Beer - Whiskey - Wine (The Snob Thread)

[Reznor2112]

I absolutely love beer and irish whiskey. I'm getting more into bourbon now-a-days. Whenever my fiancé go out for dinner lately, I've been pulling a Don Draper and getting an Old Fashioned….goood shit.



Commence the alchy talk:

[october_midnight]

I'm a red wine fanatic, love Pinot Noir. When it comes to beer, I guess it does put me in the snobbish territory in that I absolutely despise 99% of domestics and primarily stick to stouts and craft beers. Luckily, the Vancouver area (feel free to look it up) is an award winning haven for craft breweries. Some of my favorites:






And if we're talking bourbon...there's only one for me...



That's Aaron's SHIT right there.

[Reznor2112]

That Granville sounds interesting. I love craft beers most of all especially during Fall and Winter. (Best time of year)

And whenever I order an Old Fashioned, I always ask for Bulleit. Damn smooth.

[october_midnight]

GIB is a local brewery that produces quality beers for sure, the Winter Ale is obv. for the winter season, and the summer one is equally tasty:



Probably also due to the fact that it's not too sweet or overpowering.

[Dra508]

I went through a Knob Creek Bourbon phase, but then I got sick and got over it.

I don't drink much beer, but when I do, it's an IPA - Harpoon being my local favorite.

I try hard to understand red wine. I more or less know what I like and don't like, but years and vineyards - not really. Hanging around my BF has me not buying anything under $15 a bottle. That qualifies as snob, yes?

[october_midnight]

No, $15 is the wine cutoff. It's a very, very legit night and day truth. Anything over $15 can be definitely quality, but you get to the $6-$9 stuff and ohhhh boy. Might as well have a big 'X X X' on the label.

[Dra508]

No, $15 is the wine cutoff. It's a very, very legit night and day truth. Anything over $15 can be definitely quality, but you get to the $6-$9 stuff and ohhhh boy. Might as well have a big 'X X X' on the label.

HA. A few people I know by $10 SAV. Blanc by the case. Bleck. Costco has some good deals.

[october_midnight]

HA. A few people I know by $10 SAV. Blanc by the case. Bleck. Costco has some good deals.

Keep in mind as well, I'm speaking in Vancouver, BC terms...and our liquor taxes up here are bonkers. I'll dip down to Seattle and find bottles in a QVC or somewhere for $13.99 that are easily $24.99 up here.

[Kid Charlemagne]

When I'm not drinking Lone Star, I like two local breweries down here. One is Real Ale, their Fireman's 4 Blonde Ale is my favorite, and it goes down so smooth:


Another cool brewery is Shiner. It's in a small town about 30 minutes away from me. Shiner Bock is somewhat well known in the states, but I absolutely love their Holliday Cheer brew. It's released for two months out of the year, so I usually stock up on cases of it so I can have some all year long:

[Dra508]

Oh I lied, I like Shiner Bock too. I finally saw some up north here.

[allegro]

Keep in mind as well, I'm speaking in Vancouver, BC terms...and our liquor taxes up here are bonkers. I'll dip down to Seattle and find bottles in a QVC or somewhere for $13.99 that are easily $24.99 up here.

You'd die in Chicago, our wine discount sales are legendary. Wine enthusiasts buy by the case to stock the cellars.

I'm currently obsessed with bubbly; prosecco, cava, champagne, blanc de blancs, etc.

[botley]

Beau's is bananas!

[Baphomette]

You'd die in Chicago, our wine discount sales are legendary.

Yup. I finally came to like wine when I lived in Chicago b/c of this.

[allegro]

Yup. I finally came to like wine when I lived in Chicago b/c of this.

LOL, I was standing in a Binny's the other day, among the 20 or so asles of wine, and I said to G, "I wonder how many people in here don't realize that it's not like this everywhere."

Free tastings on Saturdays!!

The only rival, of course, is Napa.

[decadent]

This is the reight thread for a whisky snob like me!

The last 5 years I have been getting more and more into Islay single malt whisky, which resulted in a whisky tour on the island this year. Basically the Islay whiskys are known for their smokey, peaty taste. Some people even say they taste like medicin, but the distilleries describe their taste as a combination of salty sea water, peat and sea weeds.

Although the most famous brand for folks at ETS will probably be Lagavulin (because of the great ron Swanson, of course) there are several more, that are at least that good if not better. My favorite is Laphroaig Cask Strength - one of the peatiest whiskys, with a taste I could recognize anytime. Other favorites - Port Charlotte from Bruichladdich (one of the last independent distilleries), Ardbeg - famous brand, but rightly so and since 2004 - Kilchoman - a very small, independent distillery and the only one that produces its whisky with products only from the island.

I managed to visit all distilleries and it was one of my best travell experiences. The people on the island are really, really friendly and it felt like it was a big family living there. I got to try very special whiskys that normally you dont get in mainland Europe and also brought some bottles with me. Some of them I will drink on a special occasion, some will stay closed as an investment.

The best single malts I have ever tried are the following three:

1. Laphroaig 25 years old


2. Ardbeg Galileo


3. Karuizawa 26 years old (very lucky to have tried that one since there are only several bottles left in the world)


Also, for people that live in Munich (I am talking about you, @dlb ) the Munich Whisky festival is something special and you should visit it at least once.

[Dra508]

This is the reight thread for a whisky snob like me!

I managed to visit all distilleries and it was one of my best travell experiences. The people on the island are really, really friendly and it felt like it was a big family living there. I got to try very special whiskys that normally you dont get in mainland Europe and also brought some bottles with me. Some of them I will drink on a special occasion, some will stay closed as an investment.
.

Honest curiousity, do you get tastings at these distilleries?

You'd die in Chicago, our wine discount sales are legendary. Wine enthusiasts buy by the case to stock the cellars.

Is it discount pricing, selection or low liquor tax that makes it great?

When I'm in Texas, I check out Total Wine. They seem to be expanding around The States, just not to mine.

[allegro]

@Dra508 all of the above. It used to be even CHEAPER but the tax went up in the 90s due to a bullshit deal between local politicians and a big local distributor.

[decadent]

@Dra508 - yes, you can have tastings in every distillery. They range from a 5$ tours including 1-2 drams to high-end tastings where you can taste from exclusive casks, filled with cask strength whisky that will never be sold to the public.

In most cases the cheapest tasting/tours are more than enough since in the end they are usually very generous and you can try more than the included 1-2 drams. For example in Bruichladdich distillery shop they let us try every whisky we asked for even without doing a tour.

But I guess the best time to go is the annual festival - Feis Ile - where every distillery has a free tasting day. I just caught the last day of it, but it was great fun.

[Calla lily]

My husband homebrews beer, so when he makes one for me, that would be my beer of choice. We have completely opposite beer tastes. I usually prefer dark beers, stouts, porters. However, I'm getting tired of beer and moving on to sampling distilled beverages. I got to try some Johnny Walker Blue a couple weeks ago, and that was real nice. Wasn't sure I would like scotch, but now I want to try more. I don't like wine.

[ibanez33]

When it comes to beer, I guess it does put me in the snobbish territory in that I absolutely despise 99% of domestics and primarily stick to stouts and craft beers. Luckily, the Vancouver area (feel free to look it up) is an award winning haven for craft breweries.

Same here. I prefer Steamworks and Russell over GIB but there are so many great local beers it's hard to keep track of them sometimes. Russell's "Angry Scotch Ale" is to die for.

[icklekitty]

Wine - I see people here mentioning grape varieties but not country, year.... 4 year old SW French carignans and syrahs are hard to beat, though I have a soft spot for young SA pinotages and chenin blancs (Nandos, srsly). I'm struggling to find decent Tempranillos these days, at least ones that aren't blends. Something awful is happening to Spanish wine in that the tannins are becoming a bit prunish. When I have the cash, I splurge on 3-5 year old Victorian Cabs; Virgin Wines had The Black Pig on offer recently and I drunk it like water. If in doubt, the Syrah from M&S is £7.69 and a total crowd pleaser.


Beer - non lo so

Whiskey - Woodford Reserve is my favourite for an Old Fashioned. So vanilla, so woody. If you want to cheat, add a drop of Cointreau. Buffalo Trace and Makers Mark seem to make the best Mahattans (perfect, two cherries - and perfect does not mean "add white vermouth" - blech!). Highland/Speyside single malts are creeping in as my new Whisky fancy; I have a lot to learn here but there are many tasting kits of my wishlist. @decadent Ardbeg Galileo - German whisky? I didn't know it existed (well)!

[decadent]

@icklekitty - nope, there is nothing German about it, pure Islay single malt. There are some German whiskeys but they are all terrible.

Regarding beers - the Munichs Crew Republic craft beers are amazingly good. Same goes for one of the pioneers in microbrewery - Brew Dog:

[theimage13]

Same goes for one of the pioneers in microbrewery - Brew Dog:

I wouldn't call them pioneers so much as publicity whores. I mean, some of their antics are pretty funny. But I've tried a lot of their stuff, and only one or two have ever really struck me as a solid beer worthy of the prices they charge. A lot of their stuff isn't bad - it's just not even noteworthy.

[icklekitty]

@icklekitty - nope, there is nothing German about it, pure Islay single malt. There are some German whiskeys but they are all terrible.

Regarding beers - the Munichs Crew Republic craft beers are amazingly good. Same goes for one of the pioneers in microbrewery - Brew Dog:

That's interesting, I saw Ardberg other stuff all the time in Germany so assumed it was a German brand.

And yeah, Brewdog is a chain bar here.

[playwithfire]

We brew beer at my job and I made a St. Paul Porter a bit ago. I *LOVE* the smell of beer being made during the first step of boiling the water/putting in the grains/hops/stuffs. But it's super hit or miss with people. But yeah, you can make such great beer!

[Timinator]

Whisky snobs: an excellent scene to get in on now is Tasmanian whisky. It's all still tiny and boutique-y.
Although my favourite Australian whisky lately has been Limeburners Barrel Strength Single Malt.

If we're talking beer and wine I'll never stop posting. I have made it my mission, though, to drink only Australian wine since I moved here nearly 5 years ago. And with only a couple of exceptions that's been the case.

[icklekitty]

We brew beer at my job

Beer AND porn?! Your work should start a religion.

[Fixer808]

Same here. I prefer Steamworks and Russell over GIB but there are so many great local beers it's hard to keep track of them sometimes. Russell's "Angry Scotch Ale" is to die for.

Driftwood Breweries, you guys... White Bark Wheat Ale is delish.

[Wretchedest]

Ironically I'm pretty much strictly a beer guy, even though my wife is a sommelier.

But I know my beer. Right now, for our anniversary, I've been Aging a bottle of last years Anniversary Ale from The Bruery, in Orange county. The way it tastes, it might as well be Bourbon. Here's hoping the aging went ok. My previous experiment in aging, a bottle of Firestone's Parabola. I wish I had just drunk it when I had it.

I've even been known to make some excursions for beer. Last year we flew down to San Diego for Stone's Vertical Epic tasting, 12 beers produced one year after each other and then aged to be tasted one after the other. It was pretty mind blowing!

Here in Monterey, which is pretty small, all things considered, we're lucky enough to have 3 local breweries (if you don't count firestone, which is in the southmost part of the county) and the newest one, the Alvarado Street Brewing Company is looking like it might be able to compete with some of the best.

Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:
Firestone: Stickee Monkee
Firestone: Parabola
Bruery: Tart of Darkness
Crooked Line: Sea Legs
Mikkeler: Beer Geek Brunch Weasel
Clown Shoes: Vampire Slayer
Rogue: Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale

....yup

[allegro]

I'm a junmai ginjo sake fan, currently love "Wandering Poet."

http://m.wine.com/catalog/details?productid=92146