MOTHAFUCKIN' BOOZE TIME

[doom]

its around $7.50 for a 6 pack here.

[rynne]

Beer store haul:

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Ale (anyone noticing a trend here?)
Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada Life & Limb
New Belgium Fat Tire

Obviously pumpkin beer rules.  I didn't see any Pumpkinhead, so I went with the bomber of Smashed Pumpkin.  I've never seen Life & Limb before, so I had to get it as a DFH fan (though we had the other DFH/SN collab beer, Limb & Life, at the brewpub last year).  And Fat Tire 'cause I wanted something to drink tonight.

[kristin]

Punkin is in my top 3 beers of all time. I even got my dad turned on to it

[videodrone]

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin isn't too bad. It's similar to Shipyard Pumpkinhead.

So I'm getting kind of sick of drinking Bud Light all the time and need something new. Any suggestions from the beer connoisseurs out there? I'm open to anything, outside of stuff that's too heavy. If it's something I'm gonna be drinking on a regular basis, I'd like my pants to still fit. I've currently switched to Blue Moon and Amstel Light, if that helps.

drone

[kristin]

Stella Artois?

[luna]

Yes Stella!

[sin]

Not a fan.

[individualzero]

Having never tried it myself, from what I've heard, a lot of my friends who drink beer say Stella Artois is pretty damn good. They also mentioned Blue Moon and... I'm probably gonna catch flak just for being so mainstream, but I'm told Pabst Blue Ribbon is pretty boss.

[sin]

I will commence sending you flak to catch:

PBR is balls.  If I'm gonna drink cheap beer, I'm going to drink Steel Reserve or Busch Light or Bud Ice, or any of the multitude of cheap beers that are better than PBR.

It's made even worse by the fact that Iowa City is a college town, filled to the brim with hipsters, who drink PBR because it's cool these days, so the local retailers charge for PBR about what they charge for "normal" priced beers, because the hipsters pay it anyway, because they know nothing about beer.

Stella Artois IS a decent beer, I've just always seen it kind of over-priced.  If I'm going to pay that much for beer, I'm going to grab some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse.  And of course, if I REALLY want to splurge, I'll make an effort to go to an actual liquor store to get some Belhaven Scottish Ale.

[individualzero]

Hey, I deserve the flak for not drinking beer and knowing what they taste like. LOL

They're things to try, but from the way you described PBR, I'd probably cross PBR off the list.

I did have a friend of mine rant and rave about Sierra Nevada, but I don't know that it was pale ale. While I'm sure that's good, they described this Sierra Nevada variant as coming in a green(ish?) bottle and being a bit... heavier than regular beer? Is that their Pale Ale?

[sin]

Sierra Nevada comes in a brown bottle with a green label, but I think they also make a stout (or maybe a wheat?) that comes in an identical bottle with a reddish brown label.  Not bad, but not as good their Pale Ale.

I wouldn't necessarily call Sierra Nevada a "heavier" beer, but is definitely more bitter than a lot of ales.  If you're into bitter beers, it's a great one to try.

edit:  I like Franziskaner because everyone I know thinks it tastes different.  I have friends who think it tastes like pork sausages, soy sauce, and wine.  Personally, I think it kind of tastes like apples.

[individualzero]

I have friends who think it tastes like pork sausages

That's close enough to bacon for me to want to try it (because let's face it, who wouldn't drink bacon-beer?).



I think I just made my arteries harden with that joke.

[doom]

there is a bacon beer, and i want nothing to do with it.

[rynne]

So I'm getting kind of sick of drinking Bud Light all the time and need something new. Any suggestions from the beer connoisseurs out there? I'm open to anything, outside of stuff that's too heavy. If it's something I'm gonna be drinking on a regular basis, I'd like my pants to still fit. I've currently switched to Blue Moon and Amstel Light, if that helps.

drone

Blue Moon is a witbier; if you like that a good upgrade is Heogaarden, which is pretty widely distributed. Allagash White is another good beer of the same style.  As far as lagers I really like Brooklyn Lager, which is surprisingly malty and tasty.

I did have a friend of mine rant and rave about Sierra Nevada, but I don't know that it was pale ale. While I'm sure that's good, they described this Sierra Nevada variant as coming in a green(ish?) bottle and being a bit... heavier than regular beer? Is that their Pale Ale?

I'd assume that a generic reference to "Sierra Nevada" is referring to their pale ale, which is their most well-known beer. At least around me, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Sam Adams Lager were the two most widespread craft beers at the very beginning of the craft/microbrew explosion of the '00s. As such, I can understand why someone would think it's gotten played out (I agree to some extent; I certainly don't buy it much now that other craft brews are more common).

That being said, Sierra Nevada is a good brewery that has lots of good beers that are unrelated to their Pale Ale. Their Bigfoot barleywine is worth checking out.

[videodrone]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Next time I'm at the liquor store I'll be good to go.

I've had PBR before. It's not terrible, but it's not something I'd want to drink on a regular basis.

drone