What a difference a name makes!

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by TommyTheHat, Sep 3, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 2 of 3
  1. DougC123

    DougC123 Savant (1,186) Aug 21, 2012 Connecticut

    I never used to drink Fizzy Flavorless Yellow Water, but after they changed the name to Bud Light, oh wait, I still didn't drink it.
     
    #21 DougC123, Sep 3, 2014
  2. Jirin

    Jirin Initiate (0) Apr 28, 2013 Massachusetts

    A lot of pumpkin beers are really just 'spices that are used in pumpkin pie' beers, and people wouldn't associate them with pumpkin at all if it weren't on the label.
     
    #22 Jirin, Sep 3, 2014
    Mouserat likes this.
  3. TommyTheHat

    TommyTheHat Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2014 Pennsylvania

    So! Funny thing considering this thread today. I normally buy my beer at a local supermarket called Wegmans. They have a halfway decent selection as far as my usual's go but they are a bit lacking. Today I had to pick up my daughter and grand kids the next town over about 11 miles away and decided to stop at the other Wegmans in that town...a few more miles over from her house. WOW! Much bigger and better selection. But wait. What is this I see on the shelf? Low and behold it's a 22 oz bottle of Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal stout!! Yowzer. It's in my fridge being prepped for consumption as I type this.
    Funny how things work out.

    I also spotted something else I have been trying to get hold of. Fegley's Brew works Insidious Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout. Couldn't find it anywhere (rotational). But! At close to 17 bucks for a 4 pack I passed. I'll wait to find a 22 oz. Or maybe I'll stop in their brew pub for draft.

    But did I mention "Rogue Shakspeare Oatmeal Stout?"
    Boing!
     
    #23 TommyTheHat, Sep 3, 2014
    beerturtle and zid like this.
  4. Shluffy

    Shluffy Zealot (635) Aug 19, 2013 Wisconsin

    Sometimes it takes a sixer of something to warm up to it
     
    #24 Shluffy, Sep 3, 2014
    beerturtle and Stagga_Lee like this.
  5. TommyTheHat

    TommyTheHat Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2014 Pennsylvania

    Ok well that sucks. She didn't answer! So don't even tell me this is another deceptive labeling. What the...
     
    #25 TommyTheHat, Sep 3, 2014
  6. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Let's go back to setting the record straight, as @jesskidden mentioned, Java Head (while not as coffee forward as some) IS a coffee stout. From Troegs' site:

     
    #26 LehighAce06, Sep 4, 2014
  7. Redneckwine

    Redneckwine Initiate (0) Dec 3, 2013 Washington

    An interesting phenomenon concerning expectations and perception to be sure.

    In a somewhat similar way, I'm almost afraid to try a lot of these "walez" that folks go on and on about, and that includes mega-hyped beers like Heady, Pliney, BCBS. I've never had a hype-monster beer like that, but I can't help feel my opinion and take on the beer is already skewed /biased before I've even tried it, since its been practically rammed down my throat that those beers are liquid ecstasy and everything else pales in comparison.

    In your example, I'd have to say that I'd fully expect an intense coffee stout too if it was named Java Head. That's like naming a beer some ridiculous hop-centric name (Hoptimum, Hopsecutioner, Hopslam, etc.) and having it taste like a nicely balanced APA.
     
    #27 Redneckwine, Sep 4, 2014
    Shroud0fdoom likes this.
  8. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Keep in mind the time in which the beer was first produced. Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout is not made with chocolate, any chocolate flavor that's in there comes from the malt. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was first produced at a time when US brewers were not commonly adding actual chocolate to beer. A person accustomed to a newer chocolate forward beer might feel like the Brooklyn beer was inappropriately named.
     
    #28 zid, Sep 4, 2014
    Some-Prefer-Hops, CassinoNorth and TongoRad like this.
  9. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thank you for illustrating something that doesn't get talked about enough. The fickleness of perception is not a popular subject around here because it undermines far too much content.
     
    #29 zid, Sep 4, 2014
  10. TommyTheHat

    TommyTheHat Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2014 Pennsylvania

    Ok...well let's turn this whole thread topsy turvy..lol.
    I have just finished the Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal stout. I've read/heard allot about this and it is rated here as outstanding. The Java Head is also an Oatmeal stout. Now! After trying the Rogue, I can see where the Java Head is coming from. Although the Imperial Stout I tried alongside the Java Head originally, had a more espresso aroma/taste to it, it is an imperial after all. I feel the better comparison would be the Rogue since both it and Java Head are Oatmeal. As I started to say earlier, comparing these two opens up a whole new appreciation. There is definitely more coffee in both nose and taste in the Java Head. The Rogue is more...well...oatmeal. :slight_smile:

    There is more body to the Java Head also. I found the Rogue a bit too carbonated and a tad thin. Good though. Definitely good. Just not as good (to me) as the Troegs. And, that is due to the more pronounced coffee in the Java Head.

    So! While not very "coffee" as I may have expected from the name. Comparing it to a straight Oatmeal stout makes the coffeeness stand out more. And imo it's a better beer (for me). I have to give both another shot...Java Head first since at this point it may be my go to. I'm not gaga over the Rogue at this point so it can wait. Sadly, I haven't found a Rogue yet that has made me want to come back. Alluring company...but the beer hasn't wowed me thus far. But winter is coming and there may be hope for the Chocolate stout!!

    I still have to try the Fegley's Brew works Steel workers Oatmeal stout to re-try which I found fantastic a few years ago. But I haven't tried it since. However ( I know, I know...my strangeness kicks in here) it may lose out due to the low (5.3%) abv.
    Don't ask.:slight_smile:

    As you were!

    This has been an interesting day.
     
    #30 TommyTheHat, Sep 4, 2014
  11. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Definitely right about that- that one originated in 1994-5, and the name is because the flavor is suggestive of dark chocolate, not because it contains any.

    Another one to keep in mind is Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout. Along with Grant's, Smith's helped to revive the style. The strength (at 7%) was pretty strong for the time and place it was brewed, too, but I am sure it gets short shrift from those judging it based on their own expectations instead of what it is.

    Like I said upthread, though- usually a few times around the block with a beer will tend to straighten out that sort of thing.
     
    #31 TongoRad, Sep 4, 2014
    zid likes this.
  12. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    You really should try Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.
     
    #32 LehighAce06, Sep 4, 2014
    thewrongtone likes this.
  13. TommyTheHat

    TommyTheHat Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2014 Pennsylvania

    Thanks....I'll have to give that try sometime.
    I'm looking to retire in a few months and I'm crunching numbers. I've been going cheap on brew purchases. A six per week and reasonably priced. Well, reasonably for me anyway. That's means pretty cheap! :grinning: I haven't been going over $13 per six and it's usually more like $12.

    I've never had a Samuel Smith's anything. Maybe it's time.

    Thanks again:slight_smile:
     
    #33 TommyTheHat, Sep 4, 2014
  14. Immortale25

    Immortale25 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,775) May 13, 2011 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Perception is such a powerful thing. I just started working at a bottle shop that also has twenty taps. We currently have two Green Man IPAs on-tap: Wayfarer, which is their summer seasonal that's ~5% ABV and Destroyer which is a ~9% DIPA. A patron asks me for a taste of the Destroyer. I go for the first Green Man tap handle I see which has a question mark on it (this is the tap handle most places use for Green Man's seasonal releases). The guy tastes it and I'm like "How do you like it?" to which he replies, "It's good but a little too heavy for me right now. Let me try the Wayfarer." I go looking for another Green man tap handle but there is none, so I have to ask a fellow employee where the Wayfarer is. Apparently they didn't have another Green man handle so they slapped a handwritten label saying "Destroyer" on a Catawba handle. The sample the guy had drank was actually Wayfarer so I jokingly say, "I don't think we have a lighter IPA than what you tried." He opted for the Wayfarer after trying the Destroyer, just going to show you that what you think is in your glass is almost as powerful as what's actually in your glass if they're not the same thing.
     
    #34 Immortale25, Sep 4, 2014
  15. DougC123

    DougC123 Savant (1,186) Aug 21, 2012 Connecticut

    Work a few extra months to ensure you can by top shelf beer.
     
    #35 DougC123, Sep 4, 2014
  16. nicholasofcusa

    nicholasofcusa Initiate (0) Jan 14, 2006 Florida

    It's all about expectations. Which is why hyped/highly rated beers often disappoint me while those with much less fanfare pleasantly surprise me.
     
    #36 nicholasofcusa, Sep 4, 2014
  17. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    You sir need to re-prioritize your budget! Once you're retired you'll need at least triple the beer budget you had in your working life...
     
    #37 LehighAce06, Sep 4, 2014
  18. TommyTheHat

    TommyTheHat Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2014 Pennsylvania

    Ha ha...yea, I hear ya. I was trying to figure out how long I have been doing the craft beer thing last night and honestly can't remember. Not really that long I guess. I remember being in Deleware (Rehoboth) and visiting Dogfish Head as well as having brought my own Home brewed beer with me. I think it was 2005 but can't remember for sure.
    So at the pace I'm at now, I'm content for the time being. As I get older I will drink less :slight_smile:. That will allow me to drink more in the long run:wink:

    I used to drink a lot more. If the many years of drinking, closing in on 50 years of it, starts to cause problems then I won't be able to drink at all. If I start to manage it as time passes then I may at least be able to enjoy it for a long time to come. Just a little at a time.
    I have a life plan. I always have a strategy.
     
    #38 TommyTheHat, Sep 4, 2014
  19. HuskyHawk

    HuskyHawk Initiate (0) Jun 5, 2014 Massachusetts

    And the Organic Chocolate Stout...that thing is tremendous. Price is good too.
     
    #39 HuskyHawk, Sep 4, 2014
    LehighAce06 likes this.
  20. jRocco2021

    jRocco2021 Savant (1,083) Mar 13, 2010 Wisconsin

    Your profile says your 57 lol you started early.
     
    #40 jRocco2021, Sep 4, 2014
Page 2 of 3
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.