Pick a weekend, I'll meet you there and then we can chill at my place.
EDIT: FYI, my place is 3 hours from there, but it's still closer than going back to Albany that day.
I would love to come to the tour. Maybe not stay anywhere, but spend time with FRCers for the joys of beer. On that subject, I have to post about two that I have fell in love with. I went to a Pint Night at my Restaurant/Pub of Choice, which is Union Jack in Winchester, VA. And the company was the Left Hand Brewing Company.
St. Vrain Tripel
A really enjoyable Tripel, I have to admit. It goes down incredibly smooth, with flavors of orange and honeysuckle. I had no trouble drinking this beer, but I will admit that it's very sneaky in terms of ABV. I drank a 22oz and I got loopy. But, it's a really fantastic, smooth ale.
But it didn't prepare me for...
Midnight Depth Charge
OH MY GOD. This has to be the most amazing coffee beer I've ever had. It's rich in taste, like it's made from the purest coffee that is made especially for drug lords combined with fine a milk stout. It's smooth, creamy...it's just pure magic. And what really interests me that it's the lovechild of Left Hand and Terrapin Brewing Companies. If you find one, find it and drink it with a friend. Because it deserves special treatment.
Tis a shame these beers are so rare (and expensive) Everyone should try one.
On the topic of Belgians, I just tried two beers by this brewery. I tried the Oerbier and the Ara Bier. The Oer was an excellent Belgian ale, with lots of caramel smoothness. The Ara had some interesting fruity notes - a bit like apricot and banana, IIRC.
It's from Noon to 6 PM and costs $25 at the Gate. (Or 20 in advanced) Address is:
336 Belle Grove Road Middletown, VA 22645
My brother advised me to bring a backpack full of water bottles because you will get dehydrated. Any other advice for people who have gone to beer festivals?
I don't like beer, but then again, I have barely tried beer, and the ones I have were awful. Now, before you ask, take in mind I have no idea what kind I had, for it was long ago.
I don't like beer, but then again, I have barely tried beer, and the ones I have were awful. Now, before you ask, take in mind I have no idea what kind I had, for it was long ago.
I don't like beer, but then again, I have barely tried beer, and the ones I have were awful. Now, before you ask, take in mind I have no idea what kind I had, for it was long ago.
If it's a beer that comes in a can comes from any of the US Companies like Anheuser-Busch, avoid it. Beer is mostly opinion in terms of tastes, but those are beers everyone generally don't like for taste. They just drink for getting drunk and that it's cheap. I'm personally not a real fan of ales or lagers, which many of the beers you find at a normal supermarket, are. (If that supermarket isn't Wegmen's, Whole Foods, or Martin's)
Real beer will cost some money and does come from specialty stores. (Many wine stores have a nice beer section) But in general if you wanna figure out if you can like beer, do experiment with some of the distinct flavors. Keep an eye out for types of Stout beers, fruit beers, Indian Pale Ales, Brown Ales, Bocks, Porters, Pilsner, Barleywine. It's a very diverse field of drink and does require some discovery to find what you really like. There are several environmental factors too when you drink beer, such as what you drink it from, if you get it from bottle, tap, or can, and the temperature it's served to you.
This thread has inspired me to venture into the wide world of beer and I have to say I am not disappointed. I have found I prefer stouts, wheat beers, and pale ales. I have also found and excellent local brewery "Duggan's" that serves all there beer fairly cheap and is some of the best stuff I have had. Their service is also top notch. Dragon Stout is presently my favoritism non-Duggan's beer. It was my first above 5% beer and I was afraid it would taste horrible but I was pleasantly surprised.
Hanging with Mom at Tulip Fest maybe going Striper fishing too.
Apparently I'm a booze tease. That's not my beer. That's just an EPIC pic I saw on reddit. For fear of what I would do with it, I don't have a digital camera. I am tempted to find this beer now.
EDIT: We could order this and an bottle of their 40% IPA for about 105$.
...Maybe we can throw a furlough party or something.
I was thinking about doing a Beef and Beer night at the house. Everyone brings their own beef for the grill, a side dish, and some beers to share. It would be like a Cookie Party... only with a six pack.
I wonder if you could freeze distill World Wide Stout in a similar fashion...
I doubt it would taste right. Freeze-distilled beer recipes are designed specifically for distillation. Basically, whenever you remove some of the water via freezing, you will also be removing some of the flavor of the beer.
That doesn't mean it won't work, though. You just run the risk of ruining a $10 bottle of amazing beer.
I doubt it would taste right. Freeze-distilled beer recipes are designed specifically for distillation. Basically, whenever you remove some of the water via freezing, you will also be removing some of the flavor of the beer.
Also, nasty things can concentrate with freeze distillation...
Done with my beer festival. I had a great time, despite being in the area for only 3 hours. Had a good time drinking, listening to music, talking with buddies and eating/sobering up. This was done in May, so they didn't have many of the beers that I'm really into like fruit beers or stouts. They also didn't have a super diverse selection of beers, but it was different enough. But, I did find some nice stuff.
1. Harpoon Summer Beer- A very crisp, light beer. Has great drinkability, but not much overall taste.
2. Red Hook Bloonde- Again, not much taste but it's very smooth and refreshing. The type of beer that'd work on a hot summer's day.
3. Starr Hill's Lucy- A moderately carbonated, but very flavorful beer. It's listed having flavors of ginger, lime, and coriander, but it was mostly ginger. You could taste some of the coriander flavor too, but it wasn't a balanced mix. I definitely want to drink this with Indian food though.
4. Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Ale- A Barleywine/Ale Hybrid. It's not as good as say, Dogfish Head's Barleywine, but it's tasty and has that nice barleywine aroma and feel. It's a bit more hoppy. Olde School had more of a sweet taste could really leave a pleasant taste in your mouth, but this isn't bad.
5. Kona's Wailua Wheat- A smooth beer, similar to the Red Hook Blonde, but it has a really nice bite to it of wheat/malt flavor. It's not bitter, but has a nice kick to it. It was probably my favorite beer of the ones that I tried.
6. Smithwicks- A amber/ruby beer with a very bitter taste with a hint of caramel. The bite/aftertaste had a slight sweet taste, almost reminding me of cola. But I didn't really enjoy the taste, was probably my least favorite beer.
7. Magic Hat #9- I know this beer is very popular, but what made it special is that it came from a keg. And I've had #9 bottled, but through a keg it is much, MUCH nicer. It's a bit smoother and you can taste the apricot much better.
8. Legend's Brown Ale- A very nutty, strong brown ale. It's kind of sweet, but has a very creamy mouthfeel. It'll definitely stay as one of my favorite brown ales.
9. Widmer Hefeweizen- A crisp, light hefeweizen, but it lacked overall flavor. Without a citrusy taste, it lacks as a whole. Has a little bit of bitterness.
It was nice to try all these beers. Good time to, I got a half-pint glass to drink every beer in. And I got small tastes of other beers like Red Hook's Pilsner and Magic Hat's Vinyl. I did get annoyed though because the other beer I wanted to try was Lindemann's Peche. I can get it easily, but I never had Peach flavor and it came from a keg. Apparently the ran out in only 30 minutes of the fesitval.
Beer is one of those things I've always wanted to become a little bit more educated on. I've legally been able to drink for about 5 years now, yet most of that time has been spent just drinking cheap garbage. Only recently did I decide I should try better stuff, and attempt to remember what beers I liked. Here are the ones that I've really enjoyed so far:
- Hoegaarden - Blue Moon - Smithwicks - Killians Irish Red
As someone completely uneducated in beer, I ask the experts: what type of beer would this mean that I like (if the four even remotely fall in similar categories). If they do happen to fall together, then is there a particular beer in that category that is superior to the ones I've listed, and I should go buy?
These are whites, also called witbier. Blue Moon is a very mainstream white, while Hoegaarden is somewhat more traditional. I can't give too much advice here, since I'm not a huge fan of witbier. However, I can tell you that they are wheat-based, and as such, you should check out hefeweizens and saisons.
Hefe beers are a bit sweeter and less spicy than wits, but they have a similar light and crisp taste. I highly highly recommend Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier; it's the oldest brewery on earth and their beer is goddamn great. It tastes like bananas and cloves. Get it on tap if you can; you will not regret it.
Saisons are similar in some respects to wits and hefes, but they're bit more robust and hearty. They do have a similar light and crisp character, but many saisons are dry and tart as opposed to sweet. They finish very cleanly. I have a few recommendations in that department: Saison Dupont, which is a very classic representation of the saison style; Hennepin, which is a somewhat sweeter take on the style; and Southern Tier's Cherry Saison, which is a ridiculously tart but very tasty beer. You might have a hard time finding that last one, but they do have an Imperial version which is more widely available. Be warned, though; the Imperial is 10% ABV, so it'll fuck you up.
- Smithwicks - Killians Irish Red
OK, so you're definitely leaning towards sweet/malty beers. These are both pretty standard amber/red beers; Smithwick's is an ale and Killian's is a lager. There aren't a lot of red ales out there, but Sam Adams makes one that is better than either of these two, and the Harpoon Celtic is pretty good too. If you like the red ale, you'll probably also like Oktoberfest beers; again, I would check out the Sam Adams Oktoberfest. You'll also probably like Scottish ales, and you can even venture into old ales when you want to try something stronger.
Wow, thanks for the detailed beer analysis! I am definitely apt to consume some more beverages as the grilling seasons starts up, so I will be following through on these suggestions. I'll let you know what I thought.
Comments
EDIT: FYI, my place is 3 hours from there, but it's still closer than going back to Albany that day.
St. Vrain Tripel
A really enjoyable Tripel, I have to admit. It goes down incredibly smooth, with flavors of orange and honeysuckle. I had no trouble drinking this beer, but I will admit that it's very sneaky in terms of ABV. I drank a 22oz and I got loopy. But, it's a really fantastic, smooth ale.
But it didn't prepare me for...
Midnight Depth Charge
OH MY GOD. This has to be the most amazing coffee beer I've ever had. It's rich in taste, like it's made from the purest coffee that is made especially for drug lords combined with fine a milk stout. It's smooth, creamy...it's just pure magic. And what really interests me that it's the lovechild of Left Hand and Terrapin Brewing Companies. If you find one, find it and drink it with a friend. Because it deserves special treatment.
Tis a shame these beers are so rare (and expensive) Everyone should try one.
^_^
336 Belle Grove Road
Middletown, VA 22645
My brother advised me to bring a backpack full of water bottles because you will get dehydrated. Any other advice for people who have gone to beer festivals?
Real beer will cost some money and does come from specialty stores. (Many wine stores have a nice beer section) But in general if you wanna figure out if you can like beer, do experiment with some of the distinct flavors. Keep an eye out for types of Stout beers, fruit beers, Indian Pale Ales, Brown Ales, Bocks, Porters, Pilsner, Barleywine. It's a very diverse field of drink and does require some discovery to find what you really like. There are several environmental factors too when you drink beer, such as what you drink it from, if you get it from bottle, tap, or can, and the temperature it's served to you.
Apparently I'm a booze tease.
That's not my beer. That's just an EPIC pic I saw on reddit. For fear of what I would do with it, I don't have a digital camera. I am tempted to find this beer now.
EDIT: We could order this and an bottle of their 40% IPA for about 105$.
That doesn't mean it won't work, though. You just run the risk of ruining a $10 bottle of amazing beer.
Ah well. Guess I'd just enjoy it as intended.
1. Harpoon Summer Beer- A very crisp, light beer. Has great drinkability, but not much overall taste.
2. Red Hook Bloonde- Again, not much taste but it's very smooth and refreshing. The type of beer that'd work on a hot summer's day.
3. Starr Hill's Lucy- A moderately carbonated, but very flavorful beer. It's listed having flavors of ginger, lime, and coriander, but it was mostly ginger. You could taste some of the coriander flavor too, but it wasn't a balanced mix. I definitely want to drink this with Indian food though.
4. Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Ale- A Barleywine/Ale Hybrid. It's not as good as say, Dogfish Head's Barleywine, but it's tasty and has that nice barleywine aroma and feel. It's a bit more hoppy. Olde School had more of a sweet taste could really leave a pleasant taste in your mouth, but this isn't bad.
5. Kona's Wailua Wheat- A smooth beer, similar to the Red Hook Blonde, but it has a really nice bite to it of wheat/malt flavor. It's not bitter, but has a nice kick to it. It was probably my favorite beer of the ones that I tried.
6. Smithwicks- A amber/ruby beer with a very bitter taste with a hint of caramel. The bite/aftertaste had a slight sweet taste, almost reminding me of cola. But I didn't really enjoy the taste, was probably my least favorite beer.
7. Magic Hat #9- I know this beer is very popular, but what made it special is that it came from a keg. And I've had #9 bottled, but through a keg it is much, MUCH nicer. It's a bit smoother and you can taste the apricot much better.
8. Legend's Brown Ale- A very nutty, strong brown ale. It's kind of sweet, but has a very creamy mouthfeel. It'll definitely stay as one of my favorite brown ales.
9. Widmer Hefeweizen- A crisp, light hefeweizen, but it lacked overall flavor. Without a citrusy taste, it lacks as a whole. Has a little bit of bitterness.
It was nice to try all these beers. Good time to, I got a half-pint glass to drink every beer in. And I got small tastes of other beers like Red Hook's Pilsner and Magic Hat's Vinyl. I did get annoyed though because the other beer I wanted to try was Lindemann's Peche. I can get it easily, but I never had Peach flavor and it came from a keg. Apparently the ran out in only 30 minutes of the fesitval.
Hope all of this helps you guys. ^_^
Describe it to me in painstaking detail, please.
Also, how much does the bottle hold?
- Hoegaarden
- Blue Moon
- Smithwicks
- Killians Irish Red
As someone completely uneducated in beer, I ask the experts: what type of beer would this mean that I like (if the four even remotely fall in similar categories). If they do happen to fall together, then is there a particular beer in that category that is superior to the ones I've listed, and I should go buy?
Hefe beers are a bit sweeter and less spicy than wits, but they have a similar light and crisp taste. I highly highly recommend Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier; it's the oldest brewery on earth and their beer is goddamn great. It tastes like bananas and cloves. Get it on tap if you can; you will not regret it.
Saisons are similar in some respects to wits and hefes, but they're bit more robust and hearty. They do have a similar light and crisp character, but many saisons are dry and tart as opposed to sweet. They finish very cleanly. I have a few recommendations in that department: Saison Dupont, which is a very classic representation of the saison style; Hennepin, which is a somewhat sweeter take on the style; and Southern Tier's Cherry Saison, which is a ridiculously tart but very tasty beer. You might have a hard time finding that last one, but they do have an Imperial version which is more widely available. Be warned, though; the Imperial is 10% ABV, so it'll fuck you up. OK, so you're definitely leaning towards sweet/malty beers. These are both pretty standard amber/red beers; Smithwick's is an ale and Killian's is a lager. There aren't a lot of red ales out there, but Sam Adams makes one that is better than either of these two, and the Harpoon Celtic is pretty good too. If you like the red ale, you'll probably also like Oktoberfest beers; again, I would check out the Sam Adams Oktoberfest. You'll also probably like Scottish ales, and you can even venture into old ales when you want to try something stronger.
I just realized that there are 4 bottles of Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine in the garage back home that have been aging since February.
Hot damn.