Beer!

I drank beer with dinner today!

I never do that!

My husband's allergic, can't drink beer or wine. We've been together for 16 years so I pretty much never have beer or wine. We bought a six-pack for a party this weekend but none of the guests wanted it (we also served gin + tonic and wine), so I have a six pack to work through. Had kielbasa and sauerkraut and beans (and fruit salad) and it was very nice. (Some sort of European brand, I don't remember the name though.)

[quote="Shirakawasuna"]Cool! Wie geht's? [/quote]

Ganz prima!



I drink it for two reasons:

1. I like it!
2. It's local and I don't see why I should not support the local goods, where possible.

In the States Cider is more common than in Germany, so I will probably drink more of that over there!

I consider it a crime when establishments serve warm to barely chilled beer. The taste of beer, for me, is at its peek, when it's ice cold. Some beers that I've sampled at warmer temperatures I initially didn't care for, until I had it colder. Leinkeugel, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Achillians Red, are all lighter ales I enjoy, which are best served fresh and cold.
Another topic: Has anybody ever used one of those beer-can chicken aparatuses? If yes, did the beer really make a difference? Taste, moistness?

[quote="alex240101"]Another topic: Has anybody ever used one of those beer-can chicken aparatuses? If yes, did the beer really make a difference? Taste, moistness?[/quote]

Actually, I have, just recently.
The chicken took quite a while to cook, but it was very nice.
Not dried up as poultry sometimes is.

I could not have detected the beer tase, but others said they did.

I highly recommend to you Stella Artois. I am not absolutely sure that there is Stella Artois in the US but if there is try it.

Calling all Texans. Go try Shiner Commemorator. Wow.

Swilling Sierra Nevada Pale Ale right now. Started drinking it as a teenager when they were making their name in California, and kegs could be got for the same price as **** beer. Has been a favorite ever since.

My taste in most else has evolved over the last couple of decades, but I still get a belly boner for a well-made mission burrito (not to be found where I live, sadly) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Mmmmmmm.............




And, come to think of it, I'm willing to back and even expand on Wy's objection to the characterization of "American beer" as piss. Even very, very large brands like Sierra Nevada and Samuel Adams have maintained high quality as they've grown and I think have to be included among the main body of "American beer" rather than mentioned as regional exceptions ('cuz they're sold and drunk everywhere. The new school of brewing has survived corporatization.


Still, I'm sad for what we lost to Prohibition. All of those regional breweries going under. How many great, unique local varieties died out for every Anchor Brewery that survived?

Hard cider is an old tradition that Americans had adopted as their own since the whisky rebellion and even before. The apples used for cider are not those that one would think of as "tasty". Ive found overgrown cider orchards in the deep woods of Maine, where these orchards had been left to ruin and were overtaken by the returning forests. The typical cider apple is highly astringent and many are almost like crispy persimmons. These fruits were crushed and cidered by adding various types of sugars including honey into the pulp. It was then developed in a process that was almost a champagnois , except it was done in barrels . The cider availablity in the US is rather small now but it is growing very fats as some brewers attempt to recapture the heritage that made this uniquely AMerican libation.


As far a AMerican beers being piss, there are several European and JApanese beers that are piss also. MAny of the heavy brew beers are more or less a meal not a refreshment. Heavy , these beers are acquired tastes and I usually avoid em after a teeny glass. I find many of the flavors objectionable.

Hardly ever drink beer, but it's great during the extremely hot summer months. Chilled to the nth degree!
This one's my favourite, with Coopers (from SA) a very close second! Cascade (from Tasmania) is a good, clean taste on a stinking hot day, too. (I just know that other Oz folk will come along & dispute my choices! Some prefer more the "heavy" beers. These are lighter.)

I hope the cider here does make a comeback. Might curtail the missus's wine budget somewhat.

I hope the cider here does make a comeback. Might curtail the missus's wine budget somewhat.

I tasted the hard cider that ws supposedly made in the old US style. It tasted more like a brut sparkling wine than a brew. They can control the amounts of alcohol froma beery level of 3-6% all the way to a Burgundy level of 13-16%.
Like beer it mostly depends on the sugars and motly, the temp of fermentation (the lower the temp the higher the alcohol)

For future reference: when in Portland, check out Laurelwood Beers/I], a local brewery specializing in hippyish organic products. I liked them a lot. My favorite was the Tree Hugger Porter. But their IPA is very easy on the tounge, too.

Portland Pa. Texas, Tenn, Michigan, MAine?

OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
oregon

Correct. Portland, OR.

You mentioned hippies and ales. It's a dead giveaway.