CS Booze Club.

[Dilorenzo]

Actually, the name of the brewery is Dogfish Head.

I swear my memory is getting worse by the day. I can't remember a name for more than five minutes.

Still, this says it's an Ale, and it won some kind of award. We'll see what we see.

[thansal]

I can't remember if I have had the Raison D'etre, however a quick look up sounds like it might be decent, and worth a shot. I tend to avoid DFH on principle (they make great beers that I don't like). Jester mentioned the 60 and 90 min IPAs. The IBUs (International Bittering Units) for those 2 are 60 and 90 respectively, which is all sorts of crazy. The Raison D'etre is only 25, which, while hoppy, is not all that bitter, especially with the fact that it looks to be a more malty beer (malt counters the bitterness of hops very well, so a very malty beer can have a high IBU with out tasting like dish soap). The one turn off for me is that the name is actually a pun as it's brewed with raisins (I'm not a fan of raisins).

I always get sad when I see their IPAs. They are really excellent beers that have FAR too much hops in them. One of my beer friends loves the hop heavy beers and will order the 60 and 90 min IPAs when ever they are on tap, and I always try some, and every one around gets to chuckle at the face I pull.

[Jester]

The Raison D'etre is only 25, which, while hoppy, is not all that bitter

Raison D'Etre really isn't all that hoppy. I just don't care for its flavor all that much, to be honest.

a very malty beer can have a high IBU with out tasting like dish soap

Yep. I've had some malty IPAs that I like (black IPAs come to mind), and I love Terrapin Rye Squared, which has the malt and hops both ratcheted up, but it is a very well-balanced beer.

I like balanced beers. I like malty beers. I like hoppy beers only up to a point. (That point is right around Sierra Nevada Pale Ale level.) The over-hopped under-malted beers just don't taste good or right to me.

The one turn off for me is that the name is actually a pun as it's brewed with raisins (I'm not a fan of raisins).

I like raisons, but really didn't get a lot of raison flavor from this beer. Keep in mind, raisins are but one of many interesting and exotic ingredients used in this beer. DH likes to keep things interesting, and will try just about any type of ingredient in their beers.

I respect what they do. I just don't care for their products.

One of my beer friends loves the hop heavy beers and will order the 60 and 90 min IPAs when ever they are on tap, and I always try some, and every one around gets to chuckle at the face I pull.

Has your friend ever tried their 120 Minute? It's supposed to be completely over the top with hops. I, of course, have never tried it. I would, but I have never even SEEN it. I have no doubt that it would not go down well with me, but I am nothing if not adventurous, and just on principle, I would try it.

Just as I tried Hop Devil when we had it on draft. Now, the name should tell you that this is a beer that is super-hopped. It really is. I found it completely undrinkable, but people who like ultra-hopped beers will love it.

[Kara]

I drink on rare occasions. I'm the classic "girl drinks" type, cause I really hate the taste of alcohol. But even when I got out to the club, I don't drink often, mainly because I just don't know what to drink. Seriously, last month the bartender informed me that someone wanted to buy me a shot and asked me what I liked. I stood there going "um.......?" He suggested vodka with blueberry, which I accepted (and was glad it was yummy). I mainly don't order drinks at the bar because I either don't know what stuff is called, what's in them, or think I'd sound like an idiot actually saying whatever goofy-ass name it has.

Only got really drunk twice. The first time I drank a bottle of Captain Morgan's while watching Hostel, which made it the funniest movie I've ever seen in my life. The second time was a few months ago when I was really depressed and actually wound up blacking out at some point in the night and decided that wasn't how I wanted to spend my life.

Worst thing I ever had was a few months ago when I was pressured by some coworkers into going to a strip bar with them. They bought me a shot of Patron and I nearly vomited. Then they bought me another one and I almost cried because I really didn't want to drink it.

[AdminAssistant]

Tonight is the end-of-the-year banquet, which is followed by a killer undergrad party (that is always crashed by the grad students and faculty). It's pretty much the only time I get *drunk* during the year. (It doesn't hurt that one of the grads usually sneaks mini bottles into the banquet and passes them out. ) But I still haven't got the test results back on my liver soooo....*sigh*

[dalesys]

... the Bloody Pig. It's a bloody mary with a strip of cooked bacon in it.

Where, oh where, has RetailWorkhorse disappeared to?

Absent Friends!

[Jester]

I mainly don't order drinks at the bar because I either don't know what stuff is called, what's in them, or think I'd sound like an idiot actually saying whatever goofy-ass name it has.

Don't stress it. If you aren't sure what to order, simply ask friends and/or the bartender for recommendations. Sometimes they'll get stuff you like sometimes they won't....but either way, your knowledge of your own tastes will grow.

I got to this point in my drinking career through trial and error. Lots of trial. Lots of error.* And a whole lot of drinks.

So far, I have no complaints!

*Last night I had a chilled shot of Three Olives "Dude," which is a lemon-lime flavored vodka reminiscent of Mountain Dew. I despise Dew, and know I know I despise Dude, too. Yes, I did a Dude last night, and didn't like it. Shocking, I know. And I swore then and there that I would not be doing any more Dudes. And no, I did not tell this story simply for that joke.

[Dilorenzo]

You know, I was certain I posted about this. Absolutely positive... well, so it goes.

Last Friday was part of the beginnings of Operation : get my friends to stop drinking Miller Lite, which involved three parts:

The Raison D'Etre I mentioned before. I actually really enjoyed this. Deep Caramel tones, a little burnt coffee flavor in there, just an all around nice strong flavor to it. I wouldn't call it my favorite Ale of all time or anything, but it isn't something I'd turn down if it was offered either.

Part 2 was Sam Adams Black Lager. This is a nice starting point for folks looking to make the move to Ales, in my opinion. It's pretty much a perfect middle ground between a good lager and a good ale, light and deep all in one go.

Part 3 was... well, Part 3 was more of a joke. I happened to be in the local IGA and saw a small 6-pack of hand-grenade beers called Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor, and it was under $6. Had to get it, didn't I? Honestly, smelled foul, didn't taste of a damn thing, and had the greatest thing ever seen on a beer. Under the screw caps (no, really, screw caps. Like on a bottle of coke. First time I ever ran into that on a beer) there is a different Rebus puzzle for each bottle. They actually got easier to solve the more you drank. I may just have to buy it again just for that.

And as a bonus, because that cheap beer put me in a mind to be remembering, and I can't remember if I mentioned it, Big Flats 1901 beer. Made for and sold by Walgreens, the pharmacy chain. Under .50c a can. It has a water wheel in the middle of a river attached to nothing and mountains in the background. It is, without a doubt, the foulest tasting thing I've ever had.

[Jester]

Last Friday was part of the beginnings of Operation : get my friends to stop drinking Miller Lite, which involved three parts:

Raison D'Etre

Sam Adams Black Lager

I fully support this operation. However, for people used to swill like BudMillerCoors, starting them off on something as dark as either of those may be challenging. And some people just don't like dark beer.

Myself, I don't care for Raison D'Etre at all, but Sam Adams Black Lager is one of my favorite beers perhaps ever. I personally think that Raison might have some strange tastes for Miller Lite drinkers, and that Black Lager might be an easier transition for them....but again, a lot of people just don't like dark beers.

Some potentially better beers for the transition from crap to quality that are on the lighter side than the above two:
Yuengling Lager
Magic Hat #9
Abita Amber
Newcastle
Red Stripe
Budweiser American Ale (yes, it's a Bud product, but it's not half bad...sort of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale lite)
Killian's Red

Most of the above are available almost anywhere, if you look.
Most of the above are going to be an easier transition for most people from BudMillerCoors to craft beers.
They also are mostly not too hoppy, so not too threatening on the palate to the swill drinkers. (American Ale is the hoppiest on the list, actually.)

I post about a lot of craft beers, because I am on a personal beer quest, but it is not that easy for a lot of people to go from one extreme to the other. I myself was a BudMillerCoors drinker till I was 26 and started working in a brewpub, where my eyes and palate were opened to what good beer really is. For most people, it's a matter of baby steps, and the two beers you have above are a huge leap from the typical swill.

Also, a lot of the craft beers I post about are not always readily available everywhere.

That being said, some point soon I will be posting my notes from my recent Beercation about all the new beers I tried (about fifty, actually), and possibly a few notes on the beers I had that I've had before. These will be short notes, for the most part, not the full reviews I've offered, but the experience was a whirlwind.

I did find one beer that I scored a perfect 10 on, as I was so blown away by it. There were a few 8's and 9's as well. Stay tuned.

[Dilorenzo]

Actually, both Raison and Black went over superbly. Sure, we drank ML all the time, but it turned out two of them regularly drink better stuff, and even though I knew G, my other friend had been a bartender, it turns out he used to drink Guinness all the time, so he's used to darker.

So, it's still Operation : get my friends to stop drinking Miller Lite, at least until I come up with a much better name. A good excuse to try new beers isn't nearly fancy enough, and I am nothing if not a fancy gentleman *pffffft*

[Jester]

I did not realize your friends had had dark beers before. I was under the assumption from your post that they only drank Miller Lite. That being said, I was merely saying that they might not go for those beers, not that they would not. I don't like Raison, but for some reason, I seem to not really like any Dogfish Head product, though I keep trying them. (10 so far, actually.)

As for the name of your mission, perhaps Operation: Better Beer would work. Or perhaps Operation: Move on from Miller Lite? I would suggest Operation: Move On, but I believe that is already the name of a political movement, and it would be a shame to alienate some friends for the wrong reason. (Much better to alienate them for the right reason, don't you think?) Other possibilities:

Operation: Good Beer.
Operation: Tasty Suds.
Operation: Improvement.
Operation: Improve Your Beer.
Operation: Fuck Miller Lite.
Operation: Kill BudMillerCoors.
Operation: Stop the Swill.
Operation: Craft Beer.

My personal favorite is Operation: Beerprovement (beer improvement), but I tend to like silly names like that--see my recent Beercation as an example. In any case, you'll have to choose the name yourself, as it is, after all, your mission.

[Dilorenzo]

Operation: Beerprovement

I am taking this and pretending it is my own.

As to the other, I hadn't realized it either. The two who liked other beers were supremely grateful. G was just "eh, whatever," but that's him.

[Jester]

I am taking this and pretending it is my own.

What, no credit? I feel so cheap and used.


And I'm totally kidding. Have fun with it. Like GK, I exist to provide people with slogans, signatures, and sayings.

[thansal]

On the note of getting friends to drink better beer, there is only one word you need to know:

Hefeweizen


(<3 the Germans and their compound words :P)

Wheat beers have always been my go to choice for introducing people to interesting and not run of them mill beers. I have yet to run into some one who likes beer, and doesn't like a wheat beer. They are all sorts of amazing like that

[Jester]

Not so fast, my friend. While hefeweizen is one of MY favorite styles of beer, there are people out there that don't like hefes, and some who don't like any wheat beers at all.

Also, it should be pointed out that, like any other style of beers, there are great hefeweizens (Hello, Hacker-Pschorr!) and deplorable "hefeweizens" (fuck off, Widmer!). So a lot depends on which hefe you give them.

So, with my Beercation at an end, I have yet to type up my notes on the beers I tried. However, I found myself with an amusing situation. In addition to the several craft beers I had in my fridge already from some earlier runs here in town, I brought back a liquor box full of various craft singles (not to be confused with Kraft Singles, wiseasses!), and thought that this would be a great time to clean my fridge out of some stuff that's needed to go for a while. Did a little rearranging, and now I have one entire half-shelf dedicated to just BEER. (This does not even count the twelve-pack of Estrella Damm from Spain I have sitting in my pantry.) And since sometimes it can be a pain to see just what I have by looking and digging, I have now actually made a word file in my computer listing my current Beer Stock. Yes, there's a fine line between genius and madness....and this file is pretty much right on that line!

As a tease, here is my current stock of beer besides the Estrella, with the brewer in parentheses (all of these are either one or two bottles, of varying sizes):

Weizen-Eisbock (Aventius, Germany)
Karma Belgian Style Pale Ale (Avery, Colorado)
Expedition Stout (Bell's, Michigan)
Jai Alai I.P.A. (Cigar City Brewing, Florida)
Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout (Clipper City, Maryland)
Old Engine Oil Black Ale (Haveistoun, Scotland,)
Circus Boy Hefeweizen (Magic Hat, Vermont)
Napa Smith Wheat Beer (Napa Smith, California)
Lost Dog Red Ale (Napa Smith, California)
He’Brew Messiah Bold Brown Ale (Shmaltz, New York/California)*
Shipyard Summer Ale (Shipyard, Maine,)
Major Canis Kerberos Tripel (Flying Dog, Maryland)
Fruli Strawberry Beer (Fruli, Belgium)
Russian Imperial Stout (Rogue, Oregon)
Save Our Shores, A Charitable Lager (Abita, Louisiana)
Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (Avery, Colorado)
Saison Dupont Vielle Provision (Brasserie Dupont, Belgium)
Chipotle Ale (Rogue, Oregon)
Maierfest Lager (Rogue, Oregon)
Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale (Rogue, Oregon)
Old Crustacean Barleywine Style Ale (Rogue, Oregon)
Coney Island Human Blockhead Tough as Nails Lager (Schmaltz, New York/California)*
He’Brew Jewbelation Fourteen (Schmaltz, New York/California)*

The above is a preview of some of my upcoming beer reviews. Sadly, they must wait, as I am still battling this damn cold I got from Red on our Beercation. And don't drool....jealousy doesn't suit you.

Oh, I also have one lone Coors Light sitting in my fridge. Don't ask.

*(The Schmaltz website lists their company as being based and run in San Francisco and brewed in New York. Plus, it seems their Coney Island line of beers--as opposed to their He'Brew line--is actually brewed on Coney Island, rather than in Saratoga Springs, NY. Just because they like to confuse you, apparently.)