I don't mean only Marshalls though. Sure they're my favorite, but you limeys also made Vox, Hiwatt/Sound City, Orange, Laney, all good. American guitars and British amps are allies in rock!
Sam Adams Rebel Rouser Double IPA
- Thread starter beezelbubba
- Start date
I don't mean only Marshalls though. Sure they're my favorite, but you limeys also made Vox, Hiwatt/Sound City, Orange, Laney, all good. American guitars and British amps are allies in rock!
muttley600
Banned
I guess thats me fucked then... Mostly I play my British guitars through Fender amps.....
I'd expect as much from someone that drives on the wrong side of the road.
Tadpui
Well-known member
The US has been going through a beer renaissance in the last 10 years or so. Craft breweries have spread like wildfire, and people are finally starting to realize that watered-down Pilsner isn't the only kind of beer. If you haven't had American beer lately, it's time to revisit and taste the progress!
Personally I think that hops taste like pureed dandelions, and I'd much rather have a distilled spirit instead. But there are some highly-regarded PA, IPA, double IPA, etc. from around the country:
- Dogfish Head 60, 90, 120 minute IPA (Delaware)
- Stone Ruination IPA (California)
- Pliny the Elder (California)
- Firestone Walker Union Jack, Double Jack (California)
The closest thing I have to a go-to beer is Stone's Arrogant Bastard. It's hoppy, but has plenty of other flavors to balance it out. I like some of what Avery Brewing is doing too, making strong Belgian-inspired beers. Those dirty hippies in northern California and Colorado have been churning out some terrific brews.
Personally I think that hops taste like pureed dandelions, and I'd much rather have a distilled spirit instead. But there are some highly-regarded PA, IPA, double IPA, etc. from around the country:
- Dogfish Head 60, 90, 120 minute IPA (Delaware)
- Stone Ruination IPA (California)
- Pliny the Elder (California)
- Firestone Walker Union Jack, Double Jack (California)
The closest thing I have to a go-to beer is Stone's Arrogant Bastard. It's hoppy, but has plenty of other flavors to balance it out. I like some of what Avery Brewing is doing too, making strong Belgian-inspired beers. Those dirty hippies in northern California and Colorado have been churning out some terrific brews.
DM60
Well-known member
I was going to post pretty much the same. Here in the Cincy region we have about 20 local breweries and maybe 10 regional (like Yuengling out of Pennsylvania/Florida). So glad Bud, Miller and Coors is getting some competition. But I do like Coor's Blue Moon.
I never really got into this beer Renaissance. People treat beer like wine now. They use goofy terms like earthy and hoppy with a hint of citrus note and shit like that. I guess my palate is not refined. It's all the same shit to me. I do like me a Shiner though. Made right down the road from me.
It's neither dirt poor cheap or artsy fartsy hipster brew. It's just beer.
It's neither dirt poor cheap or artsy fartsy hipster brew. It's just beer.
dobro
Well-known member
Swan's IPA. It's Canadian. Where the best beer in the world is made. I'm not talking about the crap in cans. I'm talking about beer. There are breweries where I live that do seasonal beers, and it's a thing of regret when they phase out a really good beer when summer ends, but it gives you something to look forward to. In about a week Phillips will be coming out with Electric Unicorn again. Pity about Octofox going off the shelves, though. There are three things that Canada does really well. One of them's beer.
Tadpui
Well-known member
I've always had a soft spot for Shiner. It was the first non-Anheuser Busch beer I had.
I don't have a very sophisticated palette either, but I can at least taste the big components. There's nothing subtle about what a lot of craft breweries are doing today, they tend to clobber you with big bold flavors. I'm glad that the "how many hops can we cram into a barrel" fad is starting to ease up. For some reason people were equating a beer's quality with how hoppy it was. Hops never tasted citrus-y to me, they just tasted bitter.
I don't have a very sophisticated palette either, but I can at least taste the big components. There's nothing subtle about what a lot of craft breweries are doing today, they tend to clobber you with big bold flavors. I'm glad that the "how many hops can we cram into a barrel" fad is starting to ease up. For some reason people were equating a beer's quality with how hoppy it was. Hops never tasted citrus-y to me, they just tasted bitter.
muttley600
Banned
To me IPA or any bitter beer should be judged cask conditioned and served from the hand pump. Thats how it's been done here for hundreds of years. The best beers here are not found in a bottle or a pressurized keg. The best beers I found in the US were all from the micro's but as you point out they were few and far between when I was traveling in the States and the brand franchises dominated. It was getting that way here a while back and CAMRA got on the case and now pretty much every pub has a selection of cask conditioned ales to chose from... Yummy.
I'm partial to a good Belgian wheat beer but the heavier stouts and ales they do should be approached with caution. Don't ask me how I learned this but it took a while.. There are some good beers around in Germany too. France Italy, Spain, not so much. Beer doesn't seem to flourish in wine dominated countries I guess.
I'm partial to a good Belgian wheat beer but the heavier stouts and ales they do should be approached with caution. Don't ask me how I learned this but it took a while.. There are some good beers around in Germany too. France Italy, Spain, not so much. Beer doesn't seem to flourish in wine dominated countries I guess.
Tadpui
Well-known member
I can't say that I've ever had beer that wasn't either bottled/canned or in a pressurized keg. Well I guess I did have a brew from Stone that was in a firkin...I think it was just gravity fed and not CO2. I do like some of the beers that are pressurized with nitrogen. It gives a stout a nice creamy head.
It's getting easier to find the little brews, even when they're from another region of the country. It's becoming the "in" thing to serve a bunch of beers that seemingly nobody has ever heard of (turns out they're rock stars in their own regions, and have finally started distributing outside of their own little areas).
Greg, when I first had a Guiness I thought the same thing about it. But now that I've made the rounds of some of the big stouts and porters, Guiness isn't all that stout any more! They've become some of my favorite beers. Have an imperial stout sometime. 12% ABV or so, and you might be able to stand a spoon straight up in them. Actually they're not terribly thick, just very richly flavored. And they'll knock you on your ass!
muttley600
Banned
The cask thing is what really makes the difference to me but it is really a UK thing. The beer is naturally pressurized through fermentation which gives it a smoother "fizz". If you are into nitrogen beers you would most likely graduate towards it. It does require a lot more looking after than keg or bottle beers being a natural product and I have had plenty of dodgy beers as a result. I just send em back.
On the Russian/Imperial stout thing. Here we tend to mix it half and half with a bitter beer for the reasons you mention. Mostly they are called Barley wine these days and are being brewed less and less. Cant say I miss them.. I dont have the head for them. I'd rather have two normal beers.
muttley600
Banned
pikingrin
what is this?
Wasn't the Spoetzl brewery bought out by A/B a while back? Coulda swore that they were no longer their own independent entity. But, being from Texas, I was still happy to find it up here when I moved to Indiana.
Those IPA beers are straight from the devil himself; I think I'd rather drink a glass of toilet water than an IPA - waaay too bitter. But, I've always been into wheat beers and stouts so I guess it's just a matter of taste. La Fin Du Monde, brewed in Quebec, is my go-to beer - a solid wheat in a corked bottle with plenty of flavor. Perfect for relaxing out on the deck with the grill going.
pikingrin
what is this?
Wife and I were just in Cincinnati a few weeks ago for a weekend getaway; you ever been to Hofbrauhaus? It's a German restaurant in Newport, KY, right across the river from downtown - good food and even better beer, all brewed in house per the bavarian purity specs. I sampled all 4 or 5 of their brews and the Hefe is the closest thing I've had to authentic wheat beer this side of the pond.
DM60
Well-known member
I lived in Germany for about 7-8 years, so I got more than my fair share of Bier and Food. 95% of the beer there is local. I acquired the taste for Wheat Beer when I lived there. Not so much for the food. They have some really interesting food in Germany (not served at Hofbrau).
DM60
Well-known member
Thought Shiner was pretty good when I first had it in the early 90's. Only beer I would by (cost just a tad more than the big guys) for the longest time, then the last few times I had it, didn't seem to be as good. I wonder if they couldn't maintain the same level of beer as they expanded.
robgreen
no face
Cool, will do. I don't remember having had it before, but been to enough beer festivals over the years that I may have done.
Agreed on German beers, though I don't think I've ever had much other than a Pilsner. Konig pilsner's a good bottled one for a hot day I think.
On the US front, Brooklyn lager is fairly widely available on draft over here now and always a solid choice.
beezelbubba
Shitty Buddhist
Here I was thinking if it tastes good..it is good!