Beer

[Canadouche]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

[Oleg]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

[Bort]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

For me, the Woodchuck comment sealed the deal.

[Canadouche]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

For me, the Woodchuck comment sealed the deal.

You don't like carbonated hard cider?

[Bort]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

For me, the Woodchuck comment sealed the deal.

You don't like carbonated hard cider?

I don't like alcoholic sugar water.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

For me, the Woodchuck comment sealed the deal.

Even I think Woodchuck is terrible.

[PenPho]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

For me, the Woodchuck comment sealed the deal.

Even I think Woodchuck is terrible.

But the Mike's Hard Raspberry Lemonade?
GAME ON.

[Richard Chuggar]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

HAHA.  Kurt likes to molest small children and can't drink beer b/c he's a faggity fag.  CHILD MOLESTOR!!!!

[Canadouche]

Beer is for phags.  Real men drink whiskey.

(I like Smirnoff Ice the most)

Really glad you found this thread so you can make quality contributions.

There's already a thread for that.  Try to keep on topic, internet noob.

At my college there were a few microbreweries that people seemed to love, but I've never been able to stomach the taste of beer.  They had some pretty great woodchuck, however. 

This is the least surprising thing I've read all day.

For me, the Woodchuck comment sealed the deal.

Even I think Woodchuck is terrible.

But the Mike's Hard Raspberry Lemonade?
GAME ON.

Mike's Hard Raspberry Lemonade: the gateway into PenPho's vagina.  

[J. Walter Weatherman]

This thread is perilously close to being moved to the dead pool.

Anyone ever had a Westvleteren 12?

I haven't.

So, on the 4th of July, I found myself in a conversation with some beer douche at a party I was at. (Incidentally, we'd started talking after trying some fruity barrel-aged eurobeer someone else had brought and I was remarking on how cider-y it tasted. He assured me that it was just beer and that the cider flavor was thanks to the aging. Regardless, it was fruity and IAN would probably love it.)

Gathering that he was the kind of douche to trade beers online and drink them only in beer-douche-approved glassware, I asked him about Westvleteren. Because that seems like the kind of thing to ask That Guy.

After correcting my pronunciation (seriously, douche... I'm drunk and pronounced the 'W' like an American... it's the 4th of July, let it go) he said something in passing that intrigued me: that the all-but-impossible-to-obtain Westvleteren 12 is identical to the commercially-available non-Trappist St. Bernardus 12.

Turns out this is not quite 100% true, but it's in the ballpark.

But I'll let the internet tell the rest...

http://52brews.com/blog/st-bernardus-abt-12.html

[In] 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of "Trappist" under contract from 1946 until 1992...

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year.

Today it brews beers with no monastic influence...but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven't changed since 1946. Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew.

http://www.classiccitybrew.com/west.html

In the 1940's the abbey gave permission for its monastic name to be used by a small brewery nearby. The beers from this secular brewery were known simply as St. Sixtus and the brewery itself as St. Bernardus. In recent years this agreement has ended, but the St. Bernardus brewery is still cranking out beers that are similar to those of Westvleteren, but not nearly identical. The St. Sixtus abbey and St. Bernardus brewery use different strains of yeast, and as a result their beers have differing flavor profiles.

http://www.hamburgercalculus.com/blog/?p=322

The representative from the brewery (not the brewer, unfortunately) cleared up a few things about St. Bernardus' history. It was started in 1946 by a cheesemaker who was working with the St. Sixtus monks to commercialize their beer. At that point, the monk brewmasters shared their recipes and help develop the manufacturing of beer at this site. The monastery and St. Bernardus brewery are about 20km away from each other, so their water supplies are slightly different. So, even in 1946 with the same starting recipes, there were still very subtle differences based on the water supply.

So: historically linked and very similar, but not quite identical.

But also: more readily available, more affordable, and apparently pretty good by its own merits.

[PenPho]

This thread is perilously close to being moved to the dead pool.

Anyone ever had a Westvleteren 12?

I haven't.

So, on the 4th of July, I found myself in a conversation with some beer douche at a party I was at. (Incidentally, we'd started talking after trying some fruity barrel-aged eurobeer someone else had brought and I was remarking on how cider-y it tasted. He assured me that it was just beer and that the cider flavor was thanks to the aging. Regardless, it was fruity and IAN would probably love it.)

Gathering that he was the kind of douche to trade beers online and drink them only in beer-douche-approved glassware, I asked him about Westvleteren. Because that seems like the kind of thing to ask That Guy.

After correcting my pronunciation (seriously, douche... I'm drunk and pronounced the 'W' like an American... it's the 4th of July, let it go) he said something in passing that intrigued me: that the all-but-impossible-to-obtain Westvleteren 12 is identical to the commercially-available non-Trappist St. Bernardus 12.

Turns out this is not quite 100% true, but it's in the ballpark.

But I'll let the internet tell the rest...

http://52brews.com/blog/st-bernardus-abt-12.html

[In] 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of "Trappist" under contract from 1946 until 1992...

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year.

Today it brews beers with no monastic influence...but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven't changed since 1946. Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew.

http://www.classiccitybrew.com/west.html

In the 1940's the abbey gave permission for its monastic name to be used by a small brewery nearby. The beers from this secular brewery were known simply as St. Sixtus and the brewery itself as St. Bernardus. In recent years this agreement has ended, but the St. Bernardus brewery is still cranking out beers that are similar to those of Westvleteren, but not nearly identical. The St. Sixtus abbey and St. Bernardus brewery use different strains of yeast, and as a result their beers have differing flavor profiles.

http://www.hamburgercalculus.com/blog/?p=322

The representative from the brewery (not the brewer, unfortunately) cleared up a few things about St. Bernardus' history. It was started in 1946 by a cheesemaker who was working with the St. Sixtus monks to commercialize their beer. At that point, the monk brewmasters shared their recipes and help develop the manufacturing of beer at this site. The monastery and St. Bernardus brewery are about 20km away from each other, so their water supplies are slightly different. So, even in 1946 with the same starting recipes, there were still very subtle differences based on the water supply.

So: historically linked and very similar, but not quite identical.

But also: more readily available, more affordable, and apparently pretty good by its own merits.

But it's not the #1 ranked beer in the entire world.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

This thread is perilously close to being moved to the dead pool.

Anyone ever had a Westvleteren 12?

I haven't.

So, on the 4th of July, I found myself in a conversation with some beer douche at a party I was at. (Incidentally, we'd started talking after trying some fruity barrel-aged eurobeer someone else had brought and I was remarking on how cider-y it tasted. He assured me that it was just beer and that the cider flavor was thanks to the aging. Regardless, it was fruity and IAN would probably love it.)

Gathering that he was the kind of douche to trade beers online and drink them only in beer-douche-approved glassware, I asked him about Westvleteren. Because that seems like the kind of thing to ask That Guy.

After correcting my pronunciation (seriously, douche... I'm drunk and pronounced the 'W' like an American... it's the 4th of July, let it go) he said something in passing that intrigued me: that the all-but-impossible-to-obtain Westvleteren 12 is identical to the commercially-available non-Trappist St. Bernardus 12.

Turns out this is not quite 100% true, but it's in the ballpark.

But I'll let the internet tell the rest...

http://52brews.com/blog/st-bernardus-abt-12.html

[In] 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of "Trappist" under contract from 1946 until 1992...

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year.

Today it brews beers with no monastic influence...but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven't changed since 1946. Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew.

http://www.classiccitybrew.com/west.html

In the 1940's the abbey gave permission for its monastic name to be used by a small brewery nearby. The beers from this secular brewery were known simply as St. Sixtus and the brewery itself as St. Bernardus. In recent years this agreement has ended, but the St. Bernardus brewery is still cranking out beers that are similar to those of Westvleteren, but not nearly identical. The St. Sixtus abbey and St. Bernardus brewery use different strains of yeast, and as a result their beers have differing flavor profiles.

http://www.hamburgercalculus.com/blog/?p=322

The representative from the brewery (not the brewer, unfortunately) cleared up a few things about St. Bernardus' history. It was started in 1946 by a cheesemaker who was working with the St. Sixtus monks to commercialize their beer. At that point, the monk brewmasters shared their recipes and help develop the manufacturing of beer at this site. The monastery and St. Bernardus brewery are about 20km away from each other, so their water supplies are slightly different. So, even in 1946 with the same starting recipes, there were still very subtle differences based on the water supply.

So: historically linked and very similar, but not quite identical.

But also: more readily available, more affordable, and apparently pretty good by its own merits.

But it's not the #1 ranked beer in the entire world.

I do find it suspicious that those snobs just happen to rank one of the hardest to obtain beers in the world number 1 overall.

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[Bort]

This thread is perilously close to being moved to the dead pool.

Anyone ever had a Westvleteren 12?

I haven't.

So, on the 4th of July, I found myself in a conversation with some beer douche at a party I was at. (Incidentally, we'd started talking after trying some fruity barrel-aged eurobeer someone else had brought and I was remarking on how cider-y it tasted. He assured me that it was just beer and that the cider flavor was thanks to the aging. Regardless, it was fruity and IAN would probably love it.)

Gathering that he was the kind of douche to trade beers online and drink them only in beer-douche-approved glassware, I asked him about Westvleteren. Because that seems like the kind of thing to ask That Guy.

After correcting my pronunciation (seriously, douche... I'm drunk and pronounced the 'W' like an American... it's the 4th of July, let it go) he said something in passing that intrigued me: that the all-but-impossible-to-obtain Westvleteren 12 is identical to the commercially-available non-Trappist St. Bernardus 12.

Turns out this is not quite 100% true, but it's in the ballpark.

But I'll let the internet tell the rest...

http://52brews.com/blog/st-bernardus-abt-12.html

[In] 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of "Trappist" under contract from 1946 until 1992...

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year.

Today it brews beers with no monastic influence...but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven't changed since 1946. Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew.

http://www.classiccitybrew.com/west.html

In the 1940's the abbey gave permission for its monastic name to be used by a small brewery nearby. The beers from this secular brewery were known simply as St. Sixtus and the brewery itself as St. Bernardus. In recent years this agreement has ended, but the St. Bernardus brewery is still cranking out beers that are similar to those of Westvleteren, but not nearly identical. The St. Sixtus abbey and St. Bernardus brewery use different strains of yeast, and as a result their beers have differing flavor profiles.

http://www.hamburgercalculus.com/blog/?p=322

The representative from the brewery (not the brewer, unfortunately) cleared up a few things about St. Bernardus' history. It was started in 1946 by a cheesemaker who was working with the St. Sixtus monks to commercialize their beer. At that point, the monk brewmasters shared their recipes and help develop the manufacturing of beer at this site. The monastery and St. Bernardus brewery are about 20km away from each other, so their water supplies are slightly different. So, even in 1946 with the same starting recipes, there were still very subtle differences based on the water supply.

So: historically linked and very similar, but not quite identical.

But also: more readily available, more affordable, and apparently pretty good by its own merits.

But it's not the #1 ranked beer in the entire world.

I do find it suspicious that those snobs just happen to rank one of the hardest to obtain beers in the world number 1 overall.

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

[PenPho]

This thread is perilously close to being moved to the dead pool.

Anyone ever had a Westvleteren 12?

I haven't.

So, on the 4th of July, I found myself in a conversation with some beer douche at a party I was at. (Incidentally, we'd started talking after trying some fruity barrel-aged eurobeer someone else had brought and I was remarking on how cider-y it tasted. He assured me that it was just beer and that the cider flavor was thanks to the aging. Regardless, it was fruity and IAN would probably love it.)

Gathering that he was the kind of douche to trade beers online and drink them only in beer-douche-approved glassware, I asked him about Westvleteren. Because that seems like the kind of thing to ask That Guy.

After correcting my pronunciation (seriously, douche... I'm drunk and pronounced the 'W' like an American... it's the 4th of July, let it go) he said something in passing that intrigued me: that the all-but-impossible-to-obtain Westvleteren 12 is identical to the commercially-available non-Trappist St. Bernardus 12.

Turns out this is not quite 100% true, but it's in the ballpark.

But I'll let the internet tell the rest...

http://52brews.com/blog/st-bernardus-abt-12.html

[In] 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of "Trappist" under contract from 1946 until 1992...

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year.

Today it brews beers with no monastic influence...but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven't changed since 1946. Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew.

http://www.classiccitybrew.com/west.html

In the 1940's the abbey gave permission for its monastic name to be used by a small brewery nearby. The beers from this secular brewery were known simply as St. Sixtus and the brewery itself as St. Bernardus. In recent years this agreement has ended, but the St. Bernardus brewery is still cranking out beers that are similar to those of Westvleteren, but not nearly identical. The St. Sixtus abbey and St. Bernardus brewery use different strains of yeast, and as a result their beers have differing flavor profiles.

http://www.hamburgercalculus.com/blog/?p=322

The representative from the brewery (not the brewer, unfortunately) cleared up a few things about St. Bernardus' history. It was started in 1946 by a cheesemaker who was working with the St. Sixtus monks to commercialize their beer. At that point, the monk brewmasters shared their recipes and help develop the manufacturing of beer at this site. The monastery and St. Bernardus brewery are about 20km away from each other, so their water supplies are slightly different. So, even in 1946 with the same starting recipes, there were still very subtle differences based on the water supply.

So: historically linked and very similar, but not quite identical.

But also: more readily available, more affordable, and apparently pretty good by its own merits.

But it's not the #1 ranked beer in the entire world.

I do find it suspicious that those snobs just happen to rank one of the hardest to obtain beers in the world number 1 overall.

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

I've actually seen some meta-talk about this, essentially admitting that many of them will rank harder to find beers higher.

I think I mentioned this in the SBox, but I started a very long-term, not very serious quest to try the top 100 American beers on that site.  To put in perspective, I have a really, really good beer store by me and they have 6 of them in stock.  

[BH]

I've actually seen some meta-talk about this, essentially admitting that many of them will rank harder to find beers higher.

I think I mentioned this in the SBox, but I started a very long-term, not very serious quest to try the top 100 American beers on that site.  To put in perspective, I have a really, really good beer store by me and they have 6 of them in stock.  

That's because most small places don't send their beer all over the country.