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TenaciousTomato posted:Just realized why there is no carbonation in my Ten Fidy. It was bottled at the end of 2010. What the gently caress. I have one can left to bring back to the store and ask them, politely, why they are selling 2 year old beer. In general, imperial stouts are very low carbonation. Like others are saying here, big beers can sit for a little while longer, though not all age well. If it tasted fine, you're good. I'd personally suggest you hold the rest, get a 2012, and do side-by-side to figure out how (if at all) it's changed. SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!!
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May 1, 2012 16:16
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Aopeth posted:Did I just try the wrong beers, bartolimu? Bruery doesn't really do half measures. Humulus is a fuckoff big grassy hop bomb of a beer...and it's a lager. It's unusual, interesting, and I think delicious, but some people won't go for it. Same can be said for most of their stuff. I liked Salt of the Earth okay, but goze is a really weird style and I wouldn't blame anyone for not liking it. It's sort of like the salted yogurt drink served at a lot of Lebanese restaurants, which I can't stand but a lot of people like. So yeah, maybe you tried the wrong beers. Or maybe you just don't like what they're doing. That's fine, it doesn't mean you're wrong or that the Bruery is poo poo. You just don't go for their stuff. Keep drinking and see if you can find something that interests you. If not, no big deal. There are tons of other good breweries in Orange County.
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May 1, 2012 16:21
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You won't see any 2012 Ten Fidy until late fall/winter. And it isn't very lively (carbonation-wise) to begin with - definitely does just fine with a year or two on it. I've had '09, '10, and '11 over the past few months and all have been stellar, really.
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May 1, 2012 16:30
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It tasted great, it just had no head or lacing whatsoever; only a few bubbles. Wasn't sure about aging it, glad I know now. Shared one with a friend and we both enjoyed it. I will save the last can and do a side-by-side this winter; great idea danbanana. For science!  bartolimu posted:I am happy to report that an even mix of Utopias and Chocolate Rain is both delicious and a fantastic way to turn a table full of beer nerds into comatose diabetics. Enjoyed this post a lot. 1+ beer connoisseurship. TenaciousTomato fucked around with this message at 17:20 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 17:15
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I would be super pumped to find 2010 Ten Fidy in any local store. That's a First World Problem if I ever read one. Speaking of old beer: a couple of local bigger beer stores (BevMax, Fairway Market) still have last year's Summer Love sitting around. I want to buy some of this year's but will have to be drat sure not to pick up the old stuff by mistake.
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May 1, 2012 17:18
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bartolimu posted:The Bruery... I can admire them for their adventurous spirit.
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May 1, 2012 17:25
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TenaciousTomato posted:I will save the last can and do a side-by-side this winter; great idea danbanana. For science! I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm your standard American beer nerd: I like my IPAs (and IIPA/DIPAs) and my stouts/porters. In the case of the latter, I generally cellar better examples of the styles and will do little mini-verticals (current vs. previous year(s)).
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May 1, 2012 17:27
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Half and half a Ranger by New Belgium and GI's 312 and you have yourself an Urban Ranger. Just do it because the name is clever and I'm proud of myself for coming up with it.
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May 1, 2012 17:33
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I actually emailed Oskar Blues to find out if they held onto Ten Fidy in their warehouse or something before sending it out to stores, as I was suddenly seeing a few different places stocking 4-packs canned in November '09. Randomly, the first 4-pack I bought was dated exactly two years prior to the date I bought it. They confirmed that, no, they don't hold onto their beer and do us the courtesy of aging their product before sending it out, and that I was just lucky to find a place that was cellaring it for me the last 24 months. I stocked up on a few of those 4-packs, and still haven't had a 'fresh' Ten Fidy - I'm nursing my '09 cans...hoping when I have it fresh (can or tap) it's not a major letdown and I discover I've set my expectations too high.
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May 1, 2012 18:14
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danbanana posted:I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm your standard American beer nerd: I like my IPAs (and IIPA/DIPAs) and my stouts/porters.  I'm a completely standard beer nerd, too! I'd probably say those are my favorite styles as well. I'm just glad they're as popular as they are, because there's so many different kinds to try. My birthday is Friday, and I will probably do a lot of beer drinking this weekend. I was thinking about revisiting some of my favorite beers that I've only drank once, or twice. I am always out trying new beers, but I don't revisit my favorites nearly enough.
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May 1, 2012 18:29
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Kudosx posted:So what's up with the goons who went to DLD '12? I know there was a few of you... but none of you have posted about it! Funky is 100% right. DLD is a huge event with lots of people and lots of lines. At this point it is what it is for me. Nothing really changes each year so why write about it again? It doesn't compare to how it used to be, but they are doing the best they can under the circumstances. Shane and I had an ok time; our biggest complaint would be the lines for non Dark Lord beer (both for taps and for the cases/bottles) and that the guest taps did not change very quickly. That said, yea, I don't want any barrel aged beer for a while. Having so many different kinds of those beers both burns you out as well as shows how 1 dimensional many are.
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May 1, 2012 18:31
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Paul Proteus posted:Funky is 100% right. Most barrel-aged beers I've tried just taste like the brewer poured some liquor in the beer.
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May 1, 2012 18:39
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Paul Proteus posted:That said, yea, I don't want any barrel aged beer for a while. Having so many different kinds of those beers both burns you out as well as shows how 1 dimensional many are. I hate that. So many beers that have Crazy poo poo wind up not actually having anything going on except for that one gimmick, whatever that one gimmick is. Barrel aging can make for a fantastic beer, but if you just dump some generic beer into a barrel, you're going to get generic beer out the other end, just bourbon flavored. Really, I'm pretty wary of anything people call a something "bomb" for this exact reason.
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May 1, 2012 18:40
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Arnold of Soissons posted:I hate that. So many beers that have Crazy poo poo wind up not actually having anything going on except for that one gimmick, whatever that one gimmick is. Barrel aging can make for a fantastic beer, but if you just dump some generic beer into a barrel, you're going to get generic beer out the other end, just bourbon flavored. Then isn't your argument with generic beer, not the barrel-aged process? I get that there's a backlash to breweries just throwing out barrel-aged beers as their "high end" brews or whatever, but I find it strange to toss the entire process out as a "gimmick." It's no different than someone sick of the "Belgian gimmick." Just because some breweries can't do it right doesn't mean the issue is with the process and/or style. Goose Island (which pretty much invented the style in the U.S.) and Firestone Walker (which began as an offshoot of a winery) are two breweries which I will always go out of my way to get their BA beers because they actually do it well, consistently.
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May 1, 2012 19:06
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Arnold of Soissons posted:I hate that. So many beers that have Crazy poo poo wind up not actually having anything going on except for that one gimmick, whatever that one gimmick is. Barrel aging can make for a fantastic beer, but if you just dump some generic beer into a barrel, you're going to get generic beer out the other end, just bourbon flavored. Note to self: name next high-gravity, oak-aged beer 'Crazy poo poo Bomb'
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May 1, 2012 19:28
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i see that CCB's Marshall Zhukov is a summer release- can anyone in the know tell me how easy that would be to find in the Tampa area in June? got a guy who wants to trade something for one, but i had forgotten that my brother will be down there in a little over a month, so i don't want to "waste" the trade (so to speak).
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May 1, 2012 19:40
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danbanana posted:Then isn't your argument with generic beer, not the barrel-aged process? I get that there's a backlash to breweries just throwing out barrel-aged beers as their "high end" brews or whatever, but I find it strange to toss the entire process out as a "gimmick." It's no different than someone sick of the "Belgian gimmick." Just because some breweries can't do it right doesn't mean the issue is with the process and/or style. Sorry, I wasn't clear at all. Yes, my entire argument is with making bland beer and then doing some [thing] to it so that you can call it [thing] Beer, and hope people can't taste beyond the overwhelming amount of whatever to tell that the actual beer is bland at best. That's what I meant by "gimmick." I don't mean that barrel aging (or poo poo loads of hops, or using an unusual yeast, or whatever the [thing] is) is inherently a gimmick. When it's used well it can be wonderful. But when it is used as nothing more than a gimmick, that just sucks. Barrel aging is not, itself, the problem, but it has become quite a common way for people to gimmick up their bland or lovely beers. And, frankly, lovely craft brewers who make gimmicky beers are more of a beer problem, in my eyes, than the giant breweries that make shitloads of generic nothing in fancy cans that change color or bottles with stupid necks.
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May 1, 2012 19:52
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wattershed posted:Note to self: name next high-gravity, oak-aged beer 'Crazy poo poo Bomb' The label should have a picture of a toilet, in the style of Robert Crumb, with a brown rainbow coming out of it. I can't wait to try this beer. I hear that, if you can find a path through all the liquid smoke and worcestershire forward notes, there's some really interesting peroxide and baby vomit stuff going on deeper down. It's also 743 proof, so you can be sure than any regrets you may have over the purchase will be burned away, along with the brain cells that were generating them.
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May 1, 2012 20:00
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Arnold of Soissons posted:Sorry, I wasn't clear at all. Gotcha. And I concur. As someone who- admitted above- loves darker beers, I fell in love with good barrel-aged versions pretty early on, back when almost no one was doing it. So it was always a treat... It's a little different now, but so is the hobby as a whole: I remember going to a BA-beer fest at GI's Wrigleyville location back in... 2004? There were about 40 people there (including like 5 hunchbacks...) and though I don't remember exactly what I got to try that day, I loved it all.
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May 1, 2012 20:01
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Paul Proteus posted:Nothing really changes each year so why write about it again? Not everyone has been reading the beer threads since the beginning. I was mostly just curious if any of you won a 'golden' ticket, and which version of DL you chose if you did win.
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May 1, 2012 20:43
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wattershed posted:
I had a 2009 Ten Fidy recently, and it was amazing. One of the best beers I've ever tasted.
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May 1, 2012 21:21
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Kudosx posted:Not everyone has been reading the beer threads since the beginning. Neither have I! There is just a lot of information out there on it already, and I think I've done trip reports in years past. As for the golden ticket, neither of us won. I'm glad I didn't, I'm not out the $50; I honestly would have given it to the guy next to me in line if I had.
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May 1, 2012 21:26
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Paul Proteus posted:As for the golden ticket, neither of us won. I'm glad I didn't, I'm not out the $50; I honestly would have given it to the guy next to me in line if I had. I thought the same thing. I feel like if I were to attend I would be pretty hesitant to drop $50 on a bottle of beer. The only types of DL I think I'd pay $50 for would be the Vanilla bean, or Pappy... and even then I would probably just end up using the beer as trade leverage.
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May 1, 2012 21:54
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Anyone ever attend Founders Fest before? I might be going this year because the special lady and I have some friends up in Michigan that we haven't visited in awhile, and I have the entire week leading up to Founders Fest off.
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May 1, 2012 23:50
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Mahoning posted:Anyone ever attend Founders Fest before? I might be going this year because the special lady and I have some friends up in Michigan that we haven't visited in awhile, and I have the entire week leading up to Founders Fest off. If you are big into music and like hearing local bands play for hours you might enjoy it. I went one year and found it to be kinda meh. They do put on a few special beers for the event but otherwise it's nothing spectacular. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 00:08 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 23:53
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Speaking of beer fests, Sunday is when Great Taste of the Midwest tickets go on sale, if you needed a reminder.
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May 2, 2012 00:27
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Picked up Boulevard's Sixth Glass and a bottle of Ommegang's Art of Darkness. The Sixth Glass is my first Quad and I'm REALLY liking it. I read that the Art of Darkness is a limited run; dunno the rarity, but Andersonville Wine and Spirits has a shelf in their cooler full, if anyone if anyone in my area is interested.
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May 2, 2012 01:50
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Coco13 posted:Speaking of beer fests, Sunday is when Great Taste of the Midwest tickets go on sale, if you needed a reminder. Oh man, I didn't know that even existed. THANK YOU!
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May 2, 2012 01:58
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I'm so glad I found this new bar as I'm finding a lot of beer that I probably wouldn't see in bottles. I went last night and tried a few beers: Sixpoint Mad Scientist (Berliner Weisse) - I've never had a berlinerweiss so I was excited to try this, unfortunately I didn't care for it too much. It was sour, but not overly sour, with a mild funk. I didn't pick up much in the smell either. This was just sour and slightly funky to me, but nothing I really enjoyed. Left Hand Ambidextrous - This is a big beer, rather intense. Strong dark chocolate I got mostly up front, not much sweetness like their milk stout, and a strong oak alcohol finish. This beer is incredibly thick as well, which I loved. I wish this beer had the balance that Milk Stout has as it's definitely very assertive in it's flavor and drinks very thick and syrupy. I enjoyed this, but would buy Milk Stout over it. Lost Abbey Avante Garde - This was the last beer, which was probably silly considering what I had before probably messed my tastebuds up. I didn't get much other than lemon and some peppery spice, very slightly though. Not a fan of this one either, but it was decent. I also had a few samples: Liefmans Oud Bruin - I was expecting this to be super sour from the nose, but it was mildly tarty with a nice sweet fruity flavor of blackberries and cherries. I enjoyed this, but probably wouldn't drink more than a small serving. Goose Island IPA - This is a pretty fantastic IPA, very pungent aroma and assertive hop flavor. I enjoyed this a lot and can't wait to see 6 packs of it for $8.49 around here. Midorka fucked around with this message at 03:55 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 03:35
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Tonight I enjoyed a big bottle Torpedo, and drank a Baltika "Grade 9" Extra Lager (I assume this is what 9th graders drink in Russia). It's 8% and pretty awful flavor-wise, but isn't as offensive as I thought it would be. It's better than Natty Ice, at least, and tastes like if you stirred some corn syrup into a Bud Light. I think this is my first proper Malt Liquor, and I have to say that at 16oz and $1.79, it's not a bad deal.
CalvinDooglas fucked around with this message at 04:18 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 03:51
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Kudosx posted:Not everyone has been reading the beer threads since the beginning. I went and won a golden ticket, managed to get the vanilla version of Dark Lord. It was pretty crazy, almost everybody in our group won the golden ticket except my girlfriend. I plan on cracking open my bottle next year on the night before DLD 2013.
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May 2, 2012 03:57
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CalvinDooglas posted:Tonight I enjoyed a big bottle Torpedo, and drank a Baltika "Grade 9 Extra Lager" (I assume this is what 9th graders drink in Russia). It's 8% and pretty awful flavor-wise, but isn't as offensive as I thought it would be. It's better than Natty Ice, at least, and tastes like if you stirred some corn syrup into a Bud Light. I think this is my first proper Malt Liquor, and I have to say that at 16oz and $1.79, it's not a bad deal. Speaking of awful beer, I had a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat for the first time (it was included in the summer 12 pack) and holy poo poo, that beer is truly awful. Maybe it's just because I don't like cherries, but I don't think so. I'd always heard people make fun of that beer, but I never fully understood how truly bad it could be.
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May 2, 2012 04:00
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I think I actually prefer beer that's aiming for the bare minimum to beer that's trying too hard. So many fruit beers are just over the top and hard to drink because they've packed in too much unbalanced, sweet flavors.
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May 2, 2012 04:21
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I just opened a Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw (Carolus' Grand Cru of the Emperor or some poo poo). This is a really nice belgian dark. A little thicker and sweeter than Maudite or Delirium Nocturnum and not quite as, well, awesome as Allagash Black or Chimay Blue... but it's close. Easily the best from Carolus. If you can snag it for a good price, I recommend it. Especially if you enjoy Chimay Blue, Rochefort 6, et al
FreelanceSocialist fucked around with this message at 04:34 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 04:28
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CalvinDooglas posted:I think I actually prefer beer that's aiming for the bare minimum to beer that's trying too hard. So many fruit beers are just over the top and hard to drink because they've packed in too much unbalanced, sweet flavors. The first year that Cherry Wheat came out, I was living in Phoenix, and it was the best goddamned lawnmower beer ever. Bone-dry, a bit of tart cherry towards the end, ridiculously good when you come inside from 114 loving degrees of hellfire. Then they decided to make it sweeter. Bah.
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May 2, 2012 04:38
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Phanatic posted:The first year that Cherry Wheat came out, I was living in Phoenix, and it was the best goddamned lawnmower beer ever. Bone-dry, a bit of tart cherry towards the end, ridiculously good when you come inside from 114 loving degrees of hellfire. I remember it being much better as well, it seems Sam's quality is slipping due to them contract brewing most of their stuff now, so I hear.
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May 2, 2012 04:46
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I feel like something that drastic has to be a recipe change. If a beer went from consistently awesome to consistently poo poo, the contract brewer wouldn't have a contract for long. For better or worse, I think Sam is brewing exactly what they want to.
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May 2, 2012 05:08
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funkybottoms posted:i see that CCB's Marshall Zhukov is a summer release- can anyone in the know tell me how easy that would be to find in the Tampa area in June? got a guy who wants to trade something for one, but i had forgotten that my brother will be down there in a little over a month, so i don't want to "waste" the trade (so to speak). Zhukov's should be easy to get. Hell I think some places still have last year's batch floating around so it shouldn't be an issue. Anyone at Dark Lord Day manage to get their hands on any Cigar City beer? Just curious what their thoughts were. Especially on Blueberry Muffin, my creation 
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May 2, 2012 05:12
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It didn't go to "consistently poo poo", it went to "consistently sweeter". They tailored the beer to what people wanted. People want sweeter fruitier fruit beers. If anything, under contract brewing, QA/QC tends to tighten.
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May 2, 2012 05:22
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Docjowles posted:I feel like something that drastic has to be a recipe change. If a beer went from consistently awesome to consistently poo poo, the contract brewer wouldn't have a contract for long. For better or worse, I think Sam is brewing exactly what they want to. I don't disagree, but I've looked at my tasting notes from the past and they've been spot on for beers like Nugget Nectar when I reviewed them 3-4 years ago compared to now. I used to love Cherry Wheat, but now it's borderline cloying and near undrinkable to me. They've changed something, it just tastes artificial, or overly sweetened. I'm drinking my second Monk's Blood, the first one I did not like a few weeks ago. Tonight it's loving delicious. There's a huge complexity to this, on the nose there's some brown sugar with mild cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins, but it's very well balanced and subtle making me take my time with it. The flavor is also excellent, an almost grape-like fruit hits the side of my tongue as the cinnamon and vanilla, which are very subtle, sit on top of my tongue as the brown sugar takes up the finish with a mildly warming sensation down the throat. This is one of the few beers that I've had that uses cinnamon right. Also, what happened to my best friend ShaneB? Edit: Does anyone else feel Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum would have better ratings if it weren't so cheap and easily available for a 10.4% ABV well balanced high hopped beer? 3.9 seems low for such a good drat beer. Midorka fucked around with this message at 05:52 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 05:25
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