Best ale beers, or beers in general?

[Tapper]

Guinness Chocolate Cake



Ingredients

    * Cake:
    * 1 cup Guinness (and one for the cook
    * 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
    * 1/2 cup cocoa
    * 2 cups superfine sugar
    * 3/4 cup sour cream
    * 2 eggs
    * 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    * 2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    * Frosting:
    * 8 ounces cream cheese
    * 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
    * 1/2 cup heavy cream


Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease and line with parchment paper a 9-inch springform pan.
   2. Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan and add the sliced butter. Heat until the butter is melted and remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla. Add the sour cream mixture to the Guinness mixture in the saucepan. Finally, beat in the flour and baking soda.
   3. Pour the batter into the greased and lined springform pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. (I baked mine for 53-55 minutes, checking with a toothpick for doneness and it came out well. Your oven may vary.) Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
   4. For the frosting, beat the powdered sugar and cream cheese together until well combined and creamy. Add the cream and beat again until it's a spreadable consistency. I found slowly adding the cream and beating the icing very well gave excellent results. At first there seems like a lot of frosting for just the top of a 9-inch cake but don't skimp! The idea is to frost the top of the cake until it resembles the frothy head of a pint of Guinness. It's quite dramatic and lovely.

Have you ever tried it Linda? That looks good!!

[xxxLinda]

It's a Nigella Lawson recipe and I've only ever tasted it at someone else's house, I've not yet made it myself.  I'm planning to, obviously...   I still don't fully understand all of the ingredients, is half an ounce of cocoa like maybe two bars of chocolate?


...I was trying to answer the thread about beer but went off on a tangent about Guinness. 

I attempted to explain the difference between ale and (lager) beer but got sidetracked. 

A pint of Guinness with a good hit of chocolate has always been a taste treat, kinda like a nice white wine with the appropriate cheese...  But Guinness is a stout.  Different hops.

And it's not ale or lager.


I think all you know about in America is lager, right?




I do like that Mexican beer...   Sol with lime, is it?

[xxxLinda]

Funniest thing, I've just remembered that I grew up in Canada.  I didn't drink beer then.  We used to laugh at the beer across the border though.

How about Molsons Canadian (I still travel with the 12-can silver red white and blue cool pack as my overnight bag and people just come up to me and smile and admire my luggage).


We had Labattts.  Canadian lager beer was fine.  Really good stuff. 

There is better water and far better vibes there perhaps? 


I have a list of Canadian beer vs American piss jokes if you want them?

xL

[w8m8]

Funniest thing, I've just remembered that I grew up in Canada. 

I think all you know about in America is lager, right?

 
funny ? no
just another reminder that you're just not quite right

and  we have Guinness and we also import lots of others also
we are in the current century here too

[xxxLinda]

Just be thankful we invented you, okay?


xL
Linda in London, England

[Andre Nickatina]

I like Heffeweizen  I'm not quite a connoisseur of beer or ale really. I often drink Big Bear 40's 

[Hugo Chavez]

Ok, I just tried Old Rasputin... I had my doubts that it would be a good beer.  But there it was, sitting on the shelf with a 100 score in a store that rarely hands out a 100.  At first taste, it had a bitter impression which quickly faded and was probably more notable due to the beer I had been drinking previous.  The burb is fantastic   The beer shits very well, and leaves no ill effects several hours after.  The alcohol content is pretty high at 9% I have to say this is one of the better American brews I've had.

[MidniteRambo]

My Favorite: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
 

This is what the Beer Advocate says
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412/


From: North Coast Brewing Co. in California, United States
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
reviews   1107 / applied 1091
overall WR   4.26 / 5
review avg   4.27 / 5 ; stD: 0.39
high / low   5 / 1.8
style score   91 (4.27)
alcohol   9.00% ABV
availability   brewed year-round
 BeerAdvocate
Overall Score: 91 (Outstanding)
 

[Hugo Chavez]

My Favorite: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
 

This is what the Beer Advocate says
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412/


From: North Coast Brewing Co. in California, United States
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
reviews   1107 / applied 1091
overall WR   4.26 / 5
review avg   4.27 / 5 ; stD: 0.39
high / low   5 / 1.8
style score   91 (4.27)
alcohol   9.00% ABV
availability   brewed year-round
 BeerAdvocate
Overall Score: 91 (Outstanding)
 

This beer has the devil inside

[xxxLinda]

Russian Stout brewed in California?

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa I haven't lived


Must rush out right now and see if I can buy it in England (perhaps it's £5 a bottle, let's see...
sounds like it's worth it.


Not sure whether I'm joking or not...
xL

[Hugo Chavez]

Russian Stout brewed in California?

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa I haven't lived


Must rush out right now and see if I can buy it in England (perhaps it's £5 a bottle, let's see...
sounds like it's worth it.


Not sure whether I'm joking or not...
xL

Yes it's worth it, not that a boozer like yourself would give a shit what it tastes like.

[powerpack]

I took this picture earlier this evening.
BLACK LABEL sun downer, cold beer on a warm night!
Magic 

[Hugo Chavez]

I took this picture earlier this evening.
BLACK LABEL sun downer, cold beer on a warm night!
Magic 

Holy crap, nice view!

[xxxLinda]

nice comment.

xL

please don't overestimate me?


fantastic summer beer photo.  that's the way to do it.  whatever you prefer.

i also love those little bottles of cheap lager you get in the south of France and Spain.  They're like 5 euros per little tiny bottle, each of which is like a sip or three.  You buy them in crates of 24 or 48 and you lugs 'em home. 

They are so inexpensive that it's as if you are paying them to take it away.  Call me silly names if you want, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a cheap drunk on a bargain night.


Berserker, one of my problems is that I can most certainly tell the difference and that I'm so often disappointed...

[Hugo Chavez]

nice comment.

xL

please don't overestimate me?


fantastic summer beer photo.  that's the way to do it.  whatever you prefer.

i also love those little bottles of cheap lager you get in the south of France and Spain.  They're like 5 euros per little tiny bottle, each of which is like a sip or three.  You buy them in crates of 24 or 48 and you lugs 'em home. 

They are so inexpensive that it's as if you are paying them to take it away.  Call me silly names if you want, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a cheap drunk on a bargain night.


Berserker, one of my problems is that I can most certainly tell the difference and that I'm so often disappointed...

nobody mocks American beer more than me.  That's why above I said I had my doubts it would be good.  My favorite beers are English, then German brews.  I never drink American beers and as I said above, I thought I'd give it a shot due to the fact it scored a 100 and rates high on beer advocate.  I tried it and indeed it was a good beer.  The best, no, but still a dang good beer.  just because it's made in the US doesn't automatically mean it's crap.  There's everything here to make a good brew, just that most choose to put out cow piss and call it beer.


and no, I don't know what cow piss tastes like but if I had to guess, I would say coors would be it

[ozman]

[Straw Man]

My new favorite

 
Gulden Draak
 
Gulden Draak is a dark heavy beer with 10.5% alcohol by volume. Gulden Draak, just like Augustijn, is a beer that undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg.
 
 
Gulden Draak is a beer in a class of its own. It is a beer that is so rich, so glowing,
so full of its very own characteristic flavor, that it reminds some who try it of chocolate and others of coffee. The English call this type of beer a Barley Wine. Gulden Draak (Golden Dragon) smells of triumph. It is a definite party beer. It is no wonder that Gulden Draak was crowned best beer in the world by the American Tasting Institute
in 1998! This beer won many other awards as well.
 
Did you know that the Gulden Draak is named for the golden statue at the top of the clock tower of Ghent? The statue was originally given to the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) by the Norse king Sigrid Magnusson in 1111, during one of the first crusades; hence of course the form of a Viking ship that the beast was given. Approximately one hundred years later, Boudewijn IX, Count of Flanders, was the Emperor of Constantinople in one of the following crusades. Because he found the statue so beautiful, he simply took it back to Flanders with him. In 1382, the cities of Bruges and Ghent even did battle for this statue. And who do you think won?
 
Technical file for Gulden Draak:
10.5 % alcohol by volume, 23 ° Plato
dark beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; bottles 75 cl, 1.5 l; kegs 30 l.

http://www.vansteenberge.com/htm/2en/21300en.htm

[Hugo Chavez]

My new favorite

 
Gulden Draak
 
Gulden Draak is a dark heavy beer with 10.5% alcohol by volume. Gulden Draak, just like Augustijn, is a beer that undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg.
 
 
Gulden Draak is a beer in a class of its own. It is a beer that is so rich, so glowing,
so full of its very own characteristic flavor, that it reminds some who try it of chocolate and others of coffee. The English call this type of beer a Barley Wine. Gulden Draak (Golden Dragon) smells of triumph. It is a definite party beer. It is no wonder that Gulden Draak was crowned best beer in the world by the American Tasting Institute
in 1998! This beer won many other awards as well.
 
Did you know that the Gulden Draak is named for the golden statue at the top of the clock tower of Ghent? The statue was originally given to the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) by the Norse king Sigrid Magnusson in 1111, during one of the first crusades; hence of course the form of a Viking ship that the beast was given. Approximately one hundred years later, Boudewijn IX, Count of Flanders, was the Emperor of Constantinople in one of the following crusades. Because he found the statue so beautiful, he simply took it back to Flanders with him. In 1382, the cities of Bruges and Ghent even did battle for this statue. And who do you think won?
 
Technical file for Gulden Draak:
10.5 % alcohol by volume, 23 ° Plato
dark beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; bottles 75 cl, 1.5 l; kegs 30 l.

http://www.vansteenberge.com/htm/2en/21300en.htm

Sounds good, I've seen it, I'll have to try it now.

[Straw Man]

Sounds good, I've seen it, I'll have to try it now.

Its got a great flavor, kind of choclate or nutty and even though it's got a high alcohol content you can't really taste it

I had it for the first time last night and I'm drinking one right now

[Hugo Chavez]

Its got a great flavor, kind of choclate or nutty and even though it's got a high alcohol content you can't really taste it

I had it for the first time last night and I'm drinking one right now

seems like a lot of the dark beers I've tried have that chocolate overtone--I like it...  That 9 to 11% seems to really be a great range for beer.  I had one a few months back that was around 16% and it kicked my ass.  For some reason I got way more trashed, not intentionally, on it than when I drink the hard stuff which I really don't understand.  The 10% range seems just about right without it getting to much.  I'll definitely give this a try.

[Purple Aki]

seems like a lot of the dark beers I've tried have that chocolate overtone--I like it...  That 9 to 11% seems to really be a great range for beer.  I had one a few months back that was around 16% and it kicked my ass.  For some reason I got way more trashed, not intentionally, on it than when I drink the hard stuff which I really don't understand.  The 10% range seems just about right without it getting to much.  I'll definitely give this a try.

I don't really like them when they go above 7% - they tend to have the effect of making me an even bigger twat than normal.

Drunk some of this the other night:



Original Port Stout

"Bitter and satisfying, this national and international award winner is in the finest tradition of dry stout, but with a unique softness and mellowing warmth that lingers on the palate. A masterpiece. "

V. nice, but gave me a bit of a headache the next day. Now that spring is on the way, I'm switching less dark ales. In particular:



http://www.spitfireale.co.uk/spitfire_ale3.htm

[Straw Man]

My Favorite: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
 

This is what the Beer Advocate says
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412/


From: North Coast Brewing Co. in California, United States
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
reviews   1107 / applied 1091
overall WR   4.26 / 5
review avg   4.27 / 5 ; stD: 0.39
high / low   5 / 1.8
style score   91 (4.27)
alcohol   9.00% ABV
availability   brewed year-round
 BeerAdvocate
Overall Score: 91 (Outstanding)

I bought a 4 pack of this last week.   Pretty damn good. 

Here's my new infatuation:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/21691

[Hugo Chavez]

lol

[smaul]

Definitely Belgian beers!  eg. Duvel (not in top lists but damn good beer nevertheless), Leffe, Westvlieteren.

Here you go:

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers

[Euro-monster]

We dutch rule on beer making so i say a good cold heineken cant hurt nobody...