I like a good BIPA now and then, but spicy beers to me are definitely a once-in-a-while sort of thing. I also like Blue Points White IPA and Harpoon's White IPA. Flying Dog's Wildeman Farmhouse IPA is pretty good too.
I have also not enjoyed Saranac beers very much. Their price is usually about right though.
Since you seem to know beers, was wondering if you could point me to the direction of a really good Russian Imperial Stout. I got hooked on these in Minnesota when the Surly Brewing Company did a special batch of it called "Darkness." It was the first time I'd ever paid over $30 for a single beer, and it was the best beer of my life. I don't live there anymore, and they don't ship outside of the state yet, I don't think. The closest I've come to matching it is the Rasputin RIS, but even that didn't really cut it. Any suggestions?
I'm a self-proclaimed hop-head, but I enjoy all different styles of beers, I don't discriminate.
I'm the honorary member of a brewing club. I don't actually home-brew myself, but my buddy does, and I go to all their get-togethers and events and whatnot.
I can't remember the most expensive beer I've ever purchased. I've bought some expensive vintage strong ales before. I think my buddy got Sam Adam's Utopia once, and that one was pretty expensive. One of my favorite beers, Hop Slam, is like $20 a 4-pack.
If you like regular IPA's as well, you should try Bell's Two Hearted Ale. It's scrumcious. It's hoppy, but not overly spicy, and they do a really good job of balancing it with an almost creamy malt. I usually don't like malty IPA's, but this one is freakin' incredible. They don't filter their beers, you'll see like a layer of yeast at the bottom of the bottles, and I think that might add to the creamy like texture. I love that stuff, and often swirl it at the end before I pour it all out into my glass to get all that goodness.
Let me preface this next bit by saying I mostly prefer RIS's that are balanced by a lot of hops, because of RIS's natural maltiness, and/or one that has a really good chocolate/coffee taste to it.
As far as RI
S's, I've had Stone's Imperial Russian Stout, Victory's Storm King Stout, Bell's Expedition Stout, Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout, Three Floyd's Dark Lord Imperial Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Founders Imperial Stout, B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout, and a few others and they're all delicious.
My favorite over all is probably the Dark Lord. All of those are fairly hoppy except for Samuel Smith's, Brooklyn's, and Bell's. The Brooklyn beer has the most incredibly chocolate taste you'll ever have, right up there with Young's Double Chocolate Stout. The Bell's is fairly chocolatey, but has more of a coffee presence then the Brooklyn, and the Bell's beer is much lighter overall.
The Sam Smith beer is the only one that doesn't fit in with my preface. It is neither chocolatey/coffeey or hoppy, but it is still good. Usually a beer I don't like, but I do like it for some reason. All the rest are hoppy and incredibly. If you want a strong one that still has a medium mouthfeel, you can drink the Blackout. I don't typically consider RIS's thirst quinchers, but if any of them are it's the Blackout. Don't mistake that for lack of flavor or power though, cause it'll kick your ass. All of the Great Lakes beer are good and all have a really crisp, clean taste, but really all those breweries are pretty awesome.
Oh well, it'll be winter soon enough...
