I quit drinking a number of years ago but I do get tired of sweet beverages or those that are loaded with caffeine. I miss the flavor of beer but I have found an excellent substitute. If you have not tried it - you should. Clausthaler Dry Hopped:
I rarely drink any alcohol (an occasional sip of my wife’s wine) and generally dislike beer, although I know most of the world likes it. I’ve tasted a few that were OK. What I really like is Polar (it’s a brand from Worcester, MA) diet orange. Their diet grapefruit is pretty darn good, too.
@hchavers@yakkoTDI IPA is the abbreviation of India Pale Ale, so named despite having little to do with India except by association, not particularly needing to be “pale”, and entirely belying the original sense of “ale” as a brewed and fermented beverage that wasn’t polluted with hops. One of the purposes of hops was as a preservative, and the convoluted (and sometimes fractious) history of the shift in European brewing practices is full of missteps that caused old, pleasantly flavorful beverage brewing recipes to be lost to the relentless campaign to make beer revolting. Which, in general, it mostly is; the IPAs are an example of what happens when mass hazing creates “acquired tastes” at odds with any kind of logic.
@hchavers an old people fad really that was repackaged for the youngins. Overhopped beer so it wouldnt spoil when it was schlepped across the ocean on long long voyages. Kinda smells like pot and tastes like grapefruit juice.
@hchavers@Sneakertree Decent grapefruit juice is pleasant; IPAs are comparable to canned Bluebird grapefruit juice. If you are unfortunate enough to have ever encountered that abomination, you’ll understand what I mean. It is truly vile; possums would spurn it, and skunks would consider it a sign that the local population is dangerously diseased and probably insane.
IPAs were created by those who wanted to impose the bitterness of their own lives on others - yuck!
Everyone should be enjoying the deep maltiness of strong dark Belgian ale, such as Gouden Carolus Classic (my favorite; wish I could find it more easily), Chimay Blue, Trois Pistoles, Adoration, Salvation, etc
Treehouse - has some great IPA’s and doubles that are very well balanced w/alternate flavors to make them very drinkable. Every style they offer Ipa/stout/sours ect. are all a great representation of what that style should be. We drove several states over just to pick up some beers for home.
I don’t usually drink beer because it makes me feel bloated and gross, but I do love the taste, and bitter is better. I prefer a good British bitter to any IPA I’ve had, but Schlafly (great brewery in St. Louis) makes some excellent IPAs.
I get it that some don’t like bitter beer. But many of the currently popular IPAs (especially those on the two coasts) accentuate the floral qualities of the hops over the bitter.
I grow my own hops Preferably make a high gravity beer Ample use of child labor
FWIW, my daughter was an award winning brewer at the age of four. She picked the hops, milled the grain and ran the hop schedule. She’s kind of a big deal.
@yakkoTDI This is actually quite an old photo. She is now 14 and 5’ 10" with a 52MPH fast ball Boys are already intimidated and I’m super ok with that. I once saw a PSA that said ‘The more you talk to your children about alcohol, the less likely they are to abuse it’. I gave a fist bump to myself and thought, ‘I’m GOLDEN!’
@capnjb@Kyeh Yeah, I keep threatening to build an arbor for them to grow over, with a bench under the shade. But that hasn’t made it up the (never ending) To-Do list yet.
the kind that doesn’t taste like a pine cone…
my Fav. Beers are either Cheap(Coors Banquet, Shiner), or Imported (Fullers London Pride, Czechvar, etc.)
Almost all IPAs are too bitter for my screwed up taste buds. I did like the Sam Adams Rebel IPA grapefruit though.
Cider!
The kind that ain’t
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet
I quit drinking a number of years ago but I do get tired of sweet beverages or those that are loaded with caffeine. I miss the flavor of beer but I have found an excellent substitute. If you have not tried it - you should. Clausthaler Dry Hopped:
I rarely drink any alcohol (an occasional sip of my wife’s wine) and generally dislike beer, although I know most of the world likes it. I’ve tasted a few that were OK. What I really like is Polar (it’s a brand from Worcester, MA) diet orange. Their diet grapefruit is pretty darn good, too.
Cask proofed Bourbon
Talk a lot of trash, you know you want it.
@2many2no MmmmmNope. Never even heard of it, and I live in Houston. But thanks for the heads-up, now I can make sure I stay the hell away from it.
@2many2no Pine, resin & citrus? That really sounds like a wood finish.
What’s IPA? Is it some new young people’s fad?
@hchavers Isopropyl alcohol.
@hchavers @yakkoTDI IPA is the abbreviation of India Pale Ale, so named despite having little to do with India except by association, not particularly needing to be “pale”, and entirely belying the original sense of “ale” as a brewed and fermented beverage that wasn’t polluted with hops. One of the purposes of hops was as a preservative, and the convoluted (and sometimes fractious) history of the shift in European brewing practices is full of missteps that caused old, pleasantly flavorful beverage brewing recipes to be lost to the relentless campaign to make beer revolting. Which, in general, it mostly is; the IPAs are an example of what happens when mass hazing creates “acquired tastes” at odds with any kind of logic.
@hchavers an old people fad really that was repackaged for the youngins. Overhopped beer so it wouldnt spoil when it was schlepped across the ocean on long long voyages. Kinda smells like pot and tastes like grapefruit juice.
@hchavers @Sneakertree Decent grapefruit juice is pleasant; IPAs are comparable to canned Bluebird grapefruit juice. If you are unfortunate enough to have ever encountered that abomination, you’ll understand what I mean. It is truly vile; possums would spurn it, and skunks would consider it a sign that the local population is dangerously diseased and probably insane.
IPAs were created by those who wanted to impose the bitterness of their own lives on others - yuck!
Everyone should be enjoying the deep maltiness of strong dark Belgian ale, such as Gouden Carolus Classic (my favorite; wish I could find it more easily), Chimay Blue, Trois Pistoles, Adoration, Salvation, etc
@compunaut This.
i love me some bitter beers. hard to beat a classic like bells two hearted
Treehouse - has some great IPA’s and doubles that are very well balanced w/alternate flavors to make them very drinkable. Every style they offer Ipa/stout/sours ect. are all a great representation of what that style should be. We drove several states over just to pick up some beers for home.
all of the above
I don’t usually drink beer because it makes me feel bloated and gross, but I do love the taste, and bitter is better. I prefer a good British bitter to any IPA I’ve had, but Schlafly (great brewery in St. Louis) makes some excellent IPAs.
Isopropyl alcohol.
@blaineg Drinking that will cure any tendency to consume things labeled as IPA, permanently.
India Pale Ales DO NOT contain isopropyl alcohol.
@werehatrack It’s my favorite because I use to to clean circuit boards and 3D prints.
I get it that some don’t like bitter beer. But many of the currently popular IPAs (especially those on the two coasts) accentuate the floral qualities of the hops over the bitter.
My favorite IPA?\
I grow my own hops
Preferably make a high gravity beer
Ample use of child labor
FWIW, my daughter was an award winning brewer at the age of four. She picked the hops, milled the grain and ran the hop schedule. She’s kind of a big deal.
@capnjb She is going to have fun when guys try to explain beer to her later in life.
@yakkoTDI This is actually quite an old photo. She is now 14 and 5’ 10" with a 52MPH fast ball
Boys are already intimidated and I’m super ok with that. I once saw a PSA that said ‘The more you talk to your children about alcohol, the less likely they are to abuse it’. I gave a fist bump to myself and thought, ‘I’m GOLDEN!’ 
edit - she growed up
@capnjb I used to grow my own hops for brewing but no longer bother:
So now the hop plants are just decorative.
@capnjb @macromeh
Well, at least they are really pretty.
@capnjb @Kyeh Yeah, I keep threatening to build an arbor for them to grow over, with a bench under the shade. But that hasn’t made it up the (never ending) To-Do list yet.
the kind that doesn’t taste like a pine cone…
my Fav. Beers are either Cheap(Coors Banquet, Shiner), or Imported (Fullers London Pride, Czechvar, etc.)
I P Freely