestone rep told me that they own Nectar Ales too. Nectar Ales he had the red nectar , and hemp ale out to taste. I didnt like the red nectar, but the hemp ale was quite interesting. It had an almost nutty ending to the taste.

There were two other beers he was tasting, I dont remember the last one (very underwhelming) but the 2nd to last one was great.the Anchor Steam Christmas ale was great Anchor Steam - Anchor Christmas Ale it had a bit of the "pumpkin spice" to it (the cinamon, nutmeg, ginger) but it was a really nice beer. i bought a 6 pack on the spot, and might go get more soon.

go easy on me, i am stil a rookie at figuring out all the flavors in beers and all that jazz.

Anchor's Christmas ale is quite nice! I have a the remains of a sixer of it in my fridge. I had a bottle of Trader Joe's 2009 Christmas Dark Ale last night and it reminded me a lot of Anchor's. My buddy told me it was brewed by Unibroue.

Originally Posted by DMAN3474

so they had a mini beer tasting at bevmo yesterday (fridays 4-7 at the valencia store) the firestone rep was there. Seven beers $3.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company - Our Pale Ales

we went through the DBA, pale 31, and union jack. I wasnt a fan of the DBA. the pale 31 was much better, more hops, very smooth but had some good taste to it. out of these three beers the union jack IPA was my favorite.

the firestone rep told me that they own Nectar Ales too. Nectar Ales he had the red nectar , and hemp ale out to taste. I didnt like the red nectar, but the hemp ale was quite interesting. It had an almost nutty ending to the taste.

There were two other beers he was tasting, I dont remember the last one (very underwhelming) but the 2nd to last one was great.the Anchor Steam Christmas ale was great Anchor Steam - Anchor Christmas Ale it had a bit of the "pumpkin spice" to it (the cinamon, nutmeg, ginger) but it was a really nice beer. i bought a 6 pack on the spot, and might go get more soon.

go easy on me, i am stil a rookie at figuring out all the flavors in beers and all that jazz.

Pretty impressive noentheless! You managed to enjoy most the Union Jack, which is arguably the best of the three Firestone beers you tried. And the Anchor Holiday beers rock, except the 2006. I love this year's, but probably wouldn't go for more than two of them in a sitting.

I love the Red Nectar ale! Good stuff. Haven't had the Anchor Christmas in a few years.

Latest holiday brew I've had the pleasure of imbibing is the Samuel Smith Winter Welcome. I've always found Samuel Smith ales to be very delicious. Never had a bad brew from them in my life.

The Winter Welcome is something you will want to seek out if you like a to enjoy a brew that isn't too heavy on the palate or the stomach. It's almost a "session" beer to me in that it's got a light body and fairly low carbonation. The brew pours a nice light amber with a low head that disappears fairly quickly. The nose is lightly malted, maybe some honey and nutmeg with very faint hops. The mouth-feel is surprisingly "thin" given that most holiday ales load up on the malt and the subsequent "heaviness" is what strikes most as a signature of a holiday ale. Not this one. It's amongst the "thinnest" ales I've had - short of having some wreck of a homebrew. But don't let the thin body block your enjoyment. The taste is very much along the lines of the nose and the smooth maltiness is very satisfying. Take a long pull from your pint glass and savor the sweet malt and light hops. In varying degrees I've tasted caramel, some sweet citrus and even a bit of chocolate.

Overall, I was really happy with both 550 ml bottles I had. Tasty, clean, and not too heavy. One word of warning, if you are in the mood for a heavily spiced holiday ale, this one will let you down big time. If you want something that is more of a clean finishing, lighter ale that has a bit more ABV than your everyday ale, go grab this. Drink it now b/c I don't think this one is in any way going to age like other holiday ales.

BTW - loving the Anchor Christmas ale this season. It's become my everyday brew, strangely supplanting my beloved Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Tonight I've got a Delirium Noel on the menu. I'm not sure I can wait until tonight to open it though!!!

how about some Abitas?



had this tonight. it did not disappoint me. can be found at Cost Plus World Market.

Any Alesmith fans out there? My cousin, who reps for Pyramid, recommended their stuff. I'd never had it before last night. I grabbed a couple of sips of their Anvil ESP from a buddy. From what I recall, it was like one of the best home brews I've ever had. And I LOVE homebrew so no dis intended. If I say "your beer tastes like good homebrew" I'm paying a high compliment b/c I know a lot of great homebrewers who make beer that beats most off the rack beers. So, any Alesmith fans out there? Tell me what I should try.

my older brother just gave me his old home brew kit for xmas, just need to pick up a few items from the home brew store and im ready to start my own batch woot!