What I'm Drinking Tonight

It used to be the only exercise you got.

Well, I've decided to start taking it easy. Don't want to develop carpal tunnel syndrome at my age.

(Did you know that people with life-long chronic diarrhea can develop crapal tunnel syndrome?)

Groan. That stinks.

One would expect so.

Restoration Pale Ale- it's another Abita

I also got some of the Woodbridge Reserve recommended to me, it was very worth it! Excellent stuff.

Have to pass on the Woodbridge Reserve. I was a bourbon drinker in my youth, but that was long ago.

The Restoration Pale Ale looks very nice. Unfortunately, we don't get Abita here. I tried a St. Sebastiaan Golden Ale which was very good. Much more taste that one expects in a pale ale. And the stoneware bottle is very cool.

At the moment, I am enjoying a Moa Breakfast ale. (Even the brewers admit that they normally drink it in the afternoon; not really for breakfast.) It's a wheat beer, which I don't normally care for, but there are so many other flavors that pop out at you that I don't find the what intrusive. Unusual, but enjoyable taste.

Y'all too exotic for me.

I make do with Samuel Adams Summer Ale or Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale. I'm a simple man.

At lunch today I went with a friend from work to buy him some scotch -- some single-malt stuff that was $132.95/bottle. He bought three of them. He's making too much money.

Sam Adams does make a brew or two that I enjoy, but I find most of their offerings boring. I occasionally drink Blue Moon (I like their Mountain Abbey Ale but not the Pumpkin).

Most of the beer I drink are two simple amber ales from a brewery up the street a few miles. But when my wife goes shopping, she will sometimes come home with something different for me: a few successes and a majority of failures.

I suppose I should branch out and try something different. The IPAs and summer ales I usually drink are "boring" (yes) but also a bit filling -- if drunk with a meal I'm usually done after 2/3 a glass.

I should look for something less filling, and less boring -- if that combination even makes sense.

I read somewhere that some people have "super noses" and "super tastebuds" and can distinguish tastes and smells the rest of us can only imagine.

I ain't one of them.

For the most part, all beers tastes the same to me. Well, there are three or four main categories: "Light Beers" like Coors or Bud or Dos Equis -- all variations on colored water. "Blonde (or pale) Ales" like Sam Adams Summer Ale, Anchor Steam, Moose Drool, Amber Wheat, etc. - all good drinking beers (but filling). "Dark Ales" like various winter ales, Irish red ales, spiced ales, all tending toward bitterness. Then there's the Guinness stouts, chocolate stouts, and their ilk which is like drinking a loaf of bread.

Something new for me: The Chimay Blue Cap "Grande Reserve"
This stuff is really tasty. Not for gulping. Great for after dinner.

Quote :

tinge of fresh yeast is associated with a light rosy flowery touch,

Doesn't taste like sachets does it?

Never having tasted sachets, I  can't really answer that. Should I assume you make sachets tea?   

Quote :

tinge of fresh yeast is associated with a light rosy flowery touch,

I have no idea what this means. Those terms would not have occurred to me.

I bought a six pack of Apricot Ale last weekend. I had it last summer and enjoyed its insouciant cheek.

Sounded kind of good until I looked at the link and saw it is wheat beer. I'm not crazy about wheat beer, unless it is very low on the wheat taste.

I liked the Chimay! It's expensive here, 20.99 a six pack, but it's a great beer.
I like the look of the apricot, I may have to check that out.

Haven't had much of a taste for beer here lately. I get into ruts. I guess my beer rut has subsided for the moment. I got some of this year's Apothic Rose. Last year's was damn fine and went too fast and this years was bought up fast based on that. I managed five bottles. lol.

Also this stuff: http://www.merchantduvin.com/brew-lindemans-peche-lambic.php
I have no clue if it's beer or more of a malt beverage but it's fantabulous and too expensive for me. I get one a week, lol.

Kru 82 vodka.

I'm not a big vodka fan, and can't remember ever buying any. But this bottle was a gift my wife received from someone at work.

If you want to get a large quantity of alcohol in your system quickly, give this a shot. It has a strong taste (not common for vodka), which helps with the mental feeling of major chugging.

KICK ASS! That says it all.

I'm scarfing down some AleSmith Decadence.

They call this a wheat wine ale. Now, I don't like wheat beer; can't stand it. But this is very different. Brewed by the AleSmith Brewing Co. of San Diego, this brew is very tasty. It is similar to Firestone Walker's §ucaba, but somewhat weaker at only 10% alcohol, and doesn't have the smoothness of the Firestone brew, which has to be classified as barley wine because of its 13.5% alcohol content.

Overall, a very tasty drink. which goes down very easily for a brew of this strength. Highly recommended when you can't find the Firestone.

A couple of outstanding hard ciders. Made by Angry Orchard, The Muse and Iceman are the best tasting ciders I've encountered.

Iceman is a little sweeter than The Muse and has a bit more alcohol at 10% versus the 7.7% of The Muse. Both are very, very good tasting: they actually taste like apples! Damn fine cider. If you like hard apple cider, you need to give these a try.

I'm afraid of hard apple cider, hard lemonade and hard ice tea. Doesn't the alcohol sneak up on you?

In England, if you offer somebody cider, they will expect it to contain alcohol. "Soft" apple cider just isn't a product I ever saw until I came to the US.

I'm loving the Shock Top Honey crisp apple, and all the good hard ciders out this year.
I think I've settled on Stella Artios as my current fave regular beer.
I also found a watermelon lemonade that's hard that is awesome, I forgot who it's by ..... oh yes, Twisted Tea! It's not too sweet, not like some that are almost like cough syrups to me, this one is good.
Angry Orchard also has a Granny Smith apple hard cider that is the bomb.

I've enjoyed working my way through a bottle of Cruzan Black Strap rum. It's a very strong flavor that begs for mixers, and there are some fancy combinations floating around the internet. But I found that some Jamaican ginger beer was enough to make a pleasant drink.

Last weekend I was looking for something new, I enjoyed the gluten-free beer but I'm not sure I'd buy it again. Didn't have a whole lot of flavor.

Local grocery store carries a wide variety of amber & dark ales, but frankly I'm tired of IPAs too. They have a bitter aftertaste, and -- I don't know how to describe it, not being an onophile or whatever the beer equivalent is -- sort of a stingy sensation on the tongue?

So I went with an unknown, a "Lux German-Style Helles Lager" from Ninkasi Brewing of Eugene OR.

I'm not impressed. It tastes just like an IPA to me.

I deplore IPA and dislike wheat beers nearly as much.

If I may, I would suggest you try New Belgium's Somersault Ale. It's an American Blonde Ale - whatever that means. I really like this one, but it's sometimes very hard to find. It is one of the most refreshing beers I've had. Really great outside on a hot day.

For something a little different, try Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head. It's a brown ale, which I normally stay away from, but this one doesn't taste like a typical brown ale. I can't accurately describe the taste, but it is most certainly not IPA or wheat. Kind of vanilla and caramel. The first sip may turn you off, but you must persevere. Be careful, though; this stuff is 12% abv.