Beer Thread 3: Every Day We Stray Further From Buds Light

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Beer Thread 3: Every Day We Stray Further From Buds Light

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funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

i was pretty sure that Bois was the anniversary beer- a quick glance at the ratebeer entry confused me, especially as i passed on Fruet. i've barely eaten anything today, though, so i might be kinda stupid.

# ? Jun 10, 2013 22:39

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# ? May 11, 2024 16:47

I Dont Like You: Jul 6, 2003

crazyfish posted:

Also, word is out that New Glarus's next thumbprint is "Wild Sour":

Oh HELL yeah.

# ? Jun 10, 2013 23:17

ControlledBurn: Sep 7, 2006; Frost his bag!

Angry Grimace posted:

It IS the anniversary beer. I don't think its going in general Bruery distribution. I think its mail/pickup/tasting room only for now.

Bois is getting general distribution, but only the bourbon barrel version. There's 3 variants aged in other barrels only for the Reserve Society, rye, brandy, and new American oak. Last the Hoarder's Society can buy a bottle aged in French oak, but not until later this year.

# ? Jun 10, 2013 23:19

beetlo: Mar 20, 2005; Proud forums lurker!

So I know making GBS threads all over Rogue is the cool thing to do in here, but I am enjoying this Chocolate Stout damnit...

# ? Jun 10, 2013 23:25

FreelanceSocialist: Nov 19, 2002

I like a few of their beers (choc, mocha, dead guy and the doubles), but goddamn are they a lovely company.

edit: To clarify - Jack Joyce and his son Brett are assholes, along with a handful of other upper-management "old guard" employees. They treat everyone like poo poo and have one of the worst attitudes in the business.

FreelanceSocialist fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Jun 10, 2013

# ? Jun 10, 2013 23:42

Sirotan: Oct 17, 2006; Sirotan is a seal.

crazyfish posted:

Also, word is out that New Glarus's next thumbprint is "Wild Sour":

Welp, I guess I know what weekend I'm going to Chicago then.

# ? Jun 10, 2013 23:55

Captain Shortbus: May 14, 2011

The only Rogues worth a drat are Chocolate Stout and Old Crustacean.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 00:05

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

beetlo posted:

So I know making GBS threads all over Rogue is the cool thing to do in here, but I am enjoying this Chocolate Stout damnit...

Having a beer called Shakespeare Stout is oddly appropriate for Rogue. After all, statistically, an infinite number of monkeys bashing an infinite number of typewriters for an infinite amount of time will eventually produce the works of William Shakespeare

So, too, does Rogue occasionally put out an acceptable beer.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 00:42

Hypnolobster: Apr 12, 2007; What this sausage party needs is a big dollop of ketchup! Too bad I didn't make any.

Picked up a Revolution Brewing Crystal-Hero, and it's really awesome. Right up there with the best straight up IPA's I've ever had, particularly considering availability.

It's also possible that since I've been drinking PBR for 6 months that I'm just starved of good beer, but I'm pretty sure it's actually an amazing IPA.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 02:15

LeafHouse: Apr 22, 2008; That's what you get for not hailing to the chimp!

Hypnolobster posted:

Picked up a Revolution Brewing Crystal-Hero, and it's really awesome. Right up there with the best straight up IPA's I've ever had, particularly considering availability.

It's also possible that since I've been drinking PBR for 6 months that I'm just starved of good beer, but I'm pretty sure it's actually an amazing IPA.

I didn't much care for Crystal Hero. I thought Galaxy Hero was a fair amount better.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 03:27

Uuudar: Apr 18, 2003

Score some Dos Osos if you get the chance. It's awesome.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 03:58

Midorka: Jun 10, 2011; I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.

I had my Adroit Theory Cannibalism, which is a milk stout brewed without water. I'm guessing they used another beer instead of water to make this. Either way it was a pretty great milk stout, if you like a strong sweet creamer flavor. I feel like a coffee version would be over the top good.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 05:23

Captain Shortbus: May 14, 2011

Firestone Walker's 805 is pretty good. If it were distributed here I'd probably make it a fairly regular session beer.
e- My first foray into DFH was a Burton Baton. It's not bad. Some nice barrel flavor on an otherwise unremarkable IPA. I've had worse.

Captain Shortbus fucked around with this message at 07:55 on Jun 11, 2013

# ? Jun 11, 2013 06:59

KlavoHunter: Aug 4, 2006; "Intelligence indicates that our enemy is using giant cathedral ships. Research divison reports that we can adapt this technology for our use. Begin researching giant cathedral ships immediately."

Couldn't possibly read the rest of this thread, maybe some other entire week. Founder's Brewery out of Michigan has some amazing poo poo. Especially their Dirty Bastard, and their Russian Imperial Stout. Everything they do is amazing.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 09:16

lazerwolf: Dec 22, 2009; Orange and Black

Midorka posted:

I had my Adroit Theory Cannibalism, which is a milk stout brewed without water. I'm guessing they used another beer instead of water to make this. Either way it was a pretty great milk stout, if you like a strong sweet creamer flavor. I feel like a coffee version would be over the top good.

What did they use instead of water?

# ? Jun 11, 2013 13:33

Dad Hominem: Dec 4, 2005; Standing room only on the Disco Bus; Fun Shoe

FreelanceSocialist posted:

I like a few of their beers (choc, mocha, dead guy and the doubles), but goddamn are they a lovely company.

edit: To clarify - Jack Joyce and his son Brett are assholes, along with a handful of other upper-management "old guard" employees. They treat everyone like poo poo and have one of the worst attitudes in the business.

Rogue is one of the few microbrews I can get in this country so this sucks to hear. Anywhere where I can read more about it?

# ? Jun 11, 2013 13:59

funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

lazerwolf posted:

What did they use instead of water?

human blood, i hope.

breathstealer posted:

Rogue is one of the few microbrews I can get in this country so this sucks to hear. Anywhere where I can read more about it?

just google "Rogue brewery employment." be sure to read their jobs page first, then the other articles that pop up.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 14:09

Eejit: Mar 6, 2007; Swiss Army Cockatoo
Cacatua multitoolii

There was an excellent post on Reddit (I was linked to it, I do not regularly read Reddit) from an employee basically detailing the day to day abuse that goes on. The guy was clearly a little upset beyond the reality of the situation, but it was a good read and even when you got past the filter of the OP's personal involvement, it made the place look not nice to work at at all. Having a hard time digging it up, but someone might have it saved somewhere.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 14:13

Compusaurus: May 29, 2003; OK, I WILL, IN A MINUTE...

crazyfish posted:

Also, word is out that New Glarus's next thumbprint is "Wild Sour":

Well, looks like a trip to Kenosha will be in order next month!

I popped open a Fantome Saison last night and a few things of note.

The bottle exploded and I lost a good amount of beer. I took care of it between my house and the store but who knows what happened shipping.
It tasted sweet and was missing some funk/dirtiness that I would expect in a Saison.
Finally, it had a weird subtle burnt tasting note to it. I talked to a friend and, after having it on tap, he felt the same way. Maybe this years was skunked?

# ? Jun 11, 2013 14:21

air-: Sep 24, 2007; Who will win the greatest battle of them all?

Eejit posted:

There was an excellent post on Reddit (I was linked to it, I do not regularly read Reddit) from an employee basically detailing the day to day abuse that goes on. The guy was clearly a little upset beyond the reality of the situation, but it was a good read and even when you got past the filter of the OP's personal involvement, it made the place look not nice to work at at all. Having a hard time digging it up, but someone might have it saved somewhere.

This'll probably end up gone soon:
http://www.reddit.com/r/beer/comments/1fql1b/the_short_time_i_spent_working_for_rogue_ales_in/

quote:

There's been a lot of talk about Rogue Ales and its business practices over the past year or two. I worked in their corporate office for a short time and so I'd like to give a brief description of my experience there.
A little over two years ago, I was laid off and in need of work. My previous job was okay, but I didn't love it and wanted to do something that I'd find personally fulfilling. I've always loved beer and the idea of the craft brewing industry, so I sent out a few e-mails to local breweries to see if they could use someone like me. About a week later, I got a call at 9:30 PM from an old man named Jack Joyce. He introduced himself as the founder and owner of Rogue Ales (a brewery which, at the time, I naively loved) and said he needed about 30 minutes to chat. I was a little starstruck so of course I took his call. I won't go into every detail of the call, but the gist of it was this: "we don't hire recent college graduates because they haven't demonstrated any real work ethic yet." He proceeded to tell me how lazy I am and how I'd never make it at his company, but that he'd be willing to give me a shot. He said that his employees get Christmas and Thanksgiving off work, but that was it - in his own words, "Americans don't work hard enough anyway." This was a little concerning, but considering I was getting a call to work in an industry I really admired from something of an industry leader, and the fact that I was broke, I accepted his offer then and there.
I began working a few days later. I walked into the office and expected to find Jack, as I would be working with him directly as an "office ninja" (what they call new hires). Turns out, he was in Hawaii and I would be training with other people. My mentor (while Jack was gone) was someone Jack referred to as an "East Coast Jew". Basically, I was given a stack of binders and told to read through them, several times, as this would be my training. So I read them, over and over again. One entire binder was dedicated to the things that you shouldn't say around Jack - words like "new normal", "game changer", "paradigm", etc.. If you did say them around him, you'd be punished. Seriously.
So after I had read all the training manuals about 4 times each, my job was to use a clipping service to find any and all mentions of Rogue in print or e-media. Rogue doesn't have a dedicated PR department, nor do they do any real marketing - they allow the brand to speak for itself. That sounds noble and all, but the reality is, they're more dedicated to selling their brand than they are making good beer. When it comes right down to it, John Maier has full control over the brewing process, but the Joyce's (Jack and his son Brett [not short for Brettanomyces]) decide which beers will go to market; in short, they decide what is worth selling. Anyway, my job focused on finding those mentions in the media and relaying that to others so they could leverage those mentions.
So what was so bad about Rogue? The way they treat their employees is absolute garbage. I can't remember all the **** I put up with that came directly from Jack (over the phone and through e-mails, mind you) but it was awful. I was commuting 45 miles to work and showed up 3 minutes late one day due to a wreck (I was normally 15-20 minutes early). Rather than confront me personally, Brett Joyce (whose desk is set up in the middle of the office so he can personally oversee everyone) sent an e-mail to another employee stating "[Insert her name], can you ask mattsesar why he was late today?". This would have been embarrassing enough, but he CC'd THE ENTIRE COMPANY. Everyone with a Rogue e-mail address. So her e-mail to me also CC'd everyone. I had to reply with my reason. Well, turns out that for Brett, 3 minutes was just too much and my reason (which he called an excuse) warranted a public apology and an explanation of the steps I'd take to prevent it from happening in the future. So I had to apologize to the entire company for being 3 minutes late. After that, my incident was placed in one of the binders I had to read so that new hires, from then through now and into the future, would all read about how mattsesar was 3 minutes late to work one day.
That's just one small example. Public humiliation was commonplace; the less time you'd spent there, the more you were subjected to it. Hazing is one thing, but this was outright harassment.
Another example was when I took the company van to deliver mail to the downtown pub. I was supposed to shadow one of the higher-ups, a woman who sorts Jack's e-mails for him. She's been there for decades so she's basically a queen. I showed up, started to take notes, and she asked me why I didn't have my clipboard with me. I was confused, told her I didn't know anything about a clipboard. She LOST HER **** and told me I was worthless, that I'd never survive there, because I didn't know about the clipboard. I explained that I was never told about the clipboard and never saw anything about it in any of the 10 or so binders I had to read. Her response: "That's the problem with you - you just assumed you didn't need to ask about it."
A few days later, I had an emergency with a family member (she had to be taken to the emergency room via ambulance and I was the closest one to her.) I got the phone call, told someone that I had an emergency and had to leave, and left at ~2:00 PM. I ended up getting there before the ambulance, but that's not important. Anyway, the next day I got another e-mail from Brett Joyce and a call from his father asking what the hell happened and demanded to know why I left work early. I told them it was a medical emergency, but that didn't satisfy them. I was told to write another letter of apology to the rest of the company - at which point I said "**** you" to Brett and walked out.
I called Jack Joyce and told him exactly what I thought of his operation - that they make decent beer, but as a business, they're probably one of the worst I've ever seen. They can make money and grow a business, but they don't know how to operate a team. I told him thanks for the opportunity, but I wasn't willing to subject myself to daily harassment and abuse for a paycheck. This was the only time that Jack had anything remotely like respect for me. I think he isn't used to people standing up to him, so when someone did, it took him by surprise.
Anyway, I haven't bought a single bottle of Rogue since then. There are plenty of other breweries to choose from that offer better beer for better prices. I try to tell as many people as I can about Rogue because I find them so distasteful. If the Joyce's were to leave and John Maier were to take over, I think it'd be a different story, but as it stands now, those two ruin the company for me.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 14:33

crazyfish: Sep 19, 2002

Compusaurus posted:

Well, looks like a trip to Kenosha will be in order next month!

I popped open a Fantome Saison last night and a few things of note.

The bottle exploded and I lost a good amount of beer. I took care of it between my house and the store but who knows what happened shipping.
It tasted sweet and was missing some funk/dirtiness that I would expect in a Saison.
Finally, it had a weird subtle burnt tasting note to it. I talked to a friend and, after having it on tap, he felt the same way. Maybe this years was skunked?

Sounds like the all time champions of bottle variation got you a bad bottle!

The bottle I opened tasted like stinky bleu cheese in the best way possible. Still have another, not sure when I'm going to open it.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 14:39

Midorka: Jun 10, 2011; I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.

lazerwolf posted:

What did they use instead of water?

It has to be beer, due to the name. It could also have been milk. They don't say, but it's definitely a good beer.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 15:03

funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

crazyfish posted:

Sounds like the all time champions of bottle variation got you a bad bottle!

Dany bein' Dany. the smoke thing from recent batches is well-documented- there's even a BA thread about it where Dany (who is basically Fantome) apologizes (and kind of tries to make excuses) for it.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 15:07

lazerwolf: Dec 22, 2009; Orange and Black

Midorka posted:

It has to be beer, due to the name. It could also have been milk. They don't say, but it's definitely a good beer.

Yeah a beer made from beer would support the "cannibalism" name. I doubt it was made from milk, I feel that boiling milk would lead to something nasty. Its sort of funny to claim it was not made with water when beer is mostly water as a base.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 17:48

blue.eyed.ash: Jul 17, 2006; Winner of the 'How Badly Will A Phone Game Milk Us Idiot Cash Cows?' Contest!

Answer: About $70USD for a bad character that unlocks the grind for another.

extra letters: star-lord star-lord star-lord star-lord star-lord star-lord star-lord star-l

funkybottoms posted:

Dany bein' Dany. the smoke thing from recent batches is well-documented- there's even a BA thread about it where Dany (who is basically Fantome) apologizes (and kind of tries to make excuses) for it.

Yep, just cracked one on Sunday - the nose was wonderful, and the taste oscillated between bubblegum and dirty smoke. Splitting the bottle with a pal, the first pour was rough, the second pour was much better as it warmed in temperature (all of the bubblegum, none of the smoke) and by the third pour, the smoke was back again.

Oh, Fantome. :allears:

# ? Jun 11, 2013 18:15

americanzero4128: Jul 20, 2009; Grimey Drawer

crazyfish posted:

Also, word is out that New Glarus's next thumbprint is "Wild Sour":

That's awesome. I'm going to be in Wisconsin the weekend of the 12th and was planning on swinging by their brewery to pick up some stuff anyway. I'll have to add this one to the list.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 18:21

crazyfish: Sep 19, 2002

Speaking of Bois from the last page, it appears to have hit Chicago distro today. I picked one up, it was the 100% bourbon barrel version as expected.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 21:20

TenaciousTomato: Jul 17, 2007; Interworld and the New Innocence

Just wanted to share half of my local beer aisle

TenaciousTomato fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Jun 11, 2013

# ? Jun 11, 2013 21:38

LeafHouse: Apr 22, 2008; That's what you get for not hailing to the chimp!

lazerwolf posted:

Yeah a beer made from beer would support the "cannibalism" name. I doubt it was made from milk, I feel that boiling milk would lead to something nasty.

Clearly you've never enjoyed a milk steak boiled over hard.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 22:19

FreelanceSocialist: Nov 19, 2002

Boiling isn't the issue, it's the fact that the beer you end up with will be oddly sweet and fruity.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 22:28

funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

yeah, using milk instead of water for the boil would leave you with so many unfermentables, i can't imagine the result would be pretty. i'm also thinking that all that calcium would gently caress up the pH and make it difficult for the yeast to do their thing.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 22:57

SketchyNick: Oct 15, 2005

Calcium actually inhibits yeast growth so yeah dont brew a beer with milk.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 23:15

FreelanceSocialist: Nov 19, 2002

Ca2+ is pretty important for a lot of things, but milk is like four times the Calcium content of even the hardest traditional waters for brewing (like Burton, for instance). You could try dosing Mg2+ to avoid fermentation issues, maybe.

# ? Jun 11, 2013 23:22

RocketMermaid: Mar 30, 2004; My pronouns are She/Heir.

Not to mention, all the fats in the milk would destroy head retention and go rancid in a hurry. Brewing beer with milk would basically be impossible.

TenaciousTomato posted:

Just wanted to share half of my local beer aisle

See that Dj�velbryg Gudel�s in the upper-right corner of the picture? Buy it. All of it. That stuff is delicious and reasonably priced (it's consistently $10 at the Binny's near me), especially for a Danish import. Makes you wonder how Evil Twin and Mikkeller get away with such ludicrous prices.

As for the Rogue discussion earlier: I give Rogue a lot of credit for helping to introduce me to craft beer, as Shakespeare Stout was instrumental in doing so. However, their quality and focus aren't what they used to be, they clutter up shelves with tons of mediocre beer, and the way they treat employees is so atrocious that nobody with an ounce of respect for workers' rights should ever buy beer from them. I know I've stopped doing so, even though I'd love to taste Shakespeare Stout again for nostalgia's sake.

# ? Jun 12, 2013 00:08

funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

Ubik posted:

Not to mention, all the fats in the milk would destroy head retention and go rancid in a hurry. Brewing beer with milk would basically be impossible.

what do you think would happen if you added fat-free sweetened condensed milk during fermentation?

Ubik posted:

See that Dj�velbryg Gudel�s in the upper-right corner of the picture? Buy it. All of it. That stuff is delicious and reasonably priced (it's consistently $10 at the Binny's near me), especially for a Danish import. Makes you wonder how Evil Twin and Mikkeller get away with such ludicrous prices.

i was trying to figure out what that was. if so, yes, buy it, poo poo was goddamn (pun intended) delicious when i had it on tap last year- crossing my fingers that i find it again in New Orleans.

# ? Jun 12, 2013 00:21

crazyfish: Sep 19, 2002

I made an exception to my anti-Rogue stance to taste Chocolate Stout and Shakespeare Stout again to get to having had 100/100 on BA's 'beers of fame' list this year. I won't be doing that again.

edit: They weren't awful beers, I just hate their business practices.

# ? Jun 12, 2013 00:54

swickles: Aug 21, 2006; I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just some QB that I used to know

funkybottoms posted:

what do you think would happen if you added fat-free sweetened condensed milk during fermentation?

Probably still a hot mess, depending on the quantity. For the Heat game I am opening Kalevipoeg At The Gates Of Hell by Cigar City, a bourbon barrel aged Baltic Porter. Looked it up on BA for funsies and the first review is by on of my best friends, the guy who gave me the beer as a b-day gift, so thats a good sign. Will report more later.

# ? Jun 12, 2013 02:04

Captain Shortbus: May 14, 2011

My friend's big box of beer from his FW trip came in yesterday. All day I was pumped about trying DBA, Pale 31 and Velvet Merlin. Then I found 2 Enjoy By 7-4-13's and bought them. Tough choices, or long night ahead?

# ? Jun 12, 2013 02:10

TenaciousTomato: Jul 17, 2007; Interworld and the New Innocence

enjoy by's first :swoon:

Ubik posted:

See that Dj�velbryg Gudel�s in the upper-right corner of the picture? Buy it. All of it. That stuff is delicious and reasonably priced (it's consistently $10 at the Binny's near me), especially for a Danish import. Makes you wonder how Evil Twin and Mikkeller get away with such ludicrous prices.

Will do, I'm going to pick up a Cuvee Rene next time I'm there as well.

# ? Jun 12, 2013 02:21

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# ? May 11, 2024 16:47

Sirotan: Oct 17, 2006; Sirotan is a seal.

So that Bag of Sun Chips does not think I'm some kind of curmudgeon unwilling to try/buy new things, I'm posting to say I'm drinking a Founder's Rübæus. It tastes like raspberries alright, though it leaves a syrupy sweet taste in my mouth that I don't think I care for. It's ok, probably wouldn't buy it again.

# ? Jun 12, 2013 02:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Beer Thread 3: Every Day We Stray Further From Buds Light

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