This is one of the few instances in which I'm in full agreement with you. I don't understand the love for summer shandy.
I've never had Shandy. However, I really don't think it even belongs in this thread. It isn't a beer. If I suggested Bacardi Lemonades were a great "summer beer", there would be no question.
I have no doubt that the Shandy might be good on a hot, hot day. But it just isn't beer.
Aside - went on a trip through Colorado last week. Wife was very upset we hit New Belgium on a Sunday when they're closed. Ended up at a place called Coopersmith's in Ft Collins. Good stuff - however I recommend staying away from the jalepeno beer.
I have been meaning to make some chili with that beer. I am positive it would be the best chili ever.
I have been meaning to make some chili with that beer. I am positive it would be the best chili ever.
Coopersmith used to be one of my favorite hang outs. Great beer. They have pub side with good beer and good food and then pool side when you want to play some pool. I really miss old town. Awesome location in a great city.
Coopersmith used to be one of my favorite hang outs. Great beer. They have pub side with good beer and good food and then pool side when you want to play some pool. I really miss old town. Awesome location in a great city.
Even with all of the breweries in The FC (Fort Collins Brewery, Odell, New Belgium, Equinox, CB Potts, the big factory by the interstate that shall not be named, etc.), Coops is still hard to beat. I had a marzen there a few weeks ago. I could have drowned in a vat of that stuff an died happy.
Coopersmith used to be one of my favorite hang outs. Great beer. They have pub side with good beer and good food and then pool side when you want to play some pool. I really miss old town. Awesome location in a great city.
My brother lived in FoCo for a year. We went to a bar in Old Town that was in an old bank. It was awesome.
Fort Collins is one of the few places outside of Iowa that I would gladly live in.
In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection.
Jumbo, I really liked the Peace Tree Double. Didn't think it was too malty at all. It seems to me that most Double IPAs end up coming out really malty in an attempt to balance the hops (Double Wide, I'm looking your way), and while there's still a lot of bitterness, there's also less hop character/flavor to my senses. I didn't get that out of Peace Tree's, nor Olde Main's (at Brewfest).
Maybe excessively malty isn't what I was trying to convey. It's the wrong kind of malty. I think it's the Belgian yeast. It ends up coming across too...sweet. It's a good beer, don't get me wrong, but I like my IPAs to finish crisp and clean without that heavy lingering sweetness (with some exceptions...Hopslam is a great beer that ends up being a bit sweet - though I think that's because it's brewed with honey). I'd love to see what that beer would be like if he used something like Nottingham, or, my favorite IPA yeast, Safale US-05.
Originally Posted by Al_4_State
My brother lived in FoCo for a year. We went to a bar in Old Town that was in an old bank. It was awesome.
Fort Collins is one of the few places outside of Iowa that I would gladly live in.
I agree totally. If I could pack everything up and move to Estes Park or FoCo, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I love love love Colorado. Probably my all-around favorite place on earth. I suspect I"ll end up retiring there and being a wal-mart greeter/grizzly outdoorsman.
"Homemade beer, after all, is like a democracy. Every so often, you’re gonna hate what comes out of it. But when it’s good, it’s the best." - woot.com
Maybe excessively malty isn't what I was trying to convey. It's the wrong kind of malty. I think it's the Belgian yeast. It ends up coming across too...sweet. It's a good beer, don't get me wrong, but I like my IPAs to finish crisp and clean without that heavy lingering sweetness (with some exceptions...Hopslam is a great beer that ends up being a bit sweet - though I think that's because it's brewed with honey). I'd love to see what that beer would be like if he used something like Nottingham, or, my favorite IPA yeast, Safale US-05.
I agree totally. If I could pack everything up and move to Estes Park or FoCo, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I love love love Colorado. Probably my all-around favorite place on earth. I suspect I"ll end up retiring there and being a wal-mart greeter/grizzly outdoorsman.
Estes may seem nice when you visit. I guarantee that if you lived there, the tourists would drive you CRAZY. Add to that fact the Big Thompson canyon road during rubber neck season and you'll want to jump off a high peak.
Estes may seem nice when you visit. I guarantee that if you lived there, the tourists would drive you CRAZY. Add to that fact the Big Thompson canyon road during rubber neck season and you'll want to jump off a high peak.
Fort Collins I could do. I love that town.
True that. I was thinking more along the lines of wintering there.
I can see Big Thompson canyon road being an unmitigated traffic disaster though. I've only ever been during the very beginning and very end of tourist season, so I've never had to deal with it during the peak.
Really anywhere along the northern half of I-25 I could deal with. From C-Springs up through Denver, Longmont, up to Fort Collins. I don't know the southern half of the state very well, but it seems a bit close to New Mexico for my taste.
"Homemade beer, after all, is like a democracy. Every so often, you’re gonna hate what comes out of it. But when it’s good, it’s the best." - woot.com
Maybe excessively malty isn't what I was trying to convey. It's the wrong kind of malty. I think it's the Belgian yeast. It ends up coming across too...sweet. It's a good beer, don't get me wrong, but I like my IPAs to finish crisp and clean without that heavy lingering sweetness (with some exceptions...Hopslam is a great beer that ends up being a bit sweet - though I think that's because it's brewed with honey). I'd love to see what that beer would be like if he used something like Nottingham, or, my favorite IPA yeast, Safale US-05.
I agree totally. If I could pack everything up and move to Estes Park or FoCo, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I love love love Colorado. Probably my all-around favorite place on earth. I suspect I"ll end up retiring there and being a wal-mart greeter/grizzly outdoorsman.
Hopslam is without a doubt my favorite double, or extra, or imperial IPA. It maintains it's hop crispness all the way through, without tasting so much damn syrupy malt, which is kind of how Boulevard Double Wide (I LOVE Single Wide though) and Shipyard's XXX taste tom me. Peace Tree's seemed to keep that hop character, although I can see what you're saying about the Belgian Yeast. I think their use of the Belgian Yeast has opened people who normally balk at IPAs to the genre. My girlfriend generally can't stand IPAs, but she likes Peace Tree's because it "reminds me of a Belgian wit sort of".
In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection.
Hopslam is without a doubt my favorite double, or extra, or imperial IPA. It maintains it's hop crispness all the way through, without tasting so much damn syrupy malt, which is kind of how Boulevard Double Wide (I LOVE Single Wide though) and Shipyard's XXX taste tom me. Peace Tree's seemed to keep that hop character, although I can see what you're saying about the Belgian Yeast. I think their use of the Belgian Yeast has opened people who normally balk at IPAs to the genre. My girlfriend generally can't stand IPAs, but she likes Peace Tree's because it "reminds me of a Belgian wit sort of".
Hopslam is a GREAT beer. I really do think it's the honey. They do a great job of attenuating the malt sugars, and replace some of that sweetness with honey. It doesn't come across boozy (I can distinctly taste the alcohol in the Peacetree DIPA...it's not entirely unpleasant, but it's certainly noticeable). I love single wide too, but I agree that Doublewide is a little bit..much.
Speaking of Bells, next Sat. they are doing a beer tasting at Sbrocco, as they are adding their high proof beers. Bell's Brewery Beer Tasting Downtown Des Moines
It'll be so exciting to see some of their fantastic seasonals show up (i.e. Hopslam, Expedition Stout, Cherry Stout, Third Coast etc).
I don't know how I feel about Peacetree just yet. It's good beer. It's just not great beer (yet), IMO. I'll be patient with them :) I HATED Olde Main when they started, but they've grown on me (kinda).
Madhouse, I'm not entirely impressed with. It's from the Jasper Winery folks. I want to like them, but it's just generic 'beer' at this point. Plus it's two 'blah' beer styles- a wheat and a pale. I haven't really tried the wheat, but the pale ale just didn't taste very good to me.
At any rate, I think it's hard to argue that the Iowa craft beer scene isn't growing slowly but surely! It's always great to have more options! Especially local ones. I'd much rather spend my beer money locally, than ship it off to another state. Just gotta give me a reason to do it!
I also kinda like the idea of going to where the beer is made to drink it. You get a whole different feeling drinking a Coors in the mountains than you do at some dive bar in Hoboken, NJ.
"Homemade beer, after all, is like a democracy. Every so often, you’re gonna hate what comes out of it. But when it’s good, it’s the best." - woot.com
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Originally Posted by Stumpy 
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