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(had to edit the original name of the thread. The filters blocked it out. It looked like B E E R P I S S!!!!)

So, as I sip my first PumKing of the season, I came to realize that there are a lot of other beer geeks here on BuffettNews.

I thought I would start a thread that would allow us to share our beer experiences and help each other find great brews.

I'll go first, with the fabulous brew in my glass:


Southern Tier Imperial Pumking
This is my all time favorite brew. As a seasonal, I eagerly anticipate the release every year.
Open the bottle, and get your nose up on the neck. You have just been magically transported to the pumpkin patch. Take a sip. The flavor is overwhelmingly good. Pumpkin flavor with a smooth creamy mouthfeel. The ABV on this year's batch is way down from past years, only 8.4% (last year's batch was at 12.5%). Less alcohol, but still so very worth it. BUY THIS BEER. It's a treat. No other Pumpkin beer compares.

Mama Mia's Pizza Beer
This was an unusual selection, but I'd been curious since I first heard about it. It was an interesting experience.
This brew is infused with the flavors of Oregano, Basil, Tomato, and Garlic. The nose is decent, and yes, it does smell like Pizza, with the Basil and Oregano shining through the strongest. The flavor was much weaker. I did have a pizza in the oven when I opened it up, and drinking it alongside the pizza made it very drinkable. Don't recommend this as a solo endeavor, but when paired with a good pizza, it's worth a try.

I am a HUGE fan of O'Fallons Pumpkin Ale. They are probably the best. Dogfish head probably ranks a close 2nd

CaptainP wrote:
Mama Mia's Pizza Beer
This was an unusual selection, but I'd been curious since I first heard about it. It was an interesting experience.
This brew is infused with the flavors of Oregano, Basil, Tomato, and Garlic. The nose is decent, and yes, it does smell like Pizza, with the Basil and Oregano shining through the strongest. The flavor was much weaker. I did have a pizza in the oven when I opened it up, and drinking it alongside the pizza made it very drinkable. Don't recommend this as a solo endeavor, but when paired with a good pizza, it's worth a try.

America's Brewhouse (at Payton(yes WALTER PAYTON) Roundhouse used to have a beer on tap that was a guest beer... a friend of the brewer made a pizza ale....that wasn't that bad)) You can't drink a 6 pack, but one on occasion is not bad.

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut
OK, I didn't actually try this one. But it looked interesting...

Nighthawk wrote:I am a HUGE fan of O'Fallons Pumpkin Ale. They are probably the best. Dogfish head probably ranks a close 2nd

I've had O'Fallon's. Not bad.
Haven't had Dogfish.

Have you tried Southern Tier? If not...TRUST ME. I'm in heaven right now. It's not my favorite Pumpkin beer. It's my favorite BEER.

CaptainP wrote:

Nighthawk wrote:I am a HUGE fan of O'Fallons Pumpkin Ale. They are probably the best. Dogfish head probably ranks a close 2nd

I've had O'Fallon's. Not bad.
Haven't had Dogfish.

Have you tried Southern Tier? If not...TRUST ME. I'm in heaven right now. It's not my favorite Pumpkin beer. It's my favorite BEER.

Southern Tier ain't bad.... but you need to let it age for about a year. Anything from Rouge is great. But I LOVE, almost ANYTHING from BELL'S.


Can't beat anything they put out, except for Oberon which is only subpar in my books.

Dogfish 90 Imperial Ale has been my # 1 go to beer for the past few months. 9% ABV. Smooth. I buy them in 4 packs but I know they come in 6 packs or in the rare 8 pack. A 4 pack of Dogfish 90 is about the perfect amount for me for a non crazy night. With the strength of ABV about twice the norm of the typical American beer/lager/ale I find this to provide a clean buzz with minimal negative hangover or relevant next morning effects. Great taste.

And great idea for a thread, Jim. Well played.

drunkpirate66 wrote: And great idea for a thread, Jim. Well played.

Now we just need Varitek Beer and you'll have an o.rgasm...

Nighthawk wrote:

CaptainP wrote:

Nighthawk wrote:I am a HUGE fan of O'Fallons Pumpkin Ale. They are probably the best. Dogfish head probably ranks a close 2nd

I've had O'Fallon's. Not bad.
Haven't had Dogfish.

Have you tried Southern Tier? If not...TRUST ME. I'm in heaven right now. It's not my favorite Pumpkin beer. It's my favorite BEER.

Southern Tier ain't bad.... but you need to let it age for about a year. Anything from Rouge is great. But I LOVE, almost ANYTHING from BELL'S.


Can't beat anything they put out, except for Oberon which is only subpar in my books.

Bell's Amber is one of my all-timers. They are a fabulous brewery.

CaptainP wrote:

drunkpirate66 wrote: And great idea for a thread, Jim. Well played.

Now we just need Varitek Beer and you'll have an o.rgasm...

I would never leave my house. Unless I needed to go buy more Varitek beer. Which would be often. Because, really, that brew belongs in the Hall of F'N Fame! see what I did there? Yeah . . . you did.

Amber is good. If you want a great Amber on tap.... try to find Dos Equis Amber on tap. But anything from Bell's is great except that Lager of the Lakes. It is the only 6 pack that I had one bottle from, and poured out the remaining 5 bottles down the drain without a wink.

drunkpirate66 wrote:

CaptainP wrote:

drunkpirate66 wrote: And great idea for a thread, Jim. Well played.

Now we just need Varitek Beer and you'll have an o.rgasm...

I would never leave my house. Unless I needed to go buy more Varitek beer. Which would be often. Because, really, that brew belongs in the Hall of F'N Fame! see what I did there? Yeah . . . you did.

Just got word. HOF Brewing Co. is not producing a Varitek Beer. But they do have a Griffey Ale on the way in 2015!!!

DAMMIT!!! Managed to hi-jack my own thread!!!!

New Glarus Serendipity

I normally do not like fruity beers. But I have a weakness.
Dan Carey, the brewmaster from New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin, has found a way to overcome my objections to fruity beer....which is typically too sickeningly sweet.

New Glarus produces fruit beers that are fantastic, because Carey avoids sweet and focuses on tart. It works. It really works.

Serendipity (A Hoppy Accident), is an amazing creation that came about by pure luck.
Last year, the Cherry crop in Wisconsin was thin due to drought. So he could not produce the beer he wanted. He took the few tart cherries he could get, combined them with Tart Apples and Tart Cranberries, infused them into a sour ale and came up with this AMAZING creation. Seriously, my knees buckled the first time I tried it.

Nighthawk wrote:Amber is good. If you want a great Amber on tap.... try to find Dos Equis Amber on tap. But anything from Bell's is great except that Lager of the Lakes. It is the only 6 pack that I had one bottle from, and poured out the remaining 5 bottles down the drain without a wink.

I avoid Dos Equis. I consider it a macro.

While the beer itself may be good, I don't like what it represents, the big brewery.
This article explains my feelings perfectly: http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages ... ssociation

CaptainP wrote:

drunkpirate66 wrote:

CaptainP wrote:

drunkpirate66 wrote: And great idea for a thread, Jim. Well played.

Now we just need Varitek Beer and you'll have an o.rgasm...

I would never leave my house. Unless I needed to go buy more Varitek beer. Which would be often. Because, really, that brew belongs in the Hall of F'N Fame! see what I did there? Yeah . . . you did.

Just got word. HOF Brewing Co. is not producing a Varitek Beer. But they do have a Griffey Ale on the way in 2015!!!

DAMMIT!!! Managed to hi-jack my own thread!!!!

HOF Brewing Co. produces beer akin to Coors light in a can left out on the deck in the heat for days only to be sipped by 16 year olds hoping to get laid but in the end produce nothing but meaningless stats/buzz with way too many strikeouts. 2015: The Year Of The Loser.

Chocolate?  Peanut butter?  Bananas?  Cherries?
The old Germans had it right — and they called it the Rheinheitsgebot.  Beer is to be made from barley malt (later expanded to other grains like corn and wheat), hops, water, and yeast.
Or are we now, in the name of "craft brewing", being asked to accept anything that has a malt-beverage base — like Seagram's Coolers or Four-Loko — and calling that beer also?

-"BB"-

wine

Bicycle Bill wrote:Chocolate?  Peanut butter?  Bananas?  Cherries?
The old Germans had it right — and they called it the Rheinheitsgebot.  Beer is to be made from barley malt (later expanded to other grains like corn and wheat), hops, water, and yeast.
Or are we now, in the name of "craft brewing", being asked to accept anything that has a malt-beverage base — like Seagram's Coolers or Four-Loko — and calling that beer also?

-"BB"-

It is still being brewed in the traditional Ale style. It is still top fermented. It is still boiled with hops. But infused with other flavors. This is nothing new. Rheinheitsgebot was a law in Germany, although it was lifted in 1988. This has allowed other ingredients to be used, leading to the craft beer revolution. The most important change that came from this is the introduction of GLUTEN-FREE beer...which was not possible under the old law, and has allowed celiacs everywhere to enjoy a beer. In Germany, most breweries still abide by Rheinheitsgebot, and you know what? Sales are suffering because people are discovering that there are other great flavors that go well in beer!!! For the record, under the old laws, even Stout was illegal in Germany. Couldn't drink a Guinness if you wanted to. Now you can.

And Wine Coolers are not beer. Yes, they have malt, but they do not contain the other ingredients necessary to make them a beer. Craft beer is about ADDING flavor and creativity, not taking things out.

Here's the bottom shelf of my fridge. Recently bought a case of O'Hara's Irish Stout after enjoying some at my local Tilted Kilt. Last weekend I was at an estate sale and there was a five gallon bucket full of bottles of beer for sale there, so I bought it 30 beers, 13 different brands. Those are on the right. Harpoon and Shiner Oktoberfests in the front, as well as a few Sol's, Magic Hat #9, a few Victory Golden Monkeys, several LandSharks, some basics like Miller Lite and Coors Lite, which are buried in the back.

Bicycle Bill wrote:Chocolate?  Peanut butter?  Bananas?  Cherries?
The old Germans had it right — and they called it the Rheinheitsgebot.  Beer is to be made from barley malt (later expanded to other grains like corn and wheat), hops, water, and yeast.
Or are we now, in the name of "craft brewing", being asked to accept anything that has a malt-beverage base — like Seagram's Coolers or Four-Loko — and calling that beer also?

-"BB"-

the same Germans that then promptly added lemonade to Beer and drank it in the summer ?