Hop-Heads and Beer Geeks Unite!

[Stefan Mikes]

Discuss

 

[stompandgo]

While I will have an occasional Margherita or Bloody Mary, for alcoholic beverages, I basically only drink beer. My wife calls me a beer snob. I'll drink corporate beer, but I just don't enjoy it as much.

Some of the New England brews that I consume regularly are made by:

Devil's Purse
Barnstable Brewing
Hog Island
Mayflower
Cisco
Treehouse
Trillium
Vanished Valley
Bissell Brothers
Zero Gravity
The Alchemist
Grimm (NY, but close enough)

I'm not a huge stout fan, but I'll have one in the winter. I can't stand anything with fruit or spices in it. Otherwise, it's IPA's, lagers, APA's, and I love Belgian ales, especially tripels.

 

[GAJ]

I live withing walking distance of Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, home of the once a year Pliny the Younger, where global visitors line up for hours to sample it.

Don't bother.

Not worth the wait.

 

[stompandgo]

Treehouse in Sandwich and Charlton are like that all the time. Wait to park. If you're in the back forty at Charlton, wait for a golf cart taxi. Scan your QR code and fill out the data if you're a first timer. Wait in line to get in. Get your two drink maximum wristband. Wait for a beer steward to pour your choice. Sandwich is pretty, since it's right on the bay, but I'd rather just pick up to-go and take it to the beach.

Treehouse beer is very good. I won't knock the quality. However, like Russian River, they control the output to create demand. What's more, Treehouse does not distribute at all. The only way to buy it is at one of their facilities. So many of their customers are star struck with the illusion of exclusivity. I pay no attention to that, or them. If you want to talk beer, let's go.

 

[PedalUma]

I got the muchies today after doing a tune and while waiting for a gravel bike from England. So I rode to a Swedish place that is rated by a tire company for a snack. That is just lingonberry lemonade, not beer. When I got back the bike had arrived. The book is about Überfrau. I am reading it a second time. She kicks butt. The bike will be converted with a DM02 and ready to ride by the end of the week.

 

[stompandgo]

I'm having one with steak for dinner. Greater Good, in Worcester, MA, is known for high ABV beers and ales. They say that every one is an Imperial. Now, I look at Imperials as having a two digit ABV, but they can call it whatever they want. It's a great 8% double IPA.

I posted the 12-pack because Pulp Daddy is made at the brewery for kegs and pint cans. For the 12 ounce cans, they copack with the Isle Brewing Guild in Pawtucket, RI. Copacking is a double edged sword. It lets a brewer sell in volume at much lower cost. However, part of that cost is deviating from your recipe and sharing common ingredients (hops, barley, malts, etc.) with other brewers in the Guild. This changes the taste.

 

[PedalUma]

I finished the basic bike build (before conversion) and test rode it. The only modifications so far are, I removed the giant/heavy dork ding-dong bell, and I installed much better and lighter matching pedals. Now I just cracked a Stone Delicious IPA at 7.7 %. It has higher note terpene flavors from citrus to floral with an earthy forest floor and gravel finish.

The frame of that bike is Reynolds 631.

Reynolds Technology

Reynolds 631 is cold-worked and also has the advantages of air-hardening after welding. The alloy is a development on our famous 531 range with 10% higher strength.

www.reynoldstechnology.biz

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hop-heads of Poland

Poland underwent the craft beer revolution in 2010s. Polish craft brewers learned how to brew from their American colleagues and it suddenly exploded sometime in 2014. I joined the wave when the tide was high: 2016. Since then, the market grew and stabilized. We have a big number of contract brewers and a number of brick and mortar craft breweries. The company PINTA is the market leader (similarly to Brewdog in Scotland). One of the best craft breweries, Artezan, is located just 10 km away from my place!

With @Brix, brewers and friends at Craft Beer Fiesta in Gdańsk, August 2023.

My experience extends to several European countries and the UK as well, and I will elaborate on this in a separate post. Since 2020, I turned out to be a diabetic. I reduced beer drinking and only do it on rather special occasions such as meetings with my girlfriend (who lives in London) or tasting some unusually good brew.

Let me just tell you I can name as many as 8 excellent taprooms in Warsaw Midtown and two more in the Old Town.

My favourite beer styles

• Imperial Stout
• American Barley Wine
• Triple IPA
• Double IPA
• West Coast IPA
• Black IPA (Cascadian Dark Ale)

I and my (now late) friend Jerzy had a one long day brewing episode at the flat of our friend Błażej. We brewed a 7.2% West Coast IPA.

"There's no stoppin' the cretins from hoppin'
You gotta keep it beatin'
For all the hoppin' cretins
Cretin! Cretin!
1-2-3-4
Cretins wanna hop some more!
4-5-6-7
All good cretins go to heaven!"
/Ramones/

Yes, I threw a hops bag right into the boiling pot instead of slowly immersing it... If not my friends, it could end up in a catastrophe!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Beer in the EU and UK
(Especially for @GAJ)

GAJ wrote he perceived the EU and British beer from local breweries as excellent. I have extensive experience from many European countries and from the UK, so let me share my thoughts here.

Germany
From my own perspective, it is the most hopeless beer country of Europe. All German Lager and Pils (even brewed locally) tastes the same and is totally unacceptable for my taste buds. The German believe in Reinheitsgebot. It is almost always bottom fermentation beer hopped with the same hops everywhere. You could argue they have the Weizen; how long can one enjoy the flavour of banana and cloves?! Yes, there is Bock and other stuff. No German beer is something I would enjoy.

The German people in their conservatism have killed the craft beer market. Yes, they had Stone Brewery in Berlin, and that excellent establishment went belly up soon. Yes, there are some craft beer pubs but anything German there is the Lager Even Brewdog in Germany had to adjust its offer to the German taste!

Czech Republic
If someone visits the Republic, drinking Pils or Dark Beer is something you cannot avoid. I accept local Czech beer but only when I visit that country because it is the cultural thing. Not that I enjoy Pilsner

Belgium
Yes, the Belgian style beer is excellent. However, it always tastes the same as the Belgian yeast determine the flavour.

Denmark
A model craft beer country with Mikkeler (the "good" brother of the Evil Twin!) and other craft brewers. Otherwise, it is the mass produced Carlsberg, not good.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia
The three countries mentioned here keep their drinkers dry, with the state monopolies (Vinmonopol, Systembolaget, ALKO). Surprisingly, there is a very good selection of Scandinavian craft ales and stouts in the monopoly stores. Important to mention Estonia, which is located just a narrow bay away from Helsinki is a major craft beer exporter to Finland.

Poland
The biggest craft beer country in the European Union. Otherwise... the local beer is: Lager, Dark Ale, Wheat Beer and Honey Lager. Hopeless in any aspect.

South of Europe (including France)
Beer is not their specialty at all.

The United Kingdom
The local ales known as Real Ale are drinkable but this weak malty beer is not for me. Britain is big on Craft Beer, starting with the Scottish Brewdog as the leader. I would say Buxton Brewery is the best in the whole island. There are numerous craft beer pubs, and I visited quite many of them.

If you are in London UK, you should visit Enid Street, "The Craft Beer Mile"

Ireland
It is the Guinness country, that's it.

You GAJ might disagree with me. I as a hop head see the things here as I have described. The only thing I am jealous about the U.S.A. is their craft beer

P.S. I could have shared photos but it would be an overkill for this post

 

[Chargeride]

I dont drink beer or wine, endless uncomfortable conversations that I end with..got any vodka?
Everyone looks at each other..
'Got a proper drinker here'.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Chris, as I should not ingest sugars, I drink beer rarely. It is Captain Morgan with Coke Zero usually. Still, I can say a word or two on ales and stouts

 

[stompandgo]

Nice Euro review. I'll disagree on Belgium. A Chimay Red tastes very different from a Chimay Blue. A Tripel tastes very different than a Farmhouse ale. It's true that most Belgian ales (Stella doesn't count) uses a bread-based yeast that is unique to the style, and is yeast forward. It's the first thing that you taste, and it's dominant.

The last time I was over there, I was visiting my son in Florence, who was studying abroad. I would see Brewdog beers at some places. I tried a few. Some were ok, some were very good. I did not understand what Brewdog was, but thanks to Stefan, now I do. The only craft focused pub I went to was called Beer Spot, a few blocks from the Basilica Santa Croce. I had a couple of local IPA's. I left missing American craft beer. No issue, at the local market, I found these 750ml bottles of Pilsner for $1. We would go up to the rooftop terrace drinking them while observing the city from above.

 

[GAJ]

I guess I'm odd in that I like pretty much all beer styles other than sours or anything with fruit flavors in it.

Not too fond of high AVV either.

6.5 percent is plenty.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Tripel tastes very different than a Farmhouse ale.

Two different beer styles indeed, still derived from Belgian yeast.

I think you meant "Saison" style for Belgian Farmhouse Ale? Here, one of strangest ales I've ever had. Saison should be low alcohol content so the Belgian farmers could quench their thirst in the summer but not get drunk. The man behind "Trzech Kumpli" (Three Mates) brewed "Saisonator" in 2017. It was described as a Double Saison and was 12.2% abv Delicious, anyway

Brewdog beers

For me, Brewdog pubs is what really matters. These always serve their own products but also have several "guest beers", and that is where I start inspecting the beer list A Brewdog pub is a life-saver, especially in Germany!

Brewdog Outpost, The Point, Dublin, Ireland.

Ironically, the only Brewdog pub in Poland (Warsaw) bankrupted in the previous decade (same as the Mikkeler one, overtaken by PINTA).

I guess I'm odd in that I like pretty much all beer styles other than sours or anything with fruit flavors in it.

No, you are not odd. I despised any sour ale until this year when I discovered some low percentage fruit sour ales were enjoyable

Not too fond of high AVV either.

6.5 percent is plenty.

I fully understand you. On contrary, I value beer of 7% or above

What I don't like, however, is so called:

• New England IPA
• Multiple Dry Hopped
• Juicy
• Hazy
• Northeast
• Vermont...
• etc etc

This style has totally overcome the market here. Everything done to remove the bitterness but improve the aroma. @GAJ, I presume this is what you like?

For me, the model Strong American Ale is Stone Brewery's Arrogant Bastard but is is unavailable here anymore. (Wrocław, 2017)

 

[GAJ]

Yes, Stone Brewing makes great beer.

They had a nice pub in Napa that went bust before Covid.

 

[stompandgo]

Over here, both Farmhouse ales and Saisons can be low, mid, or high ABV. Low ABV Farmhouse style ales with less yeast are called table beer here.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

OK, get ready to cringe...

Guessing I'm one of those folks lacking the enzymes to break down certain ethanol metabolites. So I get sleepy way before the fun begins.

But I love a cold Pilsner (2-3 most days). And lucky for me there are some good German offerings with 0.5% ABV. Clausthaler Original's the very best but hard to find in the US. St. Pauli Girl and Becks are decent. Corona 0.5% isn't bad, and it's by far the easiest to find here.

These are nothing like the swill they call O'Douls. Nor the 0.0% beers. That seems to be a different brewing or chemical process resulting in an aftertaste I don't care for.

I'll let myself out.

 

[GAJ]

No need; super low ABV is actually a smart way to go for those that like it.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

No need; super low ABV is actually a smart way to go for those that like it.

The nice thing about a good ice-cold 0.5%: You can guzzle as much as you want on a hot day and still function. The only limiting factor is urinal proximity.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Jeremy, I just need to give you a head-ups: You behave like a someone who entered a mosque in shoes (or worse)