The Great Beer Thread

[ronjohn55]

Howdy all!

New guy here doing the obligitory 1st post thing! Jkath had sent me the link to this very thread - knowing I'm a common sewer of all things beer.

Not a ton of "vintage" things about me, unless you count my money pit, er.. house. It's a Ford home in Dearborn, MI (yep, that Ford...) that was built in 1919. It's still fairly original, right down to the 86 year old windows and knob and tube wiring in about half of the house. Some history on the houses can be found here... http://www.fordhomes.org/

The reason I got the link to this thread, is my hobby (and apparently a long standing family practice - more on that later) - I make my own beer and wine. Grandpa would be proud - according to family lore, he was a rumrunner back in the day.

So what kind of beer do I want? Just about all of 'em! :beer:

John

 

[jkath]

I'm so glad you posted, ronjohn! I think you need to do a thread on your family's prohibition era shenanigans.

 

[Rigby Reardon]

Good to meet you, ronjohn - welcome to The Fedora Lounge!

(Trivia: I married into the Dearborn family, for which Dearborn MI is named. Seems Godfried Dearborn moves west across the 'new world' while...er...starting multiple family trees, let's say...so pretty much EVERYONE named Dearborn in the US can be traced back to him, back in the 1700s I believe.)

 

[jkath]

lol, Rigby!

 

[ronjohn55]

Good to meet you, ronjohn - welcome to The Fedora Lounge!

(Trivia: I married into the Dearborn family, for which Dearborn MI is named. Seems Godfried Dearborn moves west across the 'new world' while...er...starting multiple family trees, let's say...so pretty much EVERYONE named Dearborn in the US can be traced back to him, back in the 1700s I believe.)

Hi Rigby! Thanks for the Welcome!

Actually, Dearbon's name is a trick trivia qestion!

This is from the Dearborn Historical Museum's site...

Dearborn was named in honor of Major General Henry Dearborn (1751-1829). He was a Revolutionary War hero, served six presidents in a variety of roles and served as Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson. He never set foot in Dearborn. The name "Dearborn" was suggested by Colonel Joshua Howard, the first commandant of the Detroit Arsenal located here from 1833 - 1875.


John

 

[jamespowers]

Foster's Mate. :cheers1:

 

[Rigby Reardon]

Hi Rigby! Thanks for the Welcome!

Actually, Dearbon's name is a trick trivia qestion!

This is from the Dearborn Historical Museum's site...

Dearborn was named in honor of Major General Henry Dearborn (1751-1829). He was a Revolutionary War hero, served six presidents in a variety of roles and served as Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson. He never set foot in Dearborn. The name "Dearborn" was suggested by Colonel Joshua Howard, the first commandant of the Detroit Arsenal located here from 1833 - 1875.


John

You got me on the details. I believe the General is one of Godfried's descendants. (Or my wife's family has been lying to me again. )

 

[ronjohn55]

Wouldn't have known those details myself had I not found that page!

John

 

[Bogie1943]

Beck's, Woody Allen's choice!

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Pilsner Urquell, Paulaner Oktoberfest, Warsteiner, Spaten.

 

[ronjohn55]

For the upcoming ski trip weekend, looks like we'll be packing New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Wine ('04), some Sierra Nevada Bigfoot ('04), Plus a couple of Authentic Belgian Gueze Lambics... :cheers1:

At least this way, when we hit the slopes, we won't feel it....

John

 

[Elmonteman]

Beer Tasting in the San Gabriel Valley

Mouthwatering thread we've got here. As a student of beer, allow me to redommend a place to do some serious research. A place I have traded many brain cells for fat cells, it's called "The Stuffed Sandwich." Somewhat hidden but worth the trouble to seek out, they have over 700 different beers ready for quaffing. http://www.stuffedsandwich.com/beer.htm It's not a bar per se. Their license requires that you buy some food in order to buy beer or wine. But Sam loves to cook so that isn't such a burdensome requirement. Usually you can order a "sampler" which is an ounce and a half of whatever 8 beers are on tap. This is great way to educate your palate.

 

[ronjohn55]

Mouthwatering thread we've got here. As a student of beer, allow me to redommend a place to do some serious research. A place I have traded many brain cells for fat cells, it's called "The Stuffed Sandwich." Somewhat hidden but worth the trouble to seek out, they have over 700 different beers ready for quaffing. http://www.stuffedsandwich.com/beer.htm It's not a bar per se. Their license requires that you buy some food in order to buy beer or wine. But Sam loves to cook so that isn't such a burdensome requirement. Usually you can order a "sampler" which is an ounce and a half of whatever 8 beers are on tap. This is great way to educate your palate.

I've heard of the Stuffed Sandwich from some California friends on a beer and BS board. It always gets high praises, and much to my chagrin, when I was in California for business last, I did not have a chance to check it out...

John

 

[BORNinWRONGera]

guinness

went to ireland last month life changing experience at guinness brewery its the drink of the gods :beer: as for light beet id go with grolsh

 

[Retro Grouch]

Here are a few of mine.

ISADORE JAVA PORTER http://www.mountainsunpub.com/beer.htm

Singletrack Copper Ale http://www.boulderbeer.com/

Flying Dog Pale Ale http://www.flyingdogales.com/beer-doggie-style.asp

 

[JPS]

BORN, you beat me to it!

went to ireland last month life changing experience at guinness brewery its the drink of the gods :beer: as for light beet id go with grolsh

I went to Wales and Ireland in 2002 with my church choir and was looking forward to some Stout in the old country. It didn't disappoint either. The full flavor was still there, but with no hint of harshness. It was almost as good as.....nah! The only way to improve upon a pint of Guinness Stout in Ireland is having it along side a bowl of Irish stew!

A comical note--While I was over there (Killarney, I think), Anheuser-Busch was in the middle of a big promotion. You know, the kind with "Budweiser" banners that stretch from wall to wall. It was obvious that A-B was pushing their product really hard. And Buds were two for one or something. On the way out I asked the bartender how sales of Bud were going. He said they couldn't give it away. Really!

JPS

Actually, I indulge in the occasional Bud--good flavor. Stop snickering!

 

[Burma Shave]

My kind of guy!

Quoting Brad Bowers, "I prefer darker ales, like Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Fuller's London Porter, McEwan's Scotch Ale, or Guinness Extra Stout."

I couldn't agree more, though I haven't tried the Fuller's. Sam Smith's Oatmeal is my all-time favorite, though just about anything hearty will stand in. One I haven't seen mentioned here is Mackeson's XXX Stout. Nothing else I've had tastes like that beer. There are overtones of chocolate, coffee, etc., but to me it tastes like nothing so much as a loaf of Irish soda bread stuffed in a bottle. A couple of bottles and I don't have to bother with dinner!

 

[MikeyB17]

Interesting to hear that some of the good old beers from the UK are finding their way to the US, like Theakston's Old Peculier (one of my particular favourites) and Fuller's ESB. We are fortunate to have a couple of excellent breweries down in my part of the World, my favourite being Skinner's in Truro. My diving club did a visit there last year, we were provided with a glass, shown a rack of barrels, and told 'Help yourselves lads!' About two hours later somebody said 'Would anybody like a tour?' It was a bit hard to stay steady on the feet bit we did it anyway. Cornish Knocker or Betty Stog's are my favourites of theirs. We've also got Sharp's and St.Austell Brewery, my local brew which I actually can't stand, a problem since they own over half of the pubs in the County! Hayseed Dixie played in Falmouth last year, and their singer was much taken with their HSD (Hick's Special Draught, but he interpreted it as Hay Seed Dixie!). In the Summer when it's hot, I like to go for a Red Stripe from Jamaica, a Corona, or Skinners' new lager, Cornish Storm, which beats any other lager into a cocked hat IMHO. I'm also greatly impressed by US microbreweries, some of which are producing some absolutely fantastic ales-my favourite was Pete's Wicked Winter ale, and I love Liberty from San Francisco. We used to be able to get a great selection from our local supermarkets, but it seems to have dried up a bit now. Can still get Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at Asda (WalMart to you guys).

MB17

 

[John in Covina]

Friday Feb 17th 6pm to closing Stuffed Sandwich

"The Stuffed Sandwich." they have over 700 different beers ready for quaffing. http://www.stuffedsandwich.com/beer.htm It's not a bar per se. Their license requires that you buy some food in order to buy beer or wine.

Well we are going to get together there Friday evening Feb. 17th starting at 6pm until closing. The Stuffed Sandwich is located at 1145 East Las Tunas Drive in San Gabriel, CA 91776 and their phone number is 626-285-9161.

I have been a member of the crew since about 1985-86 so roughly twenty years of killing brain cells. Also it is a good place to go if you have questions about wine, Sam is most knowledgeable and is a red wine person but imbibes in the white wines too.

Sincerely

 

[Smithy]

Beer - Nature's Nectar

Inspired by BK's Stella ad thread I thought this was needed.

There's a reason why beer's one of the oldest beverages in history - it's damn good!

Here's some of my favourites:

-N??gne ?ò India Pale Ale (Norwegian - mighty good)

-Bishops Finger (English - I'm a fan of the Shepherd Neame brews, Spitfire's another nice one)

-Speights Pale Ale (NZ - good on a hot day)

- Bellringer Bitter (NZ - from the Galbraith Pub in Auckland NZ, tasty!)

- Pilsner Urquel (Czech Republic - beautiful pilsner)

- Dahls (local beer in Trondheim Norway and not a bad pub drop)


That's a start, what's yours...