Wow...thanks John, now I'm really thirsty. On a side note, I'll be in Austin the weekend of June 3 so I'm going to search for all of the great American microbrews that I can't get in Louisiana. I've had Fat Tire on tap a few times over the years and "yum" is the first word that comes to mind. So guys, what should I look for and where would be a good place to check? I know that I'm going to look for the folowing:

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
Fullers London Porter
Fullers ESB

Plus I'll be watching for any of the Belgians that I've missed out on and any of the brews by the Dogfish Head brewery. Oh yeah, and I'm going to see Dredg for the first time. Should be a fun weekend with good music and great brews.

had a few bombers of some new flavors last night.

Stone India Pale Ale- 6.9% alcohol. i have found that i just dont like the flavors of most pale ale's. this one was no different. it pours a rich orange color, with a nice creamy head. fruity and herbal aroma, with strong hopps. thick texture, but not too thick. very vivid flavors through out, but hint of bitterness over the whole thing. alcohol kicks in on the swallow, with the classic pale ale dryness at the end. a bold and hearty drink, that is just not my cup of tea. but, for those who prefer IPA's, this one might be right up your alley. 5.5 out of 10.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout- 6% alcohol. my first swary into a true stout.. and as above, i just dont think i am a fan of this type of beer. it pours thick and black, non-transparent with a slight creamy brown head. much busyness in the aroma. smoke, chocolate, coffee, and nuts. and flavor much the same. get an initial sweetness, then aggressivly bitter coffee and a bold smokey aftertaste. the beer had a thick creamy texture, almost like a milkshake thats melting. once again, not my cup of tea. but, for those who like stouts, might be worth your time. just not a favorite of mine.. 5 out of 10.

this was my first time to get 2 beers that i didnt really care for. i certainly wouldnt call them bad, just not the type of flavors i prefer. both were a little too bold for me, and seemed too busy with flavors. and the pale ale's have that bitter dryness at the end that give me 'beer face'. i hope to get some more later in the week and hope for the best.

bigjohn

Excellent descriptions as always, bigjohn.

Those are both very highly hopped beers. I suspect it is not only the quantity but also the variety of hops that you don't care for. Cascade / Chinook / Columbus varieties impart a particularly grapefruity or citrusy flavor that some people just don't love.

As for the Rogue, I love it. You should have tried it as an accompaniment to some nice vanilla ice cream.

For my own part, I had a Unibroue Edition 2004 on Sunday. I will tell you in all seriousness that it completely saved my weekend. Expensive and worth every penny.

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some nice vanilla ice cream

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see... i would NEVER think to pair those together.

i was kinda cautious to speak badly of these beers, cause i have heard people say nothing but good things about them, which is why i tried them in the forst place.. but for me, there overall flavor and balance are not appealing to my palate. i tend to prefer beers that have a strong flavor, but headed in one direction. when i get the beers that have layers and layers of bold flavors fighting each other for space, i tend to find them too busy, and dont like the conclusion.

i might try the ice cream thing sometime.. just no time soon..

bigjohn

bigjohn, as Tom indicated I'm betting you don't like the citrusy hops in so many west coast ales. I don't either. I wouldn't write off all "pale ales" though. How about Bass? Not really "pale" but the bottle says it is.

Tom, hate to disappoint you, but I just installed a 15.5 gal keg of Dos Equis Lager in the kegerator. It will likely still be there by the time you visit. In my defense, we had some hot weather for a while and it seemed an economical and refreshing choice.

Tom's visiting SoCal? Dos Equis isn't half bad.

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Dos Equis isn't half bad

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Blasphemer!!! actually, thats not that bad...the last beer i had in my fridge was Michelob Ultra. hey, i had a lot of yardwork to do that day and it was really hot!


...i need help.

The last beer I had (almost 8 days ago!) was a Westmalle Trippel, made by some Trappist monks in Belgium. Actually, the monks at Westmalle coined the terms dubbel and trippel.

I think Dos Equis on draught is the best Vienna Lager in North America. Honest. I find the bottled version to be uniformly stale and lifeless, but oooh baby, give me that live one any day.

Yes, Peter, I will have a brief sojourn to Surfin, USA next month. Primarily business, but the opportunity to beer with bigwill is clearly the main draw; I don't willingly get on airplanes without extreme reward. I'll also be taking in a Padres game with my brothers-in-law. With luck, perhaps I'll also taste some offerings from the San Marcos and Karl Strauss breweries.

Any chance your trip overlaps with mine? I'll be working in the area the last week of June.