Beer and wine are on different sides of the alcohol spectrum.
Almost everyone remembers their first drink of alcohol. I remember mine like it was yesterday. Taking a sip of my father's Bud Light when I was seven years old, I realized it tasted nothing like the root beer I frequently drank, mixing it with vanilla ice cream in large plastic cups. As I concentrated on not spitting the beer back in the can, knowing very well this would send my germ-a-phobic father rocking in the corner, I swallowed the beer with my nose plugged and vowed to never drink again.…
Article comments
76 - robc
JJ-
I like the list, especially getting the GI Nut Brown in there, since that was one of my suggestions :).
No problems with anything other than noting you have 3 Belgians and nothing from England or Germany. I wouldnt worry about the Inbev/Hoegaarden thing but if you wanted a german, replacing a wit with a hefe wouldnt be a bad thing.
Not sure there is an easy replacement to get a UK beer in, but amber ales bore me, so I would replace it. But thats just me.
It looks like other than the Titan/Hopslam you shouldnt have any 2 beers that remotely taste alike.
77 - Ryan
True, she does have 3 Belgians. But that's not a bad thing, as some of the Belgian beers are going to be the most complex, which hopefully she can appreciate coming from wine. I'd agree that Hoegaarden could be replaced by a good hefe. And the amber could be replaced too - it's not that highly rated anyway.
78 - MikeL
I would personally not use the Goose Island, Titan, Hoegaarden, Ridgeline or Hopslam. The Goose Island is a very mediocre brew with a lot of caramel astringency. The titan is just a plain mess. The Hoegaarden is but a shadow of its former self and is quite a pathetic Wit. The ridgeline is full of crystal malt and tastes like a glass of bad iced tea and the Hopslam is a very ragged overly astringent pile of crap of a beer. The Orval you had is a much beeter beer.
79 - BS
JJ,
Please better research your opinions prior to publishing in the future. By passing off ignorance as fact, you can clearly cause a lot of discord, evidenced by the many posts responding to your original article. While I'm thrilled that (as I read this thread) it appears that the outrage your original screed prompted is causing you to become more educated about beer, this process hardly seems the most efficient way to educate yourself about beer.
Blog responsibily!
BS
80 - JJ
BS
Relax..this is an opinion piece with intended controversy (it's controversy that gets traffic). How can an "opinion piece" be passed off as "Fact". Those words are atonymous. Never take an opinion piece as fact. You would have an argument if I had passed this off as "news" but I didn't. It's opinion. Why is it okay for Mike L to say Hopslam is a "crap of beer" but I can't say I like wine more than beer?
Despite what you likely think, this was not based merely on drinking Coors and Keystone light. As previously stated, I live in Colorado and have gone to more beer festivals than I can count. I've sampled a ton (in fairness to beer, this was usually done when I was under the influence as it only takes a few beers to get me drunk).
I can see why you guys may think that I was trying to insinuate that beer lacks the history of wine. Of course it has history. Everything has history or it wouldn't exist. I was merely saying that wine drinkers should embrace the history of wine.
However, I have agreed to try to change my opinion on wine being more sophisticated than beer. That is the point of the beer tasting. I admit that the article was harsh on beer and one sided, but most opinion pieces are. I am willing to try to give beer a fair chance. But, don't say I passed this off as fact. You know that's not fair to me.
Plus, I have enough on my plate...being that I'm pretty sure I'm the father of Anna Nicole's baby and all.
Anyway, moving on...is Hopslam in or out. I have some people saying it's crap and some people saying it's great. Of course both opinions are in the eye of the beholder and I'm really going more for diversity than great taste. So, what's the verdict on Hopslam..yay or nay.
81 - JJ
Sorry..I meant the words are antonymous, not atonymous..I can't spell today.
82 - SC
You should keep the Hopslam, it is a fantastic Double IPA. Right now Bells Brewing Co simply cannot keep it on the shelves. Hopefully you have found some, as it isn't easy and they are finished brewing it for this year, I believe.
Good luck!
and Cheers~
SC
83 - JJ
There appears to be a few liquor stores in the Denver/Boulder area that carry Hopslam. I think I will keep it..just to see what all the fuss is about.
84 - robc
JJ,
Im the father of Anna Nicole's baby, so you are mistaken. But thats just my opinion.
Also, just because it was an opinion piece doesnt mean it doesnt contain facts within in. I dont have a problem with your opinions of beer (not matter how silly they are) but with the wrong factual statements within the article.
85 - staveoffzombies
Wow. Your ignorance of beer and it's complexities is astonishing. An good opinion is based off of research and understanding what you're making an opinion about. You've demonstrated total ignorance, and so your opinion becomes utterly worthless.
86 - JJ
Okay...is this the final list
Saison DuPont
St. Bernardus 12
Goose Island Nut Brown Ale
Titan IPA
Hoegaarden
Ridgeline Amber Ale
HopSlam
New Belgium's La Folie
I'm going to try to get these all tomorrow (before it snows, AGAIN) so if anyone has any changes, speak now or forever hold your yeast. If I can't find something, I will let you know and we can swap accordingly.
87 - MikeL
Again I would replace the Hopslam, Goose Island, Titan and Ridgeline. They are all extremely mediocre beers at best. I write for a beer magazine and run many judging events thru the year including wine judging. Orval would be a much better choice, Deus would also be good it is doen Methode de Champenois and is very complex yet very delicate at the same time. Old Rsputin from North Coast would give you a different dimension altogether. As for the Hopslam many people do like it unfotunately they do not have a clue what a good double IPA should taste like.
88 - JJ
Maybe I will replace two of the ones with two of your suggestions. I will see what is the easiest to find at the liquor stores of your suggested items.
89 - robc
JJ -
i wouldnt replace anything. The Titan and HopSlam may not be the best IPAs and DIPAs (although hopslam is the #5 rated DIPA on beeradvocate.com) but they should represent those styles well, and those styles need to be included. I havent specifically had either, so I cant say as to their quality. I personally would recommend Bell's 2 hearted as an IPA, but since Bell's makes Hopslam that wouldnt make sense to have it and Hopslam.
Despite what MikeL says, GI's nut brown is a wonderful beer, and since their arent any UK beers, you might as well have one in an English style.
90 - piscman
Thanks for setting up your beer tasting.
In post #80 you point out that
"this was not based merely on drinking Coors and Keystone light. As previously stated, I live in Colorado and have gone to more beer festivals than I can count. I've sampled a ton"
Respectfully, would you mind listing some of the beers you sampled *before* you wrote the original opinion piece? And some of the festivals you attended?
TIA
91 - Henry Halff
Three things that haven't been mentioned.
1. Wine, at its upper end, is a much more expensive indulgence than is beer.
2. Beer is nowhere near a subtle as wine. The taste of a good beer hits you right away. Wine requires a more conscious effort. Swirl it in the glass to check the color. Sniff it. Drink, aerate and chew on it.
3. Beer and wine react differently. All beers are good drunk fresh. Most beers don't age well, but some change character in dramatic and interesting ways as they age. Wines typically have a sweet spot in the age spectrum when they are at their best.
92 - Errrrrrrrr
Wow, It's seems that MikeL knows exactly what is good for all of us. The object of this exercise ( I think ), is not to make ms. JJ become an overnight beer-lover, rather it's to demonstrate that beer can be a complex, refined, enlightened drink, with all subtlety and complexity of wine. On this I hope she comes to agree, if not actually enjoy one or two of the beers.
I think you've got a lovely lineup. and even if one beer is similiar to another in style, it will only serve to highlight the complexities, subtleties and differences that beer can have.
JonW
93 - JJ
I routinely attend both the Great American Beer Festival in Denver and the Bluegrass/Beer Festival in Keystone. You may wonder why someone who doesn't like beer goes, but I don't dislike it enough to pass up the opportunity to drink for cheap (20 bucks gets you all you can drink). I can't give you specific names of beers as I don't keep track, I'm bad with names of beers and, admittingly names of wines, but I assure you that I sample a ton and Bud Light / Coors Light are not present. A lot of vendors are from Fort Collins or Boulder as those are big beer towns in Colorado but they have people from everywhere. I prefer the Keystone one as its outside. The GABF is crammed inside the convention center. Far too many people and don't even get me started on the line for the ladie's room.
A few years ago I tried to do the Beer Tour at Old Chicago's. You have to drink a certain amount of beers and you get prizes along the way. Once the tour is complete, you get your name on the wall or something like that. I bowed out because the beers there are too expensive and it would have cost me hundreds of dollars in beer to get my name on the wall... plus,I can get my name on the wall at the bus station for free. ; )
Jon W..I agree with you and am sticking to the original list. It's just easier.
94 - Jim
Beerfests are fun and, agreed, a great way to drink a ton of varied beers on the cheap. As a way to judge the quality between brews, however, they fall short. So many beers in succession both taints the characteristics of the beers and gets you buzzed really fast. It would surprise me if anyone would regularly come away from such functions with anything to write home about.
I've been to dozens of beer fests and tasted probably around a thousand beers in total, and only two beers--Dogfish Head World Wide Stout and Dale's Pale Ale--ever truly "wowed" me. (For Dales it was the simple fact that someone put THAT flavorful of a beer in a can.) Be it coincidence or not, they were also the first beers I drank at those particular events.
Any idea on your timeline for the tasting and your subsequent story?
95 - JJ
Yeah I agree about Beer Tasting..not the best way to really get a good taste for it.
I am thinking the article will be done Wed or Thurs. I intended to do the tasting on Friday but something came up at work so now it looks like tomorrow or Tues.
96 - JJ
THis article will be posted tomorrow afternoon guys. FYI
97 - Jeff
Wow. Ma'am, you have no clue what the heck you are talking about. It seems that you just hung out with beer chugging morons in college. I enjoy beer. I sip beer. I enjoy beer. I Never chug beer. You, on the other hand, seem to not like wine, rather you like the swanky image you feel wine has. Get over yourself lady.
98 - JJ
Uh..Jeff..you're about two weeks too late on your comments. Why don't you try reading my follow up article and then take your own "get over yourself" advice.