Ok, so now I've been berated for about a week on my Abita Turbodog selection for a great beer. So, without further ado, here is a list of OTHER great beers put forth by the Hornfans beer drinkers. Here is the List, I will be trying them all myself DARK LORD IMPERIAL STOUT haven't tried it yet SIERRA NEVADA PALE ALE not wild about it SMITHWICK'S ok, I prefer Guinness GUINNESS -- Had a couple Wednesday night. Dark beer, malty, low hop flavor, tastes great even warm. No secret here. $2/pt at the Tyber Creek Pub in Charlotte. (no joke) TEN FIDY haven't tried it yet DOGFISH HEAD haven't tried it yet CELIS tried a couple varieties, it's ok LaRossa Looking forward to this FREE I like this a lot SAM ADAMS BLACK haven't seen it yet SAISON DUPONT haven't tried it yet OMMEGANG HENNEPIN-- haven't tried it yet--$9.99/ 24 oz. bottle DIEBLES ALT haven't tried it yet LEFFE BRUNE -- searching for this one now-- Not available in Charlotte, NC SHINER BLACK haven't tried it, but will DELERIUM NOCTURNUM -- tried it Thursday night, Medium dark beer with lots of carbonation. Fresh, malty flavor, hoppy finish, tastes like Cascade hops, nice brew, hoppier when warm. $12.99/4 pack 12 oz. LA BIERE des CALLINES SAISON FARMHOUSE ALE- New recommendation. BERNARDUS ABT. 12.- New recommendation AlLTENMUNSTER WINTERBIER DOPPLEBOCK- New Recommendation BRECKENRIDGE VANILLA PORTER- New Recommendation I don't normally like flavored beers, but this sounds interesting. BRECKENRIDGE 471 IPA- New Recommendation. BOULEVARD WHEAT- New Recommendation, sounds great. I would like you point out that you guys in Austin Have a nice little store called the WHIP IN. It is located off of the OLTORF exit as you are going South off I-35. Be careful, because you really do have to "Whip in" there as soon as you exit. They have a great beer selection, at reasonable prices. Thanks to all who have posted, if you haven't tried some of these, what the heck, give em a run. You're only around once, but you can BUY a round many times.
Go to flying saucer with a list to give to the bartender and have them bring you one from the list every 15 minutes. I'm not a fan of Sierra Nevada either, I'm not a fan of hoppy beers. I go to a bar in Northern VA that uses Smithwick's and Guiness, the original black and tan, instead of Harp. Much, much better!! $3 HH for imperial pint, begin countdown.
There is no way Fuller's bases all their beers of ESB. Their 1845 tastes nothing like ESB, for instance.
Dogfish has the 60 Minute and 90 Minute-both good, but even better is their Raison d'Etre. And try 1554, from New Belgium, I believe-really good beer.
I actually recommended Delirium Tremens, a pale ale. Delirium Nocturnum is a dark ale that I've not tried (yet). I know you can find Tremens at Central Market, Specs and Whole Foods. Hell, I think my HEB (in Circle C) carries it.
Actually, DC...the original 'Black & Tan' is Bass Pale Ale and Guinness. Guinness produces Harp, so it is in their best interest to push that into the mix. Smithwick's began being used, as did Harp, because Bass became hard to find in Ireland. Depending on who you ask, the Harp or Smithwick's versions may be referred to as Half & Half or Half'n'alf, rather than a Black & Tan, as purists believe a B&T must be Guinness and Bass.
Arrogant Bastard Ale... I want to try Shiner Black and since Sierra Nevada is highly touted around here, I guess I'll try that, too...
If you can find these, I recommend trying them: From Deschutes Black Butte Porter Mirror Pond Pale Ale Inversion IPA Obsidian Stout Bachelor ESB Jubelale From Full Sail Pale Ale Amber Session From Alaskan Amber IPA Smoked Porter From Pike Pale (Amber Ale) Kilt Lifter (Ruby Ale) Naughty Nellie (Golden Ale) From Redhook Longhammer IPA Blackhook Porter Copperhook Spring Ale Winterhook From Rogue Brutal Bitter Mocha Porter Kells Lager Oregon Golden Ale
Interesting Wikipedia entry about B&T. I'd always had it as Guinness and Bass. Wikipedia entry for Black and Tan
To OP - You like TurboDog but not Sierra Nevada PA. That tells me you like malty but not hops. Which is fine - to each his own. You will probably be happier with the Belgian beers recommended here than the uber-hoppy ales most of us beer snobs gravitate towards. Other beers I'd suggest for you are Oatmeal Stouts (Sam Smith or Youngs), Widmer's Snow Plow (a milk stout and very good), Real Ale Brown (may have a bit more hops than you like, but a good place to start), Real Ale Coffee Porter if you can find it, and Anchor Porter. If you like Anchor Porter and want to acquire more of a taste for hops, graduate up to Sierra Nevada Porter. Full Sail Amber is one my all-time favorite malty beers. At least to me it's malty. You will probably like Diebel's Alt but it's a bear to find. I haven't tried Shiner Black but I hear it's decent, probably silmilar to New Belgium 1554. North by Northwest used to have a black ale as one of their standard brews but I haven't been in a while, so I don't know if it's still on the rotation. Avoid Arrogant Bastard. You won't like it at all. Same with Dogfish Head. Also, Mrteabiscuit was jacking with you on that other thread.
This may be a stupid question but if I prefer dark beers like Guiness, Shiner, LaRossa and Celis Pale Bock does mean that I prefer malt flavored beers? I also like Blue Moon, Hoagarrden, Boddingtons which are wheat beers. My favorite is Chimay White, which isn't white or a wheat beer but redish brown in color and bitter. What type of beer is it?
I'm not familiar with LaRossa but the other beers you list are known for their malt character moreso than their hops. Wheat beers are somewhat of a different category, but also generally are not known for their hop character. Wheat is simply substituted for some of the malted barley in the grain bill, along with somewhat unique yeasts. btw, Boddington's is not a wheat beer. And Blue Moon is made by Coors. Not that there's anything wrong with that... Chimay White (iirc) is a Belgian Triple. Belgian's tend to stretch the limits, mostly in their higher alcohol contents which is a result of... more malt. If it tastes more bitter to you, it's probably because they've added more hops to offset the higher sweetness caused by the malt, not that they're shooting for a "hoppy" beer like an IPA or something. The term White in this case is just a label marketing thing - they also have Red and Blue. It has nothing to do with the "color" of the beer. A "white beer" is a particular style of Belgian wheat beer, but Chimay White is, as far as I know, not one. So I would say you are not a hophead. And that's fine. You have some good beers on your list - enjoy them but don't be scared to branch out.
Chimay White is an Abbey Tripel beer from Belgium. As you pointed out, it's not a Belgian witbier like Hoegaarden (or Celis White). The various colors that Chimay uses as their branding are just ways to indicate the different beers they produce. The Chimay Red is a Dubbel, and the Blue is categorized as a "Belgian Strong Ale." Anyway, there are plenty of beer snobs who don't like the highly hopped beers from the PAC-NW. I don't care for Sierra Nevada at all, and I can take or leave many of the other beers from that region. Just a matter of personal taste, of course, but my palate tends toward the more balanced European styles. Belgians are my favorite, although I love many of the German beers as well, and the Czech pilsners are the best in the world.
Thanks for the info. I see that Chimay "White" is actually called "Cing-Cents". I'm going to a Belgium restaurant Saturday night called Brasserie Beck and I've been studying their beer menu for a week. Here's a link to their beer menu, any must haves? I've found several that I want to try but I may not be able to get through them all in one sitting. Brasserie Beck Beer Menu
Wow- great list. There are quite a few I've never had on there and would like to try. Some recommendations... The Westmalle Tripple (the dubbel is good too, but I like the tripple better). St. Bernardus Abt. 12 Maredsous 10- another Trippel, although that one is pretty common so I'm guessing you've had it. I've heard the Grottenbier Flemish is good, but I have not yet tried it (they've got it at Saucer, so I probably will this weekend) The Gueze selection is impressive.
Holy cow, that's quite the list. I've never even heard of most of those. A couple of things that initially caught my eye were the Bavik, because it's on draft and a pilsner and I love pilsners, and Scotch de Silly because a Belgian Scotch Ale just sounds too cool. Do you need a primer on lambics?
I don't drink them frequently, but Lambic is a great (and distinctive) style. Lambics Explained Overview...
Left Hand Milk Stout The Link Breckenridge Vanilla Porter The Link I can usually find both at Central Market
Lambics can be either really, really good or really, really bad. But they are nothing if not unique and if you're going to a Belgian restaurant to sample Belgian beers, I'd feel obliged to throw at least one in the mix.