Haha, some other Trappist drinkers eh? I'm a big fan of the Westmalle Tripel myself. Though, considering its cost over here, I'm more likely to be drinking the Rutting Elk Red from the Grizzly Paw Brewery in Canmore, AB.

>> ^Issykitty:

There's also a Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ restaurant close to Brea Mall right off the 57 and Imperial, I believe. They have lots of room to accomodate big parties and a full bar. Win-win!
>> ^lucky760:
If everyone else if up for it, let's do it closer to (or in) Orange County, so I can make it as well. (My ban hammer is too heavy to be carried long distances.)
We could do a more general purpose spot like BJ's Restaurant and Brewery at the Brea Mall, which is just across the border from LA County.



Oooh, right by Fullerton where I go to church!

There's also a Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ restaurant close to Brea Mall right off the 57 and Imperial, I believe. They have lots of room to accomodate big parties and a full bar. Win-win!

>> ^lucky760:

If everyone else if up for it, let's do it closer to (or in) Orange County, so I can make it as well. (My ban hammer is too heavy to be carried long distances.)
We could do a more general purpose spot like BJ's Restaurant and Brewery at the Brea Mall, which is just across the border from LA County.

I must be getting old. I totally didn't pick up on the double entendre at first. In my youth, I would have been thinking about it long before you'd written it.

Ah, the good old days.

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
>> ^lucky760:

If everyone else if up for it, let's do it closer to (or in) Orange County, so I can make it as well. (My ban hammer is too heavy to be carried long distances.)
We could do a more general purpose spot like BJ's Restaurant and Brewery at the Brea Mall, which just across the border from LA County.


Done! Let's meet there. I love BJs. The brewery that is. And the ones where women put their lips on or around my junk until I go sploosh. I instantly recognized that as an uncalled for addition to my comment.

>> ^lucky760:

If everyone else if up for it, let's do it closer to (or in) Orange County, so I can make it as well. (My ban hammer is too heavy to be carried long distances.)
We could do a more general purpose spot like BJ's Restaurant and Brewery at the Brea Mall, which just across the border from LA County.


Done! Let's meet there. I love BJs. The brewery that is. And the ones where women put their lips on or around my junk until I go sploosh. I instantly recognized that as an uncalled for addition to my comment.

If everyone else if up for it, let's do it closer to (or in) Orange County, so I can make it as well. (My ban hammer is too heavy to be carried long distances.)

We could do a more general purpose spot like BJ's Restaurant and Brewery at the Brea Mall, which is just across the border from LA County.

live in Indiana.

Semi-persuasive argument for 'No car sales on Sunday' is that consumers get to go around car lots on Sundays, checking out whats there and what the window tickets say, without being hassled by what are typically the most aggressive salespeople in the world of sales.

'No beer on Sunday' coming up for debate this year; liquor stores are against its repeal, as also in the repeal is an even more obscure law where only liquor stores can sell cold beer (grocery stores must sell it warm); they don't want to compete with Walmart, et al.

FYI: best work-around on a Sunday is to pick up a growler from a local brewery on Sunday to take home.

I've always thought people should have at least one job in some kind of service industry, just to help them realize they shouldn't be pricks to these people when they grow up. But yeah, I don't really get the anti-tip sentiment as well; I understand the cultural differences between countries and wages, but people should respect whatever culture they are visiting, not impose their values (or tipping preferences) on the host country.

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
My first job was as a bus boy/dishwasher at a Western Steer restaurant in North Carolina. I hated it. I, too, tip at least 20% and typically more depending on what I order. It figures the ones everyone else would want to label as heartless libertarians would be the ones who tip the greatest.

I'm not sure why everyone else on that post hates tipping waitresses so much.

In reply to this comment by imstellar28:
My first job was as a bus boy/dishwasher, and the waitresses I worked with made $2.13 an hour - three dollars less than minimum wage at the time. Waitresses don't just keep their tips...they have to "tip out" other people like the bus boy, etc. So as a bus boy, sometimes I would bring home $50 a night in tips from what the waitresses would give me - outside of my regular wages which were above minimum wage.

To this day, as a rule I tip 25-30% on all bills, usually with a minimum of 20%. If the person gives really lousy service - aka - charges me for extra bread etc. I subtract that out of the tip sometimes; otherwise I always tip at least 20% even if they are mediocre. For really good service (especially on low-priced bills) sometimes I'll tip upwards of 50%.

Worst tip I ever gave was -$1.00 yes I actually subtracted money from the bill and signed it on a credit card. The restaurant had a deal "$5 pitchers for domestic drafts" and I had ordered Yuengling...ended up being charged like $9.50 a pitcher when there was a sign at the very bar "Yuengling...America's oldest brewery"

It should be noted that a lot of times people penalize the waitress for problems with the cook. If the food is bad, or wrong, or late - that could be the cook's fault; many times it has nothing to do with the waitress. And if its busy, and/or the restaurant is under-staffed, how is that her fault and why should she be penalized? If it takes one hour to get your food, eat somewhere else don't be a dick to the waitress.

My first job was as a bus boy/dishwasher at a Western Steer restaurant in North Carolina. I hated it. I, too, tip at least 20% and typically more depending on what I order. It figures the ones everyone else would want to label as heartless libertarians would be the ones who tip the greatest.

I'm not sure why everyone else on that post hates tipping waitresses so much.

In reply to this comment by imstellar28:
My first job was as a bus boy/dishwasher, and the waitresses I worked with made $2.13 an hour - three dollars less than minimum wage at the time. Waitresses don't just keep their tips...they have to "tip out" other people like the bus boy, etc. So as a bus boy, sometimes I would bring home $50 a night in tips from what the waitresses would give me - outside of my regular wages which were above minimum wage.

To this day, as a rule I tip 25-30% on all bills, usually with a minimum of 20%. If the person gives really lousy service - aka - charges me for extra bread etc. I subtract that out of the tip sometimes; otherwise I always tip at least 20% even if they are mediocre. For really good service (especially on low-priced bills) sometimes I'll tip upwards of 50%.

Worst tip I ever gave was -$1.00 yes I actually subtracted money from the bill and signed it on a credit card. The restaurant had a deal "$5 pitchers for domestic drafts" and I had ordered Yuengling...ended up being charged like $9.50 a pitcher when there was a sign at the very bar "Yuengling...America's oldest brewery"

It should be noted that a lot of times people penalize the waitress for problems with the cook. If the food is bad, or wrong, or late - that could be the cook's fault; many times it has nothing to do with the waitress. And if its busy, and/or the restaurant is under-staffed, how is that her fault and why should she be penalized? If it takes one hour to get your food, eat somewhere else don't be a dick to the waitress.

My first job was as a bus boy/dishwasher, and the waitresses I worked with made $2.13 an hour - three dollars less than minimum wage at the time. Waitresses don't just keep their tips...they have to "tip out" other people like the bus boy, etc. So as a bus boy, sometimes I would bring home $50 a night in tips from what the waitresses would give me - outside of my regular wages which were above minimum wage.

To this day, as a rule I tip 25-30% on all bills, usually with a minimum of 20%. If the person gives really lousy service - aka - charges me for extra bread etc. I subtract that out of the tip sometimes; otherwise I always tip at least 20% even if they are mediocre. For really good service (especially on low-priced bills) sometimes I'll tip upwards of 50%.

Worst tip I ever gave was -$1.00 yes I actually subtracted money from the bill and signed it on a credit card. The restaurant had a deal "$5 pitchers for domestic drafts" and I had ordered Yuengling...ended up being charged like $9.50 a pitcher when there was a sign at the very bar "Yuengling...America's oldest brewery"

It should be noted that a lot of times people penalize the waitress for problems with the cook. If the food is bad, or wrong, or late - that could be the cook's fault; many times it has nothing to do with the waitress. And if its busy, and/or the restaurant is under-staffed, how is that her fault and why should she be penalized? If it takes one hour to get your food, eat somewhere else don't be a dick to the waitress.

Try Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA as well sometime, it's an amazing, unique beer. Great choice on the belgian styles, and you can't go wrong with Victory Brewery. I'm sad to say that I have yet to try several of the beers on your list.

If you haven't yet for some reason, you should really try Chimay Grande Reserve, it's one of my absolute favorites.

And if you EVER get the chance, Westvleteren 12 is the single greatest beer in the entire world, not even joking. It'll run you 20+ for a bottle, but you have to at least try it once if you call yourself a beer connoisseur.

Very interesting; I will have to try these out if I come across them. My own personal favourite is Brakspear Oxford Gold, a flowery refreshment with just the right amount of hops. Of a similar quality is the scottish ale Ossian from Inveralmond Brewery.

On a more patriotic note, I can heartily recommend anything from the norwegian brewery Nøgne Ø. I was so lucky recently to receive a bottle of their Dark Horizon 2. edition. With an alcohol content of 16%, I plan to store it for a couple of years, but I did taste their award winning 1. edition of the same beer. Made with demerara sugar, coffe extract and wine yeast, it is and explosion of flavour, and extremely powerful. One bottle is too much for one person, so it is perfect to share with someone you value.

Great post, I'd quality but it never works for me.
I cant really drink the mass produced beers like Heineken, Budweiser etc. cos they just make me so sick the next day. So I have to try the more obscure items to find what my gut enjoys.
My current favourites are probably not very exotic to yourselves in the USA but a local store (off license) just started stocking Sierra Nevada pale ale and a number of other varieties by the same brewery which I'm enjoying a lot as I used to brew ales myself.

I've also been getting into some organic Honey beers from microbreweries in the UK. I visited a Lowenbrau keller in Sydney which only sold imported German beers and they had some killer honey beers (meads?).

I also think highly of the Spanish lager "Mahou" which is huge in Spain but I cant find it in Ireland yet.

Zlatorog (Goldhorn) from Laško brewery, Slovenia. cheers!

Tripel Van De Garre...brewed by a tiny brewery in an hidden off-street in Brugge, Belgium.

Worth a plane ticket for the beer and waffles alone.

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