Favorite Beer?

[R_Mac_1]

Going to a local beer Festiv-Ale this weekend and typed up this whole damn list in another beer thread. Took so much time that I decided to post it here too.

Founders - Dirty Bastard, Cerise cherry ale, Breakfast Stout, Curmudgeon Old ale, Imperial Stout, Devil Dancer Triple IPA and KBS

Ballast Point - Big Eye IPA, Yellowtale Pale Ale, Calico Amber Ale, Sea Monster Imperial Stout

Coney Island Craft Lagers - Coney Island Lager, Sword Swallower, Albino Python, Mermaid Pilsner

Green Flash Brewing - West Coast IPA, Double Stout, Palate Wrecker IPA, Le Freak Ale, Saison Diego, Linchpin White

Unibroue - Don De Dieu wheat ale, Maudite strong amber ale, Trois Pistoles abbey-style golden, La Fin Du Monde triple-style golden, Ephemere white apple ale

The Lost Abbey - Carnevale, Lost and Found, Red Barn

Ska Brewing - Modus Hoperandi, ESB, True Blonde Ale, Ten Pin Porter, Buster Nut brown ale

North Coast Brewing Company - Scrimshaw pilsner, Pranqster Belgian golden ale, Old Rasputing RIS, Brother Thelonious Belgian Abbey, Le Merle saison, Grand Cru

Rogue Ales - Yellow Snow IPA, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Dead Guy Ale, Good Chit pilsner, Dad's Little Helper Black IPA, Double Dead Guy Ale, Voodoo Bacon Maple ale

Stone Brewing - IPA, Ruination IPA, Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, Imperial Russian Stout, Vertical Epic 11-11-11, Ruination 10th Anniversary IPA

Dark Horse Brewing - Boffo Brown Ale, Crooked Tree IPA, Raspberry Ale, Tres Blueberry Stout, Plead the Fifth

Mikkeller - Citra Single Hop IPA, Koppi Single Hop IPA, Soarachi Single Hop IPA, Beer Geek breakfast stout, Barrel Aged Monks Brew (Bourbon, Red wine & raspberry)

Nogne 0 - IPA, Porter, Saison, India Saison, Imperial Stout, Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

New Holland Brewing - Mad Hatter IPA, The Poet stout, Full Circle kolsch, Dragons Milk, Black Tulip, El Mole Ocho, Envious, Black Hatter IPA, White Hatter IPA, Rye Hatter IPA, Farmhouse Hatter IPA, Oak Aged Hatter IPA

Two Brothers Brewing - Domaine Du Page, Outlaw IPA, Prairie Path golden ale, Red Eye coffee porter, Pillar of Salt, Hop Juice

Southern Tier Brewing - 2x stout, 2x IPA, Oak Aged Unearthly, Inequity Imperial Black Ale, Pumking, Chokolat, Jah-va, Mokah, Creme Brulee stout

Capital Brewing - Hop Cream, Wisconsin Amber, Island Wheat, Oktoberfest

Bear Republic - Racer 5 IPA, Hop Rod Rye, Red Rocket Ale, Big Bear Black stout, Xp Ale

Smuttynose Brewing - Finest Kind IPA, Old Brown Dog, Gravitation, Smuttonator, Wheat wine ale

Shelton Brothers - Henney's Dry Cider, Henney's vintage cider, Oliver's Classic Perry, Oliver's Gold Rush Cider, Aeppeltreow Appley Brut

Boston Beer Company - Tasman Red ale, Cinder Bock Rauch bock, Griffin's Bow barrel-aged barleywine, Dark Depths, Norse Legen Sahti, The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock

Argus Brewing - California Steam, Holsteiner Lager, Pegasus IPA, London Style Porter

Firestone Walker Brewing - Hemp Ale, Red Nectar, Union Jack IPA, Double Jack IPA, Parabola

Sierra Nevada Brewing - Hoptimum IPA, Northern Hemisphere, Ovila Saison, Ovila Belgian Golder, Estate, Brux Wild Ale, Imperial Pilsner #43, Oatmeal Stout #45, Floral IPA #53, Imperial Red Ale #65

Magic Hat - #9, Hex, hIPA, Hocus Pocus

New Belgium - Shift, Red Hoptober, La Folie, Lips of Faith Tart Lychee, Lips of Faith Brett Beer

Goose Island - Pere Jacques, Pepe Negro, Matilda, Marisol, Bourbon County

Widmer Brothers - Widmer's Marionberry Hibiscus Gose, Widmer's Pitch Black IPA, Widmer's Citra Blone Summer Brew

Bridgeport - Hop Czar, Kingpin Double Red Ale

Blue Cat Brew Pub (local) - Tuck's Tenacious Trippel, Phil

Great River Brewery (local) - Redband Coffee Stout, Roller Dam Red, Farmer Brown Ale, 483 Pale Ale

Bent River Brewing (local) - Raspberry wheat, Uncommon Stout, Dry-hopped Pale Ale, Batch #1

Hoppin Frog Brewery - B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher, D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer, Hopped Up Goose Juice, Hop Heathen, Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S.

Porterhouse Brewing - Broan Blaster, Plain Porter, Oyster Stout, Wrassler's XXXX Full Stout

JW Lees and Company - Harvest Ale aged in Port Casks, Harvest Ale aged in Calvados Casks, Harvest Ale aged in Sherry Casks

Harviestoun Brewery - Bitter and Twisted, Old Engine Oil, Ola Dubh 12 year old, Ola Dubh 18 year old

Kiuchi Brewery - Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale, Hitachino Nest Ginger Ale, Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout, Hitachino Nest XH

Flossmoor Station Brewing - Station Master Wheat Ale, Rail Hopper IPA, Pullman Brown Ale, Barrel-Aged Schwartz, Barrel-aged scotch ale

Atwater Brewery - Grand Circus IPA, Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale, Vanilla Java Porter, Teufel Bock, Coniption Fit Double IPA

Flying Dog Brewery - Snake Dog IPA, Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout, Wildeman Farmhouse, Gonzo Imperial Porter

Central Waters Brewing - Mudpuppy Porter, Satin Solstice RIS, Belgian Style Blonde Ale, Ouisconsing Red Ale, Glacial Trail IPA

Lagunitas Brewing - IPA, Lil Sumpin Sumpin

Steven's Point Brewing - Whole Hog 6 Hop IPA, Whole Hog RIS, Whole Hog Raspberry Saison, Whole Hog Barleywine

Schlafly Beer - Coffee Stout, Pumpkin Ale, Quadrupel, Bier De Garde, Oak- aged Barleywine, Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout

Mugz Club (local homebrewers) - Black Pearl Oyster Stout, ZBC Saison, Schnitzelboober Schwartz, Tropical Pale Ale

Left Hand Brewing - Milk Stout Nitro Draft, Sawtooth Ale Draft, Smoke Jumper Imperial Porter Draft, Seasonal selection

So Thats...46 Breweries and 230 different beers. Im pumped.

 

[Heidenlarm]

Is that this: http://www.facebook.com/chicagofestivale ?

 

[R_Mac_1]

It's the River City Festiv-ale

...Tapatalking

 

[Heidenlarm]

Ah just looked at the other one more closely. Looks like the River City one is a hell of a lot better.

 

[1COBearsfan]

Weihenstephaner heffeweissbier

Google it, fo real

 

[EL ROCKSTEADY]

I have some friends that are brewers and bar workers at Ale Asylum in Madison, WI if you're looking for some new Beers to try. My Favorite they have is probably The Madtown Nutbrown, otherwise Hoppalicious is probably the most popular one. I am not a beer expert taster, but I can tell you they are way better than your average beer.

 

[MDB111™]

I'm a bud light and miller high life person.

ya gotta start somewhere right? Try Landshark, blue moon and shocktop or leinenkeugel sunset wheat and get back to me. then we'll set you up for some of the biggger beers

 

[Heidenlarm]

ya gotta start somewhere right? Try Landshark, blue moon and shocktop or leinenkeugel sunset wheat and get back to me. then we'll set you up for some of the biggger beers

Sounds more like a plan to never drink beer again.

 

[R_Mac_1]

Sounds more like a plan to never drink beer again.

Agreed. Sounds more like a list of stuff to avoid.

Thought I'd mention that the beer fest I attended was pretty great, although by the end I was so drunk that I barely remember everything I tried. It was good times, though.

 

[Heidenlarm]

Agreed. Sounds more like a list of stuff to avoid.

Thought I'd mention that the beer fest I attended was pretty great, although by the end I was so drunk that I barely remember everything I tried. It was good times, though.

Highlights?

 

[Chi-Town Brahma]

 

[1COBearsfan]

Sounds more like a plan to never drink beer again.

Not really. Those are pretty hearty upgrades over the domestic lite beers. Compared to some pretty obscure microbrews they're tame but that's not what he's talking about

 

[Heidenlarm]

Not really. Those are pretty hearty upgrades over the domestic lite beers. Compared to some pretty obscure microbrews they're tame but that's not what he's talking about

I think it's more about style than anything. Two are Belgian wit styles, why not simply recommend a good Belgian wit to begin with? Allagash white? Or if you want to go broader, three of the four are wheat beers. I think your mention of Weihestephaner would be a better recommendation. Wheat beers in general seem to be easy gateway beers. The first beer that turned me on to exploring more was Franziskaner.

And if dude simply wants to drink High Life there's nothing wrong with that either.

 

[1COBearsfan]

I think it's more about style than anything. Two are Belgian wit styles, why not simply recommend a good Belgian wit to begin with? Allagash white? Or if you want to go broader, three of the four are wheat beers. I think your mention of Weihestephaner would be a better recommendation. Wheat beers in general seem to be easy gateway beers. The first beer that turned me on to exploring more was Franziskaner.

And if dude simply wants to drink High Life there's nothing wrong with that either.

These are all good ideas. The suggestion was probably a transition from the lites to a relatively tasteful beer without overwhelming him. I dunno though, this is kinda silly because it's neither of our posts

 

[MDB111™]

Agreed. Sounds more like a list of stuff to avoid.

Thought I'd mention that the beer fest I attended was pretty great, although by the end I was so drunk that I barely remember everything I tried. It was good times, though.

If he's a bud light guy though, you don't want to throw something like an IPA at him. I was just listing the next step up as far as lagers. Those beers that I listed are a bit stronger than bud light and won't scare him off.

 

[HawkWriter]

I like Moose Drool. It's a beer from Montana, and hard to find some places. We have it here in Illinois, and I love that shit..

If you are a fan of Moose Drool, give Trout Slayer a try as well. Same company (Big Sky brewing) but a little more refreshing. Both are really good.

Labatt Blue may be my top one. A pretty well balanced beer in my opinion.

 

[R_Mac_1]

Highlights?

Oh boy...like I said I was pretty hammered by the end. But my highlights were:

A locally homebrewed beer was probably my favorite. They called it a tropical pale ale. It was bitter/hoppy enough to be called an IPA, really. Here's the description of it in the manual "Riding the cusp of Pale Ale and IPA, it has an assertive bitterness with the malt to back it up. Aggressively dry hopped with American "C" hops for your quaffing pleasure. 7% ABV and 65 IBUs." It smelled absolutely amazing, with a ton of tropical fruit smell. The taste was the same, without being too sweet. It was super refreshing. I must have smelled it 20 times while drinking. Went back for seconds as well.

Other honorable mentions (first time drinking and enjoyed them): Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11, Founder's Breakfast Stout, Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, Dark Horse Plead the Fifth Imperial Stout, Southern Tier Chokolat Stout, Sierra Nevada Estate and Floral IPA, New Belgium Red Hoptober and Lips of Faith Tart Lychee (Surprisingly good), Hoppin Frog Hopped Up Goose Juice.

Stuff I've had before and still liked: Old Rasputin RIS, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Firestone Union and Double Jack IPAs (of course), Modus Hoperandi (must have had 5 of these), Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

 

[R_Mac_1]

I think it's more about style than anything. Two are Belgian wit styles, why not simply recommend a good Belgian wit to begin with? Allagash white? Or if you want to go broader, three of the four are wheat beers. I think your mention of Weihestephaner would be a better recommendation. Wheat beers in general seem to be easy gateway beers. The first beer that turned me on to exploring more was Franziskaner.

And if dude simply wants to drink High Life there's nothing wrong with that either.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I'm biased though because Belgian wits are probably my least favorite beers.

As far as beginner beers, I'd probably recommend lighter wheats, like Boulevard or 312. Or red/amber ales like Fat Tire or something. Magic Hat #9 was one of my intro beers that is worth trying for a beginner. Also, quality pilsners like Left Hand Polestar. Maybe even a lighter/sweeter stout/porter like Milk Stout or something if someone likes coffee or roasted flavors.

...Tapatalking

 

[nvanprooyen]

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, anything made by Rogue, Left Hand Milk Stout, Spaten Oktoberfest, Paulaner, and Weihenstephaner are just a few of my favorites.

On the cheaper and lighter side I always go with Yeungling or Miller Light at last resort.

EDIT: bud light can suck it.

Nice list. I need to find another place that has Weihenstephaner on tap. I am also a huge fan of IPAs in general.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Sounds more like a plan to never drink beer again.

LMAO.