Your favorite seasonals?

[Taz_Hokie]

What are the beers that you look forward to as the seasons change? I was reading the What to brew: Spring edition thread and while I don't brew my own, I certainly look forward to the beer put out by others.

A few that I look forward to each year:

Dogfish Head Aprihop
Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Bell's Oberon
Shipyard Pumpkinhead
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration

 

[Podunkparte]

I'm a pretty big DFH hater based on their prices and the shit they put out as premium beer (Bitches Brew, Pangaea, Red & White, etc) but Festina Peche is a really tasty and refreshing Berliner Weisse.

For me, the big stouts like Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, The Abyss from Deschutes, Hunahpu's from Cigar City, etc. I just wish a lot of the beers I chase were easier to find.

 

[romeo212000]

Sam Adams summer ale abd Oktoberfest
Spaten Oktoberfest


I don't like any of the pumpkin beers.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

Sam Adams summer ale abd Oktoberfest
Spaten Oktoberfest


I don't like any of the pumpkin beers.

Spaten has the best Octoberfest, IMO.

I forget who makes it, but there was a winter warmer a few years ago that i had at a party and really liked. Might have been a Harpoon...apparently I had too many of them.

 

[broncosmitty]

Oberon!(Oberon Day is tommorrow)

 

[fordman84]

Shiner Cheer. The worst part is their summer beer is Shiner Ruby Red. That has to be, by FAR, the shittiest beer ever.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

Can't get Shiner up hurr. Have to drive down to Maryland.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Sam Adam's Winter Lager and Summer Ale.

 

[ugafan6612]

Lenny's Summer Shandy
Sam Adams oktoberfest

 

[Sleepy T]

I always look forward to SN Celebration/Bigfoot during the winter months. Bell's Oberon is very good too for the Spring/Summer.

 

[757Hokie83]

SN Celebration is great.

Sparks, I read something recently in an issue of Draft Magazine regarding Bigfoot...have you ever tried cellaring it? They say its much better after some time. I picked up a 4 pack of Bigfoot and am stowing it away for a couple years.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

Spaten Oktoberfest


I don't like any of the pumpkin beers.

Spaten has the best Octoberfest, IMO.

I'll have to track this down this fall. This is kind of the reason I started this thread, to find out what I'm missing out on.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I'll have to track this down this fall. This is kind of the reason I started this thread, to find out what I'm missing out on.

I love it, and it's reasonably priced. I'd drink it year round if I could find it...no reason why they should only come out with it every fall. The regular Spaten Optimator is okay too, but they use a green bottle and it's prone to skunking.

Back when I was brewing I found a Marzen-style recipe that was close to Spaten's, but obviously it wasn't always consistent for me. I was never one of those Specific Gravity nerds.

 

[Podunkparte]

SN Celebration is great.

Sparks, I read something recently in an issue of Draft Magazine regarding Bigfoot...have you ever tried cellaring it? They say its much better after some time. I picked up a 4 pack of Bigfoot and am stowing it away for a couple years.

Bigfoot, at least IMO is much better with a good amount of age on it. I pick up bottles every year to cellar.

Right now I have some 2011 and 2012 bottles, along with a mixed 6 pack consisting of 1 bottle each of 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and another 2011.

In 2010 I cracked a 1995 bottle that was delicious. The hops take a lot of time to fade out and leave behind huge caramel and toffee flavors. You'll also get some oxidation which can start to taste like wet cardboard, but a little is actually really nice in a big barleywine like Bigfoot.

I've been cellaring beer for a little over 5 years and overall Bigfoot is my favorite one to age. It's easy to find, cheap, and can take more abuse by time than pretty much any other cellarable beer.

 

[757Hokie83]

Bigfoot, at least IMO is much better with a good amount of age on it. I pick up bottles every year to cellar.

Right now I have some 2011 and 2012 bottles, along with a mixed 6 pack consisting of 1 bottle each of 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and another 2011.

In 2010 I cracked a 1995 bottle that was delicious. The hops take a lot of time to fade out and leave behind huge caramel and toffee flavors. You'll also get some oxidation which can start to taste like wet cardboard, but a little is actually really nice in a big barleywine like Bigfoot.

I've been cellaring beer for a little over 5 years and overall Bigfoot is my favorite one to age. It's easy to find, cheap, and can take more abuse by time than pretty much any other cellarable beer.

how do you typically do it? i've read the best method is keeping it between 40-50 degrees...i dont really have anywhere i can do that, so i've got my 2014 bigfoot's tucked into the back of my beer fridge.

 

[NCChiFan]

Highland Brewing's winter warmer called, "Cold Mountain". If you're lucky enough to find some, great, easy drinkable beer. Stuff sells out in a day here in Asheville. 2000 cases were released locally, gone in a day.

 

[Podunkparte]

how do you typically do it? i've read the best method is keeping it between 40-50 degrees...i dont really have anywhere i can do that, so i've got my 2014 bigfoot's tucked into the back of my beer fridge.

I keep my beer in a closet. I keep a thermometer in there and in the Northwest, I've found it consistently stays between 55 and 65 degrees depending on the season. That's just fine for a non-professional cellar. Just find somewhere dark, dry, and around 55-65 degrees and you'll be just fine with a beer like Bigfoot. Like I said, it's a really tough beer.

Some basics to keep in mind as far as aging beer:

-Most (probably 90%) beer will not improve with aging. It will change, but changing and improving are completely different things.
-With the exception of some Saisons and Belgian Wild Ales, beers under ~7% abv won't benefit at all from aging.
-Warmer = faster / Colder = Slower: Your fridge is fine but the aging process will take longer.
-Barrel aging, hops, and fruit fade quickly: I say fruit only for sour beers and quads, which may have cherries added. Not so much for something like a Pale ale that may have orange peel or something added.
- In the case of Bigfoot, I'm looking for those hops to fade out. They add a ton of hops to Bigfoot in the first place, which is typical for an American Style Barleywine (as opposed to English style) so for me it takes quite a while for those hops to fade to the point I like.
-ABV is not affected by aging, but a "hot" beer will become smoother over time as the phenolic characteristics fade. You'll also lose some other fresh characteristics though, so it's not a perfect science.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me or keep posting here.

 

[tometom]

pretty much any of the Sierra Nevada seasonals are usually what i like to pick up. That stuff is good.

Sam Adams - i buy like 2 cases of their Winter lager to make Chili with. For some reason it just makes my chili taste perfect.

 

[757Hokie83]

i think it's one of their seasonals, but cant remember for sure, but Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye is delicious too.

On a side note for Sierra Nevada...one gas station near my house has a pretty good selection of beers. Their SN collection, right now includes Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, 8.99/sixer & 17 and change/12 pack. Ruthless Rye, 8.99/sixer and Torpedo for 6.49 for a sixer....it is the first time i've ever seen Torpedo priced differently than the other brews, and for 6.49, i pick up 2 or 3 six packs a week!

 

[757Hokie83]

pretty much any of the Sierra Nevada seasonals are usually what i like to pick up. That stuff is good.

Sam Adams - i buy like 2 cases of their Winter lager to make Chili with. For some reason it just makes my chili taste perfect.

the only Sam Adams seasonal i really like is Old Fezziwig, most Sam Adams beers are okay for me, but nothing to get excited about.

I've got a Long Winters Nap by Blue Mountain sitting in my fridge that i havent gotten around to yet, looking forward to it...had a few of their other brews and am definitely a fan