I'm looking for some more ideas on beers to try, out of fear that maybe I'm just not the type of guy who likes big highly revered beers I've been trying some lately, shelled out a small fortune, and overall I've been pretty underwhelmed... So far I have sampled:
Westmall Tripel - this was good, very clean and light for a 9% ABV beer. But overall I thought it was rather unexciting for $6 / 11 oz bottle. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I expected more for the price...
Trappist Rochefort 10 - this one smelled fantastic. But I couldn't drink much. It was strong, fruity and reminded me more of a wine than a beer. But it was somewhat like sipping cognac, had a strong alcohol presense, and I can't see myself drinking something like this on a regular basis. And $8 for an 11 ounce bottle is, um, yikes!
AleSmith Old Numbskull Barleywine - this one wasn't a big hit with me or the wife, especially at $15 a bottle. It was very heavy on the malty side with little hop flavor. Too malty for us... I'm curious how it would have been aged, but as it was, I can't see spending money on it again...
Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine - I liked this, my wife loved it. Really great hop and spice flavor with enough malt to balance, but still tipped to the hop side. It was intense in a great way. At $5 a bottle, a relative steal as well.
Rogue Imperial Stout - this gets the award for coolest bottle. $12 a bottle is pretty high, but the wife and I got totally smashed on it. This was potent! Taste wise, it was definately tasty but honestly, I could do with a thinner body and not so much molasses. It was a really thick dark beer, which I know is the idea of an imperial stout. We like it, but not enough that we'd ever buy it regularly. On the plus side, it got us drunk quick and we had a fun night
So, what is everyone's favorite big beer?
Westmall Tripel - this was good, very clean and light for a 9% ABV beer. But overall I thought it was rather unexciting for $6 / 11 oz bottle. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I expected more for the price...
Trappist Rochefort 10 - this one smelled fantastic. But I couldn't drink much. It was strong, fruity and reminded me more of a wine than a beer. But it was somewhat like sipping cognac, had a strong alcohol presense, and I can't see myself drinking something like this on a regular basis. And $8 for an 11 ounce bottle is, um, yikes!
AleSmith Old Numbskull Barleywine - this one wasn't a big hit with me or the wife, especially at $15 a bottle. It was very heavy on the malty side with little hop flavor. Too malty for us... I'm curious how it would have been aged, but as it was, I can't see spending money on it again...
Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine - I liked this, my wife loved it. Really great hop and spice flavor with enough malt to balance, but still tipped to the hop side. It was intense in a great way. At $5 a bottle, a relative steal as well.
Rogue Imperial Stout - this gets the award for coolest bottle. $12 a bottle is pretty high, but the wife and I got totally smashed on it. This was potent! Taste wise, it was definately tasty but honestly, I could do with a thinner body and not so much molasses. It was a really thick dark beer, which I know is the idea of an imperial stout. We like it, but not enough that we'd ever buy it regularly. On the plus side, it got us drunk quick and we had a fun night
So, what is everyone's favorite big beer?