favorite 'big' beers

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debtman7

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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?
 
I don't know where you live but if you have access to any beers by Stone brewing from CA I strongly reccomend them.

In my opinion they are the kings of the Big Beers.

One of my favorites is the Ruination. It is great as a special occasion beer. I couldn't drink it every day because it would just burn out my tastebuds. Any other IPA would wind up tasting like Bud.

I picked up 4 bottles of the 10th ann IPA and am saving them.

I have yet to be dissapointed by any of their beers. :ban:
 
Alembic said:
I don't know where you live but if you have access to any beers by Stone brewing from CA I strongly reccomend them.

In my opinion they are the kings of the Big Beers.

One of my favorites is the Ruination. It is great as a special occasion beer. I couldn't drink it every day because it would just burn out my tastebuds. Any other IPA would wind up tasting like Bud.

I picked up 4 bottles of the 10th ann IPA and am saving them.

I have yet to be dissapointed by any of their beers. :ban:

Well I also had a bottle of Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard, both of which I really liked. I haven't tried any of their big beers yet...
 
Old Crustacean - Roque, Tannenbomb - Golden Valley, Snowplow - Widmer, Colossus - Oggi's Pizza & Brewing are some great heavies, but I think my favorites have been one-off seasonals.
 
That 10th Anniversary is great, but good luck finding any more of it now. As far as their regular brews, I really like Arrogant Bastard and the IPA. Another big beer I enjoy is North Coast's Old Rasputin Imperial Stout.
 
just tried the Belhaven Brewery Wee Heavy! Very hummy! Very nice beer, imho. I think it is from Scotland?
 
Does Piraat count? I tried one a few months back, it was 10.5% ABV. Very strong in flavor and you can really taste the alcohol. All in all a good beer.
 
Here are some suggestions for some big beers from the northeast:

Weyerbacher (easton, pa) - insanity (their "blithering idiot" barleywine aged in oak casks) or heresy (which is their imperial stout aged in oak casks)

Smuttynose (NH) - wheat wine (this is a 12% wheat ale with a ton of flavor). this was THE beer of the recent Brewtopia fest in NYC.

Great Divide's Oak Aged Yeti (which I was fortunate to try via a trade I made here) is an amazing big beer.
 
As most of the beers I drink these are from the great state of the cheese heads:

Specher's Dopple Bock, a fully balenced beer not sweet, not bitter and couldn't tasste the alchohol in it.
Capital's Autumnal Fire, also a dopple bock but the best red color I have ever seen.
 
I third the Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. That stuff is great, I swear I taste mollasses or rum. The alcohol sneaks up on ya too; if I ever am sentenced to drink myself to death this one might be the gentlest way to go. It's like being gently beaten with a chocolate coated brick.

Duvel is another one I really enjoy; I know a lot of folks don't see what's so special about it but it holds a special place in my heart. (It'll smack you around too.) :mug:
 
Another brew that I remember being very tasty is the Double Bock by Sudwerk. Nice and chocolatey. I've only had 2 bottles, but both were great.
 
avery_the_reverend.jpg


...The Reverend...
 
Probably my current favorite would be North Coast Brewery's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, already mentioned earlier in this thread. It's a little over 9% ABV, and has a very good strong flavor that will take you by surprise if you're not expecting it. I had three one day while playing a tactical combat tabletop game... needless to say, I lost. Badly. :drunk:
 
Ok I got some of the Old Rasputin at Whole Foods last weekend, that is some fine stuff. Probably the best 'big' beer I've tried yet. The Rogue Imperial Stout was good, but it was a little too thick and overwhelming to be something I could drink regularly. The Old Rasputin was very flavorful but not as thick and heavy and I can see actually drinking it. And it only took one to make me feel a little numb :)
 
Brewsmith said:
That 10th Anniversary is great, but good luck finding any more of it now.

Just picked some up this weekend. Haven't tried it yet, kinda feel like it needs a special occassion!

So far, I have loved all of Stone's brews. The Smoked Porter was OUTSTANDING - one of the best beers I've ever had (and I'm tending to favor hoppier brews lately). My next brew will definately be a smoked porter (I was planning on that anyway, but this made the decision easy).
 
I would have to recommend the Flying Dog Gonzo Porter. I was really suprised and impressed with this beer. I believe that it is up there around 9% and it has a big flavor. Kinda hard to find though.
 
Oh yeah, the Chimay Blue is awesome stuff. A little too pricy for anything but an occasional bottle, though.
 
Any chance anyone is sitting on a clone recipe to the North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial? Or something similar - I'm actually looking for a "big" beer (and love the North Coast) to do w/ some Pacman trub. I'm not terribly knowledgeable on big beers and imperials so some direction or advice would be great. Just about all I do now is partial mashing, but I'm right on the edge of going all-grain so I suppose a extract recipe would be the best idea for now (plus i doubt going imperial on the first all-grain is wise:) )......but I could be convinced otherwsie if there is a slam-dunk recipe out there!
 
Westy 12 - Arguably my favorite beer, wish it was more available

Rogue Old Crustacean - Great Barleywine, maybe my favorite.

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Did not like this at first, then I realized it's because I didn't follow the instructions and drank it cold. I know much better now.

Victory Old Horizontal - Between this and OC for my favorite Barley Wine

Troegs Troegenator - Mmmm doublebocks

Dogfish Burton Baton - OMG how I love this beer

Founders KBS - Even better than the original Breakfast Stout

Ramstein Winter Wheat Eisbock - Not nationwide at all but an awesome offering from an NJ brewery.

Troegs Mad Elf - It's not christmas time in NJ without Mad Elf

Gulden Draak - First favorite Belgian

Three Philosophers - Great Quad

Old Rasputin - Not a big stout guy as you may have guessed by bock, Belgian, and IIPA dominated list so far, but this one is great.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout - Whoops another stout. Love Russian Imperial stouts.

Oscar Blues Ten Fidy

Carton Decoy - Very wintery and warm.

Founders Backwoods Bastard - Best Scotch Ale

Allagash Four - Swear that's it. That's my last suggestion.
 
Any chance anyone is sitting on a clone recipe to the North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial? Or something similar - I'm actually looking for a "big" beer (and love the North Coast) to do w/ some Pacman trub. I'm not terribly knowledgeable on big beers and imperials so some direction or advice would be great. Just about all I do now is partial mashing, but I'm right on the edge of going all-grain so I suppose a extract recipe would be the best idea for now (plus i doubt going imperial on the first all-grain is wise:) )......but I could be convinced otherwsie if there is a slam-dunk recipe out there!

Define big?
 
I'd toss Delerium Tremens into the basket of beers you should try. Kinda spendy for a regular brew, but fun for the occasional imbibing.
 
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