WRITE-OFF: "What's In My Fridge"
Dec 03 '00
In spite of the great joy that is searching for new beers to sample, every beer drinker has a few brews that hold a special place in his heart, beers that consistently end up in the fridge. I am talking about the favorites, the old friends that never let us down and are always there for us. They might not always be in the house, but there are many times when a beer drinker just wants to sit back and drink a brew that he is familiar with, that requires no special analysis or concentration, just pure drinking bliss.
These aren't necessarily the best beers I've had, although they are all near the top. Often the very best beers are very rare and expensive, not qualities you want in an everyday beer. These beers are affordable and available, as well as excellent.
Favorite Beer in a Green Bottle
Certainly one of my favorite breweries, German brewer Spaten makes the basic lager that I most prefer, and the one that you are most likely to see if you were to poke your head into my fridge. Spaten Premium is marked by a crisp, fresh hop smell, noticeably devoid of that annoying skunky smell that many beers like Heineken and Beck's have. If you think that Heineken is good, then this beer will absolutely blow you away. A fuller body, richer malt-sweetness and a super-crisp, bitter finish make this an excellent beer for the warm summer months.
For food recommendations, I would recommend Spaten Premium as an appetizer before any meal except perhaps spaghetti. Its bitterness arouses the taste buds and the gastric juices, gearing your body up for a delicious meal. It is also excellent with lighter dishes like chicken, salads, or even pork.
Spaten is one of the largest of the German brewers, and so this beer is very easy to find anywhere in the country. Amazingly, it is usually priced below Heinken, Grolsch and Beck's, despite being far-and-away a better beer than any of those.
My Stout
I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who is really serious about good beer who doesn't like stouts. Although it is neither the strongest nor the most complex beer style, it is the richest and thickest, and that makes it probably the most respected style. I mean seriously, if you walk into a bar and you see one guy with a pint of black stout beer in his hand, and another with a Cosmopolitan, which one would you rather fight? That's right, the fop with the girly drink. A stout drinker like sleestakk would probably kick your a$$ and take your girlfriend for good measure.
Of course, whenever anyone talks about stout, everyone is really talking about Guinness, the legendary Irish dry-stout. Well, guess what folks, I am here as a voice in the wilderness, proclaiming the virtues of American stouts with the prophetic intesity of John the Baptist. Hear me, beer drinkers! Guinness is horrible, and the eyes of the beer-drinking establishment should instead be turned to a stout produced in Newport, Oregon: Rogue Shakespeare Stout!
Shakespeare Stout is the richest, smoothest, most complex, and most delicious stout that I have ever sampled, and it is certainly a beer that you will often find inhabiting my refrigerator. This is an oatmeal stout (known for a distinctively smooth consistency) with an explosive chocolatey malt profile, finishing with an amazingly floral, hoppy finish. A beer complex enough for the most demanding beer drinker, and yet eminently drinkable and smooth; this one is a no brainer. The fact that is only $6.99 for a six-pack, and that it is fairly widely available is just an added bonus. I recommend this as an after-dinner drink, as its huge flavor would dominate any meal.
The Staple Beer
When I first began drinking microbrews, it was a difficult transition. Going from bland lagers to rich, bitter ales is quite a leap. Fortunately, most American breweries produce a beer that serves as a perfect bridge between the dark, shrouded island of Budweiser, and the sunlit, radiant land of craft beers: pale ales
Having begun drinking good beers while living in the beer-loving state of Washington, I made the mistake of falling in love with a beer that is only sold in Washington, the incredible Hale's Pale Ale. Perfectly balanced between sweet malt and a dry, hoppy finish, this beer is the quintessential ale in my book; no frills or whistles, just perfect drinking delight. Of course, once I moved back to Sacramento after college, I realized that I would no longer be able have Hale's as my staple brew, so I went on a beer expedition to find another pale ale to fill the vacancy. Eventually I found a pale ale that, although not quite so perfect as Hale's, was maginifecently balanced and very drinkable. I refer to the king of widely distributed pale ales: Full Sail Pale Ale.
Full Sail Pale Ale is the perfect "no-thinking" beer. It is well-suited to sitting on the couch and watching football, sitting on the couch eating pizza, sitting on the couch reading a book, sitting on the couch screening phone calls from girls who are mad at you; pretty much any "activity" that includes parking your can on the couch would be perfectly augmented by a glass of this suberbly-balanced, sweetish, lightly-citrusy ale.
My It's-Late-And-I-Want-a-Good-Night's-Sleep Beer
When it comes to night-cap beers, people can talk about barleywines and stouts, but for my money it doesn't get any better than the crowning achievement of German brewing, dopplebocks. Bock beers are dark lagers with a toasty, bread-like, caramel-malt flavor, and dopplebocks (double bocks) are just buffer, more potent versions. Largely forgotten by American brewers, this style of beer is one the favorites of many of this site's best drunks, most notably JMARJANCIK and Bruguru.
Spaten Optimator is the most widely available dopplebock, and in my opinion one of the finest. It is right there with Full Sail as the beer you are most likely to find in my fridge. Huge caramel notes and a warm toastiness, a 7.2% alcholol rating, and its lush, soft mouthfeel make this an all-time favorite. Like everything that tastes good, Spaten Optimator is very high in calories and carbohydrates, as it was originally brewed as a sustaining "liquid bread" for fasting monks. On the positive side, the beer is so strong and filling that it is sure to knock you out and put you into a deep, contented slumber for the night.
Belgian Style Ale
I love this style of beer so much that it is very difficult to say just which one is most likely to show up in my fridge. There is such a huge variety of Belgian ales, all of them delicious, that is not unusual for me to buy one, realize that it is one of the best beers I've ever had, and then never buy it again, just because there are always more to try!
For this category I am going to bend and say that their are really two beers that seem to find their way into fridge on a regular basis. The first is the world-classic, Duvel The first strong golden ale, Belgian-made Duvel is very light in color, yet insanely complex and tasty, as well as boasting a very big 8.2% alcohol level. This beer is the perfect appertif, elegant and classy as any champagne, and better-tasting.
The other Belgian ale I favor is actually made in Canada, by the ground-breaking Unibroue brewery. Maudite is darker than Duvel, as well as richer and chock-full of the yeasty, spicy, hoppy goodness that makes Belgian ales the pinnacle of the brewing art. Fairly widely available in 4-packs for $7, Maudite is a true steal. I prefer to enjoy Maudite by itself while conversing with friends or listening to music; its complexity lends itself to stimulating, intellectual activity. Don't drink to many though, because at 8% alcohol, your cerebral conversation will soon be about as intelligible as a conversation between Jesse Jackson and Cletus, the Slack-Jawed Yokel.
Beer For the Swine
A dilemma that every beer fanatic faces is the friend who staunchly refuses to appreciate fine beers. You can have fridge full of expensive, rare, and delicious beers that you are perfectly willing to share, and the Philistine will demand cheap yellow fizz that can barely be called beer.
My solution to this situation is Henry Weinhardt's Private Reserve. Despite the rather pretentious name, this is just a good lager beer with the same coloring as Bud, but with an actual malt/hop character, wonder of wonders. This is a cheap, $3 per-six pack beer, but it is at least two steps up from BudMillerCoors, but not so complex that they will refuse to drink it.
But what about the rare swine who refuses to drink any slop that doesn't have Budweiser or Coors printed on the can? They drink water in my house, because there is no whay I am actually spend my money on that macrobrewed swill, period.
Fin
Hopefully my passion and love for these brews came through in this write-off. These are my true favorite beers, the ones that I go back to again and again. I encourage you to give them a shot, as I purposely selected beers that are both affordable and widely-available.
I also encourage you to go read the awesome reviews of the other beer fans who participated in this write-off. Their passion for good beer exceeds my own, as does their ability to write about beer. These are the best of the best beer writers on epinions, so check them out:
fuche_bu
Bruguru
sleestakk
JMARJANCIK
PeterLRuden
4-1-1
PALwalrus
BeerLover
andaryl
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Epinions.com ID:
Teykaerts
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Member: David Teykaerts
Location: Sacramento, CA
Reviews written: 120
Trusted by: 60 members
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