Beer

[geonuc]

Yeah, back to beer. I realized I'm living in the golden age of beer, at least for me. I like hoppy India Pale Ales. Sure, there are many other beers I'll drink and enjoy, but given a choice, I go for an IPA most of the time.

Well, the United States of America - all 50 of those states, I'd say - is a freakin' nirvana for craft-brewed IPAs. Everywhere I go, there's some small outfit pumping out a great IPA. And if not a small brewery, the larger ones like Sweetwater, 21st Amendment, Lagunitas, New Belgium ... I could go on and on ... are available and their beers are fantastic.

I love this country. And I thank Great Britain for inventing IPA.

[Thumper]

Yeah, back to beer. I realized I'm living in the golden age of beer, at least for me. I like hoppy India Pale Ales. Sure, there are many other beers I'll drink and enjoy, but given a choice, I go for an IPA most of the time.

Well, the United States of America - all 50 of those states, I'd say - is a freakin' nirvana for craft-brewed IPAs. Everywhere I go, there's some small outfit pumping out a great IPA. And if not a small brewery, the larger ones like Sweetwater, 21st Amendment, Lagunitas, New Belgium ... I could go on and on ... are available and their beers are fantastic.

I love this country. And I thank Great Britain for inventing IPA.

^Like!

[Rommie]

For sure. The funny thing is the small breweries in Europe (well on the Continent) are now starting to churn out "American style IPAs" to the consternation of the British who have only just begun to realize just cause you start something doesn't mean you've perfected it.

We actually have the one American beer bar in Europe in Amsterdam, called Beertemple appropriately enough, where I go sometimes if feeling nostalgic for a Dogfish Head or whatever. It's funny cause you can tell who's never tried American beers these days cause they violently react to the stereotype of what such beer should be like- oh well more for me!

[SciFiFisher]

For sure. The funny thing is the small breweries in Europe (well on the Continent) are now starting to churn out "American style IPAs" to the consternation of the British who have only just begun to realize just cause you start something doesn't mean you've perfected it.

We actually have the one American beer bar in Europe in Amsterdam, called Beertemple appropriately enough, where I go sometimes if feeling nostalgic for a Dogfish Head or whatever. It's funny cause you can tell who's never tried American beers these days cause they violently react to the stereotype of what such beer should be like- oh well more for me!

That's because of the mass market beer that most people associate with American beer. Brands such as Pabst Blue Ribbon . Yes, on sale at Wal-Mart today. Or Bud Light and Miller.

[geonuc]

For sure. The funny thing is the small breweries in Europe (well on the Continent) are now starting to churn out "American style IPAs" ...

Feel free to share a recommendation or two. Maybe some of them export.

[The Supreme Canuck]

Yes, do. I'm always in the market for a good beer.

[Thumper]

Yes, do. I'm always in the market for a good beer.

But, but you have Molson and Labatts???

[The Supreme Canuck]

I said good.

[geonuc]

But, but you have Molson and Labatts???

[pumpkinpi]

I got a great birthday present. Beer soap.

[geonuc]

I got a great birthday present. Beer soap.

Is that a novelty thing or will you use it?

[pumpkinpi]

I already used it!
http://shop.leinie.com/browse.cfm/4,3913,2771.html

It is of the lemon berry variety.

[Parrothead]

Will using that soap make it more likely to be asked to blow into a breathalyzer, if pulled over?

[Rommie]

For sure. The funny thing is the small breweries in Europe (well on the Continent) are now starting to churn out "American style IPAs" ...

Feel free to share a recommendation or two. Maybe some of them export.

I have alas never seen a Dutch beer in North America except for the Heinekein/Amstel kind of crap. So alas I wouldn't know where to begin in listing good ones you might find... maybe La Trappe comes over cause that's the trappist one, quadrupel is best but the tripel is nice and the dubbel (the dark one) is solid if you like that kind of beer.

[geonuc]

For sure. The funny thing is the small breweries in Europe (well on the Continent) are now starting to churn out "American style IPAs" ...

Feel free to share a recommendation or two. Maybe some of them export.

I have alas never seen a Dutch beer in North America except for the Heinekein/Amstel kind of crap. So alas I wouldn't know where to begin in listing good ones you might find... maybe La Trappe comes over cause that's the trappist one, quadrupel is best but the tripel is nice and the dubbel (the dark one) is solid if you like that kind of beer.

We have a liquor store here - Greens - that sells a ton of beers from around the world. I'll stop by this weekend and see what they have. I don't know how many might be Dutch, but there is no shortage of quads, tripples and dubbels from Europe. They have a separate room to store those beers, several dozen of them.

But I don't recall seeing a continental European IPA.

[SciFi Chick]

Amstel is Dutch? *shudder*

[Parrothead]

Haven't bought much Dutch beer. Not a fan of Heineken/Amstel. Other choices here are Grolsch, Bavaria of Holland or Koningshoeven. Grolsch - I'm okay with, the Koningshoeven Hop-It triple IPA and their triple ale, sound interesting, may give them a try. I have a couple of cans of german beer in the fridge, that my sis gave me from a recent trip of hers.

[geonuc]

I did stop by Greens on the way home from work. They expanded their walk-in 'Belgian Room'. I call it that because when they first opened it, it was primarily to store all the newly-legalized high-gravity Belgians. That was a great day and a sad one for my brain cell count.

Anyway, the room is chilled, and they don't arrange beers by country. And there are hundreds of them. Hard to pick out any from the Netherlands while you're shivering. While most of the offerings in that room still come from Belgium, there are quite a few more from the US that are brewed in a European style. Think Ommegang gone viral.

Along with an assortment of American IPA's and a saison, I did find and buy a bottle of Urthel Hop-It (mentioned by Parrothead), brewed in the Netherlands for a Belgian brewery. At 9.5%, it's too high in alcohol for me anymore but I'll give it a taste.

[geonuc]

The Hop-It is quite good, with maybe a slightly weird aftertaste.

[Rommie]

Just had to look up your beer store and damn, looks impressive!

So since I think they might actually have it, the "local" breweries I like in NL most are the Browerij t'IJ (the one my friends and I go to once or twice a week, in a windmill in Amsterdam), Jopen from Haarlem, and Texel from an island from the same name. All of those make many different kinds of beer and you can't lose (though my favorites from t'IJ are Natte and Zatte, Skumkoppe from Texel) but they do make IPAs I've had in NL- I think it's still a "limited quantity so they might not export" kind of thing though.

SFC yes, Amstel is one of the Bud Lite equivalents in NL- Amsterdam is named for the dam they built across the Amstel River after all.

Parrothead, I like Grolsch the best out of all the ones you've said (and that's usually what we drink at the movies), Bavaria is solid too but more drunk in the southern part of the country, not the biggest fan of Koningshoeven tho as it's a bit too light for me. Funnily enough these are all well beers in NL, funny what some exporting does.

[geonuc]

Just had to look up your beer store and damn, looks impressive!

So since I think they might actually have it, the "local" breweries I like in NL most are the Browerij t'IJ (the one my friends and I go to once or twice a week, in a windmill in Amsterdam), Jopen from Haarlem, and Texel from an island from the same name. All of those make many different kinds of beer and you can't lose (though my favorites from t'IJ are Natte and Zatte, Skumkoppe from Texel) but they do make IPAs I've had in NL- I think it's still a "limited quantity so they might not export" kind of thing though.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

[Parrothead]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22854840

[geonuc]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22854840

Foster's is still better than XXXX.

[FZR1KG]

They say the most popular beers in Oz are VB and XXXX.
XXXX was low until the idiots at CuB decided to change the VB formula.
Less alcohol, less taste. Good move wankers.
I know several one eyed VB supporters who after the change were forced to look to alternatives.
This happened several years ago and its sales have steadily gone down.
Apart from that, they kept the price really high so now you get lower alcohol, worse taste and it costs more than its competitors.
Marketing at its finest. Idiots.

[Rommie]

I always thought of it more as VB down in Melbourne and XXXX further up the coast. Is that true or am I making it up?

Curiously the Aussie beers I've seen most on the international market are Cooper's, and to a lesser extent Toohey's (which was my sister's favorite when she lived over there, in its extra dry variety at least). I think the former is actually a rather less well known beer in Australia itself.