[The Horrible Esthete]

Pilsner Urquell (and other pilsners from the Czech Republic like Staropramen and Kozel) are delicious, as are dutch lagers like Heineken and Amstel.

I had a Kozel once -- can't remember when or where -- but I remember thinking it was delicious and that I'd keep an eye of for it at specialty beer stores who stock lots of imports....but I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere - i suppose i've just forgotten to look in recent years

Peroni (from Italy) is lovely though, nice and light, a real summer day beer.

:thumb: Cannot agree more. it's my #1 choice when I'm hot and thirsty and i want a crisp refreshing brew. But i recommended Peroni once here on Hipbase and I took a beating for it, for whatever reason....

[mikeysaint]

I like this local brewery
http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com
their Christmas beer, Festive Beer, is really good as well as Summer Hummer and the 420.

I also like this brewery in MI
http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/brands.html
The Oberon is a great summer beer and my one of my favourites

another
http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/index.php
I like their darker beers but most that I have tried are really good

and another that I just had this week
http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
The spotted cow was a pretty good beer

Some of my favourite European beers are
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0ari%C5%A1_(beer) or smadny mnich, sorry I could not find a site
They are both Slovak beers and I have not had the imported stuff yet.

In short, I try a lot of beers as I travel a quite a bit for my job and my preference is usually darker beers but I do like wheats or Pils in the summer. I do miss Genny lite as the all purpose many beer days

Also someone just turned me onto this site to search out beer, beer pubs and stores to find good stuff. http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/

[PatrickTheLion]

I tell ya, you guys have put out some great info - thanks a lot!

Now I have to go search out some of these and start testing!!!

[The Horrible Esthete]

But these days I'm avoiding beer in favour of whisky, which is just beer with all the calories distilled out of it.

What are some of your faves? Are any Canadian whiskies on your A list?

Like "redhill", I do love me some JD, especially the Gentleman Jack. Decent (but not too expensive) bourbons I like are Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey. Knob Creek (a Jim Beam owned brand, aged a little longer than most), is solid too.

But the top-shelf stuff is really where it's at, if you can afford to drop that kind of money on a bottle. Of the premium small-batch varieties, I think Booker's (a brand distilled by Jim Beam) is the best I've had. It's strong, but extremely flavorful. Woodford Reserve is also excellent, imo.

[MattyM]

I had a Kozel once -- can't remember when or where -- but I remember thinking it was delicious and that I'd keep an eye of for it at specialty beer stores who stock lots of imports....but I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere - i suppose i've just forgotten to look in recent years

Just look out for the drunken goat! When I was at college we did a business studies trip to the Czech republic and visited the Kozel brewery.... they kept giving us free beer at 9am!

[Tthip]

Thanks all!!! I have a good start and will try to find some of these bad boys.

If Steam Whistle is from TO, can I get it down here in Buffalo?

Check out Premier - they have many foreign and out of state beers.

[NegPhil]

This is one of my all time favorite beers. Unfortunately, It's got the worst possible name and the label looks like it was designed by 50 Cent.






Dick's Cream Stout

Black and incredibly creamy with flavors of coffee and dark chocolate. A large portion of highly roasted black unmalted barley gives this beer it's opaque black color and deep flavors. Additionally a large percentage of unmalted flaked barley in the malt beer gives this beer it's unmatched creaminess.

Available in 12 oz. & 22 oz. bottles

5% ABW OG = 1.064 TG = 1.016

[Lizard King]

Some of my favorites..

Paulaner



Hacker-Pschorr

[Lizard King]

I usually tend to favor micro-brews, I had a few in NYC last year on my visit and damn if I cant remember the name of the places, one was near times square and boy they made some nice beers, the harvest wheat was one of the best Ive ever drank.

Harvest Wheat and Lagers are my beers of choice, but depending on my mood or the occasion I can go to a variety of beers. Im enjoying the new Rickard's White Ale right now and Steamwhistle is my favorite pilsnser style beer. And as far as domestics and those "mass-market" beers go, Heineken, Stella, MGD, Moosehead and "Canadian" Budweiser are my regulars.

I hate Labatts Blue and Molson Canadian, two of the worst beers ever, especially Molsons, boy they make some awful stuff.

[MattyM]

I hate Labatts Blue and Molson Canadian, two of the worst beers ever, especially Molsons, boy they make some awful stuff.

Spoken like a man who has never been served a pint of lukewarm Fosters ina dodgy pub ona London backstreet!

[The Horrible Esthete]

Spoken like a man who has never been served a pint of lukewarm Fosters ina dodgy pub ona London backstreet!

Omigolly....I saw an oilcan of Foster's Ale (green can) in a local grocery recently and thought "Foster's Ale? It's gotta be better that smegma they call their 'lager', so i snagged one...

....and i was so, SO very wrong.

Disgusting.

[skippy the wonder dog]

What are some of your faves? Are any Canadian whiskies on your A list?

No. Problem with Canadian whisky being, there are no standards here as to what you can call "whisky," unlike in the States, Scotland, or Ireland. You can have any proportion of corn and still call it rye. So I steer clear of the unknowns. The last one I tried tasted like paint.

I mostly drink Scotch, and can't afford the good stuff except for special occasions. Spending money on the high-end single malts will result in Mrs. Skippy addressing me in a firm tone, and there are so many to sample.... Teacher's is my everyday nowadays, Glenlivet when Mrs. Skippy isn't looking. Jamesons or Bushmills when I feel Irish. I want to try some Black Bush ... hmm, perhaps I should find a different way to say that....

JD, okay, it's very smooth but the sweet corn whiskey taste isn't my preference, so I don't pay much attention to American whiskeys. I do have a perverse desire to try George Dickel, simply because it appears in Thomas McGuane's novels, but it isn't exported to Canada.

I'm still learning whisky -- I switched over recently from rum. The nice thing about rum is you can get premium rum a lot cheaper than premium whisky. El Dorado 12 yr old and the top-end Appletons -- yum.

[teemudog]

A beer that I recall enjoying while in BC was Okanagan Springs Extra Special Pale Ale.

Can't believe I remember that name but it is associated with great times in Kamloops, at Duffy's Pub.

[The Horrible Esthete]

Funny, I'm exactly the opposite, both in experiece and palate.

I started loving whiskeys in college but just recently started sampling scotches in the last 5 years or so, and very intermittently at that. And since i'm used to the smoother, sweeter affectations of whiskey (corn), I find most scotches to be too dry and bitter for my tastes.

But Glenlivet is pretty damn good, I must say.

Sounds like you might enjoy Wild Turkey or Booker's; they are not as sweet as JD or Beam (though you'll have to find someplace that will serve Bookers by the glass because its far too pricey to buy a bottle just to try it).

And i must say I've never even heard of George Dickel.

[skippy the wonder dog]

And i must say I've never even heard of George Dickel.

George Dickel is the "other" Tennessee whiskey, and apparently it's very good. Just unobtainable, apparently -- according to their website, their parent company refuses to export Dickel from the US.