Beer

Yep, I loved it. Downed 4 tonight. Here's a pic and quick rundown (repost from Facebook):

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Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. What a beautiful beer. Look at that pour. LOOK AT IT. I couldn't ask for more from this beer's appearance; it's really well-done with a strong head retention and opaque-leaning, mid-amber body. Crisp mouthfeel with strong hop character (being Sierra Nevada, you can expect hops ranging from citric to bitter) and some Wintery malts after the initial hit of alcoholic bitterness. Goes down spicy with a subtle 6.8%, combined with slight nutty flavors and some complex bits here and there. Scent out of the bottle is funky, but a good, long pour fixes this and displays the clean, precise complexity. Enjoyable, festive and easy-to-drink. Balanced American IPA, recommended.

BTW, guys. I'm going to be starting a beer review + metal review site this semester. The catch...the metal will be reviewed as beer and vice versa, so it's up to you (the reader) to figure out what in the goddamn fuck I'm talking about. I am psyched to work on this, so I hope some people from this thread (and forum!) will read it regularly. Cheers.

(edit: the site is going to be set up like "I drank this while listening to this. There are going to be some surprises in terms of how that is done, so it won't be that regular, but it will compare beer to metal on a 1:1 basis...or I'll at least try...actually, it might not always be metal but whatever. Mainly anyway. You'll probably see some "this band had a great head retention; the first few tracks stuck out to me, with a bitter kick to them, heading off to a complex bit in the next few songs with lyrics deviating from the original. The mouthfeel was somewhat strange and off-putting, like a tart, citric, hoppy stout, with some sections that felt out of place and a little like they didn't belong, but somewhat tasty and interesting in their own right..." Stuff like that. And, like I said, vice versa for the beer...reviewing it as if it were music. It'll be a wild ride, I hope some people like it.)
 
I mostly tried beer from European countries, since it's very accesible here.
So far, Belgium is the country that has the best stuff like Leffe, Stela Artois which can be found in hypermarkets, or Deus (though I'm not sure Deus is beer). Westvleteren is praised to the heavens, I never tried it because it's very hard to get one apparently.

German beer is really good too, though I can't think of many names except for Warsteiner and Beck's.
Other good beers that I tried are Zipfer from Austria, and Pilsner Urquell from Czech Republic. Oh, and Soproni from Hungary is great. Tuborg and Grolsch ain't bad; used to like Heineken, but it tastes differently in the last years,so I stopped drinking it.
I'm generally more fond of white beer (Weissbier) sortiments, though Silva black (Romanian beer) is definetly worth trying.
 
Beck's makes me want to punt a fucking baby, I hate the taste of that shit.

Leffe, on the other hand, is nice.

I think Beck's is good,the same beer can taste differently in another country. I had a surprise with Peroni, it's good when imported, but tastes like shit if made in another brewery.
 
Beer does taste different depending on the country. The Guinness in Ireland shits all over the Guinness in the US

So I'm thinking of buying a second refridgerator for my beer cellar collection. All the hardcore guys on BeerAdvocate constantly say beer has to be kept cellared at around 50-55 degrees in order for it to stay good indeterminately. Not sure what my mom will think haha
 
no because I definitely won't have room in an apartment for a second fridge

I'll tell her she can also put some of her wine in there too, since her 160 bottle wine rack is full
 
That sounds like a good compromise. 50-55 degrees sounds kind of high to me for most beer. Is it really so general?

Also re: different countries + breweries, yep I know but I can only speak from having imported garbage Beck's and it really is skunked as hell from the bottles I've had. I am a snob and avoid Guinness not brewed up in Canada unless it's on tap at an Irish bar or pub. I need to make the Ireland pilgrimage and have a real Guinness though, of course...some day.
 
well it depends on the beer. Barleywines and some of the beefier beers can be stored at 50-55 degrees. Sours, gueuze, lambics and saisons are ideally stored at 40-50 degrees, and those are the styles I'm starting to really get into. Those are also the styles that age the best apparently (along with barleywines)
 
real ale/cask ale is supposed to be served at room temperature (which is probably what you had). it's fucking delicious, and it's quickly becoming the standard in England. The two tastiest beers I've ever had were on cask: Arrogant Bastard and Stone IPA with Simcoe Hops. SO FUCKING GOOD.
 
^Arrogant Bastard is great

Pretty new to the world of fine beers, but I have taken a liking to Irish ales and stouts. So far I like Highland's Black Mocha Stout (native to North Carolina mountains) and Sierra Nevada's Stout, but I have been trying to go a little more international. Sam Adams has few beers I don't like. My go-to non-stout right now is Smithwick's, which I discovered at a near-by Irish pub.

I also love Longhammer IPA
 
BTW, guys. I'm going to be starting a beer review + metal review site this semester. The catch...the metal will be reviewed as beer and vice versa, so it's up to you (the reader) to figure out what in the goddamn fuck I'm talking about. I am psyched to work on this, so I hope some people from this thread (and forum!) will read it regularly. Cheers.

I for one am looking forward to it. Keep us updated!
 
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My review from BeerAdvocate:

Having seen all the hype lately about Hoptimum, I decided to grab myself a couple of bottles. Upon opening the bottle, I expected to be hit over the head with hops...but I wasn't. It's much more subtle. This is not a pine forest of hops but rather a fruity fragrant bouquet of hops. Citra is there along with someothers. Grapefruit.

The pour is nice. Golden body with a decent head that quickly evaporates. And the taste? Not bad. I don't know. For all the hype this beer has been getting lately, I expected something to rival Pliny or Citra. I wouldn't immediately peg this as an extra-ordinary DIPA.

The mouthfeel is nice and pleasant. Smooth. As others have commented, the abv is quite well hidden. 10.4%? I barely notice it. It is boozy on the first taste, but it smooths over nicely.

Overall, I had pretty high expectations for Hoptimum. I was slightly disappointed. Is it a good beer? Yes, absolutely. Is it something to go dashing out the doors and drive all over town looking for? I'm not so sure about that. Still, it is a good drink.
 
^ I dig everything that Sierra Nevada puts out so i'll try it. Been meaning to try Bell's Hopslam for quite some time now but haven't found it. I am basically obsessed with most IPA's and haven't found too many that i dislike except Bridgeport Hop Czar. Not so good, in fact i haven't tried anything good from Bridgeport.
 
yeah me too. hence the high expectations. whatever. Still need to try Hopslam as well

Bigfoot and Old Guardian come out in a week or so. Barleywine season = :kickass:
 
I am going to be creating a WordPress based site this semester with a focus on reviewing beer and music, the twist being that the judgment standards will be reversed; beer will be reviewed as if it were music, and vice versa. I hope people will enjoy the finished project as much as I will (inevitably) enjoy crafting such a ridiculous thing.

Just posted on FB. I am psyched to do this. I will take pairing recommendations (I am most likely going to do this as "I listened to this while I drank this") and appreciate any fandom I get from people who love and live in this thread. :kickass: