Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
What kinds of beer (or wine) do you like and do you have a glass while working on your stamps?
Personally, I like craft beers, although I realize that's a catch-all phrase. The past few years have been very interesting, hundreds of new breweries popping up all over the world. Let's try to be more specific. I like IPA's and the typical Belgian abbey ales ("Trappist"). I realize there is a huge difference between these styles. One is bitter, the other more sweet. What I do not like is beers that have all kinds of exotic (fruity) additives, and I am not that keen on wild fermentation sour ales as well, with one exception: Gose, which is something I recently discovered during my stay in Canada. Slightly sour and salty, very strange but nice. Speaking of which, I was impressed by the huge variety of mostly local beers available over there. I could not taste them all in just two weeks, but I have not tasted a local Canadian (craft) beer I did not like.
A beershop in Victoria, BC. Almost heaven
it's not really a habit, but I must say that it's very nice to be working/playing with the stamps in the evening and have a cold beer at hand, especially during the current heat wave. Either a Dutch or German lager (Grolsch or Warsteiner for instance) or something more special and exotic :-) I could make a list, but only if there is a demand for it.
I find a beer on the side enhances the calming effect of stamps after a long and busy day.
So what do you like to drink while stamping (tea is okay too of course!)
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It seems the only beers I particularly enjoy are wheat beers.
I primarily prefer red wines, though I do very much like the lightly sweet and fruity wines of the Moselle region of Germany.
I also make mean home-made sangria from time to time.
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Good show, Jan!
I find I am in virtual lock-step with your tastes in beer. My stand-by IPA is Goose Island, brewed in Chicago, I think.
When I walk into an unfamiliar bar, my first move is to scan the tap handles for an IPA.
While deployed in Los Angeles last month, I got absolutely hooked on Modelo Negra. On tap, it is ambrosia.
-Paul
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We can get Goose island here in the Netherlands too. Probably because the brand is owned by AB Inbev. I do not have clear favorites when it comes to IPA. So many brands nowadays! I like some Dutch made IPAs like Jopen and Brand (big brewer take on the hype but still pretty good) and although it is not fashionable anymore to admit it I kind of like Brewdog too. Some time ago I had one from Anderson Valley (Californian) and Samuel Adams and the latest was Meantime from the UK.
When I visited the states a few years ago I saw one of these Dos Equis commercials with the most interesting man in the world. Hilarious. The commercial worked: I tried the beer but found it disappointing. Rather bland traditional American lager... we have ways of describing such beer that I shall not repeat here 
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By the way, I have worked for a company that makes beer kegs for almost 5 years and got to taste a lot of special beers in a "professional" capacity. 
Those were the days...
We had a lot of American customers. Mostly newcomers in the market but also established breweries like Brooklyn Brewery.
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The Dos Equis man!
"Stay thirsty, my friend."
A cult hero.
Funny story: I had a classmate in a 2-week training course who looked EXACTLY like him. And, he took on the role for the benefit of the rest of the class. So much fun!
-P
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I'll constrain my comments to beers for now, since that seems to be the flow.
Jan-Simon started with Trappist-style Belgian beers, and it's tough to do better than that, although I also fancy stouts and porters. Yeungling, which is not the sole American brewer, but its oldest continuously brewing one, makes a decent black and tan at Budweiser prices. The traditional mass-market American-style beers (even if they've returned to ownership of their namesake continents) do absolutely nothing for me (like drinking metal filings).
There ARE hundreds of emerging micro breweries in the States, and it's a sodden fool's errand to try them all, but probably easier than threading the camel through the eye of the needle, and armed with said camel's physique, made slightly more possible.
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The craft beer movement was slow to get going here. I'll say that it didn't hit full swing here until the past 10 or so years. I was a little reluctant to get on board but now I really enjoy some of the bolder draught beers. On a really hot day though I still enjoy and ice cold bud light. Very refreshing. Especially with a wedge of lime.
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Hi Everyone;
I have very little knowledge about beers, I just like to enjoy one or two when I'm relaxing or outdoors with a campfire, roasting meat on an open fire. My favorites when I can find them in this tiny hamlet of Baldwin, are Beck's, and St. Pauli Girl Lager.
When I'm unable to find those, I'll settle for a Pabst Blue Ribbon, or any good German wine, nicely chilled. Piesporter Michelsberg, or Mosel Blumchen do just fine.
However, any beverage that I enjoy while stamping, is always keep on a surface one foot lower than my stamp sorting surface. I learned that the hard way, with red wine on by Great Britain album. It was a very small spill, and has faded a good bit since then. It is still visible just enough to keep me from making that mistake again.
Still just sortin'....
TuskenRaider
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@David: I do not really fancy those very dark beers like stout and porter. As far as the Trappist beers go: until a few years ago it was very easy, there were six abbey breweries making official Trappist beers. 5 in Belgium and 1 in the Netherlands but somehow the news reached the other Trappist monasteries that there was a lot of money to be made brewing beer, so a lot of new breweries came up like mushrooms and now there are 12: 6 in Belgium, 2 in the Netherlands, 1 in Austria, 1 in the USA, 1 in Italy and 1 in the UK. I have not been able to find the new ones yet, except for the one from Zundert, the Netherlands. It was okay, but not really exceptional.
the whole trappist beer thing has turned into a marketing hype because in many cases it is only brewed on the premises of the abbey and officially under the auspices of the abbot. In practice it is mostly a brewery run by professionals. The La Trappe brewery for instance is de facto run by the large Bavaria brewery.
But still, it is good stuff. I am still very curious about the beers made by the American Saint Joseph's Abbey, the Spencer trappists. They even have a trappist IPA! And for you David, also a Trappist Imperial stout :-) Imported beers from the USA are often very expensive, but I will keep searching...
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I didn't drink beer until I was at University in the mid-70s. I would steal some of my dad's "Hey Mabel..." (Black Label) and Red Cap when I was home. Iconic brew and those great stubby bottles!
After a while he started to buy some mint-flavored light beer, knowing I would not drink them under any circumstances (and suspect he didn't either).
Like everyone (I suppose), I tried tons of different beers through the 70s-90s (going through the ever-changing trendy versions like Kokanee, Corona, Heineken, Brador, Sapporo...) before settling on Upper Canada (our arguably first "craft beer") then Sleeman's Cream Ale and Mill Street Stock Ale, until my fabulous drinking career hit a brick wall four years ago.
I hated the standard Canadian beers (like Molson "X", Labatt Blue, 50, etc) and American beer was too watery and tasteless. {Please, American Patriots - I am referring to beer, not your great country, so no flame wars I beg you!}
My current go-to beer are the 0.0% Heineken and Becks (excellent and super low calories) and the 0.0% Budweiser Prohibition (double the calories but nicely reminiscent of Sapporo, using rice as a major ingredient). Extremely hard to tell these have no alcohol! More Canadian pubs and restaurants are carrying these lately. Are they available in the US?
Around 36C today so I think a poolside frosty "fake-beer" will be appropriate!
Cheers! Dave.
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I gave up drinking many years ago. Decided it was more fun watching the drunks than being one of them. Besides, The blackmale material with my co-workers was Awesome.
That slowly evolved into becoming a designated driver. That got me free sodas at the bars.
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Red wine for me. I try any and all from the supermarket, and find that you get what you pay for. I have a glass with my dinner - these days I favour a shiraz/syrah, but for a long time I enjoyed a Spanish rioja, probably because we used to holiday in Menorca. I am by no means a connoisseur, and indeed harbour suspicions about those who claim to be. (Sometimes I wonder if the same cannot be said about stamp-collecting...)
I have occasionally placed a full glass on the same desk as my stamps, but I wouldn't recommend it - one day you'll knock it over and dreadful things will ensue!
I was never much of a beer drinker, but in hot weather such as we have been having lately I enjoy a 330ml can of Heineken from a six-pack in the fridge. Trouble is, that size of can is less easy to find these days. The more common size (450ml, I think) simply contains too much (a) for my beer mug, and (b) for my bladder!
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As mentioned in the last thread, we have the local beer Yuengling, the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, established in 1829. It is one of the largest breweries by volume in the country. Based on volume sold in 2016, Yuengling was the top craft beer company in the U.S.
Coming from a Germany heritage I have a beer with my dinner every evening. So Yuengling Lager has become our table beer. The brewery is about an hour and a half from me, and we keep saying we're going for the tour. One of these days!
I do like to drink the Yeungling Lagers out in the pool, probably this afternoon! While I do like to taste and drink other beers, I find beers like Sam Adams will put me to sleep. Nothing like dozing off after two beers on Christmas day.
I also like the Brooklyn beers. Their brown ale is very nice, and each year I look forward to the Christmas time offering of Chocolate Stout.
I like going to local brew pubs, where the beers are made on site, and can be bought by the growler. In Woodbridge, NJ our favorite is JJ Bittings, which is in an old train station building, with all the character. My wife will drink their Victoria Ale, and I'll sample the ever changing roster. Their ribs are to die for!
In Wildwood, NJ this year the Mudhen Brewery opened up. Brand new with garden seating, it's architecturally interesting. Their beers were also nice, plus the waiter asked me to sample one that was nitro infused, which made it the smoothest dark beer I'd ever tasted.
There are probably a dozen or more beers out in my garage refrigerator, some I bought, while others were left overs from parties and holidays. I'll let guests choose from this selection.
And one last thought... has anyone tasted a Zima? Back in the 1980s I did business with a software house in Denver. Every trip I'd pass through the Coors Brewery for the tour and sampling. The thing about Coors when they were family owned is that they were always very environmentally conscious and everything was recycled or otherwise reused.
For instance their left over mash was pelletized and sold as animal feed. Their surplus process steam went to the adjacent Colorado School of Mines, as their main heating source. And they used all recycled glass and aluminum. So on this trip, when we got to the tasting room, they had a new product idea they wanted opinion on. It was called "Zima" and it was a biproduct of the brewing process, a boiled off hops product that had alcohol content. It kinda tasted like a gin and tonic so when it came to market I would buy it. I'd buy a case for summer vacation since it was a light alternative to a beer.
I lost track of Zima and realized it wasn't sold anymore. That was until last summer. They now make a summer run of the product. When I saw it this spring, I grabbed 2 cases. I probably still have a case and a half!
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Locally, here in Central Ontario, we're getting spoiled for choice, with local micro-brews springing up all over.
However, since last visit to my relatives in Germany (a decade ago, now) my summer go to has been the Radler - part beer, part juice/soda. I used to have to wait until the local Belgian restaurant brought in Steigl's version once a year, but it's finally caught on here. Waterloo Brewing has several excellent versions.
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Maybe we could get Ian (Brechinite) to send us a few bottles off this list, even if it is a bit old.
http://www.swipes.co.uk/beerlist.cgi?sort=Strength&o=a
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The list is quite substantial. Hic Hic Hic!
You see I have already, buurrrp! started working, buuurrp, my way through it. Hic Hic Hic.
Buurrp! There are very few Scottish, Hic Hic, breweries on the list which I am slowly working my way through, buurrp!
Who is daddy's best Friend, buurrp. You naughty dog Dino, Everybody loves somebody some time, Li'le Ole Winedrinker me, Hic Hic buurrp, ZZZzzzzzz
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Tom writes about a "nitro-infused" beer that he tasted at the Mudhen Brewery. It is interesting (to me, at least) that nitrogen is the gas that must be used to whip cream in one of those reusable dispenser thingies. The reason for that is that CO2 adds a sharpness to the flavor of the cream that is undesirable.
I presume that nitrogen has the same effect on the taste of beer as it does on whipped cream, a "smoothing" effect.
And, lemaven writes about stubby bottles. Back when I just turned legal, Schmidt brewery, in St. Paul, (not Philadelphia's Schmidt's) sold their beer in what they called the Big Mouth bottle. It was a stubby bottle, but with a neck about 3X as wide as a standard bottle cap. Man, you could slam those beers!
Later, Heileman bought out Schmidt, and continued a similar Big Mouth!
-Paul
PS, I just noticed that the Heileman bottle label has the word "STRONG" in the upper left hand corner. Back in the day, that was code for 6% alcohol, as opposed to the standard 3.2%. I think I remember correctly that you could not buy STRONG beer in Iowa, you had to go to Minnesota to get it.
PPS, And, for the record, Heileman's Special Export is my all-time favorite beer, but it's just a memory from the past, anymore...sigh...
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For English ales, I used to like this, but can't get it anymore in Virginia:
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Now I have to "live" with this (among others):
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Gee whiz, I'm thirsty...
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Hey, it's a beer cover!:
-Paul
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that's a cool cover. Looking at the cancellation, it was sent just before the name of the brewery was changed to Heineken (who had been the owner of the Nederlandsch-Indische Bierbrouwerijen (Dutch East Indies Beer Breweries) for some time already). Due to the logo on the label it was called "bintang beer" locally (bintang = star). After Indonesia became independent the brewery was nationalized, but now it is back in the possession of Heineken, still brewing Bintang beer.
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Hungary For Stamps--- The Old Peculiar brand was available west of the Blue Ridge in the central Shenandoah Valley as lately as 2 years ago when I sold my store and retired. I carried it for a customer who requested it. I haven't kept up so I don't know if it is still here. They had 5 or 6 different brews.
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I am in southwest Virginia along Blue Ridge Parkway often and the name is familiar but do not know where I saw it.
There are a couple of wineries along the BRP north of Meadows of Dan.
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"Hungary For Stamps--- The Old Peculiar brand was available west of the Blue Ridge in the central Shenandoah Valley as lately as 2 years ago when I sold my store and retired. I carried it for a customer who requested it. I haven't kept up so I don't know if it is still here. They had 5 or 6 different brews."
Thanks. Its good to know its available somewhere recently. So there is hope. I will have to look harder. On my honeymoon in London my wife and I found a pub where this was their "local" and we really enjoyed it, of course draft is always going to be better than imported bottles. Then I started buying it in bottles when we got back to the states.
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While in Canada I was introduced to Hudsons Bay Over Proof Rum.
The best paint stripper known to mankind!!!
Once drunk, all you had to do was breathe on a door and the paint started to peel off!!!
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When I first was old enough to drink this was one of my staples. I think it was $4 a bottle at the time.
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"Due to the logo on the label it was called "bintang beer" locally (bintang = star). After Indonesia became independent the brewery was nationalized, but now it is back in the possession of Heineken, still brewing Bintang beer. "
Jansimon:
When I was in Indonesia in 2015, I brought back Bir Bintang for friends. I don't drink, but now I know it is Heineken! (Bir is Indonesian for Beer)
Cool!
David G
Ottawa, Canada
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Heineken has a few global brands (first and foremost "Heineken" of course) and over 250 local brands. One of these is Bintang.
Here you can see clearly they are related
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Ian:
The best paint stripper in the world was my father's childhood friend's homemade grappa. My dad brought a bottle back with him on his final trip to Italy in the early 2000s. How he got it past customs I will never know, because it broke ALL the rules. True fire water!
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In order to buy more stamps I have changed to a "cheaper" beer!
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Ha! Back in the day when the Pathmark supermarkets were around, they had their own store brand of products, "No Frills" in a white package with a red and white stripe. Yes, they had beer! My friend bought some as a joke once, awful!
And a lot of the "collector" cans of the 1980s came from the Hammonton Brewing Company of Hammonton, New Jersey. Most people poked holes in the bottom of the can and drained it out to save the cans, and again it was awful!
Same brewery sold a brand called Canadian Ace.. it came in a 64 ounce plastic bottle, like Coke comes in. Same awful beer!
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There is a whole Generic brand line of products in the late 70's in white cans when inflation was a big concern. I do remember drinking some of the beer. It was the usual American beer - not that good. Schiltz Malt Liquor in the quart bottles had a strange taste.
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Old Perculier ( note the spelling) and Sam Smiths are Yorkshire brews.
The reason you might not be able to get Theakstons is that it used to be a family brewery, and then it got taken over by one of the chains ( Coors I think ), then it was sold back to the Theakston family, which is why distribution could be tricky now. In the meantime one of the Theakston family set up next door brewing "Black Sheep" beer ( clever eh? ).
Northern beer is somewhat more "bitter" than Southern beer although all is technically called bitter. Craft beer is what we older types call "Real Ale"- the draught of which is cask conditioned rather than the more sterile variety. However real ale ( in common usage ) tends to exclude lager-type beer ( otherwise known to hard-drinking northerners as "girly beer" ), although technically some lagers are real ale. The best real ales are made using spring water, and the water properties in the various regions do affect the taste. Many years ago Real Ale was almost extinct as the small commercial breweries were taken over by the big groups whose beers ranged from indifferent to absolutely vile ( remember Watneys Draught Red Barrel. and Brew XI anyone ! ) A pressure group was set up known as the Campaign for Real Ale and the breweries were persuaded to change their mind ( the fact that they were losing sales to the remaining independent breweries helped ).
Anyone visiting the UK should visit at least one "CAMRA" recommended pub and try the local "Bitter" ( "Heavy" in Scotland ). However don't drink anything with an ABV of more than 4.5% if driving - and stick to a half pint of anything - despite the propaganda a pint will almost certainly put you over the limit.
Malcolm
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Any one visiting Scotland BE WARNED:-
Our drink driving laws are the toughest in the UK.
The level at which you fail is HALF that of England and Wales.
"We know what is best for YOU". That is what is meant by Devolution!!!
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As a spin-off of the "Disappointed" thread, let's talk about beer and wine for a change.
What kinds of beer (or wine) do you like and do you have a glass while working on your stamps?
Personally, I like craft beers, although I realize that's a catch-all phrase. The past few years have been very interesting, hundreds of new breweries popping up all over the world. Let's try to be more specific. I like IPA's and the typical Belgian abbey ales ("Trappist"). I realize there is a huge difference between these styles. One is bitter, the other more sweet. What I do not like is beers that have all kinds of exotic (fruity) additives, and I am not that keen on wild fermentation sour ales as well, with one exception: Gose, which is something I recently discovered during my stay in Canada. Slightly sour and salty, very strange but nice. Speaking of which, I was impressed by the huge variety of mostly local beers available over there. I could not taste them all in just two weeks, but I have not tasted a local Canadian (craft) beer I did not like.
A beershop in Victoria, BC. Almost heaven
it's not really a habit, but I must say that it's very nice to be working/playing with the stamps in the evening and have a cold beer at hand, especially during the current heat wave. Either a Dutch or German lager (Grolsch or Warsteiner for instance) or something more special and exotic :-) I could make a list, but only if there is a demand for it.
I find a beer on the side enhances the calming effect of stamps after a long and busy day.
So what do you like to drink while stamping (tea is okay too of course!)
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re: The SOR Beer hall
It seems the only beers I particularly enjoy are wheat beers.
I primarily prefer red wines, though I do very much like the lightly sweet and fruity wines of the Moselle region of Germany.
I also make mean home-made sangria from time to time.
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12:38:26pm
re: The SOR Beer hall
Good show, Jan!
I find I am in virtual lock-step with your tastes in beer. My stand-by IPA is Goose Island, brewed in Chicago, I think.
When I walk into an unfamiliar bar, my first move is to scan the tap handles for an IPA.
While deployed in Los Angeles last month, I got absolutely hooked on Modelo Negra. On tap, it is ambrosia.
-Paul
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re: The SOR Beer hall
We can get Goose island here in the Netherlands too. Probably because the brand is owned by AB Inbev. I do not have clear favorites when it comes to IPA. So many brands nowadays! I like some Dutch made IPAs like Jopen and Brand (big brewer take on the hype but still pretty good) and although it is not fashionable anymore to admit it I kind of like Brewdog too. Some time ago I had one from Anderson Valley (Californian) and Samuel Adams and the latest was Meantime from the UK.
When I visited the states a few years ago I saw one of these Dos Equis commercials with the most interesting man in the world. Hilarious. The commercial worked: I tried the beer but found it disappointing. Rather bland traditional American lager... we have ways of describing such beer that I shall not repeat here
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re: The SOR Beer hall
By the way, I have worked for a company that makes beer kegs for almost 5 years and got to taste a lot of special beers in a "professional" capacity.
Those were the days...
We had a lot of American customers. Mostly newcomers in the market but also established breweries like Brooklyn Brewery.
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02:06:03pm
re: The SOR Beer hall
The Dos Equis man!
"Stay thirsty, my friend."
A cult hero.
Funny story: I had a classmate in a 2-week training course who looked EXACTLY like him. And, he took on the role for the benefit of the rest of the class. So much fun!
-P
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I'll constrain my comments to beers for now, since that seems to be the flow.
Jan-Simon started with Trappist-style Belgian beers, and it's tough to do better than that, although I also fancy stouts and porters. Yeungling, which is not the sole American brewer, but its oldest continuously brewing one, makes a decent black and tan at Budweiser prices. The traditional mass-market American-style beers (even if they've returned to ownership of their namesake continents) do absolutely nothing for me (like drinking metal filings).
There ARE hundreds of emerging micro breweries in the States, and it's a sodden fool's errand to try them all, but probably easier than threading the camel through the eye of the needle, and armed with said camel's physique, made slightly more possible.
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The craft beer movement was slow to get going here. I'll say that it didn't hit full swing here until the past 10 or so years. I was a little reluctant to get on board but now I really enjoy some of the bolder draught beers. On a really hot day though I still enjoy and ice cold bud light. Very refreshing. Especially with a wedge of lime.
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re: The SOR Beer hall
Hi Everyone;
I have very little knowledge about beers, I just like to enjoy one or two when I'm relaxing or outdoors with a campfire, roasting meat on an open fire. My favorites when I can find them in this tiny hamlet of Baldwin, are Beck's, and St. Pauli Girl Lager.
When I'm unable to find those, I'll settle for a Pabst Blue Ribbon, or any good German wine, nicely chilled. Piesporter Michelsberg, or Mosel Blumchen do just fine.
However, any beverage that I enjoy while stamping, is always keep on a surface one foot lower than my stamp sorting surface. I learned that the hard way, with red wine on by Great Britain album. It was a very small spill, and has faded a good bit since then. It is still visible just enough to keep me from making that mistake again.
Still just sortin'....
TuskenRaider
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re: The SOR Beer hall
@David: I do not really fancy those very dark beers like stout and porter. As far as the Trappist beers go: until a few years ago it was very easy, there were six abbey breweries making official Trappist beers. 5 in Belgium and 1 in the Netherlands but somehow the news reached the other Trappist monasteries that there was a lot of money to be made brewing beer, so a lot of new breweries came up like mushrooms and now there are 12: 6 in Belgium, 2 in the Netherlands, 1 in Austria, 1 in the USA, 1 in Italy and 1 in the UK. I have not been able to find the new ones yet, except for the one from Zundert, the Netherlands. It was okay, but not really exceptional.
the whole trappist beer thing has turned into a marketing hype because in many cases it is only brewed on the premises of the abbey and officially under the auspices of the abbot. In practice it is mostly a brewery run by professionals. The La Trappe brewery for instance is de facto run by the large Bavaria brewery.
But still, it is good stuff. I am still very curious about the beers made by the American Saint Joseph's Abbey, the Spencer trappists. They even have a trappist IPA! And for you David, also a Trappist Imperial stout :-) Imported beers from the USA are often very expensive, but I will keep searching...
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re: The SOR Beer hall
I didn't drink beer until I was at University in the mid-70s. I would steal some of my dad's "Hey Mabel..." (Black Label) and Red Cap when I was home. Iconic brew and those great stubby bottles!
After a while he started to buy some mint-flavored light beer, knowing I would not drink them under any circumstances (and suspect he didn't either).
Like everyone (I suppose), I tried tons of different beers through the 70s-90s (going through the ever-changing trendy versions like Kokanee, Corona, Heineken, Brador, Sapporo...) before settling on Upper Canada (our arguably first "craft beer") then Sleeman's Cream Ale and Mill Street Stock Ale, until my fabulous drinking career hit a brick wall four years ago.
I hated the standard Canadian beers (like Molson "X", Labatt Blue, 50, etc) and American beer was too watery and tasteless. {Please, American Patriots - I am referring to beer, not your great country, so no flame wars I beg you!}
My current go-to beer are the 0.0% Heineken and Becks (excellent and super low calories) and the 0.0% Budweiser Prohibition (double the calories but nicely reminiscent of Sapporo, using rice as a major ingredient). Extremely hard to tell these have no alcohol! More Canadian pubs and restaurants are carrying these lately. Are they available in the US?
Around 36C today so I think a poolside frosty "fake-beer" will be appropriate!
Cheers! Dave.
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I gave up drinking many years ago. Decided it was more fun watching the drunks than being one of them. Besides, The blackmale material with my co-workers was Awesome.
That slowly evolved into becoming a designated driver. That got me free sodas at the bars.
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re: The SOR Beer hall
Red wine for me. I try any and all from the supermarket, and find that you get what you pay for. I have a glass with my dinner - these days I favour a shiraz/syrah, but for a long time I enjoyed a Spanish rioja, probably because we used to holiday in Menorca. I am by no means a connoisseur, and indeed harbour suspicions about those who claim to be. (Sometimes I wonder if the same cannot be said about stamp-collecting...)
I have occasionally placed a full glass on the same desk as my stamps, but I wouldn't recommend it - one day you'll knock it over and dreadful things will ensue!
I was never much of a beer drinker, but in hot weather such as we have been having lately I enjoy a 330ml can of Heineken from a six-pack in the fridge. Trouble is, that size of can is less easy to find these days. The more common size (450ml, I think) simply contains too much (a) for my beer mug, and (b) for my bladder!
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As mentioned in the last thread, we have the local beer Yuengling, the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, established in 1829. It is one of the largest breweries by volume in the country. Based on volume sold in 2016, Yuengling was the top craft beer company in the U.S.
Coming from a Germany heritage I have a beer with my dinner every evening. So Yuengling Lager has become our table beer. The brewery is about an hour and a half from me, and we keep saying we're going for the tour. One of these days!
I do like to drink the Yeungling Lagers out in the pool, probably this afternoon! While I do like to taste and drink other beers, I find beers like Sam Adams will put me to sleep. Nothing like dozing off after two beers on Christmas day.
I also like the Brooklyn beers. Their brown ale is very nice, and each year I look forward to the Christmas time offering of Chocolate Stout.
I like going to local brew pubs, where the beers are made on site, and can be bought by the growler. In Woodbridge, NJ our favorite is JJ Bittings, which is in an old train station building, with all the character. My wife will drink their Victoria Ale, and I'll sample the ever changing roster. Their ribs are to die for!
In Wildwood, NJ this year the Mudhen Brewery opened up. Brand new with garden seating, it's architecturally interesting. Their beers were also nice, plus the waiter asked me to sample one that was nitro infused, which made it the smoothest dark beer I'd ever tasted.
There are probably a dozen or more beers out in my garage refrigerator, some I bought, while others were left overs from parties and holidays. I'll let guests choose from this selection.
And one last thought... has anyone tasted a Zima? Back in the 1980s I did business with a software house in Denver. Every trip I'd pass through the Coors Brewery for the tour and sampling. The thing about Coors when they were family owned is that they were always very environmentally conscious and everything was recycled or otherwise reused.
For instance their left over mash was pelletized and sold as animal feed. Their surplus process steam went to the adjacent Colorado School of Mines, as their main heating source. And they used all recycled glass and aluminum. So on this trip, when we got to the tasting room, they had a new product idea they wanted opinion on. It was called "Zima" and it was a biproduct of the brewing process, a boiled off hops product that had alcohol content. It kinda tasted like a gin and tonic so when it came to market I would buy it. I'd buy a case for summer vacation since it was a light alternative to a beer.
I lost track of Zima and realized it wasn't sold anymore. That was until last summer. They now make a summer run of the product. When I saw it this spring, I grabbed 2 cases. I probably still have a case and a half!
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Locally, here in Central Ontario, we're getting spoiled for choice, with local micro-brews springing up all over.
However, since last visit to my relatives in Germany (a decade ago, now) my summer go to has been the Radler - part beer, part juice/soda. I used to have to wait until the local Belgian restaurant brought in Steigl's version once a year, but it's finally caught on here. Waterloo Brewing has several excellent versions.
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Maybe we could get Ian (Brechinite) to send us a few bottles off this list, even if it is a bit old.
http://www.swipes.co.uk/beerlist.cgi?sort=Strength&o=a
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The list is quite substantial. Hic Hic Hic!
You see I have already, buurrrp! started working, buuurrp, my way through it. Hic Hic Hic.
Buurrp! There are very few Scottish, Hic Hic, breweries on the list which I am slowly working my way through, buurrp!
Who is daddy's best Friend, buurrp. You naughty dog Dino, Everybody loves somebody some time, Li'le Ole Winedrinker me, Hic Hic buurrp, ZZZzzzzzz
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01:53:07pm
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Tom writes about a "nitro-infused" beer that he tasted at the Mudhen Brewery. It is interesting (to me, at least) that nitrogen is the gas that must be used to whip cream in one of those reusable dispenser thingies. The reason for that is that CO2 adds a sharpness to the flavor of the cream that is undesirable.
I presume that nitrogen has the same effect on the taste of beer as it does on whipped cream, a "smoothing" effect.
And, lemaven writes about stubby bottles. Back when I just turned legal, Schmidt brewery, in St. Paul, (not Philadelphia's Schmidt's) sold their beer in what they called the Big Mouth bottle. It was a stubby bottle, but with a neck about 3X as wide as a standard bottle cap. Man, you could slam those beers!
Later, Heileman bought out Schmidt, and continued a similar Big Mouth!
-Paul
PS, I just noticed that the Heileman bottle label has the word "STRONG" in the upper left hand corner. Back in the day, that was code for 6% alcohol, as opposed to the standard 3.2%. I think I remember correctly that you could not buy STRONG beer in Iowa, you had to go to Minnesota to get it.
PPS, And, for the record, Heileman's Special Export is my all-time favorite beer, but it's just a memory from the past, anymore...sigh...
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For English ales, I used to like this, but can't get it anymore in Virginia:
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Now I have to "live" with this (among others):
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Gee whiz, I'm thirsty...
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09:12:36am
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Hey, it's a beer cover!:
-Paul
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that's a cool cover. Looking at the cancellation, it was sent just before the name of the brewery was changed to Heineken (who had been the owner of the Nederlandsch-Indische Bierbrouwerijen (Dutch East Indies Beer Breweries) for some time already). Due to the logo on the label it was called "bintang beer" locally (bintang = star). After Indonesia became independent the brewery was nationalized, but now it is back in the possession of Heineken, still brewing Bintang beer.
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Hungary For Stamps--- The Old Peculiar brand was available west of the Blue Ridge in the central Shenandoah Valley as lately as 2 years ago when I sold my store and retired. I carried it for a customer who requested it. I haven't kept up so I don't know if it is still here. They had 5 or 6 different brews.
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I am in southwest Virginia along Blue Ridge Parkway often and the name is familiar but do not know where I saw it.
There are a couple of wineries along the BRP north of Meadows of Dan.
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"Hungary For Stamps--- The Old Peculiar brand was available west of the Blue Ridge in the central Shenandoah Valley as lately as 2 years ago when I sold my store and retired. I carried it for a customer who requested it. I haven't kept up so I don't know if it is still here. They had 5 or 6 different brews."
Thanks. Its good to know its available somewhere recently. So there is hope. I will have to look harder. On my honeymoon in London my wife and I found a pub where this was their "local" and we really enjoyed it, of course draft is always going to be better than imported bottles. Then I started buying it in bottles when we got back to the states.
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While in Canada I was introduced to Hudsons Bay Over Proof Rum.
The best paint stripper known to mankind!!!
Once drunk, all you had to do was breathe on a door and the paint started to peel off!!!
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When I first was old enough to drink this was one of my staples. I think it was $4 a bottle at the time.
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"Due to the logo on the label it was called "bintang beer" locally (bintang = star). After Indonesia became independent the brewery was nationalized, but now it is back in the possession of Heineken, still brewing Bintang beer. "
Jansimon:
When I was in Indonesia in 2015, I brought back Bir Bintang for friends. I don't drink, but now I know it is Heineken! (Bir is Indonesian for Beer)
Cool!
David G
Ottawa, Canada
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Heineken has a few global brands (first and foremost "Heineken" of course) and over 250 local brands. One of these is Bintang.
Here you can see clearly they are related
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Ian:
The best paint stripper in the world was my father's childhood friend's homemade grappa. My dad brought a bottle back with him on his final trip to Italy in the early 2000s. How he got it past customs I will never know, because it broke ALL the rules. True fire water!
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In order to buy more stamps I have changed to a "cheaper" beer!
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Ha! Back in the day when the Pathmark supermarkets were around, they had their own store brand of products, "No Frills" in a white package with a red and white stripe. Yes, they had beer! My friend bought some as a joke once, awful!
And a lot of the "collector" cans of the 1980s came from the Hammonton Brewing Company of Hammonton, New Jersey. Most people poked holes in the bottom of the can and drained it out to save the cans, and again it was awful!
Same brewery sold a brand called Canadian Ace.. it came in a 64 ounce plastic bottle, like Coke comes in. Same awful beer!
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There is a whole Generic brand line of products in the late 70's in white cans when inflation was a big concern. I do remember drinking some of the beer. It was the usual American beer - not that good. Schiltz Malt Liquor in the quart bottles had a strange taste.
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07:21:17am
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Old Perculier ( note the spelling) and Sam Smiths are Yorkshire brews.
The reason you might not be able to get Theakstons is that it used to be a family brewery, and then it got taken over by one of the chains ( Coors I think ), then it was sold back to the Theakston family, which is why distribution could be tricky now. In the meantime one of the Theakston family set up next door brewing "Black Sheep" beer ( clever eh? ).
Northern beer is somewhat more "bitter" than Southern beer although all is technically called bitter. Craft beer is what we older types call "Real Ale"- the draught of which is cask conditioned rather than the more sterile variety. However real ale ( in common usage ) tends to exclude lager-type beer ( otherwise known to hard-drinking northerners as "girly beer" ), although technically some lagers are real ale. The best real ales are made using spring water, and the water properties in the various regions do affect the taste. Many years ago Real Ale was almost extinct as the small commercial breweries were taken over by the big groups whose beers ranged from indifferent to absolutely vile ( remember Watneys Draught Red Barrel. and Brew XI anyone ! ) A pressure group was set up known as the Campaign for Real Ale and the breweries were persuaded to change their mind ( the fact that they were losing sales to the remaining independent breweries helped ).
Anyone visiting the UK should visit at least one "CAMRA" recommended pub and try the local "Bitter" ( "Heavy" in Scotland ). However don't drink anything with an ABV of more than 4.5% if driving - and stick to a half pint of anything - despite the propaganda a pint will almost certainly put you over the limit.
Malcolm
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Any one visiting Scotland BE WARNED:-
Our drink driving laws are the toughest in the UK.
The level at which you fail is HALF that of England and Wales.
"We know what is best for YOU". That is what is meant by Devolution!!!
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