Coffee, Tea, and Other Beverages

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:39 pm

So some of you are probably aware of my undying affinity for coffee. For those of you who aren't: Yes, I love coffee. I am a coffee snob. I buy whole beans roasted locally, grind them in my own burr mill, and create the devine beverage using the only method that matters: the French press. Yes, my love of coffee is likely the most pretentious thing about me.

Many of you may also be aware of my previously reported disgust in all that is tea. Growing up in Texas, where the act of drinking sweet iced tea borders on religious fanaticism, it was occasionally mildly difficult being that guy, the one who would not be in any way upset if all the tea in China (and elsewhere) were to be eradicated from the Earth. But now I find that those days are passed. As of this very past winter, I was introduced to an herbal tea that I actually found pleasant and enjoyable. That tea is Celestial Seasonings' Tension Tamer.

Here's where the weird comes in: When I make coffee in the press, I get a cup (a big cup) and a half of very powerful brew out of it. Lately, I've been saving that half-cup for the next day, when I'll make the tea and blend the two into a single cup of pure awesomeness. Half full-city roasted coffee, half peppermint tea. I can't really even describe the baddassness involved. It's just plain old-fashioned good, and I highly recommend it.

Also, beer. I love beer. Many of you are aware of that, too. I haven't been drinking very much of it since spring kicked in (seriously: I drank the first bottle I've had since February a few nights ago) and I think I'm going to try and give the beer a break over the summer, unless I come across something particularly fresh and appealing. But when October rolls back around, it's on.

What are your regular morning beverages? Is there any beverage you find particularly appealing on an occasional basis?

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:18 pm

Regular morning beverage is typically water. Sometimes tea if I have to drive somewhere within the hour. Err... morning for me is like, 11am.

Coffee I can't stand. At all. Period. it's terrible stuff.

And sometimes, on those divine mornings where everything falls in to place, my morning drink is either a good beer or a white russian. Praise gott!

Nicephorus · Post by **Nicephorus** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:00 pm

cofee - French Press rocks. I need to get a real grinder - the whirling blades is ok if you dont' mind a bit of coffee dust and poor extraction of the large pieces but I want a burr mill. I tend to buy whatever is on sale of the reasonable quality beans. I need to hunt down a real coffee store.

tea on occasion. I like gunpowder or pearl tea. It's like green but a bit stronger and a bit smoky. That is, when you can get it reasonably fresh as tea ages over time. I also like Earl Grey and a few others.

unsweetened tea or tiny amount of sugar

for casual use, diet coke, diet dr. p, or diet mt dew.

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:47 pm

Fresh juice. Whatever mix we make that morning from the produce I bought at the farmer's market the prior weekend. Fruit juice in the morning, and a mix of beet/carrot/celery/apple with dinner. Good stuff. My days feel really odd when I don't start it off that way.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:08 am

I drank Diet Pepsi religiously for years. Then I discovered Amp Energy (the sugarless variety), and got hooked on that...and it's aptly named Amp! However, my doctor warned me about carbonated beverages since my last surgery (can't burp anymore), and the Diet Pepsi and Amp were taking their toll on me. So I made a recent switch to a caffeinated energy powder that you mix with water...delicious and it definitely wakes me up in the morning (one serving has 60 mg of caffeine). The lack of carbonation has been helping too.

Ultimately, though, I'd like to wean myself off of any sort of "artificial" boost. I also have the intention to eat better, try to exercise and stop reaching for the convenience prepackaged shit that currently makes up a significant portion of my diet. But I tend to be lazy, don't like to cook, and typically lose money on fresh foods because they go bad before I can eat them all. But that's all a lifestyle change I need to make, and is nobody's fault but my own.

For now, however, my energy drink mix is the supreme ruler of my morning.

Pdyx · Post by **Pdyx** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 2:53 pm

I'm really quite obsessed with coffee and tea. I own two french presses, two espresso machines, a turkish coffee pot, a teapot with an infuser,several mate gourds, tons of permanent tea ...bag... things? I don't know what you call them. They're various shapes and sizes of metal things you can load tea up in and then put in a mug with hot water.

I mostly drink espresso, yerba mate (sometimes with fresh mint mixed in), and turkish coffee these days, but sometimes drink french press coffee or occasionally drip when out and about at other people's places. I try to drink a ton of water, and I've been drinking less alcohol lately but when I do it's mostly a glass or two of wine. I prefer beer, but I've been cutting that out lately.

You should try yerba mate Ray, it's great. It's all the kick (and more) of coffee, with strong strong earthy tea taste and a lot easier on the stomach.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:46 pm

I really enjoy good coffee - hell, even poor coffee - when it's available, but not enough to actually make any effort to pursue it. I'm not wild about hot drinks as a rule, anyway.

Despite constant efforts, I still haven't kicked my Rockstar habit, although I have brief successes. Just have to not quit quitting, is all.

Don't really drink alcohol at all anymore. There are only a few beers I considered anything beyond "tolerable," and very few wines. I never really drank because I enjoyed the drinks themselves, though.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:38 pm

Pdyx wrote:tons of permanent tea ...bag... things? I don't know what you call them. They're various shapes and sizes of metal things you can load tea up in and then put in a mug with hot water.

I've always heard them called infusers or strainers, but I think technically strainers are the open-topped kind you sit on top of the cup and pour the tea through.

You should try yerba mate Ray, it's great. It's all the kick (and more) of coffee, with strong strong earthy tea taste and a lot easier on the stomach.

I've seen it in the tea and coffee isle at our local organic food store and I've thought about trying it since you mentioned it over on Animalball, but I haven't yet. It's loose, so I figured I could make it in the French press unless there's some special way of doing it. How do you make it (the traditional gourd and filter straw thing)? Do you put cream/sugar in it?

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:50 pm

Raygun wrote:
Pdyx wrote:tons of permanent tea ...bag... things? I don't know what you call them. They're various shapes and sizes of metal things you can load tea up in and then put in a mug with hot water.
I've always heard them called infusers or strainers, but I think technically strainers are the open-topped kind you sit on top of the cup and pour the tea through.

Infusers, correct. The type of infuser that's roundish and vaguely spherical [whether mesh or pushed steel], usually on a chain, is sometimes known as a "tea ball" or "tea egg," but the general term [which includes infusers with hinged handles and hinged-lid spoon thing-ees and so on] is just infuser.

Tea strainers are the things you pour the tea into the cup over; if they're bigger, and you put them in the kettle, they're infuser baskets.

Tea is stupid. I have all the stuff to do it right: it just doesn't taste good to me.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:51 pm

Raygun wrote:
Pdyx wrote:tons of permanent tea ...bag... things? I don't know what you call them. They're various shapes and sizes of metal things you can load tea up in and then put in a mug with hot water.
I've always heard them called infusers or strainers, but I think technically strainers are the open-topped kind you sit on top of the cup and pour the tea through.

"Infuser balls" is the term I'm familiar with, assuming you're talking about the round metal things. Alternately, and less elegantly, "tea balls".

Nicephorus · Post by **Nicephorus** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:04 pm

Raygun wrote: It's loose, so I figured I could make it in the French press unless there's some special way of doing it.

Duh. I should be using my French press as a teapot. The lack of an infuser gives better contact between leaves and water and the plunger screen is a better filter than most.

Pdyx · Post by **Pdyx** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:18 pm

I usually only have it the traditional way (gourd and bombilla) if I'm sharing it with others or feel like doing it. I used to do that more often, these days it's mostly just me so I just use the french press or a teapot with an infuser or an infuser ball (there you go!). French press makes some strooong mate though.

I don't use anything except for mint leaves, and only then sometimes. It's very earthy and perhaps too strong for some. I don't know anyone that adds sugar or milk to it, but I do know people that add other things ocassionally, like mint. Mint makes it more drinkable for people who don't like the really strong earthy flavor.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:26 pm

Pdyx wrote:French press makes some strooong mate though.

hahaha I guess I'll find out.

I don't use anything except for mint leaves, and only then sometimes. It's very earthy and perhaps too strong for some. I don't know anyone that adds sugar or milk to it, but I do know people that add other things ocassionally, like mint. Mint makes it more drinkable for people who don't like the really strong earthy flavor.

Okay. Sounds good! Next time we're at that store I'll grab some of it.

3278 wrote:Tea is stupid. I have all the stuff to do it right: it just doesn't taste good to me.

Find a bag of this stuff and just smell it.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:37 am

Bought some yerba mate today. Will be trying it soon.

Pdyx · Post by **Pdyx** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:05 pm

Raygun wrote:Bought some yerba mate today. Will be trying it soon.

Yay!

I go through Yerba Mate and Coffee phases. I get tired of one (mostly) and drink loads of the other then go back. The Yerba Mate, though, generally feels better and whenever I switch back to it, I think, why do I keep switching? But I like coffee and after a while I crave the taste and start drinking it.

Hope you enjoy it and I didn't lead you astray.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:58 am

Well, I tried the yerba mate today and unfortunately, I don't like the taste of it very much. It's very earthy and grassy, but without anything else in it, it pretty much embodies everything I don't like about tea. I mashed up and added some fresh orange mint, but that didn't help much. A little sugar did help, but not much. I did make it in the French press and let it steep for three or four minutes, so maybe it was just too strong. I'll try again another time.

However, the stuff smells excellent. I want to make soap out of it.

Pdyx · Post by **Pdyx** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:23 pm

Try lots of fresh mint mixed in with it to steep, that is, if you're going to try again. Sorry you didn't like it! It definitely is super earthy. French Press will indeed make it very strong. It's assuredly an acquired taste. I didn't like it very much the first several times I drank it. However I did like the caffeinated high, and it felt (and feels) so much cleaner on my system than coffee. No stomach rumbling. Definitely induces a nice poop, but it feels good unlike that coffee spurt you'll get sometimes. Too much information?

SumDumQuim · Post by **SumDumQuim** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:27 am

No, in fact I would like to hear MORE!!

I am intrigued about the tea though, and now that Ray doesn't like it I might even get a taste of it. I will keep you informed.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 3:48 am

Where can I get yerba mate locally, would you think? Or would I have to get it online?

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:11 am

I got it in the tea section of our local organic/health food store. I imagine that would probably work for you too.

Pdyx wrote:However I did like the caffeinated high, and it felt (and feels) so much cleaner on my system than coffee. No stomach rumbling. Definitely induces a nice poop, but it feels good unlike that coffee spurt you'll get sometimes. Too much information?

Maybe that's really why I like coffee so much. It's not that it tastes great, it's that it doesn't bug my stomach, and I shit picture perfect! Who wants to see?

That is a different kind of caffiene high with the yerba mate, though. I did notice that. Coffee can make you all jittery and this was just kind of a smooth buzz.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:17 am

3278 wrote:Where can I get yerba mate locally, would you think? Or would I have to get it online?

I think Meijer might have it. You can definitely get it locally, because my father used to drink it all the time. I find it pretty mediocre, as far as hot, infused beverages go, but it's not bad.

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:27 am

I had to give up caffeine among other things back at the start of the year.

To help, my wife splurged and bought me a cast iron chinese tea pot with cast iron warmer, a cold brew fridge pitcher and different types of honey (sage, mint, orangeblossom, huckleberry, cinnamon and a couple of others)

I already had a french press, but it recently was knocked from the counter be a small fuzzy four footed fiend running from a larger fuzzy four footed loveable fluffball.

At work I have been making a blend of pomegranate cherry tea and peppermint tea poured into a decaf cold brew "orange pekoe" black tea. At work I do use sugar in the raw to sweeten it.

I get my teas from Souvia Tea it's on the way home from work.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:00 am

I just can't believe I never properly responded to this; there truly are few topics closer to my heart. My interest in beverages is vast, my preferences are varied, and my passion in this area is rivaled only by my interests in exotic women and plant husbandry.

By volume, the primary beverage in my life is water, often seasoned with a bit of lemon, or occasionally lime, juice. I drink this "lemonated" water daily, and with most meals. I rarely drink juices, though I do enjoy fresh fruit juices of all varieties, as well as V8 and other vegetable juices. In the Summer I'm also partial to horchata.

Regarding tea and coffee: yes, both, please. I do own and use a French press, but generally I require a greater quantity of coffee than is practical to brew in a press pot. And black, please, rarely with a bit of sugar. As for tea, I prefer darker teas, chai-spiced in particular, and often make my own blends at the fancy tea store near my house, which is the best-smelling building I've ever encountered. I enjoy iced tea during Summer, but my preference is actually homemade and sweetened iced coffee.

And alcohol. Ah, yes, here's where things get interesting! As for liquor, I am of the opinion that there are only four perfect cocktails. Master these drinks, and you need not learn another thing on the subject of mixology. These are, in no order:

the Gin Martini [dirty, ideally]

Scotch and water [Johnny Walker black for me, thank you]

the Bloody Mary [a thousand possible variations- truly the most complex of all cocktails]

and, last, but most certainly not least, the humble Margarita, which must be made with only triple sec, lime juice and tequila, and served over ice in a salted glass- never blended, for the love of god

I'm also a huge appreciator of beer, perhaps even a beer connoisseur, if I may be so bold. I am not, however, a beer snob; I believe there is a time and place for every beer, from the lowliest macro-brew, to the most skillfully crafted artisanal micro-brew. Just as I am not going to subsist on hearty IPAs while working all day in the high sun, I am not going to sip a Miller Lite by the fire on a cool Winter evening. For every beer a place, and a place for every beer. My favorite styles may be pilsners and IPAs, but I enjoy every variety of the great malted miracle. I can't speak highly enough of our world-class local [to West Michigan] brewery, Founders.

I also drink wine on occasion, but who cares? It's wine.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:37 pm

Raygun wrote:What are your regular morning beverages? Is there any beverage you find particularly appealing on an occasional basis?

Red Bull, although I also like green tea (hot with sugar). I haven't had a red Bull in five days now though so who knows, maybe I'll kick the habit?

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 10:40 pm

So does beer count? I've been enjoying two pints today, both Weihenstephaner. One is the Vitus, which is a pretty good wheat beer. Crisp, light, yet curiously tasty. The other? Hefeweissbier dark. It's dark, it's good, it's what I want in a woman. It's like a more aromatic Yuengling, if you ask me. And I mean that in nothing but a good way. This shit is da bomb.

Also, last night, had some Chemay, split the bottle with a coworker. Even room temperature, Chemay is just an amazin' brew. Most beer tastes TERRIBLE when warm, something you have to choke down and swallow so you get that awesome warm tingle. but Chemay? Sipping it warm still tastes excellent.

Also, i found out I can get an 18 pack of PBR cans for 9.99. Who wants to be white trash with me?

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:34 pm

Bonefish wrote:So does beer count? I've been enjoying two pints today, both Weihenstephaner. One is the Vitus, which is a pretty good wheat beer. Crisp, light, yet curiously tasty. The other? Hefeweissbier dark.

Both of those are excellent beers. I don't think I've had anything from Weihenstphaner that I didn't like.

Also, last night, had some Chemay, split the bottle with a coworker. Even room temperature, Chemay is just an amazin' brew. Most beer tastes TERRIBLE when warm, something you have to choke down and swallow so you get that awesome warm tingle. but Chemay? Sipping it warm still tastes excellent.

This is one of those things that being in America has programmed us with. We're so used to ice-cold pisswater beer that drinking beer any other way seems wrong, when in fact, beer that's designed to actually have some flavor to it is much better a little bit warmer. I'm not talking room temperature or anything, but warmer than it would be just coming straight out of the fridge, say around 50F. Beers that are relatively loaded with hops and drunk cold tend to taste very bitter because the coldness actually impedes your ability to sense much else. Let them warm up a bit and it all comes to life.

Also, i found out I can get an 18 pack of PBR cans for 9.99. Who wants to be white trash with me?

I'll stick with the Wiehenstephaner and Chimay, thanks.

I've been drinking Bayern Maibock lately. Best thing I've had from them.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 12:36 am

Hey, the PBR special will be awesome when i host scenster parties!

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:24 am

Bonefish wrote:Hey, the PBR special will be awesome when i host scenster parties!

I've been known to drink a cheap beer [or twelve] from time to time, but I really can't stand PBR. Part of it may be the association with hipsters, but I just hate the stuff. Lately I've become a huge fan of Genessee Cream, the greatest cheap beer on the planet, IMHO.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:31 am

Anyone ever sample a can of Big Flats 1901? A beer that was confusingly-named to obscure the fact that it's produced by fucking Walgreens? $3 for a six-pack? I bet it's just awesome. I'm totally getting some if I ever find myself in a Walgreens for some reason.

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:42 am

AtemHutlrt wrote:Anyone ever sample a can of Big Flats 1901? A beer that was confusingly-named to obscure the fact that it's produced by fucking Walgreens? $3 for a six-pack? I bet it's just awesome. I'm totally getting some if I ever find myself in a Walgreens for some reason.

$3 for a six-pack isn't reason enough?

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 5:26 am

Jeff Hauze wrote:
AtemHutlrt wrote:Anyone ever sample a can of Big Flats 1901? A beer that was confusingly-named to obscure the fact that it's produced by fucking Walgreens? $3 for a six-pack? I bet it's just awesome. I'm totally getting some if I ever find myself in a Walgreens for some reason.
$3 for a six-pack isn't reason enough?

You make a fine point.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:01 am

AtemHutlrt wrote:
Bonefish wrote:Hey, the PBR special will be awesome when i host scenster parties!
I've been known to drink a cheap beer [or twelve] from time to time, but I really can't stand PBR. Part of it may be the association with hipsters, but I just hate the stuff. Lately I've become a huge fan of Genessee Cream, the greatest cheap beer on the planet, IMHO.

Yeah, I feel you with the hipster element. I started drinking PBR because of a black friend of mine(definitely not a hipster) got me into it, and then I fit in with all the ex-biker friends my uncles had drinking it. Then that shit became fucking popular amongst the "scene", and nowadays it's like a motherfucking accessory. Iphone? check. Shitty brand of cigerettes*? check. PBR? check. Hipster confirmed.

And why do I hate hipsters? Because they try SO GODDAMNED HARD to be individual. But they do and like all the other same shit. It's like they're fucking zombies. Look, I'm a dysfunctional motherfucker: anyone who has read my facebook page probably agrees. Most of the people you know, Atem, probably agree: I am whacked out in the head. But I don't make a big deal about it(generally speaking). "oh, lookit me, I'm so cool because I'm crazy!". No, I just am.

And that's where hipsters lose me. They are so fucking caught up in being cool, but they don't wanna be "mainstream" that they forget that they are fucking mainstream. They're just like everyone else, but they think they are original. most of them can't hold a conversation for fuck all, which is why I hate them. Wearing a quirky hate, a tight tee-shirt and jeans does not instantly make you intellekshul. You're just a douche bag.

Goddamn, I hate hipsters. But the hipster girls are hot. Tattoos, piercings, poor self image? That's my kinda woman right there.

And I can figure out why I'm not happy. Fuckin' idiot.

* they vacilitate. Sometiems it's parliments, sometimes it's American spririts, sometimes it's something else. But always the same.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:04 am

Also, Genesse, or however it's spelled, is pretty solid. Not great, but for the price? solid.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:42 pm

I will admit there are those times, those rare hot summer days, when Corona and lime hits the spot. But even then, I think it's more the lime flavor I crave than the beer (in fact, I'm pretty sure it is, because on those occasions I usually start thinking about how awesome Margaritas would be instead). Generally speaking, I'd rather not drink beer than drink cheap piss lager. Water is preferable to PBR or MGD, Bud, Coors or Michelob. Fuck all that tasteless, boring shit. I don't need to get drunk that bad.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:43 am

You know what's not good about beer, though? The way it tastes. And the amount of it you need to drink in order to get any compensation for that misery. Beer is bullshit.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:58 am

Have you tried not having the taste buds of a twelve year old girl?

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:02 am

Ahh. The things I would do if I had in my possessions the taste buds of a twelve year old girl.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:11 am

They scrape off pretty easily with a sharpened paring knife.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:35 am

It's too bad I'm not more attracted to brown people. No one seems to mind when they go missing. Is there still a country somewhere in the world where no one notices when a white person disappears? Are all of the third world countries brown?

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:45 am

3278 wrote:It's too bad I'm not more attracted to brown people. No one seems to mind when they go missing. Is there still a country somewhere in the world where no one notices when a white person disappears? Are all of the third world countries brown?

I'm not sure, but I've never thought about it much because, being heterosexual, I am attracted to women, and don't get too hung-up on what sort of light their skin happens to reflect.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:20 am

It may be easier to just drink some beer and try to like it, 32.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:27 am

I think a big part of acquiring a taste is eating or drinking something you hate for so long your brain just forgets to care about it.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:41 am

You got me thinking about the 'acquiring of the taste,' and I realized that I don't remember ever disliking beer. Ever. My dad would mow the lawn on Sundays and crack open an Oly or Old Milwaukee or Tres Equis (blech) afterwards and I'd always hit him up for a sip. Finally, one day he let me, expecting me to gag and run away, but I swiped that motherfucker's beer instead! He was pissed. I've since developed a palate for the stuff and like some to the exclusion of others, but since the first time I had beer, I've liked it.

Reminds me, that kind of beer (American adjunct lagers) should be reserved for children. It's kid's beer.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:15 pm

Raygun wrote:It may be easier to just drink some beer and try to like it, 32.

There comes a point beyond which you have to make a judgment as to whether the likelihood of you coming to enjoy this thing is worth the investment in unpleasantness. I've put a lot of resources into trying to enjoy beer, and managed a couple I find palatable, and one I find exceptional, and a real dislike of the others. I could try on another decade of exposure, but if I don't like it at this point, I just don't think it's going to happen.

Nicephorus · Post by **Nicephorus** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:29 pm

I definitely prefer beer over wine but I'd rather have cheap wine over cheap beer.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 5:51 pm

3278 wrote:
Raygun wrote:It may be easier to just drink some beer and try to like it, 32.
There comes a point beyond which you have to make a judgment as to whether the likelihood of you coming to enjoy this thing is worth the investment in unpleasantness. I've put a lot of resources into trying to enjoy beer, and managed a couple I find palatable, and one I find exceptional, and a real dislike of the others. I could try on another decade of exposure, but if I don't like it at this point, I just don't think it's going to happen.

Joking. Should have used one of those smiley faces!

But this does give us something to work with: Which beers did you find palatable and exceptional?

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:24 pm

Well, I tolerate good microbrewed stouts, and there's this one beer - some kind of hefeweizen, maybe? - with a silver label that I tolerate reasonably well, whose name escapes me. The only beer I've ever had that I'd think of drinking even if it didn't make me drunk was Dragon's Milk, which I'd like to try again to see if I still like.

Raygun · Post by **Raygun** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:47 pm

3278 wrote:Well, I tolerate good microbrewed stouts, and there's this one beer - some kind of hefeweizen, maybe? - with a silver label that I tolerate reasonably well, whose name escapes me.

Well, that type will likely be rolling into season this time of year. They usually go all year round, but at the height and end of summer is when they're best. I recommend Sierra Nevada Kellerweis over all others from the US, but fresh, local micros are sometimes pretty exceptional.

The only beer I've ever had that I'd think of drinking even if it didn't make me drunk was Dragon's Milk, which I'd like to try again to see if I still like.

That looks like a very good one, but maybe more for the winter weather. Dark, high-alcohol beers like that tend to be some of my favorites. Gulden Draak comes to mind.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:37 pm

I will say, though, that, as valuable as I think it can be to go out of your way to embrace flavors you don't immediately enjoy, there does come a point where it's not worth the effort. I mean, it's just beer, right? Beer enriches my life, but it's likely it never really will for you, so you're probably better off just shrugging your shoulders, and moving on, while, perhaps, enjoying the odd stout, or whatever, that doesn't make you puke.

And Dragon's Milk is a pretty unique, singular beer experience. I recommend not bothering to look for similar products, and just enjoying it for the wholly original miracle that it is.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:14 pm

AtemHutlrt wrote:I will say, though, that, as valuable as I think it can be to go out of your way to embrace flavors you don't immediately enjoy, there does come a point where it's not worth the effort. I mean, it's just beer, right?

See, and that's how I feel about sex with darkies. Why don't people accept that?

AtemHutlrt wrote:And Dragon's Milk is a pretty unique, singular beer experience. I recommend not bothering to look for similar products, and just enjoying it for the wholly original miracle that it is.

I shared two bottles with JP some years ago now, and have feared trying more lest it ruin the delight of the memory: good beer!

Coffee, Tea, and Other Beverages

Coffee, Tea, and Other Beverages

Re: Coffee, Tea, and Other Beverages