Keep forgetting to tell you (those that are into beer) that if you haven't tried the new Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter...you're missing out. They haven't really said yet whether or not it's a limited edition thing or not. They're selling it in packs of four. It's a fucking killer porter. It's a 9.5% ABV...which means it'll knock you out too.

Awesome stuff. One of my new all-time favorites.

Here's some more info on it, if you're interested:

http://www.flyingdogales.com/cut-gonzo.asp

Arson Smith wrote:

stevenstillborn wrote:http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=9350226&src=rss/oddlyEnoughNews
This just made me sad.

crud crud crud crud crud - can't they just up the production and justify it by putting the extra income towards charity and/or other holy things?

damn - I knew I was experiencing a rare treat, and had little or no chance of ever getting this beer stateside... but this just drives the point home even further...

crap (the situation, not the beer!)

they forget to add that some of their brewing is seasonal.. and they have frequent breaks for holidays. - so it's (relatively) rather frequent that Westv. is out of certian brews.

...i have quite fond memories of Melbourne Bitter. my default beverage while i was there. reminded me of my beer of choice at home at the time which was Molson Standard. these days it's Lucky Lager. it gets the job done...

it's ALWAYS Newcastle when i skip the border for a show at 1st Ave. helps ease the pain when you show up just in time for the last minutes of a second encore by PJ Harvey... f**king worst road trip with an ex ever.

darktowel, ages ago wrote:Gueuze Lambic

This is without doubt a truly outstanding beer. I was recently converted on a trip to Brussels to visit some old friends, it's quite unlike anything you'll normally encounter - tart, sherbet, zing. For good reason it's often called The Champagne of Beers. The fruit Lambics are kind of fun but this is something special.

At risk of coming over as beer critic ("something of the barnyard..aromas of horse blanket"), even better is the mature Oude Gueuze (I tried a Drie Fonteinen) which adds all manner of citrus complexity to the sourness. It really knocked me for six.

Thankfully there's a few places in the UK I can order it from, I'm getting stocked up for summer.

i'm a big fan of German Weisse (wheat) beers. Schneider Weisse and Maisels Weisse are both pretty damn good, though too much and they send you loopy.

Ask Simmo about the time he drank too much Schneider Weisse after playing a gig and pissed his pants...

B.O.B, Fiddler's Elbow, anything by Young's (they do a reallly nice Summer one, can;t remember what it's called), anything by Badger (Golden Glory is a particular favourite right now), Hobgoblin, Cornish Goaster, Gem or anything brewed my my friend's dad at his brewery Cotswold Spring

Bell's Oberon

Tyskie(Polish pilsner- sold at Jewel/Osco for $5.99/six. They have no clue how good it is)

Duvel

Spaten Optimator(PO-TENT... be careful with this one...)

Kirin

My taste seems to change every 5 years or so. I used to love Newcastle, now I never get a hankerin' for it.

Just got back from a really awesome road trip...stopped off at a couple of places on my way.

Bitter Root Brewing in Hamilton Montana. Great little place with some pretty impressive beers. The Brewer's Whim right now is a stout...and it's really good.

Snake River Brewing in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Two of the best beers I've had in a while...St. Marty's Choice (an awesome 8% ale) and the Zonker Stout which actually won the Gold Medal in the World Beer Cup this year.

my favorite US brewing company is, either dogfish head or rogue. i've been able to purchase just about every available distributed rogue brew, and dogfish head is just an incredibly innovative company.

if you asked my ten favorite beers i've ever had, you'd get something like (in no order)

- dogfish head fort
- rogue chocolate stout
- stone imperial russian stout
- avery the kaiser
- alesmith speedway stout
- sam adams chocolate bock
- founders kentucky breakfast stout
- sam adams utopias
- pizza port spf 8 farmhouse ale
- magic hat thumbsucker


now, some of those are hard to find (and some impossible + expensive, like utopias)...so when out at a regular old bar, here's what i like--

- paulaner hefeweizen
- fuller's esb
- new belgium fat tire
- newcastle brown ale (but only on tap, bottled it's awful)
- young's OR sam smith's oatmeal stout

ANCHOR STEAM

junkie on a beach: NATTY BOH w/LIME SLICE