Whats the best beer you've had & why?

Fatman

Fatman

Likes Bikes and Dirt
indica said:
Would that not depend on what you have eaten?

Sounds great tough - where do you source your beers Fatman?
I live in Bendigo and there are no boutique shops here.
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Generally the better the beer you get the flavours and aromas back again when you burp, usually related to good quality hops.

I source my beers from all over the place, Purvis Cellars and Slowbeer in Victoria and Internationalbeershop.com.au in WA which are great for mail order. Some i get locally from a variety of bottle shops but my fave is Warners at the Bay near Newcastle. I'll drive up there specially to buy a load of beer even if it is a three hour round trip.
 
nikmcc

nikmcc

Likes Dirt
Heres something Im sure only the true beer fans will appreciate!


So, I turned 30 the other day, and my wife with a bit of help from my folks organised what would have to be one of the sweetest presents you could buy a beer freak.

The idea: 30 beers for 30 years, sounds simple yeah? Wrong...

Not only did I get 30 beers from across Europe, USA, Canada, AUS etc... each one came with the matching glass, tasting notes bounded into a book and all presented in genuine Trappist Westvleteren beer crates shipped over from Belgium. DANG!

Heres the full list of beers, and remember each one has the 100% perecent correct matching glass!:

Rochefort Trappist 8 (one of my may favourites)

Brugse Zot Dubbel (also a favourite, this one brings back memories of my trip to Belgium)

Warsteiner

Coopers 62

Old Speckled Hen

Peroni Nastro Azzurro

Chimay Red

Westmalle Trappist

Orval

Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit

Duvel

Saison Dupont

Saint Bernadus Prior 8

Pilsner Urquell

Lidemans Kriek

Unibroue Blanch De Chambly (My favourite non-Belgian brewer. Really hard to find in AUS these days)

La Gauloise Brune

Duchesse de Bourgogne

St Ambroise

St Bernadus Grottenbier

Triple Moine

Belle Vue Kriek

Bocq Blanche de Namur

Sasion regal

Hopus

Couden Carolus

Juplier

Budweiser

DAB

Triple Karmeliet

Its such a great mix of beers too, everyting from Trappists, Lambics, Witbier, Saison to regular Largers.

And to top it off, these are all beers whose glass I did not previously own in my already vast collection! So now, I dare say, I would have one the best glass collections going round.

I've previously tried many of the above beers, but to now have the glasses is really sweet!

Anyways, Im done bragging... I'd like to put up pics of every beer to show just how awesome some of the glasses are, but that would be a bit over the top... So here is a few random pics

Cheers!














 
Rider_of_Fast

Rider_of_Fast

Likes Bikes
nikmcc that's impressive!

Been meaning to do this for a while, but here is my pinched glass collection from 2 European backpacking trips in 2004 and 2008 (plus a few extra kickers).

Favourite beer probably Staropramen. But I am a little bias being a Czechy.

IMG_3276[1].jpg
 
Ben-e

Ben-e

Captain Critter!
Speight’s Summit Lager

I have travelled extensively through Europe and tried all the German and Bavarian beers, plus many of the Asian offerings. Easily the best bear I have ever tried is 'Speight’s Summit Lager'. Its kiwi made. Its spectacular! Has a clean crisp taste but a slight sweetness too. We were smashing them in Rotovegas and the hangovers were pretty minimal too.

 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Summit is good, 2nd to Traverse for me though.

Love having the brewery a kilometre away! Wholesale prices :cool:
 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
NeBoS said:
WHAT!!! Do you live near the Speight's brewery? Thats killer man! Its the most difficult beer to get your hands on over here in oz..
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Well, yeah...Speights and Otago are pretty much synonymous with each other. I take it for granted at times I guess. If you ever come over to the South Island, do a tour of the Speights Factory. All you can drink, with many different samples included :rolleyes:. Theres also a mean restaurant attached with access to all the different brews they've got. I stopped in for a beer a few months ago (when it was warmer!) and got a bright ale that I was one of the most unique beers I've ever had. I forget the name, but it was pretty light, had a strong apricot flavour with some other stone fruit undertones (peach?), was quite interesting. Bartenders know their beer too, which makes for a great experience overall!

Can't help you out for Speights in NSW either sorry, Red Lion (who own Tui, Speights, Red Lion etc.) have stopped importing it in to Australia AFAIK. You used to be able to get Gold Medal at Warners @ The Bay, but I believe they stopped stocking it roughly halfway through last year.
 
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zids

zids

Likes Dirt
I dont see myself sifting through 132 pages to check if its been mentioned, but I feel that it needs to be. Just in case.
A beer called La Chouff, it is the smoothest, tastiest and bestest beer I've ever had. It comes in a 750 ml bottle and trumps all beers I've had off tap regardless. Its 8% strength yet you hardly notice the extra strength.
Try it!
its only 150$ per case!
 
Broken Bones89

Broken Bones89

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Well gents, I've just moved in next door to a bottle shop that has nearly 400 different boutique beers. Expect regular updates.

While I was in there I grabbed a sixer of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. All I can say is as of today VB is a thing of the past.
 
A

Arete

Likes Dirt
It's only fair that I announce our local now does $3.50 pitchers of Stone for happy our. And $1 chilli fries. Damn pity we're moving in a month.
 
A

Arete

Likes Dirt
Local just had an IPA day

Dark horse "Smells Like Weed" IPA ABV 9% Served as pint on tap.
Dark, murky amber colour. White average head mildly lacing the glass. Weed isn't the first smell I think of when I smell it, more "herby". Big kick of Simcoe hops on the nose.
Mouthfeel is sticky, oily, rich and malty, typical Dark Horse brewing Co. . Doesn't smack you with hops like a Stone Runiation or similar, but bitterness became more appreciable as I got towards the bottom of the glass. Citrus notes along with pine. Not a bad double IPA, but doesn't live up to the name.

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye IPA ABV 8.6% Served as pint on tap.
DIPA brewed with 18% rye. Deep amber in colour, white creamy head. Hoped up, citrus typical IPA aroma. Almost wheaty notes in the taste, mouthfeel is a little syrupy, with a big bitter hop finish. Very drinkable, tastes a bit like a session wheat ale.

Bells "The Oracle" Double IPA ABV 10% Served as 10oz glass on tap.
Brewed to accentuate the hop profile at the expense of all else. Light amber in colour, thin white head, minimal lacing on glass. Aroma smacks you about the head with citrus and pine notes. Taste is extremely hop driven. No malt at all: citrus hops dominate with a strong dry bitter finish. Doesn't hide it's high ABV well - you can definitely tell this is a strong beer. Very nice DIPA done right.

Stone Ruination IPA ABV 7.7% Pint on tap.
Anyone who likes IPA and hasn't tried this has their priorites wrong - probably my favorite IPA. Light amber in colour, thin white head, moderately carbonated. Described as a "hop monster" by Stone, which is about right. Heavily dry hopped, there's nothing subtle about the aroma which carries on to the taste. Light mouthfeel, citrus hop dominate to a dry bitter finish. Carries the ABV brilliantly. Nothing suprising or unexpected, just a good beer that tastes like it says it does on the advertising wank.

Then we stumbled home.
 
C

Calv

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Broken Bones89 said:
Well gents, I've just moved in next door to a bottle shop that has nearly 400 different boutique beers. Expect regular updates.

While I was in there I grabbed a sixer of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. All I can say is as of today VB is a thing of the past.
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I'll second the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Sat down to a nice cold one on the couch after last night's toonie ride!
If you can get your hands on it in Oz, I'd also recommend Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale.
 
NCR600

NCR600

Likes Dirt
Arete said:
Local just had an IPA day

Dark horse "Smells Like Weed" IPA ABV 9% Served as pint on tap.
Dark, murky amber colour. White average head mildly lacing the glass. Weed isn't the first smell I think of when I smell it, more "herby". Big kick of Simcoe hops on the nose.
Mouthfeel is sticky, oily, rich and malty, typical Dark Horse brewing Co. . Doesn't smack you with hops like a Stone Runiation or similar, but bitterness became more appreciable as I got towards the bottom of the glass. Citrus notes along with pine. Not a bad double IPA, but doesn't live up to the name.

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye IPA ABV 8.6% Served as pint on tap.
DIPA brewed with 18% rye. Deep amber in colour, white creamy head. Hoped up, citrus typical IPA aroma. Almost wheaty notes in the taste, mouthfeel is a little syrupy, with a big bitter hop finish. Very drinkable, tastes a bit like a session wheat ale.

Bells "The Oracle" Double IPA ABV 10% Served as 10oz glass on tap.
Brewed to accentuate the hop profile at the expense of all else. Light amber in colour, thin white head, minimal lacing on glass. Aroma smacks you about the head with citrus and pine notes. Taste is extremely hop driven. No malt at all: citrus hops dominate with a strong dry bitter finish. Doesn't hide it's high ABV well - you can definitely tell this is a strong beer. Very nice DIPA done right.

Stone Ruination IPA ABV 7.7% Pint on tap.
Anyone who likes IPA and hasn't tried this has their priorites wrong - probably my favorite IPA. Light amber in colour, thin white head, moderately carbonated. Described as a "hop monster" by Stone, which is about right. Heavily dry hopped, there's nothing subtle about the aroma which carries on to the taste. Light mouthfeel, citrus hop dominate to a dry bitter finish. Carries the ABV brilliantly. Nothing suprising or unexpected, just a good beer that tastes like it says it does on the advertising wank.

Then we stumbled home.
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Only one of them I've tried is the Stone Ruination IPA, which is quite frankly a ridiculous beer. I like it, but I also like stupidly hot curries and really salty food too. It's like the nuclear arms race, but in a good way.

I just wish I could find some of these A(I)IPA's in Australia for reasonable money. A sixer of Dogfishead 90minute and Ruination cost me 63 bucks!
 
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