goatwolf
Peasant
pennsylvanian hunger
Posts: 14
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Booze
Apr 27, 2017 17:01:04 GMT -5
Post by goatwolf on Apr 27, 2017 17:01:04 GMT -5
For those of you that imbibe, lets talk drinks.
What are your go-to's? Be it beer, spirits, wine or mead, perhaps a favorite cocktail or a combination of a drink with some activity. I'd love to hear about your preferences and interests, and start some sort of conversation.
I'm a beer guy myself, and as a Pennsylvanian, Yuengling is my go-to. I've always said there's better beer, there's cheaper beer, but there's no better cheap beer.
As far as craft beers go, my mainstay has always been Bell's Two Hearted Ale, just a fantastic IPA, reminds me of the forest, a day out fishing, camping trips and all that. Founders All Day IPA is my go-to session IPA, it's relatively cheap, and it just feels right as an 'outdoors' beer.
I guess it's not quite craft beer, but I also really enjoy Murphy's Stout. If you haven't tried it, it's a lower ABV dry Irish stout like Guinness, but I prefer it, it's got a sort of biscuity subtle sweetness to it, and it comes in the same style of nitro draft pour cans with the widget like Guinness Draught.
I've been enjoying the recent explosion of sour beers. It's definitely not for everyone, but you could say the same for really hoppy beers. I feel like sours are right around where IPA's were in 2011. Nowadays, the market is saturated with IPA's, every brewery has a couple different ones, and I feel like sours are the next big beer fad.
As far as the cheap stuff, I'm a fan of Pabst Blue Ribbon; it's a pretty good value for the money, and doesn't taste particularly revolting. As far as American macro-brewery pisswater you can find anywhere in the USA, I'll take Miller Lite over the other stuff, maybe just because that's my dad's beer of choice, but I prefer it over the other options.
I've also dabbled in homebrewing with my friend who has the setup for it. I've helped him brew some pretty good beers, though it was him doing most of the work, while I stood by and soaked in the process. An interesting beer comes to mind where we used fresh habanero pods I grew in my garden. I've seen habanero IPA's before, but instead of that, we went for a malt-forward approach, and ended up with a drink we called 'Liquid Taco.' That was a pretty interesting and eye-opening beer. Good stuff, but hard to drink more than a pint of.
If any of you are homebrewers or experimented with homebrewing, I'd love to hear about it.
As far as wine goes, I'm really out of my depth. I've enjoyed cabernet sauvignons, Casillero del Diablo is one my friend introduced me to which I rather enjoyed. I guess I like a dry red wine, but I really don't seek wine out, so I'd love to hear from any of you who do know wine better. In my experience, wine imparts a quite pleasant drunkenness, but it also leaves me dried out, and I feel hungover in a few hours, and I've got a headache before the buzz even wears off.
As far as spirits go, I'm not too much of a liquor drinker. I have two cocktails which I rotate based on the season. If it's warm out I go for a gin and tonic. My preference is for Tanqueray and tonic with ice, a splash of Angostura bitters, and a lime wedge. For the colder months, I go with either Jim Beam and Coke, or Jack and Coke. Stuff is basically antifreeze, drink it and the cold doesn't bother you.
I've been dipping my toes in the water with scotch whisky as well. I only really have experience with Laphroaig though. I really enjoy the smoky, peaty flavor, where it's kind of like drinking a campfire. I feel like a chimney after sipping on a dram of Laphroaig and I love it. I guess I love the smokiness in the same way that Lapsang Souchong is my favorite tea, if that means anything to any of you.
I like mead from what I've had of it. It's pretty difficult to obtain where I am though, none of the local wine & spirits shops have any good mead. My friend has brewed his own before (Is brewed even the right term? Fermented? Made?) and that was pretty good stuff. I've also partaken in bottles that friends have brought from out of state. I plan on making mead one of these days with my friend who better knows what he's doing. Should be a fun time.
Let's hear your thoughts on booze! I'd love to hear about your favorite drinks, or even if you want to make this a 'What Have You Been Drinking Lately' sort of thing, go right ahead. As long as we can have fun with some interesting conversation.
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Booze
Apr 28, 2017 4:41:35 GMT -5
Post by andrewwerdna on Apr 28, 2017 4:41:35 GMT -5
IPAs are my go-to. I prefer the "imperial" ones for taste, but usually get the "session" ones because I don't like being hungover. I usually buy local brands. On the rare occasion when I drink spirits I like to sip on Jim Beam straight. I used to drink a lot of bourbon but I try to stay away from it these days.
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Booze
Apr 28, 2017 15:50:10 GMT -5
Post by Ananoriel on Apr 28, 2017 15:50:10 GMT -5
Lucky as I am I live in the Netherlands and both of our neighbours (the Germans and Belgians) are very good at crafting beers. I drink 1 or 2 special beers in the weekend. And I like trying out new ones. I am more of the more fruity and sweet kind of beers instead of bitter ones, and I like dark beers as well. Some favourites are: Cuvée des Trolls, Karmeliet, Straffe Hendrik, Affligem tripel, Leffe Bruin/tripel, Kasteelbier, Westmalle tripel, Corsendonk, Lindemans and I think I can go one for a while. But as I said, I don't drink a lot at the same time, because I dislike being drunk and triples are most of the time pretty strong already. And from time to time when my boyfriend and I are visiting museums or before a concert we visit local breweries in Haarlem for example to have their beers as well. We like to discuss the tastes and look for new glasses as well. 2 weeks ago we tried a new beer called Princess, but we had to put it down the drain because it tasted so bad. It was very, very bitter/sour, it gave a very strange aftertaste. I never done that to a beer before, so that means a lot.
I am not that much into wines. At least I know I dislike white wines a lot, but I like red wines. But I never looked that much into the topic of tasting or knowing what type I like the most. Perhaps that is something for later, I don't know. And I love to drink mead a lot. I like the spicy types, and the regular and cherry ones. The only downside is that it doesn't taste like an alcoholic drink so it happens often that I drink too much of it.
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Booze
Apr 28, 2017 16:14:12 GMT -5
Post by PestilentSwarm on Apr 28, 2017 16:14:12 GMT -5
I used to spend a lot of free time in craft beer - be it homebrewing, growing hops, visiting breweries etc. After having kids that all came to a grinding halt.
My favorite style would be IPA's. I like floral, citrusy IPA's the most, but will settle for the piney bitter styles as well. DIPA's are more often then not shit. Brewers tend to overload them with barley to get all that extra sugar and you end up with a poorly balanced fermented grain tasting drink. Pliny gets it right and Heady Topper is another that I've had that truly masters what a DIPA should be (imo).
I try to seek out ciders and meads whenever I'm visiting new areas as well. Cider is underappreciated here in the states and is stigmatized as a feminine drink. A good cider is a good cider whether you have ovaries or testicles.
Where meads are concerned, the moment my family moves into a house with a decent yard, I'll be getting myself some cabinets for beehives. It's something I've always wanted to do (since I was a youngin). Whether or not I ever get to make some mead is another story, but at least I'll (hopefully) have the honey to do it if I'd like.
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nazgaldracul
Verified Account
Find my DS at nazgaldracul.bandcamp.com
Posts: 106
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Booze
Apr 28, 2017 21:03:40 GMT -5
Post by nazgaldracul on Apr 28, 2017 21:03:40 GMT -5
Not much a beer drinker when I'm at home. Norwegian beer is kinda sour and stale, and any import that isn't danish is rather expensive. So at home i drink pilsner only, but abroad I do like myself a good stout, preferbly local. Ipa is good as well as long as it's german or british (during a recent trip to Amsterdam i also found some rather fine dutch ipa). The only american brew i ever tasted was budweiser, which i thought tasted next to nothing, so still better than most norwegian stuff.
When it comes to spirits I really enjoy whiskey. As long as it doesn't taste too smoked then I'm pretty much a fan. My favorites would be the fat trout, monkey shoulder and lothlend. I also enjoy burbon that's not from canada, Jim Beam would be amongst my favorits as well. Pretty much all liqour that's brown is good to me though. The only time I enjoy clear spirits would be white russians and the occational traditional norwegian akevitt (aquavita i think is the international term). White russian is also the only drink I ever make, i prefer my booze pure with a glass of water on the side.
Wine is not my style. Not a fan of the taste of any kind of wine really. The same goes with mead (which is brewed indeed), too sweet for my taste. The same with the swedish and norwegian ciders, though I could easily enjoy some of the more fruity british ciders like strongbow.
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Booze
Apr 30, 2017 13:08:16 GMT -5
Post by DieuxDesCimetieres on Apr 30, 2017 13:08:16 GMT -5
I'm deffo a beer guy, been for some years already. Me and my wife run our own little beer blog, where we write reviews of beers and ciders, commentaries of beer fests we go to and stuff like that. I'm pretty much an everything goes kind of guy when it comes to beers, although my favourite styles are classic British ales: porters, stouts and bitters. The only beer styles I have trouble getting into are really heavy barley wines and the currently trendy sour ales.
I also like whiskey, although I drink it relatively rarely these days. I have probably some 500-600 euros worth of whiskey in my booze cabinet, ranging from the usual bourbons like Jack Daniels and Maker's Mark and some generic blended whiskeys for people who like to make whiskey-cola, but for the most part it's single malts: some Islay, some Highlands, some Japanese whiskey and so on. I'm not really into super rare and expensive stuff, just good single malts with real character, so the most expensive stuff I have is 16yo Lagavulin. However, mostly I go for beer these days.
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goatwolf
Peasant
pennsylvanian hunger
Posts: 14
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Booze
Apr 30, 2017 17:51:38 GMT -5
Post by goatwolf on Apr 30, 2017 17:51:38 GMT -5
I'm deffo a beer guy, been for some years already. Me and my wife run our own little beer blog, where we write reviews of beers and ciders, commentaries of beer fests we go to and stuff like that. I'm pretty much an everything goes kind of guy when it comes to beers, although my favourite styles are classic British ales: porters, stouts and bitters. The only beer styles I have trouble getting into are really heavy barley wines and the currently trendy sour ales. I also like whiskey, although I drink it relatively rarely these days. I have probably some 500-600 euros worth of whiskey in my booze cabinet, ranging from the usual bourbons like Jack Daniels and Maker's Mark and some generic blended whiskeys for people who like to make whiskey-cola, but for the most part it's single malts: some Islay, some Highlands, some Japanese whiskey and so on. I'm not really into super rare and expensive stuff, just good single malts with real character, so the most expensive stuff I have is 16yo Lagavulin. However, mostly I go for beer these days. If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to read through your blog entries some time. There are so many different types of beer out there, there's no way to try everything, but I've found out about a lot of other good beers based on other peoples' recommendations. If you don't want to post the link up, but still feel comfortable sharing, you can DM me the link, otherwise, I'm sure myself and others would be interested in checking out what you've written, so it's up to you. We've probably got similar tastes in music, both posting on the board here, so it would be intersting to see how our tastes in beer line up. (Though I have been getting into sours lately.) Tell you what, I like sours, but I understand how some people might find them unpalatable. My best beer geek buddy who does all the homebrewing doesn't like them either, so I get it. Salty goses, and beers with a barnyard funk; I can get down with that, but I understand how it's not for everyone, just like not everyone is going to like hopped up IPA's and DIPA's. If you're an IPA guy and you're feeling curious enough to give my favorite sour beer a chance, I'd recommend trying Epic Brewing's Tart & Juicy Sour IPA. It's got a refreshing tartness, and a pleasant citrusy, though not overly in-your-face hop bill. It doesn't really have the 'funkiness' that a lot of sours have. It's like a session IPA, i think it's around 4.5%, but it has a refreshing tart zing to it in addition to the crispness of the hops. Of all the sours I've tried, it's the one that stands out the most, and it's the one sour beer I've gotten my non-sour liking buddy to not only drink and enjoy, but actually ask for again. If you encounter a pint on draft or a six pack out in the wild, maybe give it a shot for this random guy on a music forum. Maybe it'll change your mind.
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Booze
May 1, 2017 3:08:35 GMT -5
Post by DieuxDesCimetieres on May 1, 2017 3:08:35 GMT -5
If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to read through your blog entries some time. There are so many different types of beer out there, there's no way to try everything, but I've found out about a lot of other good beers based on other peoples' recommendations. I'm happy to share it, although I suspect there will be a slight language barrier, seeing as how it is entirely in Finnish, heh. Anyhoo, here it is: ummikot.wordpress.com/. I agree with your assessment about IPA's vs. sours. It's the next beer trend, and like IPA's, it seems to be a contest of who can do the sourest ale around. I like a good IPA, but it was quite boring a couple of years back when it was basically a competition of who can put the most IBU's in a beer. It's much more fun now, when IPA's are again starting to have some real character; my preferred style are those really tropical, juicy and refreshing IPA's. When it comes to sours, I've tasted a few that I like. In general, the sour style I like the best is berliner weisse, and I'm quite fond of good saisons as well. Some of the geuzes and lambic I've tasted have been really good as well, and even when I don't like their taste much, I can certainly appreciate the skilled craftmanship behind those beers, and the centuries of tradition behind them.
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goatwolf
Peasant
pennsylvanian hunger
Posts: 14
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Booze
May 2, 2017 12:53:12 GMT -5
Post by goatwolf on May 2, 2017 12:53:12 GMT -5
If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to read through your blog entries some time. There are so many different types of beer out there, there's no way to try everything, but I've found out about a lot of other good beers based on other peoples' recommendations. I'm happy to share it, although I suspect there will be a slight language barrier, seeing as how it is entirely in Finnish, heh. Anyhoo, here it is: ummikot.wordpress.com/. I agree with your assessment about IPA's vs. sours. It's the next beer trend, and like IPA's, it seems to be a contest of who can do the sourest ale around. I like a good IPA, but it was quite boring a couple of years back when it was basically a competition of who can put the most IBU's in a beer. It's much more fun now, when IPA's are again starting to have some real character; my preferred style are those really tropical, juicy and refreshing IPA's. When it comes to sours, I've tasted a few that I like. In general, the sour style I like the best is berliner weisse, and I'm quite fond of good saisons as well. Some of the geuzes and lambic I've tasted have been really good as well, and even when I don't like their taste much, I can certainly appreciate the skilled craftmanship behind those beers, and the centuries of tradition behind them. I checked out your blog, cool stuff! I don't speak a lick of Finnish, but I was checking out some of the different beers; saw a couple familiar American beers. Just for fun I let my browser translate the page to English. The translation is pretty rough, even comically so at times, but I can still get a basic idea of what you're saying about the beers through the nonsense. I definitely agree with your sentiment about how breweries decided to try and make everything as hoppy and bitter as possible, and I'm glad that mentality seems to have faded away in favor of making beers that distinguish themselves with flavor and character rather than taking such a brute force approach. I haven't really encountered any of the 'trying to be the sourest' beers, but I hope that dies out. If I wanted something super sour, I'd drink vinegar. A sour beer, in my mind, should be tart, crisp, and refreshing, not a mouth-puckering, teeth-hurting experience. I really enjoy Berliner Weisse from the examples I've tried, and I've been meaning to pick up a case, because it seems so drinkable and refreshing, but I haven't found many examples of it here in America. Most of the sour ales I've tried seem to be gose, or gose inspired. I haven't really delved into lambics, gueuzes, or saisons either, but I'm sure the opportunity will come about. I'd reason that might be an America vs. Europe kind of thing in the approaches the breweries are taking with their beer styles.
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Booze
May 3, 2017 9:52:51 GMT -5
Post by surlaneige on May 3, 2017 9:52:51 GMT -5
My tastes go in phases, and i tend to end up just drinking too much lager, but if i can have a choice i like red wine, or neat single malt whiskey. Vodka sometimes too. And brandy style drinks when i want to get steaming drunk and have a bad headache: cognac, armangac etc.
As far as recommendations go, i'd say for beers try them all, as it's less wasteful and expensive to ditch a beer you don't like than a whole bottle of wine or whiskey. I stick to old world wines if possible, because i am a snob, and go through fancies for certain styles. Good ones on the radar recently have been beaujolais, especially the nouveau type which is a wonderful yearly ritual i've discovered, and primitivo. A good rioja never goes amiss either.
Whiskey is quite hard to judge for most tastes, as people are either really into smoky peated ones or they hate it. Some whiskeys are too malty and sweet, and that's the type i can't stand. Lagavulin, as mentioned above, is great. The Japanese ones are not to be sniffed at either ('scuse the pun), and pretty much all the Suntory ones (Yamazaki, Hibiki etc) are brilliant. Nikka 'from the barrel' is also insanely good and very strong.
I love really proper cider too, but it's deadly if you drink too much of a strong one. Cidre Breton is a nice tipple. And the real country stuff from Britain is definitely for testicle bearers, and people who want to put hairs on their chest... There's a trend for what i would call 'phony' ciders, which is all the silly fruit flavoured ones that started with Kopparberg and the rest which are just basically alcoholic syrup and would be better poured over jelly and ice cream than being drunk by any discerning adult.
Just some opinions anyway
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Booze
May 4, 2017 21:58:46 GMT -5
Post by nahadoth on May 4, 2017 21:58:46 GMT -5
Beer, and when I can afford it, single malt scotch. One of the favorites of mine at the moment a French single Malt whiskey, but they can't call it scotch because it's not from Scotland. Delicious, though.
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Booze
May 5, 2017 14:17:12 GMT -5
Post by Hyper Shaman on May 5, 2017 14:17:12 GMT -5
I am all about Belgian beer all of the time, especially trappist ales. Those monks sure know how to concoct a superb brew.
Otherwise I'm big on New Glarus beers since I'm pretty close to the Wisconsin border.
As for non-beer I like brown liquors and gin. Favorite mixed drink is the Godfather (1 part scotch, 1 part amaretto)
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Booze
May 5, 2017 15:27:35 GMT -5
Post by DieuxDesCimetieres on May 5, 2017 15:27:35 GMT -5
Just had the most exquisite and rare treat: a homebrew imperial stout made by a colleague of mine. And an EXTREMELY good one at that, beats many commercial stouts without any doubt!
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Booze
May 7, 2017 7:03:19 GMT -5
Post by andrewwerdna on May 7, 2017 7:03:19 GMT -5
At the moment I'm really loving Deschutes Hop Slice. Nothing fancy, but it tastes great and has the right effect for me.
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Booze
May 9, 2017 9:35:57 GMT -5
Post by lilac on May 9, 2017 9:35:57 GMT -5
I'm most into Belgian beers... with sours being my favourite. I brew, and will be blending a lambic I've been ageing for 3 years with younger versions sometime soon. Someone mentioned Norwegian beer not being there favourite. I do really enjoy the Nøgne Ø brewery, and some of the traditional styles with juniper etc. are really interesting IMHO. Whiskey is an interest, with Bourbon being most interesting to me over the last several years. I've recently been discovering natural wines. I think the sour beer pallet helps in this area... If you get a chance to try "Caves Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Savagnin" it's something special. Oxidative fermented white wine.. not something you try every day. And lastly.. Gin producers seem to be trying interesting things at leased up here in Canada...
OK, now I seem like a lush. ;-)
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