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[distantmantra]

Please prove me wrong, and suggest something better.

Westmalle Tripel is a good beer, but there are lots of other beers which may be just as good or better.

Pliny the Elder, Rochefort 10, Westvleteran 12, Blue Dot IPA, The Abyss, etc.

www.beeradvocate.com is your new friend. Have fun and find some stuff that you find interesting and can locally obtain.

 

[Flo_Evans]

Westmalle Tripel is a good beer, but there are lots of other beers which may be just as good or better.

Pliny the Elder, Rochefort 10, Westvleteran 12, Blue Dot IPA, The Abyss, etc.

www.beeradvocate.com is your new friend.

Looking for something in that style, I've tried all kinds of beer and Belgian trappist ales are by far my favorite.

edit: opps some of those are trappist beers. Wow the Westvleteran 12 sounds impressive but $40 a bottle is pretty steep for beer.

 

[distantmantra]

Looking for something in that style, I've tried all kinds of beer and Belgian trappist ales are by far my favorite.

Westvleteren 12 is often thought of the "best" Belgian trappist, but opinions vary. I've got one bottle left from my recent trip to Belgium that I'm aging for a while.

http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top-be

 

[Flo_Evans]

Had some St. Bernardus Abt 12 last night that ranks pretty highly on the list. I thought the Westmalle was better.

 

[distantmantra]

Had some St. Bernardus Abt 12 last night that ranks pretty highly on the list. I thought the Westmalle was better.

St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a quad, sounds like you prefer tripels.

 

[Rei_Toei]

Westvleteren is nice and all but way overpriced. There's a whole line of Abt Bernardus beers (Abt 12, Prior 8, Pater 6 and Tripel) that are brewed with exactly the same receipes as the brewery/monks in Westvleteren use. I've tasted both Westvleteren 12 and all the St. Bernardus beers and though there's a difference it does not justify the ridiculous pricing in my opinion.

If you like Westmalle, it might also be worth your time to try out Orval.

 

[Flo_Evans]

St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a quad, sounds like you prefer tripels.

Could be, I enjoy a dark beer now and then. Been a fan of the New Belgium 1554 lately. Have a bottle of their Super Cru waiting at home. I thought their trippel (spiced with coriander wtf?) was terribad.

 

[StrikerObi]

Westvleteren is nice and all but way overpriced. There's a whole line of Abt Bernardus beers (Abt 12, Prior 8, Pater 6 and Tripel) that are brewed with exactly the same receipes as the brewery/monks in Westvleteren use. I've tasted both Westvleteren 12 and all the St. Bernardus beers and though there's a difference it does not justify the ridiculous pricing in my opinion.

If you like Westmalle, it might also be worth your time to try out Orval.

Westvleteren isn't over priced. It's simple supply and demand. You can argue that it's not worth the price it sells for, and most people would probably agree with you. I paid $40 for two 12oz bottles which from what I have read is a pretty good price. But it's not that expensive because it's that good, it's that expensive because it's produced in such extremely small quantities and is available at only one location.

For my money, I would rather spend $40 and get two or three 750ml bombers of Chimay Blue over two 12oz bottles of Westvleteren. I do think the Westy 12 (only one I've had) is a better beer than Chimay, but I don't think it's so much better that it is worth the extreme price. To me Chimay Blue was 95% as good as Westy 12 and costs FAR less. I do however think it was worth it to get the Westvleteren just once, so I could say I tasted it.

Flo_Evans, if you really love trappist ales I would say you should try the Westy at least once in your life when you can find it for a good price. The two I got for $40 were actually part of a 6-pack my friend (Viewt) got for $120. Three of us split it three ways.

 

[HiResDes]

Could be, I enjoy a dark beer now and then. Been a fan of the New Belgium 1554 lately. Have a bottle of their Super Cru waiting at home. I thought their trippel (spiced with coriander wtf?) was terribad.

Try Maudite it is momentous.

 

[Flo_Evans]

Makes sense... thats how I justified buying a bottle of johnny walker blue, and a bottle of dom perignon, and many other fancy bottles of alcohol over the years.

Question though, where would be a good site to get my hands on some? Don't think I can find it at any local stores.

 

[Flo_Evans]

Try Maudite it is momentous.

I've had a variety of unibroue beers, they are very good. To me they will always be a imitation of the originals though. There is some myth and marketing at play, but a good beer is also about a good story, I enjoy imagining monks sitting around in robes chanting and brewing beer.

BTW, thought you guys might enjoy my new favorite bar:

They tend to focus on american micro breweries, much to my dismay - but they always have something interesting there to try. This pic represents roughly half of their taps...

 

[StrikerObi]

Makes sense... thats how I justified buying a bottle of johnny walker blue, and a bottle of dom perignon, and many other fancy bottles of alcohol over the years.

Question though, where would be a good site to get my hands on some? Don't think I can find it at any local stores.

We got ours off of eBay. Outside of the monastery, any Westvleteren is sold is sold on the grey market (another reason for the high prices). All the trappist monasteries brewing beer are non-profit organizations. Most of them take any extra profits and use them for charitable actions. But the Westvleteren monastery only produces enough beer to keep the brewery open, so unlike the others they don't produce year round, and they only produce a very small amount of beer.

In addition, the only place to buy the beer is at the monastery (or at the pub/shop across the street from the monastery). If you buy a whole case, the put your name on a list and won't let you buy any more until the next year. They try (not hard) to keep people from reselling it for personal gain. So I guess anybody caught reselling wouldn't be allowed to buy any more beer in the future. But it's not really feasible track those people down in this age. Maybe before the internet it was.

You can find it on eBay listed under collectible bottles. It's not entirely legal to sell alcohol on eBay, but there is a loophole. You can't sell the beer, but you can sell the bottle for its collector's value. You just need to stipulate in the auction that you are selling a still capped bottle which just happens to contain alcohol in it. But remember, you're buying the bottle, not the beer

Just find a reputable seller that's sold it in the past and check their reviews. That way you'll see if they are legit and will really deliver the beer (and that they haven't screwed it up in the past). Keep in mind that it will probably take a while to get to you since most of the sellers live in Belgium. International mail takes awhile, and it also has to clear through customs. Ours took a few weeks, maybe a month at the most.

 

[jamieson87]

Hey beer gaf.

I'm going to NYC on Saturday for a 1 week holiday. I like my beer, so what should I be looking out for?

Thanks

 

[Flo_Evans]

We got ours off of eBay. Outside of the monastery, any Westvleteren is sold is sold on the grey market (another reason for the high prices). All the trappist monasteries brewing beer are non-profit organizations. Most of them take any extra profits and use them for charitable actions. But the Westvleteren monastery only produces enough beer to keep the brewery open, so unlike the others they don't produce year round, and they only produce a very small amount of beer.

In addition, the only place to buy the beer is at the monastery (or at the pub/shop across the street from the monastery). If you buy a whole case, the put your name on a list and won't let you buy any more until the next year. They try (not hard) to keep people from reselling it for personal gain. So I guess if you got caught they wouldn't sell you any more beer. But that's not really feasible to do in this age.

You can find it on eBay listed under collectible bottles. It's not entirely legal to sell alcohol on eBay, but there is a loophole. You can't sell the beer, but you can sell the bottle for its collector value. You just need to stipulate in the auction that you are selling a still capped bottle which just happens to contain alcohol in it. But remember, you're buying the bottle, not the beer

Just find a reputable seller that's sold it in the past and check their reviews. That way you'll see if they are legit and will really deliver the beer (and that they haven't screwed it up in the past). Keep in mind that it will probably take a while to get to you since most of the sellers live in Belgium. International mail takes awhile, and it also has to clear through customs. Ours took a few weeks, maybe a month at the most.

Seems like allot of work! IDK if I could give it a fair tasting after going through all of that to get a bottle. I guess that is what adds to the mystique.

 

[Mindlog]

Hey beer gaf.

I'm going to NYC on Saturday for a 1 week holiday. I like my beer, so what should I be looking out for?

Thanks

I would try to make a trip out to the Brooklyn Beer Brewery. They have a lot of great beers to try. Beer GAF is great, but I'd like to see more beer recommendations paired with food. It's fun getting people to try new beer, but I've never been so complimented as when I served Rasputin RIS with a chocolate dessert.

 

[StrikerObi]

Seems like allot of work! IDK if I could give it a fair tasting after going through all of that to get a bottle. I guess that is what adds to the mystique.

Yeah. I actually just refreshed myself on the info and I got a few things wrong. It's two 24-bottle cases (for the blonde and the 8) or one 2-bottle case case (for the 12) per month per person per license plate & phone number. You need to call ahead to order, they don't allow walk-ups anymore because of problems with re-sellers. They make 60,000 cases per year. That's 1.44 million bottles. Walk-ups can buy single bottles at the gift shop across the street but they are more expensive and they often aren't available.

A case of the 12 runs for 38 euro (~$55). So the guys re-selling the stuff online are making a KILLING off of it. Even at the "great" price I got of $20 a bottle, that's $480 for a whole case, leaving the seller with $425 in profit.

Here's a 2007 article from the Wall Street Journal about them: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119628388037006909.html

I got all my info off gold ole Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westvleteren_Brewery#cite_note-Miller-4

 

[distantmantra]

According to the Canada group on Beer Advocate, Westy 8 and 12 is actually showing up in Vancouver, BC right now. $12 CAD for Westy 8 and $18 CAD for Westy 12 at a few independent liquor stores.

I got my Westy 12 at Beer Mania in Brussels for 10 Euro each. We didn't have time to actually go out to the monestary, so this was the best option.

 

[StrikerObi]

Speaking of beer, the pale ale fermenting in my pantry should be ready to bottle this weekend. It'll have been sitting there for three weeks by then (one in the primary fermenter, two in the secondary). It'll be in bottles for at least another week before it's ready. I hate having to wait so long for it to be done, but the reward is so very sweet. 50+ bottles of delicious, homemade beer, for a total ingredient cost of about $30-$35.

 

[MacGurcules]

anyone here have experience with gluten free beer? Found anything drinkable?

A couple of years ago one of the local liquor stores had Ramapo Valley Brewery Honey Beer. It's gluten free and kosher for Passover. It was interesting, at least. Not something I'd drink often, but I'm glad I tried it. It's kind of like a cross between a light lager and a dry mead. Just a little sweet and a little floral, but not sticky like mead often is and it still had a clear hop character.

I haven't seen it since then. Dunno about regional or seasonal availability.

 

[fenners]

Speaking of beer, the pale ale fermenting in my pantry should be ready to bottle this weekend. It'll have been sitting there for three weeks by then (one in the primary fermenter, two in the secondary). It'll be in bottles for at least another week before it's ready. I hate having to wait so long for it to be done, but the reward is so very sweet. 50+ bottles of delicious, homemade beer, for a total ingredient cost of about $30-$35.

I've got an Austin Homebrew Anniversary English Pale Ale bottle conditioning right now... Another week or so to go...

 

[Flo_Evans]

Yeah. I actually just refreshed myself on the info and I got a few things wrong. It's two 24-bottle cases (for the blonde and the 8) or one 2-bottle case case (for the 12) per month per person per license plate & phone number. You need to call ahead to order, they don't allow walk-ups anymore because of problems with re-sellers. They make 60,000 cases per year. That's 1.44 million bottles. Walk-ups can buy single bottles at the gift shop across the street but they are more expensive and they often aren't available.

A case of the 12 runs for 38 euro (~$55). So the guys re-selling the stuff online are making a KILLING off of it. Even at the "great" price I got of $20 a bottle, that's $480 for a whole case, leaving the seller with $425 in profit.

Here's a 2007 article from the Wall Street Journal about them: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119628388037006909.html

I got all my info off gold ole Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westvleteren_Brewery#cite_note-Miller-4

Thanks. I went ahead and ordered 2 bottles off eBay... Gotta try it for myself! Cheaper than a European drinking trip right?

 

[distantmantra]

Thanks. I went ahead and ordered 2 bottles off eBay... Gotta try it for myself! Cheaper than a European drinking trip right?

Drink one right away and age the other one if you really want to have some fun.

 

[thespot84]

A couple of years ago one of the local liquor stores had Ramapo Valley Brewery Honey Beer. It's gluten free and kosher for Passover. It was interesting, at least. Not something I'd drink often, but I'm glad I tried it. It's kind of like a cross between a light lager and a dry mead. Just a little sweet and a little floral, but not sticky like mead often is and it still had a clear hop character.

I haven't seen it since then. Dunno about regional or seasonal availability.

Thanks i'll look into it.

 

[guest1321]

Sierra Nevada 2011 beer camp California Common

It is a really simple beer to be honest. I have had it once before and was pretty unimpressed. I had it again last night with some 'zestier' foods, and it really brought out the flavors in this. I know food really does have the ability to compliment beer, but the difference was really night and day. Overall I would give it a C+.

 

[HiResDes]

Picked up two sixpacks, one of Victory Hop Devil, and one of Victory Storm King...Will post impressions in a few. So far the Hop Devil seems like yet another good, but rather safe IPA entry.

Edit: Storm King is so potently dangerous, what a drink!...

 

[Seanspeed]

As a big wheat beer fan, I've gotta say that Sam Adam's Summer Ale is very generic. Not horrible, but it lacks character.

 

[tokkun]

Beer GAF. I have found the best beer in the world.

Please prove me wrong, and suggest something better.

As far as Tripels go, I prefer La Fin du Monde to Westmalle, but judging by your other comments, I'm sure you've tried it already.

 

[sharkmuncher]

Beer GAF. I have found the best beer in the world.


Please prove me wrong, and suggest something better.

While not a tripel, Avery's Salvation is a delicious golden strong that has enough fruity and spicy notes, while being an amazingly crisp and drinkable big beer. I highly recommend it to all you tripel fans, or big Belgian beer fans in general!

 

[Flo_Evans]

As far as Tripels go, I prefer La Fin du Monde to Westmalle, but judging by your other comments, I'm sure you've tried it already.

I've never done an A/B comparison. To be fair my 1st exposure to Westmalle was in an amazing restaurant in Chicago (the publican), coupled with some amazing braised pork belly. And I was a bit tipsy already. I had forgoten about it, and when I finally found it in a local shop I was estatic.

Anyone ever try He'brew? Bout to pop some vertical jewbelation.

For some reason beer made by religious people just tastes better to me

Here is a pic:

 

[distantmantra]

Found a lone bottle of Dogfish Head Squall IPA tonight at Whole Foods. Rang up for $5.99. BIG TIME SCORE!

edit: Speaking of Dogfish Head, is Brewmasters ever going to get released on DVD/Blu-ray?

 

[GiJoccin]

Found a lone bottle of Dogfish Head Squall IPA tonight at Whole Foods. Rang up for $5.99. BIG TIME SCORE!

edit: Speaking of Dogfish Head, is Brewmasters ever going to get released on DVD/Blu-ray?

sqaull's 9.99 at my local whole foods!!!!!!!!

 

[kendrid]

Picked up some brews from the new local beer shop. Enjoying the Hop Stoopid right now....yes, the Yeti name was a large factor in me buying it lol.

I picked up some Hop Stoopid last week and compared to all of the other "great" IPAs out there it really stands out. It is very similar to Bell's HopSlam except for the aftertaste. At only $4 a bomber at my local Binny's it's a deal.

 

[distantmantra]

Dogfish Heads's 120 Minute IPA will be out soon...

 

[kendrid]

Dogfish Heads's 120 Minute IPA will be out soon...

Thanks for the reminder. Their site states early August.

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blogfish/members/sam/120-minute-ipa-update-for-ya.htm

 

[GhostWriter24]

Hi all, massive beer fan here. I'm looking something to quench my undying thirst for lighter, more wheaty beers that isn't Blue Moon, Shock Top, etc. I live on the east coast so there are liquor stores all over the place and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for one they believe stood above the rest. Recommend it and I will go out later today and buy a case and let you know what I think!

 

[Valravn]

Beer GAF. I have found the best beer in the world.

Please prove me wrong, and suggest something better.

Wrong. Cuz, this is the best beer in the world:

 

[sharkmuncher]

Hi all, massive beer fan here. I'm looking something to quench my undying thirst for lighter, more wheaty beers that isn't Blue Moon, Shock Top, etc. I live on the east coast so there are liquor stores all over the place and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for one they believe stood above the rest. Recommend it and I will go out later today and buy a case and let you know what I think!

New Belgian's Sunshine is a good choice.
Boulevard Wheat is also an easy drinking wheat, although pretty mellow on flavor.
I generally Belgian Wits or German Style Heffeweisens to american style wheats so keep an eye out for those as well.

 

[distantmantra]

Thanks for the reminder. Their site states early August.

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blogfish/members/sam/120-minute-ipa-update-for-ya.htm

Cool. I had heard July, but August works as well.

 

[chaostrophy]

The other day I had the strongest beer I've tasted to date: Brewdog Tokio, an imperial stout brewed with jasmine and cranberries. 18.2%abv. It was amazing, just overwhelmed with flavor.

 

[bob_arctor]

Found a lone bottle of Dogfish Head Squall IPA tonight at Whole Foods. Rang up for $5.99. BIG TIME SCORE!

edit: Speaking of Dogfish Head, is Brewmasters ever going to get released on DVD/Blu-ray?

Squall is one of my favorites. I've been trying to find Troegs Nugget Nectar by me with no luck. Also, Dale's Pale Ale, Gubna and Brew Free Or Die all come highly, highly recommended.

 

[distantmantra]

The other day I had the strongest beer I've tasted to date: Brewdog Tokio, an imperial stout brewed with jasmine and cranberries. 18.2%abv. It was amazing, just overwhelmed with flavor.

I've had Tokio before, it really does pack a wallop. 120 Minute IPA's ABV ranges between 18 and 20% depending on the year.

 

[thespot84]

so who's coming to Denver for the GABF?

 

[Sleepy]

Dogfish Heads's 120 Minute IPA will be out soon...

Ah, the return of the king. I cannot wait. It seems the abv has steadily gone down in the past years, though.

 

[bob_arctor]

Just picked up a 22oz bomber of Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest fresh hop ale. Never had it, saving it for Father's Day. I actually got my Dad a Stone IPA and for my bro, Arrogant Bastard. Gonna be a good Sunday grillin' and getting a little fucked up.

 

[tokkun]

Hi all, massive beer fan here. I'm looking something to quench my undying thirst for lighter, more wheaty beers that isn't Blue Moon, Shock Top, etc. I live on the east coast so there are liquor stores all over the place and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for one they believe stood above the rest. Recommend it and I will go out later today and buy a case and let you know what I think!

My favorite wheat beers:

Weihenstephaner Hefeweiss with a slice of lemon
Great Lakes Holy Moses
New Glarus Dancing Man

The latter two may be difficult to find outside of the Midwest.

 

[TurboLibre]

I picked up some Hop Stoopid last week and compared to all of the other "great" IPAs out there it really stands out.

Yeah it's really good. Picked one up last week and really enjoyed it.

 

[mr jones]

I work at a great beer distributor. Imagine a warehouse filled... with beer.

Just think about that.

That's all.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

Westvleteren is nice and all but way overpriced. There's a whole line of Abt Bernardus beers (Abt 12, Prior 8, Pater 6 and Tripel) that are brewed with exactly the same receipes as the brewery/monks in Westvleteren use. I've tasted both Westvleteren 12 and all the St. Bernardus beers and though there's a difference it does not justify the ridiculous pricing in my opinion.

If you like Westmalle, it might also be worth your time to try out Orval.

I really wish I made my trip to Belgium & Westvleteren. Next time... I'ts not expensive at all if you buy it direct.

Oh, and Guinness in Ireland is like the cream of the gods

 

[POWERSPHERE]

Wrong. Cuz, this is the best beer in the world:

Man, had this in France and I have to agree. Amazing beer. Amazing.

 

[Flo_Evans]

Wrong. Cuz, this is the best beer in the world:

http://www.supo.be/userfiles/artikel_media/1751/unsorted/2.rochefort.jpg

I will add it to the list of beers to try!