Booze The recommend-a-beer thread

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UnholyGoalie said:
Anyway, over the weekend I tried a bomber of Stone IPA at a dive bar in Venice. Not terrible but it wasn't my type of beer. I've had other IPA's before (Lagunitas, off the top of my head) that I enjoyed but the Stone was too hoppy for me. Very resin-ey taste that reminded me of branches off a pine Christmas tree. Not really my style.
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You know, I'm really not big on IPA's anymore like I used to be. However, I think Stone's is pretty solid. You're right though, very resin-ey and piney. Not much malt balance to be found at all in that one. I'll go for their Ruination :)
 
mitchrock said:
Was in the mood for Belgian style beers by american breweries. TRied Green Flash's Trippel. Pretty good, prefer their Le Freak which is similar to Stone's Cali Belgiqu. Drinking Anderson Valley's Brother David's Tripple and am loving it. That is what I was hoping for. Similar to Brother Thelonius.
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Oh Mitch, the Le Freak blows the hell out of the Cali Belgique.
 
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Just had a pint of this. Nice clean and sweet start before the familiar IPA afterburn of hops kicks in.
 
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Victory Storm King Imperial Stout – I bought a sixer of this after hearing so much about this brewery and most specifically this beer. When I bought it, Rob at Vendome told me this beer kicked his butt and after checking the ABV (9.1%) I can see why. Upon pouring it out the aroma had more hops to it than I anticipated. The aroma was complex and I knew this beer would not be boring at all. It poured out an almost pitch black with not much head. The first sip revealed some strong hops bitter that smacked me in the chops but then receded and then came some dark chocolate and barley malt. The flavors were robust and intense. Definitely not for the faint of heart. The beer wasn’t smooth. It had some balls to it and kept your attention in check. The hops were still present at this point. A little past the halfway point the hops have mellowed out (or I’m buzzed) but continues with the dark chocolate and now strong espresso. It finished up smoother than it started, but that just may be my take on it. I liked this beer but I don’t think I could drink more than two in one night. It’s intense, complex, savory, hoppy and I recommend.
 
UnholyGoalie said:
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Victory Storm King Imperial Stout ? I bought a sixer of this after hearing so much about this brewery and most specifically this beer. When I bought it, Rob at Vendome told me this beer kicked his butt and after checking the ABV (9.1%) I can see why. Upon pouring it out the aroma had more hops to it than I anticipated. The aroma was complex and I knew this beer would not be boring at all. It poured out an almost pitch black with not much head. The first sip revealed some strong hops bitter that smacked me in the chops but then receded and then came some dark chocolate and barley malt. The flavors were robust and intense. Definitely not for the faint of heart. The beer wasn?t smooth. It had some balls to it and kept your attention in check. The hops were still present at this point. A little past the halfway point the hops have mellowed out (or I?m buzzed) but continues with the dark chocolate and now strong espresso. It finished up smoother than it started, but that just may be my take on it. I liked this beer but I don?t think I could drink more than two in one night. It?s intense, complex, savory, hoppy and I recommend.
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Mind if I ask where you found that? I'm a big Russian Imperial Stout fan!
 
Vendome Liquors in Toluca Lake, which is my go-to place. I don't know if they carry Victory brews but Bevmo in Woodland Hills is another place I would recommend. Sorry, I don't know Long Beach that well.
 
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Stone Smoked Porter – Opening this bottle revealed a milder aroma than I was expecting. The smoke wasn’t nearly as powerful as the Schlenkerla. The taste was complex with a slight hop bitterness followed by a mild malty finish. I was expecting a more robust malt taste and smoke presence but the complex hops and floral flavors were what kept my attention the most. For a Stone beer, I was expecting something with a bigger punch and a bit more on the creamy syrupy style, however, I enjoyed this beer and would definitely buy another bottle.
 
UnholyGoalie said:
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Stone Smoked Porter ? Opening this bottle revealed a milder aroma than I was expecting. The smoke wasn?t nearly as powerful as the Schlenkerla. The taste was complex with a slight hop bitterness followed by a mild malty finish. I was expecting a more robust malt taste and smoke presence but the complex hops and floral flavors were what kept my attention the most. For a Stone beer, I was expecting something with a bigger punch and a bit more on the creamy syrupy style, however, I enjoyed this beer and would definitely buy another bottle.
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I'm not a porter drinker usually but I get a couple of growlers of this every year from Stone. I like the milder/lighter taste of it.
 
St. Peter's Organic Ale

I really like this beer! I'd recommend trying it if you come across it. They have it at Liquorama in Upland and at a very good Mexican/Cal Fresh restaurant in El Monte called El Patio Bar and Grill on Ramona.

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UnholyGoalie said:
This is the last of the Spaten Optimator sixer that I bought.

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I think Beer Advocate has it listed as a dopplebock. Dark and nice with a bock bite and a lingering bitterness on the tongue. I enjoyed it and the hoppy bitterness wasn't too much for my tastes. I'm sure you guys have tried it many moons before but I just wanted to add my .02.
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They have Optimator on tap at Rush Street in culver city. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it.
 
UnholyGoalie said:
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Stone Smoked Porter ? Opening this bottle revealed a milder aroma than I was expecting. The smoke wasn?t nearly as powerful as the Schlenkerla. The taste was complex with a slight hop bitterness followed by a mild malty finish. I was expecting a more robust malt taste and smoke presence but the complex hops and floral flavors were what kept my attention the most. For a Stone beer, I was expecting something with a bigger punch and a bit more on the creamy syrupy style, however, I enjoyed this beer and would definitely buy another bottle.
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This is a solid porter. Not overdone with the smokeishness, and pretty hoppy for what it is.
 
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Victory Golden Monkey (Tripel) – This beer was a stow away in my six pack of Storm King. This beer is a Belgian style with a pale gold color and little head. The aroma was rather mild. The beer has a pronounced clove taste with a mild hop bitter finish but it was all pretty well balanced without being too overloaded with spice. It certainly wasn’t a bad beer but it was okay. I like Belgians, however I like heavier, more malty beers better.
 
I grabbed an Anchor Small Beer last night. Their Small Beer is made from the second runnings of their Old Foghorn, i.e. it's a second beer made from the same mash. Now I pretty much love all that Anchor produces - Steam Beer, Porter, and especially Old Foghorn Barleywine. And the fact that Fritz Maytag was the first CA "craft" brewer I hold them in highest regard. However, I really didn't care too much for the Small Beer. Very little body (almost watery - which I should have expected given the probable low gravity), a dose of hops up front but not really in a manner that I liked (astringent but not in a very pleasant way), and the finish was pretty much meh (like it didn't have one). I guess that should have been expected given that the good stuff was sparged off in the making of the Old Foghorn. I just figured there would be a bit more to this beer. I can't recommend going out and buying this in any quantity. It's worth getting and trying at least for historical purposes as the "small beer" style is a forgotten craft (if this is how most small beers are I can see why). But really not anything that I would drink again. Anyway, I'm curious to know if anybody else has tried it. Tell us what you think.
 
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Unibroue Trois Pistoles – Hearing a lot about this brewery and seeing their 4 packs forever, I picked up this one. The beer poured a very dark brown, almost black in color with a fairly creamy head. The aroma was complex and I could only decide on a “fruit and vegetable” characteristic of it. It was milder in strength and body than I would assume for a beer of this darkness and bouquet. The taste was complex with many flavor tones there but the only one I could really pick out was a very slight clove. The taste would come out pretty quickly in the mouth and finish quickly as well with a very mild hop bitter finish. Overall I think this is a very good beer and I’m glad I have 3 more bottles of it!
 
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