On Sat, 30 May 2009 07:55:31 -0500, Richard Casady
wrote:

On Fri, 29 May 2009 17:01:47 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Fri, 29 May 2009 15:49:08 -0500, Richard Casady
wrote:



Darwin Austrailia is the beer drinking capitol of the world. The beer
drinkingest country is Belgium. In the US Wisconsin has a name for it.
US beer is swill of course, but you can get Heinekin at 90% of the
places that sell beer.

Heineken sucks. My home made puts it to shame.
Oops...jumping the gun a bit.
But I'm getting in mental shape.

Go in the gas station and buy Budweiser because Heinekin sucks. I
didn't say H. was the worlds best beer, just the best one available at
nearly every beer outlet in the US. Go drink some Miller and come back
and tell me how bad Heinekin is. There is a bar in Boulder with a
hundred bottled beers and a dozen on draft. I drank Pilsner Urquell,
the beer Pilsen type beer is name after. There are any number of good
beers, Too bad they are hard to find in the US. As for home brew, tell
me how to make 14% stuff from corn, and I will fire up the still. Good
vodka is much easier than beer.

Everybody's got their own taste. Just never cared for Bud.
Every time I had a couple Michelobs my breath was like the exhaust fan
at a brewery.
When I got pulled over for doing 53 in a 45 in Hubbard's Cave
(downtown Chicago) the cops immediately thought I was hammered just
from the smell. Had been at a family event.
I had only 2 Michelobs over a period of a couple hours and finished
the second one a couple hours previously.
If it wasn't for the smell I could have talked them out of giving me
the speeding ticket. Had to go to court and talk the judge out of it.
Told him I just wasn't paying enough attention. and it's not in my
nature to break the law, as my record shows, and I'm sorry, and I
throw myself at the mercy of the court.
Everything I said was true, but that little hitch and lilt I put in
my voice when I said it was blarney.
In Chicago it's good to know your Irish.
He said "Dismissed."
Anyway, I vowed to never drink Michelob again. Wasn't a bad
tasting beer as I recall, just didn't get along with my chemistry.
I've had a few of those Pilsner Urquells that John mentioned, and it's
not bad.
For me though, it's slightly bitter, and that's just not my preference
in beer. But sometimes it just depends on your mood.
Same with the Sam Adams. I just prefer almost neutral to a little
sweet on whatever scale it is. Hops content, I think.
Usually drink pale beer.
Most of dark beers I've had are on the bitter side.
One dark beer I like now and then is a Danish, Carlsberg Dark.
Sweeter than most dark beers to my taste.
I never turn down Millers High Life or Genuine Draft.
Even before the micro-breweries, Chicago had a wealth of imported
bottled and kegged beer. Lots of German bars. Paid many visits to a
joint called Resi's Bierstube where I first encountered Hacker-Pschorr
Weis. That beer probably suits me best.
I'm hoping my brew will be close.
Only problem with Resi's was some of them Nazi's were still around.
Couple of the regulars were former U-boat crew.
Some might say "let bygones be bygones" and "they're just sailors"
like you once were. But when I'm drinking, it's best not to do it
around U-boaters who were killing "The Greatest Generation" just
20 years ago. I stayed away from them after being introduced.
All I want to know about U-boats is found in Das Boot.
There's a couple more beers I used to drink there. Faust Blue Label,
and Saint Pauli. They also had a thick syrupy beer I tried once.
Can't remember the name. Came in a little 6-8 ounce bottle.
Not bad, but just too heavy. In those days a drinking bout meant
quaffing about a gallon, and that heavy stuff was no good for that,
especially when the old kraut behind the bar was feeding you schnapps
shots. Wasn't too many years after I started going to Resi's that I
could find the good German stuff at certain liquor stores.
Globalism. Now Resi's is full of yuppies.
Couple of decent Polish beers I have now and then is Zywiec and
Okocim. So I recommend trying them. Both are pale.
I don't intend to get into brewing as deeply as Loogy and Scotty.
Just want to try it. I like to cook sometimes.
Even if I only make one batch, I figure I can still use the gear for
other stuff. Can haul dirt and fish with the buckets, and use the
tubing as a siphon for gas if I have to drop a tank to replace a fuel
pump.
The thermometer might do for making fudge.
Since my wife is a cook, she'll like that pot.
Not quite sure what I'll do with that bottle capper though.
Or 50 empty beer bottles.
But, however it turns out.... it's gonna be fun!

--Vic