I apologize for the ridiculous schedule and other commitments that kept me away from my usual beer blogging until now. Plus some sort of allergy has me feeling like a walking zombie right now.
One question that would undoubtedly come up if I had a rabid following who wrote me letters is what’s in my fridge and why. Living on a grad student “salary” the answer is often Yuengling, which I have observed before has about the best quality-to-price ratio anywhere.
If you came over tonight you would find two things on tap – a sixer of Stoudt’s superlative Trippel, which remains the best Belgian-style ale I have tried not made by francophones.
The second brew, Erie Railbender, I found after I moved back to the Pittsburgh area some years back. Following the tradition of act globally, drink locally (remember my first beer blog?) I tried everything I could find from the area. My wife and I kept coming back to two brews: the porter from Great Lakes in Cleveland (reviewed here) and a strong scottish ale from Erie Brewing Company in Erie, PA.
The label gives one clue to why Railbender kept showing up in our fridge – short of a traffic stop the label is the only way that you will find out that Railbender falls just short of 7% ABV. Most high-alcohol beers have an off-putting bitterness, or else (in the case of double- or triple fermented beers) they have a sweetness and thick cloud of yeast protein that disguises intimidating ABV’s of up to eight or nine percent. Erie pours a clear amber and goes down easy, distinguishing itself from most ales by the depth of flavor that comes from the ridiculous malt party that Railbender yeast throws before it dies. The brewers at Erie must have used some atomic-mutant superpower to defy the immutable laws of beer and craft a smooth, light-drinking 6.8% beer, and if so let me be the first to declare my allegiance to our mutant brewer overlords.
Some complain that Railbender lacks the shin-kicking oomph, the thickness and the lasting head of a Scotland-brewed ale like McEwan’s, although that cuts two ways. After dinner or out back with friends I might pop a McEwan’s and think to myself, good god this is a BEER, but the intensity works against McEwan’s when you want to serve it with dinner or have two or three (or four or…) during a long football game. Erie’s product stands closer to an amber ale when it comes to when and how you want to drink it but, IMO, it stands up a little higher.
As always, compare my opinion against the true aesthetes at the Beer Advocate.
Cheers!
KC
Never had Railbender, but will definitely try it when I get to Pittsburgh. Tonight, I went with the old standard, Sierra Nevada.
FredW
“Stoudt’s superlative Trippel, which remains the best Belgian-style ale I have tried not made by francophones.”
I agree with you on the Stoudt’s — everything they brew that I’ve tasted has been great. But are you dissing the Flemish speaking part of Belgium? There are good breweries in Wallonia (francophone Belgium) but IMO the good breweries of Flanders outnumber them my an order of magnitude. In just trippel’s alone I can think of Westmalle, Watou, Goulden Carolus, Urthel, Ename — these are all top notch trippels. And don’t get me started on the other styles!
ppGaz
Warsteiner.
It was on sale, and I like it.
Burp
stickler
Mr. Ppgaz. I’m ashamed for you.
Warsteiner is a perfectly serviceable German pilsner. But a strong ale it’s definitely not.
Oh, go ahead and slurp down that whole party keg of Industrielles Pilsgebraeu by yourself. Just remember that to truly enjoy hops — as a patriotic American, mind you — means to slip the surly bonds of Old Europe and soar to the heights of the New World.
(Rulps.) I’hm awff to refill may glasss. You’ awll jus. set ther til I gettt bak. Bassrtrds.
Dave Straub
Currently my fridge contains, in order of quantity from highest to lowest: Troegs Nugget Nectar, Lancaster Brewing Hop Hog, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse.
Johno
At the moment, I have a sixer of Boulder Brewing’s “Hazed and Confused” (damn hippies… it’s a pale ale dry hopped with Crystal and Challenger hops), a couple stray Ipswich Porters, brewed just up the coast from me in Ipswich, MA, and a couple each of a half-decent stout, a good porter, and a kickass Belgian strong ale that I made my own damn self. I like beer.
ppGaz
Me { burp } too.
chopper
act globally, drink locally
that’s why i like brooklyn breweries. just up the street. oh yeah, and they use renewable energy to make their beer, which is kinda cool.
Krista
Our fridge is a bit of an odd mishmash at the moment – 4 cans of Guiness, 4 cans of Moosehead Light, a couple of bottles of homebrew, and a bottle of Leffe blonde.
Time for a trip to the liquor store soon, methinks.
The Mad Pigeon
Ah, Yuengling… I have two PA buddies here with me in South Dakota who bring back cases of that brew whenever they make a trip east.
aaron
I live in Erie. And Railbender has achieved legendary status here in town. It can certainly kick your ass. I must say that any more than 4 glasses and you will probably be hurting in the morning. On another note…I love this blog. John and Tim…you guys rock!
dj moonbat
The Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from Great Lakes Brewing (well, and their other beers) is the only redeeming thing about Cleveland.
Phillip J. Birmingham
I’ve got a bit of a mishmash, too. I just finished the last of the Bigfoot and 90-minute IPA, and wanted something a little less heavy, so I picked up a Goose Island assortment – Honker’s and the IPA, and for those nights I want a more innocuous brew, the 312 Urban Wheat and the Koelsch.
feral1
Yuengling Black and Tan. I haven’t encountered a beer with a better price to quality ratio since Shiner Bock, before the Shiner brewery was bought out by the big boys.