Wine and Beer Enthusiasts

[Scepticalscribe]

As to tracking down some Westvleteren 12, be prepared to pay big money, I've seen bottles go for €22 each, on the Dutch e-bay (Marktplaats). This price does not include postage as you are expected to pick them up yourself. (small country)

As to St Bernardus Prior 8, that’s a difficult call. It depends on how deep your pockets, in case you didn’t enjoy it. The minimum number that you have to order. All I can say if you are willing to try something new can take the loss if you don't like the taste. You could always give them away as gifts, or maybe guests would enjoy the beers.

I have the advantage of two Bars here in the area with more than 300 different beers. Which gives me a chance to do so heavenly research.

Maybe in you city there’s such a bar?

There are also at least once a year a beer market, where people come together to taste beers, and enjoy good food.

Thank you.

Yes, I have been looking at the price of Westvleteren 12 online; they are frightening, for for the unrepentant profligate types such as myself. (That does not mean that I shall not succumb to temptation at some stage…if only to find out what the taste is like…)

Re the St Bernardus Prior 8, I asked the young and enthusiastic manager of the wine shop/deli who orders my beers (and whose shelves are now quite impressive indeed. partly thanks to my prompts and requests) whether he can locate this beverage. He will try to source some for me next week, if possible…..

 

[michelg1970]

If we go this way anyway - why no Single Scotch Malt Enthusiast thread?

If we go this way anyway - why no Single Scotch Malt Enthusiast thread?

...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

If we go this way anyway - why no Single Scotch Malt Enthusiast thread?

...

Well, as far as I know, there is a whisky/whiskey thread; in fact, my understanding is that it comprises a number of merged threads…..

 

[Happybunny]

If we go this way anyway - why no Single Scotch Malt Enthusiast thread?

...

There you go.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/535953/

 

[Scepticalscribe]

There you go.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/535953/

As always, a courteous, and helpful response. My thanks for taking the time and trouble to link this thread.

 

[D.T.]

Three from three of the best: Weyerbacher, Southern Tier and Founders. 8.7 - 10%, the Weyer (still untried) is a beast at almost 26oz

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Three from three of the best: Weyerbacher, Southern Tier and Founders. 8.7 - 10%, the Weyer (still untried) is a beast at almost 26oz

Image

What is the Founder's 'Dissenter' like? What a fantastic name…..

Well, firstly, I must say that I rather like some of the beers that Founder's produces (and I must thank my comrades on these very threads for introducing me to the wonderful beers that they make), and secondly, I love the names they decide to put on their beers……

 

[D.T.]

What is the Founder's 'Dissenter' like? What a fantastic name…..

Well, firstly, I must say that I rather like some of the beers that Founder's produces (and I must thank my comrades on these very threads for introducing me to the wonderful beers that they make), and secondly, I love the names they decide to put on their beers……

I know, I almost bought it on the name alone

It's fantastic. Hoppy with a ton of citrus/orange coming through, a little hint of pine - nice carbonation, a good hit of malts.

http://foundersbrewing.com/backstage-series/dissenter-2014/

 

[Happybunny]

What is the Founder's 'Dissenter' like? What a fantastic name…..

Well, firstly, I must say that I rather like some of the beers that Founder's produces (and I must thank my comrades on these very threads for introducing me to the wonderful beers that they make), and secondly, I love the names they decide to put on their beers……

I know some of those names I have to look up in a dictionary.

Founders is one of the most cutting edge of the US Craft beer brewers IMO.

I know, I almost bought it on the name alone

It's fantastic. Hoppy with a ton of citrus/orange coming through, a little hint of pine - nice carbonation, a good hit of malts.

http://foundersbrewing.com/backstage-series/dissenter-2014/

I am sometimes completely confused as to how they come up with these combinations of tastes.
I would love to be at some of those meetings and hear about the ones that DON'T make it to production.

As you pointed out Dissenter as a hops taste, which is always a good sign for a great beer.
As my grandfather used to tell me HOPPY=HAPPY.

 

[JamesMike]

I know some of those names I have to look up in a dictionary.

Founders is one of the most cutting edge of the US Craft beer brewers IMO.


I am sometimes completely confused as to how they come up with these combinations of tastes.
I would love to be at some of those meetings and hear about the ones that DON'T make it to production.

As you pointed out Dissenter as a hops taste, which is always a good sign for a great beer.
As my grandfather used to tell me HOPPY=HAPPY.

I notice you are from the Netherlands. Could you post some of your favorite beers from there?

 

[Happybunny]

I notice you are from the Netherlands. Could you post some of your favorite beers from there?

I have posted my favourite brews. Post #133 #357

 

[JamesMike]

I have posted my favourite brews. Post #133 #357

Thanks for doing that.

 

[takao]

welp on the weekend i looked through the old bottle pile of past wine presents in our old family house cellar. For most part made me frown and think to myself "why didn't our guests bring actually good wine during the 80ties " but some of them are so bizarre that opening them might be hilarious.

Like a hungarian Rosé and some white wines from 1995. A riesling from 1982 and a Chianti from 1981.

Sadly no great reds from france considering most bottles are between the year 1978 and 1995. Rather an aweful lot of utter cheap red wines, whites which weren't even great when new(Müller-Thurgau) and the worst to age: sparkling wines.
All in all around 30 bottles.

opening those bottles looking for something which isn't vinegar yet will be on my to-do list for the summer.

 

[rhett7660]

Three from three of the best: Weyerbacher, Southern Tier and Founders. 8.7 - 10%, the Weyer (still untried) is a beast at almost 26oz

Image

How I wish Founders was out here! I would love to try some of their beer! Their oatmeal stout routinely showing up in the top five of breakfast stouts..........

 

[D.T.]

How I wish Founders was out here! I would love to try some of their beer! Their oatmeal stout routinely showing up in the top five of breakfast stouts..........

I don't mean to rub it in, but +yeah+ you are seriously missing out

Any chances of ordering it? From what I can tell, CA isn't on the list of states who permit inbound shipment of alcohol.

 

[rhett7660]

I don't mean to rub it in, but +yeah+ you are seriously missing out

Any chances of ordering it? From what I can tell, CA isn't on the list of states who permit inbound shipment of alcohol.

I think it has to do more with distributors, there are plenty of people who ship into California.

YEAH YEAH RUB IT IN!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have posted my favourite brews. Post #133 #357

And thank you again for the timely reminder……This saves me the trouble of turning these posts into a desktop aide memoire….

How I wish Founders was out here! I would love to try some of their beer! Their oatmeal stout routinely showing up in the top five of breakfast stouts..........

Oddly enough, I seem to be able to obtain plenty of the stuff (Founder's) in my corner of The British Isles, and have been thoroughly enjoying the experience of making the acquaintance of some very good beer….(and my grateful thanks to my peers here, who have pointed me in such promising liquid directions..)

Meanwhile, tonight, I am sipping a glass of Gulden Draak…..

 

[Clix Pix]

I have just returned from a successful (and expensive!) trip to Total Wine & Beverage, where I loaded up on St Bernardus (my favorites plus the two I hadn't yet tried), Trappiste Rochefort (all 3 variations: 6, 8, 10), various and sundry other beers and ales from other countries, and also decided it was time to do some sampling of the many craft beers made in the USA. Whew, I am set for a long, long time now as far as beers and ales go!!! LOL! I am looking forward to a leisurely summer of hanging out at the pool, then coming home and indulging in a refreshing and interesting new ale or beer each evening before dinner....as well as sharing with friends when the occasions arise. Picked up some more Blushing Monk in anticipation of getting together soon with one friend, who like me, enjoys raspberry beers. She'll LOVE Blushing Monk!

Having now stocked the fridge with many -- not all -- of the goodies I just bought, I'm now relaxing on the deck with a Leffe, since that was already in the fridge, chilled and ready to enjoy now. When I was putting the new purchases in the fridge, I discovered a bottle of Sweet Baby Jesus that had gotten shoved way into a back corner.....I'd bought a couple of bottles of that quite some time ago, sampled the one and rather liked it, but somehow the other bottle had drifted out of sight. Glad I found it again!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have just returned from a successful (and expensive!) trip to Total Wine & Beverage, where I loaded up on St Bernardus (my favorites plus the two I hadn't yet tried), Trappiste Rochefort (all 3 variations: 6, 8, 10), various and sundry other beers and ales from other countries, and also decided it was time to do some sampling of the many craft beers made in the USA. Whew, I am set for a long, long time now as far as beers and ales go!!! LOL! I am looking forward to a leisurely summer of hanging out at the pool, then coming home and indulging in a refreshing and interesting new ale or beer each evening before dinner....as well as sharing with friends when the occasions arise. Picked up some more Blushing Monk in anticipation of getting together soon with one friend, who like me, enjoys raspberry beers. She'll LOVE Blushing Monk!

Having now stocked the fridge with many -- not all -- of the goodies I just bought, I'm now relaxing on the deck with a Leffe, since that was already in the fridge, chilled and ready to enjoy now. When I was putting the new purchases in the fridge, I discovered a bottle of Sweet Baby Jesus that had gotten shoved way into a back corner.....I'd bought a couple of bottles of that quite some time ago, sampled the one and rather liked it, but somehow the other bottle had drifted out of sight. Glad I found it again!

Well, it sounds as though you have managed to put together a very well stocked cellar comprising of a number of first rate beers.

Enjoy them, and enjoy savouring the long, slow sipping…...

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Sceptical Scribe! I really hope the neighbors, if any happened to be looking out their windows when I arrived home and started unloading the car, aren't thinking, "wow, is she an alcoholic or WHAT?!!! LOL!!!! I really did buy an awful lot of beers and ales -- mostly single bottles, except for a 4-pack of St Bernardus WIT, which I really like, and several bottles of the Trappiste Rochefort in each designation, along with multiple bottles of the various St Bernardus Abbey offerings..... Tonight after dinner I'll be able to enjoy a gently chilled Rochefort, as there was already an 8 still in the fridge. I just have to remember to take it out of the fridge and let it mellow out a little before I actually go ahead and enjoy it as a leisurely post-dinner, later-in-the -evening treat. I have learned through trial-and-error that, yes, these fine ales need to be merely gently chilled. LOL! Amazing what a difference it makes, having a beer or ale icy-cold and a beer/ale cool but not right-out-of-the-fridge cold.

Basically, in terms of stocking my "cellar," I am good to go for a long time now! I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening when I can sample one of the beers I haven't tried before..... Many thanks to the posts I've seen in this thread, I think I'm in for some good tasting experiences over the next several weeks!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Thanks, Sceptical Scribe! I really hope the neighbors, if any happened to be looking out their windows when I arrived home and started unloading the car, aren't thinking, "wow, is she an alcoholic or WHAT?!!! LOL!!!! I really did buy an awful lot of beers and ales -- mostly single bottles, except for a 4-pack of St Bernardus WIT, which I really like, and several bottles of the Trappiste Rochefort in each designation, along with multiple bottles of the various St Bernardus Abbey offerings..... Tonight after dinner I'll be able to enjoy a gently chilled Rochefort, as there was already an 8 still in the fridge. I just have to remember to take it out of the fridge and let it mellow out a little before I actually go ahead and enjoy it as a leisurely post-dinner, later-in-the -evening treat. I have learned through trial-and-error that, yes, these fine ales need to be merely gently chilled. LOL! Amazing what a difference it makes, having a beer or ale icy-cold and a beer/ale cool but not right-out-of-the-fridge cold.

Basically, in terms of stocking my "cellar," I am good to go for a long time now! I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening when I can sample one of the beers I haven't tried before..... Many thanks to the posts I've seen in this thread, I think I'm in for some good tasting experiences over the next several weeks!

Well, my advice - for what it is worth - is to try the darker ales and beers and porters at something closer to room temperature.

The fridge is fine for lagers, and for relatively low alcohol beers - and indeed, the Wit.

However, the powerhouse offerings that you are sampling will repay something closer to room temperature - as you will then be able to taste the magnificent complexity of the layered flavours….

I'd recommend keeping them in a cool, dark room, but not actually the fridge. (That is what I am doing; the beers live in the same cool, dark room where the laundry gets done and my wine lives, too, and where my many suitcases are stored, along with an embarrassing number of books, one of three rooms in the house with floor to ceiling book cases...……)

Anyway, it sounds as though you have amassed an excellent collection to sample. Enjoy……

Personally speaking, there isn't a St Bernardus or Rochefort Trappist beer brewed yet that I don't love….

 

[Clix Pix]

Aye, that's what I have already discovered, that it was not good to keep the dark ales in the refrigerator and then pull one out and immediately open it for for consumption...... Whoa! I know I lost a lot of the benefits of the subtle, rich flavors.....second go-around I experimented and I'm still tinkering with how much to cool, how much to keep at room temperature. Much depends upon the room temperature, too. I like a little chill, though, so am still experimenting with when to remove the bottle from the fridge and how long to let it sit before I am actualy ready to sit down with it and enjoy it.......

Alas, no cellar here, or even a cool, dark room. I'm in a two-bedroom condominium apartment unit, so space is limited. I do have A/C, but I really don't like it except when the weather gets really, really hot and sticky, so much of the time my place is a lot warmer than most Americans like and can tolerate. Windows open, letting in Mother Nature's fresh breezes....that's how I like to go for as much of the time as I can during the spring/summer/early fall months.

So now the bottle of Rochefort 8 is out on the counter, warming up a bit after having been chilled so that by the time I'm ready for it hopefully it will have hit just the right balance between being cool and not overly-chilled so that I can really savor the flavors! This stuff is just too good to not get the full benefit from it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Aye, that's what I have already discovered, that it was not good to keep the dark ales in the refrigerator and then pull one out and immediately open it for for consumption...... Whoa! I know I lost a lot of the benefits of the subtle, rich flavors.....second go-around I experimented and I'm still tinkering with how much to cool, how much to keep at room temperature. Much depends upon the room temperature, too. I like a little chill, though, so am still experimenting with when to remove the bottle from the fridge and how long to let it sit before I am actualy ready to sit down with it and enjoy it.......

Alas, no cellar here, or even a cool, dark room. I'm in a two-bedroom condominium apartment unit, so space is limited. I do have A/C, but I really don't like it except when the weather gets really, really hot and sticky, so much of the time my place is a lot warmer than most Americans like and can tolerate. Windows open, letting in Mother Nature's fresh breezes....that's how I like to go for as much of the time as I can during the spring/summer/early fall months.

So now the bottle of Rochefort 8 is out on the counter, warming up a bit after having been chilled so that by the time I'm ready for it hopefully it will have hit just the right balance between being cool and not overly-chilled so that I can really savor the flavors! This stuff is just too good to not get the full benefit from it.

Well, if you take into consideration the fact that these beers were - more than likely - originally developed to be consumed in dark, winter days, in light deprived northern Europe - probably in pubs, you can see how the idea of service at room temperature might make sense.

Seriously, I learned the hard way that keeping a beer in a fridge simply stuns the flavour; you might as well be drinking an icicle, or frozen water. Now, that does''t after with lager; lagers were meant to be drunk cold, and most of the time, they don't have enough flavour for the temperature to make much of a difference.

Indeed, at room temperature, my complaint about many lagers - especially those insults to the very concept good beer that you used to find in the USA - was that the bloody stuff was utterly insipid.

So, for anything darker, the ides was that you kept it cool enough in order to make sure it stays chilled so that it does not go off, or go bad. That is all - coolness was designed- or intended - to preserve it, not to enhance (or disguise in the case of tasteless lagers) the taste of the beer. And, certainly not because you want - or need - to serve it at a temperature that knocks out any capacity for tasting the damned thing.

I'll go further. The Belgian Trappists are not German beers (healthy, wholesome, natural…..and need to be protected from the relentless forces of natural decomposition, hence fridges….) Belgian beers - especially the high alcohol treasures - are designed to last forever. Thus, they don't need fridges, unless the climate is insane….just a cool room for storage purposes…..

Anyway, enjoy the Rochefort 8 - it is a great beer…..

 

[Clix Pix]

I loved what I had earlier, a few weeks ago, even if it was too chilled! -- and I am definitely looking forward to later sipping and savoring the Rochefort 8 that is sitting out on the counter now warming up.....

Some of the ones I just bought I didn't put into the fridge at all so maybe tomorrow or the next time I'm in the mood for one I'll try it totally room temperature (unless it gets too hot around here!). I should have tried that experiment in the wintertime when the house was naturally cooler even when I had the heat on.....

 

[Clix Pix]

Oh......oh......moan of delight!!!!! OK, so I opened the Rochefort 8 and poured it into a chalice, admiring the wonderful head, and at last took a sip.....SUBLIME!!!! OK, yes, now I fully understand the difference between having an ordinary casual beer icy cold, an ale somewhat cold and an ale just-on-the-edge-of-cool-but-more-towards-room-temperature....... Ahhhhhhh.... Oh, yes, I can now taste so many more delicate nuances of flavor than I had previously when the ale was a lot cooler and closer to chilled..... Wow, what a difference this makes!!!! Ahhhhhhhh.......

Even though this is a warm night in the Washington DC area rather than a cold wintry one, I am still enjoying the heck out of my ale!!! Even more than I had on my previous experience with the Rochefort 8. Mmmmmmmm....... Luscious!!!! I had tried all three (6, 8, 10) a while ago and it seems to me that even then the 8 was my favorite. Well, it is right now, that's for sure! Happily appreciating all the subtleties and nuances of flavor that are tickling my palate......

I think tomorrow I'm going to yank the other two bottles (10, 6) that I had stuck in the fridge out again and just let them hang out at room temperature........