Beer traditionalists

I decided to ramble a bit. So in the lager the hop sweetness is also coaxed to perfection by the brewer and rather than embellish with fruits, they are pristine and floral, herbal and have all kinds of attributes. They can smell like a sweet perfume, and taste succulent or spicy. The idea that the lager is clean allows all these characteristics to flourish. But , it has to be crisp. Dry. The noble hops have plenty of flavor to offer. And because it's lively in it's own merit, it's like if you put on your best suit and stood as tall as possible. You can be strict but not without humor. You don't have to reach beyond what is already given in the hops and in the character of the grain because it's vivacious, varied and splendid!

Please pardon me if I am a pest. But I discovered lagers and I think they are my favorite.

 

“I want multiple pints of well made Pilsners, Porters and Pale Ales…”

Jesse, do you like Bourbon Barrel Porters?

Cheers!

 

Traditional. Perfect example: American Oktoberfests. Holy hell they are terrible. Try Hofsbrau Oktoberfest. You'll never go back to Sam Adams or Lienenkugal's again

 

I am a big fan of bourbon and I am a big fan of porters, so one would think the answer to your question is an enthusiastic yes. However, I have found bourbon barrel porters/stouts to be too boozy. I like bourbon on the rocks or neat if I am looking for a booze kick, not so much desire for it in my beer though. Plus, I have come to the realization that I like to drink larger quantities of lower abv beer. I like to spread it out over time and not have to worry about how big of a gulp I take. A 10oz. tulip of 11% beer is something I can enjoy, but I'd prefer a 20 oz poor of a 5% porter. In any event, while I do like them and appreciate them, they are not high on my list of brews to buy at the bottle shop or order when I'm out.

 

I'm not gonna mark a line and say "this" and not "that". I love all kinds of beers and will try most anything. Some of the big bbl-aged beers are more like port or some other dessert wine and cannot be consumed as I would "traditionally" drink beer, hence I work with them sparingly. My current favorite is Noda's Hop Drop'n Roll, a rich and a little ramped up IPA, but for really drinking, pilsners and lagers are hard to beat. I also find Lagunitas IPA to be a highly repeatable beverage. My son and I are currently drinking on a batch of a 1928 English IPA recipe homebrew- sourced from some of our Euro friends- and it is fantastic and we're making more soon. This is the best time for beer so far in my life.

 

Fair enough.

A Bourbon Barrel Porter does not have to be boozy (high ABV) but I suppose they could be. I recently homebrewed a Bourbon Barrel Porter which was 5.5% ABV which is extremely tasty; no booziness in the flavor profile whatsoever. Maybe this is not typical of commercially brewed beers?

Cheers!

 

If you like Hoffbrau try Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier next year. Very similar, but much better imo- and I'm a big fan of the Hoffbrau as well.

 

I will have to. I just bought a Weihenstephaner original tonight. I'll try it soon

 

Could you point me in the direction of some lower abv bourbon barrel aged porters/stouts?

 

Not commercially but I could share my homebrewed recipe.

Cheers!

 

I find that I mostly buy and truly enjoy traditional style commercially brewed beers. I experiment with my homebrew beers. I also brew traditional styles but they probably account for 50% of what I brew. With some beers I just tweak little things. One of my recent brews was and AIPA with west coast hops used for bittering and flavor additions , but instead of using the recipe's Falconers Flight as the dry hop, I used an ounce of German Hallertau. It's different and very tasty. Other times I just try things that sound like they may work like a pomegranate saison. Some are good, some are fair and some are downright scary, but I do enjoy the experimentation.

 

Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter (Bourbon Barrel Aged) is 6% ABV.

Cheers!

Edit: And Cricket Hill Brewmaster’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter is 6% ABV.

Edit 2: Isabel - Blue Mountain Brewery is 6%

 

As I've posted before, I'm a Reinheitsgebot kinda guy. There's plenty of wonderful things that that can be done with just yeast, hops, water and malt.

If I want chocolate, coffee, blueberries, etc yadayada---I'll eat a dessert.

 

Do you know anyone in Houston who will send you beer? If so, next O-fest season ask them to send you some of this:

http://www.karbachbrewing.com/beers/karbachtoberfest

Outstanding, by far the best US oktoberfest I had last year. On par with german ones, and super fresh. The brewer is Eric Warner (homebrewers will know him, german brewing training). And I am a traditional too, grew up in Germany.

 

I've kinda gone gone full circle. Grew up (many moons past) when good beer was scarce. Imports like Beck's, and finally craft brews Anchor, Sierra, and Ipswich & Harpoon in the East. I love tasting new brews, and I'm a homebrewer so I'll experiment. But my store bought go-to brews are pretty much Sierra Nevada & Ipswich. #1 = quality. They are faithfully brewed. And excellent. #2 price. I'm blue collar, I can't afford the $12 sixer.

And, like Frank Zappa once commented on pizza, something like, "They put all the things on pizza that don't belong on pizza." Guess I'm conservative in that regard. I like the creativity, but love a fine crafted ale.

 

Someone upthread brought up a point which is worthwhile.

I'm a dorky beer judge guy, so I am all about hitting style guidelines. But I also love the evolution of beer styles. And the way I handle that is the way we judge some of the experimental beers. The recommendations for some of the "specialty/experimental" styles essentially boil down to this: 1) Did the brewer do what they said they were going to do?, and 2) was it a good idea?

So, if someone says they made a boysenberry/asparagus pale ale, my first question is: is it a pale ale with evident boysenberry and asparagus? Second question: was that a good idea? (Probably not, in this example, but hell, I'd keep an open mind...)

It isn't just about creativity and execution, although that is important. It's also about judgement, balance, and taste. Experimental beers are not for everyone. (No beers are.) But if you are going to push the envelope, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.

 

I am quite conservative when it comes to ingredients and tend to shy away from odd spices and things like putting donuts in beer. Like the original poster I see a lot of merit in traditional styles. The again, I have succumbed to the massive hop craze as badly as the next beer geek, I like wild ales, I am acquiring a taste for coffee and chocolate in stout, and I just bought a wheatwine with maple syrup and vanilla pods ... As I type this, I realize that I am becoming more liberal when it comes to non-traditional ingredients, but still loathe the idea of adding odd flavors post-fermentation (ala Rogue) and prefer a more subtle hand when it comes to spices besides hops.

 

THIS! Well put.

 

I don't entirely disagree but I think the relationship is bi-directional. Consumers condition breweries but the relationship also goes in the other direction. Consumers drink on the basis of the norm set by big breweries. I think many people buy beer on the basis of name brand recognition rather than taste per se. Not all, but many.