It still amazes me just how cheap good quality beer is in the States. Especially for six-packs.I will be paying up to $8-10 for an American brew, for a small bottle, and a six pack can be anywhere from $25 to $30 or more. My Ommegang Three Philosophers, for example, cost me $36 AUD (for a 750ml bottle mind you).

It's the same here, but I've heard you can get local (budget) brews in New Zealand a lot cheaper than the Australian counterparts, and even some Aussie beers are cheaper in NZ. But it could just be hearsay.

Like Tui for example? Man that stuff is well, rather horrible. I have noticed that some NZ beers over here are still quite pricey - especially anything by Renaissance.

A workmate of mine while living in Melbourne last year noticed Tui in the Craft/International section in the supermarket I find it more tasteless than horrible. Never drink it.

Things like Renaissance and the like are of course still $10ish a bottle here. I was meaning more that I've heard even crap like Carlton Ice is not exactly cheap, for what it is, and something like VB can be cheaper in NZ than Oz. I usually find VB to be about $10 or $11 for a six pack.

It's sad really, obtaining a local bottle of craft beer in my current financial situation is still a treat only once so often. Right now I'm drinking Samuel Adams Noble Pils. It was $8 a six pack at the supermarket, probably due to a massive overstock and being short dated.

My parents just moved to Boulder and I spent the long weekend there. The timing worked out perfectly and we were able to make it to the grand opening of the new Avery brewery. So much good beer. Oh and I finally started using Untappd. Username is Narsilianshard if anyone wants to add me!

Two days until I find out how much drinking in Wellington and Nelson will cost me can't wait!!

Not like anyone would notice, considering how much crap there is floating around in the incredibly oversaturated "craftbeer" market. Everyone thinks they can brew, but most end up tasting just like hops or just like malt or charcoaled malt. Getting a nice balanced craftbeer, that considers composition is rather rare. It's like eating at an expensive restaurant and being served a bush of coriander. With the money I spend on overly hoppy craft beers I could have bought an alcoholic's year supply of regular beer. And then there are those who have given up entirely and just mixed something weird into their beer, as an attraction - like syrup, actual coffee, juice and stuff like that.

Countries outside the EU really need to adopt the habit of listing the ingredients on the bottle. A man can only spew forth so many drinks before becoming depressed.

New stuff from my weekend haul:

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
Gulden Draak 9000 Quadrupel
North Coast Pranqster
AleSmith IPA

Already tried but revisiting:

Unibroue Don de Dieu
Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Poured the AleSmith IPA last night. It was definitely good, a very nice IPA. Wasn't too strong on any particular character, though, just a well-made, well-rounded IPA. I felt the palate was a little dull in contrast to the delightful nose. I'll try some of their other stuff at some point soon.

Right now I'm drinking the Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. Another very nice brew from Lagunitas! Not one of their very best, but it's super enjoyable nonetheless. Really smooth. The flavor profile is completely obvious, and it's delicious, but the finish is a little on the weak side. Not a whole lot of finish/aftertaste to savor, and surprisingly drying. Very strong and tasty palate but the nose and aftermath aren't as rich as you find with other brews of this ilk. Basically like their imperial stout but with a heavier emphasis on the coffee aspect.

Can't wait to dive into the Belgian-style ales I picked up this time. Don de Dieu I've been wanting to revisit since October, and the only time I got a Pranqster before now, it seemed like the bottle had spoiled Never even come across the Gulden Draak 9000 before, so I had to pick that up, the normal variety being one of my favorite beers hands down.

Oh man, and the Victory at Sea Ghhaaahh... so fucking good. I should probably pick up a sixpack before the season for it ends, because it's simply one of the most delicious beers I've discovered in the last few years.

Also passed up a chance to grab Founders Double Trouble today... anyone here rate that highly?

Victory At Sea is great but unfortunately I have yet to see the six packs they started selling them in, just the bombers. I will snag up two as soon as I see it.

Never had Double Trouble, I always manage to find it old.

Haha, just yesterday I happened to see the Victory at Sea bomber for the first time in this beer shop I rarely visit that's in an upscale neighborhood. The sticker price was like $18.75 or something... just laughable considering one of the small markets I normally frequent sells the 12 ozs for $2.50 apiece. Everything was severely marked up there, though, it was kind of gross. Will probably never go there ever again.

A friend of mine told me that in Czech Republic beer is cheaper than water. Is it true? I think it's just a common saying, anyway... he brings me some beers, Urquell and Krusovice, soft and quite good but in the past I tried Kozel and I think it's better.

About 5 years ago in Prague I remember buying a 2L plastic bottle of beer for less than 2 Euro. It was shit, but probably the cheapest beer I've ever seen in Europe.

Never been to Prague but everything I'm told makes it sound like an under-appreciated beer Mecca as far as prices go. Not hard to find quality beer for quite cheap.

In the middle of my North Coast Pranqster. Man, drinking this makes me realize how long it's been since I had just a straightforward Belgian pale, and it's such a nice return to the style. For an American attempt this is excellent stuff. Methinks it's probably better than Ommegang's Abbey Ale, off my latest recollection. Clean, sweet, full yeasty body, nice spice tones. The only lacking point is the head, which dissipates pretty readily. Almost a sessionable Belgian-style beer. Surprisingly light but very flavorful. Would be a good standard if easily available.

Well, it should be a better Belgian pale, considering Ommegang Abbey is a dubbel brune and all.

Oh, haha! I remembered the Ommegang being lighter for some reason. It's been a while.

So, tonight...



Yes, a 1L can of Russian lager!

Will edit with results.

EDIT: Absolutely bog standard Eurotrash lager. I guess if anything I was hoping for something exceptionally awful, but didn't even get that.

If you LOVE beer, Belgium is the country.


Russian beer?!? OMG!


I like this beer. It's relatively cheap but interesting and strong.


Ok, I do understand the concept but I prefer more traditional and aromatic ones.

I'm trying to get some malts for my first all grain trappist dubbel beer but some of them are not available.

Don't let the utter shittiness of their lagers put you off of trying the porter. It's not a world class brew by any means but is pretty decent and well worth your time. I could never get it cheap enough to make it a session staple in the US, though.

I just saw it in the supermarket and had to buy it for it's comically large can, if anything else. It was also cheap.

I highly doubt I'll see anything else from this brewer, but what you say is interesting.

North Coast does an amazing job at making Euro beers. Their Scrimshaw Pilsner is better than most of the classic German/Czech lagers, and Old Rasputin is in a class of its own.

Looking for some thoughts on the following beers:

Great Divide Old Ruffian: Been meaning to try more barleywines and this one looks pretty good and well-priced.

Boulevard Imperial Stout: Seen some good reviews.
Boulevard Imperial Stout X - Coffee: Same thing. Earthcubed, you recommended the Boulevard BA Quad - are either of these two as good?

Never had Old Ruffian, but the rumor is the next release of it will be in four-packs, so I'll be waiting till December to try it. I really, really like Boulevard Imperial Stout; it's a blend of roughly 2/3 modified Dark Truth aged in bourbon barrels, 1/3 fresh Dark Truth. Very balanced barrel presence that serves to complement the base beer (which is already great) rather than dominate it. I've not yet had the coffee variant but think I will probably pass on it; I'm waiting for the rum barrel version later this year. I believe the Imperial Stout X Coffee is Dark Truth brewed with a Scottish yeast (as opposed to Belgian) with cold-brewed coffee blended in at bottling time, no barrel. I don't have a problem with the idea but the price is supposed to be the same as the barrel-aged variant, so I'll pass.

Since we're on the subject of Boulevard, Rye-on-Rye is really damn good too.

Never had the imperial stout but Dark Truth is fucking brilliant stuff. I was so happy when Boulevard stuff started showing up on Maryland shelves.

Old Ruffian is also brilliant. Yet another example of " 'old' in the name = good beer."

i've spent the last week (back in aus) drinking my way through the "things that aren't german pilsner" aisle of my local dan murphys. lots of aussie craft beers to be sampled and i reckon this would be the best one so far! not really a session beer simply due to the crazy amount of hops in it (think american-style super-hopped IPA) but for 1-2 it's really good. also been through a couple of atomic pale ales - not bad.

So...



Definitely at that gross side of strong lagers. Better off with a Haagen or Kingfisher Strong at that pricepoint.

Sorry for my particularly ghetto beer mini reviews as of late. Times are tough.

Rad. May give one of those Boulevards a crack this weekend, or I may be cheap and go with some Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout...That stuff is amazingly good for only $4 a bomber.

Also, how exactly is barleywine (barrel-aged and regular) supposed to taste? I had the goose island BC Barleywine and it was sweet and figgy, then I had Cahoots Brewing Barrel Aged Barleywine and it had a a tangy and almost sour taste.

Tried One Trick Pony's Spurs in My Flanks last night - Hoppy and spicy imperial red ale that was really good.

Ever see Lagunitas Imperial Stout around, Gnu? If it's grabbable, I'd probably suggest that as an alternative to the Cappuccino Stout. It's very similar but maybe a little bit more balanced overall.

And I second that barleywine question... some I've had have been more on the sweet side and others much hoppier.

"Barleywine" doesn't even really mean anything other than "really big beer." I've had some that were nearly stout-like, some that were just like enormous bitters, some that were basically maltier imperial IPA's...yeah. Typically an English IPA is more of a malt bomb, like a really big ESB or something, but often a bit sweeter and sometimes fruitier. American IPA's are just hoppier usually. But yeah, it varies quite a bit. It's nearly as ambiguous a style as "American Strong Ale."

Yesterday, Montreal's Dieu du Ciel! brewery organized their Péché Day, which is a celebration of their legendary Péché Mortel imperial coffee stout. They had a dozen variants of PM at their own pub, and also sent 4 kinds of PM to some other pubs in Quebec City, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton Montpelier and New York.

So here are the 4 kinds of Péché Mortel I had the immense pleasure to try :

Péché Mortel classic version
Imperial Coffee Stout, 9.5%
Péché Mortel (French for "Mortal Sin") is an intensely black and dense beer with very pronounced roasted flavours. Coffee is infused during the brewing process, intensifying the bitterness of the beer and giving it a powerful coffee taste.

Péché Mortel 2015 special edition
Imperial Coffee Stout, 9%
Unlike the regular version that uses two different coffees from Mexico, the Péché Mortel 2015 Special Edition has been brewed with a single origin coffee from Kenya, chosen in collaboration with Jean-François Leduc from St. Henri cooperative in Montreal. Lightly roasted, it provides a fruity and anise taste to the beer, supplemented by acidity and dark chocolate aromas.

Péché véniel 2015
Coffee Stout, 6%
The Péché Véniel 2015 is a light version of the classic Péché Mortel and has been brewed with a single origin brown coffee, chosen in collaboration with Jean-François Leduc from St. Henri cooperative in Montreal. It presents aromas of roasted malt, caramel, vanilla and nuts.

Péché Mortel Bourbon 2011
Imperial Coffee Stout aged in Bourbon barrels, 9.5%
This version of the classic Péché Mortel was aged in oak barrels that previously hosted Bourbon. This treatment gives a woody and pronounced flavor of oak and Bourbon to the beer. As it ages, the oak softens and the coffee fades, revealing a vinous character.

They were all great, however my least favorite was probably the 2015 SE. But the Péché Mortel Bourbon 2011 was simple phenomenal. It was like drinking 70% dark chocolate. Round, sweet, lots of chocolate and some subtle wood. Fuck it I'd drink that 24/7.

Finally got to opening the Gulden Draak 9000. Crazy how strong the grape/black cherry aroma on the first nose is. Palate is deliciously full, sweet and boozy, with a bready finish. Aftertaste is almost sourdough-like. A most excellent brew. On first impression I'd have to say the normal Gulden Draak is a little better (just a little more complex, to my recollection, more fruity/yeasty and less bready) but this also kicks much ass.

Yesterday I've had an Italian beer that I never tried before. It is called "Superior" and it's a soft Italian Pils. Similar to "Castello", they are made in the same area. Underground and good stuff....

Finally nabbed some Founders Imperial Stout. Tried a few other IS's lately - Narwhal, Ivan the Terrible, etc - but this definitely the best. Really rich and chocolatey, while the other two tasted a bit thin in comparison.

I'm going to a $70/person beer dinner Friday night at Pinstripes. I saw the menu and wasn't impressed by the beer in the least, the only one that sounds remotely tasty is the stout they're serving with the main course. Otherwise it all sounded like a bunch of meh. The pairings seem totally off to me too, I can't remember what everything is but I'll post it here when I get home tonight.

I've never understood food pairings with any kind of alcohol. Complete mystery to me.

Well off the top of my head I know that most of the beers were IPAs and that the main course is beer braised venison (that's what's getting paired with the stout). I just found it odd to have like three IPAs especially in the desert and appetizer arena. The appetizer is bacon wrapped scallops so I'm a little skeptical about it, I think it would be gross to geta super bitter IPA with that.

Serious Eats has a nice article on beer and food pairings today.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/03/test ... wurst.html

+1. I've ever been a wine drinker, but still don't really get it.

Hop Hog just cleans up awards wherever it goes, it's a wonderful ale. I should grab a six pack sometime soon, it's been a while since I've had some.

Had a bunch of Bells stuff tonight at a beer dinner. There was Two Hearted Ale, a stout, an IPA, and an amber ale. The only one I enjoyed was the stout, the amber was complete garbage and the other two were ok I suppose. I'll look for their stout if it's for a decent price but it definitely isn't worth a high $$ especially since it tasted like ass once it warmed up a bit. Which is funny because the guy specifically told us to let it warm a scoch to enhance the flavor. Wrong. Ahh well no big loss it was free.