your drink of choice ? ? ?

[Titan!]

Sam Adams just came out with a pilsner style, Noble Pils. I've been looking for a good, readily available pilsner, and have just found it.

Have you tried their coastal wheat ? I'm not usually a fan of wheat beer, but the lemony citrus taste of this one has me looking forward to summer.

(not sure why they included it in their winter sampler pack)

(Which by the way, Sam Adam's Cranberry Lambic ? F'ing awful)

[zdunklee]

(Which by the way, Sam Adam's Cranberry Lambic ? F'ing awful)

100% Agree...that stuff is terrible.

[potthole]

Saw the Coastal and was interested until I saw the mention of lemon. Something tells me it might be too sweet for my tastes. Just like their Cherry Wheat is-- just too sweet and sugary.

[Titan!]

If they changed the name to lemon wheat, it would be a bit more accurate of a name

[landmammaldolphin]

Yeah, it shouldn't be in a Winter Pack of anything.

I have to say I do enjoy a Line's Summer Shandy in the heat of the summer. Now if we can just get some heat this year.

If either of you see Belhaven Scottish Ale in a sixer, let me know where. I found some singles at World Market but I didn't see it there in a pack.

[Titan!]

Landy, have you shopped for beer at the Cascade Meijer, or Sicilianos ? Both have excellent selections.

[landmammaldolphin]

Nope. I usually shop D. Shulers or Meijer on 54th. I'll have to give them both a try though. Thanks for the heads up!

[zdunklee]

Martha's Vineyard on Union is full of good selection as well, but that Cascade Meijer is effing massive.

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[Titan!]

Sam Adams just came out with a pilsner style, Noble Pils. I've been looking for a good, readily available pilsner, and have just found it.

just saw this at Meijer last night, made with all 5 noble hops ! Wooooo ! Gonna try a 6er this weekend.


With the 2 new Sam Adams on the market, I wonder if they've dropped some of their other brews ?

There's limited shelf space, which of course means something is going to be less available

Zach, good call on Martha's Vineyard. Excellent selection and knowlegable staff.

[potthole]

Granted it's just Wikipedia, but it doesn't look like Sam Adams dropped any of their others. Noble Pils is another seasonal beer, so I can see how they wouldn't need to bump something for it.

I'd put Noble as my second favorite pilsner, behind Bitburger. Only problem with Bitburger is that it can be a little difficult to find at times.

[Titan!]

I think we need to have a message board beer tasting

[landmammaldolphin]

I think we need to have a message board beer tasting

Hellz yeah! I get on the ratebeer.com site sometimes and I have a good chuckle at how people describe beers sometimes. It either tastes good or it tastes like you licked donkey balls, it doesn't have a nose that is "malt, caramel, slight bitter, slight biscuit, and a slight toast/ roast." It smells like friggin beer and either smells malty or hoppy. Sorry, people like that piss me off. I'm not bitter, just saying is all.

[potthole]

I'm pretty picky about my beer, and am an unashamed beer snob, but some of the people on ratebeer.com take it to a whole new scientific level. I can point out and tell you about some of the characteristics of a beer, but nowhere near the detail that some of those folks do.

[krystal]

I like beer, but can't really distinguish different tastes in beer. It all tastes like beer to me. The only thing I worry about is whether or not it will give me heartburn. Which is why I stick with BudLight. Because it has been proven not to.

[landmammaldolphin]

I agree potthole. What I find funny is that every person thinks they smell or taste something different from the rest. It's actually quite entertaining to read it sometimes!

On a different note, Grand Rapids Brewing Company has a new brewer. He is supposed to be catching up on the Lumberman's Dark and their Stout and then he is going to venture into a rotational tap. The bartender I spoke with said the first one would likely be a nut brown so I'm excited to get over and try it.

[Titan!]

Im a fan of lumberman's !

Can I call myself a beer snob if I say that I like Bud's American Ale, and Steel Reserve ?

[landmammaldolphin]

Lumberman's is a fantastic porter!

At 350+ pounds you can call yourself whatever you want!

[-Jiggy-]

Has anybody in Michigan tried Kid Rock's "American Badass Beer yet?

[potthole]

Haven't seen it around. I'll probably give it a try if I do. Word from some friends over in Detroit is that it's decent, but nothing earth shattering.

[Titan!]

Just like the Noble Pils, decent but nothing Earth shattering

[krystal]

When I'm just scanning what you guys are writing I keep thinking your talking about me. Because my name is Brewer. It's disappointing to realize your not.

[Titan!]

Krystal, figure out a way to pour yourself into a glass, and we'll start a whole new thread just for you.


HOP CAT !

Hop Cat is brewing their own beer now !

Hop Cat, the # 3 beer bar IN THE WORLD is now brewing their own Micro Brews.

In addition to the 49 taps, and more than 150 bottles, they're adding ..... umm I really don't know what they're adding, but I'm sure it will be awesome.

[landmammaldolphin]

I prefer Rockwell's mac and cheese over Hopcat's but Hopcat has a great beer selection! We will have to setup a beer testing GT.

[potthole]

'Bout time Hopcat started doing that. They've been talking about it ever since they opened. The crack fries at Hopcat are most often amazing. I've gotten them a couple times where they were too salty, but nine times out of ten they're great.

[Titan!]

Soo.... How's about a meet up at Hop Cat ? Or not even necessarily a meet up, but let's go to hop cat and drink awesome beer

[landmammaldolphin]

I'm game but my wife plans my weekends well in advance so it will have to be a planned event.

[Titan!]

They mentioned one of Zane's wigs as being Strawberry blonde, and that reminded me of

Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde, I had it last summer and loved it. It's a nice wheat beer with just a hint of strawberry, it's a great summer beer.

[landmammaldolphin]

I'm not a fan of too many Red Wines but tried Menage A Trois (yes the actual name of the wine) and it's a pretty good Red. It's a mix of Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel. It's not as dry as most reds and it is pretty sweet for a red. Found it at Sam's Club for $7.88/bottle and it's usually $10. Good stuff and fun name to post on someone's Facebook page. I.e. "Menage A Trois...wanna try it?"

[Titan!]

There's really only one wine I've ever had that I truly enjoyed, Tabor Hill Demi Sec. Light and fruity, not too dry and not too sweet.

[potthole]

Crane Lake makes some good wines that you can often get for $5 or less. And no, it's not Bum Wine.

[Titan!]

GB Russo and sons on 29th.

Great Beer Selection

Great Wine Selection,

But Holy Shit Man ! Their liquor selection was possibly the best i've seen in GR.

Have you ever seen a store so well stocked that Maker's Mark is a Mid Shelf bourbon ?

They have a 600.00 bottle of Mac Allan 21 year super old something or other.

[potthole]

GB Russo and sons on 29th.

Great Beer Selection

Great Wine Selection,

But Holy Shit Man ! Their liquor selection was possibly the best i've seen in GR.

Have you ever seen a store so well stocked that Maker's Mark is a Mid Shelf bourbon ?

They have a 600.00 bottle of Mac Allan 21 year super old something or other.

GB Russo is #2 in my book for beer selection, but you are right on about liquor. They actually stock Cachaça (a sugar-cane liquor similar to rum), which is pretty difficult to find outside of large cities with large Brazilian populations.

[0rz0ski]

Let's do a field trip there.

[Titan!]

Let's do a field trip there.

Orz, you should see their tequilla selection, it's amazing.

I'm feeling a bit sick today. I really want a frozen margarita.

[plumpenut]

Beeeeeer! Thats what tonight is all about

[potthole]

I managed to find a sixer of Bells Batch 9000 this evening at the local liquor store. Holy crap.

Every thousand batches Bells will release a special limited run. I'm not really sure how often they hit this 1000 batch mark, but it's generally a little diffcult to find one of these out there. The Batch 9000 release is a strong ale that's 12.5% ABV. A tad sweet for my normal taste, but worth a try nonetheless.

[0rz0ski]

I am drinking chocolate wine. It's wine. And chocolate. It's like a mudslide. Or booze mixed with chocolate milk. I bought two more bottles, but to be fair, one is going to be a gift. The other will also be a gift, but to me instead. It goes down waaaay too easy. It's scary.

[Titan!]

I managed to find a sixer of Bells Batch 9000 this evening at the local liquor store. Holy crap.

Every thousand batches Bells will release a special limited run. I'm not really sure how often they hit this 1000 batch mark, but it's generally a little diffcult to find one of these out there. The Batch 9000 release is a strong ale that's 12.5% ABV. A tad sweet for my normal taste, but worth a try nonetheless.

I really want to try Bell's Cherry Stout. I like cherry, and I like stout. However I don't like the 16.00 price tag.

[Titan!]

OMFG ! I bought a bottleof Jim Beam last night, and it came with a coupon for a 7.50 rebate, which made the total price of the bottle less than 10 bucks, AND this particular bottle also came with a 1oz sample bottle of Jim Beam Red Stag, and Oh myyyyy. I am in love, it's got that Jim Beam taste with a touch of slightly sweet cherry. It's simply amazing, and I think it will make an amazing mixer.

[-Jiggy-]

OMFG ! I bought a bottleof Jim Beam last night, and it came with a coupon for a 7.50 rebate, which made the total price of the bottle less than 10 bucks, AND this particular bottle also came with a 1oz sample bottle of Jim Beam Red Stag, and Oh myyyyy. I am in love, it's got that Jim Beam taste with a touch of slightly sweet cherry. It's simply amazing, and I think it will make an amazing mixer.

Hmm. I'll have to try this.

Congratulations Titan. You've just joined the marketing dept. at Jim Beam and will see no profits from this.