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global tetrahedron posted:I bought two, am waiting to crack both. What did you think of it as it stands currently? I am sure it tastes good now but for $14/bottle I just thought I might as well adhere to the "best after 11/1/13" printed on my bottles. As said, rage-saq is a goon who posts in both threads semi-regularly. There is this big thread on HBT that is dedicated to the homebrew clone, as well. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f73/pious-westvleteren-12-style-quad-multiple-147815/ My dad was whining about me not giving him some Westy 12 (I doubt he's ever had a drop of Belgian beer in his life). I got him a bottle of St. Bernardus Abt. 12 instead and explained to him how they're the same thing, but one of them is just brewed by Trappist Monks and the other by regular Belgian guys a few miles away.
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Dec 13, 2012 00:56
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| # ? May 17, 2024 23:31 |
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A local dude here has every vertical epic, 020202-121212, and we're going to drink the gently caress out of all of them pretty soon. No high expectations for 020202 but I'm still stoked.
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Dec 13, 2012 01:27
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GirlKisser, any idea when 110k+OT #4 was bottled? I ran across a bottle yesterday and figured it was the most recent batch, but apparently not.
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Dec 13, 2012 01:43
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I thought that was a one-time thing around April/May of last year?
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Dec 13, 2012 01:51
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I just figured out my local store cannibalizes the Samuel Adams variety packs. Sorry everyone else, you can play rock, paper, scissors for the 2 bottles of White Christmas I left. Oh god, I've become that guy. In the same vein, anyone know of other beers like White Christmas? White Christmas reminds me of my other favorite seasonal DFH Punkin.
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Dec 13, 2012 01:56
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Macasaurus posted:Oh god, I've become that guy. speaking of which... no, forget it.
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Dec 13, 2012 02:01
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Rye-on-Rye is as good as ever! Picked up a couple to cellar and drank one last night. In other news, O'Dell's The Meddler has got to be the best tasting wood aged beer I've ever had. The wood flavoring is perfect and goes great with a Maduro.
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Dec 13, 2012 02:07
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No Westy in the wretched sun-baked prairie of Oklahoma, so I'm making do with Bernardus 12. This poo poo is A-okay super number one.
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Dec 13, 2012 02:08
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Angry Grimace posted:I'm looking at Facebook feeds and wow, people are starting to get mega pissed off about the fact the beer sold out and they didn't get it. I'm not really sure what the retailers were supposed to do. It isn't really their fault they did not get enough for everyone. When I went and picked up my gift pack, I overheard the employee in the beer section deal with an irate person over the phone. The guy couldn't believe all 60 had been sold and demanded to be put on a list just in case somebody didn't pick theirs up. Nevermind the fact that the employee told the guy that 100 people were all ready on the reserve list.  Edit: Also, the amount of non-beer nerds who knew about Westy 12 being released is staggering. That can only be good for craft beer as a whole. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Dec 13, 2012 |
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Dec 13, 2012 02:16
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danbanana posted:GirlKisser, any idea when 110k+OT #4 was bottled? I ran across a bottle yesterday and figured it was the most recent batch, but apparently not. FreelanceSocialist posted:I thought that was a one-time thing around April/May of last year? Yep. That bottle is old as hell and probably sucks hard.
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Dec 13, 2012 02:24
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By sheer chance I stumbled upon this thread this week and I had not heard about Westy 12 before today. I've always thought I had a very good beer knowledge (at least compared to my friends) but I've got a lot to learn. I've barely scratched the surface on limited/special brews. So I have a few questions. How do you guys learn about all the special brews/small batch beers? More importantly how do you track down where to get them? I live in Pittsburgh so if anyone knows of a good place in town please let me know. Also what criteria do you typically use when deciding what to buy/store? Do you go by word of mouth or reputation or do you gamble and buy the beers that look interesting? I look forward into hopefully passing into true beer nerd territory.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:25
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XxGirlKisserxX posted:Yep. That bottle is old as hell and probably sucks hard. Well poo poo. I'll let you know...
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Dec 13, 2012 03:28
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lifts cats over head posted:Also what criteria do you typically use when deciding what to buy/store? Do you go by word of mouth or reputation or do you gamble and buy the beers that look interesting? Well, first we cross-reference this set of market trends with this buying guide--keeping in mind your local distributors, of course, which can be found by talking to the guys who run truck at convenience stores. Barring that, a clandestine rendezvous with the creepy wine guy at your local Kroger can be productive. Edit: In all seriousness, go with your own opinions and take others' with a grain of salt. Drink different stuff until something sticks. When you find something you really like, find out what style and brewery it is and start hopscotching around by style to figure out what it is you like about certain beers. Oh, and don't chase whales until you have a good base in the style already. I've had friends spend a lot of time and money on beers they ended up hating just because I was doing it. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Dec 13, 2012 |
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Dec 13, 2012 03:35
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lifts cats over head posted:How do you guys learn about all the special brews/small batch beers? More importantly how do you track down where to get them? I live in Pittsburgh so if anyone knows of a good place in town please let me know. Reading this thread is a good start to learning about what beers are about to be released, or have just been released. A good website to check out to see which beers are good, and which aren't is ratebeer. Even though some people seem to not like it, I also read reddit's /r/beer, which is also a really great resource to find out when specialty beers are being released. Another good thing to do is follow any local breweries/bars/beer stores on Facebook, there's a bunch local to me that make posts whenever they get in new beers. As far as the Pittsburgh area... from what I understand, House of 1000 beers has a phenomenal selection. I'm not quite sure if they have good prices or not, from what I understand prices in PA can be kind of wonky.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:44
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lifts cats over head posted:By sheer chance I stumbled upon this thread this week and I had not heard about Westy 12 before today. I've always thought I had a very good beer knowledge (at least compared to my friends) but I've got a lot to learn. I've barely scratched the surface on limited/special brews. So I have a few questions. How do you guys learn about all the special brews/small batch beers? More importantly how do you track down where to get them? I live in Pittsburgh so if anyone knows of a good place in town please let me know. I am a big fan of House of 1000 Beers in New Kensington. They guy who owns it is really nice and will help you out. Really friendly staff.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:45
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I have no clue what I should do about aging these XIIs. I don't exactly have a cellar and pretty much everywhere in my house is just room temperature.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:56
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I learned about a lot of beers from this thread mostly. Eventually through reading you'll start to know what brands are recommended often, as well as when limited beers are coming out.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:57
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lifts cats over head posted:By sheer chance I stumbled upon this thread this week and I had not heard about Westy 12 before today. I've always thought I had a very good beer knowledge (at least compared to my friends) but I've got a lot to learn. I've barely scratched the surface on limited/special brews. So I have a few questions. How do you guys learn about all the special brews/small batch beers? More importantly how do you track down where to get them? I live in Pittsburgh so if anyone knows of a good place in town please let me know.
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Dec 13, 2012 04:00
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lifts cats over head posted:By sheer chance I stumbled upon this thread this week and I had not heard about Westy 12 before today. I've always thought I had a very good beer knowledge (at least compared to my friends) but I've got a lot to learn. I've barely scratched the surface on limited/special brews. So I have a few questions. How do you guys learn about all the special brews/small batch beers? More importantly how do you track down where to get them? I live in Pittsburgh so if anyone knows of a good place in town please let me know. 1) Follow any/all local breweries via Facebook and Twitter - if you pay attention, you'll know when something new is coming out 2) BeerPulse.com is great for news on a more macro scale 3) Seekabrew.com will show you what breweries are distributed in your area. It may not be the most up to date, but it's a very valuable tool. 4) RateBeer has a great resource for local breweries/bars/bottle shops: http://www.ratebeer.com/places/regions/pittsburgh-pa/6280/38/ 5) Buy bottles at stores that have a lot of knowledge about craft beer - they'll be able to tell you about other beers you might like, along with new releases. If you want to start tracking down more limited beers, going to the same bottle shop and talking to the employees is invaluable. 6) I might get some flack for this, but what I personally did when I really started getting into craft beer is I went to RateBeer and Beer Advocate, filtered reviews by style, and looked at what beers were the highest rated. If a beer has a lot of reviews, chances are it's easier to track down. Use seekabrew to see if the brewery distributes where you live. 7) People on here hate BA (rightfully so), but its regional forums are great for hearing about local events. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Dec 13, 2012 |
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Dec 13, 2012 04:18
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Honestly, you could just start with really widely distributed but respected brands like Sierra Nevada, Rogue(lol), Stone, etc. and then branch out from there. You might have a tough time if you find out you hate Imperial Stout and IPAs. Most of the big hype releases are one of those two. Edit: I just had a St. Bernardus Abt. 12...Westy XII is gonna have to be amazing because SBA12 is loving amazing as it is (and there's practically unlimited amounts of Abt. 12). Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Dec 13, 2012 |
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Dec 13, 2012 04:23
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Angry Grimace posted:Honestly, you could just start with really widely distributed but respected brands like Sierra Nevada, Rogue(lol), Stone, etc. and then branch out from there. You might have a tough time if you find out you hate Imperial Stout and IPAs. Most of the big hype releases are one of those two. Don't forget sours.
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Dec 13, 2012 04:33
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Angry Grimace posted:I have no clue what I should do about aging these XIIs. quote:There are 3 storage temperatures used to lay beer down for maturation and/or storage. Not only will you want store your beers at these specific temperatures, but also you'll want to serve them at the same. Your strong beers (like barleywines, tripels, dark ales) will be their happiest at room temperature (55-60F), most of your standard ales (like bitters, IPAs, dobbelbocks, lambics, stouts, etc) will be at cellar temperature (50-55F) and your lighter beers (like lagers, pilsners, wheat beers, milds, etc) will be at a refrigerated temperature (45-50F). Usually the higher alcohol, the higher temperature and lower alcohol, the lower temperature ... you get the point. I think my cellar is about 55-60* so I should be good. For you, I'm not sure, maybe invest in a small fridge/cooler?
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Dec 13, 2012 04:49
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Sours are a whole new (expensive) realm of beer heaven. To whomever was asking last week about 2012 The Dissident, I drank mine last night. Don't drink yours. It's not ready. It wasn't bad by any means, but drinking it, I could pretty much imagine how much better it would be in 6-12 months.
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Dec 13, 2012 04:51
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TenaciousTomato posted:I think my cellar is about 55-60* so I should be good. For you, I'm not sure, maybe invest in a small fridge/cooler? Our house ambient temp will sit no lower than 60°, just a byproduct of the area I guess. It's something I'm going to have to address prior to March or so when the closet temp will creep up, then it's game loving on as the house will remain perpetually above 68° until, like, Thanksgiving or so. Woe is me, I know, but the drat wine fridge is full and I don't want to pull things out of there which have been at 55° for the last three years. I might just have to start drinking those puppies 
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Dec 13, 2012 04:59
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:6) I might get some flack for this, but what I personally did when I really started getting into craft beer is I went to RateBeer and Beer Advocate, filtered reviews by style, and looked at what beers were the highest rated. If a beer has a lot of reviews, chances are it's easier to track down. Use seekabrew to see if the brewery distributes where you live. I've recently discovered BA's "Beers of Fame" list: http://beeradvocate.com/lists/fame This is the top 100 beers that have over 1000 reviews. Not everything on this list is easy to get, but many of these are relatively easy to find. In fact, I've set a goal to have 100/100 by the end of next year. I'm at around 70 now so I think I can do it.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:05
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Sam Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout tastes like malted chocolate balls, or better known as the Whoppers candy. I loving love this, but if you don't like that then stay away. This is bringing out my sweet tooth, this is awesome. I like Harpoons Chocolate Stout better, but this is great.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:07
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Midorka posted:Sam Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout tastes like malted chocolate balls, or better known as the Whoppers candy. I loving love this, but if you don't like that then stay away. This is bringing out my sweet tooth, this is awesome. I like Harpoons Chocolate Stout better, but this is great. That sounds amazing, I'll have to track it down. I was really disappointed with Sam Smith's Organic Strawberry Ale - the strawberry was way too fake tasting and just didn't work. I loved their Organic Raspberry, though. It reminded me of Blushing Monk or Raspberry Tart.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:20
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:That sounds amazing, I'll have to track it down. I was really disappointed with Sam Smith's Organic Strawberry Ale - the strawberry was way too fake tasting and just didn't work. I loved their Organic Raspberry, though. It reminded me of Blushing Monk or Raspberry Tart. I recommend splitting a big bottle with someone, while it's spot on with malted milk balls, it's a bit cloying to finish a bottle, even if you love the flavor.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:36
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I know Westy 12 is supposed to be incredible, but I can't imagine sitting in line and paying that much for it. Why not just pick up a Westmalle or a St Bernardus Abt12 for 10-20$ and enjoy available, delicious beer that isn't on a huge cash-grab? I thought part of the Westy mystique was the rarity? Great belgian quads are readily available.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:53
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LeeMajors posted:I know Westy 12 is supposed to be incredible, but I can't imagine sitting in line and paying that much for it. Why not just pick up a Westmalle or a St Bernardus Abt12 for 10-20$ and enjoy available, delicious beer that isn't on a huge cash-grab? The simple answer is rarity. I can go to the store and buy Westmalle or St. Bernardus any day of any year. The rarity doesn't make the beer better, but its the experience of getting to try one of the most mysterious and well regarded beers of all time.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:55
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Angry Grimace posted:The simple answer is rarity. I can go to the store and buy Westmalle or St. Bernardus any day of any year. The rarity doesn't make the beer better, but its the experience of getting to try one of the most mysterious and well regarded beers of all time. Oh, I would love to try one someday, but I guess I get weirded out by the hype. Like people that spend hours and hours tracking down Pliny the Younger when there are super-amazing IPAs abounds in the US. Yeah, I'd love to try it once or something, but sit down and enjoy a Green Flash at your leisure instead. Enjoy your life. I'm not trying to be one of 'those guys,' saying some beer is overhyped. I know they're amazing. But goddrat, some of those lines were insane.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:58
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LeeMajors posted:I know Westy 12 is supposed to be incredible, but I can't imagine sitting in line and paying that much for it. Why not just pick up a Westmalle or a St Bernardus Abt12 for 10-20$ and enjoy available, delicious beer that isn't on a huge cash-grab? If by sitting in line you mean going to a new store you have never been to and chilling with some other cool beer folk for a few? Price? Because I am splitting it with a friend so it will be $42.00 a piece for 3 bottles and the glass, which is a little more than how much I spend every time I go to the bar for 4-5 beers and something to eat. Why buy any special release? I have spent hundreds of dollars already on readily-available Belgians, don't you worry 
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Dec 13, 2012 05:59
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TenaciousTomato posted:I have spent hundreds of dollars already on readily-available Belgians, don't you worry Me too. It's an illness.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:01
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One of my favorite aspects of food/drink is that it's a consumable - it's got a shelf life, it's not a Renoir that anyone can look at forever, at their leisure, at the exact same as everyone else if they wish. I can see a painting and have emotions about it, and they can differ from another's, however we're both looking at the exact same thing. Beer, we don't all have taps built into our foreheads where we just have to tilt our heads back and pull the faucet. We need to experience the consumable on our own, and it's fleeting. If Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren crumbles to the ground tomorrow and they say 'screw it, we're done' then there is a finite amount of Westy 12 left on the planet in the way it's been produced to this point. If a painting is burnt to a crisp and is ruined, we still have very, very well done reproductions of them which theoretically (especially if they're professionally repro'd for posters or what have you) allow the viewer to experience the piece just as it was originally. So, tl;dr version, I can be told it's going to be close to, not as good, or slightly better than St. Bernardus 12, but in order to have my own opinion on it I have to experience it myself.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:05
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wattershed posted:So, tl;dr version, I can be told it's going to be close to, not as good, or slightly better than St. Bernardus 12, but in order to have my own opinion on it I have to experience it myself. I agree. I'm not condemning the beer; more the hype train.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:07
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LeeMajors posted:I agree. I'm not condemning the beer; more the hype train. I definitely see the hype train getting too big at a lot of beer releases (apparently 5-6 am is the new standard to start getting in line for bottles, thanks new wave of Chicago beer nerds!), but I've had a lot of fun waiting in line with a bunch of people who are all being extremely generous and sharing highly sought after beers to random strangers.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:11
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LeeMajors posted:I agree. I'm not condemning the beer; more the hype train. As a fun side project I'm going to watch the BA and RB stats on Westy - see if the overall rating goes down at all as it's more exposed to the world. It's nobody's fault it's popular, as its reputation precedes itself. I respect the Abbey's choice to only export when they need to, and it's for a good cause, so any hesitation about the price was alleviated rather quickly. That leaves the small part of the actual obtaining of the beer, which for myself and what seems like a few others around here appeared to be a painless process. I parked terribly out in front of the store this morning, thought I might have gotten a ticket, and some homeless lady was peering into my boxes to see what was so important in there, but that was the extent of my havoc. Ho hum.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:16
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wattershed posted:As a fun side project I'm going to watch the BA and RB stats on Westy - see if the overall rating goes down at all as it's more exposed to the world. It's nobody's fault it's popular, as its reputation precedes itself. I respect the Abbey's choice to only export when they need to, and it's for a good cause, so any hesitation about the price was alleviated rather quickly. My suspicion is that most will try this delicious, heavily-lauded beer and will be disappointed that it isn't empirically better than St. Bernardus or what-have-you. Then the BA rating will slump because the perpetually-underwhelmed hipster-douche beersnobs will tear it to pieces while stroking their ironically huge beards and horn-rimmed glasses. Sad days for all. I hope I am wrong.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:21
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LeeMajors posted:My suspicion is that most will try this delicious, heavily-lauded beer and will be disappointed that it isn't empirically better than St. Bernardus or what-have-you. Instead people who have never even had a quad will be amazed at how good it is because they know it's rare/expensive (like my somewhat-unaware friend who heard about it on NPR and wants me to share a bottle with him).
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Dec 13, 2012 06:23
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| # ? May 17, 2024 23:31 |
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:Instead people who have never even had a quad will be amazed at how good it is because they know it's rare/expensive (like my somewhat-unaware friend who heard about it on NPR and wants me to share a bottle with him). I hope so. Quads are amazing, but can be a bit complex/inaccessible if you don't have a concept of what you're drinking.  though.
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Dec 13, 2012 06:26
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