Beer Adventure: Harry's Hoffbrau. Part of SF Beer week. Feb. 15, 2012

Sadly, this was the only activity during Beer week that I was able to attend, but, at least it was better than nothing, and was well worth while.

Harry’s Hofbrau: Deschutes Night. This was a short solo adventure. I usually don’t go out during the week, but Harry’s is in San Jose and it was a one-night event, so I headed over to sample some of the Deschutes offerings they had. I was able to try the Stoic (Excellent Quadrupel. Well balanced between the hops and malt. Bright citrus flavor, very complex, yet approachable), and the Hop Henge ( Mega hoppy and delicious. Very floral character. It was even better than in the bottle on tap). I also had small samples of the Chain Breaker White IPA ( Very similar to the Stoic, but a bit lighter and definitely lower alcohol. Bright citrus flavor with a hint of the yeasty taste that you get with Belgian beers), the Red Chair Pale, and the Obsidian Stout on Nitro. I am a dedicated follower of Deschutes, and so far they have never done wrong.

The great thing about these events is that is more than just about the beer. Even though I was by myself, in the short time that I was at Harry's, I found two different groups of people to hang out with and discuss beer. I generally keep my passion for American craft beers somewhat under wraps, so it is always refreshing to unleash the totality of my inner beer fanatic. There are so many wonderful beers that invariably I turn somone on to one of my favorites that they haven't tried, and I learn of new beers to try. The biggest tip of the night was for a place that sells a wide array of craft beers in Fremont, called Mission Liquor. I'd heard of it before, but the way that other rave about it makes me think that I need to go there at some point soon.

Beer Log: Feb. 10-17, 2012

Beer Log: Feb. 10-17

Feb. 10: New Belgium’s Cocoa Mole (Part of the Lips of Faith series): This one describes itself as “ale with cocoa and spices”. It is brewed with 3 types of peppers, ancho, guajillo, and chipotle. Dark color. The first taste is sweet, strong cocoa flavor, but also reminiscent of Dr. Pepper. It also has a fruity, almost cherry-like flavor. Very low hop presence. The cocoa gives way to a slight burn from the pepper; it’s relatively mild but very distinct. Clearly influenced by the recent trend in high end chocolates that incorporate various chilis. Strong at 9%, but doesn’t  taste of alcohol. Very cool design with two dia de la muerte skeletons with flowers on the skulls. New Belgium produces solid line of regular beers, so it’s nice to see them getting involved in experimental varieties.

Feb. 11: Green Flash’s Hop Head Red: This is listed as a Red India Pale Ale, dry hopped with Amarillo hops. Strong at 7% ABV. Very dark red amber, close to brown. Good foamy head, but dissipates fairly quickly. Very earthy with a slightly citrusy hop that fades to a more light bitter flavor. Good balance of the almost brown sugar malty taste with the mildly bitter hops. Good cold, but as it warmed a little, it reveals more complexity. The overall bitterness reigns, but the sweetness of the malt comes through as more caramel-y.

Feb. 12: Speakeasy’s Double Daddy: Imperial IPA. Strong at 9.5%. Very smooth. Subtle aroma, somewhat piney and a bit of citrus undertone. Nice sharp pine hoppy flavor with a hint of sweetness just hovering above the fray. As it warms, the sweetness of the malt comes more to the fore. Very well balanced.

Feb. 13: Lagunitas’ Cappuccino Stout. I had tried this one last year (2011) and remember liking it very much. Maybe it was because it was a coffee stout, a style I generally love, or maybe it was because it was Lagunitas, and I’d recently become enamored of the brewery, or maybe I was in a less critical mood, or maybe last year it was a better recipe or . . . OK, I’m trying to avoid being overly critical. But, this is not one of their better outings. The malt, while nice and dark in color, is a bit thin for a stout, and not nearly enough of the roasted flavor needed for a great stout. It is a strong beer at 9%ABV, and the alcohol is more present than it should be. The coffee flavor is there, but less pronounced than ideal, and tending to an almost spent grounds flavor than fresh coffee. Somehow, the balance of flavors is off. Disappointing, in part due to my high regard and expectations for Lagunitas

Feb. 14: New Belgium’s Biere De Mars: (Part of the Lips of Faith Series): Bright and citrusy. Brewed with Lemon Verbena and using brettanomyces yeast in the fermentation to create a mildly sour flavor. As it warms, it has an almost peachy taste. There is also a slight yeasty flavor that you sometimes experience with Belgian beers or bottle conditioned beers. Tasty beer that would be excellent on a hot summer day.

Feb. 17: 15 Stone’s Escondidian Imperial Black IPA: Very strong at 10.8%. Pours thick and black, very little head. Strong sweet molasses flavor. Almost too sweet for the hops. Almost a slight burnt rubber flavor. The alcohol comes through more and has a greater presence than in some of their stronger beers. Mild smokiness as well. Not their best. Can’t see revisiting – sorry Stone, gotta call ‘em and I see ‘em.

Beer Adventure: The Beer Bars of Oakland

Feb. 9, 2012.  Beer Adventure time: The Beer Bars of Oakland! Well, OK, the Beer Revolution and the Trappist.   But, still . . . . Oakland ROCKS!!!

I went to meet with my buddy Terrill in Oakland. We hadn’t had a chance to meet over beers since summer, so  I was really looking forward to this. I had heard of a beer bar called the Trappist in Oakland, which specialized in Belgian style beers on tap. In the course of looking at SF Beerweek events, I also came across another beer bar in Oakland called the Beer Revolution. Turns out that they are only 5 blocks apart, so no need to choose. I called the Beer Revolution in advance to see if they had anything from Deschutes on tap, as a gauge of their excellence. Not only did they have something, they had something very special. Deschutes had brewed a rye beer for them Called Ryeders on the Storm. Awesome name, so Beer Revolution was first.

The bar is fantastic! They have 47 different craft beers on tap and constantly rotate, depending on what is available. I saw so many beers that I’d never seen before it was almost overwhelming. There were 3 from Dogfish Head alone. Opposite the bar were 3 double-wide refrigerators with glass doors, fully stocked with individual specialty beers. You can either buy the bottle for the listed price and take it home, or pay and extra $1 for a capping fee. We each got a bottle of Dogfish Head’s tribute beer for bluesman Robert Johnson (Hellhounds on my Ale). Great atmosphere and friendly staff and clientele. It is easy to get into a conversation with random people about the various beers available and that they had tried. The place is a beer drinker’s heaven.

So, the beer: Ryeders on the Storm: Low alcohol at 4.5%, but it was very tasty. Dark brown color, low carbonation, and limited hops. The flavor is in the malts. Very smooth, with a nice hint of smokiness and burnt sugar. I hope to encounter this one again.

The second beer I tried was Port Brewing’s Midnight Expressions: This is a dark lager. Good slightly burnt malt flavor, that is reminiscent of a good porter. Less sweet than some porters, and with a light feel of a lager. I’ve gotten to really like the dark lagers and this one is right there with Moonlight’s Death and Taxes.

So, Beer Revolution issued last call and it was off to the Trappist. This is another great beer bar. Oakland is truly blessed to have both of these fine institutions so close together. The Trappist has two bars, a front and back, with different taps. Less selection than Beer Revolution, and definitely more upscale. They also serve food, but it was more pricey and less pubish than I was in the mood for. They did have these fried pork things that were interesting, but I really could have gone for some French fries.

Overall, lots of brick, lots of wood – good comfortable atmosphere. I started with Jolly Pumpkin’s Maracaibo Especial. Brown, Belgian style. Almost like a brown sour, like Consecration, but less sour. Very tasty.  It is brewed with cacao, cinnamon, and sweet orange peel. The orange comes out in more of an overall citrus taste than distinctly orange. The cacao adds an earthy flavor well suited to a brown ale. I didn’t pick up on the cinnamon. Definitely one to revisit. It also makes me want to try more from Jolly Pumpkin.

I finished the night with a selection from Moonlight. Moonlight is a one-man operation and is only available on tap. The one I had was Reality Czeck: Light colored lager, but with a full flavor. More complex malty flavor  than the average pilsner. Nice light citrus hoppiness.

Overall, a fantastic night! And the two bars are only 5 blocks apart and the homeless people we met in the walk in between were very friendly. I did support a few with a dollar or two to keep the local economy solvent, and one of them offered to share his joint. So friendly! Will definitely be back to both.

Beer Adventure: Pliny the Younger!!!

About a month ago, my friend Garrett approached me to see if I’d be available to take a road trip to Santa Rosa to be there for the first day of pours for Pliny the Younger. He had a friend that had come up with the idea, and there was one more space in the car. It sounded like a great idea, so I agreed to go.

I had introduced Garrett to Pliny the Elder and we are both huge fans. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Pliny the Elder is the signature beer from Russian River Brewing out of Santa Rosa. They are a small operation and have a limited distribution. There are very few beer sellers nearby that carry it and most of them put a limit on the number of bottles that any one person can purchase per day. Most places only get shipments once per month, and it disappears quickly. It is a double-IPA and is generally regarded as one of the best beers in the US, if not the world, and rightly so.

Pliny the Younger is a triple-IPA; very rare and difficult to produce. Russian River only produces a limited amount once per year, and it is generally gone in about 2 weeks.

So, the prospect of a beer trip to Santa Rosa sounded great. However, in order to get there at a reasonable time, meant leaving at 4:00am. When I heard that, I resolved not to go. I can handle most types of discomfort or inconvenience for beer, but getting up before 7:00 is like Kryptonite to me – my one fatal weakness. So, I said, “have fun.” OK, I used stronger language, but this is, after all, a family blog. More or less. Anyway,after a few hours, I steeled myself, and reconsidered.

So, the day finally came and the theoretical 3:30 wakeup became a reality. But, the anticipation was amazing. It was like Christmas Eve. So, while I didn’t sleep much, I bounced out of bed and got up and ready quickly. We made it up to Santa Rosa and were in line by 6:00.

I don’t think I’d realized how dark it still was at that time in the morning. Or how cold it was going to be. And, what was worst was that as the sun began to emerge, it began burning off the fog, but as the fog cover disappeared, it initially grew colder until the sun rose above the building across the street. But, we had all brought chairs and there was a Peet’s Coffee nearby. While we sat there in the dark, a car rolled up and a guy got out to take our picture for Ratebeer.com (turns out it was Mario Rubio, who writes for ratebeer and has a very good blog – well worth following and “like-ing” on Facebook). He then wisely left to get out of the cold.

(this is us from left to right: Garrett, me, Joe, and Kelly; photo by Mario; here's a link to his description of the morning: http://www.brewedforthought.com/?p=5161 )

Around 7:00 the line began to grow. OK, two more guys showed up. But we had chairs and they did not. We were first in line, and they were not. So, much smug self-satisfaction on our parts.  As the sun came up, the line began to grow in earnest. By 10:00 it was down the block and there were several hundred people. The couple that owns the brewery came out and took pictures and thanked everyone for coming out to the opening. They brought out doughnuts and coffee, but by then it was so close to the opening that I didn’t want to eat anything.

And then, at 10:30, the doors opened. We found a table to our liking and ordered food and beer. Four Pliny the Youngers. The first available to customers. So, the beer was extra tasty.

If you have not had anything from Russian River, it is well worth the trip. I’d go for fresh Pliny the Elder, but their other offerings are equally amazing. They specialize in a line of Belgian beers, several of them sours. While the Temptation is probably my favorite (sour based on a blonde ale), I also was enthralled by the Consecration.

Russian River also has great pizza. I hadn’t known this going in, but they do. And the Pliny Bites are quite tasty as well (basically wood fired thin pizza crust with cheese and jalapenos, cut into bite-sized slices).

Talking to other beer enthusiasts is also part of the experience. There were numerous people from distant parts of the state and from across the country and even around the world (well, there was at least one guy from Australia and a guy who was American, but he did have a German accent, so I’m counting him as well). We spent much of the time in line talking beer with a guy (Dwayne?) from Pennsylvania. He told tales of the early days of Dogfish Head, so the time passed quickly.

If you get the chance to go and visit, I highly recommend.

UPDATE: OK, so, I neglected to discuss the actual experience of drinking Pliny itself. Quite the oversight on my part. Anyway, here are my thoughts:

This is a beautiful beer. Dark golden almost orange color. Floral hoppy aroma. Floral slightly bitter start. Very smooth. You’d never know it has about 11% ABV. Very well balanced. Sweet and floral with a mild bitterness that grows increasingly powerful and builds to crescendo; then backs off for a smooth finish. Simply amazingly well crafted

For those who are unfamiliar with the Pliny series, the Elder is a Double IPA, basically a very hoppy, bright, fruity, sunny taste. The Younger is a Triple --apparently more difficult to craft, higher in alcohol, and therefore more difficult to balance the hops and malt.

The name comes from a couple of historical Roman figures. Pliny the Elder reportedly was heroic in saving a number of people in Pompeii from the lava flow descending on the city from Mt. Vesuvius. Not sure why Russian River chose the name, but somehow it works.

Beer Log: Feb. 1-7, 2012

Beer Log: Feb. 1-7, 2012.

Feb. 1: Another Lagunitas Red. Still Gloriously Delicious. First impressions did not lie.

Feb. 2: Today’s Beer: Kennebunkport Brewing Co.’s Pumpkin Ale: This is an odd selection even for a pumpkin beer. It has a strong cinnamon flavor with very limited hop flavor.  In fact, if someone told me that there were no hops in this beer, I’d be inclined to believe them. I first tried this beer in Fall 2011 and it reminded me of something, but I couldn’t quite place it. Then, finally, it hit me. It tastes like a Coke. Only less sweet. Once I made that realization, I let go of my preconceptions about what a beer should be and just enjoyed it for what it is. It is very tasty and refreshing, as one would expect of a quasi-cola. A Coke, only with a kick (OK, at 4.7% ABV, a light kick, but certainly more that the Real Thing). This would make a better summer beer than a fall offering. Very different, but if you take it on its own terms, it is quite enjoyable.

Feb. 3: Beer Adventure: see entry.

Feb. 4: Today’s beer: 21^st Amendment’s Fireside Chat Ale. One of my favorite holiday beers ever. Very smooth, sweet and spicy with a bit of a raison flavor. Deep amber. Just a beautiful creation.

Feb. 5-7. Today’s beer: Pliny the Elder. I bought a growler of Pliny at Russian River, and I didn’t want it to go stale, so . . . . what can I say – it’s Pliny. I shared some at a Super Bowl party with a friend who couldn’t make the road trip. I also had a Racer 5 IPA, but I’ll find another time to discuss.

Beer Log: Jan. 27-31, 2012

Beer Log: Jan. 27-31, 2012

Jan. 27, 2012. Today’s beer: Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Marron. Excellent. So dark. So Sweet. So strong. The color of the beer as I poured it into a glass looked like molasses. Very thick pour with very little head. Strong, molassesy sweetness as well. Barrel aged in Paraguayan Palo Santo wood. This does seem blessed by the tree saint. The description on the bottle claims a caramel and vanilla flavor. I think it is more reminiscent of molasses than caramel, but there is a vanilla undertone mid sip that sneaks in after the initial taste, but is gone once the beer moseys down the back of the throat. Very strong at 12%, but not dominated by the alcohol as many barley wines are.

Jan. 28. Today’s new beer: Stone’s Ruination. A very good heavily hopped beer. Over 100 IBU. What else is there to say? Super hoppy and not at all subtle. Blasts you with hops, and then sends in reinforcements. Another excellent hoppy member of the Stone Family. Gotta love Stone. Great beers, and ridiculously funny, self-promotional descriptions of their beers on their bottles

I also revisited an old favorite Sudwerk’s Marzen. I hadn’t had something from Sudwerk in quite some time. This used to be one of my go-tos since I lived in Davis in the early 1990s. Sudwerk is a great brewery/restaurant, and one of the few places the provides beers that are produced in as authentic a German style that you’ll find this side of the Atlantic. They alsoserve in liter glass mugs! There are few things that make one feel as manly as sitting and drinking a liter at a time. As great as the beer is, I do miss the early days when the process and recipe were still being perfected. Each batch was unique and always delicious. But, once they started getting into bottling, the need for consistency led to a more stable and predictable result. Still one of the best, most flavorful Marzen’s available. It’s too bad that other brewers don’t attempt them since it is a great style. It has more complexity and flavor than most lagers, yet retains the drinkability and smoothness of a lager. Slightly burnt caramel flavor with a nice subtle hoppiness. (Jan 28, 2012)

Jan. 29. Today’s beer: Sierra Nevada’s Tumbler 2011. This is Sierra’s fall brown beer. Good solid brown. Not quite as much of a caramel flavor as many browns. It has the skilled balance of hops and malt that Sierra has down to a science, but despite their being a large craft brewer, you can still taste the artistry as well. Good everyday fall beer.

Jan. 30. Today’s beer: Lagunitas’ Imperial Red. I came across this just a couple of days ago, and since I’m a sucker for anything that Lagunitas brews, I bought a 6-pack. So glad I did. How to describe the beer . . . Wow. The first sip is very powerful. It’s like standing in the dark and all of a sudden being hit by flood lights. The flavor is all-enveloping and comforting. Great balance of carmely malt and flowery hops. Beautiful reddish hue. Limited head. Pretty powerful at 7.8%ABV, but drinking it you’d never suspect.

Jan. 31. Today’s beer: Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA. Tasty, but pretty average IPA. Well balanced hops. Starts with slightly floral piney flavor and finished on the bitter side with kind of a spicy character that morphs into black licorice. Nice medium caramel color. As good as it is, it is in my mind still in the middle of the pack of IPAs. I’ve only tried one other Ballast beer, the Calico Amber, which I think is better than this. For as strong a reputation and the following it has, I wasn’t blown away. It may come down to the type of hoppiness that I’m looking for in an IPA. I tend to prefer the more floral flavor, and while this one starts out that way, the finish goes in a different direction.

Beer Log: A start. Jan. 2012

Beer Log: Since Summer 2011, I began to take photographs of the beers I drank in an effort to keep some sort of record of the new things I was trying. My memory is simply too faulty to rely on for any accuracy. With the encouragement of family and friends, I began taking notes on everything I drank beginning in late January, 2012. So, I now have a backlog of beer journal entries. Instead of releasing them all at once, I'm going to intersperse my reminiscences about how my relationship with beer originated and evolved with installments from my recent beer adventures. Enjoy!

I'll begin with:

Jan. 27, 2012. Today’s adventure. The local Whole Foods on Blossom Hill has one of the best beer selections I’ve come across. It’s so well thought out and put together that I’ve made a point of getting to know the beer guy, Brian. He still doesn’t know my name, but he does know me on sight and is always willing to take some time describing the latest acquisitions and relating some of his recent beer adventures. He had, perhaps, the greatest job ever. To do his job, he has to go to brewers and beer festivals to sample recent creations. What an amazing job requirement. And he is extraordinary at what he does. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of beers and brewers. I have yet to stump him with any place I’ve gone or some of the rarer things I’ve gotten to try. So, after a trip to Portland and visiting Deschutes, I came back raving about their Mirror Mirror Barley Wine. He’d had it. When I mentioned Oakshire’s Espresso Stout, he’d had it and described the brewer’s resume. So, I still try to find some way to find something he hasn’t tried or hasn’t come across, but so far, no luck.

Anyway, back to the Whole Foods story. Today, the store had a 20% off the entire beer selection sale. I was the proverbial kid in the candy store. But, as the selection is amazing and many of the beers very expensive for me, I tried to be selective. The problem lies in how to strike the balance between trying new selections and defaulting to old favorites. Rough decisions, but, what a morning.

So, I ended up with: Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Marron; Lagunitas’ Red Ale; North Coast’s Old Stock Ale; Pliny the Elder; Russian River’s Temptation; New Belgium’s Mole; He’Brew Jewbelation 15; Devil’s Canyon Full Boar Scotch Ale; Rogue’s Chocolate Stout; Nectar’s Xantus; Speakeasy’s Double Daddy; Ballast Point Sculpin IPA; Firestone XV; The Bruery’s Four Calling Birds.

Great haul! But, so many that while I wanted to get them, I started to add up what I’d committed to and realized that I really should limit my spending somewhat. So, while I meant to try something from Green Flash, I didn’t. I also want to explore more of the other San Diego brewers, Stone, Ballast Point, Port. Oh, well. I also didn’t get the other Dogfish Head I have had my eye on, the Chicory Stout. I also couldn’t pull the trigger on some of the more expensive selections. But, let the sampling begin!

Part 5: The Sip Tasted Round the World: First Hints of the Coming Revolution.

There isn’t much left to say about the high school years. I did drink, at times more excessively that I ought to have. I learned the limits of my toleration. But the goal was always to find enjoyable beers to try. The best options were the imports, so I mostly avoided buying American. The offerings were limited, but I kept hope alive.

And then, I went off to college. While I had hoped to be in the on-campus dorms, they filled up quickly and I was forced to find an off-campus option. At UCSB, one of the options (and the one I ended up at) was Francisco Torres. These were two towers of dorm living. Each set of two rooms was connected by a bathroom, so 4 people per suite. Not a bad set up.

It was also the site of a couple of very formative beer-related experiences for me. I’ll talk about the second next time.

The first was the ability to sample new beers. Some were very bad, some acceptable, and some were the herald of the future. One of the first opportunities was Superior Beer, out of Mexico. This was an acceptable drinking beer. The selling point was that it was briefly on sale at the local Lucky’s for $8 per case ($2 per 6-pack). It was in bottles rather than cans, and the entire floor of my dorm stocked up. It was a money-smart buy.

 

It is somewhat surprising, in retrospect, the number of people who had fake IDs. I never had one, but knew enough people who did, so that getting something was never a problem.

The beer that really changed everything for me was Sierra Nevada. Sometime in the Fall of 1986, I was with friends on a beer run and we came across a display for Sierra Nevada. I had never heard of them, yet, they had four offerings: Pale Ale, Porter, Stout, and Bigfoot Barley Wine. We got a 6-pack of each. Oh, and the heavens did open, and the angels did sing.

Each of them were phenomenal compared to anything I’d had up until that point. The pale was hoppy and delicious. The stout was dark and tasty. The porter was a revelation. I’d never come across a porter, but it quickly became my favorite style and remains so to the present. Not as heavy as a stout, nice subtle smokiness, pleasant, complex, tasty, and drinkable – what’s not to love. The Bigfoot, I’m ashamed to admit, was overwhelming. It was extraordinary, but it was more than I could handle at that point. The transition was too stark. Raised on banality, the sudden shock of the extraordinary was simply too much. A beer with over 9%ABV!!! It was like drinking 3 normal beers at once. It would be as if the only video game you’d ever played was Pong and suddenly you were introduced to something like Halo with no transition. Game over.

My introduction to Sierra was the starting of the American Beer Revolution for me. By the late 1980s, other craft brewers began to produce and be more widely distributed, My anti-American bias crumbled, and I began to abandon the imported beers that I’d been drinking.  I soon came across Anchor Steam and it became a regular for me as well. With Sierra and Anchor, I began to develop a greater sense of beer patriotism that has evolved into a jingoistic chauvinism. And that the premier pioneers were on the west coast, made it all the sweeter, and reinforced by west coast bias. 

America has gone from the beer cellar to the penthouse, and view is incredible! OK, too much foreshadowing – the glory and totality of the beer revolution had yet to develop. But, at least it had begun in earnest, and I was in on the ground floor.

Part 4: More Adventures in beer: the High School Years, continued.

While I had begun my sophomore year with an introduction to the beer bong, the rest of the year was relatively uneventful. I know that I may have been at the occasional party that involved drinking, but it was fairly rare. In my junior year, however, there were more and more opportunities to drink. This is when I became a true proficient.

However, after the Schafer incident, I resolved to avoid bad beer as much as possible. This was not easy. The problem with being underage and having very little money meant that we were at the mercy of opportunity. Most people opted for volume rather than quality. So, despite my best intentions, I occasionally had to suffer through the occasional Blatz.

The other factor was that there were so few beers available. The most tolerable were the Canadian and Mexican beers. So, for most of High School, I always requested something from Molson or Labatts, with the occasional Dos Equis. I tried Moosehead once. Once. I’d rather not discuss that particular beverage. Great name and logo, but the insides . . . .

I also relied on Weinhardz and accommodated myself to some of the beers from the Midwest. Strohs was tolerable, and Rolling Rock out of Pennsylvania was acceptable. One of the better drinking beers was Heilman’s Special Export. There was a place in town that sold it for less than $12 per case. So, essentially $3 per 6-pack – a money-smart buy that was still pretty tasty. And I rarely drank more than 4 beers at a party (sometimes more – it generally depended on whether I was staying over).

 

But, High School was for me the era of the drinking beer. Just to distinguish here, there are basically two types of beer experiences – sipping or drinking. Sipping beers are heavier, higher in alcohol, and more complex. So, something like an Imperial Stout, or a double IPA. They are best enjoyed gradually. Drinking beers are less challenging, lower in alcohol, and are meant to be enjoyed in volume. Prior to college, I really didn’t come across any sipping beers. They were more theoretical to me, and became mythological – something that I believed must exist based on the fleeting memory from my 10-year old brain’s recollection of what I’d tasted in Germany. But, during High School, such beers were about as common as unicorns. So, while I did my best to enjoy what I could get my hands on, I still longed for something more.