Duvel

Picked up a gift set of duvel which included the glass and 4 that sized bottles on a recent trip to CT - from a store right next to our hotel. We had this in the hotel lobby - it was not chilled but was cool enough - and still tasted great !

We ordered some food from the lobby bar - the waitress looked completely stoned. We did not see here after taking the order anyway !!

Family controlled belgian brewery - should add "recent" for a belgian brewery (est. only in 1871!) :)

Was reading up on Duvel and was surprised to learn that they took over brewery ommegang in 2003 - love those beers.

The color & taste of this one will fool you - it is 9% abv

rating on beer advocate http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/222/695

Full Sail Amber

Was in portland and have long heard this is the "beervana" and the land of craft brews. But if you look around in a regular grocery, you pretty much find only the big names on display.

Have seen Full Sail brews all around the country, but never tried one.

Picked the amber (http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/beers/amber.cfm) - without knowing it was the flagship brand and that it won all these awards.

Very good beer. Ratings here (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5316/213)

Schuttinger - Bremen Germany

In a land with breweries that have been around for hundreds of years, it felt odd to try out one that said "anno 1990".

This is right in the middle of bremen downtown, down some alleys, and inside is dimly lit and everything maintains a very "old time" feel.

few varieties, primarily the light and dark (dunkel). I tried only the dunkel both times we went there. Great beer and some great food.

And lots of options in volume - from 200cl to huge casks that you can take home with a small deposit :)

Website: http://www.schuettinger.de/

Pictures to Words

Have been putting pictures and brief comments about the beers we try out on Facebook. But moving over to the blog format so there is more space for words :)