If you have had a good (or bad) beer recently report the results here

[fairweatherfan]

Drinking some Dogfish Head Punkin that the mother-in-law gave us for XMas.  It held up really well for a seasonal, delicious and the spices really stand out.

[fairweatherfan]

Got some for XMas, just cracked it the other day.  I was really worried about the currant flavor, but it was really well balanced - this isn't a fruity beer at all, just a tasty ale with a little fruit element to the taste.

(the brewer is Dogfish Head, in case you don't recognize the logo)

[StartOrien]

I had Sam Adams Alpine Spring, which I'm fairly confident is just Summer Ale overstock with a new label.

Could be wrong, but my taste pallet has definitely enjoyed this beer previously.

[Donoghus]

Slumbrew just started distribution in Chicago which is pretty amazing for a small, Somerville based brewery that started last summer/fall. 

Went to an event out here last Thursday night and met the brewers Jeff & Caitlin.

First had the stuff when I was back in Boston for Thanksgiving.   Big fan of their Happy Sol.  A very solid & tasty heifweizen.

[ballin]

I had a Scuttlebutt Amber Ale, and I hated it. It was like drinking soap. Which is funny, because the beer came highly recommended is very highly rated among "beer critics".

[Edgar]

I was just about to post theres no such thing as a bad beer

but then I remember Roatan local beer
and I had to shut up

[BudweiserCeltic]

Budweiser, yummy.

[Lucky17]

Sam Adams "Black & Brew" Coffee Stout is making me a happy camper.  Maybe my favorite Sam so far.  Unfortuantely there are only a couple of them in the Winter Mix 12 pack.

I enjoyed this one too. The Chocolate Bock was a bit too sweet for me, I wasn't expecting chocolate flavor as much as texture or bitterness, so I was a bit surprised by the sweetness of it.

The Fezziwig's was probably my least favorite in that sampler 12 pack. Not quite as bad as another poster described it (gym socks?), but not one I'd recommend.

I am just about done with a 6-pack of Widmer's W 12 release: a Dark Saison. Very nice, if you're a fan of saisons. Goes great with spicy Mexican or Indian food. Not sure if it's available back east.

[jarufu]

Oh no you didn't ...

[Mencius]

Oh no you didn't ...

Now you're talking.  My absolute favorite style beer.  A lot of the trappist quads and dubbels are fantastic, and you've chosen an excellent example. 

[Redz]

Boulevard Dark Truth Stout.  Dark, bitter, bold, yummy.

http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/dark-truth-stout

[fairweatherfan]

Wife and I decided to make our belated honeymoon a "hoppymoon" and visit a bunch of breweries in and around the San Francisco area.  We did a bunch of other stuff too but who cares about that.

Stops included Moylan's in Novato:



Lagunitas in Petaluma:



Russian River in Santa Rosa:



Rogue Alehouse in SF (not a Cali brewer but whatever, they're awesome):



Sierra Nevada in Chico:



We also went to Bear Republic (Healdsburg) and 21st Amendment (SF).  We wanted to check out Anchor Steam but their tours were booked months in advance.  Best beer was definitely Russian River - though my single favorite was the Bison whiskey barrel-aged sour Imperial Porter I had at Rogue.  Best atmosphere was Lagunitas (big deck, live Johnny Cash cover sets).  Place that smelled the most like wort was Sierra Nevada by a mile.

Had lots of delicious beers and good times, and brought back a cooler of stuff we can't get here (mostly Russian River).  Awesome trip, highly recommmended.

[Lucky17]

Holy crap, that's one heck of a beer pilgrimage. A beergrimage?

The only one of those I've not heard of before is Moylan's. What's their thing?

P.S. I just had lunch, and yet I'm drooling over those photos of the Lagunitas and Russian River tasters.

[fairweatherfan]

Holy crap, that's one heck of a beer pilgrimage. A beergrimage?

The only one of those I've not heard of before is Moylan's. What's their thing?

P.S. I just had lunch, and yet I'm drooling over those photos of the Lagunitas and Russian River tasters.

Moylan's was nothing amazing but lots of good beers.  They have a bunch of different IPAs that are all solid - wife really liked the Hospickle Triple IPA.  We also liked their Orange + Black, which is like a porter with just a little orange flavor added.  The locals seemed to be snapping up their Scotch Ale too.  Worth checking out.

And yeah, the samplers were a highlight.  Except Lagunitas did 4 oz samplers, so after splitting all 17 of them we had to chill out for awhile before we could head home.

We also brought home this bad boy:



Haven't tried it yet, it sounds like it'll either be amazing or really weird.  I'll post an update here when I do.

[Lucky17]

Voodoo is a cultural landmark here in PDX. Their donuts are also amazing, and/or really weird (e.g., the Arnold Palmer = a cake donut with lemon icing, sprinkled with powdered iced tea mix).

I've not tried Rogue's homage to Voodoo, but I hear that it is exactly as billed/what you'd expect. I'm willing to bet you guys will enjoy it. Perhaps even for breakfast.