Schlenkerla Urbock A smoked beer from my grandmother's hometown in Bavaria. It's a dark beer with a very meaty flavor. It actually tastes like bacon-flavored beer. And yes, that's just as awesome as it sounds. It's hard to find in the states, and a single bottle can cost more than most six packs, but it's worth it every once in a while.
I love Smithwick's Ale, especially draft. It's got lots of flavor, but not as heavy as some. Also, when I'm looking for a stout, Murphy's is my first choice. It's a little sweeter than Guinness. Someone mentioned Old Thumper earlier. If you can get your hands on a bottle of it, you owe it to yourself to try it. A nice crisp ale with a hint of whattasted to me like apple. Delicious.
Without a doubt my favorite beer hands down and easily the best pale ale available, may I put forth... http://www.arrogantbastard.com/index3.html Sweet jebus I love The Bastard If I'm getting just hammered on cheap booze, I will revert back to the old college standby Keystone Ice. Terrific for pong, flip cup, and any card game. Be warned, (as if I had to warn you bunch of drunks) the hangover is absolutely vicious. For drinking in public under the guise of athletic achievement (i.e. beer league softball) the Baltimore standby Natty Boh is freaking delicious and will allow peak performance while plenty buzzed. Finally, for laying back on an easy night, a nice thick porter is in order. My go to there is the Rogue Mocha Porter. Thick, nice coffee tinge, but with just enough sweetness to lighten the finish and bring on that 'ahhhh' sensation. Just my take. [sorry for the edit(s), it's been a Rogue Porter kind of night]
Visited Maui over Thanksgiving and I will be ordering myself some Big Swell IPA soon. I tried Maui Brewing Company's three canned beers, and two of the three of them were worth searching for on your own: their Coconut Porter was rich (couldn't drink more than two in a sitting) but incredibly tasty, and the Big Swell IPA was perfect for the beach. Their Bikini Blonde was good, but not a great blonde in my opinion, though apparently a lot of people disagreed with me. I'm drinking a Fat Tire right now, and pretty much anything by New Belgium is awesome. Skinny Dip is my favorite, but their winter seasonal 2 Below is awesome. My go-to, which is great because I live in Texas, is absolutely anything by Shiner Bock, except their Bock light. Coors is the best for drinking games, and I always keep some at the back of the fridge in case I run out of the good stuff. **Edit** And I don't know what it is with y'all, but I don't get the whole obsession with Blue Moon. Yeah, it's decent with an orange, but not even close to some of the better stuff that's on tap. Can someone explain to me the attraction?
Can we do an anti-focus? Because I think everyone should know of the wretchedness that is "Moose Drool." I was forced to have one a while ago for some beer tour thing and couldn't even finish it. That's the only beer I remember not being able to finish because of taste reasons. Anyway, it tastes just like the name implies: chew toy residue from Sarah Palin's down syndrome grandson. Never ever try this beer unless you like to pour nuclear waste into your mouth.
Founders Brewing out of Grand Rapids, Michigan has some really awesome beers. My favorite is Dirty Bastard, which is a scotch ale. Only problem is, when I drink them, I want to drink far too many, which usually causes me to throw up at some point. Clearly I don't know my limits.
I second Carib, it doesn't have that metallic taste that corona has and I have a fondness for Trinidad Another beer I like is Balto MarzHon made by Clipper City Brewery in Baltimore, its nice and smooth Finally, I am not a big fan of Pale Ales (too hoppy for me), but I really like Terrapin Pale Ale. It is really refreshing and has a good flavor
Also, who here has tried Kentucky Bourbon Ale? If your watering hole serves it, definitely give it a try. Kentucky Ale using spent bourbon casks with strong vanilla and oak flavorings. It's beer, tastes like bourbon, but without the burn associated with all liquor.
I bought a 4 pack of this last night. So damn good. I also walked out with a sixer of Long Trail Double Bag and Blue Point Brewery's Winter Lager (a new one to me, but by the same guys who do Hoptical Illusion--one of my summer favorites). The Blue Point is a decent winter beer. On par with Sam's winter, I'd say.
My current favorite is Yards' Philadelphia Pale Ale. It's the perfect summer beer - nice citrus kick to it. I don't really have a fall/winter beer that I love yet, I just buy different ones whenever I run to the store. But, if I am having a party and getting a keg or a bunch of cases - it's Yuengling lager all the way. Everyone likes it, it's not crappy plus it's pretty local and I always like to help out a local (and not hurting for money) company. I am generous like that. If I am out and feeling fancy I will go for a Hoegaarden or a Duvel. I first tried them on trips to Scandinavian lands and were pretty hard to find when I got back - we are talking 8 or so years ago - now they are much easier to find & still such a delightful treat. Plus, a couple Duvel's will mess both you and your wallet up.
Aside from the awesomeness that is pictured in my avatar*, My favorite beer I am rocking right now is Arrogant Bastard: They also have a double bastard, but not sure I have tried that. *Have not actually had the courage to try Chelada. I like Session by Full Sail as well, although that is more of a summer beer. Think Red Stripe (same bottle shape) but cleaner and without the funky aftertaste and it comes in a box of 12: Another great summer beer, Coopers. They have a couple different, but I prefer the green label variety: The Japanese make a pretty some pretty kick ass varieties at the Hitachino brewery. Look for the owl: Don't listen to him, this stuff is great. A bar near me has this on tap, and I invariably wind up drinking this all night when there.
Fuck I hate New Belgium, every time I've had their crap it tastes like one of those fucking bike-riding hippies threw dirt in my beer before capping it off.
Can't get enough of that damn guinness. A lot of people think it's too thick, though it may be my scottish and irish roots but I could just drink this like water. Draft, bottle, can, I love it all.
I posted this on the alcohol thread too, but if you're in in Colorado or any of the other states in the four corners, look for: http://www.skabrewing.com Pretty much everything they make is good, and Decadent is 10%, and delicious.
Rolling Rock? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale? I don't know what happens to these brews once they go to HI but when I sampled the pair of them they struck me as being... subpar. Hell, I even preferred PBR and Bud. But the above two were, for me, underwhelming. Sam Adam's Boston Lager, though, was a different story. Fan-fucking-tastic. It tastes like what beer should taste like. Unfortunately it is impossible to find here in Australia. Also, simply because I do this on every damned beer thread:
I'm nearly finished with my New Year's Resolution to drink 100 different types of beer this year (had #90 last night). A few things I've learned: -anything from Stone Brewing Co. is delicious, and most of their beers pack a punch. I'd recommend the Double Bastard Ale (roughly 10% alcohol) and their IPA. -the Flying Dog Doggiestyle IPA is great in the summertime. It also has an awesome label: -Firestone Double Barrel Ale is hands-down the best beer I've ever had. I think they're sold mainly on the West Coast, but I'll search high and low for it when I go back east. -I'm incredibly biased toward pale ales.
I'm actually really surprised this beer/brewery hasn't been mentioned yet. I would have thrown it out in my first post but I figured we'd have twenty people raving about them by now. Oskar Blues, specifically Dale's Pale Ale. KICK...ASS...BEER. This is a BIG pale ale, it's 6.5 ABV and I think around 60 or so IBUs. One of the best beers out there, and absolutely my go-to summertime rafting/hiking/camping beer. Whenever someone I know is coming back from Colorado odds are they're bringing me a couple cases of these back with them. Honestly can not recommend this beer enough. I mentioned this to Drinksonthehouse in a pm, wanted to throw it out here as well: Sessions also makes a black lager that is fantastic. If you're interested in the roasted chocolate malty taste of darker beers, but don't enjoy how heavy they are, this is a great beer for you. Great flavor but not an extremely heavy beer.
When Drinking in Canada: When Drinking in the USA at the Pyramid Ale House outside of Safeco Field: Hef.