The Official Beer Appreciation Thread
I'll start off by labeling myself a beer geek, NOT a beer snob. That will be evident early in this post. I cannot pick a favorite beer. I can't even pick a favorite style of beer. There are so many varieties that it would take a lifetime to acquire and sample them all. And I am doing my damndest to try. I'll start by saying what I don't like. I don't like fruit flavored beers. Well, *most* styles of them anyway. There are a few Belgian styles that use fruit that I enjoy. And I don't like German styled wheat beers either. They have a background banana and clove character that I don't care for in beer. Pretty much everything else style-wise has tasty representatives that I will gladly consume. For me, beer is a situational beverage. So I guess if I am going to talk about favorite beers, I need to list favorites as they pertain to different situations.
Summer thirst quenchers
My first choice for a beer to have after (or during) yard work or lounging on a hot and sunny day like today is Genny Cream Ale. It is light enough to be thirst quenching yet has more flavor than Bud, Miller, Coors. And for those of you young uns that's never had a Genny Cream but heard awful things, put away your bias and try one side by side against a Bud/Miller/Coors. There is a reason it used to dominate the beer market around here. I think you'll be pleasantly suprised. Also on my list is Southern Tier Hop Sun from down in Jamestown, NY. Like the name suggests, it has lots of crisp hop flavors but is light on the palate and low-ish in alcohol so it won't beat you up on a day where you're likely to dehydrate anyway. My honorable mention here is Labatt's 50 ale. Soft and thirst quenching but has a nice finishing Cascades hop flavor.
Beer to drink with Summer barbeque food
I like a light refreshing beer with my ribs or Chiavetta's chicken but I want something with a bit more flavor than a cream ale or typical American/Canadian lager. For pairing with summer foods I like a Belgian style called Saison. They are soft and dry but have a bit of a spicy character to them. My favorite is made by a NY brewery called Ommegang. Their Saison is named Hennepin. And it is delicious with Italian sausage w/ peppers and onions or grilled pork tenderloin, yet has the backbone to stand up to a ribeye steak.
Patio beer with a cigar in the evening
Typically I am a whiskey drinker in the evening but there are plenty of beers that substitute well here, most of them high alcohol varieties. Belgian Quadruples pair well with contemplative moments. So do double IPA's, barley wines, big Scotch ales, and export stouts. I have two favorites. A Belgian style quad by Ommegang called Three Philosphers and a double IPA by Souther Tier named Unearthly. They are rich and chewy and have enough flavor to compete with whatever cigar I am enjoying.
Beers to go along with Fall sports and yardwork
I'm a traditionalist here. Oktoberfests are my style of choice when the leaves turn. I like Dundee Oktoberfest here. And Sam Adams Oktoberfest is also a very tasty version. Honorable mention goes to a hoppy harvest beer from Southern Tier called Harvest Ale. It is an amber hoppy ale brewed just for Fall.
Winter Beers
My beer choices tend to the dark and higher alcohol in wintertime. Stouts, porters, Scottish ales end up in my glass most frequently. I like Flying Bison's Scotch Ale best. Rohrback's Scotch Ale is damned good too. And Great Lakes brewing out of Cleveland makes a porter that can't be beat in my mind. Stouts don't start and finish with Guinness but it's never a bad choice if your out on the town. And Guinness is fairly low in alcohol so if you are driving have one of those instead of a bigger, more alcoholic beer.
Beers for Spring
I've got two. One traditional, and one that's fairly new on the market. Every Spring I have to buy a 12 pack of Genny Bock. Admittedly, it's not an award winning version of the style but it's release is one of the first signs of Spring and is a must buy for me. My ohter Spring fav is a seasonal from Sam Adams, Noble Pils. It is their version of a clasic Czech Pilsner and it is a hoppy, crisp, and full flavored pilsner. Great stuff to quaff on those warm Spring days as the lawn is starting to green over.
You'll notice that most of my choices are made nearby. There is a good reason. Unlike wine, beer is best drunk fresh, and you can't get any fresher than a beer in season that was made and shipped less than 50 miles away. Storage that is measured in months really does degrade the subtle flavors in beer. And if you haven't really ventured beyond Blue, Mich Ultra, or whatever your usual pour is, do yourself a favor and start to explore the other styles available. There is an incredible variety of flavors and styles out there.
Anyway, that's my long-wided post about my favorite beers. Let's hear a little about yours.
(yeah, it's a bit slow at work right now )