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SUPER HASSLER posted:They also had XV, but is that worth $22? It's very good and probably a must if you like barrel aged stuff. It's got a mouth I think is closer to a barley wine than a stout. I think the closest thing I've had to it is GI's King Henry (but not nearly as good). I had XIV on tap once and I remember enjoying that VERY much, but without having them side-by-side I think it's hard to say.
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Mar 23, 2012 00:47
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danbanana posted:It's very good and probably a must if you like barrel aged stuff. It's got a mouth I think is closer to a barley wine than a stout. I think the closest thing I've had to it is GI's King Henry (but not nearly as good). Considering XV is something like 70% barleywine, I'd say that's about right.
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Mar 23, 2012 01:09
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crazyfish posted:Considering XV is something like 70% barleywine, I'd say that's about right. I've still never drank a barleywine. Is there any barleywine that there is a consensus is good fresh? I always hear people saying that X or Y barleywine isn't worth half a drat unless it has a year+ on it. I'd buy a bottle or two of barleywine and age them for a year, but I'm drat impatient, and I'd hate to buy something and wait around a year, only to not enjoy it. I've heard that barleywines are quite a bit like wine, and I'm not the biggest fan of wine, so I've been rather hesitant.
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Mar 23, 2012 01:31
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They aren't really wine-like at all, except in strength. You aren't going to mistake it for something other than beer. Sometimes there's some sherry or port character that develops, but it's still hops and malt driving the flavor.
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Mar 23, 2012 01:36
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Docjowles posted:They aren't really wine-like at all, except in strength. You aren't going to mistake it for something other than beer. Sometimes there's some sherry or port character that develops, but it's still hops and malt driving the flavor. Ah, thanks for the clarification. The two people I know that have drank a barleywine before told me they are like wine, but they're not beer nerds at all, and really have no clue what they're talking about. I think barleywines, and saisons are going to be my next endeavor.
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Mar 23, 2012 01:41
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Kudosx posted:I've still never drank a barleywine. Is there any barleywine that there is a consensus is good fresh? naw, they're nothing like wine as far as taste goes- the wine part comes from their high ABV. generally, they're very malty, sweet, and boozy, and many west coast varieties are hoppy enough to almost be considered double IPAs (albeit maltier than usual). Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot leans a bit to the hoppy side, but it should be easy to find, not to mention inexpensive ($10-12 a six-pack). dunno what else might be around your area, but if you have a good bar around maybe you could get yourself a sample of one on draft.
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Mar 23, 2012 01:43
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Picked up some Sam Adams Latitude 48 because my local bottle shop was closed and the convenience store didn't have Stowaway IPA. Haven't had this in a year or so. Still quite enjoyable, but it's no Stone IPA.Docjowles posted:Bought a tallboy of Deviant Dale's today. Had to take a couple sips from the can just 'cause drinking an 8% IPA from a tallboy is badass They must have upgraded the recipe since the test run I tried a few years ago at the Lyons brewery. I remember it just being a dry-hopped version of regular Dale's. Now I'm really looking forward to trying it. I'm going hiking in NH next week, hopefully I can stop somewhere and buy it. edit: if you aren't accustomed to barleywine, definitely get single bottles and samples to start. CalvinDooglas fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Mar 23, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 01:47
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Awesome, thanks for the suggestions. I don't have any good bars *too* close to me, but I'm going to be visiting friends up in Cleveland next weekend and I should be able to stop at a good bar, or two, and hopefully try some samples of a few styles I've never had. I always have the problem of only ordering IPAs/Stouts when I go to bars because they're my favorites.
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Mar 23, 2012 02:05
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CalvinDooglas posted:Picked up some Sam Adams Latitude 48 because my local bottle shop was closed and the convenience store didn't have Stowaway IPA. Haven't had this in a year or so. Still quite enjoyable, but it's no Stone IPA. Oh nice, are they putting that out again? I thoroughly enjoy it, especially the "Deconstructed" pack where they have a couple bottles each of a single-hop beer with just one of the 5 hops that goes into the IPA and the same malt bill. Last year my local store bought way too much and was selling it for like $9 a 12 pack toward the end of summer, so that was a good bonus.
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Mar 23, 2012 02:09
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 Dogfish Head's 75 Minute IPA is pretty decent, I'm surprised it wasn't more expensive ($9 a 750ml) considering some of the prices of their other big bottles being $12+. The maple is very subtle, I'm only picking a little up at the beginning and end, otherwise the beer has a nice balanced hop profile of pine and citrus mostly. I'm pairing it with some maple bacon cheddar cheese and it's a nice accent to the slight maple flavor in the beer, the more I combine it the better I like it and appreciate it. Midorka fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Mar 23, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 02:17
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Kudosx posted:I've still never drank a barleywine. Is there any barleywine that there is a consensus is good fresh? I really like Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine and Troeg's Flying Mouflan. I've heard Smuttynose's Barleywine is really good too, I haven't cracked my only bottle open yet. edit: Oh and King Henry and Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine are definitely my favorites but you can't get King Henry anymore and Kuhnhenn only bottles BBBW twice a year.
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Mar 23, 2012 02:34
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Kudosx posted:I think barleywines, and saisons are going to be my next endeavor.  This is my exact plan at the moment, too. The only saison I have drank was the Ommegang Hennepin which was awesome. And the only barley wine I have tried was Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot, which I was not a big fan of at all. I also really want to get into Lambics; I know there are a few styles (fruit/gueuze/others), any recommendations on where to start with these? TenaciousTomato fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Mar 24, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 02:43
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I need several beers after this Mass Effect 3 ending 
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Mar 23, 2012 02:55
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TenaciousTomato posted:
Do yourself a favor and find Saison Dupont. Its a great saison all around. Barley wine chat: I really liked old ruffian from great divide. Really hoppy and malty but well balanced VVVVVV Edit: I found dupont in brown 12 ounce bottles I was so happy lazerwolf fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Mar 23, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 02:57
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lazerwolf posted:Do yourself a favor and find Saison Dupont. Its a great saison all around. Just get it from a place that cares about beer. It's a pale, hoppy beer in a green bottle, and I have had more than one that was skunked beyond all recognition, and it makes me cry a little to think of someone else buying one from where I did and thinking that's what the reference point for that entire style of beer is supposed to taste like.
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Mar 23, 2012 03:05
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Does anyone have an opinion on Cricket Hill Brewing Co. out of New Jersey? Had never heard of them before this past weekend when I saw a store here (Omaha) was carrying their Colonel Blides Cask Ale and another (can't remember what it was). I gotta say, the Cask Ale is pretty decent. Mild, good finish, etc.
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Mar 23, 2012 03:57
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Midorka posted:
Ohhhh, boy I need to try that. I'm a fan of 60 and 90 Minute considering you can find it almost everywhere nowadays. They're both fall-back beers if all else fails. I'd definitely like a bottle or two or 75 to try.
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Mar 23, 2012 04:00
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Mahoning posted:Ohhhh, boy I need to try that. I'm a fan of 60 and 90 Minute considering you can find it almost everywhere nowadays. They're both fall-back beers if all else fails. I'd definitely like a bottle or two or 75 to try. I thought it was pretty good too. DFH's one-off releases tend to be hit and miss (and usually nothing I'd buy again) but I think this one works pretty well. Due to expense it's not something I'd buy again over the 60 or 90 Minute, but it's worth trying.
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Mar 23, 2012 04:08
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The SARS Volta posted:Does anyone have an opinion on Cricket Hill Brewing Co. out of New Jersey? Their year round line-up is something to avoid, mediocre beer that would be well priced at $6.99 a 6 pack. Their 22 ounce brewer reserve bottles are good though. On another note, KBS with maple bacon cheddar is loving next level poo poo seriously. If you have a bottle of KBS try to find maple bacon cheddar cheese to pair it with because it's stellar. As for KBS it's a very solid bourbon barrel aged imperial stout that's extremely well balanced. It's definitely the "real-deal" and worth seeking as I consider it to be near the pinnacle of bourbon barrel aging. Lots of oak and vanilla with bourbon and dark chocolate taking a back seat, reminded me a bit of fresh tobacco in the aroma. The flavor is extremely well balanced giving lots of oak, vanilla, and bourbon to the already complex chocolate and coffee flavor of Breakfast Stout. This is a great beer that I feel lives up to the hype.
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Mar 23, 2012 04:15
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Welp, this Westmalle Dubbel is all I have hoped it so be. Nose is a sugary caramel, fig, yeast aroma. Tastes amazing, hoppy to start, then quickly goes into a caramel malty taste with fruit and yeast. A drat fine dubbel. I've tried a few dubbels now, I would have to rank them: Rochefort 8 Westmalle Dubbel Chimay Red Ommegang Abbey Ale St. Bernardus Prior 8 Allagash Dubbel (sad this is this is last; love it dearly) Any other good ones I'm missing?
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Mar 23, 2012 04:19
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So my sister in law just moved from Minnesota to Winooski, Vermont, and happened to pick an apartment about a tenth of a mile from what's apparently an awesome bottle shop. On the off chance there's some VT goons reading this, I have to ask, what sorts of great brews should I tell her to grab & send to me? Basically, I'm looking for anything rad I can't get out here in SoCal that might be unique or very localized to Vermont...does Hill Farmstead distribute to bottle shops? I know there's some quality beers made in the area but don't know where it goes.
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Mar 23, 2012 04:21
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wattershed posted:So my sister in law just moved from Minnesota to Winooski, Vermont, and happened to pick an apartment about a tenth of a mile from what's apparently an awesome bottle shop. Heady Topper. All of the Heady Topper. They should also get some Maine Brewing Company, and maybe a bit of Hill Farmstead. They distribute, but it's not steady from what I understand.
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Mar 23, 2012 04:22
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If you want to try a barleywine on the cheap it is almost Lagunitas Gnarlywine season, which is a pretty decent example for the $. That said, Barleywine means so many different things to so many different companies. It's probably my favorite style though. My favorite one fresh (as of late) has to be this: 
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Mar 23, 2012 04:36
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Kudosx posted:I've still never drank a barleywine. Is there any barleywine that there is a consensus is good fresh?
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Mar 23, 2012 05:33
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Thanks to the awesome gentlegoon funkybottoms, this happened tonight: Not pictured: this thing is both capped and corked. What the hell? Wow. This was on point. Quite a sour first sip, I must say. Wasn't expecting that intensity, but I was very pleased with it. Faded a bit after that, and I started really appreciating how light it was. Most of my sour experience has been with Flanders Red and Browns, so this was a really nice change of pace. This was admittedly my first lambic I've had more than just a sip of, so I expected it to be almost cloyingly sweet. To my relief, it proved to be otherwise. As the carbonation died down and it warmed a little more (served a little below cellar temp) I started picking up a bit more wood-y flavor on the back end. Also unexpected. And apples? Lemon pucker? I was practically scuba diving in the tulip trying to parse it out. I'm glad to say that this absolutely lives up to the hype. Really a shame I can't get it around here, but I'm so glad I got to try it.
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Mar 23, 2012 05:53
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Kraven Moorhed posted:Thanks to the awesome gentlegoon funkybottoms, this happened tonight: Grats on your first lambic (kind) / first Cantillon! Glad you liked it! I won't lie, the very first Cantillon I had I had kind of a hard time enjoying. I appreciated it but I had a hard time getting past just tasting the acidity. On a similar note, we got this bad boy delivered today:  free plug: https://beerpaintings.blogspot.com I worked until late tonight and she has to get up early tomorrow, but this weekend we'll have to nerd out and break out the logo glasses and sit between the painting and the Rose de Gambrinus poster and drink something aged in the cellar for a while.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:04
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Thought I'd try Ruthless Rye tonight. It smells like a fart, not sulphury, just a straight fart. Tastes decent enough though, no real complaints there, however I'd turn to Hop Rod Rye 100% of the time if I wanted a beer like this in the future. And, not that it matters, but the bottle art is pretty excellent for my tastes.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:14
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deadwing posted:Heady Topper. All of the Heady Topper. They should also get some Maine Brewing Company, and maybe a bit of Hill Farmstead. They distribute, but it's not steady from what I understand. Is Heady Topper readily distributed? I just assumed it was hard to find given the haves/wants on BA. Any other recommendations are welcome...I won't get to go there for a few months at the least but the quality per capita seems fantastic.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:16
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wattershed posted:Thought I'd try Ruthless Rye tonight. It smells like a fart, not sulphury, just a straight fart. Tastes decent enough though, no real complaints there, however I'd turn to Hop Rod Rye 100% of the time if I wanted a beer like this in the future. And, not that it matters, but the bottle art is pretty excellent for my tastes. Human fart or cat fart? Or maybe horse?
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Mar 23, 2012 06:43
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wattershed posted:Thought I'd try Ruthless Rye tonight. It smells like a fart, not sulphury, just a straight fart.  tastebuds etc but I get no such thing, Ruthless Rye owns.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:51
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wattershed posted:Is Heady Topper readily distributed? I just assumed it was hard to find given the haves/wants on BA. Best bet for Heady Topper cans could likely require a trip to Waterbury, which is maybe 30-45 minutes drive from that area. The Alchemist posts up their stock on their site/twitter. I'm not sure how to get Hill Farmstead bottles however.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:58
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Angry Grimace posted:Abacus is readily available right now, as is Old Guardian. I had heard that OG isn't that great when it's fresh, so I avoided purchasing it when I saw it. We also don't get any Firestone Walker in my area, which really bums me out, they're one of the breweries I'd really like to try something from. I was looking on a bars website that I might hit up this weekend and it looks like they have '10 JW Lees Harvest Ale, and Avery Hog Heaven. I've heard good things about JW Lees, what do you folks think about Hog Heaven? I'll probably try both.
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Mar 23, 2012 09:17
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Midorka posted:
I liked this too and found the maple most apparent as the beer warmed up a bit.
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Mar 23, 2012 11:39
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Paul Proteus posted:Huh. Haven't seen this in Illinois. I got a 4-pack of the Bourbon Barrel Barleywine from CW and wasn't terribly impressed. Although, that was after I tried their BBS and Pervian Morning (which is maybe the best coffee stout I've ever had).
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Mar 23, 2012 13:33
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Is Founders Nemesis worth tracking down via trade? Anybody know why they stopped making it?
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Mar 23, 2012 14:31
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Corbet posted:Is Founders Nemesis worth tracking down via trade? Anybody know why they stopped making it? i believe it was a copyright issue. i have two bottles of 09 Nemesis i picked up simply for trading if you're interested, but i honestly didn't care for it back when i tried it (my palate has expanded considerably since then; i didn't like any barleywine at that time).
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Mar 23, 2012 14:58
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wattershed posted:Is Heady Topper readily distributed? I just assumed it was hard to find given the haves/wants on BA. They've started distributing in Vermont, and it appears the store you're talking about does get some.
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Mar 23, 2012 15:03
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Founders is going to start distributing to places in NY other than NYC for the first time within the next two months. Just in time for me leaving the state for CT, which doesn't get Founders What a bad streak of luck Anyone have experience with beer in CT?
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Mar 23, 2012 15:27
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Kudosx/TenaciousTomato posted:saisons I would heartily recommend the Bruery's saisons if you can get them in your area, they're great! I also like Sorachi Ace as I mentioned earlier in this thread. Triumph in New Hope, PA just finally got rid of its rauschbier in lieu of its Alstadt Lager, great stuff. Was there last night, and the place is awesome as always. For any goons in the area, their trivia nights are 8:00 Thursdays and are a good time all around. RiggenBlaque posted:beer in CT There is an insanely good bottle shop next to the Trader Joe's in Orange that has a MASSIVE selection of singles and various craft brews. I picked up a 2006 barleywine there that absolutely blew my mind. I can't remember the name of the place, but it's right on Old/Boston Post Road. And obviously keep in mind they don't sell alcohol on Sundays in the state still, though I hear that there's yet another attempt to get that changed. Time will tell! vvvv I can confirm that this year's OG is really quite good and doesn't need aging to be drinkable at all. Podima fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Mar 23, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 15:53
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Kudosx posted:I had heard that OG isn't that great when it's fresh Old Guardian's a little different this year than the 2010 version. Remember, the even years for OG are the "default" recipe and the odd years are the "Belgo" versions - while I've never had a clear answer on what that means to Stone (pretty sure it's just a yeast thing), I'm quite partial to the odd years, though the 2012 "default" recipe was tweaked from the 2010 version and I think they've made some nice changes. I actually LOVE drinking b'wines in the summer, and it's tasting just fine to me right now. Also, it seems to be one of the slowest-moving beers in their lineup...compared to their IRS or other Stone seasonals, it lasts the longest in stores and frequently gets marked down, making it even harder to not stock up for the whole year.
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Mar 23, 2012 15:54
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