What is the main reason you drink beer?
Let’s start with the giveaways, since this is what everyone is interested in. The “gate” giveaway is the beer-themed game Bierzerkers. If you're Level 3 or higher, just answer the quiz correctly and you can join. If you also add a comment about beer on that giveaway, and if your profile is clean (passes the SGTools test) I'll send you an invite to join a group (called "Plan B") for three more giveaways - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (no thanks needed), Just Cause Collection and Trine 2: Complete Story. All three are Level 0 giveaways so if you answered the quiz correctly but couldn't join the Bierzerkers giveaway because you’re not Level 3, you'll be able to join these three.
All giveaways end on November 28, at 11:56 AM Israel (GMT+2)
About the quiz - reading this post once would be enough to learn a bit about homebrewing and to be able to easily answer the quiz linked below (which leads to the giveaways). I tried to make it more difficult to just search for the answers but feel free to do so if you’re so inclined. I suggest you just spend a few minutes to read, and then answer.
Note that this is not an authoritative primer about the subject of homebrewing, it’s just my takeaways, impressions and conclusions about this wonderful hobby after about a year or so and a few dozen homebrews. I’ll try to cover the pros, cons and process of brewing your own beer at home. Some aspects, such as availability of ingredients and cost may not reflect your local homebrewing market.
Let’s start with the benefits of home brewing...
Pros:
Cons:
A bit about the ingredients and process.
Main ingredients:
Methods:
The second method (extract with specialty grains) is very good to begin with, and I'll try to describe it in bit more detail below. This is just to give you an idea, it’s not a recipe you can follow as I’m skipping some details.
Drink the beer! and enjoy the quiz :-)
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I was drinking that in Dorset recently, but seriously I much prefer beer myself! Or whisky!
I don't brew my own unfortunately. I do enjoy a lot of real ales and I love IPA and stouts. I'm not much into lagers. There are a few bitters, porters and brown ales that I like.
Currently I really like the St. Peters Organic Ale, as well as the Black Sheep and Trooper ales. I got into the Doom Bar while I was down South and there was also a Rosie's Pig scrumpy that I took a shine too. But while down there it was also very hard to resist the farm ciders!
My favourite whisky is by far the Isle of Jura single malt! But I'm trying to stay off that because I just drink too much!
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I've had Rosie's Pig! Had Black Sheep too but wasn't a huge fan. Mind you, maybe it was because I had travelled to a Hobgoblin pub only to find out they didn't serve Hobgoblin ale!
Did you see the stuff in the news about Doom Bar not being brewed in Cornwall? Caused quite a stir down these parts!
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The Black Sheep Riggwelter is the one to go for if you can get it!
I did see the stuff about Doom Bar but as far I was aware it was just the bottled stuff that was being brewed under licence and I had been drinking it on tap in Weymouth and surroundings.
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Ah thanks for the advice, I'll try that one instead :D
Oh right, I didn't realise it was just the bottled. I've only ever had it on tap as well :)
Here's to beer!
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I used to drink, I used to drink a lot, but I've stopped drinking alcohol for a few years now.
I drank beer just for the sake of drinking really. While other people could tell the difference between beers all I could differentiate between was the strength and big taste differences. I didn't really have a favourite, all I can say is I didn't like the stronger kinds and the really dark beers.
What I drank most of the time was Grolsch, because I liked the bottles/caps... :D
Then there was a lot of Steinlager and plenty of Tsingtao....
Should I ever feel like a beer again on a hot summer day...a Radler probably.
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It depends where you live. In Israel (where I live) it's not illegal to brew and even distill, but I think it's limited to certain quantities. I never bothered to check because I'm doing relatively small batches and have no commercial aspirations. I'm also not into home distillation at this stage.
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No, it's mostly about volume. You're allowed so many gallons per year, after that you need a license. You're also not allowed to sell it. (But you can give it away) I don't know all the details, but I have a friend at work who's part of a homebrew club called MASH (More Alcohol Should Help)
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Essentially this as far as the United States goes. There are certain counties that are Dry or have their own laws regarding homebrew and things of the such.
Some states you can legally obtain a mash license to make whiskey or shine as well as long as it is in small amounts and they know about it.
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My favortite one is the Orval, a belgian trappist beer from my home region, the Gaume in Belgium. The taste is really good
I drink Jupiler most of the time, a simple pils from Belgium too.
I also like the Karmeliet Triple , the Westmalle Triple (a trapist beer too), the Rochefort 10... Thoses are my favorites but I like many more, mostly belgian, I have the best beers in the world were I am, and I'm glad of that :P
edit: oh and I forgot, the Saint-Feuillien!
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Belgium is indeed beer heaven. I only visited for a day (Brussels), so unfortunately couldn't visit breweries and monasteries, but a large portion of the beer that I buy (I don't only brew) is made in Belgium. Other than the Tripel Karmeliet which you mentioned, my other favorites are Mc Chouffe (available on draft in a restaurant near my workplace, so I have it with lunch at least once or twice a week), Chouffe Houblon, Chimay Bleue (which I brewed a nice clone of), Maredsous 8 and St. Bernardus Abt 12
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There's a bar in Brussels called Délirium Café with around 2500 different beers available (they're even in the Guinness Book for that)
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Well I'm from Belgium and we brew quite a lot of good beers here (including 6 of the 11 trappist beers in the world).
I've never been interesting in brewing myself, but a friend recently bought equipment & supplies to start brewing.
It's hard to choose a favorite one. Maybe the Chimay beers (although I don't like the Red very much).
Some other of my favorites are the Barbãr, Kwak, Cuvée des Trolls, Orval, Grimbergen, ...
I also like the Westvleteren but this one is hard to get. You have to get an appointment with the monks, then wait a couple weeks and go pick it up at the abbey ^^
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Yeah the Westvleteren as I heard is really hard to get, never had the chance to taste one sadly :( I heard too that there is some on ebay but it's really expensive, even empty bottles.... ><'
The Cuvé des Trolls is exellent too, I forgot this one... :P
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Man i miss the belgium beers. I'm from Lille, and loved to drink Ch'ti, Chimay, Kwak, Grimbergen, Karmlite etc when i was home or everytime i go back.
Here beer tastes like water, it's good to refresh yourself on hot summer days, but they really are tasteless. The above average they had in beijing is Yanjing beer, after there's the most famous Tsingdao after that they have Xuehua .... The alcohol is just 3.2% not really good it just makes you pee a lot, you could drink 12 big bottles and barely feel a thing, compared to the ones back home where you really enjoy drinking just one while eating potshv'lesh :D
When i was in Congo they had beer like back home kind of, the best one was Tembo over there.
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I've always wanted to try Westvleteren, but no luck getting hold of any so far..
Maybe one of these days, I'll make it back over to Belgium for a visit :)
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My favorite beer breweries are all in Germany.... Probably because I'm a huge fan of Pilsners.
I don't like IPAs much... I know, I'm a heathen, cause I don't like hops
I also like Rauchbier, but it's almost impossible to find here...
Anyways...
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Bohemian Pilseners are. Pilseners in general is a group of beer styles which aren't necessarily brewed in the Czech republic. This isn't Champagne or Cognac where the beverages carrying these names have to come from these regions. Pilseners can be made anywhere, and can be freely marketed with this name.
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I use this simple kit and am drinking homemade beer right now. It may not be very sophisticated but is super easy to use. I quite enjoy the results :)
I don't have favorite beer. It all depends on season, mood and food you are eating.
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I couldn't find any mention of hops on this page. Are you supposed to buy hops separately?
BTW, other than the quiz and giveaways I added some information about homebrewing in the first comment above. You may find that other methods are even more tempting.
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I have been debating starting this thread, as well as starting a Beer Trading thread in the trades section lol.
Homebrewing - not currently, have done kit and kettle cooks. Currently know about 7 active Brewmasters within 100 miles of here. Three guys that worked under me at the craft beer bar I ran are now brewing for local breweries that they helped open. I really need to get more room so I can start brewing and pitching again.
Favorite Brewery I would say is Surly. After attending Darkness Days and the Friday Night block party...there is nothing more amazing. Also, 3 variants of Darkness plus the Cask and Todd The Axe Man on tap with Goatwhore as the headlining music act and all of the best Minnesota food trucks there serving. It is something magical.
My every day style is IPA generally speaking, but I drink with the seasons. In the summer I love a nice Saison, winter a great Barleywine or Stout hits the spot. Belgian Quads Tripels and Dubbels along with Goldens are nice in the fall. My favorite style of all times is hands down Sours. Most of my cellar is made up of Sours with some Quads and Stouts in there. I always say I have a buying problem not a drinking problem...soon I am gonna need another fridge or to actually build a beer cellar in the basement lol.
I was a manager at a craft beer bar in town with 40 taps, a Dogfish Head Randal and a Cask setup until the beginning of this year. Cicerone certified bartender and one hell of a hophead here!
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I still remember the time I went to a specialised bar and tasted my first beer from a local miicrobrewery . Usually beer leaves you a bitter taste in the mouth, but the one I tasted that day... so fresh fruit taste! It was an APA 5,4% (Dry Hopping). The bad part is its price :/
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My favorites seem to change a lot, as I'm finally getting to the point to where I really know what I like/dislike. I'd say right now my fav is a local blueberry lager that really hits the spot after work. I normally can't stand fruity beers, but this one is dynamite! Other than that I typically stick to the darker/heavier beers. Porters, milk stouts, brown ales... I can count the number of times I've been drunk on one hand, so I'm definitely out there for the taste/aroma of beer.
I'd love to brew my own someday, but it would be pretty tough to find a place to do so at my current house.
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It's actually a 50/50 mix of their porter and blueberry beers. The bartender made it for me the first time I was there and got me hooked. Their chocolate ale is fantastic, too! https://untappd.com/ZwanzigZBrewing/beer
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Not minor or religious, I just dislike alcohol. Just the smell of beer makes me nauseous.
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there is a local brewery who make a stout (Guinness style, less strong) with an after taste of Coffee.
best beer i had in a long time...
other than that, usually stout or ale.
i don't like pale lagers i feel like i'm drinking piss, sorry
won't make beer at home want to make cheese first. but there is a course in my Uni that has Wine making, and i think also beer making.
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really? 2 months after?
re-reading the old threads? ;)
anyway, it's called "Alexander black". i even found it from a draft once.
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i saw the wall of text ;)
didn't know it was new...
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i read it all. don't want the game so didn't bother with the puzzle too much.
and no time to make my own beer ;)
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yeah, all three ;)
plus i don't like puzzles. couldn't answer even after reading
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I hate puzzles too because I can't ever solve them. This is why I decided to make this one easy, but we've all heard this one before. At least now I can relate to those "easy" puzzle creators and believe that they're not trolling us, but really believe their puzzles are easy.
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what? i know the answer. so that means the puzzle is easy ;)
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I'm a drinker. Never brewed my own stuff.
I'm gonna post my message from my (group) Bierzerkers giveaway from a few weeks back:
Beer. I love it.
Not the regular beer, but the special brews.
If you like a good beer let me know which beers are your favourites. I'm always looking for interesting beers I never tasted.
Me and some friends took a beer tasting weekend to Leuven in Belgium a few months back, a city where The Capital can be found. The pub with the largest beer selection in the world. Needless to say it a was an excellent weekend.
My top 3 of beers are:
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I love beer. I love exploring the many different styles of beer and comparing different beers from within the same style. I love brewing my own and experimenting with different recipes, ingredients and techniques. I love tasting beer and taking notes of nuances (as my limited senses and knowledge allow), I sometimes even write a short review about a beer that I liked (or one that I didn't). I’m ok with a bit of a buzz, although it’s not a goal in itself. I normally don’t get any buzz because I drink a bottle or so a day and that’s simply not enough to have any such effect on me. I don’t enjoy getting drunk and practically never do.
The poll here unfortunately doesn’t support voting for multiple options, so I'll go for a short survey format...
See the first comment below for a bit about homebrewing and of course the giveaways :-)
Update: Quiz answers. The quiz is here if you want to try it before seeing the answers...
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