Booze The recommend-a-beer thread

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As a proud and accomplished beer drinker I'm embarrased that I haven't participated in this thread to date.

I have this habit of letting bottle caps accumulate in the drawer where I keep my church key. I tend to let the pile go for a couple of months before cleaning it out and starting over. I think the last time I cleaned it out was around Easter time.

Here's what I got:

Newcastle -- a bunch of these, I buy it by the case at Costco every now and then. A solid staple.

Deschutes Brewery -- Craft brewery in Bend, OR. They use a common cap on all of their varieties, so I'm not positive which one these are from. I'd guess the Mirror Pond Pale Ale, which is my favorite from them. They make a nice IPA as well.

Karl Strauss Endless Summer Light -- I tend to keep a few bottles of lighter, more mainstream beer on hand for my wife who doesn't like most of the stuff I do. This is the current varietal.

Sam Adams (the original Boston Lager) -- I think a friend brought these by during the NHL playoffs.

Sam Adams ("Brewmaster's Collection) -- From the Black Lager. Oh yeah.

Pacifico -- Another wifey selection. I'll drink 'em with Mexican food when the weather is warm.

Widmer Brewing -- Like Deschutes, this doesn't indicate which varietal, but I recall that my father in law brought down some Widmer hef with him from Oregon. These caps aren't quite as cool as the old Lucky Lager puzzle caps, but they are imprinted with quirky toasts such as: "To convenient memory" and "To skirt-lifting breezes."

Redhook IPA -- I don't remember these very well. I think guests consumed these.

Full Sail Pale Ale -- More Oregon micros. My FIL has really got me on the Oregon bandwagon.

Green Flash Brewery (San Diego) IPA -- Overly hopped, VERY strong taste and a pungent skunky aroma. A bit too much even for me.

Stone IPA -- much more subdued and palatable than Green Flash, but still bold. 6.9% ABV. Yep.

Alaskan Amber -- more playoff beer. Don't remember much about it other than it was good and served its purpose.

Bridgeport Brewing Co. -- Portland. Again. Another generic cap that doesn't indicate the exact varietal, but it does indicate "Bottle Conditioned Ale." Pretty sure this came from their IPA.

Firestone Pale Ale -- Not much to say here. It was cold and good.

No Red Stripe caps, but I will say "Hooray for beer!"
 
Hey H4D, long time, no post.

Speaking of Karl Strauss, anyone ever seen Windansea Hefe in the store anywhere? They seem to sell every other Strauss brew at BevMo, but not that one. It has the perfect hefe banana notes to it, and although some others available are similar, they seem to be hit or miss.

I had some El Jefe that was great, with the same tropical fruit/banana thing, but the next time I had some, it didn't quite do it... a little inconsistent.

eljefe.jpg
 
Fooferah said:
Hey H4D, long time, no post.

Speaking of Karl Strauss, anyone ever seen Windansea Hefe in the store anywhere? They seem to sell every other Strauss brew at BevMo, but not that one.
Saw it at BevMo in Woodland Hills this past Tuesday.
 
I spent some time in BC recently. Didn't sample any Kokanee, but I finally got to try some of the Sleeman varieties. Canadian co-workers of mine had been hyping Sleeman for years (they don't export it).

Honey Brown Lager is very good. The cream ale is a little light for my tastes, but is a pretty good beer overall. Didn't have a chance to dig into any other of their beers. I was interested to try their "clear" ale, not knowing exactly what that is. I also found it humorous that they have both "cream" and "clear" ales in their line-up. They should package mixed six packs with three cream ales and three clear ales. Great endorsement opportunity for Barry Bonds.
 
Foof:

El Jefe is at the Valencia BevMo as well. Just ask your local one to order some, I'm pretty sure you can place personal orders without massive mark-ups
 
Huntin4Dux said:
I spent some time in BC recently. Didn't sample any Kokanee, but I finally got to try some of the Sleeman varieties. Canadian co-workers of mine had been hyping Sleeman for years (they don't export it).
What did you think of the Sleemans?
 
DougW8 said:
Foof, I see that they list a brewery restaurant in Costa Mesa, do they carry it there?

http://www.karlstrauss.com/PAGES/Locations/Brewer_Restaurants/Start.htm#cm

That's where I usually get it when I eat there (it's right on my way home from work). I think I might need to go out to dinner tonight. ;) I've never seen it in bottles there like they have everything else, but I'll have to investigate further. I was just thinking if there was someplace convenient that carried it, like BevMo and so forth, I would get it more often to have at home.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!
 
Fooferah said:
That's where I usually get it when I eat there (it's right on my way home from work). I think I might need to go out to dinner tonight. ;) I've never seen it in bottles there like they have everything else, but I'll have to investigate further. I was just thinking if there was someplace convenient that carried it, like BevMo and so forth, I would get it more often to have at home.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

I'm guessing that it is a seasonal brew? They don't bottle them and rotate different seasonals throughout the year?
 
kingsjohn said:
What did you think of the Sleemans?
The Honey Brown Lager was nice. Decent body for a lighter style beer. Nice finish.

The Cream Ale was a bit "airy" for lack of a better term. A little bit of an odd aftertaste too.
 
A couple of good Ales:

Afligem Tripel--bottle conditioned store it upright, it does contain some sediment (don't be afraid)

Corsendonk Brown: nice chocolate flavor.

Heffe-Weiss: Do NOT add lemon! If you gotta add fruit to drink it...

Erdinger-- superb (try with a small piece if pear if desired)

Franziskaner Heffe-Weiss. let this bad boy come up to about 50 degrees F and taste the difference
 
Anyone, especially those of you in OC, tried anything from Capistrano Brewing Co? I just saw their product for the first time in my local high-end convenience mart (you know, the kind of place where you can pick up a toothbrush and a nice, but overpriced, bottle of wine at midnight). Never heard of them before and their website doesn't say anything about when they were founded.

Honey Pale Ale sounds good. I'll give it a try soon.

http://www.capistranobrewingco.com/PremiumBeers.aspx
 
Lost Coast makes a couple of really great beers. They have quickly become my favorite brewery. You can get most of their stuff at BevMo as well (I even saw it in a Ralph's the other day).

My favorite is the Apricot Wheat which is a great summer time beer. The only problem is they don't bottle it which means ordering a keg or going to the yardhouse which has it on tap.

Actually every beer they make is really, really good but if I had to pick another one or two to recommend it would be the Downtown Brown and the Alleycat Amber. They also make a nice IPA but it is hard to find.

Check them out at http://www.lostcoast.com/

lostcoastbrewcolorlogo2sw.jpg
 
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projectx said:
OK so I mentioned Naja's cause they have 77 beers on tap here are a few:
Fat Tire Amber
Stone IPA
Alaskan Amber
Arrogant Bastard
Deschutes Black Butte
Deschutes Mirror Pond

And they have a few hundred bottled beers
I lived in south Redondo many moons ago and have conducted many sessions at Naja's.

Mirror Pond on tap -- awesome.
 
Didn't really feel like reading through all the posts so I don't know if these have been mentioned but I'll name them anyway.

The first is the best beer I've ever tasted. Karl Strauss Windansea. It's a hefeweisen with banana, vanilla, and clove flavoring. Unfortunately I don't know any place that sells it other than the Karl Strauss brewery. Anybody know? It's like dessert with alcohol.

The second is a Canadian beer called Kokanee. I've only seen it in Canada. Can't find it here. Likewise, if anyone knows a place around here, let me know.

P.S. Steigel is great too. I drank it in Austria. Can't find it here either.
 
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