|
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). There seems to be two schools of thought, well more like two schools of sub-conscience: those who inflate a beers rating based on rarity and those who deflate. My friends and I are in the 2nd category for sure. If a beer is a pain in the rear end to get (whether it be cost or trade or whatnot) that poo poo better be the tits. I mean like orgasm in a bottle good. If it isn't, gently caress it, its not worth it. Some people will just chase after things because they are rare and for no other reason.
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 06:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 02:17 |
|
|
I kind of imagine the ratings for it will go up, as there seems to be a good deal of people buying the boxes of it who haven't felt like trading for it/buying it online somehow/etc (or even drink that many quads in some cases!).
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 06:53
|
|
|
Watching local news right now and they just had a teaser in the bumper for a story on "San Diegans got a chance to sample what some call 'the world's best beer'". Looked like Geoi from Bine & Vine was holding up a Westy brick, let's see how this goes.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 07:28
|
|
|
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? $90 for 6 is $15 a bottle, so right in the middle of your "reasonable" $10 - 20. And the cash grab is literally to rebuild an abbey for the monks who live there. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to shell out around a hundred bucks for some beer, but it's not ridiculous.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 08:29
|
|
|
crazyfish posted: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. Looking at the list I think I've got like 70/100 too. I didn't count them all up, but I've had most of it until you get pretty far down the list and stuff that doesn't come to California starts appearing. LeeMajors posted: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.  Younger isn't even comparable to how good Elder is. Younger just rides the coattails of Elder, to be honest. Elder is the best beer in its category in my opinion. Younger is not, although technically Younger is the same BJCP category as Elder is. Its incomprehensible to me that BA dorks actually put Younger as the best beer overall. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 09:04 on Dec 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 08:40
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:Younger isn't even comparable to how good Elder is. Younger just rides the coattails of Elder, to be honest. Elder is the best beer in its category in my opinion. Younger is not, although technically Younger is the same BJCP category as Elder is. Its incomprehensible to me that BA dorks actually put Younger as the best beer overall. Agree with this 100%. I enjoyed the PTY event I made it to and it's fun to say that I did the thing, but if they were next to each other on a shelf for the same price, I would buy the Elder.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 09:08
|
|
|
Arnold of Soissons posted:$90 for 6 is $15 a bottle, so right in the middle of your "reasonable" $10 - 20. And the cash grab is literally to rebuild an abbey for the monks who live there. Yeah, but the inability to buy a single 750 is a deterrent from shelling out the extra for a block of three to six. I didn't realize the release was geared specifically to rebuild the abbey. Cash-grab is not an appropriate way to say it. I'll still check around for some, I just think beer release hype has gotten ridiculous.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 09:50
|
|
|
As much as I love Belgian Quads, and as much as I want to try Westy, my bottle shop , nor distributor received any, so I will not get to try it. Kinda sucks, as I really wanted the chance to try it, as it's supposedly a superior Belgian Quad, but for the price of a Westy brick, I can grab an entire case (almost, gotta add $10 or so) of Abt 12... so I really can't be too unhappy I suppose 
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 11:37
|
|
|
Abt 12 is dangerous. I don't want to even imagine the carnage on my liver and my waistline if I had an entire case of the stuff sitting around.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 15:09
|
|
|
When rating a beer I tend to rate as if the beer were easy to get/off the shelf until the overall when I consider value and rarity, value considering price compared to others in the style. So I may give a rare beer 4 for everything until value when I consider hype, value and etc and might give it something like a 3.5. I think that's fair, but I'd like to hear how others handle it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 15:47
|
|
|
Are there any Austin, TX beer goons in this thread? My Uncle lives in Round Rock, and is driving up for the holidays. I'm just curious what beers are currently available from Jester King, I'm thinking about having him grab me a few bottles of JK. I'm really hoping Black Metal is available still, but I'm not so sure.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 15:52
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:Are there any Austin, TX beer goons in this thread? SH and I summarized Austin beer here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3470054&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=210#post410347138 Black Metal shouldn't be hard to find if you're truly set on JK. I'd also look for Funk Metal (but be warned), Weasel Rodeo and Das Wunderkind. The easiest thing IMO, is buying lots of Austin Beerworks Fire Eagle and Independence Convict Hill.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 16:01
|
|
|
air- posted:SH and I summarized Austin beer here: Doh, I had completely forgotten someone asked the same question only a few pages back! Thanks for the heads up, I'll probably just have him pick me up some Austin Beerworks and Independence since apparently the Spec's near him doesn't receive any JK.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 16:18
|
|
|
If he lives near a Whole Foods or one of the fancier HEBs they'll probably have JK.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 16:33
|
|
|
SUPER HASSLER posted:If he lives near a Whole Foods or one of the fancier HEBs they'll probably have JK. Oh, awesome, thanks so much! I was trying to find out where they would sell it through ratebeer/beeradvocate but wasn't having much luck.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 16:41
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:Oh, awesome, thanks so much! I was trying to find out where they would sell it through ratebeer/beeradvocate but wasn't having much luck. To be specific the HEB on Stassney I think? That's the one where my RR bud got weasel rodeo for me anyway. No guarantees though, JK has (had) a tendency to go on and off the shelves at times. Independence and ABW is always there tho.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 16:44
|
|
|
More info for you Kudosx: http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/searching-for-beer-round-rock-tx.32487/#post-405552 Could be a good idea to talk him into grabbing growlers of Live Oak or 512 from the Dig Pub, which is not far away in Cedar Park. Their taplister isn't very accurate, but you might get a good grasp on what's on via Untappd or other social media. https://untappd.com/venue/16789 http://twitter.com/thedigpub
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 17:27
|
|
|
12.12.12 event last night was good fun for all. The kitchen got seriously behind due to trying to feed people too much, but the service was decent and the beers came out at a decent pace for most of the night. Thoughts: 12.12.12 was loving terrible, nearly undrinkable. Thin, watery, with flavors of allspice, licorice, coffee, and metal shavings. Just not a good beer. 11.11.11 was boring. A tiny amount of capsaicin remains, more a suggestion than any real burn. The spices are nowhere to be found. Inoffensive but not even what I'd call good. 10.10.10 was a Belgian triple style, and did well for itself. It was pretty badly oxidized (overripe cherries were prevalent) but still quite drinkable. The French oak-aged variant covered the oxidation well and was even tastier. 09.09.09 - Stone said the goal for this was "to be reminiscent of artisanal chocolates accentuated with orange." It wasn't citrusy at all, but it wasn't bad. The barrel-aged variant ("red wine barrels") sparked a debate among the wine snobs about what kind of barrels were used. We guessed probably Zinfandel due to some port-like qualities. The Stone sales rep who was attending said they used a mix, including zin and malbec. The BA 999 was one of the best things all night. 08.08.08 was a Belgian golden, and it had most of the characteristics of a golden still. It was surprisingly solid for a beer of that style and age, but I'd pick any of a number of fresh, actually-Belgian goldens first. 07.07.07 was supposed to be saison-like but ended up horrible. It might have been good when it was fresh, but five years of aging have NOT been kind. One of the worst of the night. Even the red wine barrels couldn't save this dog. 06.06.06: Remember how we've said dark beers tend to go to soy sauce as they age? Yeah, that. Nothing to recommend here unless you want a cautionary tale about aging a sub-10% beer for too long. 05.05.05 was significantly better, despite having nearly the same abv. It was distinctly Belgian-y and tasted overall quite good. 04.04.04: NO. BAD. I'd rather punch myself in the dick than drink this again. Diacetyl, oxidation, fusel, phenol, 04.04.04 may have been the worst thing I put in my mouth this year. 03.03.03: the final VE available at this tasting. I had low expectations, given it was a horribly over-hopped Belgian to start with, but this one was great. It went like a thoroughly enjoyable aged Belgian, roasty and malty and spicy. All of those hops aged into nearly nothing, maybe a bit of pine on the finish but nothing else. Aside from the missing yeast flavor, I might have confused it with Unibroue Quatre-Centième. Good fun for the most part, with some surprisingly good and surprisingly bad beers. Aging experiments are neat, the beer industry should do more of them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 17:39
|
|
|
I split a Westy pack with a couple friends. I bought mine at Belmont Station here in Portland, which was remarkably painless. They took pre-orders, so I just had to walk in and show my receipt. We cracked open a bottle last night - drat, what a beer. Very effervescent, very complex. We were having a hard time placing the flavor exactly - at first it reminded me of a less sweet fruit, like plum or fig. By the end I think we'd all agreed that it tastes a lot like almond paste - the not-quite-cherry stuff that's in pastries. I'm in the crowd that doesn't think it's fair to compare different types of beers, but will say that it's among the best beers I've ever had and is probably the best Belgian I've ever had. Now thinking I should've just sprung for the whole pack on my own. Midorka posted:When rating a beer I tend to rate as if the beer were easy to get/off the shelf until the overall when I consider value and rarity, value considering price compared to others in the style. So I may give a rare beer 4 for everything until value when I consider hype, value and etc and might give it something like a 3.5. I think that's fair, but I'd like to hear how others handle it. Rate a beer based on taste, allow those reading your review to apply their expectations and make that decision on whether to go through the hassle. We don't know how much trouble you went to for a beer or how much hype you had around a beer. That kind of stuff varies heavily by region, too - Pliny the Elder is fairly difficult to get in most parts of the country, but pretty easy in California. Say to yourself after the fact "Well, Old Rasputin is a 4.6 and Abyss is a 4.75, but I can walk into a store and get an Old Rasputin any time and pay $10 less for a bottle. I think I'd rather have that."
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 17:59
|
|
|
bartolimu posted:12.12.12 event last night was good fun for all. The kitchen got seriously behind due to trying to feed people too much, but the service was decent and the beers came out at a decent pace for most of the night. Thoughts: Overall, thanks for this review, and specifically for drinking 12.12.12. I don't think we've discussed how terrible this beer is in this thread. The finish is BRUTAL, with a harsh metal tinge that clashes with the rest of the profile. That's not to say it's good until the end, though. Nutmeg overload that isn't supported by a malty backbone - which is what this should have had given the target type of beer - make it taste like a teaspoon of nutmeg in a glass of water. Stone should have taken the time to get this one right given it's the last one in the series.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 18:09
|
|
|
Got given a few bottles of Alesmith Grand Cru. Probably wont get around to drinking one until Christmas. Anyone know what to expect?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 19:01
|
|
|
Boulevard finally confirms Lovechild No. 3!Boulevard posted:@draftmag Thanks! We were very humbled by the article. Hopefully they enjoy Love Child No. 3 just as much this spring!
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 19:04
|
|
|
Interesting that so many in this thread managed to snag a brick of the Westy, but it doesn't seem like anyone drank any. I certainly didn't - I handled the box like it was full of jars of Ebola and put it in a cabinet behind the bar.
Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Dec 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 20:13
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:Interesting that so many in this thread managed to snag a brick of the Westy, but it doesn't seem like anyone drank any. I certainly didn't - I handled the box like it was full of jars of Ebola and put it in a cabinet behind the bar. Yea, put mine away for now. Going to take 3 of them to an annual party with some close friends to share, and then I think I'll drink the other 3 once a year for Christmas. Maybe get some Abt 12 and Roc 10 to age with them for comparison.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 20:44
|
|
|
I was at Jungle Jims in Cincinnati today and the dude there said they have a ton of Westvleteren 12 left but they did a raffle and the people who won have until Too bad I'm going back to Youngstown tomorrow 
Mahoning fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Dec 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 20:46
|
|
|
I split a Westy brick with a friend, so I've got three bottles. The first will be opened on Christmas, I think. For the others I may buy a couple of St. Bernardus and hold them for 6 months/1 year to see how things develop.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 21:12
|
|
|
bartolimu posted:I split a Westy brick with a friend, so I've got three bottles. The first will be opened on Christmas, I think. For the others I may buy a couple of St. Bernardus and hold them for 6 months/1 year to see how things develop. I've had 3 bottles of Westy 12 in my life. 2 were fairly fresh, 1 was a few years old but from a batch that didn't carbonate well. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY SUGGEST waiting for at LEAST a year to open one up. I think they are fairly pedestrian fresh, definitely not worth drinking over something like an Abt 12 yanked off the shelf. bartolimu posted:04.04.04: NO. BAD. I'd rather punch myself in the dick than drink this again. Diacetyl, oxidation, fusel, phenol, 04.04.04 may have been the worst thing I put in my mouth this year. gently caress. This is, of course, the only one I have 2 bottles of and have moved from apartment to apartment in my basically yearly moves...
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 21:40
|
|
|
ShaneB posted:I've had 3 bottles of Westy 12 in my life. 2 were fairly fresh, 1 was a few years old but from a batch that didn't carbonate well. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY SUGGEST waiting for at LEAST a year to open one up. I think they are fairly pedestrian fresh, definitely not worth drinking over something like an Abt 12 yanked off the shelf. The interesting thing about this is that because Abt. 12 is ubiquitous, most people probably don't age it to find out if it ages just as well. I'm going to pick up a 6-er of St. Bernardus to compare, but I think I'm going to drink one of the Westvleterens on Christmas, however. Its gonna be hard to really make a good judgment on how the beer evolves if you don't drink one fresh to have a basis for comparison. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Dec 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 21:45
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:The interesting thing about this is that because Abt. 12 is ubiquitous, most people probably don't age it to find out if it ages just as well. Bernardus ages very well.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 21:53
|
|
|
Maybe I should just do a Monk's Shootout and age and taste an equal amount of all of the Trappist beers of the same style and age them to see how it ages. I think only four of them actually have a similar Dark Strong Ale, right? Westmalle only makes a Tripel and a Dubbel, Orval only makes Orval and Achel only has a Dubble and a Blonde. (although you can't actually get anything from Engelszell as far as I know, Engelszell being the Eighth Trappist brewery that was just made.) Not that Quads are only made by Monks, but you'd be drunk off your rear end if you tried to do a vertical with every Quad possible.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 22:45
|
|
|
bartolimu posted:Good fun for the most part, with some surprisingly good and surprisingly bad beers. Aging experiments are neat, the beer industry should do more of them. Great write-up! And I agree, aging things are fun. The Holiday Ale Fest here in Portland is my favorite because so many brewers will gladly bring out barrel-aged stuff from years past. I went to the Deschutes Abyss release party last year, and they had Abyss from '08, '09, '10, '11, and '11 on Nitro. Really interesting to see how it ages - I think '08 had gone a bit past peak though wasn't bad. '09 and '10 were phenomenal, and '11 was a little too hot. Easily the booziest tasting Abyss I've had. I popped open a bottle of the '11 at Thanksgiving and it's mellowed into something really special. Also had the 2012 last night - definitely more drinkable out of the bottle. More licorice, less coffee taste. Granted, that was my third beer of the night, so taste was starting to dull. It's interesting to see how the Abyss not just ages, but gets tweaked from year to year.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 23:41
|
|
|
I once did a Victory at Sea vertical from 08-2011. They aged really well, but part of the problem is that VAS is kind of inconsistent from batch to batch in the first place based on the prominence of the vanilla component.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 23:51
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:I once did a Victory at Sea vertical from 08-2011. They aged really well, but part of the problem is that VAS is kind of inconsistent from batch to batch in the first place based on the prominence of the vanilla component. Is that why the one I tried had little to no vanilla component? I'd love to get some that are vanilla bombs...
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 23:53
|
|
|
Bag of Sun Chips posted:Is that why the one I tried had little to no vanilla component? I'd love to get some that are vanilla bombs... I bought 2 cases of Victory at Sea in 2011 and drank a couple a month until I have what I got left now, which is 4 bombers. They are getting better and better in my opinion in that the bitter chocolate flavors have really dialed back to let the warming and vanilla notes come through.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 00:01
|
|
|
Mahoning posted:I was at Jungle Jims in Cincinnati today and the dude there said they have a ton of Westvleteren 12 left but they did a raffle and the people who won have until Thanks for posting this. I went to Jungle Jims about 7:30pm last night to see if they had any. At first I thought maybe there was a good chance, but then I remembered they do their weekly beer tasting events so i'm sure people were pretty aware it was coming. The guy I talked to didn't mention anything about a raffle or having any left. I guess i'll try monday morning though just for the heck of it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 00:17
|
|
|
My local beer store decided to hold off on selling the Westie 12 until today because of the Stone 12/12/12 event yesterday. The news was there for this one. I got there around 930 and was 50th in line. By noon, when they opened, there was maybe 400 people in line for the 150 bricks they were selling. Picked it up and a couple bottles of Pliny the Elder and that'll do me for buying "hard to get beer" for at least a year.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 00:27
|
|
|
katkillad2 posted:Thanks for posting this. I went to Jungle Jims about 7:30pm last night to see if they had any. At first I thought maybe there was a good chance, but then I remembered they do their weekly beer tasting events so i'm sure people were pretty aware it was coming. If it makes a difference I was at the new one in Eastgate, not the Fairfield one. I love that they have a growler station at the new one. Had me some Racer X samples while shopping.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 02:19
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to camp out overnight to get some in Northeast OH. Kudosx, I'm not sure if you ended up getting your hands on any Westvleteren or not but just as a tip, Vintage Estate in Youngstown is doing a raffle type thing on Sunday for their allotment. I'm probably gonna go try.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 02:24
|
|
|
air- posted:MOA from New Zealand just started distributing over here. I got to try their Pinot Noir barrel aged imperial stout and that had some pretty huge vinous qualities in it. tried it tonight, couldn't stand it. poured a full pint of head that took over ten minutes to settle to about 1.5 inches of liquid and it tasted pretty drat sour. really it reminded me of infected Rabid Duck, gotta wonder if there was a problem and/or improper handling.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 02:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 02:17 |
|
|
funkybottoms posted:tried it tonight, couldn't stand it. poured a full pint of head that took over ten minutes to settle to about 1.5 inches of liquid and it tasted pretty drat sour. really it reminded me of infected Rabid Duck, gotta wonder if there was a problem and/or improper handling. I had a similar experience. I thought it could have been great if there were less ashy burnt character and more sweetness/body. The super dry ashy character did not go well with the tart wine barrel character.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 03:28
|
|
