Tried a new Beer

[Nomo]

Don't you know there is a three drink minimum before your first post of the day?

This is the exact reason you won't see me posting much before 8 AM.

 

[Rickster71]

My current "favorite" is Samuel Smith (not to be confused with Samuel Adams or any other Samuels). They have quite a few nice varieties, but I have really been enjoying their Oatmeal Stout. Here is a link:

http://mdv-beer.com/pages/5_breweries/samsmith.html

That is a nice one.
Stouts are my favorite; I've never had one I didn't like.

 

[jamie2112]

The Sammy Smith nut brown ale is incredible as well. Has anyone tried ITHICA nut brown? That is another great ale.....

 

[stratman]

This Saturday about 14 of us caveguys congregated at my friend's home to watch UFC Champioship Serra vs St. Pierre. Dinner was authentic Mexican street fare as written and researched by Rick Bayless. Pork ribs, Carne al Carbon*, homemade tortillas, homemade sour cream, tomatillo sauce, salsa fresca followed by an incredible array of ales and beers. For the hardcore "aleist" in the tribe: Dogfish Head-Chateau Jiahu (expensive $15.00 a 750ml bottle) what an experience, you've got to try this is you like ales, be warned a bit on the sweet side but unlike anything you've tried before, followed by all kinds of Belgian Ales, Lambics of all flavors, Ommegang Brewery's Three Philosophers and for the light-weights, pilsners.

* For you grillers out there, this will FREAK everyone....carne al carbon, translated: meat (skirt steak about 3/8" thick marinated in lime for about 1 hour) on the charcoal. Literally on it! That's right fellow cavemen, fire up your trusty Weber with authentic hardwood charcoal (DO NOT NOT USE BRICKETS OF ANY SORT, IT MUST BE HARDWOOD OR IT WON'T WORK!!!) let the the coal get almost WHITE like straw color, that's when you know the heat is perfect. Take you skirt steak salt and pepper it on either side, now (this is where the teeth clenching and tongue biting comes into play) take you stake and place it above the white-hot coals, DON'T TOUCH IT for 3 minutes (time it) after the three minutes using tongs flip the steak(s) for another 2 minutes, remove steaks, let rest and serve. By the way, there was a Cordon Bleu chef there that night that hadn't seen this way of cooking before, he freaked....said it was the best skirt steak he's ever had (he cooks for a restaurant down here that the NY Times has rated as one of the top 3 in the US.)


http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Limited_Edition_Beers/Chateau_Jiahu/25/index.htm

http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?mcat=1&scat=4

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I hope this won't get me banned, but have you completely lost your mind? Why on earth would anyone stop drinking when they found such nectar of the gods as Chimay Ale? Chimay Ale is great. I'll give up beer when they pry the bottle from my cold, dead fingers.

It was becoming a serious habit. I have seen how alcoholics end up, and decided that that is never going to be me.
I sleep much better now, have far more vivid dreams, and wake up more refreshed than before.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

It was becoming a serious habit. I have seen how alcoholics end up, and decided that that is never going to be me.
I sleep much better now, have far more vivid dreams, and wake up more refreshed than before.

I understand. Alcoholism isn't anything to play with.

But define "habit." Thinking about it during the day? Needing one as soon as you get home? Or simply enjoying one each night before bed?

Anyway, my dreams scare the bejeezus out of me, so I drink not to dream.

And my dogs have a tendency to want to get up several times in the night, so drinking or not, I never get a good night's sleep or wake up refreshed. So why not drink?

 

[Joe Schmoe]

But define "habit." Thinking about it during the day? Needing one as soon as you get home? Or simply enjoying one each night before bed?

I would rather not go into those details.
Suffice to say I needed to quit. Most people in that position would have required therapy, but I have ferocious willpower (scary, even.)

 

[Geno]

For you teatotalers: It must be a terrible thing to wake up each morning knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day...

At my age, every beer is a new beer

 

[pzaur]

At my age, every beer is a new beer

Don't they have a name for when everything is new?! It's not Groundhog's Day...

I'm diggin' the Tap Room 21 Pale Ale right now. Very drinkable and not overpowering. Still, I love the Drop Top Ale from Widmer Bros Brewing.

-pat

 

[Tarub]

 

[Alex2507]

Don't you know there is a three drink minimum before your first post of the day?

I knew it!

have you completely lost your mind? Why on earth would anyone stop drinking when they found such nectar of the gods
I'll give up beer when they pry the bottle from my cold, dead fingers.

Alcoholics quiet often die as practicing alcoholics. You think they have beer in heaven?

But define "habit." Thinking about it during the day? Needing one as soon as you get home? Or simply enjoying one each night before bed?

I never get a good night's sleep or wake up refreshed. So why not drink?

Is it a habit if you enjoy one before work? How about a couple while driving to work? Don't confuse habit with excess. Habits are fine.
When you worry about how long your liver can take it while you're getting plowed it's probably time to not drink.

It must be a terrible thing to wake up each morning knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day...

It's also as bad as I'm going to feel all day, and the day after that. Maybe.

Man, you guys are tough. This thread ought to have a warning lable on it.
F it. I'm gonna go pour myself one.
J/K

 

[mikeyj92]

Man, you guys are tough. This thread ought to have a warning lable on it.
F it. I'm gonna go pour myself one.
J/K

Drinking ain't for everyone, it's just the way it is. I live in Wisconsin, we have WAY too many drunk drivers out here...I wish the DUI laws were way harsher and prison time was put forth way earlier (is there any even here?) than it is now. It's not uncommon to read about someone arrested on their 8th, 9th or 10th+ DUI. Disgusting.

But I digress...

Do you have any places out by you that brew root beer? We have a brew pub locally here that brews a delicious Blonde Root beer. It is to die for.

I love trying out flavored sodas and sparkling lemonades and other NA drinks from time to time.

One of my favorite non-sodas is the strawberry-lemonade at Red Robin. Excellent.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I'm not a big fan of soda. I prefer water if I'm not drinking beer but since you brought it up, the Milwaukee-based Sprecher (which makes some tasty beers) has an excellent selection of sodas. They make a great root beer, some cream sodas, an orange dream, and a ginger ale. They all real ingredients including real vanilla.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Having given up alcohol some time ago, I am now taking the next step and giving up caffeine. It was my last vice, so now I will practically be a saint, LOL. The withdrawal symptoms are not fun, but they seem to be about over now, and I can already tell that I feel better in other ways.
My main reason for giving it up is that it caused certain (ahem) digestive issues that I didn't want to have to deal with when spending quality time with my new girlfriend.

 

[haraldo]

Having given up alcohol some time ago, I am now taking the next step and giving up caffeine. It was my last vice, so now I will practically be a saint, LOL. The withdrawal symptoms are not fun, but they seem to be about over now, and I can already tell that I feel better in other ways.
My main reason for giving it up is that it caused certain (ahem) digestive issues that I didn't want to have to deal with when spending quality time with my new girlfriend.

Mighty impressive
How do you manage that, I'm serious !

 

[mikeyj92]

Since when is coffee a "vice"?

 

[haraldo]

Since when is coffee a "vice"?

Coffee in general is not a vice, but too much coffee is

 

[mikeyj92]

"too much coffee" isn't in any way able to be construed as immoral.

Unhealthy maybe.

I only drink 1 pot per day, 7 days a week.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Since when is coffee a "vice"?

It is a drug.

 

[stratman]

Caffeine, I write this as I sip my 8oz Starbucks blend:

Caffeine belongs to a group of stimulants called xanthines. Considering it's readily available and a reliable pick-me-up for many, caffeine is a very popular drug. After you take some in, its highest concentration in our system occurs within thirty to sixty minutes, and its effects usually last for four to six hours. Caffeine is mildly addictive, as you already know. Some of the signs of withdrawal from a caffeine addiction:

Sleepiness
Feeling overtired (from not having had any caffeine to energize you)
A terrible headache (when you abruptly stop having caffeine regularly)

And you're not the only caffeine-head out there. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), four out of five Americans have some caffeine on any given day, the average amount being about 200 milligrams a day (approximately equivalent to what's found in two 8-ounce cups of coffee, three to four 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda, or four 8-ounce cups of tea).

That being said, don't stop enjoying your java, in moderation it isn't bad, neither is sodium nor fat.

By the way caffeine has been shown to enhance your HT experience, usually 16oz of coffee before an action flick does the trick.