Drinking help

[Snake Plissken]

Depends what you like in beer. Ale or stout? Do you like it hoppy?

Becks, Holsten, Carlsberg, and Innis and Gunn are my favourite beers. They're imports so you'll pay a little more, but they are delicious.

Stouts are ales. The term ale has nothing to do with flavor, color, hoppiness, etc. It's all based on how it's fermented. All ales are top fermenting somewhere around 70 degrees F(IPAs, Stouts, Porters, Amber Ales, ESBs, Pale Ales, most Belgians, Hefeweizens, Kolschs, and about a billion other things). Lagers are the other major variety, and those include Pilsners, Bocks, Marzens, etc. They are bottom fermenting and typically ferment in the 38-45 degree F range.

Just remember...

OP: I'd suggest learning to brew your own beer. I've been doing it for years now and could point you in a lot of the right directions if you'd like. It's tons of fun, it tastes better than most things you can buy on any shelf anywhere in the world, it's incredibly simple, you can start doing it with a friend or two, it usually cheaper than buying your own, and it's totally rewarding. Oh, and it'll keep you all boned up on your math, cooking, and organic chemistry skills (it really doesn't have to be that complex unless you want it to be...). There are usually homebrew shops in every semi-large town. If there isn't one near you, there are plenty that are online.

It's amazing. And easy. And cheap. There's no reason not to do it. Seriously, if you can make tea and can be mildly patient, brewing is for you. That goes for EVERYONE.

 

[dragonslayer32]

You need british beer, John/Samuel smiths will do nicely. (Although I'm not sure if you can get these in the states) Failing that, you can't go wrong with a bottle of Jagermeister or Jack Daniels.

 

[Snake Plissken]

EDIT: DOUBLE POST

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

Depends what you like in beer. Ale or stout? Do you like it hoppy?

Becks, Holsten, Carlsberg, and Innis and Gunn are my favourite beers. They're imports so you'll pay a little more, but they are delicious.

Stouts are ales. The term ale has nothing to do with flavor, color, hoppiness, etc. It's all based on how it's fermented. All ales are top fermenting somewhere around 70 degrees F(IPAs, Stouts, Porters, Amber Ales, ESBs, Pale Ales, most Belgians, Hefeweizens, Kolschs, and about a billion other things). Lagers are the other major variety, and those include Pilsners, Bocks, Marzens, etc. They are bottom fermenting and typically ferment in the 38-45 degree F range.

Just remember...

This man knows his beer!

Lager is the words I was looking for. Danke.

What are your favourite brews?

 

[Nfritzappa]

Some good american beers are Samuel Adams (any variation, although I love the Boston Lager the best), Leinenkugel, and Yuengling. And if you can, get anything from Erie Brewing company.

I haven't tried many other beers to be honest though.

As far as hard liquor goes, I believe Jack Daniels has been mentioned a lot haha. It goes really well with coke.
Rum is also a good choice in my opinion.

 

[Snake Plissken]

This man knows his beer!

Lager is the words I was looking for. Danke.

What are your favourite brews?

Shit...

...I could talk about this for days.
As far as styles go, I prefer IPAs and dessert Belgians, mostly.

Gouden Carolus Van de Kaizer is phenomenal, my current favorite. It's moderately expensive, runs about $10 US for a 750 mL bottle. Not crazy expensive or anything, but not something I'd buy nightly. It's definitely a dessert beer, and it's best shared with a pal.

Pliny the Elder by Russian River is by far the best run-of-the-mill IPA I've ever had. It's really difficult to find since it's only brewed once every six weeks and the company only ships one case to a location. Generally runs $5/bomber.

Tallgrass Brewing Co. from Kansas City is quickly becoming my favorite new brewery. They've released 5 or 6 different styles and all of them are top-notch in their class. Their "Oasis" beer is now my new standby. It's nothing special, really. It's super malty, but they dry-hop the shit out of it so it's really hoppy, too. Between 7-8% alcohol, too, so it's nice to not have to drink too many of them.

I live in Colorado, so I'm in the Napa Valley of beer. It's lovely to live within 20 miles of 20 different microbreweries.

My buddy and I have been brewing beer together for a couple years now, and we tend to argue about what to make. He loves most German styles (which I mostly hate) and I love Belgians (which he mostly hates). We tend to settle on stuff that isn't too crazy. I currently have a vanilla porter that I bottled about a month ago that is probably the best beer I've ever made.

 

[Blue_vision]

Fuck beer. Go for the Tequilla and Rum!

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

Shit...

...I could talk about this for days.
As far as styles go, I prefer IPAs and dessert Belgians, mostly.

Gouden Carolus Van de Kaizer is phenomenal, my current favorite. It's moderately expensive, runs about $10 US for a 750 mL bottle. Not crazy expensive or anything, but not something I'd buy nightly. It's definitely a dessert beer, and it's best shared with a pal.

Pliny the Elder by Russian River is by far the best run-of-the-mill IPA I've ever had. It's really difficult to find since it's only brewed once every six weeks and the company only ships one case to a location. Generally runs $5/bomber.

Tallgrass Brewing Co. from Kansas City is quickly becoming my favorite new brewery. They've released 5 or 6 different styles and all of them are top-notch in their class. Their "Oasis" beer is now my new standby. It's nothing special, really. It's super malty, but they dry-hop the shit out of it so it's really hoppy, too. Between 7-8% alcohol, too, so it's nice to not have to drink too many of them.

I live in Colorado, so I'm in the Napa Valley of beer. It's lovely to live within 20 miles of 20 different microbreweries.

My buddy and I have been brewing beer together for a couple years now, and we tend to argue about what to make. He loves most German styles (which I mostly hate) and I love Belgians (which he mostly hates). We tend to settle on stuff that isn't too crazy. I currently have a vanilla porter that I bottled about a month ago that is probably the best beer I've ever made.

I've not tried any of those, but I've heard of Tallgrass. I live in Canada though, so I'm not sure if we get it here.
Ever tried Trappistes Rochefort? It's Belgian, 11.3%. For a beer with that percentage, it's surprisingly light. Gulden Draak is nice too, from what I remember.
I'm like your friend though, in that I typically prefer German brews.

 

[DustyDrB]

Depends what you like in beer. Ale or stout? Do you like it hoppy?

Becks, Holsten, Carlsberg, and Innis and Gunn are my favourite beers. They're imports so you'll pay a little more, but they are delicious.

Stouts are ales. The term ale has nothing to do with flavor, color, hoppiness, etc. It's all based on how it's fermented. All ales are top fermenting somewhere around 70 degrees F(IPAs, Stouts, Porters, Amber Ales, ESBs, Pale Ales, most Belgians, Hefeweizens, Kolschs, and about a billion other things). Lagers are the other major variety, and those include Pilsners, Bocks, Marzens, etc. They are bottom fermenting and typically ferment in the 38-45 degree F range.

Just remember...

OP: I'd suggest learning to brew your own beer. I've been doing it for years now and could point you in a lot of the right directions if you'd like. It's tons of fun, it tastes better than most things you can buy on any shelf anywhere in the world, it's incredibly simple, you can start doing it with a friend or two, it usually cheaper than buying your own, and it's totally rewarding. Oh, and it'll keep you all boned up on your math, cooking, and organic chemistry skills (it really doesn't have to be that complex unless you want it to be...). There are usually homebrew shops in every semi-large town. If there isn't one near you, there are plenty that are online.

It's amazing. And easy. And cheap. There's no reason not to do it. Seriously, if you can make tea and can be mildly patient, brewing is for you. That goes for EVERYONE.

A guy who knows his beer. I lift my glass to you.

Also: Porters and Stouts are the same thing, right? Or they used to be different but now are the same. Something like that. I researched it once and came away more confused.

 

[Uncreation]

A bit off topic, but has anybody here tried Absinthe? Somehow this magical green elixir calls out to me, but I haven't found it in my local liquor stores. Just wanna know what it tastes like, and so forth..

Black liquorish, it tastes just like black liquorish. It also doesn't make you hallucinate.

Ah, quite informative. Much obliged. Knew it's not a hallucinogen, yay for a chemistry degree!

Pretty sure the real stuff is illegal in most places. The stuff you can buy just doesn't have that drug in it.

As far as i know, the absinthe that made you hallucinate, and that most people are thinking about had salvia in it. Salvia divinorum. And yes, that is illegal. The absinthe they produce now is just an alcoholic drink.

 

[noxymoron19]

Go with the smirnoff, all vodka tastes bad. I really don't really see the point of having a favourite.

No. No. No. No. No. Quality vodka doesn't taste bad. The kind of stuff you get at much below the price point of Smirnoff might as well be cleaning fluid (and I've actually used it as such in a pinch). It's oily, harsh, and burns going down.

Good vodka like Ketel One or Grey Goose is smooth with a little bit of bite to it. You'll pay for the quality, unfortunately, but it's totally worth it. My personal favorite is Hangar One made by a distillery in California--it's smooth enough to drink straight at room temperature.

You see once I start drinking high class stuff I won't be able to go back. I like to save money when I drink, buying cheap stuff means I can drink more, its all in the strategy. Ill wait till I'm 40 and in need for something important in my life to go all out on amazing vodka.

 

[Snake Plissken]

A guy who knows his beer. I lift my glass to you.

Also: Porters and Stouts are the same thing, right? Or they used to be different but now are the same. Something like that. I researched it once and came away more confused.

No, no, I lift my glass to you, Mr. I-have-the-coolest-avatar-in-existence.

To answer your question: maybe. The porter is commonly referred to as the father of the stout. In Europe in the late 18th and early 19th century, Stouts were just called "Strong Porters". They tended to have a little bit more body and more alcohol. Today, the terms can be used interchangeably. The distinction has pretty much disappeared. I've noticed that MOST stouts I drink have slightly more body and a heavier mouthfeel than porters, but not really enough to justify a distinction.

If it were left up to me, I'd just refer to special stouts (espresso stouts, chocolate stouts, milk stouts, etc.) as stouts and let people categorize them as they may. Anything else, I'd just throw in the porter category.

You're right, though. The history of the two is very confusing. Lots of people claim that one came before the other and vice versa. The history of it is very spotty, but no worse than most other beers. Honestly, I doubt there are very many styles being brewed today that haven't changed completely in a couple hundred years, let alone what was being brewed in the fertile crescent way-back-when. The 2 things that come to mind that have been unchanging for any significant length of time are chica (corn beer from South America, I think. Look it up, it's gross) and several Belgian Ales (they've been doing this shit the same way for hundreds of years, if not longer...)