Just happened upon this randomly yesterday. Guiness black lager, though in truth it actually is more of a schwarzbier (but I can see how they might not want to use this for their marketing ). I wasn't expecting too much, thinking it was probably something just tried for a trend or to get in some new customer base, but it is actually pretty decent. Good flavour for a 'lager' style beer, clean finish, no aftertaste. For a cheap import I think it comes out okay.

Interesting... I have to admit I didn't know that Guiness did anything other than the one beer.
I've got a black logger I brewed this winter ready to bottle. It was my first crack at loggering. I kinda wish I had done a dopplebock or hellis or something, but am still interested how this guy turned out.



Akk. I just noticed this post.
Interesting.
I just had a 1 year aged bottle of Jolly Pumpkin sour stout. Comparable? I really enjoyed it.

this beer right here.. 10 bucks a 12 pack and probably the best "cheap" beer you will get. only during the spring. i need to horde some for this summer.




(not my photo)

That looks great, I wonder if I can get some just across the border somewhere. I am all over some cheap beer, and a decent bock would be great. Plus, I am somehow pulled in by that packaging. Simple, cheesy, retro, it's like Pilsner, which is about as good and cheap as it comes.

Great thread.

I'm a big Guinness drinker myself . . . but when I'm in the mood for something different i nearly always choose between these two 'Abbey beers' - Leffe Blonde Beer & Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse.

They have a nice complex taste that you can savor . . . . so much better than swilling-back endless generic lager.

<3 Heresy!

Big fan of that Leffe Blonde over here.



I have to say Chimay Blue is my first choice for Abbey beers and a few times a year i'll pick up a couple bottles of
Rochefort 8 which is mind blowingly good if you haven't tried it.

^^^ Yeah, i like Chimay Blue & Red.

I haven't tried Rochefort 8 . . . i will give it a go if i can find it

Just had a bottle of Fantôme Hiver.

(not my pic)
I have no idea what year's release it was, and the recipe changes every year.
If I had to guess it was one from 2010 or so... just a guess based on the label.
Anyone had this?
The one I had was lemon-citrus sour, earthy funk, barnyard funk, highly carbonated, absolutely refreshing quite thin and dry. It was a lot lighter in color than a lot of photos I see online as well.

Great thread you've got here !

Feel easier to contribute than kaiju ones for now.

I love beers and love to discover new ones but I do have some 'comfort zone' too.

Those are the ones:

A sunny end of the afternoon, I'll always go for a Blanche with a slice of lemon.


My table beer used to be Leffe Blonde but since a couple of years now, my taste changed and swap it for Grimbergen Blonde. Wonder what you guys Leffe drinkers think about it.


But then, what I really like is bitter beers. As a slightly bitter beer, I do favor the Taras Boulba, which is surprisingly tasteful for such a light beer.


For more bitterness, I'll go for a XX Bitter.


When it's colder, I'll go for an Orval. Great with heavy salty crepe or game dish


My favorites triples are Karmeliet (surprisingly light tasting for a triple) and Westmalle



I do like to get one dark beer from time to time. Am not much of a Chimay drinker though. Feel much closer to Rochefort (8 or 10), Westmalle Dubbel, Achel and St Bernardus Abt 12.

That's about it for my safe bet list. But as I said, what I like most is to discover new ones.

^^^ nice. couple i've never seen before. i've tried Triple Karmeliet and liked it

Beer are too important a matter to be relegate to second page.

I had the occasion to test a very nice Dupont yesterday. A season beer called 'Avec Les Bons Voeux'. A nicely spiced bitter beer with a beautiful head. I don't know how difficult it might be to track one of those outside of Belgium but it is definitely worse tryin'.




Yep, that is a problem with people around the globe speaking about beer. We simply don't get the same stuff. And foreigners beer are simply outrageously expensive. I find most of those I mentioned at my local supermarket or night store.

Has anyone heard of Sam Adams Utopia? Seems it is an aged blend of several different types of beers. While I have had quite a few extra strong beers (this one is 27%), I got to be honest, it doesn't really seem all that appealing to me. It is non-carbonated, and in my experience, I am not sure what the blending is going to do exactly - rather just age a single type. At 130$ a bottle, I think I would much rather get a few dozen delicious imports (and if I want something to sip and enjoy, I can think of many bottles of decent scotch to buy for that price).



Hundreds vie for chance to buy rare, $130 beer

I had a pair of golden monkeys today and managed not get slapped, wake up someplace strange, or impregnate anyone.

Picked up something special for myself for the playoffs. Delicious Schlenkerla rauchbier. They only have the Märzen from what I have seen in Canada, but that is still nothing to scoff at. Admittedly the taste is not for everyone (probably barely anyone in fact ) but I love this stuff.

I love rauchbier (when I can find them). Victory's Scarlet Fire is one of the more drinkable rauchbiers I have had.

my favorite choice :

havent had that one from jolly pumpkin. but it sounds maybe in the same realm. I'll have to see if I can find that...
the sour black was pretty much how it sounds.. a blackened sour. it had the black flavoring and also earthy and woody from the barrels with a very sour finish.
tasted better the more you drank and after you learned its ways.

I'm thrilled that the Weyerbacher "Riserva" is back out with the 2012 edition. a ridiculous 11.5% sour!!

I've had a small glass of this. I feel the same way.. I had it once and I was over it. If I am sipping a beverage I will just stick with my Pappy Van Winkle 12 year.

this beer was one of the best id ever had, and i only had one. it also came in an awesome bottle (which i still have) by an artist that i look up to.

"Filled with Bokrijks Belgian Ale, the showpiece of Meer, Belgium’s Brouwerij Sterkens, it has notes of fruit and spice. This medium bodied Belgian countryside maltwine also has a bitter bite as a result of secondary fermentation in the bottle – a perfect tonic to accompany a session of monster-gazing!!!"

http://alchemicale.com/monsters

Unibroue is probably my favorite Canadian beer. I had enjoyed the apple Ephemere before, and when I saw a new version made with currant, I had to have it. Treat yourself to a pint.

"16th anniversary" strong belgian ale from Two Brothers. when i say strong, i mean 16%ABV
you'd guess it was more like 9 or 10% when drinking it though. not tough to drink but damn is it potent.

I just had one of these:



Really nice IPA from a small brewery in Sweden. It appears to be the only Swedish beer that has won a medal at the European Beer Star Awards.