Beverages and Axes, Hatchets and Hawks

Oh, and we grow the best hops, too.

 

When I was visiting with Dutch cousins in Overschie for 6 weeks in the late 60s the suds of choice were Grolsch. I couldn't get over the fact that the 500ml porcelain-stoppered bottles were immediately re-usable via a rinse and a new rubber seal. Oom (uncle) would bike into town with cartons of empties and return with fresh ones. That was one of the first "green" re-use incentives I'd ever come across.

 

@Square_peg


If it hits too close to home for anyone here, buy two

 

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Here's what it is, most people don't know what the different types of beer are. They hear that IPAs are popular to they order one. They don't don't like it because of the bitterness but they're afraid to admit it because all their friends claim to like it. What breaks this cycle are the sampler packages. Some nights a pub will offer 5 'tastes' for $5. The customer gets to find out what they really like.

There's a lot of good stuff out there but also a lot of stuff that doesn't suit me. Samplers are a good way to find out what you like.

 

Total barrels produced is no judge of how good a beer is. A variety of great beers is what makes a place a beer Mecca. The mass produced stuff is crap. You couldn't get me to drink a Bud. Heinekin is crap, too.

All 3 of those Chinese beers are readily available at Chinese restaurants and at beer stores. I will drink a Tsingtao occassionally, it's not horrible.

We have many stores that sell only varieties of beer - from all over the world. Not uncommom for a store to have several hundred varieties on hand. I know of one local store that keeps over 600 varieties on the shelf.

There are roughly 500 breweries in the PNW. Most offer numerous varieties - maybe averaging 5 brews per brewery. That makes 2500 local varieties available. Beer Mecca. And I am by no means a beer connoisseur.

 

Folks that are keen to develop a knowledgeable taste for beers (without bananas, spices, rose petals and what-have-you tossed in) ought to try brewing some themselves. In my early years a buddy and I always had an 8 gallon batch (using pre-prepared John Bull malts) on the go. Comparing an ale (top fermentation) to a lager (bottom ferment) to an overly hopped India Pale Ale is quite interesting when everything else you've done is the same. One's that turned out wonderfully 'smooth' for us were a severe test of patience because they were lagers slowly fermented over a few months in the fridge.

 

Little Sister by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

Truck axe was dry.

 

Brewing taught me tons about beer and appreciating all the different varieties, realizing what I like and don't like. We may not quite be up to par with the brewery scene in PNW, but I like to think Colorado has one of the stronger craft brewery presences in the states, we've got quite a few here and some notable ones. I have brewed lots of batches of home-brew, probably 500+. I also have worked at a few different breweries in the past, learning homebrewing, then later really seeing the whole process on bigger scales added a whole other perspective too. I was cellerman at a few places in the past, and no its not as glorified as the name may sound, yes you help handle seeing fermentation through to packaging, but the brewers have all the fun brewing then overseeing things, and then you move it along from there. A big chunk of your job is cleaning, and cleaning, and sanitizing and sanitizing, cleaning fermentation tanks, cleaning finishing tanks, bright tanks, kegs, etc. Cleaning the bigger tanks isn't as bad, cleaning kegs gets old quick though.

I am all about switching up beer styles all the time depending on the weather and my mood. I definitely enjoy darker beers, more so when it's cold out, nothing like a great stout by the fire. But just can't do dark beers when it's hot out, thats when I go lighter. I drink it all, light beer, dark beer, good beer, great beer, pricey beer, cheap beer, crappy beer. I do love lots of the great American Craft Beers out there, but my all time favorite beer is Belgian, Gulden Draak 9000, great Quad.

That being said, I do drink some crappy beer when it's the hotter seasons or I feel like drinking a good bit. Here's the Canadian version of pisswasser that I'm enjoying right now, haven't had this in years just decided out of the blue to grab this tonight.

These rankings are BS, these are all similar styles of lagers and all big beer corporations, I don't consider volume sold to be valid with ranking truly great beers. Tsingtao is available all over the US. Yanjing I have never heard of though.... Not to be confused with Yuengling for my friends in PA

 

Happy Friday!
P1010055

 

does this count?

 

Aahhh!
What!?
You are so lucky I am not a mod. That is so ban worthy, just wrong........

 

It totally counts lol.

 

And look at that the skin on that vise!

That isn't something most will have around.

 

Sorry euro guys, I spent my month long honeymoon last year in Europe, including attending oktoberfest, and every time I actually managed to find a delicious beer it only reminded me of good 'ol America. However, the states has nothing on the freshness and low price of a high quantity of local beer almost anywhere in Europe.

 

Beer appreciation is different for everyone I would think - personal taste, time of the year:
Family night by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

Big Indian Grass Hunter

 

^^Nice!

Ice-cold beer and a bill hook in progress