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Rev's Brewery has Coffee Eugene, Uncalled Four (BA 4th year Quad) and Deth's Tar on tap right now. Apparently Deth's Tar is considerably better than last year. I think a visit tonight is in order. Also, has anyone made it to Lagunitas' tap room in Chicago? I keep meaning to go but getting there is kind of funky. Edit: And apparently the taproom is closed today. Saddddd. Compusaurus fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Nov 8, 2014 |
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Nov 8, 2014 22:26
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Compusaurus posted:Rev's Brewery has Coffee Eugene, Uncalled Four (BA 4th year Quad) and Deth's Tar on tap right now. Apparently Deth's Tar is considerably better than last year. I think a visit tonight is in order. Did brunch at Revo today and maxxed on some Deth's Tar, Coffee Eugene and Riot Pils. Money. Also, Lagunitas Born Yesterday is legit. Probably my favorite beer that they've done.
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Nov 8, 2014 22:52
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Compusaurus posted:Also, has anyone made it to Lagunitas' tap room in Chicago? I keep meaning to go but getting there is kind of funky. Been there a few times. It's a short walk from the Pink line stop if you can't drive. It's not *that* shady. The place is cool and all but don't expect anything crazy on tap. The food is fine but frankly Rev and 3Floyds have better food. It really feels like more hassle than it's worth to drink their readily available fare; just go to Hopleaf or Bad Apple or something.
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Nov 8, 2014 23:37
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Finishing up a 2012 Expedition, thus completing my 2012 Imperial Stout comparison (non-coffee edition). Rankings: 1. Surly Darkness 2. Bell's Expedition 3(t). Dark Horse Plead The Fifth, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy 5(t). Great Lakes Blackout, Brooklyn Black Chocolate 7. Thirsty Dog Siberian Night 8. Stone IRS 9. Founders Imperial Stout 10. Victory Storm King Thoughts: - None of these (save the Stone) seemed to change much from fresh. Obviously if I did a vertical of each one, I might disagree with that, but each beer's predominant characteristics seemed to stick around after 2+ years. - While Darkness "won," (barely- the difference between No. 1 and No. 6 was minor) it's probably the beer I'd least want on a regular basis. The bottle took me almost 4 hours to finish. So thick and the sweetness built. It didn't "win" the taste category but it smells loving great, and the mouthfeel is what I want from a huge imperial stout. - I expected Expedition to run away with this one, but I was surprised how good PT5, Ten Fidy, Blackout, and BCS held their own. All very different beers. All with emphasis on a different aspect. - If I really had to pick one to drink, I'd say Plead The Fifth was the one that exemplified "imperial stout" for me the most. A mild locorice tinge, super smooth, dark fruit in the smell, good mouth. An excellent beer. - Biggest disappointment is the Stone. For years, I've been preaching about how good it is, but side-by-side with others and... maybe not? It was also the one I was most excited to try, after hearing how good it was with time. But it came off thin, very hoppy, and had a vegetal scent (which, granted, could have been a storage issue). I have another 2012 bottle that I'll check again in a year or two but... Man, this just didn't make me happy. - I'm an avowed "hater" of Founders but seriously: I do not get the love of this beer. Anise all over the place, hops still overpowering after two years. PT5 still had some anise characteristics but it wasn't nearly as overpowering as this. It definitely felt unique compared to a lot of the others but... Not my thing. - Storm King got hosed because it isn't an imperial stout. It's a big CDA/black IPA. Even with 2.5 years on it, the hops still dominated, the mouthfeel was closer to a resiny IIPA than a stout, and overall, just not on the same level. I will admit I'm not a huge CDA/black IPA guy but this didn't even compare to the others. End result: Buy an imperial stout from a good brewery and you'll likely have a good beer. Nothing here- after time- was mindblowing, but everything was solid. Sometime next week I'll start working on the coffee brews, but right now, I need a break from big stouts...
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Nov 8, 2014 23:37
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Uuudar posted:Been there a few times. It's a short walk from the Pink line stop if you can't drive. It's not *that* shady. The place is cool and all but don't expect anything crazy on tap. The food is fine but frankly Rev and 3Floyds have better food. It really feels like more hassle than it's worth to drink their readily available fare; just go to Hopleaf or Bad Apple or something. I'll probably head to Rev's Brewpub tonight and try to suck up the crowds. I get uh, "special treatment" so I'll probably drink and eat myself into oblivion on the cheap. I haven't been to Hopleaf or Bad Apple since like March. My wife would kill me if I went to Hopleaf without her.
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Nov 8, 2014 23:44
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danbanana posted:- I'm an avowed "hater" of Founders but seriously: I do not get the love of this beer. Anise all over the place, hops still overpowering after two years. PT5 still had some anise characteristics but it wasn't nearly as overpowering as this. It definitely felt unique compared to a lot of the others but... Not my thing. Interesting. I hate any signs of licorice/anise in my beers and I love Founders Imperial Stout. I've not picked that up in there. It's got a smokey presence and a roasted malt astringentness though.
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Nov 8, 2014 23:57
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Cervixalot posted:Also, Lagunitas Born Yesterday is legit. Probably my favorite beer that they've done. I think I saw that the other day, gonna have to pick some up if it's that good. e: nvm, not out to CO yet Eejit fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Nov 9, 2014 |
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Nov 9, 2014 00:06
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Midorka posted:Interesting. I hate any signs of licorice/anise in my beers and I love Founders Imperial Stout. I've not picked that up in there. It's got a smokey presence and a roasted malt astringentness though. That's really weird to me since it is all licorice/anise to me fresh. I hoped time would mellow that but it's still by far the most prevalent flavor to me in that beer.
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Nov 9, 2014 00:24
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I have 2011 Storm Kings that have no discernable hop flavor, so wait a year maybe? e: no BCBS? or was this to be non-BA beers only?
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Nov 9, 2014 01:06
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To contribute to this thread: Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard sucks a little less than regular Arrogant Bastard.
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Nov 9, 2014 01:08
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cryme posted:I have 2011 Storm Kings that have no discernable hop flavor, so wait a year maybe? No BA'd stuff. And let's be honest: BCBS would destroy anything here. Different level. Also, last bottle of all of these except Expedition and Stone. So no chance to check how time continues to change most of these.
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Nov 9, 2014 01:19
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cryme posted:I have 2011 Storm Kings that have no discernable hop flavor, so wait a year maybe? I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that danbanana might be confusing the roasted malt astringent qualities that are high in Storm King/Founders RIS with hop bitterness. I may just as well be wrong though. If a 2 year old beer still had a big hop presence I'd be pretty impressed though, but I have seen it before.
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Nov 9, 2014 01:20
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that reminds me, i have a 3 year vert of narwhal i should probably try at some point
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Nov 9, 2014 01:26
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Midorka posted:I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that danbanana might be confusing the roasted malt astringent qualities that are high in Storm King/Founders RIS with hop bitterness. I may just as well be wrong though. If a 2 year old beer still had a big hop presence I'd be pretty impressed though, but I have seen it before. I'll admit I don't have a world class palate, but I know the difference between hop and roast bitterness. I can upload all my notes if interested. Some of these still had surprisingly high hops levels (not terribly surprising since many of these push 90 IBUs or higher). Others had a ton of roast/coffee aspects. Storm King in particular was extremely hop heavy in flavor, and it's roastiness was far closer in line with a CDA than an imperial stout. I had Surlys Damien (made with Darkness' second runnings and then dry-hopped) recently and Storm King was remarkably close to that.
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Nov 9, 2014 01:29
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danbanana posted:I'll admit I don't have a world class palate, but I know the difference between hop and roast bitterness. I can upload all my notes if interested. Some of these still had surprisingly high hops levels (not terribly surprising since many of these push 90 IBUs or higher). Others had a ton of roast/coffee aspects. No no no, not at all. I didn't want my post to come off accusing you of tasting things you were/weren't. I hesitated posting that because I was afraid it would come off condescending. Sorry if it did, I probably could have phrased things better. If you say it's hop bitterness then I'm going to believe you, sorry if coming off like I doubted you.
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Nov 9, 2014 01:58
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Deth's Tar is leaps and bounds better than last year. Last year was basically a hot mess and this year's was much more balanced. The barrel comes through so much smoother. Also coffee Eugene is still as amazing as ever.
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Nov 9, 2014 02:20
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Midorka posted:No no no, not at all. I didn't want my post to come off accusing you of tasting things you were/weren't. I hesitated posting that because I was afraid it would come off condescending. Sorry if it did, I probably could have phrased things better. If you say it's hop bitterness then I'm going to believe you, sorry if coming off like I doubted you. I took no offense, just wanted to point out that I tried as best I could to evaluate each to their own aspects. I'm not surprised that many of these are still hop-heavy. In fact, even something like Expedition, which has a great reputation for aging well, still had a noticeable hop bitterness to it. I was somewhat disappointed, since I figured at 2 years, it would be all fudge and deliciousness. It wasn't quite there. Storm King was still SUPER hoppy to me.
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Nov 9, 2014 02:26
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danbanana posted:I took no offense, just wanted to point out that I tried as best I could to evaluate each to their own aspects. I'm not surprised that many of these are still hop-heavy. In fact, even something like Expedition, which has a great reputation for aging well, still had a noticeable hop bitterness to it. I was somewhat disappointed, since I figured at 2 years, it would be all fudge and deliciousness. It wasn't quite there. Storm King was still SUPER hoppy to me. Question, did you notice any soy in Great Lakes or Brooklyn? I found that in some batches they can come off soy prominent. As for Expedition I've only had a 5 year old version on tap, so I dunno. Checking my notes though I found the 5 year version smokey with big fig flavors.
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Nov 9, 2014 02:33
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danbanana posted:I took no offense, just wanted to point out that I tried as best I could to evaluate each to their own aspects. I'm not surprised that many of these are still hop-heavy. In fact, even something like Expedition, which has a great reputation for aging well, still had a noticeable hop bitterness to it. I was somewhat disappointed, since I figured at 2 years, it would be all fudge and deliciousness. It wasn't quite there. Storm King was still SUPER hoppy to me. I had a two year old Expedition last year that was a fudge and licorice bomb which tasted really great. I also had a five year Expedition stored in a fridge that tasted like soy sauce. I popped open last year's expedition last week and it was still very bitter and didn't taste much different from fresh. The impression I'm left with is that I don't know what the gently caress about that beer.
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Nov 9, 2014 02:44
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Midorka posted:Question, did you notice any soy in Great Lakes or Brooklyn? I found that in some batches they can come off soy prominent. As for Expedition I've only had a 5 year old version on tap, so I dunno. Checking my notes though I found the 5 year version smokey with big fig flavors. I had no soy sauce issues with any. Both BCS and Blackout had big milk chocolate things going on.
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Nov 9, 2014 03:58
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danbanana posted:That's really weird to me since it is all licorice/anise to me fresh. I hoped time would mellow that but it's still by far the most prevalent flavor to me in that beer. yeah, i actually have to agree with midorka, here- not a fan of licorice/anise and FIS is one of my favorite beers. as i've (also) stated, it doesn't age well much past a year, though.
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Nov 9, 2014 04:16
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Are those beers brewed hoppy with the intent that people will age the hops out of them?
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Nov 9, 2014 04:52
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Pudgygiant posted:Are those beers brewed hoppy with the intent that people will age the hops out of them? To brew something as insanely malt heavy as an imperial stout, you generally add a fuckton of hops to balance. It's common to see 80+ IBUs (based on a chemical test) in these beers, on par with the hoppiest of IPAs. In theory, the hops should should fade with time.
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Nov 9, 2014 05:43
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funkybottoms posted:yeah, i actually have to agree with midorka, here- not a fan of licorice/anise and FIS is one of my favorite beers. as i've (also) stated, it doesn't age well much past a year, though. Maybe my poo poo is hosed, but fresh or aged, I get anise all day. It's unique in that way but not what I want in the style.
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Nov 9, 2014 05:46
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Pudgygiant posted:Are those beers brewed hoppy with the intent that people will age the hops out of them? generally no, they are brewed with balance in mind storm king (and to a lesser extent, FIS) go way overboard with it, but i love it why do i hate most black IPAs and love storm king? the world may never know
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Nov 9, 2014 05:53
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Blasted several relatively local Tapes tonight. First was Lagunitas Born Yesterday, which is probably the best wet hop beer I've ever had. The lagunitas yeast played well with the herbal hop character, giving it the flavor of fresh citrus and lavender. Possibly the best thing beside Waldo Special I've ever had from them Next was Pipeworks Unicorns Revenge. Was probably the most disappointing PDUBS DIPA I've had yet. Just tasted flat and cardboardy. I couls usually rely on them to produce a solid hoppy beer alongside all the overpriced crappy experiments, but this fell so flat from the hype. I know there is a lot of Pipeworks hate in this thread, but it really seems these guys have lost their way. Also opened two very exciting Chicago exclusives: 5 Rabbit/Cigar City El Bizarron, and Clown shoes Gargoyle Love Song. I think both of these breweries fly way under the radar, and I love it. As el Bizarrron warmed up, it tasted just like chocolate sauce and roasted plantains, and Gargoyle was probably the most dangerously drinkable 14% beer I've ever had. Don't tell anybody how good these were, I love being able to find Undead Party Crasher and Yodo Con Leche at a moments notice.
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Nov 9, 2014 08:24
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http://t.co/8v5264trP3 Brewing legend Prof Narziß slams German beer quote:Professor Ludwig Narziss wrote the book on German brewing. Literally. His two-volume work (with Werner Back) titled simply Die Bierbrauerei is one of the standard textbooks for brewers, so much so that it is referred to just as “der Narziss”. He was already teaching brewing science at Weihenstephan in 1964.
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Nov 9, 2014 12:39
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I'll admit that here in Italy I love Birra Moretti, it's good speaking as quality/cost per bottle and it has a different taste than all the other beers I've actually tried (not that I've tried all the beers in this world). I don't like the red beers though they are too strong for my tastes.
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Nov 9, 2014 13:07
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Made return trips to Spellbound and Forgotten Boardwalk yesterday afternoon. Spellbound is now selling their ipa in cans and Im a big fan. Dry and hoppy. They also had 2 variants of their porter on, a palo santo porter which had a weird spicy finish to it, and their coconut porter which tasted like a liquid mounds bar. Can't wait to see how these guys grow in a year or two. Tried the cranberry berliner weiss at FB and it was a bit off the mark for me. A bit fruity in the finish, but the tartness just wasn't there. Their new pale ale, On the Waterfront, was fantastic. Reminded me of a dry, happier version of Boat Beer. Wound up leaving with growlers of their fantastic smoked porter and the pale ale. Really looking forward to what they do next.
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Nov 9, 2014 19:21
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That smoked porter from forgotten boardwalk really is fantastic. I may take a drive over there and fill up some growlers later this afternoon.
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Nov 9, 2014 20:27
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Did somebody already post this? http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/cover-story-2014-11-03
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Nov 9, 2014 22:11
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WaffleStomp posted:Made return trips to Spellbound and Forgotten Boardwalk yesterday afternoon. Spellbound is now selling their ipa in cans and Im a big fan. Dry and hoppy. They also had 2 variants of their porter on, a palo santo porter which had a weird spicy finish to it, and their coconut porter which tasted like a liquid mounds bar. Can't wait to see how these guys grow in a year or two. Glad to hear good things about Spellbound. I need to make a trip there. I've also been hearing good things about Forgotten Boardwalk's new beer. I'm glad NJ has some brewery's worth going to that are relatively close to me now.
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Nov 9, 2014 22:30
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:Did somebody already post this? quote:For me, the most memorable was a Berliner Weisse called Justin Blåbær, which is aged in Brunello barrels and tastes like cherries and Christmas Love the cover pic though e: quote:coöperation
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Nov 9, 2014 23:46
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Midorka posted:Glad to hear good things about Spellbound. I need to make a trip there. I've also been hearing good things about Forgotten Boardwalk's new beer. I'm glad NJ has some brewery's worth going to that are relatively close to me now. Yep, I've been to Spellbound twice and both times, I've had some solid stuff. Their porter, which they're canning soon, is on the weak side, however. It has a very thin body and just not really enjoyable. They tend to go through stuff they tap pretty quickly, though, so hopefully you get a good lineup when you make a visit. Village Idiot is a few minutes away, and beware, they're very pricey and their beer flat out sucks. Just cracked open the growler of On the Waterfront from Forgotten Boardwalk, and I really, really hope they can this at some point. It reminds me of HopHands, just without the pretenious bullshit that encompasses a visit to Tired Hands.
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Nov 10, 2014 00:22
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So Danbanana are you blasting as many tapes as I am right now? A friend sent me a care package from Oregon, includes some fun stuff, but mostly relatively basic options. Super nice of him though. Includes what will be my first Hair of the Dog beers! ...but really gently caress the Bears.
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Nov 10, 2014 04:21
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ChiTownEddie posted:...but really gently caress the Bears. As a former Chicago resident, this is so bad that even in Denver I must drink.
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Nov 10, 2014 04:32
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ChiTownEddie posted:...but really gently caress the Bears. Not as disappointing as the PW Orange Truffle Abduction I had. Boring and no orange. I mean what's the point? At least the Bears game has comedic value.
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Nov 10, 2014 04:33
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This 10 Barrel Brewery beer, Apocalypse IPA, tastes like the mixed tears of Bears and Bend fans. That is a thing, right?
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Nov 10, 2014 04:38
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ChiTownEddie posted:...but really gently caress the Bears. Can't wait to see the Cowboys run for 200 yards on them. Sorry your team is a joke this year! Beer talk: Backwoods Bastard is the best shelf beer imo.
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Nov 10, 2014 04:48
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ChiTownEddie posted:
My day consisted of seeing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" on the big screen, then going to a bar to watch the end of the early games until the end of the first quarter of that... thing. On the positive side, I drank about 6 pints of Daisy Cutter. And 3/4 of a pitcher of LaBlatts Light. So gross. The only entertainment I spend more of my money on than beer is that loving football team. I could order so much Lambic overseas for that...
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Nov 10, 2014 05:21
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