241 replies to this topic

[Jasi]

Truly the king of all pumpkin beers, whence the name I assume.

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Huh, what's that like?

Exactly as it sounds. Grape with the taste of rhubarb, which has a slight tartness to it.

[SteveT]

I'm about a month behind.  Now that the fall beers are out, things have been getting a little darker.  Ranked in order of preference.
 
1. Bell's Best Brown 
2. Railbender Ale
3. Ommegang Harvest Ale
 
It feels weird ranking Ommegang last on a list of anything.  It's a good beer, but my standards are higher for Ommegang than other breweries, so a good beer from them is disappointing.
 
I have a Southern Tier pumpkin-infused Imperial Stout waiting for me to drink it.  I'll report back later.

EDIT: It was Southern Tier for the Imperial Stout. Same guys who make Pumpking.

Edited by SteveT, 10 October 2014 - 08:01 AM.

[Jasi]

Oh I forgot about this thread! I'm nursing an "After Rakin' Autumn Ale" from Breckenridge. It's okay...not my favorite. Too malty for me. Other fall beers I've enjoyed lately are Pumpking (obvz) and Flying Dog's Oktoberfest.

[frogmonkeys]

Ok. Not sure if he's serious or not but Adam told me he wants a bottle of some sort of whiskey as his birthday present. I am not really an alcohol drinker so I am hoping some of you can help me.... what whiskey(s) do you recommend?

[SteveT]

Last night, a friend and I did a blind taste test with eight pumpkin ales.

 

The winner (and my favorite): Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin

His favorite: Southern Tier Pumking

 

Sam Adams also scored well.  Most of the rest did poorly.  There was a pretty steep drop between the top two picks and the rest for both of us.

[Jasi]

I'll keep an eye out for that Weyerbacher, Steve!

 

Sorry frogmonkies, I don't know ANYTHING about whiskey.

[SteveT]

<p>Whiskey is a wide field and everyone has everyone has pretty strong individual questions. &nbsp;I'd ask him which he likes, and either get a bottle of that or find something similar. &nbsp;Whiskey is too expensive and too varied to take a risk.</p>

Edited by SteveT, 14 October 2014 - 08:47 AM.

[frogmonkeys]

Yeah, I think if he wants whiskey he can just go do it himself. Guy is so hard to do anything for.

Also.... I'm only drinking water right now... sigh. Wish it were coffee... or chai...

[SteveT]

Today I tried out Southern Tier Warlock, one last pumpkin beer for the season.  It was one of the best.  Imperial Stout with actual pumpkin flavor and nicely spiced.

[SteveT]

Currently drinking Dogfish Head's Namaste.  I am really digging this beer.  It's a Wit, and it distinguishes itself with a kick of black pepper and coriander.  Is very nice.

[Jasi]

Steve will you just make me a beer list? Your descriptions always sell me. 

[SteveT]

Sometime later, I'll go back and update my first post to include a list of my favorites.

 

In the meantime!

 

Top Tier Breweries:

 

-Ommegang

-Bell's

-Stone

 

Other Breweries dear to my heart:

 

- Middle Ages (It's local, and Swallow Wit gets the award for being the first beer I ever actually liked)

- Southern Tier

- Great Lakes

 

This is, of course, ignoring the fact that I like plenty of individual beers while having no impression of the brewery as a whole.  That list is just my "safe bet" list.

 

If you're in NYC now, you should seriously consider taking a weekend trip to the Finger Lakes.  Pick a lake and drive the circuit around it, and you'll find a new winery every few miles.  Some of the wineries even have hotels.  All of them have quick, informal tasting rooms.  Go to the counter, slap a few dollars down, get samples.  Most will give you a discount on a bottle if you paid for the tasting, so you sort of get the money back.  Just make sure you're either on a bus, with a DD, or schedule some sobering up time.

[Jasi]

I've actually done that with my little brother who got his degree at Cornell! Amazing time. I actually liked the cider places the best! But couldn't hurt to go again...

[SteveT]

Speaking of CNY ciders, it's worth noting that Beak and Skiff has started distributing 6-packs of their hard cider (under the 1911 label).  I don't know if it's spread to NYC yet, but keep an eye out for that.  

 

Also, mead has been growing in popularity in the Finger Lakes region.  Yet another reason to go back.

[Jasi]

I actually can't stand mead. I have an aversion to sweet beverages of all kinds (pop/soda, sweet iced tea, a lot of juices, etc.) :x

[Sir Deimos]

I've missed this thread for a few months and thus the great autumn beer discussion. Sad now.

It's cold often enough that I've given myself wholly over to the whisk(e)y gods.

Bulleit for cocktails or even just by itself. Laphroaig. Bruichladdich. Lagavulin.

Truly my favorite time of year.

[Dizzy]

OJ.

Almost.

[SteveT]

Ok, beer catch-up time:

 

21st Amendment Brewery: Monk's Blood

 

Belgian-style deliciousness in a can.  Unfortunately, it seems to be seasonal and I only ever got four of them.

 

Dogfish Head: Ta Henket

 

Brewed with consultation from a beer archeologist in an attempt to recreate an ancient Egyptian recipe (true story).  It was a light, fruity, very pleasant beer.

 

Bell's Winter White:

 

I'm used to Wits being on the lighter side, but this one takes the character of a wit and fleshes it out into something with a lot of weight and substance.

 

Woodchuck Winter Chill:

 

This is apparently replacing the old Woodchuck Winter, which is fine because that one wasn't very good.  It tastes like Amber, but with a bit of oakiness and vanilla.  A little drier, too.

[Jasi]

Uh, BEER ARCHAEOLOGIST?!

[Sir Deimos]

Yeah! Those dogfish recreations are really interesting. I haven't had that one, however. Sounds good.

I'm currently having a Yards Brawler. It's only a 4.2, but quite nice on the palate.

[SteveT]

Uh, BEER ARCHAEOLOGIST?!

 

 

http://www.smithsoni...7016372/?no-ist

 

 

The short version is that he analyzes residue ceramic shards to figure out what people were drinking out of them.

[Jasi]

Great South Bay Blood Orange Pale Ale. A++++. Always what I want with a fruity beer. Can't elaborate now but I didn't want to forget to post this because it's THAT GOOD

[Spikey]

Now that we've mentioned beer; No, no, no! Today I noticed the supermarket near me started selling Tripel Karmeliet, a beer previously only really available to me in the belgian beer bar across the street, which I don't visit that often. It is my favorite beer ever; there goes my health. But guess what I'm drinking tonight at home.

[SteveT]

Alagash Dubbel.  Sadly, it's a little weak for a dubbel.  Ommegang 4 life.

[SteveT]

Monk's Blood again!  I am so happy.

[Dizzy]

Water. Been drinking a lot of water and milk.

[SteveT]

Cider round-up!  I tried a few recently:

Woodchuck something something limited edition sour cherry:  Exactly what it sounds like.  It was pretty tart, but not dry.

 

Ace Joker Cider: Screw that noise.  Way too dry.

 

Angry Orchard Summer Honey: Sweet, juicy and refreshing summer cider.  Seasonally appropriate.

[Jasi]

Last night I drank Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin, which was a grapefruit IPA. Magical. I also had a good watermelon beer the other day, Come Hell or High Watermelon by 21st Amendment Brewery. Like all good Americans I like a good fruit beer in the summertime but I'm rather picky—I hate sweet drinks—but both of these were only lightly fruity. Just perfect.

[SteveT]

So this is kind of a repeat.  I kept an eye out for Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale and it's even better than I remembered from the pumpkin-off.  So spicy. So pumpkiny.  So imperial.