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#1 Sep 21 2013 at 11:01 AM Rating: Excellent
Happy Oktoberfest 2013!


Its amazing how long I have celebrating this festival in my own house. One day I'll make it to a place with actual other people.

#2 Sep 21 2013 at 11:29 AM Rating: Excellent
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I just had a beer with primarily Hallertau hops, it wasn't very good.



Also, I don't really care much about Oktoberfest, it seems to be all about quantity with little to no regard for quality. Also, go sooner rather than later, beer prices at Oktoberfest rise (much) quicker than inflation.
#3 Sep 21 2013 at 1:18 PM Rating: Excellent
American crafts do a fine job of bringing the traditional Marzen's to the table. Every year I buy a 12 pack of one of the big four brewers in Germany for posterity but tend to just fill up on craft Marzen's as they tend to bring a lot more malt to the table.

As for ****** Hallertau hops, what beer was it?
#4 Sep 21 2013 at 1:24 PM Rating: Good
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Keeping it semi-local with Narragansett Fest.
#5 Sep 21 2013 at 1:42 PM Rating: Excellent
Spoonless wrote:
Keeping it semi-local with Narragansett Fest.


had a couple of their beers this summer, damn delicious!

#6 Sep 21 2013 at 1:44 PM Rating: Good
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Hallertau wrote:
American crafts do a fine job of bringing the traditional Marzen's to the table. Every year I buy a 12 pack of one of the big four brewers in Germany for posterity but tend to just fill up on craft Marzen's as they tend to bring a lot more malt to the table.

As for sh*tty Hallertau hops, what beer was it?
Palm Hop Select so I wasn't actually expecting it to be good. Well, if it cost only a little more than most macro stuff it'd be good since it actually had some flavour (but a bit of a metallic aftertaste too).

And I was mostly pointing at the big parties in Germany, I don't really get the obsession with them (at least not from a craft beer point of view). I haven't had any good Marzen as far as I recall (Aecht Schenkerla's Marzen aside) and to me autumn means herfstbock more than oktoberfest beers.
#7 Sep 21 2013 at 3:12 PM Rating: Good
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Hallertau wrote:
Spoonless wrote:
Keeping it semi-local with Narragansett Fest.


had a couple of their beers this summer, damn delicious!

They have some pretty good craft beers. Their flagship lager is super cheap, and pretty decent for an American adjunct. $4.50 for a 6-pack of tallboys. Smiley: lol
#8 Sep 21 2013 at 3:43 PM Rating: Good
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Is it all grain or with rice/corn? Cause that's pretty damn cheap.
#9 Sep 22 2013 at 8:03 AM Rating: Good
His Excellency Aethien wrote:
Is it all grain or with rice/corn? Cause that's pretty damn cheap.



The Lager I am pretty sure its corn but they seem to use pretty decent hop profile and at a decent price point its light years ahead of any other adjunct brewer in America. The cream ale was easy drinking if I remember correctly.
#10 Sep 22 2013 at 8:29 AM Rating: Good
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Explains why I pay about the same for 6 33cl bottles, no corn in there though. It's not really a brewery that's going to be imported here anyway. Then again, the only American brewery with any sort of presence in this country beyond Amsterdam is Flying Dog, I'm still hoping Stone will open a second brewery in Europe.
#11 Sep 22 2013 at 10:03 AM Rating: Good
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His Excellency Aethien wrote:
Is it all grain or with rice/corn? Cause that's pretty damn cheap.
Quote:
We brew our lager with six row malt, secret blend of Pacific Northwest hops, corn from Iowa, our lager strain (the same one the brewery has depended on since just after Prohibition), and the purest water from Lakes Ontario and Hemlock.
It's a pretty decent cheap beer. Their craft beers tend to be around $8 or 9 for a six of tallboys, which is alright, too.

Edited, Sep 22nd 2013 12:03pm by Spoonless
#12 Sep 22 2013 at 10:13 AM Rating: Good
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I think I've outgrown my super hoppy phase over the past few years. I still love a good IPA and all, but I'm getting to appreciate some of the lighter ales and lagers. I think what happens when you start going down the super strong-flavored beers is a bit of palate fatigue where you just keep looking for that next, strong brew. There's also something to be said about a nice, crisp session beer.
#13 Sep 22 2013 at 11:37 AM Rating: Excellent
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Have you tried sours yet? I just opened a bottle of Cantillon Vigneronne today and damn if it isn't one of the best beers I've ever had. So perfectly balanced and rich in flavour without being overly sour or extreme in taste.

Edit: Also, I love session beers like Fuller's ESB or Aktien Zwick'l Kellerbier. Drinkability is an under appreciated quality in craft beer.

Edited, Sep 22nd 2013 7:40pm by Aethien
#14 Sep 23 2013 at 8:29 AM Rating: Excellent
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I saw a graph on Reddit the other day that shows the difference in ratings given to beers on RateBeer between "experts" and novices.

Screenshot


One of the interesting thing to note is that obviously, novice tasters are consistently rating the lagers higher than experts do, but also that experts aren't rating many lagers at all in the upper tiers of the rating level. I would think that a beer should be rated on its own standings, sure, but also within the context of the style of beer it is. There should be some bocks or pilsners or Märzen style beers receiving high ratings for being exemplary offerings in those styles.

I think what happens with many people (certainly myself) when they start branching out from their AALs is that you go see what the highest rated brews are so you can try some of the best stuff out there. Almost invariably, this means a bunch of super strong ales. So over time, you find that the higher-rated brews by experts are these strong brews, while some of the lighter lagers and ales are lower rated, influencing your own opinions towards "stronger flavor = better beer". I'm sure there's also some taste fatigue, where there will be lots of beers out there that are very similar in taste, so you're looking for something that stands out from those.
#15 Sep 23 2013 at 9:32 AM Rating: Good
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Spoonless wrote:
that experts aren't rating many lagers at all in the upper tiers of the rating level. I would think that a beer should be rated on its own standings, sure, but also within the context of the style of beer it is. There should be some bocks or pilsners or Märzen style beers receiving high ratings for being exemplary offerings in those styles.
Even with the good bocks, märzen and pilsners there aren't may more than a couple handful of good lagers and with the incredible oversimplification of the categories in that chart I very much doubt whether märzen or bocks were even counted as lagers at all (I'm guessing no).

The difference in ratings can also be explained at least partially from how the drink is consumed. Heineken is pretty ok, if tasteless, from the bottle but pour it into a glass and the fact that you can smell it properly will make it much easier to detect it's flaws.

Quote:
I think what happens with many people (certainly myself) when they start branching out from their AALs is that you go see what the highest rated brews are so you can try some of the best stuff out there. Almost invariably, this means a bunch of super strong ales. So over time, you find that the higher-rated brews by experts are these strong brews, while some of the lighter lagers and ales are lower rated, influencing your own opinions towards "stronger flavor = better beer".
I started out chasing the highly rated beers as well but if you take a good look it's pretty obvious how hype is a huge part in the top ratings, now I only check ratings to see if an expensive beer I want to buy isn't rated really low as I don't want to waste my money. There is also a large difference in what people are looking for, I greatly enjoy the cheap lager I usually get but it's by no means a great or even good tasting beer, it's just unremarkable in every way, unoffensive in every way and I can drink a few without thought.

For me personally there's a big difference between drinking "a beer" and drinking a craft beer and rating sites are aimed at the latter, the ratings are based on depth of flavour, aroma and the finer things in beer and "a beer" doesn't do well in any of those.

Quote:
I'm sure there's also some taste fatigue, where there will be lots of beers out there that are very similar in taste, so you're looking for something that stands out from those
This is actually something I think about quite a bit, in the Netherlands almost all breweries start by making the classic Abbey style ales (blonde, double, triple) while in the same stores and even supermarkets you can get trappists for the same or a lower price. It's something I just don't understand because your Quad is lovely but it's more expensive than the Rochefort 10 and St Bernardus 12 in the same store while it's nowhere near the quality, why would you set yourself up in a direct competition with beers you're not going to beat in price or quality? Especially when almost none of these new beers offer anything new, it just boggles my mind.
#16 Sep 23 2013 at 9:35 AM Rating: Good
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That graph could double as the coordinates of the ant crawling across my screen.
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#17 Sep 24 2013 at 4:48 AM Rating: Good
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lolgaxe wrote:
That graph could double as the coordinates of the ant crawling across my screen.
You should probably clean your screen if it's got ants crawling over it.
#18 Sep 28 2013 at 8:57 AM Rating: Excellent
Years and years of drinking IPAs and just generally well hopped beers from around the US have made me tired of the hop. If I know an IPA is really good or unique I will try it but it seems now that every brewery makes the same old IPA or West Coast Pale. They tend to all taste the same.

I have been really enjoying Pilsners, Porters and Stouts these past couple years and even lightened up and have accepted some main stream American Lagers/Euro lagers as passable (still no Bud, Miller or Coors though)

While I was pinching pennies a few years back I was enjoying the hell out of the original recipe Schlitz that was released at a steal, bummed its gone again.
#19 Sep 28 2013 at 9:12 AM Rating: Good
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I've been digging the Lagunitas Pils recently.
#20 Sep 28 2013 at 1:33 PM Rating: Good
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Hallertau wrote:
Years and years of drinking IPAs and just generally well hopped beers from around the US have made me tired of the hop. If I know an IPA is really good or unique I will try it but it seems now that every brewery makes the same old IPA or West Coast Pale. They tend to all taste the same.
Trade you some west coast IPA for some of our abbey style ales? That said, I think we've reached the end of the line with IPA's, there's not really anywhere to go short of just chewing hops instead of drinking beer.

You see more and more sour brews popping up left and right now and I'm not getting tired of them yet (probably because they're so expensive I don't drink them much Smiley: lol) and the Jolly Pumpkin and Cantillon bottles I have are bloody hard to resist. Then again, it's starting to get cold and rainy here so I'm aching for some good stouts as well.
#21 Sep 28 2013 at 1:48 PM Rating: Good
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Also, more breweries should make good pilsner. The style is kind of tainted because of the big brewers but a good pilsner is absolutely glorious and the number of craft pilsners is awfully small.
#22 Sep 28 2013 at 4:52 PM Rating: Good
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Sam Adams' Noble Pils is pretty tasty, too.
#23 Sep 29 2013 at 12:49 AM Rating: Good
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I've only ever had their Boston lager which was good but not for the import price.
#24 Sep 30 2013 at 6:40 PM Rating: Good
His Excellency Aethien wrote:
Also, more breweries should make good pilsner. The style is kind of tainted because of the big brewers but a good pilsner is absolutely glorious and the number of craft pilsners is awfully small.


THIS!

Oh and a few off the top of my head, Oskar Blues Little Yella Pils, Left Hand Polestar Pils are great. My all time favorites are Victory Prima Pils and Troegs Sunshine Pils (Summer seasonal)





as for sours, I've had 1 flemish sour and that was enough. Not a fan.

Edited, Sep 30th 2013 8:43pm by Hallertau
#25 Oct 01 2013 at 2:23 AM Rating: Good
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Try sours again, much like hoppy IPA's it's an acquired taste but one well worth acquiring. Although I'd suggest something by Jolly Pumpkin first as they're not quite as sour as most lambics. Duchesse Du Bourgogne is a pretty good entry sour as well. I'm not as familiar with other breweries in the states who make sours so I'm not sure where they're at as far as how sour they are.


Also, I unfortunately can't get any of the above pilsners, Weihenstephaner Original is just about the only above average pilsner I can easily get. Although I've had Mikkeler/Against The Grain's Bloody Show pilsner on tap last year or so, that was a ******* fantastic beer.
#26 Oct 02 2013 at 10:33 AM Rating: Good
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I'm really liking ciders lately. Do I have to hand in my beer card now?
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