It's official: my favorite type of beer....

[hepcat]

...is Weiss beer (followed closely by Pale Ales).  Give me some suggestions, folks.  I've already tried (and loved) shiner hefeweizen and Two Brothers Ebel Weiss.  Any others to be on the lookout for?

[Doopri]

i DO occassionally drink them - some that probably see distro everywhere that are good german standbys - weihenstephaner hefeweissbier (yes i did have to google spelling on that one ) and ayinger

im also partial to the belgian spin on the style and would suggest allagash white and ommegangs offering (oddly enough, neither are belgian breweries)

also ask around for which brewery in your distro area makes the best beer - when one brewery gets mentioned over and over check out their portfolio as odds are they have some sort of spin on a wheat beer!

also two slightly offkilter suggestions - over the summer i had one from schneider that featured nelson sauvin hops (a hop im not a huge fan of generally) and it was really big on the bubblegum estery flavors with a nice dry backend that was interesting.  and the huge "off" beer that i have to suggest if you like wheat beers and pale ales - lil sumptin sumptin - its an ipa no doubt but they call it a wheat beer and if you like pale ales i couldnt resist tossing this one in there

[Isgrimnur]

Notes from my drive to sample 200 beers:

Franziskaner Weissbier is a big favorite of a friend of mine.  
Paulaner is a touch less sweet than FK, per my notes.  
Avery White Rascal was light and decent.
Schneider Aventinus is a wheat dopplebock, more bitter than I like.
Franconia Kristallweiss is fruity, which might be right up your alley.
Boulevard Wheat I found to be substandard to most others.
Live Oak Primus is a weizen dopplebock, which was interesting and full of banana flavor.
Breckenridge Agave Wheat was tasty.

Be on the lookout for Boulevard Smokestack Harvest Dance, if it's still around.  It's a wheat wine.  Strong and good.

[Doopri]

isgrimnur odd that you mentioned two weizenbocks because dopplebock is one of the few styles i just really dont enjoy but for some reason the one or two weizenbocks ive had i remember really liking... so im glad youve given me a couple more to track down - i havent seen too many of them

[hepcat]

I did pick up a Boulevard sampler 12 pack a while back.  I personally love sampler packs.  There's nothing like a boardgame night combined with a beer tasting party.

[Ironrod]

I like a wheat beer on a hot summer day. The rest of the time they're too light for me. Harpoon UFO is my go-to wheat beer, but I don't have a lot of experience with others.

[Rumpy]

The Aventinus is one of my favourites when available. Haven't found it lately though. It's got both the qualities of a darker beer and a belgian wheat.

[CeeKay]

it's out of season but I've always likes Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy for a, well, summer beer:

[USMC Kato]

Wow I got drunk reading this thread

[hepcat]

I'm hittin' up Binny's Beverage Depot tomorrow on the way home from work...

I've had Leinenkugel's summer shandy on more than a few occasions.  I need to work my way down Issie's list though.

[McNutt]

I'm not a huge weiss fan, but I have yet to try one that's better than Shiner's, so I think you have already tried one of the best. 

[Doopri]

hep just keep in mind if you get the wheat ipa or a wheat wine its going to be a vastly different style than a hefeweizen / weiss / wit but i do suggest checking them out because... well, just because!

i havent heard of live oak but is i will certainly be on the look out for that weizenbock - id love to try one where that yeast creates a real big time banana flavor in a larger beer

[hepcat]

Definitely love the hefeweizen/weiss beers so I'll keep that in mind.  ipa's have a stronger aftertaste than I like, to be honest.  pale ales are about right though

[Isgrimnur]

You ought to find some saucer / stein club that rewards you for sampling beers.  It helped me narrow down what types of beer I liked better than others and helped refine my palate.  I can now appreciate a good IPA, whereas when I started, they were all vile poison.

[hepcat]

One issue I have is GERD.  i can only drink beer when I'm either hopped up on prilosec or when I'm eating very lightly.  Otherwise I end up miserable.  I was on Nexium (what I like to call "The Miracle Drug") but my current doctor took me off it after convincing me that it was causing brittle bones in people.    

..I'm almost ready to say "I'll take the shattered hip!" at this point, though.

[Isgrimnur]

My place limits you to credit for three per visit.  After that, you're not tasting much any more anyway.  And I've found that eating a couple hours before I go drinking helps keep me from getting any overindulgent feeling.

[Ironrod]

One issue I have is GERD. 

Funny you'd mention that. IPAs gave me terrible heartburn when I was obese. That went away after I lost some weight, and now they're my favorite style. Based on my earlier experience, though, IPAs aggravate digestive problems.

[Purge]

On a hot day, this.

[Isgrimnur]

I can't stand ginger. Ale, beer, or bread.

[theohall]

Just gotta say October is a great time of year with all the different Pumpkin beers available. 

[CeeKay]

I can't stand ginger. Ale, beer, or bread.

what about men? 

[hepcat]

I can't stand ginger. Ale, beer, or bread.

what about men? 

Oh, he doesn't need to stand for them.

BAM!

...yeah...sorry.

[Isgrimnur]

 

Oh, and my father is a copper top.  So double creepy points for you.

[Purge]

Oh, and my father is a copper top.  So double creepy points for you.

Hep hit the max creep achievements when he was eight. This is all gravy.

[hepcat]

Oh, and my father is a copper top.  So double creepy points for you.

Hep hit the max creep achievements when he was eight. This is all gravy.

It's like Hitler telling Stalin, "Little extreme, don't ya think?"

[Purge]

Oh, and my father is a copper top.  So double creepy points for you.

Hep hit the max creep achievements when he was eight. This is all gravy.

It's like Hitler telling Stalin, "Little extreme, don't ya think?"

Why can't I be Stalin, just once? Are you making fun of my moustache?

[Soulchilde]

Natty Boh

[hepcat]

Interesting...owned by Pabst I see.

[CeeKay]

Interesting...owned by Pabst I see.

there's always Natty Daddy....

[WorkingMike]

Julius Echter and Harpoon UFO are usually topping my list. I also really like Dale's Pale Ale from the Oskar Blues brewery.

[Ironrod]

My impressions from today's beer tasting. I sampled nearly 50 beers altogether. Most of them are, of course, from New England or the Northeast.

Tonight I'm drinking Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. It goes into whisky casks at around 5% ABV and comes out 5 weeks later at 8% with a strong whisky flavor. A really unique flavor that works perfectly (for my taste). Best of show today. Unfortunately, at $11 per 4-pack I won't be buying it often.

Boston Beer Works, a local chain of brewpubs, is selling their beers outside the breweries for the first time. I like their IPA, but their Bucket Town Brown really blew me away with its toasted malt. Unfortunately that one's still only available in horribly overpriced growlers (around $20).

Southern Tier out of Jamestown NY had two winners: 2x Stout and Heavy Seas 2x IPA. The stout was unusually hoppy.

Harpoon's new Rye IPA was just promoted to year-round status. It's aimed at people who think their regular IPA is too tame. I bought a 6-pack. Not yet available in 12-packs, but will be included in a mix pack later this year. Their Chocolate Stout deserves honorable mention for having the strongest dark chocolate flavor I've ever tasted in a beer.

Geary's IPA got 3.5 stars, which means slightly better than average. I liked its balance. It's not a hop bomb.

I liked Pigs Ear Brown from Woodstock Inn Brewery (NH) enough to buy a 12-pack.

My packie had Troeg's Perpetual IPA on sale last month. I bought it a couple of times, but it was unremarkable. The brewer said that it was an old batch near its expiration date and talked me into trying some fresh; that made a difference. Unfortunately they didn't have any yet, but he said it will be available later this week and only days old. I also liked their Dead Reckoning Porter.

The Long Trail Brewery (VT) took over another microbrewer called Shed. I liked their IPA well enough to buy it -- it's got a mild, clean taste comparable to Harpoon or Sams Latitude. Otter Creek Hop Session deserves mention, too, for being a "light" (4.25% ABV) IPA. Lots more flavor than most low-alcohol session beers offer.

Shipyard's (ME) Monkey Fist IPA was noteworthy, but I didn't note why.

Rising Tide Brewing is a family-run Maine brewery that recently started hand-bottling their beers and distributing them out of state for the first time. They just upgraded their capacity from 30-barrel batches to 80 barrels. Ishmael Copper Ale and Ursa Minor Weizen Stout were both good enough to buy. Because it's a labor-intensive operation, they're only selling bombers.

I tasted 23 other beers that were too average to mention, and about half a dozen that I just plain didn't like at all. I marked Samuel Smith's IPA as "nasty". Clown Shoes (MA) tricked me into sampling three Belgians that weren't labeled as such. Troegs Javahead Stout had a really unpleasant coffee flavor.

Oddly, nobody was showing any winter ales yet, so I failed in my goal of finding a favorite for next season. Their tendency toward spices and other additives makes winter ales something of a minefield for me, and I'd hoped to negotiate it today. Other than the stouts and porters noted above, I'm going into winter blind.

[Doopri]

i was also not a big fan of troegs javahead, which was a bit of a letdown because they have a pretty decent reputation and they arent distributed where i live.  i only pick up their stuff when i venture north of the border on a beer run.

ironrod what i do for winter beer is... just switch it up to bigger styles - not that i dont drink them during summer as well, but i more often will gravitate toward imperial stouts, barleywines and dubbels / quads during the winter.  right about now im picking up the few remaining bottles of parabola lingering on shelves (i LOVE being able to do this!) and of course eagerly awaiting celebrations return, which i pepper in frequently as well!

*edit* ooh forgot to mention another "winter" beer i enjoy thats inexpensive, local and most important of all, good!  long trail doublebag - im a fan.  also in yankee brew news there was mention of a new imperial stout from harpoon that ill check out 1) because the name is great (czernobog) and 2) ive enjoyed one or two of their previous big offerings (triticus was a very good and interesting brew)

[Ironrod]

My usual winter fare runs to black lagers, black IPAs, stouts, porters, and imperial IPAs -- all big heavy beers that, unfortunately, come with enough calories to make me big and heavy. The only winter seasonal that I really like is Shipyard Prelude. Well, that and SN Celebration, but that's really just a big IPA.

I'll try Doublebag again. Didn't like it last time I tried it, but that's been several years ago.

[kadnod]

I just finished a Brooklyn Monster Ale.  Not bad.  I think I like my barleywines a bit sweeter, but this was still a pleasant surprise.  Smooth.  If someone just handed me a glass, I would never have guessed this was over 10% ABV.  I'm not a fan of Brooklyn's flagship lager, so I wasn't expecting much from Monster, but now I'm looking forward to the rest of the 4 pack. 

[Harpua3]

I just finished a Brooklyn Monster Ale.  Not bad.  I think I like my barleywines a bit sweeter, but this was still a pleasant surprise.  Smooth.  If someone just handed me a glass, I would never have guessed this was over 10% ABV.  I'm not a fan of Brooklyn's flagship lager, so I wasn't expecting much from Monster, but now I'm looking forward to the rest of the 4 pack. 

Sweeter than monster ?!? Wow. Ever have lagunitas brown sugar? That might do it for ya. I'm currently drinking. Stone collaboration entitled mint chocolate imperial stout! Yummy!

[Harpua3]

My impressions from today's beer tasting. I sampled nearly 50 beers altogether. Most of them are, of course, from New England or the Northeast.

Tonight I'm drinking Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. It goes into whisky casks at around 5% ABV and comes out 5 weeks later at 8% with a strong whisky flavor. A really unique flavor that works perfectly (for my taste). Best of show today. Unfortunately, at $11 per 4-pack I won't be buying it often.

Boston Beer Works, a local chain of brewpubs, is selling their beers outside the breweries for the first time. I like their IPA, but their Bucket Town Brown really blew me away with its toasted malt. Unfortunately that one's still only available in horribly overpriced growlers (around $20).

Southern Tier out of Jamestown NY had two winners: 2x Stout and Heavy Seas 2x IPA. The stout was unusually hoppy.

Harpoon's new Rye IPA was just promoted to year-round status. It's aimed at people who think their regular IPA is too tame. I bought a 6-pack. Not yet available in 12-packs, but will be included in a mix pack later this year. Their Chocolate Stout deserves honorable mention for having the strongest dark chocolate flavor I've ever tasted in a beer.

Geary's IPA got 3.5 stars, which means slightly better than average. I liked its balance. It's not a hop bomb.

I liked Pigs Ear Brown from Woodstock Inn Brewery (NH) enough to buy a 12-pack.

My packie had Troeg's Perpetual IPA on sale last month. I bought it a couple of times, but it was unremarkable. The brewer said that it was an old batch near its expiration date and talked me into trying some fresh; that made a difference. Unfortunately they didn't have any yet, but he said it will be available later this week and only days old. I also liked their Dead Reckoning Porter.

The Long Trail Brewery (VT) took over another microbrewer called Shed. I liked their IPA well enough to buy it -- it's got a mild, clean taste comparable to Harpoon or Sams Latitude. Otter Creek Hop Session deserves mention, too, for being a "light" (4.25% ABV) IPA. Lots more flavor than most low-alcohol session beers offer.

Shipyard's (ME) Monkey Fist IPA was noteworthy, but I didn't note why.

Rising Tide Brewing is a family-run Maine brewery that recently started hand-bottling their beers and distributing them out of state for the first time. They just upgraded their capacity from 30-barrel batches to 80 barrels. Ishmael Copper Ale and Ursa Minor Weizen Stout were both good enough to buy. Because it's a labor-intensive operation, they're only selling bombers.

I tasted 23 other beers that were too average to mention, and about half a dozen that I just plain didn't like at all. I marked Samuel Smith's IPA as "nasty". Clown Shoes (MA) tricked me into sampling three Belgians that weren't labeled as such. Troegs Javahead Stout had a really unpleasant coffee flavor.

Oddly, nobody was showing any winter ales yet, so I failed in my goal of finding a favorite for next season. Their tendency toward spices and other additives makes winter ales something of a minefield for me, and I'd hoped to negotiate it today. Other than the stouts and porters noted above, I'm going into winter blind.

Wait southern tier And heavy seas are diff breweries .me confused.

[Ironrod]

Wait southern tier And heavy seas are diff breweries .me confused.

Same distributor, same table. .me confused too.

[Harpua3]

Wait southern tier And heavy seas are diff breweries .me confused.

Same distributor, same table. .me confused too.

Same distributor probably carries then both. Southern tier does make 2x IPA, and heavy seas( who is owned by clipper city brewing) makes loose cannon hop3. Confusing but...

[CeeKay]

picked up a six pack of Magic Hat Heart of Darkness today; never had it but I couldn't resist the eye.....

[Harpua3]

There's a brown eye joke somewhere!