Official ATOT Beer Thread

[Juddog]

Name: 90 minute IPA
Brewery: Dogfishhead
Type of beer: IPA
Score: 9.5/10.
Review: This is flat out my favorite beer right now. If you like IPA's, this will be right up your alley. It's a bit on the pricey side yet to me tastes better than more expensive beers that I have had. Nice amber color when poured into a tall drinking glass. Very hoppy, and delicious. A true masterpiece of a beer. I wasn't a fan of IPA's until I tried their 60 minute IPA, then moved to their 90 minute IPA as micro of choice when I saw it available.

 

[Juddog]

Name: Shakespeare Stout
Brewery: Rogue
Type of Beer: Stout
Score: 8.5/10
Review: A damn fine stout by the talented guys at Rogue brewery. Thick, dark, hoppy and delicious. I'm a huge fan of dark and bitter beers, so this was right up my alley.

 

[jaha2000]

Bell's Batch 9000

Type: Imperial Stout
8/10

I couldn't stomach the Batch 7000 or the 8000. They were far too bitter for me. 9000 is a winner though. Very dark with strong molasses and raisin, even though it says brewers licorice too I really didn't pick up on it so much. 12.5% ABV

Kalamazoo will be shut down for the day pretty soon...
Oberon = Summer....
THANK GOD....

 

[scott916]

Name: Double Dead Guy
Brewery: Rogue
Type of Beer: Maibock
Score: 8.75/10
Alcohol: 9%
Value: 7/10 ($12 for a 750ml)

Review: Dead Guy, acquired properly fresh, is a wonderful beer. It is very unique, balances maltyness with a touch of caramel syrupy sweetness, and has a refreshing hop bite that is very well masked as a slight bitterness in the finish that really makes it a pleasure to sip. DDG was very surprisingly almost identical to DG, but it seemed that it may have been hopped again and refermented. The sweetness and maltyness remained, but there was a new dimension to the hops that was very pleasant, almost like an IPA-like pine citrus note that was very well hidden but added an extremely pleasurable complexity to an already very tasty brew.

Overall a highly pleasurable experience, but not something I would spring for more than every couple months or so due to the high cost compared to a six-pack of the as good but slightly different normal Dead Guy.

Edit: Shared this with joesmoke, I'm sure he'll be in later to offer his thoughts.

 

[scott916]

Name: Racer 5 IPA
Brewery: Bear Republic
Type of Beer: IPA
Score: 8.9/10
Alcohol: 7%
Value: 9/10

Review: Racer 5 is consistently one of my favorite beers. I absolutely love the aroma of fresh piney/citrusy hops, and R5 has hops in spades, even though it's far more pronounced on tap. Although it is very sensitive to skunking and a six-pack will invariably vary from simply amazing to just good, I'd say 85% of the time I'm very pleased.

On tap, it takes on a different character altogether. The hops are very lively and provide 2-3 different flavors on different parts of your tongue in an almost effervescent fashion with each sip. It doesn't have the same kick you in the teeth hops bite that I expect from something like a Pliny the Elder/Younger or a (very fresh) 90 Minute IPA, but the complexity and very slight smoothness from the malt is IMO one of the finest in the industry.

In the bottle, the hops are more subdued, but it's still always at least very good. Mixes INSANELY well with Rogue Dead Guy. Racer 5 is consistently excellent, and usually my go-to IPA, and I LOVE IPAs.

 

[scott916]

Name: American Amber
Brewery: Rogue
Type of Beer: Amber
Score: 8.8/10
Alcohol: 6%
Value: 9/10

Review: American Amber was not surprisingly another excellent entry from Rogue. If you've had the Amber style, this one is fairly run of the mill, but has a wonderful flavor. Extremely smooth, almost chocolatey/caramel-y rounded flavor notes, very pleasurable to slowly sip. I normally go for bright, sharp, super-hoppy IPAs, and this was a very nice departure.

 

[scott916]

Name: Shakespeare Stout
Brewery: Rogue
Type of Beer: Stout
Score: 8.5/10
Review: A damn fine stout by the talented guys at Rogue brewery. Thick, dark, hoppy and delicious. I'm a huge fan of dark and bitter beers, so this was right up my alley.

I think I need to get more into stouts, I absolutely LOVE Shakespeare Stouts, and I'd put it up against any other stout I've ever had, especially on tap. I've only been able to find it on draught at the Rogue satellite pub in San Francisco, however.

 

[kalrith]

It'd be interesting if we included a "value" score too. I absolutely love St Bernardus ABT 12....but at $12 (or more) a bottle it's not a very good value.

I second the value-rating recommendation. If we have a separate value rating, then value will not creep into the taste score as well. For example, there's no way that Natty Light should get a high taste score even if someone thinks it's a good value. In the same way, your example would get a high taste score but a low value score.

 

[effowe]

Name: Raging Bitch
Brewery: Flying Dog
Type of Beer: Belgian Style IPA
Score: 9/10
Review: This is Flying Dog's 20th Anniversary IPA. It packs a punch at 8.3% ABV, and is very hoppy with an IBU of 60. Definitely one of the better IPA's I've had recently, and at $10 for a six-pack, it's a good price for what you get.

 

[zinfamous]

Shakespeare Stout remains one of my favorite brews ever. keg for my 21st 10 years ago!

fuck this thread...it will absorb far too much of my time

 

[meltdown75]

LOL... every beer but one has received at least a 7 / 10.

y'all are a bunch of drunks

 

[joesmoke]

Name: Gulden Draak (dark triple)
Brewery: Brouwerij Van Steenberge (?)
Type of Beer: BSDA
Score:8.5/10
Value: 10/10

Review: Poured into my recently "procurred" Duvel Green tulip, consumed during the mid-afternoon, first drink of the day. A great example of a lot of the things Im coming to expect from belgians or belgian styles. Nice looking "bubbly" head, with a similar bubbly-ness to the drinking feel. dark brown/red color, barely able to see through the glass when held up to the light. the fairly standard belgian flavor that ive heard described as "raison" (though that doesnt perfectly fit to me) shows up in a fruity sweetness that doesnt linger and no trace of bitterness afterwards. Little to no hint of the high alchohol content in the taste. The buzz was very energetic and pleasant, it fit perfectly with the time of day.

At 10.5% even the little 11 ozer i had packed a nice punch. Though it was $4, i would rank it right up there with 22 oz of Arrogant Bastard in the "best buzz for 4 bucks" club.

 

[joesmoke]

Name: Double Dead Guy
Brewery: Rogue
Type of beer: Per Scott916 - Maibock(?)
Score:9.5/10
Value: 5/10

Review: Poured into a standard pint glass, consumed just after sundown, first drink of the day. Beautiful in every way, from the orange/amber color to the darkish foamy head that lasted well past the halfway point during drinking. At the time I described it as "dead guy squared... no wait not that far... to the 1.5 power... wait does that work?" and oddly enough, I stick by that description The sweet, nutty, caramel flavor that lurks in the normal dead guy is much more aparent in the double, and is only aided by the thicker mouth feel of the beer. The buzz reminded me of the phrase "its like pouring smiles on your brain". I thoroughly enjoyed every sip. Edit: Also, comes in a badass red bottle.

For value, as Scott916 stated, the price takes this one well into the "special treat" zone and I will only be purchasing it a couple times a year at the most. Good for an experience, but not something to drink regularly. Normally I dont mind paying a premium for stronger tastier beers, but the six-packs of normal dead guy will get the job done at a much lower price.

 

[joesmoke]

Name: Orval Trappist Ale
Brewery: Brasserie d'Orval
Type of Beer: Belgian Pale Ale
Score: 6/10
Value: 0/10

Review: Poured into Duval Green tulip, consumed around 10:00 pm directly after finishing a 750 of Maudite. Not sure if it was just an old bottle (though it did fit the proper timeframe listed on the bottle) or if it clashed with the previous tastes in my mouth (maudite is a strongly flavored double) but this one did not work for me at all. Mostly what stuck out to me about it was the generally funky (like rotten, not like funkadelic) flavor, which is followed by a very bitter aftertaste. Also, the lack of head that developed even when i swished it around. I have now read that it IS a very polarizing flavor (which makes sense based upon what i tasted) but also read reviews that make it sound like almost a different beer than what i tasted. May have to try again as a "first drink of the day" to make sure my experience wasnt skewed by an old bottle/ previous beer effects.

Value: At $6 for a 11 ozer, lets just say my high expectations were shattered with this one. I'd like to try one again to see if I just had a bad example, but at that price it will probably be a while.

 

[Juddog]

I think I need to get more into stouts, I absolutely LOVE Shakespeare Stouts, and I'd put it up against any other stout I've ever had, especially on tap. I've only been able to find it on draught at the Rogue satellite pub in San Francisco, however.

Shakespeare Stout was my "breaking in" to stouts, before I got into the even more heavy, even more dark and bitter imperial stouts. It's a good brew to break out when you have friends over that are iffy about more heavy stouts. One of my buddies that has trouble stomaching the more bitter stouts like Old Rasputin, but loves Shakespeare Stout.

 

[scott916]

Name: Pliny the Younger
Brewery: Russian River Brewing
Type of Beer: (Triple?) IPA
Score: 10/10
Value: Priceless

For me, Pliny the Younger has always been a bit of an apparition. It’s one of those beers that is always spoken of but rarely consumed, partly due to the fact that it’s never released in bottle form, and partly because of the self-induced scarcity by the good folks at Russian River.

On February 5th, I played hooky from work and drove from Sacramento up to Santa Rosa for the release of the Younger. I was not prepared for the effort it would take to sample one of the world’s finest liquids. Upon arrival at Russian River, there was already a line almost a block long snaking from the entrance to the brewery. There was quite an interesting crowd of die-hard beer nerds from all walks of life, one couple had even travelled from Ohio to make the ultimate IIPA pilgrimage. Most had empty growlers, some had two or even a backpack full.

The line was nearly stationary, and it took me a good two and a half hours of standing there watching people with small 10oz glasses of Younger grin in excitement. Once inside, the place was a madhouse. Shoulder to shoulder across the bar, an average of about three deep. It took me about 20 minutes to receive a growler and two glasses while my girlfriend luckily procured a table.

To be blunt, the Younger is truly a perfect IPA. It pours a deep, tree- sappy orange color, with an abundant and extremely creamy head. The layers upon layers of subtle pine, orange, grapefruit, fine marijuana, and even sour pineapple flavors explode onto your tongue in a fashion I’ve only experienced in fine champagne, followed by a slight alcohol warmth, the only factor that lets the ~10.5% ABV be known.

I am truly glad this isn’t available during the rest of the year, I would spend as much as I could possibly afford to secure availability of this divine ale in my fridge at all times. Never did I expect the beauty of Pliny the Elder to be so easily eclipsed. After having one at the same time for comparison, the Younger is nearly identical in flavor, but adds complexity, depth, and volume of incredible flavor. If you consider yourself to be an IPA fan, I consider the next release of the Younger to be something you absolutely must experience. (Quasmo, this means you) I heard it was available in a few places around the west coast for about a week following the release, but was never able to find it myself. I brought home a growler and shared it with my friends, it was difficult to see it go.

Simply a revelation.

 

[scott916]

http://theviceblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/100_0884.jpg Oh man.

 

[scott916]

Name: Raging Bitch
Brewery: Flying Dog
Type of Beer: Belgian Style IPA
Score: 9/10
Review: This is Flying Dog's 20th Anniversary IPA. It packs a punch at 8.3% ABV, and is very hoppy with an IBU of 60. Definitely one of the better IPA's I've had recently, and at $10 for a six-pack, it's a good price for what you get.

I've seen Flying Dog stuff for years, never really tried any of it, but I've always loved the box art. I'll definitely have to give this one a try.

 

[scott916]

Shakespeare Stout was my "breaking in" to stouts, before I got into the even more heavy, even more dark and bitter imperial stouts. It's a good brew to break out when you have friends over that are iffy about more heavy stouts. One of my buddies that has trouble stomaching the more bitter stouts like Old Rasputin, but loves Shakespeare Stout.

I wholeheartedly agree. I've never quite been able to get into Old Rasputin. The flavor isn't bad, there's just something about it that's just not for me. Maredsous (all varieties) is another fine beer that shares that quality.

 

[slayer202]

I think a value score is a bad idea. Let everyone decide on their own whether they want to spend the money...I don't see what the price has anything to do with a score.

 

[scott916]

I think its part of what a beer is and speaks in part to its quality. If there are hidden gems among midpriced beers, the value rating helps determine if one is worth purchasing.

 

[slayer202]

I think its part of what a beer is and speaks in part to its quality. If there are hidden gems among midpriced beers, the value rating helps determine if one is worth purchasing.

well mention that its a cheap beer then or mention the price. I think a seperate rating just confuses things and harms more than it helps. Plus, everyone's budget is different it just doesn't work IMO

 

[scott916]

well mention that its a cheap beer then or mention the price. I think a seperate rating just confuses things and harms more than it helps. Plus, everyone's budget is different it just doesn't work IMO

Duly noted, but I think everyone's budget can include something under 20 dollars.

 

[joesmoke]

I feel the value is important, especially in this day of expensive craft brews. a beer can be delicious but still be overpriced. im sure nobody will boycott your reviews if you neglect the value rating.

 

[slayer202]

I feel the value is important, especially in this day of expensive craft brews. a beer can be delicious but still be overpriced. im sure nobody will boycott your reviews if you neglect the value rating.

I just don't see the point. You can mention the price or we can figure it out on our own. I mean, if we like someones review and find the price reasonable, we'll spring for it. I mean, for the most part, I don't mind spending a bit extra for a beer I like or want to try. Either the price is in the range that I don't mind purchasing often, or its higher, where I'll only want to have it on certain ocassions or try it once. A value rating isn't going to affect me. But if you guys find it helpful, alright

anyway


Name: Un-Earthly
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
Type of Beer: Imperial IPA
Score: 6/10
Review: This beer kicked my palate. I'm not ready for it. Very piney, bitter, and a lot of floral, the latter I did not enjoy. The alcohol is not apparent even at 10%. Maybe down the road this would be something I like, but not yet. There are some nice citrus flavors, but overall it was too strong and I didn't like the floral notes