Beer, Beer, and More Beer (2008-2013)

[OldChelsea]

[...]My father tells a story about how when we lived in Copperas Cove, Texas, in the early 1970s (I was born there) it was very hard to get Coors beer anywhere and he managed to get some for a barbecue they were going to have. But he stored it in the garage for a month and he couldn't understand why nobody was drinking it when they finally had the barbecue—"This is COORS BEER!" Coors was apparently a Very Big Deal then. Then he tasted it and found it had skunked in the garage in the Texas heat. Fat Tire makes me think of that story because it seems like Fat Tire was one of those beers that was a Big Deal to a lot of beer-drinkers on the East Coast, probably because we couldn't get it here. I was thinking that Fat Tire has been sort of a younger generation's Coors in the sense that it's only slowly become more widely available.

Coors was indeed a Very Big Deal back during my university days in North Dakota (1970-76) - back in those days it wasn't sold east of the mountain states (i.e. Montana/Wyoming/Colorado/New Mexico on one side of the line, Dakotas/Nebraska/Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas on the other side), and persons making runs to the area where the 'Colorado Kool-Aid' was being sold were big men on campus.

This was of course Coors Banquet, which I think was the only brand they issued back then (no Coors Light in those days)...and now, as then, I still find the cult puzzling...it really wasn't (and isn't) that good.

[mitlen]

Coors was indeed a Very Big Deal back during my university days in North Dakota (1970-76) - back in those days it wasn't sold east of the mountain states (i.e. Montana/Wyoming/Colorado/New Mexico on one side of the line, Dakotas/Nebraska/Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas on the other side), and persons making runs to the area where the 'Colorado Kool-Aid' was being sold were big men on campus.

This was of course Coors Banquet, which I think was the only brand they issued back then (no Coors Light in those days)...and now, as then, I still find the cult puzzling...it really wasn't (and isn't) that good.

I'd visit my buddy in UT (70s) and I'd pack a case in a carry on bag for the trip back to IAD.   Imagine trying that trick now.  

[1995hoo]

Coors was indeed a Very Big Deal back during my university days in North Dakota (1970-76) - back in those days it wasn't sold east of the mountain states (i.e. Montana/Wyoming/Colorado/New Mexico on one side of the line, Dakotas/Nebraska/Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas on the other side), and persons making runs to the area where the 'Colorado Kool-Aid' was being sold were big men on campus.

This was of course Coors Banquet, which I think was the only brand they issued back then (no Coors Light in those days)...and now, as then, I still find the cult puzzling...it really wasn't (and isn't) that good.

Yeah, I'm not a Coors fan either, although I'll concede that it can taste pretty good if it's really cold and I've just finished a round of golf on a very hot day. But just about any beer will taste good then.

I do have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for Coors because the first time I was able to buy a beer on my own it was a Coors. I was on a United flight from Denver-Stapleton to Dulles and I was 14 years old (on a school trip, too). The cabin steward surely knew that I was way underage but sold it to me anyway.

[HalfSmokes]

Coors light is decent as far as light beers go, Coors Banquet may be the worst beer on the market

[PowerBoater69]

Yeah, I'm not a Coors fan either, although I'll concede that it can taste pretty good if it's really cold and I've just finished a round of golf on a very hot day. But just about any beer will taste good then.

I do have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for Coors because the first time I was able to buy a beer on my own it was a Coors. I was on a United flight from Denver-Stapleton to Dulles and I was 14 years old (on a school trip, too). The cabin steward surely knew that I was way underage but sold it to me anyway.

I don't think that the state drinking laws applied on domestic flights until sometime in the 80's when MADD spoiled all the fun.

[PowerBoater69]

Coors light is decent as far as light beers go, Coors Banquet may be the worst beer on the market

Coors Light is good when you want to slam a 12 pack and still be able to function.

[PowerBoater69]

I just picked up four bottles of Fat Tire (22-oz, the only size presently being sold here; six-packs are due in late September) at Total Beverage in Springfield for $2.79 each. They're special "2011 Virginia Commemorative" bottles. I haven't had Fat Tire since a trip to Laramie, Wyoming, in 2007 (we stopped at the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins on the way up from Denver), so it'll be interesting to see whether I still like it. My taste has evolved to hoppier stuff in recent years. I believe New Belgium are also offering an IPA (Ranger IPA, I think) and I may try that next.

My father tells a story about how when we lived in Copperas Cove, Texas, in the early 1970s (I was born there) it was very hard to get Coors beer anywhere and he managed to get some for a barbecue they were going to have. But he stored it in the garage for a month and he couldn't understand why nobody was drinking it when they finally had the barbecue—"This is COORS BEER!" Coors was apparently a Very Big Deal then. Then he tasted it and found it had skunked in the garage in the Texas heat. Fat Tire makes me think of that story because it seems like Fat Tire was one of those beers that was a Big Deal to a lot of beer-drinkers on the East Coast, probably because we couldn't get it here. I was thinking that Fat Tire has been sort of a younger generation's Coors in the sense that it's only slowly become more widely available.

I drink Fat Tire when I travel to states where it is served, very nice beer, but if it were readily available here I'm not sure if it would make it into my heavy rotation.

[comish4lif]

I'll be right over!

I still need to bottle it and then it's a week or three for conditioning...

[1995hoo]

I drink Fat Tire when I travel to states where it is served, very nice beer, but if it were readily available here I'm not sure if it would make it into my heavy rotation.

Yeah, as I mentioned before, I'm going to be interested in seeing what I think after several years. I first had Fat Tire on a football trip to Boise in December 2004, drank around a gallon of it back at the hotel bar that night. Didn't have it again until 2007 on a football trip to Wyoming. Haven't had it since. My taste has evolved towards heavier beers—I'll even drink porters now, and four years ago I never liked that style—and I'm not sure where an amber fits in these days.

[Obed_Marsh]

Fat Tire is good but also overrated. Some people would have you believe it is the best beer ever.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Perhaps, though I would go out on a limb and say that Colorado now has the best micros in the country.

Fat Tire is good but also overrated. Some people would have you believe it is the best beer ever.

[HalfSmokes]

Perhaps, though I would go out on a limb and say that Colorado now has the best micros in the country.

boo- I'd say Delaware, but really that's just my love of dogfish head. Vermont has some really good ones, so does new york

[Mathguy]

That's a slim limb you're out on Ali ...

Colorado has some great ones - I think the world of everything from Great Divide

But then there's great micros from California, Delaware, Michigan, Vermont, ... I'm sure I've left some places out.

Even locally, with Port City & DCBrau.  Have you been to MadFox in Falls Church ?

Perhaps, though I would go out on a limb and say that Colorado now has the best micros in the country.

[1995hoo]

Had a Fat Tire last night with dinner and I won't say it's sooper-dooper best beer I've ever had. but at $2.79 for a 22-ouncer, it's decent stuff for the price. I'll have to try their IPA because I'd like something hoppier than Fat Tire. Still, I'd rather drink that than stuff like Yuengling.

[comish4lif]

Anyone else here at WNFF brewing their (not there or they're) own at home?

[HalfSmokes]

for the home brewers, would you recommend starting with mrbeer, or trying to cobble together the equipment to get started?

[Mathguy]

Shenendoah Brewing Company off Edsal Road in Alexandria will provide supplies for brewing one's own beer

Anyone else here at WNFF brewing their (not there or they're) own at home?

[1995hoo]

Shenendoah Brewing Company off Edsal Road in Alexandria will provide supplies for brewing one's own beer

I believe they closed. At least, every time we drive past they're closed (we live off Van Dorn in Kingstowne and we go past that way frequently). Or did they only close the pub portion but continue the rest of the business?

[Obed_Marsh]

Nearly everyone I know read The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Pappazian and ordered a kit online. DC Brau Brewing Company has been known to give getting started lessons at bars on H ST NE.

[comish4lif]

I believe they closed. At least, every time we drive past they're closed (we live off Van Dorn in Kingstowne and we go past that way frequently). Or did they only close the pub portion but continue the rest of the business?

I brewed there in the Spring and bottled a few days before they were closing up. But when I was there, I was told that someone bought it at the last minute and had planned to close it for a few weeks and then reopen it. I haven't checked in since then. Their website hasn't been updated since June - with the news that they found a buyer.

I have plenty of supplies, there's a little homebrew shop in the Bailey's Crossroads area (mylhbs.com), was just wondering if there's anyone else here active in brewing.

[tomterp]

Anyone else here at WNFF brewing their (not there or they're) own at home?

 

[Nathan]

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Ha, your very talented!

(Image removed from quote.)

[Nathan]

Not me, some one on Reddit.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I new it!