Forumer Chat Thread
- Thread starter Colonel Thunder
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I'm not sure why I didn't see this coming.
Did you not? Huh.
I've been enjoying the newest beer snob sensation here in the US, which is apparently sour ales. Oh, sours have been around for hella time but the hipsters have only just found out about them recently.* Three years ago you'd only find them among the specialized imports in the more well-stocked liquor stores for generally > $3/bottle and now, thanks to the sudden demand, practically every microbrew has one or more of them (ranging from around $1.50 to $2.00 a bottle), many or most of which are delicious, and the shops are stocking up with as many as they can carry. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they started showing up on tap in some places.
Rather than go the hipster route and complain about how I liked 'em first, I gotta say, I'm actually really pleased about this. On the one hand, I get lumped in for judgement with a bunch of impressionable man-children when I buy them. On the other hand I actually can buy them, and at a reasonable price. Midsummer Georgia is more than one kind of hellish, and a nice cold tart fizzy beverage is an excellent way to cope with all this heat.
*Apparently the health-food crowd is buying into the idea that they're super duper good for you because probiotics**, man.
**As used in food marketing, most aptly defined as: "live bacteria of any type that's not typically dangerous to ingest." Commonly believed by the superstitious and/or uneducated to have significant inherent health benefits.
I've been enjoying the newest beer snob sensation here in the US, which is apparently sour ales. Oh, sours have been around for hella time but the hipsters have only just found out about them recently.* Three years ago you'd only find them among the specialized imports in the more well-stocked liquor stores for generally > $3/bottle and now, thanks to the sudden demand, practically every microbrew has one or more of them (ranging from around $1.50 to $2.00 a bottle), many or most of which are delicious, and the shops are stocking up with as many as they can carry. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they started showing up on tap in some places.
Rather than go the hipster route and complain about how I liked 'em first, I gotta say, I'm actually really pleased about this. On the one hand, I get lumped in for judgement with a bunch of impressionable man-children when I buy them. On the other hand I actually can buy them, and at a reasonable price. Midsummer Georgia is more than one kind of hellish, and a nice cold tart fizzy beverage is an excellent way to cope with all this heat.
*Apparently the health-food crowd is buying into the idea that they're super duper good for you because probiotics**, man.
**As used in food marketing, most aptly defined as: "live bacteria of any type that's not typically dangerous to ingest." Commonly believed by the superstitious and/or uneducated to have significant inherent health benefits.
I've yet to have a sour I enjoy, but I've only had like 2 before. I trust your beer judgment, I'm happy to know there's good sours out there
It's definitely not only a very different flavor, but also a very different type of flavor from, e.g., a strong, hard-hitting IPA or a crisp, clean pilsner. I'm betting there are a lot of fans of sour ales out there right now who have absolutely shit taste in beer in general, and probably a whole lot of guys who have excellent taste in beer and really can't stand the taste of sours. My understanding is that much like the bitterness of a nice, hoppy standard brew, the tartness of a sour is an acquired taste that isn't naturally appealing, at first, to most people. If you enjoy snacking on some nice green olives, you'll probably love a good sour - in the same vein that if you enjoy sipping on a good IPA, you'll probably love a good pilsner.
I'm probably not the best person to provide a sense of perspective on this, in that I never had to be conditioned to like really tart flavored stuff because I always naturally had - to the point where I started making my own yogurt as a teenager, because I could make it a lot more sour tasting than any store-bought variety. (And because it's really cheap and easy to do.) Like most people, though, I did have to be conditioned to appreciate a decent hoppy flavor. A large and diverse array of terrible and shitty beers were consumed in the process but, hey, worth it in the end. Now I can drink a really good beer without fundamentally wasting it, for one thing.
I was introduced to a few bottles of sour ale (from Belgium or whatever) that I really enjoyed a few years ago, which impressed me enough to get me to go out and try to find some more. Ended up wasting a whole bunch of money on a pack of something different but allegedly comparable at the time, which I didn't like at all, and that experience basically caused me to mark off the whole thing as being not worth the bother until recently. (Especially since I was much, much poorer back then, and paying more than 3x the money for some 3.5-4.5% ABV brew, than it'd take for me to make my own >6% ale, just did not make sound fiscal sense to me.)
Now there's a bunch of good to decent local options, they're much cheaper, I have money for them in any case, and rather than commonly hovering at some 3.5% like what I used to see, the new microbrew sours I've come across lately have all been one of: 4.5%, 5%, or 6% ABV* so far. So yeah, I'm kinda digging this fad right now.
EDIT: Forgot to mention. Before posting this, I went off for a bit of an experiment: My mother and brother both very much dislike the taste of beer, and so I pushed some Orpheus Serpent Bite, a moderately hoppy plain sour, on them. Mother's assessment: "[Yuck.] Bitter. Sour. No redeeming qualities." Brother's assessment: "It's pretty good...interesting." (Readily accepted a second.)
The more you know.
*Pretty typical range. If I want something stronger than 6% these days, I'm obviously trying to get my drunk on pretty quick - might as well just get some liquor instead of halfassing it with Hopsecutioner or some other especially strong brew. If I want something weaker than 4.5%, then... I'll just have some ginger beer, I guess? I'm obviously not trying to get a buzz going anytime soon.
I'm probably not the best person to provide a sense of perspective on this, in that I never had to be conditioned to like really tart flavored stuff because I always naturally had - to the point where I started making my own yogurt as a teenager, because I could make it a lot more sour tasting than any store-bought variety. (And because it's really cheap and easy to do.) Like most people, though, I did have to be conditioned to appreciate a decent hoppy flavor. A large and diverse array of terrible and shitty beers were consumed in the process but, hey, worth it in the end. Now I can drink a really good beer without fundamentally wasting it, for one thing.
I was introduced to a few bottles of sour ale (from Belgium or whatever) that I really enjoyed a few years ago, which impressed me enough to get me to go out and try to find some more. Ended up wasting a whole bunch of money on a pack of something different but allegedly comparable at the time, which I didn't like at all, and that experience basically caused me to mark off the whole thing as being not worth the bother until recently. (Especially since I was much, much poorer back then, and paying more than 3x the money for some 3.5-4.5% ABV brew, than it'd take for me to make my own >6% ale, just did not make sound fiscal sense to me.)
Now there's a bunch of good to decent local options, they're much cheaper, I have money for them in any case, and rather than commonly hovering at some 3.5% like what I used to see, the new microbrew sours I've come across lately have all been one of: 4.5%, 5%, or 6% ABV* so far. So yeah, I'm kinda digging this fad right now.
EDIT: Forgot to mention. Before posting this, I went off for a bit of an experiment: My mother and brother both very much dislike the taste of beer, and so I pushed some Orpheus Serpent Bite, a moderately hoppy plain sour, on them. Mother's assessment: "[Yuck.] Bitter. Sour. No redeeming qualities." Brother's assessment: "It's pretty good...interesting." (Readily accepted a second.)
The more you know.
*Pretty typical range. If I want something stronger than 6% these days, I'm obviously trying to get my drunk on pretty quick - might as well just get some liquor instead of halfassing it with Hopsecutioner or some other especially strong brew. If I want something weaker than 4.5%, then... I'll just have some ginger beer, I guess? I'm obviously not trying to get a buzz going anytime soon.
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Here the hipsters are going on about their bitter ales, and I'm just drinking my stouts like a real man.
Also wheat beers, because it's summer.
Also wheat beers, because it's summer.
I can do wheat beers, but I usually don't reach for them. I'm a big fan of stouts, but they're basically a meal by themselves so they're not my go to "after a hard day of work" beer
Stealthy, I always guessed youd be more of a scotch or bourbon kind of guy
Struth I don't really pay attention to what's what I just know the brands I like. Beers can be fancy.
Great days for the forum economy. Legal fee's filling my pockets and the court, and new revenue from the recently opened teal salt mine will surely turn this place into a real economic hub.
Great days for the forum economy. Legal fee's filling my pockets and the court, and new revenue from the recently opened teal salt mine will surely turn this place into a real economic hub.
It's because in real life I'm an actual person rather than a pastiche of a social-elite chessmaster villain.
Never been one for liquor or wine with a few exceptions. Which is a bit annoying seeing as there's a bar (that's just a bit out of easy walking distance, but is prolly a cheap Uber) that has dollar wells on some days, and I've always wanted to take advantage of it but know I never will.
Maybe so, but I wouldn't spread that around if I was you. Just sayin'.
Also, I updated the Free Roller CYOA. (Also just sayin'.)
Bullshit. I remember that podcast about how you view gerrymandering like it's a sport.
I went to apply to the military today, and while they were quite impressed with my scores, I was found ineligible until next year.
I knew that that was coming the moment they passed out the sheet asking what drugs I've done, and when I last did them. Looks like I'm shit outta luck.
I knew that that was coming the moment they passed out the sheet asking what drugs I've done, and when I last did them. Looks like I'm shit outta luck.
You're supposed to lie until they have to check, then either you are too passed their requirements or they'll just say fuck it and sign you up anyways.
Lying is for pussies, I'll own up to what I've done and deal with the consequences. 'sides, I'd smoked a doobie the very night before, there was no chance of getting around that - and I have my suspicions that our government isn't quite so lax on people who perjure themselves to try and get in the military.
Probably I'd end up in court, and possibly even in jail. Fuck that, man, I've still got an opportunity for next year.
Probably I'd end up in court, and possibly even in jail. Fuck that, man, I've still got an opportunity for next year.
Yeah, court doesn't seem to end well for you /baDumTish-Don'tBanMeILuvYa
Ban this motherfucker. Nobody loves Tirin.