What I'm Drinking Tonight

For a more traditional drink, I really enjoy Firestone Walker's "DBA" and "805" light ales. I don't know if you can get the 805 up there; it was originally only available in the 805 area code, where the brewery is located.

If you are used to heavier English-style beer (I guess you yanks call it ale), then IPA is a nice refresher, lighter weight but still with good bitter flavor. But If you are used to American light-weight fizzy drinks, then IPA probably has a bite that you're not used to. On the other hand, in these more cosmopolitan times, it may be fairer to say that IPA has to compete with lager beers (which weren't around in England when IPA was invented), and for a lot of people, even the best IPAs can't hold a candle to good lager. Personally, I'm in the middle. I think good lager is probably better than good IPA, but there's an awful lot of bad lager around, and a good IPA supplies some actual flavor by comparison.

Meanwhile, I'm drinking Rhum Barbancourt (from Haiti) and Jamaican ginger beer.

I'd like a recommendation for a beer that is full-bodied and flavorful without bitterness.

Light beers taste like piss. IPAs are too bitter/ascerbic. Stouts are like eating a whole loaf of bread.

I like my beers like I like my women.

Try this. Best drink I've ever tasted.

I'll look for it.

NoCoPilot wrote:

I like my beers like I like my women.

Full-bodied but not too heavy, with a good head, memorable character, intoxicating but not overwhelming, not bitter, bubbly, flat bottomed, available, enhances any meal, won't come back on you later, warm at night and icy cool on a hot day, looks good in something transparent.

NoCoPilot wrote:

I like my beers like I like my women.

Goes down easy. (and big tits. does beer have tits?)


My wife brought home a new beer for me to sample. It's New Belgium Skinny Dip, a seasonal beer. It has a nice, hoppy flavor, just a bit reminiscent of IPA. I've mentioned that I don't like IPA, but the slight sort-of-IPA flavor of this is quite nice, so don't be put off by the first sip (or swallow, or glug). It will never be one of my favorite beers, but it is really quite nice, just for a bit of a change.

I believe I've had that before.  I seem to remember it's a lot like the Sam Adams Summer Ale.

I tried the Summer Ale. Didn't care for it. Seemed bland, if I recall correctly (and there's no reason why I should). In fact, I don't think I've liked any of the Sam Adams brews I've had.

_Howard wrote:

NoCoPilot wrote:

I like my beers like I like my women.

Goes down easy. (and big tits. does beer have tits?)

No, but it can have a long neck, a little sweat, and an open mouth.

_Howard wrote:

My wife brought home a new beer for me to sample. It's New Belgium Skinny Dip, a seasonal beer.

Yesterday I bought a New Belgium "Folly" sampler half case:
* 4 bottles of New Belgium Somersault
* 2 bottles of New Belgium Fat Tire
* 2 bottles of New Belgium Snapshot
* 2 bottles of New Belgium Blue Paddle
* 2 bottles of New Belgium Slow Ride

I just had a Somersault. VERY smooth and velvety, not a trace of bitterness.  Possibly my new favorite beer.

My wife couldn't find the Somersault when she went shopping last week.
The Fat Tire is also very good. One of my favorites.

New Belgium Blue Paddle.

Listed as a Pilsener (isn't that usually "Pilsner"?). Big family resemblance to the Somersault, similarly velvety, similarly well behaved under pressure. Just a skosh more bite and body to it, what I think of as Ale Balls.

Nice combination. A good beer for drinking instead of a meal.

A fly fell into my glass while I was typing the above, and drowned. I don't think he was as fond of it as I am -- I fished him out and finished the glass.

New Belgium Slow Ride (with dinner). It is what's called a Session IPA.

Has the distinctive flavor of dandelions, or kale, or something.  Not one of my favorites.  2/3 of it went down the drain.

Reviews online speak of "pine" and "citrus" highlights. Nope: dandelion greens all the way.

New Belgium Snapshot, listed as a wheat beer.

Unlike the other New Belgiums this one is cloudy, with a bit more body to it. It's still pretty smooth and mannered, but you get the sensation this is a food not a beverage. I'm having it with a Thai chicken wrap and frankly, it's too much to drink all at once. I'll finish it later.

Tastes good though.

Yesterday I accidentally drank one of the New Belgium Fat Tires.

I've had it before, it's good. Very similar to the Blue Paddle.

I was reaching for a Raspberry Ginger Brew (from Reed's) but it was behind the milk and I didn't notice what I had til I poured it out. I drank it, but it wasn't what I was in the mood for.

Brooklyn Summer Ale. It's not actually brewed in Brooklyn, but it's not too far away (upstate a bit, in Utica NY). Anyway, quite floral and citrussy, seemed quite appropriate for a warm afternoon sip.

Bought some Amstel this week. Figured the beer in Holland was pretty good, and everything else at the grocery store was an IPA.

It is.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron.

It's a malt beverage. Quite sweet, but not cloyingly so.
And at 12% alcohol, it's a great time saver.

Firestone Walker §ucaba.

Last of the bottle. Yum, yum. But easy does it: 13.5% alcohol.
If God was real, he would drink nothing else.

Old Numbskull.
It's a barley wine, so it's eleven percent alcohol. It will get your skull numb; no doubt about that.

Not my favorite by any means, I have had much better from the same brewery. But still enjoyable.

When I finished the sixpack of Henry Weinhard Private Reserve, I went looking for something to replace it.

I came home with another Sixpack of Private Reserve. It's not a very ambitious brew, but it's very solid and pleasant. I'm still not in the mood for an IPA so Private Reserve is perfect.

After the Private Reserve I bought a Sixpack of Sam Adams Boston Lager, another reliable but not very ambitious brew.

Yesterday, having finished almost all the Sam Adams, I brought home a sixpack of Shiner Bock because it was on sale.  I don't think I've had it before.  It's very good.

Dark amber in color, but not heavy like a stout.  It feels very light on the tongue, almost like a light beer, with essentially no aftertaste.  It has just a touch of that ale bite to it, but because the body is so light it disappears in your mouth before the bite takes hold.

I'm liking this.

Yesterday, me wife brought me some New Belgium Black Lager.

Your description of Shiner Bock fits the New Belgium perfectly.