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According to my BeerMenu notification this morning a pub I frequent has Heady Topper and Focal Banger cans. I’m in CT, did Alchemist get distro out here?
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Oct 12, 2020 18:32
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| # ? May 27, 2024 15:14 |
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had fresh cans of both recently and they are definitely not the beers i remember; HT was bitter enough that multiple people in our tasting panel thought it was a Stone beer (apologies if i shared that already)
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Oct 12, 2020 19:33
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DarkSoulsTantrum posted:According to my BeerMenu notification this morning a pub I frequent has Heady Topper and Focal Banger cans. I’m in CT, did Alchemist get distro out here? I have seen them sporadically hit distro here in CA, I think they're just venturing out bursts of beer to random areas
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Oct 12, 2020 19:54
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MunchE posted:I have seen them sporadically hit distro here in CA, I think they're just venturing out bursts of beer to random areas This is probably it. Looks like they did the same in parts of Massachusetts earlier this year.
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Oct 12, 2020 20:34
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Don't ask questions. Just buy some when you have a chance. Don't worry about the date that may or may not have been scratched off each can either
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Oct 12, 2020 21:13
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ShortyMR.CAT posted:Don't ask questions. Just buy some when you have a chance. Don't worry about the date that may or may not have been scratched off each can either The pub price is 11 bucks a can lmao
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Oct 12, 2020 21:20
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funkybottoms posted:had fresh cans of both recently and they are definitely not the beers i remember; HT was bitter enough that multiple people in our tasting panel thought it was a Stone beer (apologies if i shared that already) This is one of those things where I wonder how much of it is the beer changing (different quality in scaling up? lower quality ingredients?), how much of it is me changing (changing palate, preferences, also just getting old), and how much is the industry changing (baseline idea of a style or substyle shifting as other styles/substyles take prominence). I really don't think in 2012 I would confuse a Stone IPA and Heady. Today, maybe I would because of any or all of those reasons.
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Oct 12, 2020 21:22
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danbanana posted:This is one of those things where I wonder how much of it is the beer changing (different quality in scaling up? lower quality ingredients?), how much of it is me changing (changing palate, preferences, also just getting old), and how much is the industry changing (baseline idea of a style or substyle shifting as other styles/substyles take prominence). Had fresh cans of Heady and Focal back in August and I think they're more bitter compared to the typical modern hazy, which to me isn't a negative... and they def get props for not having biley hop burn (unlike the bad modern hazy beers, aka just about all of em)
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Oct 12, 2020 21:29
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DarkSoulsTantrum posted:The pub price is 11 bucks a can lmao 
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Oct 12, 2020 22:36
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Bought this a week ago and just getting around to drinking it tonight. No date on it, but the google says it was released in 2016.  It’s a farmhouse ale so age doesn’t seem to have affected it poorly, but got drat it was bubbly, hence my lovely pour technique above. It ain’t bad. It’s a bit malty for a farmhouse but the rye gives it a nice bite to balance it out. 3/5
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Oct 12, 2020 23:29
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air- posted:Had fresh cans of Heady and Focal back in August and I think they're more bitter compared to the typical modern hazy, which to me isn't a negative... and they def get props for not having biley hop burn (unlike the bad modern hazy beers, aka just about all of em) Had Focal a couple of times over the summer and agree. It's still *bitter* unlike a typical NEIPA and has none of the burn) sludge. Far more structure than a typical lazy IPA; even with the fruit flavors it's more crystalline, if that makes sense, in that it has facets and flavors that have starts and ends.
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Oct 13, 2020 00:49
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DarkSoulsTantrum posted:Bought this a week ago and just getting around to drinking it tonight. No date on it, but the google says it was released in 2016. i still can't believe they made ulillillia's book into a beer
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Oct 13, 2020 01:11
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JohnCompany posted:Had Focal a couple of times over the summer and agree. It's still *bitter* unlike a typical NEIPA and has none of the burn) sludge. Far more structure than a typical lazy IPA; even with the fruit flavors it's more crystalline, if that makes sense, in that it has facets and flavors that have starts and ends. I had a couple Julius from Treehouse during the summer, which is their flagship, and I had 2 cans one after the other. The first was on point, the second had oxidized or something and had hop burn. Same canning date, purchased at the same time. NEIPA is a very fickle mistress.
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Oct 13, 2020 01:26
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DarkSoulsTantrum posted:I had a couple Julius from Treehouse during the summer, which is their flagship, and I had 2 cans one after the other. The first was on point, the second had oxidized or something and had hop burn. Same canning date, purchased at the same time. NEIPA is a very fickle mistress. my TH friend sent me a mixed case a few weeks back and the Julius canned within the last two weeks was really oxidized, and the very fresh Very Green was very bad; just yeast and burning. i asked in a group that includes that guy and a bunch of others who drink Alchemist regularly and the consensus is that FB and HT have become more bitter over the past few years and are "not what they used to be." i don't drink either with any frequency, but even in my ipa-hatin' days HT never struck me as being bitter, which was one of the main reasons for my hatin' of ipas
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Oct 13, 2020 01:54
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Ft George dropped a fresh hop version of their Fields of Green series and it was 4 cans of some of the worst hop burn I've had in a minute. Then pretty much every other beer I picked up on that run was the same, Fieldworks Soon to be a Flagship IPA being one. That was a sad few days in this household so on my next trip I stuck to fresh hop WCIPAs and fresh hop Pils, that was a good few days. danbanana posted:I really don't think in 2012 I would confuse a Stone IPA and Heady. Today, maybe I would because of any or all of those reasons. I feel like San Diego water always Kool-Aid mans through the flavor to let you know where the beer is from.
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Oct 13, 2020 02:08
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I always wonder when we talk about how beers used to be better or whatever, how much of it is like recipe shift due to whatever.....and how much of it is hop variety inconsistencies from year to year. Like I could swear nearly all Citra IPAs used to be miles and miles better than they are now. And I’ve heard Citra crops have been much shittier in recent years.
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Oct 13, 2020 02:24
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Hop processing has changed a lot over the past few years. Brewers also talk about big negative changes in expression, even with new "classics" like Mosaic. Apparently the quality in regions with high demand and growth (NZ) is down too.
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Oct 13, 2020 03:38
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funkybottoms posted:my TH friend sent me a mixed case a few weeks back and the Julius canned within the last two weeks was really oxidized, and the very fresh Very Green was very bad; just yeast and burning. Very Green is always bad, but right now their newer hazy pales have been real good. Old standard Lights Out had some burn the last time I got it but this year’s Beneficiaries of Chance was an absolutely killer 5% crusher
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Oct 13, 2020 03:49
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Maybe its us, who have changed
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Oct 13, 2020 08:19
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BIF crosspost: for anyone who has not participated BIFore, seekabrew.com is a quick and easy way to see what breweries your recipient already has access to. it's not updated as frequently as it used to be, so you can also check the brewery's website or ask the group if you feel that won't ruin the surprise.
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Oct 13, 2020 12:29
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funkybottoms posted:BIF crosspost: This site is down. And I'm not sure the last time it was updated. I remember checking it a couple years ago and thinking how out of date it was.
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Oct 13, 2020 13:12
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it was working yesterday, drat. and, yeah, out of date, but good for bigger craft breweries like FW, Allagash, and CCB
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Oct 13, 2020 14:15
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funkybottoms posted:BIF crosspost: Speaking for myself, I prefer to receive stuff that has little to no distro if possible, I want to try stuff from your local brewery nobody outside of your town knows about. No offense to the guy that sent me Boulevard stuff a few years back, but basically the opposite of that.
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Oct 13, 2020 17:50
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highme posted:Ft George dropped a fresh hop version of their Fields of Green series and it was 4 cans of some of the worst hop burn I've had in a minute. Yeah I had it on tap and then bought a four pack, it's a totally different beer on tap, much better at least from that particular keg.
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Oct 13, 2020 17:52
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dphi posted:Speaking for myself, I prefer to receive stuff that has little to no distro if possible, I want to try stuff from your local brewery nobody outside of your town knows about. No offense to the guy that sent me Boulevard stuff a few years back, but basically the opposite of that. I did this last year, but i got cans from a bottle shop aswell. I'm thinking bout going all IN and getting super specific San Diego bullshit that isnt even distrod up north or local stores 
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Oct 13, 2020 18:06
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dphi posted:Speaking for myself, I prefer to receive stuff that has little to no distro if possible, I want to try stuff from your local brewery nobody outside of your town knows about. No offense to the guy that sent me Boulevard stuff a few years back, but basically the opposite of that. I'm hoping to get your name so I can send you beer from all the lovely breweries in the south PDX suburbs. dphi posted:Yeah I had it on tap and then bought a four pack, it's a totally different beer on tap, much better at least from that particular keg. Where did you get it on tap? I grabbed another can last night from New Seasons and it wasn't as bad.
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Oct 13, 2020 18:55
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dphi posted:Speaking for myself, I prefer to receive stuff that has little to no distro if possible, I want to try stuff from your local brewery nobody outside of your town knows about. No offense to the guy that sent me Boulevard stuff a few years back, but basically the opposite of that. yeah, for sure; the box i got from the goon fantasy football league was one brewery-only FW release and five more that i either already had or could easily buy. it met the money threshold and they were good beers, buuuut...
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Oct 13, 2020 19:19
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Who's really gonna have the due diligence to look up where beers are distrod besides a buncha beer nerds like us? Who's gonna know that some of us beer nerds work in the industry and have a pretty knowledgeable sense of what is actually available to them in their city/state? WE'RE ABOVE THE COMMON MAN. LOOK DOWN AT THEM! BUD LIGHT>!?! PSSSSSSHA! * buys stella artios * In interesting news; homeboi of mine has started buying Stone beers! Weird! These are my malt liquor drinking buddies and I know Stone isn't anything to write home about most the time, but still! Cool to see buddies get into some sort of craft beer...i'm sure they'd be down to pound a Imp BA Stout if I tell them it'll get them hosed up in 1 bottle or 2
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Oct 13, 2020 20:11
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ShortyMR.CAT posted:In interesting news; homeboi of mine has started buying Stone beers! Weird! These are my malt liquor drinking buddies and I know Stone isn't anything to write home about most the time, but still! Cool to see buddies get into some sort of craft beer...i'm sure they'd be down to pound a Imp BA Stout if I tell them it'll get them hosed up in 1 bottle or 2 There's certainly a segment of people who got into "craft" beers because they realized that you could regularly find 7%+ beers in those aisles. Many years ago, I watched some dude bros flip the gently caress out over seeing the ABV on Dragon's Milk. I hope those dudes turned into level-headed good-beer drinkers. They are most certainly Pastry Stout Assholes now 
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Oct 13, 2020 20:40
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Dragons Milk still pretty much sells everywhere I place it. Including (and especially) at lovely little convenience stores and drive thrus.
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Oct 13, 2020 20:48
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I mean I like to get drunk and I def based my purchase decisions on what will get me all hosed up (i.e 4 loko and those Mad Dogs 20/20) when I was younger. I still like to get drunk! But with gooderer beer  If you give someone whose been drinking O.E (or similar) for years and tell them this black rear end beer is actually 2x as potent and taste like chocolate coffee and half the size? Or even a sixer of IPA thats 6% or up. More drunkerer for less drink. Win win.
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Oct 13, 2020 20:54
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this isn't a justification for me pounding down 12 pbrs in a night tho. I'm just a big guy! I can take more! *walks into room with somber faced family and friends* WOAH ! Is covid over?! Can we party again?>!
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Oct 13, 2020 20:55
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I used to drink way too much Hop Stoopid because it was a cheap bomber and 8.5%.
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Oct 13, 2020 20:56
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dphi posted:Speaking for myself, I prefer to receive stuff that has little to no distro if possible, I want to try stuff from your local brewery nobody outside of your town knows about. No offense to the guy that sent me Boulevard stuff a few years back, but basically the opposite of that. Limited or no distro is usually the way to go for these boxes IMO. Big names are fine, just as long as they're beers that don't make it outside of their city.
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Oct 13, 2020 21:11
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As a bonus, buying directly from the little guys right now is just good vibes all around.
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Oct 13, 2020 21:49
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Tried out Left Hand's "The Nitro Abides" white russian stout. I wasn't expecting a blonde stout, and I'm not the biggest fan. The beer is ok. Lots of sweet-cream flavor. It was better in the can than poured imo.
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Oct 13, 2020 23:20
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dphi posted:Speaking for myself, I prefer to receive stuff that has little to no distro if possible, I want to try stuff from your local brewery nobody outside of your town knows about. No offense to the guy that sent me Boulevard stuff a few years back, but basically the opposite of that. Same but I hope I only get Milds and ESBs.
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Oct 14, 2020 00:24
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I talked to my local bottle shop guy and he said Alchemist is trying out distro in CT right now and...he had a case each of Heady and Focal in the back cooler, so I got 2 cans of each. I like ‘em. For me it’s the best of both worlds, since I like both West and East Coast IPAs. It’s got the West coast bitterness and East coast haziness without the hop burn.
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Oct 14, 2020 00:54
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highme posted:
Three Mermaids had it, Hop n Cork too - probably gone by now
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Oct 14, 2020 05:23
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| # ? May 27, 2024 15:14 |
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When did you start drinking in my neighborhood?
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Oct 14, 2020 08:38
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