Ed, I know your a legend in your own mind when it comes to good beer. I am actually headed to Dirty Nellies in Palatine tomorrow for Beer Fest. All I can drink beer from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm. What beers should I keep my eye open for as a must taste if there?

My goal is to walk out of there being best friends with the guys from Two Brothers.

I recommend anything from Three Floyds since I make them.

amason wrote:I recommend anything from Three Floyds since I make them.

Nice! You're a brewer at 3F's?

John,

A. Mason's advice is sound, although I don't see them on the list...

Also I would look for Anchor Steam's O.G. beer just called Anchor Steam Beer (Lager) and Harpoon IPA. I looked at the invited brewers and from the list those two jump out at me. Anchor Steam is really good, different slightly from typical lagers but really good none-the-less.

Bridgeport Hop Czar is yummy... and it looks like New Glarus is going to be there, so get yourself something fresh from them. I have heard good things about Moon Man and Hop Hearty Ale.

I haven't had an Anchor Steam since before most of you were probably born. At least 25 years. Back then there was a bar on the corner of Fullerton and Western in Chicago that had beers from all around the world. A few hundred. A friend and me did a pretty good job of making a dent in our world travels. Hell, I've forgotten 99% of them.

Then there was that liquor store on Clybourn I believe. I was a regular there 25-30 years ago. Wine wise, it was the only place I could get Bulls Blood, a Romanian wine.

For some reason I became partial to Czech beers for awhile.

I also recall a cream ale that was pretty good, but I must have had too many of them. Can't remember the name. French and something to do with monks.

Three Floyd's hunh, I have a cool package liquor store walking distance from my house. I could use a walk.

Ken G wrote:I haven't had an Anchor Steam since before most of you were probably born. At least 25 years. .

So what did you think of it then and would you drink it again?

Ken G wrote:Three Floyd's hunh, I have a cool package liquor store walking distance from my house. I could use a walk.

Ken, you would like Gumballhead. Don't let the name fool you, not sweet or gumball flavored, just good beer. Alpha King would probably please your palate too since you enjoy the Sam Adams.

I've been broke lately and the best I can do on a meager budget is Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye and Torpedo Extra IPA. I was getting them for $13.99 a 12pk. at Walmart. Best $1 bottle hoppy beers I have ever had.

Special Ed wrote:So what did you think of it then and would you drink it again?

I can't recall seeing Anchor Steam in my neck of the woods, or I'm not looking hard enough. Highly recommend it based on past experience. My friend back then lived in San Francisco back in the 60s and 70s. He turned me on to it.

I used to buy anything that sounded interesting. Now I tend towards Sam Adams, any of them, a sure bet it will be decent. 312 isn't bad. I should experiment more. I tend toward dark, heavy beers. There's just too many of them and I don't drink like I used too. Couple of beers a day when I bother buying any.

Sierra Nevada was good a couple of decades ago too. 1980, okay, maybe 3 decades ago. Shit, I could buy beer legally in Illinois when I was 19, that would be 37 years ago. I never drank American standard swill beers. Always imported even back then. Heinies, Becks, Guiness and on and on.

It was beer made by Trappist Monks. Chimay was what I drank. Still rated some of the best beers in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trappist_beer

Damn, seems like so long ago.

Bulls Blood.

http://thehungariangirl.com/2009/06/10/ ... -red-wine/

Ken G wrote:Back then there was a bar on the corner of Fullerton and Western in Chicago that had beers from all around the world. A few hundred.

Quenchers is still there, it's down the street from me.

Ken G wrote:
For some reason I became partial to Czech beers for awhile.

They invented Pilsner. They make great beers.

Ken G wrote: Three Floyd's hunh, I have a cool package liquor store walking distance from my house. I could use a walk.

Our beer sells very quickly, so you might need to develop a relationship with your purveyor. There are plenty of stores that don't actually put it on the shelves, you have to ask if they have any in because they keep it in back.

Ken G wrote: Sierra Nevada was good a couple of decades ago too. 1980, okay, maybe 3 decades ago. Shit, I could buy beer legally in Illinois when I was 19, that would be 37 years ago. I never drank American standard swill beers. Always imported even back then. Heinies, Becks, Guiness and on and on.

Sierra nevada is still good. One of the best. SN Pale Ale is a standard. 37 years ago there wasn't much in the US that was worth seeking out. But that was before I was born...

Special Ed wrote: Also I would look for Anchor Steam's O.G. beer just called Anchor Steam Beer (Lager) and Harpoon IPA. I looked at the invited brewers and from the list those two jump out at me. Anchor Steam is really good, different slightly from typical lagers but really good none-the-less.

We have an unwritten rule in the industry to not knock other breweries and beers. I would recommend something other than steam though. Anchor's breckel's brown or Liberty can be nice beers.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I can't wait to dive into the wondrous pool of hops and barley.

Johndyers34 wrote:Thank you all for the suggestions. I can't wait to dive into the wondrous pool of hops and barley.

*jealous*

Johnny D As long as your diving and not driving into those beers at Durty Nellies you will have a ball. Woops it the Dad (OLD MAN) in me coming out, just know that the local gendarmes will be looking at Beerfest as a money making venture as well.