Going to a whiskey bar and restaurant (High West Distillery) up in Park City this weekend for my birthday with pals.
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Wine and Beer Enthusiasts
- Thread starter albertfallickwa
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You are absolutely right the US doesnt have the tradition of Europe, but I believe that is a good thing, it means your brewers are more ready to innovate.
Once you have a long tradition of doing things this does tend to act like an Anchor on trying new ideas.
Talking of Anchors I found these in my local supermarket,
I don't want to pry, but I would be interested to know when do you drink your beers mostly.
Every two weeks three friends and I play cards in my house, this has been going on for nearly 40 years. During the game we drink a glass or two of quality beer.
I personally used to drink all the time. Not a lot. But one or two a 4-5 times a night. But I lost ~50lbs a couple years ago. And a big factor in that was drinking only water during the week. Then I would have one or two beers on the weekend.
Since I have lost the weight. I will now have them a couple times randomly through the week. Rarely more then one on weekdays. And a handful on the weekends.
And that's why I accumulated so much. I was buying more than I was willing drink.
Since I have lost the weight. I will now have them a couple times randomly through the week. Rarely more then one on weekdays. And a handful on the weekends.
And that's why I accumulated so much. I was buying more than I was willing drink.
Thanks for the info, I was impressed by your collection.
There is of course a completley different experience to drinking in the comfort of your own home, or drinking even with friends, in a bar.
As a side note.
The Anchor IPA from previous posting is one of the beers that I have tasted while in the USA.
Thanks for the info, I was impressed by your collection.
There is of course a completley different experience to drinking in the comfort of your own home, or drinking even with friends, in a bar.
As a side note.
The Anchor IPA from previous posting is one of the beers that I have tasted while in the USA.
Yes. As we have grown older we have moved away from bars and have been gathering at people's houses. Which is nice since most my friends enjoy craft beer. Everyone brings a good bottle or two and we all get to try some new stuff.
That's what I prefer.
I also go to A LOT of concerts and tailgating is a staple of that. A lot of friends travel from all over the US for some of the shows. So that's where I generally save the better bottle for. And special occasions obviously.
I of course have the advantage that even a so called dive bar here will have Belgium/Netherlands special beers for sale.
There are bars called Brown Cafe they look like they are a living-room from the turn of the last century.
But you can eat a meal, drink coffee, read the newspapers, the music will reflect taste of the owner/majority of patrons. Most of them have a terras open in the summer only, but with improvements to gas heating some go all year round. Each cafe has a defined theme, Sports, Arts, Music, Politics, people will gather in the cafe where others also share the same interests. Its like a club/meeting house home away from home.
They are mostly open for business at 09:30 to 02:00 weekdays and till 03:00 weekends.
In my home town we have a Specialist Beer Bar. 7 Different Beers on Tap and 200 Different beers in bottles.
http://www.tpaultje.nl
Tailgating parties are an unknown past time here in Netherlands.
Terras = Out door seating with tables, some times with large umbrellas.
That's sounds like my kind of place. I just want somewhere comfortable to hang out. Many bars are just loud, crappy music where you can't even talk.
The good thing about craft beer getting popular is the bars are popping up. I have been to one with 100+ taps and hundreds of bottled. Many have mug clubs, where if you drink X amount or all of the beers you get your own mug. They are generally bigger than a pint and they have a day a week where mug club members get a couple dollars off. It's a scheme. But a cool idea.
I have always wanted to go to the Netherlands. Flights to Greece sometimes layover there. And next time I go I would like to have the layover be a day and do a little sight seeing.
Mug club example.
The good thing about craft beer getting popular is the bars are popping up. I have been to one with 100+ taps and hundreds of bottled. Many have mug clubs, where if you drink X amount or all of the beers you get your own mug. They are generally bigger than a pint and they have a day a week where mug club members get a couple dollars off. It's a scheme. But a cool idea.
I have always wanted to go to the Netherlands. Flights to Greece sometimes layover there. And next time I go I would like to have the layover be a day and do a little sight seeing.
Mug club example.
If you do visit the Netherlands, please be advised Amsterdam is not really the best place to visit, because nearly everybody else is also going to be a foreigner like you, plus all the the attactions are aimed at the tourist industry.
Try to get out of the Amsterdam area, and visit the real Netherlands, travel is easy we have a good Public Transport System, nearly everybody can speak English, and hey the country is not that big so you can’t get really that lost.
But if you have to say in the Amsterdam area because of lack of time try Brouwerij ’t IJ (A gem in a mountain of sand)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brouwerij_'t_IJ
RE The photo of the Pour House in Chicago, I think I visited that same bar in 2013, when I visited the US to drive from Chicago to Seattle via Canada, it took two months.
Every two weeks three friends and I play cards in my house, this has been going on for nearly 40 years. During the game we drink a glass or two of quality beer.
A lovely way to pass an evening ...
This is perfectly true. The quality - and variety - of pubs (and tradition beer production along with spellbinding range of beers) in the Low Countries is truly astounding and is actually pretty awe-inspiring. I bow in mute reverence before this.
Myself, I drink one or two beers (the specialist Trappist ones) at home, several evenings a week, usually by myself. Then, I am reading (a book, a real book, a thing with pages between covers, sometimes fiction, mostly history or politics), or sometimes, listening to music.
I also visit pubs when I am home, invariably pubs where craft beers are available, and where I will meet a friend of two for a few beers, or glasses of wine and a good chat.
Once upon a distant time, I was a habitué of pubs on a weekly basis - and, as a student, I visited pubs sometimes several times a week, invariably with student mates. These days, I am far more choosy; choosy about company, setting, location (I want a bit of space, atmosphere, not too much noise) and whatever I am drinking. That means that the wine must be good, as must the beer; while I am happy to pay a bit extra for quality, the days when I cheerfully drank dross (in quantity) are long past.
The card game (Whist) is played for a cent a point, so even if you lose big time its still fun.
I do some times drink on my own, but one golden rule never post while drinking, it's like speaking in public, you can say too much, and its impossible to take back.
I always have a stop off in the Cafe, after a visit to either the Cinema or Theater, it just rounds the evening off.
The one thing that has changed for EVER was Pre 1970s we though nothing of driving of into the country side having a few drinks and then driving home. I absolutly shudder to think of the danger that I put others and myself through, but I was young and foolish.
I have taken my granddaughters to certain cafes, and had a meal, they are still to young to drink, but you are never to young to experence good living.
The card game (Whist) is played for a cent a point, so even if you lose big time it’s still fun.
I do some times drink on my own, but one golden rule never post while drinking, it's like speaking in public, you can say too much, and it’s impossible to take back.
I always have a stop off in the Cafe, after a visit to either the Cinema or Theater, it just rounds the evening off.
The one thing that has changed for EVER was Pre 1970’s we though nothing of driving of into the country side having a few drinks and then driving home. I absolutly shudder to think of the danger that I put others and myself through, but I was young and foolish.
I have taken my granddaughters to certain cafes, and had a meal, they are still to young to drink, but you are never to young to experence good living.
There is truth therein, when you write advising of how the 'one golden rule [is] never post while drinking' - wise words, my friend, wise words.
I too, recall, with a dawning degree of shuddering horror, that time (and it lasted until the 1980s in my corner of western Europe) when driving into the country, (enjoying nice views, old villages, charming pubs) and having a few drinks was viewed as something close to an inalienable right.
And, I agree, too, about the importance of encouraging an appreciation of the civilised things in life; good food, drink, company and music in a congenial setting (along with a good book in private) count as some of the great pleasures in life, to my mind. Children, teenagers, and grandchildren, youngsters in general (I used to take some of my students out occasionally to eat or have a glass of wine or beer in civilised settings) ought to be encouraged to develop an appreciation of the good and finer things in life…...
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Thankfully America is getting away from corporations and fast food meals and more towards real food. Locally grown. Not to say that it's sweeping the nation. But at least it's possible now. I try to frequent small businesses as much as possible.
The craft beer scene in America is tied closely with food. Many brewpubs offer very unique and fresh food.
I am going to three floyds for dinner tonight and am looking forward to the food as much as the beer.
The craft beer scene in America is tied closely with food. Many brewpubs offer very unique and fresh food.
I am going to three floyds for dinner tonight and am looking forward to the food as much as the beer.
Well, pairing wine (or beer) with good food, a congenial and relaxed setting and the company of good friends is a way of spending a pleasant evening that can hardly be bettered.
To my mind, the pairing of beer (or wine) with food and good company is one of the identifying marks, or signifiers, of civilisation .
Certainly, the appreciation of both excellent beers and fine wines are considerably enhanced by good company and the simple, shared act of eating a meal together.
Small wonder that the craft beer scene is tied so closely with food in the US - it is because this is a match made in some sublime vision of the afterlife .
But us Americans want to eat now and we want it quickly!
Luckily I grew up in household with two European immigrant parents. So I got to experience exactly what your are describing. And when I went to Europe I got to see it on a larger scale. My only complaint was they ate too late at night. 9-10 pm sometimes. But everyone stopped. Sat down. Relaxed and conversed. The way a meal with family or friends should be. People are so "busy" (read: lazy) now that going through McDonald's and stuffing their face with all processed foods is considered a good meal.
I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist and I don't know if this is prevalent around the world but we have a lot of autism In kids today. In my opinion it's from all the processed foods children are consuming. Quality home cooked meals have become a thing if the last to many.
We kind of gotten off on a tangent. But this is interesting discussion.
I find myself in agreement with you.
However, on the matter of food, I think the issue here not simply that it is home cooked, but that it is of excellent quality. Food that is freshly prepared and home cooked is best of all possible choices, but I would argue that (in what is sometimes a 'time poor world') what matters most of all is that the food is of high quality, and properly sourced (preferably organic, or local).
A nice evening in a pub, with excellent artisan cheeses, good local bread, some seriously good salami sausages, and some craft beer, or good wine, does not need to take an age to prepare, but the quality is still excellent, and I would take that over carelessly cooked, or rushed, or stressed cooking any day.
Re eating late, I must say that I love it, long lingering meals, and good chats, washed down with good beer or wine, is something to be savoured and treasured.
Agreed on all accounts . By home cooked I meant someone actually made it (parent or restaurant), using good ingredients. Not something a machine made with a bunch of chemicals that was then frozen for two years.
Another thing that I find becoming more popular, or maybe I am just exposed to more is Charcuterie and cheese plates. Pretty much what you described as a good quick pub meal. I really enjoy it.
Another thing that I find becoming more popular, or maybe I am just exposed to more is Charcuterie and cheese plates. Pretty much what you described as a good quick pub meal. I really enjoy it.
Agreed. Cheese and charcuterie on a plate (with proper French - or other - bread) is a perfect - and good quality - accompaniment to a nice glass of beer or wine.
I am just about to open a bottle (or two) or nice 'Gulden Draak' (one of the excellent brews recommended by Happybunny a page or so ago). Like the other Trappist and wonderful beers he recommended, this is an excellent beer to sip and savour.
Weird. I was just given a bottle of this by a friend who is very into her Belgian beers, and thought I might like it. 10.5%!
Now, a word of advice in your ear, then, about how you should approach this august beverage .bravely.
That is the sort of drink which requires the right kind of glass from which to drink it: In other words, you need to somehow acquire a proper elegant beer glass. This will enhance your experience - aesthetically, and will enable you to appreciate the aroma, and flavour and rich texture of the beer all the more.
Then, to further enhance this experience, you will also need an armchair, and either a good book/good companion (animal or human)/or music on an iPod .and it is to be sipped and savoured .slowly ..
Sounds romantic.
I do indeed have such a glass, and a large armchair next to a case of leather-bound books. I usually drink real ales though, so this will be very different, no doubt!
If you get a chance, try the vanilla bean flavored version of this. That is if you like vanilla. Oh man, I tried it and freaking loved it. Purchased a six pack of 22oz beers ha! This is one of those beers that makes me love Stone.... I was even able to try it on cask at their San Diego facility. God how I love this one.
I've always been a bit weary of flavored dark beers, but perhaps I'll take your recommendation on this one. Hmmmm, come to think of it I'll be in San Diego soon...