The Winter Beer Report

[avi]

The best chocalate beer I've ever had was from Seattle. I think it was Pikes Brewery, but I don't remember exactly. Damn good, though.

I seriously cannot believe they charge that much for Sierra out there! It's totally a bargain here, like $10-11 a case! The winter brew was on sale for $5something. As for Anchor, it may be local, but it's still pricey. The winter is $8.50 a sixer, with their regular beers a bit less (~$7 or so).
If you ever make it out to SF, take a tour of their brewery. it's free, but you just have to make an appointment. They still steam brew their beer too! Also, they give you 8oz glasses of each beer at the end of the tour w/a 2nd glass of your favorite. Nice!

 

[avi]

I should add that I got a bunch more Wychwood beers = still $1.79 a piece and I think that's a steal for how good they are.

 

[chupe666]

Originally posted by avi
I seriously cannot believe they charge that much for Sierra out there! It's totally a bargain here, like $10-11 a case!
If you ever make it out to SF, take a tour of their brewery. it's free, but you just have to make an appointment. They still steam brew their beer too! Also, they give you 8oz glasses of each beer at the end of the tour w/a 2nd glass of your favorite. Nice!

DAMN. None of the local brews here are that cheap for a case. And Sierra Nevada Pale Ale averages between 6.99-7.49 a 6er. I think the cheapest local brew is like $18-20/case.
And the Lakefront brewery gives you a bunch of tokens when you go on the free tour- like 4 I think, and each is good for a full pint of beer.

 

[avi]

after my saturday night, I don't think I'll be able to drink beer for a couple more days.

 

[chupe666]

HAHAHAAAA!

so did you get all the empties you needed? Or is the answer to that closely related to your saturday night fiasco?

 

[avi]

saturday night = advanced the cause for empty bottles by a large number. I just think I helped out said cause a little too much.

 

[avi]

oh and had a new beer, too!

Uncle Otto's Oktoberfest
apparently it won over Spaten at some beer fest in Germany. epinions.com sez "Smooth full bodied beer with soft, nutty malt flavor" and that basically covers it.
had a few more of the Marin Brewing ones, too. Those beers are nice!

 

[chupe666]

Bump for the season- and for avi's brewing tonight.
This one can't get lost in the shuffle...

 

[avi]

3 days in the bottle and it's ready for drinking! 5 gallons! Assuming it tastes alright, we're gonna make a winter brew of our own this weekend!

 

[avi]

5 gallons of beer successfully bottled and will be ready to drink in about a week. I tried a bit of the pre-carbonated brew and it was pretty damn nice. stoked!

 

[xfer]

Does it have an aftertaste?

 

[avi]

it does. right now the aftertaste is like the grains used in the recipe, but I'm not sure how it'll be once it's been carbonated and finished brewing. home-brewed beer is bottle conditioned. my guess is that it'll smooth out and sweeten a bit.

 

[Nagle]

I tried a new winter brew from Victory, a local PA brewery that produces the wonderful (and powerful) Hop Devil IPA, the Storm King Imperial Stout.

The name, the fact that it's a winter beer, its high alcohol content, the taste and the extremely dark, tar-like almost-blackness of this beer immediately make me want to listen to black metal and in a good way.

It's a stout with a high 9.1% alcohol content and a strong hoppy taste that turns into an almost iced-coffee like aftertaste. It's exceptionally smooth going down and overall, it's the best of the winter beers I've tried so far. Here's a link to the site:

http://victorybeer.com/

 

[Chromatose]

i think ive seen that beer around .. you make it sound good, now im wanting to give it a try

 

[avi]

I think I've seen the Victory IPA, but I don't think I've tasted it. Someday....


I bought the ingredients to make my own winter brew yesterday. It's a lighter-style akin to the Marin brew, but different. Hopefully it'll turn out alright.

 

[DiamondsAndRustFunds]

I rather enjoy the otter creek winter ale, sort of a burnt orange color, warm malt but still hoppy as a cranked-up rabbit.

Hi, I'm Rob.

 

[avi]

welcome Rob and remember that most actual motW-related discussions are actively discouraged.

 

[deadair]

that is a nice intro to the board...

 

[chupe666]

if he'd have ended it with zander's patented "NOW SHUT IT CRAP PANTS" it might've been even better.

BUT yes, kudos to avi on that succint and informative note.

 

[chupe666]

BTW- I tried that rare beer this past Friday.

WAY too much alcohol flavor for my taste (14%)- it had an overall kind of burnt carmelized flavor, but wasn't real deep in color- sort of a Newcastle hue. But the flavor was so overshadowed by the overwhelming alcohol content that I couldn't get into it.
I'm sure others dig it, but not me. Yet it was still something interesting worth tasting. (I can say that cuz it was only like $3 a bottle and not $20).

I need more winter brewz in this area. Holiday ones would be good.