Craft Beer?

[Thrak]

We could have an interesting discussion about the "shelf life" of beer. When it comes to Guinness the shelf life of draught is relatively short. Some experts say the flavor has already deteriorated after 3 months. When I was in Dublin, I noticed that the Draught Guinness I got in local pubs was much tastier than Guinness I have had in North America and elsewhere in Europe. We chatted with a couple of pub owners who explained that in Dublin, most of the bars serve very fresh Guinness (often only a few days old). One Irish cruiser we met (who practically lived on Guinness) told me that he thinks the can (with widget) is generally superior to the old draught stuff served at many bars/pubs outside of Dublin.

 

Of course this is the type of discussion we should have over a pint :).

 

Hank

 

I love a good stout. I don't find Guinness to be a good stout. It is without body and without flavor. I know this may be blasphemy to some but I just really don't care for Guinness at all. I've tried other nitro beers and haven't cared for them either. Give me a stout like the Chuli Stout from Denali Brewing Company in Talkeetna, Alaska or even Sierra Nevada Stout. There are a lot of other stouts out there that are wonderful but they all have lots of body and flavor. Guinness... meh. However, I will definitely give it another chance when I finally manage to get to Ireland. Hopefully it will live up to the hype.

[Hlitner]

Your margaritas sound perfect! I usually use 60ml tequila 30ml Cointreau 20ml lime juice and 20ml sugar syrup shaken with ice and served on the rocks. Then topped with Grand Marnier.

 

At home (US) I also use Contreau at about the same ratio. and toss in just a teeny bit of Agave Nectar. But the Controy (a Mexican produced orange liquor) is somewhat different than Cointreau, So when using Controy (which is the only product I use when in Mexico) I prefer a simple 3-2-1 formula. That would be 3 parts of Tequila, 2 parts of Controy and 1 part fresh squeezed lime juice. The Controy is sweet enough that most folks do not want any sugar. But the debate among some friends is which Tequila and we have had fun trying many kinds. While most will say that white (or silver Tequila) is best, I prefer a tastier Reposado. My two basic choices are El Jimador or Jose Cuervo which are good enough for mixed drinks and reasonably priced here in Mexico. A good friend prefers El Compadre....which is a decent high volume Tequilia that costs less than $10 (US) for 1.75 liters. But El Compadre has less alcohol and I am not impressed by its taste.

 

Hank

P.S. Your idea of a splash of Grand Marnier sounds yummy. I will try that the next time I make a margarita at home in the US.

[charlie murphy]

I love a good stout. I don't find Guinness to be a good stout. It is without body and without flavor. I know this may be blasphemy to some but I just really don't care for Guinness at all. I've tried other nitro beers and haven't cared for them either. Give me a stout like the Chuli Stout from Denali Brewing Company in Talkeetna, Alaska or even Sierra Nevada Stout. There are a lot of other stouts out there that are wonderful but they all have lots of body and flavor. Guinness... meh. However, I will definitely give it another chance when I finally manage to get to Ireland. Hopefully it will live up to the hype.

 

Just not your taste . Guinness and SN are not of the same style, though both stouts . I have not had the pleasure of chuli stout , but this beer hunter will be on the look out . Guinness is definitely lighter. True to style for an Irish stout. You can have several pints - you will be fine. Maybe not so for Sierra Nevada several pints and you may be under the table. SN is bigger , bolder and hoppier, true to style for an American Stout. You may not like Guinness but rest assured lad... have excellent taste . Dilly... Dilly. .

[NeurosurgeryNP]

I'm disappointed by what Princess has to offer beer wise as a craft brew lover. I tend to do cocktails because of this. On our Alaskan itinerary last June some Alaskan Brewery beer was brought aboard mid cruise and I stuck with that for the rest of the cruise beer wise.

 

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[Thrak]

Just not your taste . Guinness and SN are not of the same style, though both stouts . I have not had the pleasure of chuli stout , but this beer hunter will be on the look out . Guinness is definitely lighter. True to style for an Irish stout. You can have several pints - you will be fine. Maybe not so for Sierra Nevada several pints and you may be under the table. SN is bigger , bolder and hoppier, true to style for an American Stout. You may not like Guinness but rest assured lad... have excellent taste . Dilly... Dilly. .

 

I used to make beer and wish I could just buy an Oatmeal Stout as good as the one I used to make. I mostly made Brown Ale and beers of that type but absolutely loved my Oatmeal Stout. I kind of like a stout that one can "chew" or "eat with a fork". Obviously not actually the case but it kind of tells you something about the amount of body I like in a stout. I also really love Imperial Stout or Imperial Porter. Mogli from Caldera Brewing in Ashland, Oregon is great and I had some great Imperial Stout at San Pedro Brewing Company. We try the local beer everywhere we go and have found some truly wonderful brews here and there. My wife is great at locating the local brew pubs. :D

[Eyechatter]

Are there any Princess people that care about the beer served on the ships? It seems like even Carnival, as well as RCI, Celebrity, and, most likely other lines actually care about providing craft brews. The Sea Witch line was promising, and, then they took it away - supposedly it was a 50th Anniversary "special"? I don't really care about having a brewery on board, or, even craft drafts (which would be awesome), but, please, just offer up some decent American craft beers! That, or, let me bring beer on board - heck - I'll even pay a "corkage" fee.

Anyone else?

PS - I'm ready to jump ship!!!

 

 

My Husband LOVED Seawitch IPA and has not been happy with the beer too much since. The scotch saves him. But I just asked Princess and received an answer today on FB ...."Hi, Ilene! As part of our new bar menus launching this fall, we will have both Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA and Lagunitas IPA available for your cruise in January." Haven't checked with him yet but all I know is he likes Indian Pale Ale. And now you know before he does!

[Hlitner]

My Husband LOVED Seawitch IPA and has not been happy with the beer too much since. The scotch saves him. But I just asked Princess and received an answer today on FB ...."Hi, Ilene! As part of our new bar menus launching this fall, we will have both Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA and Lagunitas IPA available for your cruise in January." Haven't checked with him yet but all I know is he likes Indian Pale Ale. And now you know before he does!

 

Hmm. So they are boasting about having a couple of run-of-the mill IPAs (I do like Lagunias)....but it will take months to get it aboard? Why not load half a dozen IPAs onto their ships next week? What is the big deal? Celebrity has many different beers on their ships...which is as easy as ordering the stuff, having it delivered to the port, and loading it aboard. This does not require a PhD. We will be on the Regal next week...and there is no way I will drink that fake beer (called light beer). Fortunately one of our ports will be Dublin...so at least I know where I can go to get some fresh Guinness draught.

 

Hank

[Eyechatter]

Hmm. So they are boasting about having a couple of run-of-the mill IPAs (I do like Lagunias)....but it will take months to get it aboard? Why not load half a dozen IPAs onto their ships next week? What is the big deal? Celebrity has many different beers on their ships...which is as easy as ordering the stuff, having it delivered to the port, and loading it aboard. This does not require a PhD. We will be on the Regal next week...and there is no way I will drink that fake beer (called light beer). Fortunately one of our ports will be Dublin...so at least I know where I can go to get some fresh Guinness draught.

 

Hank

They were pushing this new expert they have that invents fabulous cocktails. I do think however that Princess usually does follow along sooner or later and there are a number of ships now that boast brew pubs, including Disney. If might just be a matter of time, and not long at that. Enjoy your cruise. We're not off til January and Oct. next year. But did slip into a sip and sail on the October Cruise which is always nice....Baker Street Pub in NYC has the real Irish beer on draft. Tis a bit too much for me! :-)

[jennybenny]

... received an answer today on FB ...."Hi, Ilene! As part of our new bar menus launching this fall, we will have both Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA and Lagunitas IPA available for your cruise in January." Haven't checked with him yet but all I know is he likes Indian Pale Ale. And now you know before he does!

 

Thank you for sharing! My husband will be happy to have Sculpin, I am happy with Lagunitas. This is a step in the right direction for us. Just hoping that our December cruise includes these two options on the Grand.

[Lucky TGO]

Thrak, My friend are all you guys crazy ? Drinking beer from all over the country. When you can get really excellent beer from the guys in the boiler room on all the Princess ships. They make it fresh every Thursday.

When you become a Elite member you get a discount. 3 :beer-mug::beer-mug::beer-mug: for the price of 1 :beer-mug: only $1.50

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[Thrak]

Their promo claims they are adding 17 new beers but they haven't come out with any information regarding what those beers will be. Only time will tell but I'm not sure I really trust whoever is in charge of selecting the beers. :rolleyes:

[Thrak]

Thrak, My friend are all you guys crazy ? Drinking beer from all over the country. When you can get really excellent beer from the guys in the boiler room on all the Princess ships. They make it fresh every Thursday.

When you become a Elite member you get a discount. 3 :beer-mug::beer-mug::beer-mug: for the price of 1 :beer-mug: only $1.50

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

It will never come up (?) to the level of what we had available in the "Mop Bucket Suite" on the Rowboat! It was all you can stomach every day! The special "Swill of the Sea" is something that can't be forgotten - no matter how hard one may try! ;p (The free 21 year old Single Malt Scotch and 25 year old Red Breast were nice though. You really should get Princess to do that as well. :cool:)

[Lucky TGO]

It will never come up (?) to the level of what we had available in the "Mop Bucket Suite" on the Rowboat! It was all you can stomach every day! The special "Swill of the Sea" is something that can't be forgotten - no matter how hard one may try! ;p (The free 21 year old Single Malt Scotch and 25 year old Red Breast were nice though. You really should get Princess to do that as well. :cool:)

 

 

Thrak,

I’m so happy you remember the great time you had on the Rowboat. :)

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[Thrak]

Thrak,

I’m so happy you remember the great time you had on the Rowboat. :)

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

Tony, some day I really must meet you! :) My fear is that you won't really like me at all. (I think many folks likely wouldn't. :eek:) I don't know if this will be an insult or not - it's really meant as a compliment - but your avatar makes you look like someone who would have been a great (younger!) friend to Frank Sinatra. (Please don't beat me. Like I said, it's meant as a compliment.) I have to wonder who you are in "real life" as your "Captain of the Rowboat" identity is likely your "super secret super hero" identity. Or not... :rolleyes: Hope to cruise with you someday and to buy you the drink or your choice. (Yes, you knew it would be a drink, didn't you...:p) I always look forward to your posts. Many thanks for the entertainment as well as for the more thoughtful posts.

[Lucky TGO]

Tony, some day I really must meet you! :) My fear is that you won't really like me at all. (I think many folks likely wouldn't. :eek:) I don't know if this will be an insult or not - it's really meant as a compliment - but your avatar makes you look like someone who would have been a great (younger!) friend to Frank Sinatra. (Please don't beat me. Like I said, it's meant as a compliment.) I have to wonder who you are in "real life" as your "Captain of the Rowboat" identity is likely your "super secret super hero" identity. Or not... :rolleyes: Hope to cruise with you someday and to buy you the drink or your choice. (Yes, you knew it would be a drink, didn't you...:p) I always look forward to your posts. Many thanks for the entertainment as well as for the more thoughtful posts.

 

Hi Thrak, I hope someday we cruise together with our families. I know we will like each other. We have the same sense of humor. My wife thinks we are both Crazy LOL. She read all about the good times we had on the Rowboat and knows we haven’t even met each other. I also know we will enjoy more then one drink together. About Frank Sinatra I just wish I had his money!!! :) See you on The Rowboat you can stay in the

Yo Ho Ho Suite were all the Best Scotch Whiskey is kept :D.

Your Pal, The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony