Favorite Beer

[ClearedHot]

Anyone know any good Russian beers? I am off to Belgium and Russia in the near future.

[tripilot]

Anyone know any good Russian beers? I am off to Belgium and Russia in the near future.

Russian beer:

[lazlo]

Nobody said PBR? Not may absolute fav, but around the squadron, come on!

[shadymoose]

Who else besides Dupe brews their own beer? I just bought a starter kit from Midwest Supply and brewed my first batch this evening. Now I just have to wait a month to see how it turned out. Theoretically it should be an Irish Red.

I'm interested in more resources and gouge if anyone has experience.

I've been homebrewing for about a year and a half now, just about 20 batches done. Midwest makes some really good kits, and that's how I started- the instructions are fairly good and you can make some tasty brews, even from just a simple extract kit.

After 5 or 6 batches, I switched to making all-grain beers- the ingredients are cheaper, it makes better brew, and you feel more like a brewer turning grain into beer. Homebrewtalk.com is a great resource; that's where I learned about the process and got ideas to build the equipment on the cheap. I currently use a converted 10-gallon Rubbermaid water cooler to mash the grains (you can find a how-to and parts list on HBT.com) and a turkey fryer to boil outdoors- it keeps the house from smelling like hops and barley, and is a great excuse to sit outside with some buds and drink beer.

If you get serious, I highly recommend getting into kegging. It saves you the biggest asspain of the whole process (bottling), and there's nothing like coming home to a couple of your own beers on tap. I have a mini-fridge I converted into double-faucet tower kegerator, all for cheaper than a commercial kegerator would have cost me.

My biggest advice is to be patient with it, as tough as that may be sometimes. You can rush the process and still make decent beer, but an extra week in the fermenter will do wonders. Any questions feel free to ask!

[fou]

If you're ever in China, Yuengling is literally cheaper than water. We used to buy 750 mL bottles for something like 50 cents, go back to our hostel to get blitzed, and then stumble around eating crawfish and letting chinese girls take pictures of our beards.

For the elitist happy medium beer, however, I say you can't beat almost anything by Sierra Nevada. Quality craft beer taste, relatively reasonable prices, high alcohol content almost always.

I agree, Sierra Nevada is one of, if not my favorite beer

['DC']

Macro: Coors Original

Micro:

1) Buffalo Gold

2) Breckenridge Christmas Ale

3) Breckenridge Avalanche

[Champ Kind]

Russian beer:

In Mother Russia, beer drinks you.

[geoffny25]

I love my home brew, I usually stick to Porters, Stouts and IPA's (don't have the patience to lager).

But for commercial,

Arrogant Bastard

Bells Hopslam

Guinness

Anchor Steam

Dogfish Head

Bells Two Hearted Ale

Speaking of brewing yourself, does anyone have any ideas for a good started guide, or starter kit, for someone (like stiffler) who doesnt know where to start?

I almost bought a Mr. Beer the other day.

Stiff

Homebrewtalk.com will have all the information that you need to get started brewing as well.

[Varmint]

For those stationed in AZ, Oak Creek Brewery Nut Brown Ale. If you ever find yourself in Flagstaff on a snowy winter's night, there is no substitute.

[contraildash]

I just watched "Beer Wars" on Netflix. I really enjoyed it, highly recommend it to any and all beer lovers out there. The blind taste test was pretty funny, and very true. Sam from Dogfish Head brewery is a hell of a due (and brews some awesome beer).

Long and short of it, I don't think I will ever drink something from one of the "big three" ever again...support your micro-brews!!!

[Wolf424]

If you ever make it up to Wisconsin, try to track down a New Glarus Spotted Cow. By far my favorite beer. It's only sold in WI though, so it's tough to come across, unless your family owns a bar up there. Also, SweetWater 420 is pretty good. Their brewery is in Atlanta. It's a pretty cool place. If you get a chance, take the brewery tour.

Edited March 7, 2010 by TheWolf424

[schokie]

I've been homebrewing for about a year and a half now, just about 20 batches done. Midwest makes some really good kits, and that's how I started- the instructions are fairly good and you can make some tasty brews, even from just a simple extract kit.

A Midwest extract kit is what I'm working with now. Dupe mentioned them to me, so I've got high expectations!

Thanks to the couple of you that mentioned homebrewtalk.com. It's like Baseops for beer. There's a lot of reading to do there that should keep me busy until my first batch is finished.

I've got an Irish Red working now. I'm thinking of trying a Boddington's clone next. It seems the most difficult part of this hobby is deciding which variety to try next.

I used to be a Big Three drinker, but an assignment in Europe broke me of that. I'm hooked on Guinness, Bodingtons, and Greene King IPA. I still appreciate a good Yuengling or one of the Shiner varieties though.

[Guest Marshall]

Anyone know any good Russian beers? I am off to Belgium and Russia in the near future.

As I spent some time of my life in Russia I can assure you you won't find any good local beer there, unless you're going to some remote place, there is a chance it has a small-time brewery there, those might be good sometimes if you're lucky. By a remote place I mean anything beside Moscow and St.Petersburg which are filled with cheap russian beers that all taste the same so even locals prefer imported as long as they can afford it. So my advice is don't go with anything that has Cyrillic on the bottle unless it's a vodka.

[NHbound]

For those of you lucky enough to have been down under, don't forget:

VB

XXXX Gold

Crown Lager &

Carlton Cold

I lived off VB for about 2 years when I lived down there. Most locals consider it piss, but the funny thing is they wont export it anywhere.

Other good ones:

Sam Adams Summer Ale

Harpoon Celtic Ale (like Killians but better)

Smuttynose Star Island Single and IPA

Red Hook Copper Hook

But in reality I have yet to meet a beer I do not like. Beer is good.

[Guest Okawner]

Been drinking Flying Dog Hefe recently

Elephant Beer (knocks me on my ass every time)

Sam Adams seasonals (even though they don't agree with my digestive system)

Newcastle Brown (sweet but delicious)

[F0x_31]

Here are some that I have had in the last few months while in FL:

Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan

Yuengling

Kona Brewing Pipeline Porter

Some other favorites:

Weihenstephaner

Uinta Brewing Kings Peak Porter

Uinta Cutthroat

Moose Drool

Lots out there.