the Beer thread.

[saturnfan]

Since when are lagers not beer? It just has to do with the fermentation temperature and the type of yeast being used. It is true that 99.9% of all cheap beer are lagers, but a real beer can be a lager.

[Niode]

Lager isn't beer?

Yeah, I've had the Samichlaus before and didn't think too much of it, more hype really with being brewed once a year and the ABV.

I don't know too much about the super high ABV beers and the freeze distilling process, but once you start talking about something being distilled I'm not sure I'd call it beer either. Next time I'm at the home brew store(inside a local brewery and distillery) I'm going to ask some of those guys about it.

It's a different product, it's brewed in a different way, I don't class lager as beer. I class Real Ale and craft beer as beer. That's just me though. I'm pretty sure CAMRA agree with me though.

Lager isn't beer because of the way it's brewed, but some distilled spirit is? My father-in-law is going to be pretty suprised when I tell him the winter lager he's suppose to bottle today isn't craft beer.

Your definition of Lager is different to my definition of lager. Lager in this country is mass produced, tasteless crap. Doesn't matter, we're arguing a moot point, there's still beers that are well over 14% gravity without utilising the freeze distill process. Mikkeller uses champagne yeast in his 'Black' combined with aging in Scottish whiskey casks to achieve the 17.5% gravity.

Regarding Brewdog and whether 'freeze distilling' still means it's beer. You go and try the Sink The Bismarck and tell me that it's not beer. It tastes like beer, it looks like beer. It pours like beer. It's not spirit no matter how you look at it. Personally I think the freeze distilling label is a bit of a misnomer anyway. It's more like freeze concentration because all you are doing is removing the water and yeast from the beer.

[the King]

Your definition of Lager is different to my definition of lager. Lager in this country is mass produced, tasteless crap. Doesn't matter, we're arguing a moot point, there's still beers that are well over 14% gravity without utilising the freeze distill process. Mikkeller uses champagne yeast in his 'Black' combined with aging in Scottish whiskey casks to achieve the 17.5% gravity.

Regarding Brewdog and whether 'freeze distilling' still means it's beer. You go and try the Sink The Bismarck and tell me that it's not beer. It tastes like beer, it looks like beer. It pours like beer. It's not spirit no matter how you look at it. Personally I think the freeze distilling label is a bit of a misnomer anyway. It's more like freeze concentration because all you are doing is removing the water and yeast from the beer.

How can there be more than one definition of what lager is? It is what it is. It's malt, hops and yeast. The majority of lager in this country is mass produced crap too, doesn't mean it's not beer, it's just mass produced crap beer. Then there's breweries like Samuel Adams who do some good things with lagers. Using your reasoning as to why lager isn't beer(it's brewed in a different way)then your example of the Mikkeller 'Black' isn't beer either because it uses champagne yeast. I don't know enough about the freeze distilling process to really form an opinion on it, but I just found it ironic in your reasoning for why lager isn't beer, but then something else that uses a much more unconventional method is.

[Niode]

Your definition of Lager is different to my definition of lager. Lager in this country is mass produced, tasteless crap. Doesn't matter, we're arguing a moot point, there's still beers that are well over 14% gravity without utilising the freeze distill process. Mikkeller uses champagne yeast in his 'Black' combined with aging in Scottish whiskey casks to achieve the 17.5% gravity.

Regarding Brewdog and whether 'freeze distilling' still means it's beer. You go and try the Sink The Bismarck and tell me that it's not beer. It tastes like beer, it looks like beer. It pours like beer. It's not spirit no matter how you look at it. Personally I think the freeze distilling label is a bit of a misnomer anyway. It's more like freeze concentration because all you are doing is removing the water and yeast from the beer.

How can there be more than one definition of what lager is? It is what it is. It's malt, hops and yeast. The majority of lager in this country is mass produced crap too, doesn't mean it's not beer, it's just mass produced crap beer. Then there's breweries like Samuel Adams who do some good things with lagers. Using your reasoning as to why lager isn't beer(it's brewed in a different way)then your example of the Mikkeller 'Black' isn't beer either because it uses champagne yeast. I don't know enough about the freeze distilling process to really form an opinion on it, but I just found it ironic in your reasoning for why lager isn't beer, but then something else that uses a much more unconventional method is.

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[saturnfan]

Niode, lagers are beer. It is a major category of beer types, which are ales, lagers and lambics. Ales are top fermented, lagers are bottom fermented and lambics are open air fermented.

Lagers just happen to be the cheap beer brewers preferred style.

[Niode]

My friend managed to get his hands on an Oaked Arrogant Bastard and he has dropped it on his doorstep tonight trying to get into his house. I'm gutted for him, he called me up telling me what had happened, almost in tears. I told him he should just get on the floor and lick that fucker up like a cat lapping milk.

Clearly, he wasn't worthy.

[saturnfan]

A damn shame. While speaking of Stone, they are one of the few breweries that I have been generally impressed with every beer I have had from them.

Usually in a breweries entire line up of beers, there is always at least one I think tastes like crap. Not so with Stone.