|
Midorka posted: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. I think the biggest problem with Hoptimum is that it is a hop bomb. There's a *lot* of people who don't like IPAs, but still like to try every single one they can get their hands on. They'll hand out low ratings for something being a hop bomb, even if it's advertised as one. I personally didn't like the first 2 bottles of Hoptimum I drank when I got a 4 pack, but the next day when it was a bit warmer outside and I drank the other two, I enjoyed them quite a bit more. It's weird how weather can effect how I view a beer. I want to really try some Blueberry Muffin Brown Ale now... hell, who am I kidding... I want to try basically every CCB brew.
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 02:29 |
|
|
Midorka posted:Also, what happened to my best friend ShaneB? That whole roommate situation must've panned out. 
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:15
|
|
|
Midorka posted: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. 3.9 is a pretty good score but yes it should be rated higher, its the best commercial IIPA I've had and I've had nearly everything short of PtY.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:16
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I think the biggest problem with Hoptimum is that it is a hop bomb. There's a *lot* of people who don't like IPAs, but still like to try every single one they can get their hands on. They'll hand out low ratings for something being a hop bomb, even if it's advertised as one. The problem is that it's not a hop bomb on the level of Palate Wreker, it's a very well balanced IIPA with a strong assertive hop profile. There's a difference and I think many agree. rage-saq posted:3.9 is a pretty good score but yes it should be rated higher, its the best commercial IIPA I've had and I've had nearly everything short of PtY. I think it's hard to compare it to others, because there's a lot of takes on the genre that are completely valid, just aimed at different palates, but this is the best hop head IIPA I've ever had. I'm by no means a huge hop head, but gently caress the hops are strong and well balanced and there's absolutely no alcohol present despite the 10.4%. I haven't rated it yet and my opinions are based off of the first glass I had while hanging out with friends, but I wouldn't be surprised if I rated it mid 4's. I think the beer world just gets far too caught up in rarity and hype that beers from easy to get breweries are often forgotten about. I guess it's better for me though because I can still get a case of Bigfoot and Hoptimum if I wanted at a better price than any hyped beer would cost in shipping for a case. Edit: I've had PtE and Hopslam this year and wasn't too keen on them, thanks mostly to the hype they have making it seem like the best beer in the world, I much preferred Surly Furious and Hoptimum over them. Midorka fucked around with this message at 06:26 on May 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:23
|
|
|
Midorka posted:The problem is that it's not a hop bomb on the level of Palate Wreker, it's a very well balanced IIPA with a strong assertive hop profile. There's a difference and I think many agree. I'd like to agree to disagree. I actually thought it was pretty hop-forward, and not really that balanced. I really love hops, too, and I'd consider IPAs/IIPAs to be my favorite style. I'd probably rate it a 3.7 overall on a scale of 0-5, but then again, I'm not entirely sure I'd rate any beer a 5. The closest thing to a '5' I've had is drinking a Head Hunter IPA the day after it was bottled... completely mind blowing. I've yet to try Palate Wrecker, so I can't really compare to the two yet. I guess Palate Wrecker would be a good choice of something to try this weekend for my birthday! I've been wanting to try it, just haven't had the chance. I'd really like to try Furious, too. I've been tempted to order some from that one beer website which has them up at a very affordable price. I feel like the most disappointing thing with Hoptimum to me, was that the high alcohol content seemed to be very evident in the taste. It tasted like a hop booze bomb to me, although it seems like I'm in the minority! Kudosx fucked around with this message at 06:35 on May 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:29
|
|
|
I find myself spending far more time talking about the nuances of beers than what beer is best or which is marginally better. Because, you know what? That type of competition is destructive. Just look at the loving wine ratings. Twist-off, sub-$20 merlot with only a 92? gently caress that! It's garbage! Really? Is it really that bad that you would never buy a bottle? Because you know what, we've done blind tastings before with customers - and 99% of them can't discern poo poo and they are throwing money away and pretending to enjoy wines that really aren't what they like. And they are completely unwilling to try anything new. Because of numbers in Wine Enthusiast or Wine Spectator or that oval office Broadbent or whatever the gently caress. I'm not about to let that bullshit happen to craft beer, at least with my regular customers. We're not going to nit-pick RateBeer and BeerAdvocate scores. Instead, we're going to talk about what each beer does on its own. Hoptimum? Fantastic DIPA. Primarily resinous pine hops, though. Want more citrus? More floral? Let's try Double Trouble or Sneaky Pete. Let's grab a bottle of DIPA from a tiny local brewery that packs in the Centennial and Simcoe. You come into the store and want me to compare two beers of the same style? I'm not going to tell you one is better than the other - I am going to try and recommend one based on what you think tastes good. Numbers are meaningless and they are starting to do more harm than good. For instance, a customer came in and turned down a bomber of Stone IRS because it scored below an Old Rasputin. She has had Old Rasputin before, but I could not convince her to try the Stone. Because of numbers. Jesus loving christ. Stone is putting out a phenomenal imperial stout at $6 a bomber and people won't even consider trying it simply because the number alongside it on some website full of assholes is slightly lower. And it isn't even the user rating! It's the Alstrom Bro's rating. gently caress me. edit: Also, 8 Wired's The Big Smoke is tasty but hilariously over-carbonated, which lends it a harsh, chalky finish. Oops 
FreelanceSocialist fucked around with this message at 06:43 on May 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:38
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I've yet to try Palate Wrecker, so I can't really compare to the two yet. I keep noticing Palate Wrecker around since reading this thread and want to try it, because of the name. But then I refuse to buy it... because of the name. Palate Wrecker + hops makes it sound like something so imbalanced in its hoppiness that it would give me phantom piss shivers just to smell it.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:51
|
|
|
mysterious frankie posted:I keep noticing Palate Wrecker around since reading this thread and want to try it, because of the name. But then I refuse to buy it... because of the name. Palate Wrecker + hops makes it sound like something so imbalanced in its hoppiness that it would give me phantom piss shivers just to smell it. Yes, Palate Wrecker is just inappropriately bitter, but its awesome. I would say Hoptimum is more hoppy than palate wrecker and an overall better IIPA but nobody has nothing on the bitterness of Palate Wrecker. There is tons more hop flavor and aroma going on in Hoptimum along with a quite strong (but not as strong as Palate Wrecker) bitterness that really to me put it into the category of being a better overall IIPA.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 06:55
|
|
|
rage-saq posted:Yes, Palate Wrecker is just inappropriately bitter, but its awesome. I see both Hoptimum and Palate Wrecker in the Andersonville store I go to a lot. I would almost say it'd be worth it to bite the bullet and to a back-to-back taste test, but I'm guessing my palate would be too mangled by whatever I drank first to reliably judge the second. --- Art of Darkness is good, but couldn't hold a candle to The Sixth Glass. I would be interested in tasting it again six months from now, or longer, though. Says it's best before 2016; that leaves a lot of time to develop character...
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 07:07
|
|
|
FreelanceSocialist posted:
Yeah I totally get what you're saying. But I can't decide if this is worse than seeing someone pick up a 12pack of Blue Moon or the like, when there are bombers of PtE right there. Or rows of Alesmith, Pizza Port, Stone, Sierra Nevada, Ballast Point.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 07:49
|
|
|
CYBER SLIMER posted: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. awesome, i was hoping you'd catch that. my brother is going to need to escape his in-laws while he's there, so any recommendations for bottle shops, etc, would be appreciated, too.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 10:39
|
|
|
Midorka posted:Edit: I've had PtE and Hopslam this year and wasn't too keen on them, thanks mostly to the hype they have making it seem like the best beer in the world, I much preferred Surly Furious and Hoptimum over them. Technically, Furious is "just" an IPA. Surly's DIPA is Abrasive, which is probably my favorite DIPA in the world and if any of you can get your hands on it, do so. And while I think it's insane that you weren't blown away by Hopslam, I do get your point because I also was underwhelmed by Pliney when I tried it a few months back. It was good (it was!) but my immediate thought was that there are plenty of readily available IPAs/DIPAs that I can get without going through major hoops. I'll take Hopslam over it for sure... Dark Horse's Double Crooked Tree... Double Trouble was about as good and that's everywhere when it's in season... Frankly, my first thought was that Two Hearted is simply a better beer, hype or not. And Two Hearted is about as commercially available as an IPA on the planet. danbanana fucked around with this message at 12:31 on May 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 12:29
|
|
|
CYBER SLIMER posted: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 I didn't go to DLD, but I was down in Tampa playing a show and now I'm in WI doing a training course for work with one of your packaging guys and I've had a ton of your beers in the last few days. The table saison was good, just a hint of tartness which was really refreshing. Vanilla Maduro was alright but really strong on the vanilla, I prefer the coffee version. Tocabaga was excellent, as was the black lager. The Improv was my buddy's favorite beer by far, and I thought it was really solid as well. Apple brandy barrel aged Marshall Zhukov's was good but a little on the sweet side, I've never had the original so I don't have a frame of reference for it. The double cream ale in tequila barrels with lime peel and cumin was surpisingly good. I don't think I could drink a whole pint of it but I was expecting it to taste like wet rear end. I would love to cook with it since the cumin and lime flavors are up front. The ESB and English Mild were both pretty average. The french pale ale was definitely the worst thing I tried, it tasted like it had spruce in it. Puppy's Breath was probably my favorite, it's really well balanced and you can't tell it's 8% at all. I've been trying a bunch of new beers at this training course as well, too many to talk about every one. I had a really good India Pale Lager from Jack's Abby in MA. Alaskan Smoked Porter is loving amazing. Unibroue does almost no wrong except for Ephemere, that beer is rank. Here's a picture of about 1/8 of the beer at this course: 
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 12:58
|
|
|
Asheville's got New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, and now, Oskar Blues in a town like 30 something miles away. Lots of big things happening down there.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 13:38
|
|
|
Josh Wow posted:Unibroue does almost no wrong except for Ephemere, that beer is rank. I had Westvleteren 12 last night. It's loving Good. Super complex aroma and flavor, tons of herbs (mint and a bit of anise stuck out especially) and spices (cinnamon, clove, allspice), banana and pear, with a satisfyingly thick texture and no detectable alcohol. The finish goes on and on with new flavors and a pleasant lingering sweetness. If I were forced to do a beer fast, this would be a suitable pick. People call it the best beer in the world in part because it's been so hard to get, but it really is top-notch in every respect. I really, really hope some boxes make their way to retail shelves in Vegas. I need more of this, and travel to Belgium would be expensive.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 14:43
|
|
|
Westvleteren does have a really beautiful complex character but I couldnt drink more than one bottle in an evening. My old boss liked to have the best of everything so invested the time, effort and money to pick up a crate (I was working nearby in Holland at the time) and when he returned he had a taste and didnt like them. So when i visited him a few weeks later he let me drink a few but didnt tell me what they were. I have to be honest that although I appreciated the flavour I would have been just as happy with something like Hertog Jan Grand Prestige which is readily available in Holland.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 14:58
|
|
|
FreelanceSocialist posted:I'm not about to let that bullshit happen to craft beer, at least with my regular customers. We're not going to nit-pick RateBeer and BeerAdvocate scores. Instead, we're going to talk about what each beer does on its own. I've thankfully not had to deal with any of that in my store, most people seem to be content asking for recommendations based off what they've had and trust my opinion without reading BA/RB. Hell I've only had two customers talk about ratings at all, but they still seemed open to trying anything. The only time I talk about ratings is online, which we're all loving nerded out and bored enough that we have time to nitpick that stuff, I hope that no one would overlook a beer because it scored an 80 from the Bros. danbanana posted:Technically, Furious is "just" an IPA. Surly's DIPA is Abrasive, which is probably my favorite DIPA in the world and if any of you can get your hands on it, do so. You're right, I always get Furious and Abrasive confused, I would think Furious would be the IIPA and I always mistake them. I actually loved Abrasive though and gave it a 4.6 (then again I'm generous on scores), mostly because of the fantastic balance throughout and great flavor. I think Abrasive may be my favorite IIPA I've had even. As for Hopslam, I received it in a trade so who knows how it was handled, but it did nothing for me. I shouldn't even say that because I enjoyed Hopslam enough to give it 4.2, but it didn't blow my mind like I was expecting.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 15:39
|
|
|
Pretty sure the best IPA I've ever had was uber-fresh Sculpin and what must have been 2-3 day old Wipeout IPA at Port Brewing.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 15:50
|
|
|
Sirotan posted: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. Yeah I wasn't really expecting any sort of Dark Lord Day type madness. Is it good/fun enough for two beer nerds and their ladies to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon?
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 15:59
|
|
|
Gristley Bear posted:Yeah I totally get what you're saying. But I can't decide if this is worse than seeing someone pick up a 12pack of Blue Moon or the like, when there are bombers of PtE right there. Or rows of Alesmith, Pizza Port, Stone, Sierra Nevada, Ballast Point. It's a tricky thing, sometimes, introducing people to beer based on what they've got in their hands already. Sometimes (actually, most of the time) they don't want something new. They want you to pull down a case of Blue Moon or chase down a cold six of Corona or Guinness. And that's fine. They know what they enjoy already. You don't. And you don't push them to get something else instead of their favorite beer. What you do is you help them with whatever they are looking for, but you pay close attention to body-language. To how they are browsing the store. Whether or not they are in a rush, or on the phone, or indecisive. What will happen is that you'll get an opportunity to talk about the style of beer they are buying as you pull down the case and walk them up to the register and then you can mention others of the same style. This is where you have to have a good handle on flavor profiles and styles and be able to help them put into words what part of the beer they liked and then it becomes fantastically easy to create a more adventurous beer drinker.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 17:17
|
|
|
I actually dreamed about drinking Heady Topper last night. I might have a problem.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 17:20
|
|
|
Are there any cool breweries worth visiting on the way from Chicago to Detroit (as well as in Detroit) besides Bells? I'm going to a wedding this weekend and the gf is in the wedding party which leaves me with a bit of spare time...
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 17:37
|
|
|
Goose island, 3 floyds, founders, dark horse, jolly pumpkin.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 17:43
|
|
|
Huge_Midget posted:Goose island, 3 floyds, founders, dark horse, jolly pumpkin. The Livery.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 17:54
|
|
|
Huge_Midget posted:Goose island, 3 floyds, founders, dark horse, jolly pumpkin. Half Acre too, if they're doing tours again. They're super awesome people, they get you tanked while talking about their brewery and methods and you can even get your picture taken next to a "weed wolf" sticker! WEED WOLF STICKER! mysterious frankie fucked around with this message at 18:02 on May 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 17:59
|
|
|
mysterious frankie posted:Half Acre too, if they're doing tours again. They're super awesome people, they get you tanked while talking about their brewery and methods and you can even get your picture taken next to a "weed wolf" sticker! I went on their tour a few weeks ago for my birthday. Totally didn't expect FULL PINTS on the tour. And of course because my friends are weak (and probably smart) I ended up taking some of their tokens as well. Awesome time, awesome tour. Thanks for the tips for a long the way, I may check out Dark Horse or Jolly Pumpkin. Are there any in the city of Detroit?
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 18:04
|
|
|
ChiTownEddie posted:I went on their tour a few weeks ago for my birthday. Totally didn't expect FULL PINTS on the tour. And of course because my friends are weak (and probably smart) I ended up taking some of their tokens as well. The New Belgium tour has toned it down a bit in the last couple years, but you still get a lot of beer. I went about 4 years ago and was straight-up drunk by the end of it. IIRC between various stops on the tour and tokens for the tasting room you got upwards of 10 samples, some of which are things like Trippel at about 8% ABV. Between that and coming to Colorado from sea level the day before...  Glad I wasn't driving because I'd have needed to sleep it off in my car.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 18:13
|
|
|
I just checked one of the big craft beer distributors site to see what was coming up, and I am ecstatic to see Left Hand Mountain Mixer 12 pack on the way. I love their beer and this is going to be a great way to get a nice variety cheaper than buying 6 packs or singles.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 18:26
|
|
|
I wish that Founder's Breakfast Stout was year round sometimes. I can't think of any other beer which I would rather have in the morning. I don't normally drink beer in the morning, but I was thinking how it would be awesome to wake up on my birthday and drink a FBS. I need to try some more coffee stouts, but I'm not sure I'll find one that I'll love more than FBS. I've tried Espresso Yeti, Cappuccino Stout, Java Head, and Bell's Java Stout. I feel like I'm crazy for craving a Stout in warm weather.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 18:41
|
|
|
Anyone tried Kona's Koko Brown Ale? It's brewed with toasted coconut! I thought it was great, but I absolutely love coconut so maybe I'm a bit biased.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 18:54
|
|
|
Fitzy Fitz posted:Anyone tried Kona's Koko Brown Ale? It's brewed with toasted coconut! I had a bottle of it and also really liked it. Not sure I could drink it every day, but I do get it occasionally. I'm also a fan of coconut, which you do have to be, because it comes through quite unmistakably. Tasty.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 20:12
|
|
|
ChiTownEddie posted:I went on their tour a few weeks ago for my birthday. Totally didn't expect FULL PINTS on the tour. And of course because my friends are weak (and probably smart) I ended up taking some of their tokens as well. Daaaaang, full pints? When I went, they gave us 8oz cups... except there were no tokens. The brewers would rush off to refill any pitchers that went empty. Over... and over, and over. And one of the people in the tour decided the beer needed to follow us around, so he'd rush back and grab some pitchers any time we moved to a new area. Now I'm not complaining, but between the constant drinking and 100 degree heat in the brewery it got rrrrrreally hard to concentrate by the end. The stairs to the upper levels, where they barrel age, were last on the tour too, of course. mysterious frankie fucked around with this message at 00:11 on May 3, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:09
|
|
|
That sounds like their old method (which was free too?), they changed to a 'who ever shows up first gets in' with no reservations dealio. It was basically sold out at 12:03 for the 1pm tour when I went. And yeah 10$, pint glass, 3 pints of beer, tour. It is quite legit.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:36
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I wish that Founder's Breakfast Stout was year round sometimes. I can't think of any other beer which I would rather have in the morning. I don't normally drink beer in the morning, but I was thinking how it would be awesome to wake up on my birthday and drink a FBS. Can you get Alesmith around you? Speedway Stout is pretty great, but it's not as coffee heavy as some of the others.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:37
|
|
|
ChiTownEddie posted:That sounds like their old method (which was free too?), they changed to a 'who ever shows up first gets in' with no reservations dealio. It was basically sold out at 12:03 for the 1pm tour when I went. And yeah 10$, pint glass, 3 pints of beer, tour. It is quite legit. It was free, but you could get reservations when I did it in... summer 2010, I think? Freedom of 78 was for sale in the front/in one of the pitchers, so that makes sense.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:56
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I wish that Founder's Breakfast Stout was year round sometimes. I can't think of any other beer which I would rather have in the morning. I don't normally drink beer in the morning, but I was thinking how it would be awesome to wake up on my birthday and drink a FBS. Consider it a rumor but I heard next year Founders will be extending the availability of Breakfast Stout significantly.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:58
|
|
|
Corbet posted:Consider it a rumor but I heard next year Founders will be extending the availability of Breakfast Stout significantly. Does that mean it's going year-round? In Chicago, you can still find it around. The first batch that hit shelves was gone pretty quickly, then it seems like a second distribution came.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 22:06
|
|
|
crazyfish posted:Can you get Alesmith around you? Speedway Stout is pretty great, but it's not as coffee heavy as some of the others. Ironic you posted this as I came in here to post that Alesmith is tapping the Kopi Luwak version of Speedway this afternoon at 4:30 pm PST, as part of their rare tap rotation during beer week. Definitely a 'lives up to the hype' beer, and there's something about that coffee that turns Speedway - already an outstanding beer - into something extra worldly. It becomes brighter, sharper, altogether more crisp, not a way I'd normally go about describing an imperial stout but it's the best I can do from my humble little palate.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 22:10
|
|
|
crazyfish posted:Can you get Alesmith around you? Speedway Stout is pretty great, but it's not as coffee heavy as some of the others. I can get Alesmith, but for some reason all of the Speedway Stout is constantly sold out. I always see Alesmith IPA, and Old Numbskull... but I've only seen Speedway once, or twice, and never ended up picking up a bottle when I had the chance. Thanks for the tip, though, I'll definitely pick up a bottle the next time I see one.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 22:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 02:29 |
|
|
danbanana posted:Does that mean it's going year-round? I believe so. At least, that's what a Founders rep alluded to at one of their events in the Ann Arbor area.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 22:36
|
|