Whoops, I remember 4 beers , but maybe no. That was almost 10 years ago.... But the 12 and Apple tart was a match made in heaven
Nope, although I don't recommend taking a left hand drive vehicle into the UK. Toll booths are a bitch...
The one of most recent memory is when I accompanied my wife to a conference in Charleston. I had the day to myself. It was her Birthday and she mentioned how she loved Harris Teeter's red velvet cake. I walked the two blocks to the store and picked up a piece to surprise her. I walked through the beer section and saw quite a few Belgians. I picked up a 750ml bottle of Delerium Tremens. I put the cake in the fridge in the room and decided to pour my Belgian friend in my Yeti and take in some history. I walked the that amazing city with an amazing beer!
One of the best beers I had was the first time I drank Dogfish Head World Wide Stout. I thought it was amazing. Also the first time I had Old Rasputin. I really like Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break.
Best beer I ever had? I don't know, but I've some WOW beers. 20 years ago (maybe) I had a Leinenkugel's Big Eddy got me into stouts, and of course Old Rasputin and Budweisers Bourbon County Stout.
Bud Select 55. No aroma, no flavor, no body to speak of. Tastes Iike a glass of seltzer water that someone dumped a tablespoon of macto swill into. It just doesn't get much better than that. OK. If I'm being candid, I guess the 2005 Stille Nacht special reserva. Was able to have two bottles before the beer bar I was at ran out of it. Just a fantastic beer.
Based on score, my best-ever is a tie between Goose Island BCBS Reserve (2023) in Eagle Rare barrels and Central Waters 25th Anniversary Stout BBA in Pappy barrels. I reviewed these beers 11 days apart. Thanks to @GreenBayBA for sharing the Central Waters 25th with me.
Black Hole Sun, a maple brew while I was in Canada, and La Trappe Dubbel in the Netherlands... I've been searching for 2 years for the La Trappe!
I cant really pick out one specific beer as it would depend what beer mood I am in but I would rank these as a joint top: De Dolle Dulle Teve Riserva 2018 Chardonnay Cantillon Zwanze 2009 (Elderflower) 3F Malvasia Rosso
Remember, in my original post, I didn`t want to hear about what beer you think is the best you ever had. But more like the time in your life that you remember having the best beer of your Life. What were the circumstances happening that made you never forget having that beer, that you`ll always remember it. Like , you just caught a trophy fish and your buddy in the boat hands you a cold one out of the cooler. It didn`t matter what brand that beer was, but you`ll never forget it because it was tied into what just happened. Or, you just finished a 600 mile day on a motorcycle. You`re hot, tired, exhausted. You stop in a tiny tavern and flop down on a bar stool and order a cold tapper. You`re so tired you can barely lift the glass, but once it hits your lips, you know you`ll never forget it. Your having the best beer you ever had. (maybe it`s a Hamm`s , and you spend the next 5 minutes drinking it, and watching the big Hamm`s signs behind the bar change scenery)
Way back when, my dad and I were cutting down a tree with a crosscut saw. It was hot, sweaty work. The neighbor saw us and brought over a couple of cold miller lites. One of the most memorable beers of my life.
12 pack of Miller lite with my high school locker partner and longtime bowling team partner. Also a Mike B. High school locker partners were assigned alphabetically by last name. This was back in the 80's. Steinie bottles... drinking in the drianage ditch in his back yard. He could always buy beer even though we were 18. It was a hot humid summer day just after graduating high school. Talkin shite and not a care in the friggin world. The corner liquor store was a short walk away for a 8 piece square pepperoni Detroit style pizza for 5 bucks and huge pepperoncini they kept in a jar on top of the deli case. There was an old gravel pit for swimming and sobering up. Good times before life got serious... For me, the best tasting beer memories always align with memories of good friends. Good idea for a thread Roadsnakes. Cheers all!
The best beers I've had in the past few months, against triple IPAs, adjuncted BBA stouts, and heavily fruited sours, have been traditional or adjunct pilsners. I just cracked a Barrique Robot Birds, which is a corn lager, and it smokes the 4 year vintage wild ale, BBA strong ale, and TDH ipa I tried before it.
Younger fellow here, so this story may not have the cool-ness of some of the more seasoned folk on here. Anyways: Summer of '23 I found myself in Europe for the first time. A 20 year-old young man who had (still has) a classic car addiction that the trip was centered around. I already was in Italy the week prior for the Mille Miglia, many a Peroni Nastro Azzuro (or 'blue nasty' as my mate and I called it despite liking it) and Aperol Spiritz were had, naturally! I later traveled to Belgium where I would live for a month alone. The day I arrived in Brussels I collected my rental and drove an hour west to a small town where I'd be staying. Being a young American lad I wasn't familiar with European norms of the grocery store being closed at 5:30 PM on a Sunday evening, and anyone I tried to communicate with didn't speak a lick of English, and I didn't speak a lick of Flemish. Great. As I was driving "home" after not having eaten since the AM in MXP airport, I was as well anxious about many a thing; the language barrier, my performance at the internship I was starting the next day, and what I'd be doing with myself for the next month since I didn't know anyone. As I drove through Denderwindcke a sign caught my eye: "d'Afspanning". I stopped, parked and walked in. I had no idea what I was doing, or what a Belgian beer bar was. I was able to communicate with the host and he was very gracious and cordial. I sat and looking at the menu, which was redundant as it was all in Flemish, so instead I asked for a beer he recommended and the most appropriate meal to accompany this beer. In a short time later he brought out a bottle and matching chalice of Orval. Completely unaware of the sweet nectar I was about to taste, he poured it for me and I tried it. Not only was this beer relieving, that sip felt as if one thousand anxieties were lifted off my shoulders, but I also knew I had tasted something unique, I knew it was special. Little did I know the rabbit hold this would take me down, and well here I am. Orval, sweet Orval. I still love this beer and the rare occasion I enjoy one I think of the place d'Afspanning is, I would love to go back. They served me a beef stew, which if I recall correctly, was made with Orval. To add more to the story, if you're still reading, I ended up having a neighbor across the walkway in the little cottage I was in. His name is Stefan and when I told him about my new found love for Orval he then introduced me to A LOT of Belgian beers. Each night when I got home from work he'd have two chilled glasses and two bottles of the new to me beer. I remember loving Delirium Tremens, and not wanting to look at another Oude Geuze Boone. Stefan and I got to know each other really well, at some point he shared he had terminal cancer and I admired his joyfulness in his daily life and appreciated his hospitality of making me feel welcome. I have another story from the same trip but in Rome, in July, with a buddy. A day of sightseeing in blistering heat, we sat eating a late pizza lunch for our third go-around at this local-local joint. The tallboy Blue Nasty they served me was so, so relieving. But the Orval was special, and started by beer fascination. Cheers Belgium and cheers Stefan, and cheers to you for reading this.
