The Beer Geek Thread

[fineout]

No pics but last weekend i got to have a Southern Tier Pumking that i had sitting in a dark corner, it was actually dare I say better after sitting, the nutmeg and cinnamon popped much more than the bottles I had in october.

Also had a Green Flash Palate Wrecker IPA, and it lived up to its name, I've been trying a lot of green flash's beer lately and they have consistently impressed me.

Then for easter yard games a bunch of the new gansett cream ales and they are quite good as well.

[rpmaill]

Totally new here. Found this trhead as I was in process of creating my own page. Saw this and gave up on my own! I make my own beer and am drinking a Blue Moon knock off I made called S'Wheat Nothings. A white wheat beer where I added orange and nutmeg to the brewing process and higher alc content at 7.9%.

[Slyder]

Not the best pic but here's the first lager my brother and I brewed, Czech pils.



Und eine litre von Ayinger dunkel
My favoritest brew while in Germany.

[Slyder]

This thread needs a kick start!

You're not too far away from Concord so I have to ask, where are you finding those brews? Barbs beer emporium by chance? I have yet to check that place out.

[GTStang]

Not the best pic but here's the first lager my brother and I brewed, Czech pils.

Looks very good

[ZX-12R]

You're not too far away from Concord so I have to ask, where are you finding those brews? Barbs beer emporium by chance? I have yet to check that place out.

I tend to go all over to find beers.

Grocery stores are a great place to find them. Market Basket has very recently started expanding their craft beer section and I was surprised to see an entire wine kiosk replaced with it. On top of all that, Market Basket is one of the least expensive places to buy. Hanaford's and to a lesser extent Shaws also cary craft beer.

I live 10 minutes away from White Birch in Hooksett so I buy their beer right from the source.
Barb's is on my short list of places I go but they are expensive. I haven't been into their Londonderry store yet.
Bert's Better Beers in Hooksett has a larger selection than Barb's and is also on the expensive side. They should use their expensive beer money to bring their website into the 21st century.
The North End Superette on Elm St. in Manchester is a little hole in the wall bodega with a great beer selection.
Candia Rd. Convenience in Manchester has an ok selection but is on the pricey side.
The Meat House in Pembroke has a small selection available.
When I go on Brewery tours, I tend to buy a lot of beer from their gift shop to keep for a rainy day.
My family (who are not from the area) know I enjoy beer so they pick me up things to try from their neck of the woods when they come to visit.

One thing is for certain, the craft beer market is expanding rapidly and as a result I've been finding it for sale in many more places.

[Slyder]

One thing is for certain, the craft beer market is expanding rapidly and as a result I've been finding it for sale in many more places.

Thanks for the info

I noticed Market Basket on FT Eddy road had quite the selection and even the Shaws on FT Eddy wasn't bad either. You certainly didn't find those brews in said stores a few years ago. I had a feeling Barbs would be spendy, but still cheaper than mail ordering from that place out west that I don't remember the name of.

The Beverage King up in Lebanon NH just off of RT 12a also has a pile of imports like Ayinger as well as a bunch of domestics and crafts, and their prices aren't too bad. Ayinger was a little over $3 for a half litre bottle.


The Czech pils I posted a pic of came out excellent, thanks. We brewed it in the colder months and let it lager naturally, as I didn't have a temp controlled fridge or chest freezer. Always consume a sample when racking, when I did after primary fermentation I was happy, and it wasn't close to done.

I bet that honey brown will be great. I wish I had pics of the Irish Red I brewed, I actually gave a few bottles to a co-worker at the time and he brought them to a beer tasting where brews were rated...he told me my red ale got 3rd, behind two beers from Germany.

[GTStang]

he Czech pils I posted a pic of came out excellent, thanks. We brewed it in the colder months and let it lager naturally, as I didn't have a temp controlled fridge or chest freezer. Always consume a sample when racking, when I did after primary fermentation I was happy, and it wasn't close to done.

I bet that honey brown will be great. I wish I had pics of the Irish Red I brewed, I actually gave a few bottles to a co-worker at the time and he brought them to a beer tasting where brews were rated...he told me my red ale got 3rd, behind two beers from Germany.

I never brewed my own Czech Pils but I am a fan of the style.

The Honey Brown turned out ok, the honey gives it a little bit of a mead taste. I''ll try to take a picture of it in the glass tonight.

I have a chocolate milk stout that needs to be bottled this weekend and Scotch Ale that needs to be racked.

[StrayNut]

Woodstock Inn Kanc Country Maple Porter

That sounds delicious. Looks like I'd have to go to Weymouth or Nashua to get it, or wait til I go up to Concord again... Will you report back when you've had it, so we know whether it's worth a trip?

[ZX-12R]

That sounds delicious.

Even though my diet has forced me to cut back on the amount of beer I consume, just for you I'll make sure I try this one sooner than later!

[Slyder]

I have a chocolate milk stout that needs to be bottled this weekend and Scotch Ale that needs to be racked.

Stouts and Porters can have so many adjuncts added it's great, one of my favorite styles to brew. Are you brewing all grain or extract? I haven't brewed in awhile but I mostly did extract / mini-mashes. The Pils is an extract and the color was perfect, 3-5 SRM.

Out west in Boulder CO, I went to the Mountain Sun pub and brewery and had their Java porter and it was one of the best brews I've had. I've wanted to brew a mocha / java chocolate stout or porter, just haven't.

I've got a bottle of RedStone mead from Boulder as well. I've wanted to get a small 3 gallon batch of a blackberry melomel going but it's too cold in my apartment still.

If anyone ever makes it out to Boulder, definitely hit up the Mountain Sun pub and brew. And if mead is your thing, take the tour at RedStone Meadery also in Boulder.

[burtonboarder23]

getting ready to do up a summer batch... doing a raspberry and blackberry wheat and maybe watermelon if i can get my coworker on board as i don't want to get stuck with 5 gallons of watermelon wheat, now i need to get my bar/ keg setup in place so i can toss all these bottles

[ecd2004]

where do you ferment during the summer? the basement gets to like 65 and that seems a bit high

[burtonboarder23]

yea i keep my stuff in the basement in the summer, it stays right about 60 - 65 degrees down there so its perfect. from what i understand, anything up to 67 is fine for wheat beers.

[Slyder]

The above is my a porter I brewed, actually the last brew I brewed. It's been in the bottle now for a really long time (easily a year)...and I have to say, it's excellent. I used a pound of chocolate malt, so I guess you could call it a chocolate porter.

65 degrees isn't too hot. Well, for a lager yes. But ales will mostly depend on the yeast strain and style. Different beer styles require different yeast strains and the temps the yeasties prefer differs. If you've got a 65 degree basement you'd have no trouble with ales. Warmer temps will cause the yeasties to give a brew a buttery / estery flavor...cooler temps more clean, crisp so to speak

Oh, did I mention how good this porter tastes?

[SRTie4k]

Woodstock Inn Kanc Country Maple Porter

I tried that about 2 months ago. It's slightly hoppy with a very heavy taste of maple. It's not something one could sip every night, but it would make a great addition to a ham dinner or a cold winter night.

BTW, if anyone is ever in the Keene area, there is a relatively new store called Brewtopia. They are fantastic! They carry a huge range of different craft beers from all over the world, as well as a ton of locals. They also started a punch-card system where you get a hole punch for every visit you buy $10 or more (last night I visited and bought a 6-pack of Harpoon Chocolate Stout for $9 and they punched me). After 20 punches, your next purchase is 20% off! Incredible discount for when you stock up. They also stock brewing supplies, a few wines and even mead. I would highly recommend a visit, everyone who works there LOVES beer and is very friendly.

One of the beers they had which I want to try is Rogue Double Chocolate Stout, a 9.5% alcohol content "Imperial" Chocolate Stout. It's expensive at $12 for a bomber, but it might be worth it.

[ZX-12R]

Will you report back when you've had it...

I tried that about 2 months ago. It's slightly hoppy with a very heavy taste of maple.

I tried it last night and my experience was a little different than yours. Mine had a very mild maple smell to it right out of the bottle. My first sip had me thinking this was closer to a brown ale and not a porter. It has a mild sweetness to it with a very mild maple flavor and not much to convince me it's a porter. Once you swallow it, the aftertaste of a nice bitter porter comes through. Overall I enjoyed it but there are definitely better porters on the market. I want to say this bomber was $7ish at Market Basket which makes it a decent deal.

[ZX-12R]

One of the beers they had which I want to try is Rogue Double Chocolate Stout, a 9.5% alcohol content "Imperial" Chocolate Stout. It's expensive at $12 for a bomber, but it might be worth it.

Both the Chocolate Stout and the Double Chocolate Stout are excellent beers. You can't go wrong with either of them.

While I was in the San Diego area for work, I had dinner at the Stone brewery and wanted one of their Imperial Russian Stouts but was sadly informed they were out. The bartender suggested I try the Speedway Stout from AleSmith Brewing which he prefered over Stone's offering. I'm glad I tried it because it's fantastic. Surprisingly, you can even find it around here.

[StrayNut]

Hmm, sounds like I should pick up the maple porter if it's handy (or I'm having a ham dinner), but not go out of my way. Thank you! Will probably check out some of those stouts, though...

[ZX-12R]

I saw this in the store and had to try it. Next time I see it in the store, I'll leave it there. It just wasn't very good.

Wells - Banana Bread Beer


A much more pleasant replacement is Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale. It has a nice rich malty taste up front and a very dry finish. It hides its 10% ABV very well and at $6/bottle, it will find its way into my fridge again.

[cbr_chick_nh]

I saw this in the store and had to try it. Next time I see it in the store, I'll leave it there. It just wasn't very good.

Wells - Banana Bread Beer

I really liked this beer, though I'm not a huge fan of fruity or flavored beers. Someone bought me a bottle for Xmas, I haven't seen it anywhere since... Where did you pick it up?

[ecd2004]

yea i keep my stuff in the basement in the summer, it stays right about 60 - 65 degrees down there so its perfect. from what i understand, anything up to 67 is fine for wheat beers.

good to know, I tried to keep everything around 55 when I was fermenting, maybe I'll do something over the summer at some point

[SRTie4k]

I just tried the Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy last night. It's fantastic!

From what I can tell it's simply a wheat bear mixed with lemonade, not too sweet, more carbonation than normal, but damn does it go down easy. I'm pretty sure I can make a whole 6-pack disappear within a few hours.

[ZX-12R]

I really liked this beer, though I'm not a huge fan of fruity or flavored beers. Someone bought me a bottle for Xmas, I haven't seen it anywhere since... Where did you pick it up?

I picked it up at Market Basket in Epping. Their selection of craft beer has improved significantly over the last few months. The banana flavor wasn't bad but the underlying beer just wasn't very good. It's on my short list of beers that I've dumped out long before I was finished.

[ZX-12R]

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale. What a pleasant surprise! If you're a fan of Saisons, this is an easy beer to like. 9.3% ABV is very strong for a Saison but the beer hides it well. $5.99 for a bomber at Market Basket makes it an easy choice and I'll be grabbing a bunch more to keep in the beer fridge.