Bow and Stern and other beer snob questions =)

[praline3001]

My husband is a total beer snob. He loves trying new brews and learning about different brew styles and ... yeah he usually loses me at that point :rolleyes:

 

I know he has already pin pointed his bar stool in the Bow and Stern Ha Ha

He will leave the dance clubs and pounding music to the younger folks. LOL

 

I was wondering if they offered any events or "workshops" for lack of a better word? Do they have a beer tasting like the wine tasting events?

 

I wasn't sure if they had anything in particular that a beer snob should not miss.

 

Also, are there any interesting or must try ales in any of the other areas of the ship?

 

If you have time, please give me a run down or review of the Bow and Stern. thanks so much! :D

[Elizanessie]

The Bow & Stern has a huge lists of beers -

 

Amstel light, Bud light Aluminum, Budweiser Aluminum, Coors Light, Corona Extra, Dos Equis, Foster's Oil Can, Grolsch Premium Lager, Heineken, Heinken Light, Kirin Light, Michelob Ultra Aluminum, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Light, Peroni, Red Stripe.

 

Becks, Carlsberg, Harp Lager, Pilsner Urquell, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Spateo, Stella Artois.

 

Bass Ale, Boddingtons Pub Ale, Redhook Long Hammer IPA, Sierra Nevada.

 

Widner Hefeweizes

 

Guinness Draught, Murphy's Stout, Newcastle Brown Ale, Sun Adam Double Bock.

 

Blue Moon Belgian Ale, Chimay Blue 750ml, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Sun Adams Imperial White.

 

Buckler, O'Doul's.

 

They also do Beer Cocktails - Snakebite, Black & Tan, Black & Blue, Black & White, Lager & Lime, Cerviza-rita, Michelada.

 

Oh and the bar stool in the right hand corner is mine - Critter Captain's stool :D

[NorbertsNiece]

Cap'n, rather concerned at your finite knowledge of the brews on board.... hoping that you copied off a list rather than reeling this off by memory!! :p ;)

[Elizanessie]

Cap'n, rather concerned at your finite knowledge of the brews on board.... hoping that you copied off a list rather than reeling this off by memory!! :p ;)

 

I have the Bow & Stern menu in front of me :D

 

Linda, I don't drink beer ..shudder......vodka or champagne for me :D

[praline3001]

Thanks Liz! I think my hubby just fell in love with you a little bit :D

 

That Chimay is some pricey beer. Never thought you would see it on a cruise ship :p Going to have to put hubby on an allowance or he will spend all of my margarita money :eek:

[Elizanessie]

Thanks Liz! I think my hubby just fell in love with you a little bit :D

 

That Chimay is some pricey beer. Never thought you would see it on a cruise ship :p Going to have to put hubby on an allowance or he will spend all of my margarita money :eek:

 

Ah shucks :o you are most welcome. :D

 

Chimay is $19.95 :eek:

[SingingPixie]

That beer list includes some good choices, but if your husband is a beer guy, I'm sure there's nothing new to him on there- everything is very mainstream. I can't imagine anything meriting a beer tasting at least! That said, the choices are a lot more varied than elsewhere on board, so he should be able to find options to keep him happy for the week.

 

If he wants to go beer tasting, take him to Colorado, San Diego, etc- places with lots of smaller breweries making really good/less widely available stuff!

[praline3001]

That beer list includes some good choices, but if your husband is a beer guy, I'm sure there's nothing new to him on there- everything is very mainstream. I can't imagine anything meriting a beer tasting at least! That said, the choices are a lot more varied than elsewhere on board, so he should be able to find options to keep him happy for the week.

 

If he wants to go beer tasting, take him to Colorado, San Diego, etc- places with lots of smaller breweries making really good/less widely available stuff!

 

That is what he said. At the same time he is just happy there will be decent beer on the cruise and he won't have to worry about drinking Bud. :rolleyes:

 

He did seem happy about the Murphy's on tap. He has only had it twice as they don't sell it around here.

[ArbysSauce]

If he likes high Alcohol content beer he will be very happy with the Sam Adams Imperial White. 10.3% Alcohol, I drank too many of those the first night of our last cruise and I regretted it the next day, lol.

[thehogsters]

WOW! This is great news. Was on LOS in 09 and don't remember all these beers? Then again I was much less a "beer snob" then. LOL Chimay for $19.95 is a good deal on board since it is $9.50 - $11.00 at the grocery around here.:D

[lanikeekee]

Very excited about our cruise coming up in June on the Voyager leaving from Singapore...Husbands excitement only started when he discovered that when we arrive in Singapore the Asia Beerfest is on:eek:

http://www.beerfestasia.com/index.php

 

Now I can show him he has a great choice on the cruise as well :)

Edited March 31, 2012 by lanikeekee

[Big_G]

That beer list includes some good choices, but if your husband is a beer guy, I'm sure there's nothing new to him on there- everything is very mainstream. I can't imagine anything meriting a beer tasting at least! That said, the choices are a lot more varied than elsewhere on board, so he should be able to find options to keep him happy for the week.

 

If he wants to go beer tasting, take him to Colorado, San Diego, etc- places with lots of smaller breweries making really good/less widely available stuff!

 

Nice list but I'm already starting my email and letter writing campaign for beer tastings. I know they couldn't load up the bars with microbrews and imported beer but they could do beer tastings with a limited amount of beer from different regions.

[praline3001]

Nice list but I'm already starting my email and letter writing campaign for beer tastings. I know they couldn't load up the bars with microbrews and imported beer but they could do beer tastings with a limited amount of beer from different regions.

 

That is what hubby was hoping for. They do so much for the winos and nothing for the beer drinkers. Beer has come a long way and some of them are just as sophisticated as wine.

 

I prefer chardonnay but hate merlot. I have plenty of chances to advance my wine drinking education on the ship but no good beer tasting events.

 

I think most guys would love a beer tasting =)

[orville99]

If he likes high Alcohol content beer he will be very happy with the Sam Adams Imperial White. 10.3% Alcohol, I drank too many of those the first night of our last cruise and I regretted it the next day, lol.

 

I'm not sure a true "beer snob" would even consider Sam Adams to be classified as beer;)

[FirstCruise2331]

That is what he said. At the same time he is just happy there will be decent beer on the cruise and he won't have to worry about drinking Bud. :rolleyes:

 

He did seem happy about the Murphy's on tap. He has only had it twice as they don't sell it around here.

 

I'm pleasantly surprised at the choices. As an Irishman great to see two Irish stouts on draught, although the sweetness of Murphys doesn't do it for me (plus I'm from Dublin so we tend to be loyal to St James' Gate product (Guinness) rather than Murphys which is brewed in Cork)

 

I'll look forward to sampling quite a few of the list of beers on Allure in Sept!

[praline3001]

I'm pleasantly surprised at the choices. As an Irishman great to see two Irish stouts on draught, although the sweetness of Murphys doesn't do it for me (plus I'm from Dublin so we tend to be loyal to St James' Gate product (Guinness) rather than Murphys which is brewed in Cork)

 

I'll look forward to sampling quite a few of the list of beers on Allure in Sept!

 

My hubby prefers Guinness as well but not the stuff that is sold here in the states. We get a much watered down version. He is hoping its on tap at the Bow and Stern and the Irish version rather then the American one.

[Sequim88]

We (mostly me) are beer (ale really) snobs. Yes the list looks pretty main stream but we are hoping the tap selections in the pub (Wig & Gavel) on the newly revamped Mariner will be decent. Obviously many of the selections for Bow & Stern are bottle/can but tap is so much better. If all else fails I'll always settle for Bass on tap. But some interesting smaller brewery choices would be really nice - even bottles.

[LESLIEKURZ]

My Hubby is a little in love with the posters in this thread too. Thanks all for all of the info.

[FirstCruise2331]

My hubby prefers Guinness as well but not the stuff that is sold here in the states. We get a much watered down version. He is hoping its on tap at the Bow and Stern and the Irish version rather then the American one.

 

As far as I know all the Guinness in the US is brewed in Dublin.. just in my opinion it doesn't travel well...the further away from St James' gate you go the worse the Guinness tastes!

[tracyfitzs]

Are most of the beers served in Bow and Stern included in the Select package (with exceptions of Fosters and Chimay)? If so this may be our stateroom during this cruise!

[Clarea]

Are most of the beers served in Bow and Stern included in the Select package (with exceptions of Fosters and Chimay)? If so this may be our stateroom during this cruise!

Yes, most all the beers in the pub are included.

[poncho1973]

I will agree with the other poster that there is nothing special on their beer menus. They have some good beer, but nothing special and nothing a real beer snob hasn't had.

 

Good, not great.

[JasonV1]

There is no difference in the Guinness served in one country over the next, although which package (can, bottle, draught) you drink has different alcohol percentages (draught typically has less since it has a much shorter expiration date, which is also why 2 liters of soda typically have less sugar than cans).

 

Some people argue that it doesn't travel well, which I think is a more plausible explanation for any difference is taste. Also for draught Guiness, Ireland may have different cleanliness laws that your local city, meaning the lines are cleaned more often.

 

There are certain versions more popular than others in some areas, detailed here or here. If you travel outside of North America, you may have tried them, and this is why you think they are different (because they are wholly different beers).

 

US cruises load out in the US, so don't expect a brand any different than that you get in your grocery store UNLESS the state of Florida allows beer types not available in your area (as some states have hard limits on beer alcohol levels, NC used to up until a few years ago).

 

All of that being said, put me in a pub in Ireland and I'll probably tell you the Guinness tastes better over there as well. Much like certain drinks taste better on the cruise ship.

 

My hubby prefers Guinness as well but not the stuff that is sold here in the states. We get a much watered down version. He is hoping its on tap at the Bow and Stern and the Irish version rather then the American one.

Edited January 14, 2014 by JasonV1