So lately I've been sucking down a lot of beer. Nothing too fancy since I am on a college budget. I've been dipping into a lot of Sam Adam's brews as they are cheap and readily available.
(sorry for the hot linking in advance but....)
I am by no means a beer expert nor a stout expert. But I tried Sam Adam's Imperial Stout:
At 10 bucks for a 4-pack you expect something pretty damn good. I feel that this stout should come with a bold disclaimer: MADE FOR PEOPLE WHO ENJOY SWEET BEER. This is one of the most fruity, sweet stouts I have had. I much prefer my staple Guinness or the bold and complex Old Rasputin:
I picked up the Sam Adam's holiday pack and their Autumn pack. I think these are cool mixes of beer with a nice variety. The autumn pack was mostly average with some average Pumpkin Ales and a very average Irish read. What was pretty sweet was the Sam Adam's Dunkelweizen:
The Dunkelweizen is a dark, unfiltered wheat beer. Unfiltered wheat beers rank among my favorite styles of beer so this was a really pleasant surprise. The Sam Adams Dunkelweizen had a good flavor and a nice refreshing finish.
Also impressive from the Sam Adam's holiday pack was their Chocolate Bock. This was my first dabbling with a Chocolate Bock, and I was impressed. Like the Sam Adam's Imperial Stout this one was on the sweet side of things, but that is expected with the implicit "chocolate" in the title.
I picked up a 12-pack of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale:
I've honestly dabbled the most in pale ales the past few years. I've had pale ales from a lot of larger micro breweries, including Dogfish Head, New Holland, New Belgium, and Stone Brewing. The Celebration Ale is like drinking a Christmas tree. It has wonderful pine notes. It is extremely bitter and dry as a good IPA should be. It has a malty mouth feel, especially at first taste, but it really hits with dry and bitter. I actually am quite impressed with this little bottle of hoppy goodness.
Some other excellence was New Belgium's Hoptober. This is another bitter, citrusy IPA style beer.
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On the other end of the spectrum, I tried Annheiser Busch's Shock Top:
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This is an insanely bland macro that is supposed to compete with Coor's Blue Moon. Honestly, Blue Moon is much better and has become my staple Belgian White (aka macro watery goodness) that I order when I go out to a burger joint to wash down my burger and fries. Also good is Coors from the bottle. If you need a 6-pack of something light, watery and cheap, go with Coors.
I was ultimately unimpressed with Budweiser's American Ale. I think there are better cheap alternatives. I get it though...it has hops, it is kind of a real ale. It is Budweiser's answer to Sam Adams. But Boston Lager is such a good, readily available brew, I feel that it is too little and too late.
Anyway, that's just some of the specific beer I've been drinking lately. I've had many more.
I figured it would be interesting if everyone posted some of the their hard liquor, wine, or beer experiences here as a reference for other members. You don't need to write an elaborate review or anything, just mention what you have been drinking and maybe mention if you'd recommend it or if you think people should stay away from it!
the "post your thoughts/review on the alcohol you have been drinking" /thread
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