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Angry Grimace posted:I'll grant you that not everyone can just go to Hamilton's at 3 pm on a Friday My day started and ended early, I was completely free by 2  quote:I would really like Hamiltons if they would a) remove the shuffleboard and pool tables and b) knock out the cafe next door. The problem is that the bar is always super crowded at night time to the point that there's barely anywhere to stand. It's even more annoying since I think the kitchen service at Hamilton's is a lot better than the Toronado, but you never actually get anything since you never have a table or spot at the bar. I'm not a hermit by any stretch, but even with friends I can't loving stand packed bars, which is why I so rarely find myself at Hamilton's. Problem is that those shuffleboard and pool tables are being used by people with drinks in hand, which allow them to pull a quicker, easier profit than feeding customers, sitting down, at tables. I've heard it explained that a meal will take the place of as many as 3 or 4 beers, so if you can keep your patrons upright and occupied, it's considerably more profitable to do so.
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May 5, 2012 22:09
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| # ? May 11, 2024 22:34 |
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After being back in Houston for a few weeks, have a coupla things to say. One, wheat beers are by far the best beer for this place. Two, Karbach's is the best in the universe, and I'm not going to allow counterarguments to this. (I should also note that I really want to like Adelbert's, trying to be a Belgian beer outfit in Austin and all, but nothing I've had from them has tasted quite right to my palate. Too much time hangin' at the Funkwerks probably. Hopefully time 'n experience will cure that.)
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May 6, 2012 02:42
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Matilda is one of the best smelling beers I've ever had, the flavor is a bit thin compared to it, we'll see how it is once it warms up a bit more though. This whole Goose Island thing though has me terribly conflicted, on one hand it's hard to ignored a great beer, but on the other hand I don't want to line the pockets of AB-InBev any more when I can support a small business. I guess it won't hurt to buy a 4 pack of Sofie and Matilda to age and buy a single each year to compare to the aged one.
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May 6, 2012 04:16
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Holy gently caress. So I ended up going to the inaugural RVA Beer Fest in Richmond, VA, a two day event. Today the entrance fee was $5, or if you elected to earlier, you could receive a VIP ticket for $25. This came with two tickets for eight ounce pours and five samples, along with access to several special taps in an upstairs art gallery. Yet they neglected to stipulate something very important: as long as you had a VIP arm-band, those upstairs taps were free. Of course, my plans changed dramatically once I found this out, so I'll try my best to recount my experience with the different tap selections. As you might imagine, it's a bit hazy. Stillwater Premium: Interesting use of brett here. Tasted strongly of grapefruit with the brett bringing up the back end to round it out. Nice and tart, but not extremely so. A really pleasant beer, and a sign that I should be drinking more from this brewery. Troegs Mad Elf: Ehhh, I wasn't too sold on this. An interesting pour, but the level of syrupy-sweetness and some odd tastes (almost brett-like at times?) made me glad I only tried a sip from a friend. Avery Mephistopholes: The first beer I went for, and definitely my favorite. What a kick in the pants! The high ABV really sneaks up on you, as it's well hidden somewhere beneath all the roast and chocolate malts. Viscous and delicious, and I'll probably end up tracking down a few bottles to cellar now that I've had a taste. Founders Curmudgeon Kaiser: What the hell? This was a really odd bird. Reminded me of red pudding, oddly enough. A solid permutation on a solid beer, though, so I'm quite glad I tried it out. Cuvee de Jacobins: As usual, a really potent Flemish red almost to the point of vinegary-ness. Yet it successfully holds itself in check. If you love sours and you haven't had this, something's wrong with you. 2010 J.W. Lees Harvest Ale Port: A two-year-old barleywine aged in a port barrel. What. The. Hell. This was a really interesting brew, as I've never tasted anything aged in a port barrel before. There was a really sharp up-front sweetness that threatened to overwhelm the taste buds, but it eased off into a very odd flavor best described as a really good ham sandwich. Really glad I got the chance to try this, though I did have to struggle a bit to finish it off. After this gauntlet, my friends and I went downstairs to try out some of the other offerings: Legend Imperial Stout: I'd been looking forward to trying this for some time, and it didn't disappoint. Nice and roasty with a full body that definitely kept me sipping. Although it's not a revelatory exemplar of the style, it's well worth the price of entry. Starr Hill Trippel: I only include this as I have a long-standing grudge against this brewery for its generally subpar offerings. This was, well, not terrible. Not great, either. Had a slight dog biscuit aftertaste on the nose, but I could bring myself to finish the sample. Who knows, DFH My Antonia: It was about time I tried this out. I had no idea this was a pilsner, or expected that it would be this bright and flavorful. Well, color me impressed. A really well-balanced offering from a brewery that usually goes for extremes. Sam Adams Dark Depths Baltic IPA: A nice, roasty IPA. Not much else I can say, as it wasn't a stand-out beer. Worth a shot, though! Sierra Nevada Hoptimum: Missed out on this. Yeah, that sucked. The Bigfoot was really great on tap, though. Glad I got to give that a shot. There were several others I got to try, but my memory isn't quite so reliable at that point. Either way, this is a festival to watch out for in the coming years, as it only promises to get better and better. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 06:03 on May 6, 2012 |
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May 6, 2012 05:59
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Kraven Moorhed posted:Troegs Mad Elf: Ehhh, I wasn't too sold on this. An interesting pour, but the level of syrupy-sweetness and some odd tastes (almost brett-like at times?) made me glad I only tried a sip from a friend. Yeah, it's a weird beer. It really takes more than a sip or two for your palate to adjust to what all is going on in there and start to fully appreciate it.
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May 6, 2012 06:31
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Kraven Moorhed posted:Founders Curmudgeon Kaiser: What the hell? This was a really odd bird. Reminded me of red pudding, oddly enough. A solid permutation on a solid beer, though, so I'm quite glad I tried it out. This is also known as Curmudgeons Better Half now.
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May 6, 2012 15:12
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Kraven Moorhed posted:Yet they neglected to stipulate something very important: as long as you had a VIP arm-band, those upstairs taps were free. Did I read that right: you drank the samples in conjunction with those special tap beers you listed out for $25? That's a pretty drat good value. I was pondering going out for one of these festivals, but I figure I'd save money for events coming up around SAVOR or craft beer week time.
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May 6, 2012 15:25
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2012 World Cup of Beer results are out. Gonna go pick up a case of Steel Reserve 40's, because it won a gold medal, you see  As usual, Firestone Walker wins gold and silver for American Pale Ale with Pale 31 and Mission St--literally the same beers except Pale 31 contains a small amount of DBA blended in.
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May 6, 2012 17:58
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Saint Arnold wins three 
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May 6, 2012 19:03
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Happy to say I had the Pizza Port OB Bacon and Eggs Imperial Coffee Porter when I was in SD ... my god that loving beer was incredible.
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May 6, 2012 19:19
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Thanks again for the Jolly Pumpkin recommendation guys. I tried to motorboat the pint I got, it didn't go so well :-) Great stuff. Now I'm at Bells on the return trip. Man this may be my favorite brewpub. The fact I only go 1-2x a year isn't enough. Got their Raspberry Wild One their sour brown as it says. Very good. Crisp with an awesome raspberry flavor. If only I wasn't driving I'd be swimming in hopslam :P
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May 6, 2012 20:33
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Kraven Moorhed posted:2010 J.W. Lees Harvest Ale Port In other news, it's a hoppy weekend for me. Had a bottle of Knee Deep's Simtra last night and drat, was that good. So bitter and fragrant and fruity and awesome. Probably the closest thing I've had to it was PtY. Tonight I'll be drinking a bottle of Pure Hoppiness. The end of my shift can't come soon enough.
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May 6, 2012 21:12
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air- posted:Did I read that right: you drank the samples in conjunction with those special tap beers you listed out for $25? That's a pretty drat good value. I was pondering going out for one of these festivals, but I figure I'd save money for events coming up around SAVOR or craft beer week time. Yep, two full pours and five samples of outside beers. Those first beers I listed we had unlimited access to. All for $25. I remember finishing off a full cup of Legend IS, and then next thing I knew I was back at my friend's apartment with takeout food several hours later. I do remember going into The Hoppy Dog, a bottle shop that'd only opened up 6 months ago. Really nice place, and they had some Palate Wrecker that I'll probably go back for. Also one of the few places you can get Sausageworks, a local craft sausage establishment.
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May 6, 2012 21:17
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Kraven Moorhed posted:Holy gently caress. So I ended up going to the inaugural RVA Beer Fest in Richmond, VA, a two day event. told you that Legend IS was good. apparently those odd, occasional releases are recipes from individual brewers, hence the difference from their usual offerings. Starr Hill, though... i kinda liked the Monticello Reserve, but can't think of anything else of theirs worth drinking (and that one isn't good enough to justify the price). color me jealous, though- i was drinking Killian's out of the bottle at a wedding while that was going on. also, if anybody wants to trade for some medal-winning Hardywood Park Gingerbread Stout or Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager (ed- or a DuClaw X-1), gimme a shout. funkybottoms fucked around with this message at 01:36 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 6, 2012 22:26
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Weekend drankin' report: Now with even more New Belgium crap New Belgium Somersault - this beer still sucks. I just don't like anything about it. I'm also getting increasingly annoyed with breweries putting out seasonals months ahead of the actual season, they're getting as bad as car companies. /curmudgeon New Belgium Tart Lychee - Now this is a much nicer beer. Not Le Terroir levels of awesome by any means, but worth trying. They said they were going for a sweet-and-sour experience, and they did nail that aspect. It hits your palate as very very sour. There's some funk and bitterness in the middle I attribute to brett. Then, the acidity fades away and you are left with a distinct lingering sweetness on the tongue which they say is from the lychee fruit (I don't think I've ever eaten one). It's actually pretty neat, you think you're done tasting the sip and then suddenly there's this whole new flavor out of nowhere. It's not so awesome that I'm going to stockpile bottles but I enjoyed it. Had it on draft.
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May 7, 2012 01:54
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Double Jack on tap is wonderful! I love this new bar I found. Edit: Left Hand's Pepper Porter is loving delicious. The balance is great, chocolate and roasted malts up-front with a strong smoke and pepper finish making my tongue and throat tingle. Midorka fucked around with this message at 04:09 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 7, 2012 03:21
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Sam Adams Norse Legend is new, at least to Vegas. It's a sahti, brewed with and aged on juniper berries. From the taste I'd say they used about three berries per fermenter - it's mostly just malty, with honey flavors. There's a slight astringency in the finish that might be from the juniper, but overall this is like every other Sam Adams micro-aping beer: too safe. It's not terrible or anything, just doesn't stand out.
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May 7, 2012 03:28
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Sah'Tea, Dogfish Head's Sahti with black chai, I was very mixed about... at first I was all "Okay, I can do this, its a fine beer." But it quickly degraded to "Oh god, I have to drink more of this?!" I think the juniper berries wore on me too quickly, plus I found it too sweet. My buddy was NOT a fan from the get go. All that said, I haven't had Sam Adams' sahti, but after that experience I'd probably be hesitant to spend money on one :/ Just had a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin's La Roja (a take home  ) with two buddies, we really liked it. It seemed like a great 'intro' to sour type beer. I mean that by it started sour/tart, but finished nice and crisp making it more generally drinkable than I am used to from sours. I kind of wished we hadn't been sharing the bottle haha.Finally have you chicago based goons had Piece's Captain Kickass? I think its an IPA and I LOVE it. We...may have finished a growler of it. And by 'we' I mean me and one friend. Very solid, great aroma, might be my new fav from Piece.
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May 7, 2012 05:09
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I tried Hoppin Frog's Imperial Belgian IPA tonight, and thought it was pretty good. I am not the greatest judge of Belgian IPAs because I don't enjoy them nearly as much as American, but I still thought it was pretty good. I'm drinking a Hoppin Frog Hop Heathen Imperial Black Ale right now, and I am absolutely loving it. It has deep roasted malt flavor, and a perfect hoppy finish. You can really smell the roasted malts on this one. This is one beer that is worth $10/bomber. I'm not sure I'd buy the Hop Master Abbey Belgian Double again, but I will most likely revisit Hop Heathen at some point. Yum! Edit: Is it common for beers like this to have a chocolate flavor without chocolate being added? I often get chocolate flavors from any beers with roasted malts. Also usually hints of coffee. Of course these never come through as strong as when there is actually chocolate, or coffee added... but I get hints of them. Kudosx fucked around with this message at 05:33 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 7, 2012 05:24
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bartolimu posted:Sam Adams Norse Legend is new, at least to Vegas. It's a sahti, brewed with and aged on juniper berries. From the taste I'd say they used about three berries per fermenter - it's mostly just malty, with honey flavors. There's a slight astringency in the finish that might be from the juniper, but overall this is like every other Sam Adams micro-aping beer: too safe. It's not terrible or anything, just doesn't stand out. Went to an awesome Szechuan BYO tonight. I brought a six of Troegs Scratch 63 (a BIPA), my buddy brought the bottle of Sam Adams 'American Kriek' that he bought at the brewery in Boston last year. It had not improved with age. Seriously the worst beer I've ever had from BBC. I'd previously brought a bottle to Teresa's to share with the staff, none of us could finish our sample. It's in between a Luden's cherry cough drop and canned cherry pie filling, and while the bottle claims it was aged in oak, it might have sat in contact with oak chips for about 30 seconds.
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May 7, 2012 05:29
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Kudosx posted:Edit: Is it common for beers like this to have a chocolate flavor without chocolate being added? I often get chocolate flavors from any beers with roasted malts. Also usually hints of coffee. Of course these never come through as strong as when there is actually chocolate, or coffee added... but I get hints of them. Yes it's common, depending on the malts used. Chocolate malts add chocolate flavor with no real chocolate added.
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May 7, 2012 05:39
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Actually, as the Sam Adams Sahti warmed up I started getting a lot of chocolate flavors from it. Very like a Toblerone or something like that, where there's honey and other stuff mixed in with the chocolate. Still not a favorite beer, but it definitely was better after ~20 minutes out of the fridge. For the record, I was a fan of DFH's Sah'tea. It wasn't something I wanted a whole bomber of, but twelve ounces or so would be enjoyable. The Sam Adams was just dialed down so much I didn't get many of the same flavors from it.
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May 7, 2012 06:37
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anybody ever had a bottle of beer straight-up explode? had a random extra 22oz bottle of a beer i didn't like enough to drink again sitting on the bottom shelf of my nightstand for maybe two months that blew up in spectacular fashion this morning, spraying beer and glass across the room, but leaving the cap totally intact. even better, it was a smoked imperial stout! for the record, we live in a converted factory, so we have poured concrete floors that are always cool and this was maybe a foot off the ground and about five feet below the window (really high ceilings) and therefore well out of any direct sunlight (and almost totally blocked by the bed, top of the nightstand, etc). the bottle was probably nine or ten months old, but had been in my brother's fridge for the majority of the time.
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May 7, 2012 14:06
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Sounds like an infection to me, what beer was it?
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May 7, 2012 14:15
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RiggenBlaque posted:Sounds like an infection to me, what beer was it? Legend, a small (but not tiny) local brewery- was about to add that this was not a homebrew, which i gather explodes with a little more frequency than bottles from modern breweries.
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May 7, 2012 14:26
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If homebrew explodes it's usually due to it being bottled while it's still actively fermenting, or too much priming sugar being added. This sounds like something else entirely, since carbonation-related blowups happen within a week of bottling for the most part. I'd second the infection call.
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May 7, 2012 14:49
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funkybottoms posted:anybody ever had a bottle of beer straight-up explode? had a random extra 22oz bottle of a beer i didn't like enough to drink again sitting on the bottom shelf of my nightstand for maybe two months that blew up in spectacular fashion this morning, spraying beer and glass across the room, but leaving the cap totally intact. even better, it was a smoked imperial stout! I had a bottle of 8Wired's smoked porter do this to me once. Except the bottle didn't explode, so much as it sheared off the bottom and poured all the beer on the floor somehow. I'm guessing it was a flawed/defective bottle, because I can't imagine an overpressure creating such a clean break in it otherwise.
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May 7, 2012 16:30
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funkybottoms posted:anybody ever had a bottle of beer straight-up explode? Yes. Mid 90s, I forget the year, I was living in Phoenix and homebrewing in my apartment. I'd bottle-primed and capped a batch and it was sitting in cardboard cases underneath the kitchen table, and hey, look at that, we just had a city-wide blackout that lasted for a couple days before they got our power back on. And, yeah, it was summer. I had many bottles of beer straight-up explode.
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May 7, 2012 16:50
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Any of you going to Copenhagen Beer Celebration this friday? I have a ticket, but none of my friends got one before it was sold out, so now I'm wondering if I should sell my ticket or if it's any fun to go alone?
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May 7, 2012 17:30
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Aumuller posted:Any of you going to Copenhagen Beer Celebration this friday? I have a ticket, but none of my friends got one before it was sold out, so now I'm wondering if I should sell my ticket or if it's any fun to go alone? What I find at events like these is that once I have a couple I am rapidly making new friends, and so is everyone else I come with, so we lose each other until the very end anyway.
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May 7, 2012 18:33
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I agree with SH to just go alone and start mingling, I'm sure it'll still be fun. It's also a great opportunity to make friends with people in the industry. A lot of reps are really cool people, plus you never know if they have any special beer that they may end up pouring later on. Also SH, I'll take that Karbach Weiss Versa and raise you a Sixpoint Apollo. Holy gently caress, I can see why there's an Untappd badge dedicated to this beer and I'll drink can after can of it this summer. Despite being filtered, it's still really crisp without being watery. Excellent summer beer and I will find a way to get one down to you at some point in the near future.
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May 7, 2012 18:58
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I tried Stone's Ruination IPA and I found it to be wholly underwhelming. It did not stack up to my favorite Imperial IPAs, Unearthly or Hop Stoopid, and it's more expensive than both of them. This is generally the reaction I have to every Stone beer (save Self-Righteous and Arrogant Bastard), so I'm not sure what I was expecting. Does anyone have any recommendations for sweet red ales, along the lines of Oskar Blues Gordon/G'Knight? Terrapin's Big Hoppy Monster and Lagunitas' Imperial Red don't stack up, in my opinion.
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May 7, 2012 23:48
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escape artist posted:This is generally the reaction I have to every Stone beer (save Self-Righteous and Arrogant Bastard), so I'm not sure what I was expecting. Have you had their Imperial Russian Stout? It's definitely my favourite of theirs and probably among the best RISes out there.
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May 8, 2012 00:10
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crazyfish posted:Have you had their Imperial Russian Stout? It's definitely my favourite of theirs and probably among the best RISes out there. I've had the Belgo-Anise, which was good, but I haven't had the regular RIS.
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May 8, 2012 00:31
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escape artist posted:I've had the Belgo-Anise, which was good, but I haven't had the regular RIS. The regular is out now and you should definitely pick up a bomber or two. I haven't had the Belgo-Anise but I've heard that reviews of that variety were extremely polar.
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May 8, 2012 01:16
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crazyfish posted:The regular is out now and you should definitely pick up a bomber or two. I haven't had the Belgo-Anise but I've heard that reviews of that variety were extremely polar. What does everyone think of Shipyard's Smashed Blueberry? I found it to be atrocious.
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May 8, 2012 02:19
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escape artist posted:
Blueberry beer is kind of a funny Maine thing - there are at least three local breweries that brew one year round. I haven't had Shipyard', but I did have Sea Dog's last week and it wasn't very good. Smelled straight up like the blueberry syrup in my fridge (which is delicious, as syrup). Incidentally, I am drinking a new Shipyard beer right now. Monkey's Fist IPA, sort of an English style IPA. Seems like sort of a rip off of Left Hand's 400 Pound Monkey, which is also English style. The Shipyard Monkey's Fist is decent. Distinctively Shipyard hop profile with the oily bitterness and mild astringency. It's 6.9%, so imagine the recipe is like halfway between regular Shipyard IPA and Shipyard's XXXX IPA. It is assertive and strong, which I like, but the English-style hop profile doesn't work as well at American-style intensity.
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May 8, 2012 02:56
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Split a bomber of GDBC's 18th Anniversary DIPA and I'm not sure what to make of it. Getting a really strong scotch flavor, I assume from the wood aging, and that's overpowering everything else. Not getting any citrus or witch hazel, which is usually what I like in a strong IPA. That said I think I like it. What's your take?
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May 8, 2012 03:12
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CalvinDooglas posted:Incidentally, I am drinking a new Shipyard beer right now. Monkey's Fist IPA, sort of an English style IPA. Seems like sort of a rip off of Left Hand's 400 Pound Monkey I see your monkey beers and raise you some monkey cans: 
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May 8, 2012 05:03
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| # ? May 11, 2024 22:34 |
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Hi guys, I just finished working on a webseries about craft beer that I think would be interesting to my fellow beer guzzling Goons. It's called "Crafty". Each episode will take you to a brewpub, microbrewery, or beer festival to learn more about what makes craft beer the greatest thing in the known universe. Millions of Americans are suffering from the plague that is macrobrewed light beer, and our goal with Crafty is to raise awareness about high-quality craft beer. Here's our promo video: http://youtu.be/WluDVKebplw Here's episode 1 at Stone Brewing Co.: http://youtu.be/ywliujkn7zQ
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May 8, 2012 05:09
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