beer again

[Tubby Beaver 209]

I like Coopers Pale Ale in Australia, awesome beer. Don't mind a XXXX as well. Crown is also a good beer, I like aussie beer

[samurai 0]

 Originally Posted By: soubriquet

FWIW, I like English bitters best. Sam Smiths, Theakstons and Fuller are at the top of my list. I like hoppy beers.

VB is sweet and malty, can't stand that stuff.

Bitter- yes... Malty- no. I don't like chocolate or coffee flavored beers. And I quite dislike guiness. Although I will admit it's better than anything Japan produces.

I'm going to america monday. pale ales and hefe's for the next ten days!!!

I used to work at a micro brewery- Bear Republic. They do actually make the best pale ale (hoppy) beer I have ever drunk. Tragically, it's only sold locally; either at their bar, or a local supermarket. (they only have a hand-operated bottling machine.) But their beers range from 4-9%.

Once I drank so many, I rolled my truck down a hill. From then on... my name at that brewery/restaurant has been "Crash". and rightfully so...

[indosnm 0]

 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

I like Coopers Pale Ale in Australia, awesome beer. Don't mind a XXXX as well. Crown is also a good beer, I like aussie beer

Please don't mention Coopers and XXXX in the same sentence as good beer! The former is, the latter isn't.
I hope you "tip" your Pale's b4 drinking em. (sorry I'm a Sth. Aussie!)

Little creatures in a tasty beer. Hanging for one..

[soubriquet 0]

Coopers is ace.

 

Everything else is lager

[TJ OZ 0]

Hey Indo and Soub.I have a couple of slabs of Coopers here in Hakuba at the moment that I am trying to consume b4 next seasons order so if your anywhere near Hakuba in the next month or so drop in and I will shout you a few.

[66jzmstr 0]

 Originally Posted By: spook

are those monastery brews really still brewed by a couple of monks?
lots of labels have pictures of monks on them, but they have such massive production levels i think think the only connection they have to the original makers is in name only
i'm not knocking the quality of the beer (i think it's great), i just a bit cynical about the way it's marketed

It takes for more than a couple.

Of the five remaining Trappist Ale producers - meaning made by monks at actual monasteries (Chimay, Westmalle, Orval, Rochefort and Westvleteren), none of their labels have any monks on them. As a matter of fact, the labels are almost completely devoid of any artwork, just a border design and the name. (Abbey Ale producers, meaning secular breweries of similar styles will often have monks on their labels, like St. Bernardus 12.) Trappist Ales are not "marketed" either. No advertising at all. And when you've been around for centuries, are reknowned as some of the finest beer in the world, and are one of only five remaining Trappist Ale-producing monasteries, advertising is not necessary.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

I know Aussies get all in a fluster when you say beer from outwith their home state is good, but I stand by my decision, XXXX is a good beer!! Much better than VB, Tooheys New is a good draught beer, don't like EMU or the other WA beer, can't remember its name though. That saying I drank lots of it anyway!!

 

I found all aussie beer was lager, VB: not bitter, just lager. Coopers Pale Ale: Not ale, just cloudy lager (a good one at that)

 

Tooheys old was a dark beer that was more like Ale.

 

Indo.....what do you take me for, a beer heathen??

[soubriquet 0]

Emu Bitter is OK, for a lager. The other WA beer is redback. Made from wheat. Rubbish.

[thursday 1]

Fosters put me off Aussie beer.

 

The Irish stuff is just so smooth...

 

Caffrey's mmmmmmmmm.......

[spook 0]

so how many monks brew these trappist ales? now they are major commercial operations, how do they get time to do religous monk stuff?

of those beers you listed 66jzmstr , i really like rochefort

[indosnm 0]

 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

I know Aussies get all in a fluster when you say beer from outwith their home state is good,

Yeah there is the stately rivalry but I still put XXXX & Fosters under the shiat aussie beers that are marketed heavily OS. The only time I have enjoyed VB was a fter a day of waves when there was nothing else at the country pub. (the salt must have helped)

 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

Indo.....what do you take me for, a beer heathen??

No but I have come across a few un educated ones that have been sipping on the coopers and thinking .. "This isn't js good as i've heard" I asked them if they'd tipped it (roll does Jack) , they did and started loving it. Was glad I could help to educate the needy.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Redback doesn't ring a bell soubs, I'm sure there is another one, just can't remember its name.

 

Fosters is Aussie in name only, I only saw that for sale once in my whole year in Oz and it was at a Bottle-o

[soubriquet 0]

Try Emu Export. On the other hand, don't bother.

[spook 0]

i'm going to disagree with soubs on this. redback is a brilliant beer. one of my top ten for sure. but like i said before, i'll pretty much drink anything, i just won't buy certain brands. i'm not a fan of emu bitter, but i'll drink it if it's front of me.

as for emu export....it's not particularly nice, but it's damn cheap. hence it's popularity with lower socio-economic demographic. as a local saying goes, there's nothing like opening another can of domestic violence

[soubriquet 0]

Fair enough spook. I know lots of people really like redback, not me. I don't think it should be classified as beer. Beer is made from barley and hops, not wheat. There are lots of alcoholic beverages made here from ingredients other than barley malt, and they aren't beer.

[thursday 1]

now that would indeed be an interesting list, top 10 favorite beers.

[spook 0]

isn't redback in a similar style to german wiesse bierre (wheat/white beers)

http://www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/ale/303/weisse.html

 

"This variety of beer is made throughout the low countries and Germany, particularly Bavaria. I believe you will also find the brewers of Northern France making them! Wheat beer has come a long way since the mid-1970s when it almost died out in Germany: nowadays most German bars have a Wheat beer on alongside a lagered beer, especially in Bavaria.

This style is known by different names depending on country and language. The most common names are Weisse, Wit, Witbier, Biere Blanche and Tarwebier: these basically all translate as either White or Wheat beer. "

 

 

top 10 beers, good topic. this is pretty oz centric, cos i can't think too well of the top of my head

 

little creatures (all of em)

redback original

yebisu (all of em)

guiness

coopers pale ale

james boags premium

rochefort ( iliked the rochefort 10)

pretty much everything i drunk in belgium and can't remember the name of (they sell bottles in oz for about $8ea, but i refuse to pay that sort of cash)

pretty much everything i drunk at country pubs in the uk but can't remember the names of (i'm talking about guest beers - i especially liked the summer ales)

[66jzmstr 0]

 Originally Posted By: spook

so how many monks brew these trappist ales? now they are major commercial operations, how do they get time to do religous monk stuff?
of those beers you listed 66jzmstr , i really like rochefort

I'm not sure of the number of brewing, but from what I've read (even from mere snippets in Garrett Oliver's book), it takes at least a few, although I'm sure there are singly-appointed brewmasters for each monastic brewery.

I do agree in that they are to some extent 'commercial.' Hell, I can find Chimay Grand Reserve at my local supermarket. (To be fair though, it does have a fairly decent selection compared to your average supermarket, probably due to all us hopheaded beer geeks in Seattle.) My bet is that brewing is considered a service or work, one that goes toward the greater good of the monastery. Monasteries are self-sufficient, and they've been since their beginning, large in part to brewing. Their brewing started centuries ago when most in the Middle Ages knew water was too dirty to drink without falling sick or dying, hence beer being one of the cleaner drinking sources, especially with the boiling and fermentation involved. It worked for the monks then, so they stuck with it.

I'm betting Chimay makes more than enough to keep their monastery afloat, so any extra probably goes to the Vatican. Westvleteren, on the other hand, hasn't seemed to increase their quantity at all. Hence, when they brew a new batch, hundreds of cars with reservations line up to fill their orders, placed by phone (which often takes hours to get through the busy line). Often deemed "the best beer in the world" has undoubtedly helped the monastery and they know it (their prices are sky high, as well), but they haven't seemed to increase production though.

It would be really interesting to know the philosophy behind each monastery's production amount, how much they earn, and where those earnings go. I've resigned myself to just drinking and enjoying the stuff instead though. Hopefully I'll get a shot at brewing my own brew when we get a larger place. Snowboarding is my first love, but beer is a close second.

(And hopefully this post is half-coherent, as I just enjoyed a nice bottle of Saison Du Pont - wonderful!)

[pie-eater 207]

Wychcraft by Wychwood Breweries tonight. Very nice.

 

I'm going to try a different one of these never-heard-of bottles every night. I'll keep you up to date.

[BagOfCrisps 24]

I tried that banana one last night, pie-eater. I liked it. Not sure I would want more than one at a time, but it has an interesting taste to it. Nice and cold. Good find.

[thursday 1]

I think there are too many decent beers to try before resorting to trying fruit.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Thurs, there are a few fruittie beers which are good like a rasberry pale ale or rasberry wheat ale

[thursday 1]

fruit for cocktails, beer is beer.

 

You guys will be eating fruit cake with your fruit beers next.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

nothing wrong with that

[66jzmstr 0]

Fruit in beer (during the fermentation process) has been around for centuries, going back to the lambics and old farmhouse ale styles. Not everyone's cup of tea, but certainly respectable.

 

Dropping a lemon or lime in your beer though?? The beer has problems if it needs a slice of citrus to make it palatable.